MAIN FINDINGS AND PROPOSALS OF THE SPANISH CLUSTER POLICY EVALUATION: THE AEIS PROGRAMME

In the US and Europe many clusters initiatives have recently been launched. National and regional governments have been defining and implementing clusters policies and programmes with the aim to identifying, launching and finally consolidating international competitive clusters in their respective territories. In this context, The Ministry of Industry Commerce and Tourism of the Spanish Government have been implementing a cluster policy since 2007 known as the AEIs Programme. This Programme has been implemented in two stages. The first one has been the financing of the elaboration of Strategic Plans for cluster proposals selected by the Ministry in a competitive process. The second has been the financing of the constituting and launching of cluster associations and collaborative projects among members at national and European level. On completion of the first three years of the project, an evaluation has been carried out. Of the 142 proposals received by the Ministry, 101 clusters have been selected and constituted as AEIs (clusters associations supported by specific financial frameworks). These AEIs represent 2,268 firms and 493 institutions (universities, R&D centres, public bodies etc.). These organizations account for a total of 450,734 workers, making up 2.4% of the total Spanish employment figure. This total rises to 6.5% if the indirect effects on the entire value chain are considered. The Ministry has financed these AEIs to the tune of € 9 million, a small amount considering the huge knock-on effect of these clusters achieved over the last three years. This knock-on effect has attracted finance from other sources of more than €243 million; €196 million dedicated to collaborative R&D+i projects. The evaluation has also gathered data from cluster initiative managers and regional cluster policy managers about the about initiatives at regional level. This evaluation has documented the necessities of these clusters and the opportunities arising from the AEIs Programme. As a result of this assessment, the evaluation also proposes new lines to be developed in the following stages of the Programme.

Innovate Magazine / Annual Review 2011-2012

This year\u27s issue highlights some of the ways the SJSU School of Library and Information Science is being a catalyst for global innovation, explores the tools SJSU SLIS master\u27s students and faculty use to interact in our innovative online learning environment, and describes some of the exciting career pathways our alum are pursuing.https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/innovate/1000/thumbnail.jp

Excellence and Quality in Andalusia University Library System

From 1996 onwards, then, the Quality Assessment National Plan and the adoption of its agenda by regional authorities and Universities alike has resulted in a growing acceptance by the Spanish academic community of the challenges and opportunities offered by evaluation and quality assurance activities. Academic librarians have been committed to this culture of quality from the very beginnings and in most cases have being leading the way in their own institutions. General tools like the Evaluation Guide referred to above developed to be applied in administration and services alike were of little use for libraries, so academic libraries have been the first units to develop their own evaluation guides at local and regional levels. University System in Andalusia (Spain) is formed by 10 Universities financed by regional government. The Quality Unit of Andalusia Universities convened in 2000 an Assessment University Libraries Pilot Plan to do a global analysis of the Library System. This Pilot Plan has had three steps: - During 2000-2002, a technical committee to draft a new evaluation guide for academic libraries. Based on the EFQM, because of its growing influence in the evaluation of the public sector and not-for-profit organizations across Europe. During the course of our work we were delighted to see that we concurred basically with the approach taken by LISIM. The Guide is divided into 5 parts, as follows: Analysis and Description of 9 criteria adapted to library scenario, 35 Tables for data collection, a set of 30 quality and performance Indicators, a Excellence-rating matrix, an objective tool, to determine the level of excellence achieved by the library on a scale from 0 to 10, and General guidelines for the Assessment Committees of University Departments (the basic unit of research assessment undertaken by the University) and of degree courses (the basic unit of assessment of teaching personnel). - In 2002-2004, a coordination committee drove the assessment process of 9 libraries and tested materials and evaluation methodology. The Pilot Plan has finalised with External Evaluation for 5 External Committee formed by librarians, faculties and EFQM methodology specialist. The aim of this paper is explain different parts and strong points of this process and how EFQM is suitable for all kind of librarie

Inspection report: Itchen College

Dates of inspection: 1–5 March 200

MANAGING POLICY NETWORKS: A SOCIAL MARKETING- AND COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE SYSTEMS-DRIVEN VIEW

This research contributes a new view of Policy Networks (PN) management. The research object is a successful PN practice in the Basque Country (BC) over an 8-year period, in relation to Local Agenda 21 (LA21) promotion. The Basque experience is studied using a qualitative and a quantitative approach. PNs are viewed as social marketing-driven collective intelligence systems built to have an effect on municipality commitment to LA21 (in terms of value, satisfaction and loyalty). The research concludes that by fostering the co-development ‘genome’ (a mix of co-decision, co-creation, love, glory and money ‘genes’) a commitment to the new tool is achieved.

Experiential Learning in Industrial/Organizational Psychology: A Case Study

Experiential learning is considered a powerful tool for learning in college. Community-based research is one type of experiential learning that has been used to learn research skills in a variety of social science disciplines. The current case study was conducted as an experiential learning research project. A team of six students and a professor from a small Midwestern college conducted community-based research with a large agribusiness company headquartered near the college. The goal of the project was to create an effective employee-selection process for this firm and to provide an effective learning experience for students. This included development of a situational judgment test, cognitive ability testing, and personality assessment. The article focuses on steps taken to organize a community- based research project, the steps required to develop an effective selection process, and an evaluation of the experience from students, the community partners, and faculty

Do innovation projects with ICT enhance learning? Experiences from case studies in Galician schools

We present a study which analyzes the factors that influence the processes of change in innovation projects with ICT in schools. In the current socio-political and economic context, the demand for innovation is felt across all fields. The educational system is no exception, and schools are expected to hop on board the innovation wagon. Our research involved four cases including a pre-school, two primary schools and a secondary school in Galicia (Spain). A collaborative action research methodology was used in the usual stages: action, observation, and reflection. The factors affecting change in schools are complex and intertwined. The present study focuses on the following three research questions: How do education administration policies affect the development of school innovation processes with ICT? What training and professional development processes are mobilized for the management and evaluation of school innovation projects? And which aspects of school organizational culture change when there are innovation processes with ICT? The findings reveal a strong interconnection among the dimensions analyzed (socio-political context, school organization, teachers, their professional culture and their training and professional development). The difficulties and possibilities associated with each dimension as well as the way they interconnect also come to light. (DIPF/Orig.)Diese Studie dient der Untersuchung von Faktoren, die Veränderungsprozesse in informations- und kommunikationstechnologisch gestützten Schulinnovationsprojekten beeinflussen. In gegenwärtigen gesellschaftspolitischen und ökonomischen Zusammenhängen ist die Forderung nach Innovationen auf allen Feldern spürbar. Das Bildungssystem ist dabei keine Ausnahme und von Schulen wird erwartet, dass sie auf den Innovationszug aufspringen. Die Untersuchung umfasst vier Fälle in Galicien (Spanien): eine Vorschule, zwei Primarschulen sowie eine Sekundarschule. Dem methodische Ansatz der kollaborativen Handlungsforschung gemäß erfolgte die Untersuchung in den Stufen Handlung, Beobachtung und Reflexion. Faktoren, die Veränderungen in Schulen betreffen, sind komplex und miteinander verwoben. Der Studie liegen die drei folgenden Forschungsfragen zugrunde: Wie beeinflussen Strategien der Bildungsadministration die Entwicklung von Schulinnovationsprozessen mit IKT? Welche Aus- und Weiterbildung und welche professionellen Entwicklungsprozesse werden für die Durchführung und Evaluation von Schulinnovationsprojekten bereitgestellt? Und welche Aspekte der schulischen Organisationskultur verändern sich im Zuge informations- und kommunikationstechnologisch gestützter Innovationsprozesse? Die Befunde zeigen starke Querverbindungen zwischen den untersuchten Dimensionen auf (gesellschaftspolitischer Kontext, Schulorganisation, Lehrkräfte sowie deren Berufskultur, Aus- und Weiterbildung). Außerdem erhellen die Ergebnisse die Schwierigkeiten und Möglichkeiten, die mit den einzelnen Dimensionen verbunden sind, sowie die Art und Weisen ihrer Verknüpfung. (DIPF/Orig.

Information Policies in Spain: Towards the New “Information Society”

The concept of a society based on information and knowledge is becoming the norm in every country, including Spain. The need to have well-designed information policies that allow us to come to terms with the new upsurge of media, technology and services that has taken place in our society is discussed first. Information policies required by these changes in society have been implemented in Spain and are described in relation to the new challenges of the “Society of Knowledge.” Similarly, the background and past efforts made in the field of information policy in Spain are analysed, along with the latest government projects that comprise an attempt to get this country to form part of the “Information Society” with the help of the supra-national information policy of the European Union

Environmental sustainability in the mining sector: evidence from Catalan companies

This paper examines the adoption of environmental practices in small and medium sized companies inthe surface mining industry in Catalonia (Spain). To fulfill this aim, a survey of 41 items concernint environmental management systems and environmentally sustainable practices has been conducted. Results show that companies have committed themselves to environmental and sustainable issues. The majority of companies claim to understand the effects of their activities on the environment and they care for responsible access and management of natural resources. Restoration plans and the annual waste declaration are mandatory in Catalonia, and rational resources exploitation practices have been adopted by a high percentage of mines. Finally, some examples of good environmentally sustainable practices are introduced.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author’s final draft