10 research outputs found
A data-driven approach for a project management methodology for R&D Projects.
Get PDF267 p.The thesis is based on the proposal of an R&D project management methodology based on the Earned Quality Method (EQM) and data analysis to improve the efficiency of R&D projects in a near-real production environment in a TRL 5 to 7. The thesis relies upon published papers that propose measuring and improving the management of R&D projects. The methodology leans on the formulation and gradual and recurrent evaluation of quality criteria as a performance indicator of the work carried out. The thesis stands on the concept that quality is a measurable quantity that accumulates throughout the project. The proposed project management methodology is built on three main aspects: Collaboration between the University and Industry; The correct interpretation of the TRL where research projects are developed; The study of different metrics for project management, such as the measurement of the success of projects, the KPIs of a project-based organisation, and the EQM. The methodology has been tested with three actual use cases with different characteristics in terms of project size, funding and team members; and validated on an R&D Centre in Advanced Manufacturing in Aeronautics. The pillars of the thesis are focused on the analysis of the mentioned components and their integration for the development of a methodology to improve the efficiency in the use of resources and the quality of obtained results in the R&D projects' framework. The key findings of these studies demonstrate the effectiveness of using quality criteria for measuring progress in the management of R&D projects, as well as providing a better understanding of several critical aspects of the realisation of these projects
Identification of Key Performance Indicators in Project-Based Organisations through the Lean Approach
Get PDFFor the time being, companies and organisations are being forced to compete in utterly complex and globalised environments, facing massive natural, economic, and technological challenges on a daily basis. Addressing these challenges would be impossible without a proper approach that helps them identify, measure, understand, and control the performance of their organisations. Lean principles and techniques rise as a solution. This paper justifies and proposes the use of lean principles and techniques to identify key performance indicators (KPIs) in project-based organisations based on their organisational and operational needs. The research focuses mainly on the identification and categorisation of KPIs through a qualitative approach, based on systematic literature review (SLR) of performance indicators, project management, and project success. As a case study, an analysis of relevant information of an R&D and innovation project-based organisation, such as quality manuals, a benchmarking process, internal studies, and surveys regarding what success means for different kinds of stakeholders and for the organisation itself was conducted. As a result, this research is of a high value for project-based organisations, especially those that are not apprised of how to correctly formulate a series of KPIs, or whose path to it is still not clear.Authors are grateful to Basque government group IT IT1337-19 and the Spanish Ministry of Science Mineco REF DPI2016-74845-R and project PID2019-109340RB-I00
Zero carbon as economic restructuring: spatial divisions of labour and just transition
Get PDFStrategies to reduce carbon emissions are set to be a powerful force of economic restructuring, creating new economic opportunities, and also disruption and divestment for some firms and sectors. A pressing issue for ‘just transitions’ is whether low carbon economic restructuring will challenge or reinforce prevailing geographies of spatial inequality and labour market (dis)advantage. In this article we return to the economic restructuring literature of the 1980s and 1990s to provide a theoretical framework for understanding ‘spatial divisions’ of low carbon work and how they might be shaped to ensure economically just transition. Our approach foregrounds questions of skills, training and pathways to employment across supply chains as key dimensions of just transition, providing a framework for analysis and intervention. The paper, therefore, brings new critical perspectives on low carbon transitions by conceptualising decarbonisation as a form of spatial economic restructuring and its potential implications in reinforcing and/or working against the existing patterns of uneven spatial development
Framework conditions and development potentials of (old) industrialised towns and regions in Central Europe - Utilising endogenous, place-based development potentials
Get PDFThis PhD discusses regional development in (old) industrial regions in Central Europe. It especially addresses regions which are predominantly characterised by small- and medium-sized towns. Such entities have not featured prominently in discussions of structural change and regional development over the past thirty to forty years. Interconnected, the work sheds light on the role of utilising endogenous place-based potentials as a way to create alternative development paths for such regions, by also taking into account multi-level governance arrangements and European cohesion funding.
The PhD is structured around 5 articles, which all have dealt with different aspects of regional development in Central European and were published between 2011 and 2020. These articles draw on a range of different case studies. To understand the underlying dynamics of regional development in such (old) industrial places, the work utilises a range of important theoretical concepts, including theories of uneven development, ‘new regionalism’, and interconnecting concepts of endogenous, place-based development potentials, as well as multi-level governance arrangements in an European context.
In its results, the PhD shows via the case-study regions how (old) industrial regions outside agglomeration areas are affected by processes of structural change and maps the challenges which they face creating new development paths. It highlights the fact that the processes of structural change can be all consuming, combining a range of economic, social and ecological elements. This affects regions, which often suffer already from low administrational and human capacities. Related to this, the work shows that especially local and regional development initiatives (fostered by multi-level governance settings) enable regions to develop new capacities and innovative development solutions.
Overall, the results of this PhD raise important questions on how to conceptualise and maintain long-term perspectives of regional development in the focus regions under European cohesion policies.Diese Dissertation befasst sich mit der Regionalentwicklung von (alt-)industriellen Regionen in Mitteleuropa. Sie fokussiert insbesondere auf solche Regionen, die überwiegend von Klein- und Mittelstädten geprägt sind und damit in der Diskussion um Strukturwandel und Regionalentwicklung in den vergangenen dreißig bis vierzig Jahren nicht im Vordergrund der Betrachtung standen. Dabei beleuchtet die Arbeit die Rolle endogener, ortsbezogener Potenziale als Möglichkeit, alternative Entwicklungspfade für solche Regionen zu schaffen und berücksichtigt dabei insb. Multi-Level-Governance-Systeme und die europäische Kohäsionspolitik.
Die Dissertation basiert auf 5 Artikeln, die sich alle mit unterschiedlichen Aspekten der Regionalentwicklung in Mitteleuropa befassen und zwischen 2011 und 2020 veröffentlicht wurden. Sie stützt sich dabei auf eine Reihe von unterschiedlichen Fallstudien aus ganz Mitteleuropa. Um die zugrundeliegende Dynamik der Regionalentwicklung in solchen (alt-)industriellen Orten besser zu verstehen, nutzt diese Arbeit eine Reihe theoretischer Konzepte, darunter Theorien der ungleichen Entwicklung, des "neuen Regionalismus", sowie damit zusammenhängende Konzepte endogener, ortsbezogener Entwicklungspotenziale, sowie Multi-Level-Governance im europäischen Kontext.
Im Ergebnis zeigt die Dissertation anhand der diskutierten Fallstudien-Regionen, wie (alt-)industrielle Regionen außerhalb von Agglomerationsräumen von Prozessen des Strukturwandels betroffen sind und bildet die Herausforderungen ab, vor denen sie bei der Gestaltung neuer Entwicklungspfade stehen. Dabei wird hervorgehoben, dass die Wandlungssprozesse allumfassend sein können und oftmals eine Reihe von ökonomischen, sozialen und ökologischen Elementen vereinen. Dies findet oft in Regionen statt, die ohnehin mit nur geringen administrativen und personellen Kapazitäten ausgestattet sind. In diesem Zusammenhang zeigt die Arbeit, dass es insbesondere lokale und regionale Entwicklungsinitiativen ermöglichen (gefördert durchKohäsionspolitik und Multi-Level-Governance-Settings), neue Kapazitäten und innovative Lösungen im Bezug auf regionale Entwicklung zu schaffen.
Insgesamt werfen die Ergebnisse dieser Doktorarbeit wichtige Fragen darüber auf, wie langfristige Perspektiven für die regionale Entwicklung in den Fokusregionen im Rahmen der europäischen Kohäsionspolitik geschaffen werden können
