The Data Shake

This open access book represents one of the key milestones of PoliVisu, an H2020 research and innovation project funded by the European Commission under the call “Policy-development in the age of big data: data-driven policy-making, policy-modelling and policy-implementation”. It investigates the operative and organizational implications related to the use of the growing amount of available data on policy making processes, highlighting the experimental dimension of policy making that, thanks to data, proves to be more and more exploitable towards more effective and sustainable decisions. The first section of the book introduces the key questions highlighted by the PoliVisu project, which still represent operational and strategic challenges in the exploitation of data potentials in urban policy making. The second section explores how data and data visualisations can assume different roles in the different stages of a policy cycle and profoundly transform policy making

Big data-savvy teams’ skills, big data-driven actions and business performance

Prior studies on big data analytics have emphasized the importance of specific big data skills and capabilities for organizational success; however, they have largely neglected to investigate the use of cross-functional teams’ skills and its links to the role played by relevant data-driven actions and business performance. Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm and on the data collected from big data experts working in global agrifood networks, we examine the links between the use of big data-savvy (BDS) teams’ skills, big data-driven (BDD) actions and business performance. BDS teams depend on multidisciplinary skills (e.g., computing, mathematics, statistics, machine learning, and business domain knowledge) that help them to turn their traditional business operations into modern data-driven insights (e.g., knowing real time price changes and customer preferences), leading to BDD actions that enhance business performance. Our results, raised from structural equation modelling, indicate that BDS teams' skills that produce valuable insights are the key determinants for BDD actions, which ultimately contribute to business performance. We further demonstrate that those organisations that emphasise BDD actions perform better compared to those that do not focus on such applications and relevant insights

Assessing Centralized Governance in a Software Cluster

Increasing attention has been paid to the creation of spatially concentrated environments (industrial agglomerations or clusters) that aim at fostering firm-level competitiveness. However, while much has been said about clusters in general, less attention has been paid to structural governance within these agglomerations. This paper discusses the economic dynamics of clusters in the presence of centralized formal body of governance regarding internal and external relationships. We have carried out a case study of the key players in the software industry of Ribeirão Preto, which relies on an institutional arrangement called PISO. PISO arises as an economic institution in the context of Ribeirão Preto’s software cluster that structures collective action within the system, interfering in the regional policymaking processes and fostering an environment that improves overall capabilities that allow firms to take full advantage of the externalities in order to create and consolidate competitive local advantages

Are small municipalities prepared to use SIs? The case of Thailand

Sustainability indicators are among the tools used to help towns and cities inform and evaluate their sustainable development strategies. Research into sustainability indicators has mostly targeted large cities and developed countries. Little is known of the role of sustainability indicators in pursuing sustainability by smaller towns, notably in developing countries. Nevertheless, small towns are home to a majority of the population in most developing countries. Their governments, in the meantime, are typically highly constrained when it comes to available staff and resources, also when it comes to using sustainability indicators. This study into seven Thai municipalities investigates how the Thailand Sustainable Cities Indicators’ (TSCI) is prioritized, used, and translated into local impact. While explicitly connecting to the TSCI, the investigation ends with some key considerations upon its use, coping strategies, and how improvement may be pursued. The results show that the TSCI is making an impact, albeit not necessarily as structured or clear as the UN might have envisioned. The study illustrates empirical evidence of problems and limitations small municipalities are facing and reveals the creative efforts of small municipalities in coping with such issues. Small municipalities are found to be limited in terms of instrumental uses, while a much more nuanced picture emerges when it comes to conceptual use. Furthermore, some general clues to improve how it might be used locally are also suggested.</p

Evidence Uptake among International Nutrition Actors: A Case Study in Uganda

A push for evidence-based decision making in the field of international development –including maternal and child nutrition— has sparked a “data revolution.” Researchers in the developed world have generated vast amounts of open source data under the assumption that because of the breadth of Internet access across the globe, anyone and everyone will utilize the data. And yet, in developing countries, policy and practice remains largely uninformed by such evidence. This gap between data supply and data demand is a market failure that not only reflects systemic power dynamics, but also perpetuates under-informed policy and practice. Through an in-depth survey with 42 nutrition policymakers and practitioners involved in the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement in Uganda, this study examines the constraints and incentives that such decision makers face to using evidence in their work. This paper seeks to mitigate the effects of marginalization by increasing critical thought and action between researchers and decision makers, a key prerequisite for social change. We present recommendations for inclusive data dissemination strategies in the hopes of improving evidence uptake across the developing world

The Evolving Role of the State Education Agency in the Era of ESSA and Trump: Past, Present, and Uncertain Future

Under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015, states have considerably more flexibility and authority in K-12 education than they had under the previous federal education law, No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The Trump administration and the Republican Congress, meanwhile, moved in 2017 to further loosen federal accountability rules and give states even more control over their school systems. With this increased power for states comes the increased responsibility to support the improvement of educational outcomes for every student. Leaders at the helm of state education agencies (SEAs) find themselves in a moment of both great change and great opportunity, as many agencies move away from a predominant focus on compliance with federal regulations and programmatically dictated uses of funds, and toward a broader focus on supporting districts and schools. For many advocates of low-performing students, it is also a moment of potential peril if states fail to embrace their new responsibilities or weaken their commitment to improving educational opportunity and outcomes