Orchestrating Forest Policy in Italy: Mission Impossible?

In the Italian political and economic agenda the forest sector occupies a marginal role. The forest sector in Italy is characterized by a high institutional fragmentation and centralized decision-making processes dominated by Public Forest Administrations. Public participation in forest policy processes has been implemented since the 1990s at national, regional and local levels in several cases. However, today no significant changes have been observed in the overall governance of the forest sector and stakeholders' involvement in Italian forest policy decision-making is still rather limited. The aims of this paper are to describe the state of forest-related participatory processes in Italy at various levels (national, regional and local) and identify which factors and actors hinder or support the establishment and implementation of participatory forest-related processes in the country. The forest-related participatory processes are analyzed adopting a qualitative-based approach and interpreting interactive, complex and non-linear participatory processes through the lens of panarchy theory

Closing the loop: assisting archival appraisal and information retrieval in one sweep

In this article, we examine the similarities between the concept of appraisal, a process that takes place within the archives, and the concept of relevance judgement, a process fundamental to the evaluation of information retrieval systems. More specifically, we revisit selection criteria proposed as result of archival research, and work within the digital curation communities, and, compare them to relevance criteria as discussed within information retrieval's literature based discovery. We illustrate how closely these criteria relate to each other and discuss how understanding the relationships between the these disciplines could form a basis for proposing automated selection for archival processes and initiating multi-objective learning with respect to information retrieval

Evaluation templates and fulfillment of the university formative objectives: diversification and transverselity of criteria in subjects of Spanish Language and Theory of Literature

In the different projects boarded in these last years by our group from educational innovation, attention to two lines of work has been lent that, applied to subjects integrated in the scopes of the study of the Spanish language and of the theory of Literature, were in our opinion essential to approach the new educative space in which we were immersed. In one first stage, it was fundamental the elaboration of educational materials and the use of heterogenous tools that allowed the student to make a pursuit of the subject in which the knowledge was acquired progressively. The space of the Virtual Campus thus becomes a valid platform for the development and design of different types from activities and exercises by means of which complementary tasks to actual teaching are approached. However, this development raises in one second phase –in which we were now– and almost simultaneously, the necessity to analyze the evaluation methods. Once established the continuous evaluation like fundamental criterion in the development of the subject, it is precise to establish general frames that allow at the same time student’s precise pursuit and transverselity between criteria of evaluation shared by several subjects. From these budgets, our work is centered in the creation of templates or model-cards model that identifie so much the evaluation criteria as the aptitudes that the students must surpass, to the object of which can serve as guide in their application to different disciplines. Therefore, on starting from the exercises designed in the first stage of the project, evaluative models are developed that allow to value the degree of assimilation and execution of the different objectives and contents.Example: Work in group and later exposition and discussions by the students: - Consisting of the putting in common of the results derived from the work in group or other individual derivatives of the theoretical and literary text commentary. - Cooperative learning: works in equipment, inside and outside the classroom. Objectives: to favor the doubt and exchange of information on the subjects debate object, besides to foment initiatives and the critical attitude of the students. - Justification: this type of exercises favors the formation of the student in two-way traffic. First, in as much it must construct his own speech, organize it, structure it and argue it for his putting in common before his companions. It facilitates the personal learning and the development of skills related to the construction, elaboration and written expression of different types from speech. The second, the exposition helps to develop skills and comunicative strategies, contributing to improve the oral expression. Finally, the coordination of the work of group causes a greater implication of the students in the process of elaboration and the final results, as much of the work written as of the oral presentation, without forgetting that the use of other resources (presentations, videos... etc.) by the students facilitates his familiarisation with educational and expositive techniques nearer the present contextInted2009 Proceedings C

PRIMUS/Informed Cities: Making research work for local sustainability

The final report of a three year European Commission FP7 project

Study supporting the interim evaluation of the innovation principle. Final Report November 2019

The European Commission has recognised the importance of a more innovation- oriented EU acquis, gradually exploring the ways in which EU rules can support innovation. The ‘innovation principle’ was introduced to ensure that whenever policy is developed, the impact on innovation is fully assessed. However, as further discussed in this Study, the exact contours of the innovation principle have been shaped very gradually within the context of the EU better regulation agenda: originally advocated by industry in the context of the precautionary principle, the innovation principle has gradually been given a more articulate and consistent role, which aims at complementing the precautionary principle by increasing the salience of impacts on innovation during all phases of the policy cycle. This Study presents an evaluation of the current implementation of the innovation principle, limited to two of its three components, i.e. the Research and Innovation Tool included in the Better Regulation Toolbox, and the innovation deals. As a preliminary caveat, it is important to recall that the implementation of the innovation principle is still in its infancy, and thus the Study only represents a very early assessment of the extent to which the innovation principle is being correctly implemented, and whether changes would be required to make the principle more effective and useful in the context of the EU better regulation agenda. The main finding is that the innovation principle has the potential to contribute to the quality and future-proof nature of EU policy, but that significant changes and effort will be needed for this potential to fully materialise. The most evident areas for improvement are related to the lack of a clear legal basis, the lack of a widely acknowledged definition, the lack of awareness among EU officials and stakeholders, and the lack of adequate skills among those that are called to implement the innovation principle. As a result of these problems, the impact of the innovation principle on the innovation-friendliness of the EU acquis has been limited so far. The Commission should clarify in official documents that the Innovation principle does not entail a de- regulatory approach, and is not incompatible with the precautionary principle: this would also help to have the principle fully recognised and endorsed by all EU institutions, as well as by civil society, often concerned with the possible anti-regulatory narrative around the innovation principle in stakeholder discussions. Apart from clarifications, and further dissemination and training, major improvements are possible in the near future, especially if the innovation principle is brought fully in line with the evolving data-driven nature of digital innovation and provides more guidance to the Commission on how to design experimental regulation, including inter alia so-called ‘regulatory sandboxes’. Finally, the Commission should ensure that the innovation principle is given prominence with the transition to the Horizon Europe programme, in particular due to the anticipated launch of ‘missions’ in key domains

A Novel Approach to Incubator Evaluations: The PROMETHEE Outranking Procedures

Considerable public resources are devoted to the establishment and operation of business incubators (BIs), which are seen as catalysts for the promotion of entrepreneurship, innovation activities and regional development. Despite the vast amount of research that has focused on the outcomes or effectiveness of incubator initiatives and how to measure incubator performance, there is still little understanding of how to determine incubators that are more effective than others. Based on data from 410 graduate firms, this paper applies the multi-criteria outranking technique PROMETHEE (Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation) and compares the long-term effectiveness of five technology-oriented BIs in Germany. This is the first time that outranking procedures are used in incubator evaluations. In particular, we investigate whether PROMETHEE is a well-suited methodological approach for the evaluation and comparisons in the specific context of business incubation.business incubators, evaluation, performance measures, PROMETHEE, Outranking

Fisheries and Aquaculture and Their Potential Roles in Development: An Assessment of the Current Evidence

Commissioned by the International Sustainability Unity, this report investigates a number of innovative solutions that have been developed to deal with five key challenges that are impeding progress in achieving sustainable fisheries: overcapacity; perverse subsidies; poor governance; lack of data; and by-catch and discards. These key challenges are interlinked and affect the sustainability of fisheries both directly as well as indirectly by undermining instances of good management. Through 22 case studies demonstrating good practice, we explore how these challenges have been addressed around the world and how these approaches might be scaled up and applied in other fisheries. Each case study draws on published material and interviews with key people involved in the fishery. The main report draws lessons from these case studies

International Perspectives on Parenting Support - Non-English Language Sources

This study was commissioned by the DCSF, and began in October 2007. The project aimed to extend existing knowledge of ‘what works’ in parenting support beyond the English language international evidence that was comprehensively reviewed in an earlier study for DCSF (What Works in Parenting Support, Moran, Ghate and van der Merwe 2004). While the previous study focused on English language literature, the focus of this study was to examine parenting support in a selection of non-English language countries. Five countries were selected from an initial list of 12 (originally chosen from a longer list of 22). Their selection was based on the relevance to UK policy and practice, potential translatability to a UK context and indications of promising practice

Project benefit management: a conceptual framework of target benefit formulation

Successful realization of project benefits is strongly associated with organizational performance. Formulating project target benefits is regarded as the first and critical step in the benefit management process. In this study, we drew upon relevant theories and conducted in-depth interviews with senior managers in Australia to develop a conceptual framework of project target benefit formulation and corresponding propositions. Our findings highlight the important role of project target benefits in funding decision-making and suggest seven criteria for their appraisal (strategic fit, target value, measurability, realism, target date, accountability and comprehensiveness) and four constructs which improve the formulated target benefits (a formal benefit formulation process, senior executive leadership, senior executive supports, and public service motivation). These findings extend the current literature on project benefit management by providing a holistic view on how project target benefits should be formulated and appraised