The distribution of decision-making. The case of a flexible public transport system

Instead of explaining the outcomes of a policy process with reference to a rational planning logic, this paper scrutinises the circumstances in which decisions actually are taken. It follows issues when they displace between different decision-making settings. The approach is applied to a case of decision-making about a flexible public transport system in and around Hoogeveen, the Netherlands: a case in which the decision-making process was distributed over no less than fifteen settings. The main result of the analysis is a typology of five different displacements based on typical framing effects, which could form the basis of a theory with which complex, interactive and opportunistic decision-making processes can be understood in more general terms.decision-making, transport policy, innovation, public transport, displaced politics

An analysis of the regional impact of the Kapuni ammonia / urea plant : a research report constituting two 14.499 Research Reports, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Agricultural Business and Administration, Massey University

Successive post war governments in New Zealand have emphasised industrial development as the basis of economic growth. During this period national-level planning has become institutionalised. Central to the choice of planning policy for industrial development is the balance of payments problem. This has tended to mask other considerations which can be identified as pertinent to national and regional level decision making by private and public organisations . A major difficulty for the researcher is establishing which questions are relevant in a New Zealand context. This research exercise pursues the perspectives and questions which might be brought to bear on specific national development projects. The research focuses on the Kapuni Amronia/urea plant and analyses the regional impact of that project

Taking forward public procurement reforms in Ghana

The construction industry in Ghana, like many others worldwide, has had its fair share of damning independent reviews. Huge and unsustainable foreign debt, excessive budget deficits, huge contractual payment arrears, poor construction performance, corruption and pressure from international financial institutions, forced the government to commit to a reform of public procurement, which culminated in the passing of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663). The paper outlines the events leading to, and features of, the public procurement reform in Ghana and analyses its potential impact and the unique challenges it presents. Comparisons are also drawn from relevant scenarios in other countries. The paper concludes that while the Procurement Act sets out the legal, institutional and regulatory framework to secure fiscal transparency and public accountability, the sole reliance on traditional contracting and price-based selection limits the scope for the value for money achievable. Expanding the reforms to cover procurement and project delivery methods and strategies, with a focus on ‘best value’, will increase the potential and likelihood of achieving value for money in public construction in Ghana

Growing a food forest as a sustainable business; some practical reflections on the basis of Food Forest Eemvallei Zuid

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Social identities and law students\u27 writing

This paper argues that social identities, discursively speaking, consist of &lsquo;positions&rsquo; that are individuated by distinctive linguistic features. These include distinctive patterns of representation indicated by clause structure and type, a set of priorities for attending to what is important indicated by thematic structure, and an orientation to the represented world and to self as indicated by modality, propositional attitudes and tense. A social identity comprises an array of these often contradictory &lsquo;positions&rsquo; associated with a social or professional role. A person&rsquo;s identity is constituted dynamically by the way they &lsquo;reconcile&rsquo; the various positions that make up the social identity, and also, as Archer and Ivanic argue, by the way they reconcile a social with a personal or autobiographical identity. It is argued that this process of reconciliation gives clues about identity formation in the traces it leaves in grammatical texture.This paper uses a simulated letter of advice to a client written by a group of first year law students to explore the discursive construction of social or professional identity. This letter is poorly written and full of grammatical mistakes and infelicities. It is argued that the mistakes provide a linguistic trace of the students&rsquo; struggle to reconcile the conflicting roles and positions they occupy as authors of the letter. In particular the students&rsquo; problems result from a struggle to reconcile their multiple positions as: students writing for assessment by a tutor about a legal problem, as a simulated firm of solicitors advising to a client, and as potential litigators anticipating the future course of events in their simulated moot court appearance.<br /

Complexity and control: how do they work in PPPs?

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Construction subcontracts: for what we are about to receive

This paper is from a study on specialist and trade contracting in the construction industry. The research was commissioned by CIRIA and undertaken by the University of Reading in conjunction with Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners Ltd. The purpose of the work was to provide guidance for effective and equitable practice in the management of projects where much of the work is executed, and possibly designed, by specialist and trade contractors (STCs). As part of this study, a preliminary investigation into the nature and origins of specialist contracting was undertaken, in conjunction with a survey of the problems confronting STCs. This paper presents that phase of the project

Co-production on the Edge of Project and Process Management - The Sijtwende development project

The goal of this paper is to describe and analyze co-production in public private partnerships in spatial planning. We will describe one specific case study, the location development project Sijtwende on the edge of two municipalities (The Hague and Voorburg), on the edge of public and private investments and on the edge of urban development and extension of the mobility system. We will elaborate the bottlenecks in the cooperation between several actors involved. Furthermore we will look for important breakthroughs in the process of collaborative development of the area. How was it possible that after a public lock in situation that took more than twenty years a private party was able to force a breakthrough? Finally we will deal with the question what this case learns us for the management of these complex processes of co-production. We will combine theoretical thoughts and empirical insights from our in-depth case study in order to find balances in using project management and process management strategies for managing complex spatial planning processes.

Systems Engineering Solution

The development and realisation of urban infrastructural projects such as bridges is getting increasingly more difficult and complex to manage. The challenge for the actors to develop an effective solution for the project within the traditional dimensions of time, budget and quality is still very present. But society also calls for more sustainable solutions which minimizes an eventual negative impact on the environment and takes into account the interests of stakeholders. The introduction of national and EU regulated procurement methods such as the Most Economically Advantageous Tenders (MEAT), has opened the way towards a more active and balanced involvement of actors and stakeholders in the development and realisation of urban construction projects. In this new environment, the client, consultant, contractor and stakeholders strive to work together in order to realise a sustainable solution. This document describes a methodology for the management of project processes with the aim of achieving a lawful, effective and sustainable construction process. The methodology is based on the principle of Life Cycle Systems Engineering, and facilitates and structures the introduction of sustainability and stakeholders issues in the design and build process. The method uses manly existing guidelines and standards for Life Cycle Systems Engineering

Public Finance Expenditure And Awarding Work To External Contractors - Case Of Slovenia

The research project “Awarding Work to External Contractors” studied the practice of implementing public contracts in a significant selection of Slovenian local government bodies. Public procurement has become a permanent accompaniment to the business of central and local government and other public law persons with the private sector, and now goes beyond Slovenia’s borders. The public procurement system aims at dynamism, with the possibility of a rapid response to the needs of those using public funds. The principles of public procurement and its legal basis mean the system is rigid and complex, by its nature