Flexible working policies and environments in UK Local Authorities: current practice

The research surveys the uptake of 'modern' or flexible working practices in UK Local Authorities, especially as it impacts on property and office accommodation. Nearly all permit flexible starting and finishing times for as many employees as is practical while forms of accredited hours working for at least some appropriate employees are policy in a majority. Flexible practices with property and ICT implications, working from home without a dedicated work station, formal policies, 'hot' desking, flexible offices and satellite or drop-in offices are less common (ca 10%) but have grown significantly in the last two years. A number of councils also report being at the stage of planning pilots. Five detailed case studies are reported. Three authorities have expanding strategic programmes for 'workstyle' changes or new ways of working. One has shifted its emphasis away from such plans toward higher density office usage only and one was awaiting the election result before anticipated permission to start. These cases do all come from authorities in areas of much higher than average property values and costs. While they have seen savings, they emphasise that the initiatives were equally about better work life balance and improved office environments. Green benefits and service enhancements are harder to quantify but are believed to have been achieved. Higher density of net space utilisation has uniformly been achieved. Executive commitment and clear member support are seen as critical strategic success factors. Clear liaison between HR, Property/ Facilities and ICT has been essential to operational success. Entrenched management attitudes and, at least initially, staff reluctance to change, are cited as the major drawbacks. Accounting and valuation practices can also be a barrier. Similar messages are provided by a variety of pilots, some undertaken deliberately as strategic tests, others as much more of an ad hoc response to local circumstances. Most have not, or not yet, seen net office space reduced. The more successful pilots were not 'just' either property or HR policy initiatives: indeed there is some evidence that initiatives involving only one of the two functions have been less successful. Service areas most frequently cited as being involved in changes are various property functions. Trading Standards and Social Services are other areas where the real or potential development of flexible working and shared desking is highlighted though the latter in particular is also cited as an area where workers in the office have particular mutual support needs. Higher density officing for less mobile workers is, in principle, an option more widely available. Workplace strategy should reflect future service delivery models, asset management plans and organisational development. New ways of working have been a tool for achieving changes in culture and delivery, but were, and are, a challenge to traditional mindsets. They will involve senior property professionals in a range of issues with which they have not traditionally been associated. Future property and workplace strategy will be driven by an authority's service models and aspirations as to working culture: but will also be a tool, alongside organisational development (OD) and ICT, to achieve change and improvement

The ACMA’s international engagement - regulating in a globalised communications and media environment

The ACMA’s overriding purpose is to make communications and media work in the public interest, and its international engagement is central to achieving this. The role of international engagement in both protecting and promoting Australia’s communications and media interests is reflected in the legislation the ACMA administers - particularly for spectrum management, telecommunications and radiocommunications standards-setting, unsolicited communications and cybersecurity, and online content. These areas of the ACMA’s work span jurisdictional boundaries, often making it necessary to engage with international bodies and overseas regulators to develop effective responses to the challenges they raise. The ACMA and its predecessors have been engaging with overseas organisations and in international fora for many years. However, the continued global integration of communications and media markets and services, and the disruptive impacts of digital technologies is driving the need for greater collaboration and cooperation between countries. The ACMA is one of many communications and media regulators around the world looking to maximise the social and economic benefits of digital technologies through developing best-practice responses to these challenges. International engagement is an important way the ACMA advances policies and programs that will help to reduce harms and promote outcomes in the interests of Australian business and the community. For example, the ACMA’s international engagement aims to prevent cybersecurity threats and unsolicited communications at the source country through entering bilateral and multilateral arrangements to support a safer networked environment. And, along with other international regulators, the ACMA is looking to ensure that sufficient spectrum is available to cater for the expected growth in mobile broadband services through regional and global harmonisation to foster innovation and productivity within the Australian communications sector. Through engaging with overseas regulators and other international bodies, the ACMA can learn from their experiences and enhance its own regulatory practice. In so doing, the ACMA ensures its decisions and approaches reflect world’s best practice, and as an organisation it is well positioned to respond to the pressures and demands of the evolving environment in which it operates

The Utility of Trouble: Maximizing the Value of Our Human Services Dollars

Outlines recommendations to standardize service delivery areas and consolidate area offices of the state's seven largest human services agencies, as well as to close antiquated institutions. Projects benefits such as improved accessibility and savings

The Chafee Educational and Training Voucher Program: Six States' Experiences

This publication examines how the Chafee educational and training vouchers and other state-based supports for higher education have been working for these young adults. The National Foster Care Coalition (NFCC) has worked closely with six states to examine the implementation of the Chafee ETV Program since its inception in 2003: California, Maine, Montana, New York, North Carolina, and Wyoming. These states were selected to provide a diverse view of ETV program implementation, including state- and county-administered child welfare programs, urban and rural programs, and programs serving either very large or very small populations of youth. This publication documents a select number of young people's experiences with the ETV program and also shares recommendations from constituents and other stakeholders on how to improve this unique and important postsecondary education and training program

Global climate change and solutions for urban sustainability of Ho CHi Minh City, Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), the largest city in Vietnam, is steadily growing, certainly towards a mega city in the near future. Like other mega cities at the boom stage, it has to face with serious environmental matters insolvable for many years. The situation may be worse under the effects of global climate change, geological subsidence due to non-standard construction and sea level rise. The situation of HCMC can be damaged or even broken by resonant effects of unsolved environmental matters and latent impacts of climate change. This article shows the challenges to the urban sustainable development under the duo effect of urban environmental matters and climate change in Ho Chi Minh City. Opportunities and strategic directions to overcome the challenges are also analyzed and recommended

Challenges and opportunities to develop a smart city: A case study of Gold Coast, Australia

With the rapid growth of information and communication technologies, there is a growing interest in developing smart cities with a focus on the knowledge economy, use of sensors and mobile technologies to plan and manage cities. The proponents argue that these emerging technologies have potential application in efficiently managing the environment and infrastructure, promoting economic development and actively engaging the public, thus contributing to building safe, healthy, sustainable and resilient cities. However, are there other important elements in addition to technologies which can contribute to the creation of smart cities? What are some of the challenges and opportunities for developing a smart city? This paper aims to answer these questions by developing a conceptual framework for smart cities. The framework is then applied to the city of Gold Coast to identify challenges and opportunities for developing the city into a ‘smart city’. Gold Coast is a popular tourist city of about 600,000 populations in South East Queensland, Australia, at the southern end of the 240km long coastal conurbation that is centred by Brisbane. Recently, IBM has nominated Gold Coast as one of the three cities in Australia for its Smarter Cities Challenge Grant. The grant will provide the Gold Coast City Council with the opportunity to collaborate with a group of experts from IBM to develop strategies for enhancing its ICT arrangements for disaster response capabilities. Gold Coast, meanwhile, has potential to diversify its economy from being centred on tourism to a knowledge economy with focus on its educational institutions, investments in cultural precincts and high quality lifestyle amenities. These provide a unique opportunity for building Gold Coast as an important smart city in the region. As part of the research methodology, the paper will review relevant policies of the council. Finally, lessons will be drawn from the case study for other cities which seek to establish themselves as smart cities

External Program Evaluation: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Program in Ethiopia

USAID/Ethiopia commissioned this study to evaluate an ongoing Millennium Water Alliance (MWA) program and to generate findings that could assist in developing monitoring and evaluation indicators for future use. As of 2008, MWA was implementing eight WASH projects in 28 districts, with stated goals of improving access to sustainable and adequate water, improving access to sanitation services, increasing community awareness, and promoting safe hygiene practices. The evaluation calls MWA's progress encouraging overall, but notes that the one to two year planning horizons used were not enough to cause internalized behavior change. Furthermore, the authors recommend investing more in research and development; adopting harmonized approaches and best practices as well as innovative methodologies; building capacity of district water, health, and education offices; and linking the MWA program with other government, USAID, WSP and UNICEF programs

Banking products and services market: the globalization challenges

The extremely volatile economic environment, in which the world banking systems must operate that is determined by the unprecedented intensification of the globalization phenomenon, urgently imposed the reconsideration of the institutions’ business strategies. Besides the development of the newly founded banks, which determines the increase of the competition, it is also required the improvement of the quality of the banking activities, by means of the increase of the competitiveness as well as the promotion of new banking products and services, at European standards and the diversification of their distribution channels that should satisfy the clients’ expectations. It implies that the banks must commit themselves to continuous financial efforts in order to cope with the evolution of the technology and informatics.globalization, banking system, competitiveness, banking product, distribution channel

Managing Environmental, Health, and Safety Risks: A Comparative Assessment of the Minerals Management Service and Other Agencies

This study compares and contrasts regulatory and related practices—in particular, regulatory decisionmaking, risk assessment and planning processes, inspection and compliance, and organization structure, budgets, and training—of the Minerals Management Service (MMS, now the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement, or BOEMRE) with those of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Comparing MMS practices with those of other federal agencies that also manage low-probability but high-consequence environmental risks provides a basis for identifying opportunities for enhancing regulatory capacity and safety performance in managing deepwater energy exploration and production. Our research finds important differences in processes for setting standards; peer review contribution to the rulemaking process; establishment of tolerable risk thresholds; and training of key staff. The paper concludes with several recommendations for how various EPA and FAA practices might be modified and used at BOEMRE to strengthen its regulatory and risk management processes.Minerals Management Service, Federal Aviation Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, risk management