New Methods in Creating Transdisciplinary Science Policy Research Agendas: The Case of Legislative Science Advice

In transdisciplinary fields such as science policy, research agendas do not evolve organically from within disciplines but instead require stakeholders to engage in active co-creation. ‘Big questions’ exercises fulfill this need but simultaneously introduce new challenges in their subjectivity and potential bias. By applying Q methodology to an exercise in developing an international collaborative research agenda for legislative science advice (LSA), we demonstrate a technique to illustrate stakeholder perspectives. While the LSA international respondents—academics, practitioners, and policymakers—demonstrated no difference in their research priorities across advisory system roles, the analysis by developing and developed nation status revealed both common interests in institutional- and systems-level research and distinct preferences. Stakeholders in developing nations prioritized the design of advisory systems, especially in low- and middle-income countries, while those in developed countries emphasized policymaker evidence use. These differences illustrate unique regional research needs that should be met through an international agenda for LSA

Innovative research approaches for sustainable livestock production and poverty reduction in the developing world

Livestock-related research that aims to increase productivity and enhance livelihoods in an environmentally sustainable manner in the developing world is no longer taking a ‘business as usual’ approach. Innovative new approaches involve interdisciplinary teams linking up with diverse partners. They recognize the multiple roles and functions that livestock play for poor households, identify and tackle institutional, market and policy-related constraints and not just technical constraints, take an innovation systems approach, and employ gender analysis and strategies to ensure poor women’s access to, and benefits from, livestock improve. The ‘multifunctionality’ of livestock for the poor, coupled with the severe institutional, policy and governance constraints found in most developing countries, means that how livestock researchers engage with partners, and how they do and communicate their science, matter even more than they do in Europe or North America. There are a wide range of approaches and tools available that can help enhance both the effectiveness (impact) and efficiency of taking an innovation systems approach. These include processes aimed at lowering the transactions costs involved in developing public-private partnerships and learning platforms. More use of innovative methods such as outcome mapping/impact pathway analysis, social network analysis, innovation histories, cross-country analyses, and game-theory modeling can help improve the likelihood that new knowledge generated by livestock research will lead to actions that help sustainably reduce rural poverty in the developing world

Institutional analysis of health promotion for older people in Europe - Concept and research tool

Background: European societies are ageing rapidly and thus health promotion for older people (HP4OP) is becoming an increasingly relevant issue. Crucial here is not only the clinical aspect of health promotion but also its organisational and institutional dimension. The latter has been relatively neglected in research on HP4OP. This issue is addressed in this study, constituting a part of the EU project ProHealth65+, engaging ten member countries. This paper is based on two intertwining research goals: (1) exploring which institutions/organisations are performing HP4OP activities in selected European countries (including sectors involved, performed roles of these institutions, organisation of those activities); (2) developing an institutional approach to HP4OP. Thus, the paper provides a description of the analytical tools for further research in this area. Methods: The mentioned aims were addressed through the mutual use of two complementary methods: (a) a literature review of scientific and grey literature; and (b) questionnaire survey with selected expert respondents from 10 European countries. The expert respondents, selected by the project's collaborating partners, were asked to fill in a custom designed questionnaire concerning HP4OP institutional aspects. Results: The literature review provided an overview of the organisational arrangements in different HP4OP initiatives. It also enabled the development of functional institutional definitions of health promotion, health promotion activities and interventions, as well as an institutional definition adequate to the health promotion context. The distinctions between sectors were also clarified. The elaborated questionnaires provided in-depth information on countries specifically indicating the key sectors involved in HP4OP in those selected countries. These are: health care, regional/local authorities, NGO's/voluntary institutions. The questionnaire and literature review both resulted in the indication of a significant level of cross-sectorial cooperation in HP4OP. Conclusions: The inclusion of the institutional analysis within the study of HP4OP provides a valuable opportunity to analyse, in a systematic way, good practices in this respect, also in terms of institutional arrangements. A failure to address this aspect in policymaking might potentially cause organisational failure even in evidence-based programmes. This paper frames the perception of this problem

World Bank policy research : a historical overview

The World Bank is a leading intellectual institution on development. It is a world leader in analytical studies in areas including poverty measurement, delivery of social services, impact evaluation, measurement of development outcomes, international trade and migration. It is also a leader in development data, including the Living Standard Measurement Surveys; the enterprise surveys, and the International Price Comparison Project. World Bank research is resolutely empirical and policy oriented. By both learning from past policies and operations and thinking critically about future policies, research plays a critical role in the formulation of policy advice to developing countries. This paper reviews the intellectual and institutional forces that have shaped research at the World Bank since the latter started lending to developing countries in the early 1950s. It provides an overview of the shifts in development economics that have influenced Bank research and briefly surveys the changes in research organization, structure and approach. The first section, after a short introduction, examines the shifts in positive and normative views about development during the past half century that have influenced Bank thinking. The Bank itself has been an active participant in the rise and fall of long-lived development dogmas about the nature of development; the most appropriate policies and actions for achieving it; and the respective roles of government and markets. The second section examines how the World Bank has adapted its organization to keep abreast of emerging issues and produce relevant policy research of good quality. On the one hand, the Bank has experienced several reorganizations that have affected the research unit(s) as well as its relationship with operational units. On the other hand, the Bank’s research units themselves have been reorganized at several junctures, leading to new priorities and new means of achieving them.Banks&Banking Reform,ICT Policy and Strategies,Science Education,Scientific Research&Science Parks,Poverty Monitoring&Analysis

Land Use Conflicts in the Developing Countries: Proximate Driving Forces and Preventive Measures

This research aims to analyse land use conflicts mainly caused by infrastructural development projects in the developing countries. For this purpose, qualitative data is gathered which is frequently published on land use conflicts against the development related infrastructure projects in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and Pakistan. It identifies and defines land use conflicts, their dynamic features and contestations. The results reveal as to how the conflicts have been germinated by the property and human right violators? Further, it also focuses on the governance roles and responsibilities, the institutional inconsistency towards justice, and the local population’s mistrust in the respective case study areas. The analysis concludes with an overview of the root causes and consequences of land use conflicts, by indicating as to how land use decisions for infrastructural settings have changed rural economy, and induced local population to displace and oppose the projects. Finally, the study proposes some preventive measures to manage such conflicts. JEL Classification: D74, O16, H54 Keywords: Conflict, Proximity Relations, Infrastructure, Developing Countrie

Competencies of University Teachers and Changes for Working in the Knowledge Society

In a post-industrial society, knowledge has replaced capital as the main source of economic development in developed and developing countries. Due to the fact that universities have traditionally been places of research and “knowledge production”, it has become necessary to analyze higher education systems in order to rationalize them and stimulate their maximum efficiency. Universities are required to contribute to the building of a knowledge-based society. At the same time, demands placed on the academic profession are also increasing, as it is expected to improve the quality of teaching, pursue research projects, and deal with managerial and administrative tasks, regardless of the already existing scientific research and teaching workload. Hence, apart from the traditional activities such as research and teaching, competencies of university teachers now also include the ability to do institutional work, cooperation with other institutions, administrative and managerial activities, use of new knowledge in solving social problems, and contribution to the development of civil society and democracy. European education policies particularly emphasize the importance of strengthening the quality of teaching and establishing connections between research and the learning and teaching process in higher education. In Croatia, however, the official system of professional advancement continues to reward research and publication of scientific papers at the expense of teaching competencies, although administrative and guidance roles are gaining more importance as of late. This article aims to examine the attitudes of university teachers towards the competencies needed to work at a university and to establish whether they accept the new roles related to institutional contribution. For the needs of this research, a questionnaire was constructed, whose reliability was determined based on the obtained data and measured using Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient α = 0,882. The research was based on a quantitative and qualitative methodology which included an analysis of the relevant literature and an inquiry into teachers’ attitudes. SPSS Statistics software package was used for the descriptive and factor analysis of data, and the results showed that the respondents believe research and teaching competencies to be more important than the ones related to the institutional contribution, i.e. those of administrative and managerial character

Investigating the impact of institutional forces on the operations of an organisation-implemented ERP system in a developing country

In response to the pressure of the ever-changing and dynamic global market, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have become the cornerstone for organisations of all sizes to compete internationally. However, implementing organisations in developing countries doesn't enjoy the same benefits as implementing organisations from developed countries, because ERP systems general originate from developed countries and these do not necessarily fit the requirements of implementing organisations in developing countries owing to the different business practices, legal and government regulations. ERP systems are built on institutional models, procedures and forces that set the rules of rationale and these forces serve to bind implementing organisations to fundamental choices about how organisational operations and processes should be organised. Limited studies have been done on the impact of institutional forces on implementing organisations from developing countries, particularly in South Africa, yet these organisations continue to invest huge amounts of their financial resources in ERP systems. Until implementing organisations understand the impact of institutional forces on their operations, misalignment will continue to deny realisation of the full benefits of these systems. This study aimed at exploring the institutional forces and their impact on the operations of the implementing organisation within the South African context. A qualitative research approach was undertaken from an interpretive epistemological position. A single case study was conducted at Organisation X. Organisation X is a public sector organisation formed in 1999 and implemented an ERP system in 2006. Thirty employees participated in the study and the data were analysed using the thematic analysis qualitative technique. The selected participants only include those who joined the Organisation X before the implementation of the ERP system because they have a broad general knowledge of the ERP and have undergone the experience during this time. These include executive managers, senior managers and support staff. Major themes from the data illustrate that implementing organisations from the public sector resort to modifying the ERP because they operate in highly regulated environments. These themes also demonstrate that economic differences, sector requirements, organisational culture, IT infrastructure and operational differences are the institutional forces that affect the implementation and use of software packages. The findings reveal that ERP-embedded institutional forces have a negative impact on the implementing organisational structures, bring changes to the process controls and procedures of the implementing organisation, affect the reporting structure of the organisation, create additional roles and responsibilities, bring undesirable changes to organisational culture and increase organisational spending in IT infrastructure. Institutional forces also have positive impact on implementing organisation operations, including improved availability, accessibility, accuracy and reliability of the information and, lastly, thus improve the effectiveness and efficiency of operations. The findings of this study help to build a body of knowledge on ERP misalignment for organisations planning to implement or adopt ERP systems. This study alerts implementing organisations of the need to systemically review regulations and national rules together with industry best practices prior to deployment

Employee advocacy in Africa:the role of HR practitioners in Malawi

Purpose: In recognizing the weakness of trade unions and the lack of an institutional framework designed to enforce employee rights in an African context, this study examines the extent to which HR practitioners are perceived to play the role of employee advocate.Design/methodology/approach: The quantitative data set is derived from a sample of 305 respondents (95 HR practitioners, 121 line managers, and 89 employees) from Malawi.Findings: Despite the challenges of the context, HR practitioners are perceived by key stakeholders (line managers and employees) to be playing the role of employee advocate. Standard multiple regression results indicate that the main factor contributing to the perception that HR practitioners are playing this role is their contribution to ‘motivating employees’.Research limitations/implications: The study was conducted in Malawi. Further research is necessary to explore the generalizability of the findings to other contexts.Originality/value: The findings provide an empirical base for future studies which explore perceptions of the employee advocacy role undertaken by HR practitioners in Africa

Putting the Pieces Together for Good Governance of REDD+: An Analysis of 32 REDD+ Country Readiness Proposals

Developing countries are receiving new financial and technical support to design and implement programs that reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (referred to as REDD+). Reducing emissions from forest cover change requires transparent, accountable, inclusive, and coordinated systems and institutions to govern REDD+ programs. Two multilateral initiatives -- the World Bank-administered Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) and the United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in developing countries (UN-REDD Programme) -- are supporting REDD+ countries to become "ready" for REDD+ by preparing initial strategy proposals, developing institutions to manage REDD+ programs, and building capacity to implement REDD+ activities. This paper reviews 32 REDD+ readiness proposals submitted to these initiatives to understand overall trends in how eight elements of readiness (referred to in this paper as readiness needs) are being understood and prioritized globally. Specifically, we assess whether the readiness proposals (i) identify the eight readiness needs as relevant for REDD+, (ii) discuss challenges and options for addressing each need, and (iii) identify next steps to be implemented in relation to each need. Our analysis found that the readiness proposals make important commitments to developing effective, equitable, and well-governed REDD+ programs. However, in many of the proposals these general statements have not yet been translated into clear next steps

Multiple influences on corporate governance in sub-Saharan Africa : actors, strategies and implications

This paper examines the influences of three major actors – the international organisations, rating agencies, and indigenous African institutions - on the fledging corporate governance and accountability practice in Nigeria. Findings from this study suggest that corporate governance in Nigeria seems to be in a flux resulting from a degree of ‘confusion’ in the country’s corporate governance system with regards to ‘which corporate governance model’ to follow, due to the influential powers of these three actors, pulling the governance phenomenon in somewhat different directions. As a result, this paper adds to the debate on the diffusion and translation of governance practices across different institutional contexts, particularly drawing out inferences for the literature on the convergence of national systems of corporate governance