24,180 research outputs found
Using simulation to evaluate investment projects
The goal of this paper is to show how the system dynamics simulation can be applied to incorporate in the evaluation process of various investment projects the interactions between market demand and financial health of the firm. Through simulation, a more accurate representation of the variability and uncertainty of business proposals or strategies can be obtained.simulation, system dynamic, investment decision
STEPS Centre research: our approach to impact
The âimpactâ of research has seen a dramatic rise up the UKâs policy agenda in recent years. But what does âimpactâ really mean? How do researchers and others respond to the new âimpact agendaâ and how might we best plan, monitor and report on impact? This working paper attempts to provide answers to some of these questions by reviewing various understandings of âimpactâ and describing the approach used by the ESRC STEPS Centre in its second five-year phase of funding. In particular, we draw on our experience of adapting and employing a down-scaled version of âparticipatory impact pathways analysisâ (PIPA) and reflect on its utility and potential as a tool for planning relatively small-scale social science/ interdisciplinary research projects conducted with partners in developing countries. In using PIPA, the STEPS Centre has adapted the idea of âimpact pathwaysâ in line with its broader âpathways approachâ, which focusses on complex and dynamic interactions between knowledge, politics and âsocial, technological and environmental pathways to sustainabilityâ. In this way, PIPA has been useful in articulating and exploring the potential impact of STEPS Centre projects: it has helped to map out the networks known to the researchers, appreciate different perspectives held by the team members and generate an understanding of the narratives, networks and policy processes under study. Although the possibility for detailed ex ante prediction of impact pathways is limited, using PIPA has helped teams to be ready to maximise communication and engagement opportunities, and to link research across different STEPS Centre projects and beyond. The working paper also describes how PIPA may be used iteratively in a way that enables reflexive learning amongst research teams. Lastly, we speculate on the ways in which PIPA may be further developed and used in ex post impact monitoring and evaluation into the future
Trust and mistrust in the lives of forcibly displaced women and children
This paper aims to consider the experiences of displaced women and children throughout the experience of displacement and the issue of trust (or mistrust) throughout this journey towards future emplacement. Issues around trust and mistrust in conflict situations and considerations around interpersonal and broader based gender-based violence in politicised contexts are explored. Various stages of displacement are viewed and, through the use of examples, from experiences within refugee camps, reception in host countries and resettlement in countries of asylum insights into the lived experiences of displaced women and children are provided. This paper therefore draws upon research projects and practitioner experience, including research carried out within refugee camps, in the UK on the dispersal of asylum seekers, qualitative research into agency responses to the trafficking of children and young people, plus a scoping study involving qualitative research into non-statutory understandings of trafficking.
Dare we jump off Arnstein's ladder? Social learning as a new policy paradigm
Participation is now a central consideration of policy discourses at EU; national and local levels, particularly in relation to environmental resources. As it becomes a social expectation so the form, meaning and purpose of participation has diversified. While Arnsteinâs ladder of citizen participation (Arnstein, 1969) revealed that much âparticipationâ does little to broker a reassignment of power, this paper argues that it is perhaps time to jump off the ladder. In doing so, we suggest that an emphasis on social learning constitutes a paradigm shift in the thinking and practices of policy-making.
Our rationale is based on findings from several research projects on social learning for water resource management in the EU and UK. These suggest conventional policy responses to environmental problems (regulation; fiscal instruments; information) are only effective where there is pre-existing agreement on the nature of the problem and its resolution. In practice, many resource management issues are best described as âmessesâ (Ackoff, 1974), with high degrees of interdependency; complexity; uncertainty; and multiple stakeholding.
These characteristics challenge notions of participation because no single group can pinpoint with confidence the nature of the problem and its solution. We explore how the term social learning rather than participation more accurately embodies the new kinds of roles, relationships and sense of purpose which will be required to progress complex, messy issues. The discussion leads to the conclusion that social learning can be understood as an emerging governance mechanism to promote concerted action, thereby enabling transformation of complex natural resource management situations
Evaluating megaprojects: from the âiron triangleâ to network mapping
Evaluation literature has paid relatively little attention to the specific needs of evaluating large, complex industrial and infrastructure projects, often called âmegaprojectsâ. The abundant megaproject governance literature, in turn, has largely focused on the so-called âmegaproject pathologiesâ, i.e. the chronic budget overruns, and failure of such projects to keep to timetables and deliver the expected social and economic benefits. This article draws on these two strands of literature, identifies shortcomings, and suggests potential pathways towards an improved evaluation of megaprojects. To counterbalance the current overemphasis on relatively narrowly defined accountability as the main function of megaproject evaluation, and the narrow definition of project success in megaproject evaluation, the article argues that conceptualizing megaprojects as dynamic and evolving networks would provide a useful basis for the design of an evaluation approach better able to promote learning and to address the socio economic aspects of megaprojects. A modified version of ânetwork mappingâ is suggested as a possible framework for megaproject evaluation, with the exploration of the multiple accountability relationships as a central evaluation task, designed to reconcile learning and accountability as the central evaluation functions. The article highlights the role of evaluation as an âemergentâ property of spontaneous megaproject âgoverningâ, and explores the challenges that this poses to the role of the evaluator
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Climate change, agriculture and Fairtrade: identifying the challenges and opportunities
This paper presents the findings of a study commissioned by the UK's Fairtrade Foundation on the implications of climate change for agricultural producers in Fairtrade value chains
Co-ordination and public administration in a global economy â A Hungarian point of view
The purpose of social co-ordination mechanisms is to co-ordinate the activities of individuals and organisations specialised in the distribution of work. The paper reviews five basic types of mechanisms: market, bureaucratic, ethical, aggressive and co-operative co-ordination. Todayâs world operates on the basis of a duality: international cooperation is based on nation states, in which the public administrations work according to bureaucratic coordination. However, the increasingly globalised market responds to the logic of market coordination. The article argues that in terms of understanding the working of public administration, the various coordination mechanisms are of crucial importance, especially where various mechanisms meet, such as the relationship between nation states and multinational corporations
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