The Promise of Citywide Charter Strategies

Charter school enrollment is on the rise in many urban areas. In fact, 56% of all public charter schools are located in urban areas, and 10 of our nation's largest school districts now have 20,000 students enrolled in public charter schools. With this growth in the charter movement, there is an increasing need for local infrastructure support through technical services, advocacy, and coordination. This report examines the potential for citywide charter strategies as a key leverage point for increasing charter school quality

An index-based framework for assessing patterns and trends in river fragmentation and flow regulation by global dams at multiple scales

The global number of dam constructions has increased dramatically over the past six decades and is forecast to continue to rise, particularly in less industrialized regions. Identifying development pathways that can deliver the benefits of new infrastructure while also maintaining healthy and productive river systems is a great challenge that requires understanding the multifaceted impacts of dams at a range of scales. New approaches and advanced methodologies are needed to improve predictions of how future dam construction will affect biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and fluvial geomorphology worldwide, helping to frame a global strategy to achieve sustainable dam development. Here, we respond to this need by applying a graph-based river routing model to simultaneously assess flow regulation and fragmentation by dams at multiple scales using data at high spatial resolution. We calculated the cumulative impact of a set of 6374 large existing dams and 3377 planned or proposed dams on river connectivity and river flow at basin and subbasin scales by fusing two novel indicators to create a holistic dam impact matrix for the period 1930–2030. Static network descriptors such as basin area or channel length are of limited use in hierarchically nested and dynamic river systems, so we developed the river fragmentation index and the river regulation index, which are based on river volume. These indicators are less sensitive to the effects of network configuration, offering increased comparability among studies with disparate hydrographies as well as across scales. Our results indicate that, on a global basis, 48% of river volume is moderately to severely impacted by either flow regulation, fragmentation, or both. Assuming completion of all dams planned and under construction in our future scenario, this number would nearly double to 93%, largely due to major dam construction in the Amazon Basin. We provide evidence for the importance of considering small to medium sized dams and for the need to include waterfalls to establish a baseline of natural fragmentation. Our versatile framework can serve as a component of river fragmentation and connectivity assessments; as a standardized, easily replicable monitoring framework at global and basin scales; and as part of regional dam planning and management strategies

Five steps to smarter multi-bi aid: a new way forward for earmarked finance

Multi-bi aid – donor contributions to multilateral organisations earmarked for specific purposes – is an important channel for financing development, and is expected to grow. Yet multi-bi aid poses significant challenges for both multilateral and bilateral actors, including lack of alignment with recipient-country priorities, aid fragmentation, and increased transaction costs. This report explores the potential for smart reforms of multi-bi aid. A five-step plan to improve multi-bi aid requires: better data-access and management; recovering the full economic cost of earmarking; fee structures for improving impact; stronger internal rules to curb fragmentation; and better country ownership and participation. These reforms can make multi-bi aid more effective and efficient while enhancing its legitimacy in the eyes of recipients

Planning and Leveraging Event Portfolios: Towards a Holistic Theory

This conceptual paper seeks to advance the discourse on the leveraging and legacies of events by examining the planning, management, and leveraging of event portfolios. This examination shifts the common focus from analyzing single events towards multiple events and purposes that can enable cross-leveraging among different events in pursuit of attainment and magnification of specific ends. The following frameworks are proposed: (1) event portfolio planning and leveraging, and (2) analyzing events networks and inter-organizational linkages. These frameworks are intended to provide, at this infancy stage of event portfolios research, a solid ground for building theory on the management of different types and scales of events within the context of a portfolio aimed to obtain, optimize and sustain tourism, as well as broader community benefits

Big data for monitoring educational systems

This report considers “how advances in big data are likely to transform the context and methodology of monitoring educational systems within a long-term perspective (10-30 years) and impact the evidence based policy development in the sector”, big data are “large amounts of different types of data produced with high velocity from a high number of various types of sources.” Five independent experts were commissioned by Ecorys, responding to themes of: students' privacy, educational equity and efficiency, student tracking, assessment and skills. The experts were asked to consider the “macro perspective on governance on educational systems at all levels from primary, secondary education and tertiary – the latter covering all aspects of tertiary from further, to higher, and to VET”, prioritising primary and secondary levels of education

Improving the early life outcomes of Indigenous children: implementing early childhood development at the local level

One of Australia’s greatest challenges is the elimination of the gap between the developmental outcomes of Indigenous and non-Indigenous children in the early years of life. This paper reviews existing research and presents strategies to improve early childhood development among Indigenous Australians. Aims of this paper The aims of this paper are to: outline what we know about the size of the gap in early childhood development (ECD) between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, and the social determinants of ECD establish why localised ECD is an effective means to close the gap in the early childhood years describe the conditions under which localised ECD is more likely to be successful and how to put them into practice describe 3 broad strategies to promote physical, social-emotional and language-cognitive domains of development and reduce developmental risk. To review and synthesise the broad and diverse knowledge relevant to localised ECD, several sources were consulted including peer-reviewed scientific literature, policy documents and reports from governments, international agencies and civil society groups

Innovative public governance through cloud computing: Information privacy, business models and performance measurement challenges

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze challenges and to discuss proposed solutions for innovative public governance through cloud computing. Innovative technologies, such as federation of services and cloud computing, can greatly contribute to the provision of e-government services, through scaleable and flexible systems. Furthermore, they can facilitate in reducing costs and overcoming public information segmentation. Nonetheless, when public agencies use these technologies, they encounter several associated organizational and technical changes, as well as significant challenges. Design/methodology/approach: We followed a multidisciplinary perspective (social, behavioral, business and technical) and conducted a conceptual analysis for analyzing the associated challenges. We conducted focus group interviews in two countries for evaluating the performance models that resulted from the conceptual analysis. Findings: This study identifies and analyzes several challenges that may emerge while adopting innovative technologies for public governance and e-government services. Furthermore, it presents suggested solutions deriving from the experience of designing a related platform for public governance, including issues of privacy requirements, proposed business models and key performance indicators for public services on cloud computing. Research limitations/implications: The challenges and solutions discussed are based on the experience gained by designing one platform. However, we rely on issues and challenges collected from four countries. Practical implications: The identification of challenges for innovative design of e-government services through a central portal in Europe and using service federation is expected to inform practitioners in different roles about significant changes across multiple levels that are implied and may accelerate the challenges' resolution. Originality/value: This is the first study that discusses from multiple perspectives and through empirical investigation the challenges to realize public governance through innovative technologies. The results emerge from an actual portal that will function at a European level. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Effects of flow intermittence on dissolved organic matter quality

Programa de Doctorat en Ecologia, Ciències Ambientals i Fisiologia VegetalWater availability is the primary driver of dissolved organic matter (DOM) dynamics in intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES). Therefore, current research manifests the global influence of flow disruption on organic matter transport and processing, given the wide distribution of intermittent flow watercourses. However, there are still gaps of flow intermittence knowledge, forgetting the continuous and multidimensional nature of the drying disturbance. In this context, in chapter three, we determine the influence of opposite flow conditions, drought and high flow on DOM properties and how the river continuum can cushion the impact of contrary hydrology on DOM and inorganic solutes. Further, in chapter four, we study the evolution of the dry period as a “film frame”, evaluating the diminution of flow daily, especially after the flow disruption. Then, how the hydrological connectivity influences the response timing and shape of the biogeochemical variables analysed and if they are influenced by spatial position, water temperature and volume of the disconnected. Finally, in chapter five, from a multi catchment approach of IRES with a gradient of intermittence from permanent to ephemeral, we investigated how multiple drying components shape dissolved organic matter (DOM) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Hence, in the results in chapter three, the DOM quality changed according to hydrology. DOM under high flow conditions was more terrigenous, humified, aromatic, and degraded, and the concentration gradually increased downriver. In contrast, DOM was less degraded and more aliphatic under drought conditions. However, the hydrological variability did not impact the DOM quality uniformly along the river continuum: DOM quality is more sensitive to hydrological changes in headwaters than in downriver reaches. In chapter four, the drying period determined the disruption of the fluvial continuum with a recession of stream continuum at a rate of ~60m/d and the gradual formation of a patched system of isolated pools of different sizes. Our results showed that the time that had elapsed since isolated pool formation (CI-days) was an essential factor for understanding how drying shaped the biogeochemistry of the fluvial system. Overall, drying caused a high DOC concentration and an increase in the humic-like fluorescence signal. Additionally, solutes showed contrasting responses to hydrological disconnection. Thus, we identified three temporal responses on the variables studied: 1) some inorganic solutes reacted before the fragmentation (CI-days0), and 3) BIX and HIX did not show significant differences throughout the dry period. Finally, in chapter five, the sampling was performed during post-drought season and the results showed changes in DOC were driven by annual drying duration, whereas multiple drying components better explained DOM quality. So, we found high DOC concentration and prevalence of terrestrial DOM sources when drying is more extended and more frequent. Furthermore, because of the time of sampling, the DOM quality of the stream reconnection described a catchment “washed” with a terrestrial DOM origin, and it is transported downriver quickly without being processed for the microbial community. The findings of this thesis reveal the role of hydrology as a main driver of DOM dynamics. In particular, the flow disruption does not induce a single biogeochemical response but rather stimulates a set of solute-specific responses that generates a complex biogeochemical mosaic in a single fluvial unit. Furthermore, the necessity of considering multiple drying elements as annual or previous to predict organic matter dynamics on IRES and highlight these systems influence on the global carbon budget.La disponibilitat d'aigua és el principal motor de la dinàmica de la matèria orgànica dissolta (DOM) en rius intermitents i rieres efímeres (IRES). Per tant, la investigació actual manifesta la influència global de la interrupció del flux en el transport i processament de la matèria orgànica, donada l'àmplia distribució dels cursos d'aigua de flux intermitent. Tanmateix, encara hi ha llacunes en el coneixement de la intermitència de flux, oblidant la naturalesa contínua i multidimensional de la pertorbació de l'assecament. En aquest context, al capítol tres, determinem la influència de dues condicions hidrològiques oposades, la sequera i el cabal elevat, sobre les propietats de la DOM i com el continu fluvial pot esmorteir l'impacte de la hidrologia sobre la DOM i els soluts inorgànics. A més, en el capítol quatre, s'estudia l'evolució del període sec com si fos un pel·lícula: “fotograma a fotograma” avaluant diàriament la disminució del cabal, especialment després de la interrupció del flux. S’estudia també com influeix la connectivitat hidrològica en el temps de resposta i la forma de diverses variables biogeoquímiques, i si les basses desconnectades estan influenciades per la seva localització espacial, la temperatura de l'aigua i el volum d'aquestes. Finalment, en el capítol cinc, des d'un enfocament de multiconca d'IRES amb un gradient d'intermitència de permanent a efímer, vam investigar com múltiples components d'assecament condicionen la qualitat i quantitat de la DOM que és transporta després duna sequera. En els resultats del capítol tres, la qualitat del DOM va canviar en funció de la hidrologia. La DOM en condicions de cabal alt era més terrígena, humificada, aromàtica i degradada, i la concentració va augmentar gradualment riu avall. En canvi, la DOM estava menys degradada i amb més compostos alifàtics en condicions de sequera. Tanmateix, la variabilitat hidrològica no va afectar la qualitat de la DOM de manera uniforme al llarg del continu fluvial: la qualitat és més sensible als canvis hidrològics en capçalera que no pas en trams riu avall. Al capítol quatre, el període d'assecament va determinar la interrupció del continu fluvial, amb una recessió a una velocitat de ~60 m/dia, així com la formació gradual d'un sistema fragmentat de piscines aïllades de diferents mides. Els resultats van mostrar que el temps que havia transcorregut des de la formació de les piscines aïllades (dies CI) és un factor essencial per entendre com l'assecament defineix la biogeoquímica del sistema fluvial. De forma general, l'assecament va provocar una alta concentració de DOC i un augment del component húmic. A més, els soluts van mostrar diferents respostes a la desconnexió hidrològica. Així, vam identificar tres respostes temporals sobre les variables estudiades: 1) alguns soluts inorgànics van reaccionar abans de la fragmentació (CI-dies 0), i 3) els índexs BIX i HIX no van mostrar respostes significatives. Finalment, al capítol cinc, el mostreig es va realitzar durant la temporada posterior a la sequera i els resultats van mostrar que els canvis en el carboni orgànic dissolt (DOC) estaven determinats per la durada anual de l'assecament, mentre que diversos components d'assecament explicaven millor la qualitat de la DOM. Així doncs, vam trobar una alta concentració de DOC i prevalença de fonts de DOM terrestres quan l'assecament és més estès i més freqüent. A més, a causa del moment del mostreig, la qualitat de la DOM va reflectir un "rentat de la conca", amb una DOM d'origen terrestre, i que es transporta riu avall ràpidament sense ser processat per a la comunitat microbiana. Els resultats d'aquesta tesi revelen el paper de la hidrologia com a motor principal de la dinàmica de la DOM. En particular, la interrupció del flux no indueix una única resposta biogeoquímica sinó que estimula un conjunt de respostes específiques dels diferents soluts, la qual cosa genera un mosaic biogeoquímic complex en una única unitat fluvial. A més, es posa de manifest la necessitat de considerar múltiples elements d'assecament, com la duració i la freqüència anual o prèvia de l'assecament, per predir la dinàmica de la matèria orgànica en IRES