Understanding community management of water

The participatory Action Research on The Role of Communities in the Management of Improved rural Water Supplies involves the understanding of the dynamics, and the challenges inherent in the decision making process within the social environment in which the improved water supplies are located. The Participatory Action Research is enhancing the understanding of the dynamics challenges and constraints of community management. The overall project guidance and coordination is provided by International Centre for Water and Sanitation (IRC), The Hague with funding from The Netherlands Government. The collaborating institutions are NGO’s in six developing countries Colombia, Guatemala (Latin America); Nepal, Pakistan (Asia); and Cameroon, Kenya (Africa). Network for Water and Sanitation International (NETWAS) is a Regional NGO collaborating in this PAR Project. The overall project components include preparation, community selection, community diagnosis, problem identification, identification of promising solutions, experimentation and monitory and evaluation

Archetypal games generate diverse models of power, conflict, and cooperation

Interdependence takes many forms. We show how three patterns of power generate diverse models for understanding dynamics and transformations in social-ecological systems. Archetypal games trace pathways that go beyond a focus on a few social dilemmas to recognize and understand diversity and complexity in a landscape of social situations, including families of coordination and defection problems. We apply the extended topology of two-person two-choice (2 × 2) games to derive simple archetypes of interdependence that generate models with overlapping opportunities and challenges for collective action. Simplifying payoff matrices by equalizing outcome ranks (making ties to show indifference among outcomes) yields three archetypal games that are ordinally equivalent to payoff structures for independence, coordination, and exchange, as identified by interdependence theory in social psychology. These three symmetric patterns of power combine to make an asymmetric archetype for zero-sum conflict and further structures of power and dependence. Differentiating the ranking of outcomes (breaking ties) transforms these primal archetypes into more complex configurations, including intermediate archetypes for synergy, compromise, convention, rivalry, and advantage. Archetypal models of interdependence, and the pathways through which they generate diverse situations, could help to understand institutional diversity and potential transformations in social-ecological systems, to distinguish between convergent and divergent collective action problems for organizations, and to clarify elementary patterns of power in governance

Managing forests in a changing world: the need for a systemic approach. A review

The paper is a scientiic commented discussion with the aim of deining a framework which allows both a comprehensive vision of forest dynamics, as well as an adaptive management approach and policy procedures more suited to a changing and inherently unpredictable world. Main results: We identify the main challenges facing forestry in relation to recent developments in forestry thinking, i.e. the paradox of aiming at sustainability in a changing environment, a shifting perception of the relationship between ecological and social systems, the recognition of forest ecosystems as complex adaptive systems, the need for integrating the social and ecological dimensions of forestry into a single framework, and the growing awareness of the importance of the ethical approach to the forest. We propose the concept of “systemic forestry” as a paradigm for better understanding forest dynamics and for guiding management and public actions at various levels. We compare the systemic approach with different silvicultural and forest management approaches which have been proposed in the last decades. Research highlights: Our analysis shows that a systemic approach to forestry has ive main consequences: 1. forestry is viewed as a part of landscape dynamics through a multi-sectoral coordination, 2. the logic of action changes from norm to process, 3. conservation is a dynamic search for resilience, 4. multi-functionality is achieved through a multi-entries approach integrating ecological, social and economic components of sustainability, 5. forestry institutions are reframed to address the issue of changing interactions among actors, 6. a change in the ethical approach to the forest is needed.Piermaria Corona was supported by the Project “ALForLab”(PON03PE 00024 1) co-funded by the Italian Operational Programme for Research and Competitiveness (PON R&C) 2007-2013, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and national resource (Revolving Fund—Cohesion Action Plan (CAP)MIUR)

From Caregiver to Care Partner: A View From The Other Side

Background As the trend towards aging in place continues to grow, unpaid caregivers are facing challenges that include access to relevant and meaningful resources, systemic barriers to efficient two-way communication with healthcare and service organizations, navigating the healthcare system, time management, financial strain, and difficult family dynamics. Objective This project was designed to help Tyze Networks broaden their understanding of how unpaid caregivers, and supportive healthcare and service organizations, perceive the value of formal managed care coordination. Methods This project began with a comprehensive environmental scan of existing research, policies, pathways, and best practices. This was followed by an online survey targeted at Canadian and American healthcare and service organizations and unpaid caregivers of older adults. The online survey link was provided to potential participants through the Centre for Elder Research\u27s (CER) data base, social media, and Tyze\u27s user base. The research team then reached out to volunteers from the survey to conduct semi structured, one-on-one virtual interviews. Results Four key findings were found: 1) Communicating with healthcare and other professionals was ranked as the number one challenge for the survey participants; 2) A total of 66% of unpaid caregivers reported that they provided non-healthcare related support to the care recipient; 3) Over 70% of the respondents stated a dedicated application would help them manage all or most of the care coordination; 4) Carrying out the numerous responsibilities of providing care often significantly impacts the unpaid caregivers\u27 well-being and self-care. Discussion As care partners, caregivers can help by sharing information, participating in aspects of care, and helping to make decisions. They can be spokespersons, advocates, and supporters, especially if care recipients are too ill and unable to do this for themselves. Conclusion The implementation of a formal mechanism to communicate and coordinate care with healthcare and service organizations has the potential to relieve many of the challenges faced by informal caregivers. For these providers, caregivers can provide invaluable timely information and facilitate coordination of care services

Lessons from co-production of evidence and policy in Nigeria's COVID-19 response

In February 2020, Nigeria faced a potentially catastrophic COVID-19 outbreak due to multiple introductions, high population density in urban slums, prevalence of other infectious diseases and poor health infrastructure. As in other countries, Nigerian policymakers had to make rapid and consequential decisions with limited understanding of transmission dynamics and the efficacy of available control measures. We present an account of the Nigerian COVID-19 response based on co-production of evidence between political decision-makers, health policymakers and academics from Nigerian and foreign institutions, an approach that allowed a multidisciplinary group to collaborate on issues arising in real time. Key aspects of the process were the central role of policymakers in determining priority areas and the coordination of multiple, sometime conflicting inputs from stakeholders to write briefing papers and inform effective national decision making. However, the co-production approach met with some challenges, including limited transparency, bureaucratic obstacles and an overly epidemiological focus on numbers of cases and deaths, arguably to the detriment of addressing social and economic effects of response measures. Larger systemic obstacles included a complex multitiered health system, fragmented decision-making structures and limited funding for implementation. Going forward, Nigeria should strengthen the integration of the national response within existing health decision bodies and implement strategies to mitigate the social and economic impact, particularly on the poorest Nigerians. The co-production of evidence examining the broader public health impact, with synthesis by multidisciplinary teams, is essential to meeting the social and public health challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria and other countries

Competing and Learning in Global Value Chains - Firms’ Experiences in the Case of Uganda. A study of five export sub-sectors with reference to trade between Uganda and Europe

Executive Summary and Chapter 5: Presentation and discussion of main finding

Why Information Matters: A Foundation for Resilience

Embracing Change: The Critical Role of Information, a research project by the Internews' Center for Innovation & Learning, supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, combines Internews' longstanding effort to highlight the important role ofinformation with Rockefeller's groundbreaking work on resilience. The project focuses on three major aspects:- Building knowledge around the role of information in empowering communities to understand and adapt to different types of change: slow onset, long-term, and rapid onset / disruptive;- Identifying strategies and techniques for strengthening information ecosystems to support behavioral adaptation to disruptive change; and- Disseminating knowledge and principles to individuals, communities, the private sector, policymakers, and other partners so that they can incorporate healthy information ecosystems as a core element of their social resilience strategies