Report on the state-of-the-art, obstacles, models, and roadmaps for widening the data perimeter of the data services

The task reviewed the state of play regarding specific data domains (data provided by academia, official statistics including administrative data, historical, health data and big data that means existing and emerging data types. Experiences and best practices are presented in this report with the objective of providing a practical roadmap, given that widening of CESSDA needs to address new data sources and new actors.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Clusters and Financial Resources Management in the Context of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region

Defined by "the co-location of producers, services providers, educational and research institutions, financial institutions and other private and government institutions related through linkages of different types", clusters can be "engines" of global economic development. Beyond the competitive advantages, clusters promote regional specialization in their field of activity, the regions thus becoming different, but interconnected. In the context of intent cluster-ization at European level and at the European Parliament’s call for the “re-industrialization of Europe”, the paper examines the critical role of clusters in the context of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (SUERD) from the financial resources management perspective and it concludes the macro-region of 14 Danube riparian countries, attracting European funds, able to bring prosperity and growth passing through the Danubian innovative clusters. The analysis uses the most recent official data, official documents published by the European Commission and other institutions in the field

Network of landscapes in the sustainable management of transboundary biosphere reserves

Producción CientíficaThe creation of Transboundary Biosphere Reserves (TBRs) is one of the most outstanding contributions of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Man and Biosphere Programme (MAB). Recent revisions have shown that there is a gap between its biodiversity conservation proposals and the theoretical convergence of nations towards sustainable development goals with the practices in action. By applying the landscape approach to the case study of the rural system of the Spanish–Portuguese border, declared Meseta Ibérica TBR (MITBR), it is verified that the spatial zoning of TBRs is a prominent factor in this gap, since they do not correspond to the landscape units and bioregions. This has led to the formulation and implementation of strategic proposals for the reorientation of TBRs towards the stimulation of landscape networks in the transboundary framework. Agroecological networks in this territory stand out, which brings together one of the highest concentrations of indigenous breeds in Europe. A breeder replacement experience was carried out based on the social networks of the MITBR that protect the landscape. The main conclusion of this article is that TBRs are effective in practice through the promotion of cross-border networks of governance and social participation, and mainly through agroecological ones due to their outstanding effect on biodiversity.Interreg POCTEP ( grant 0421_PAISAJE_IBERICO_2_E)Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2017-2020 (PGC2018-097135-B-I00; MCIU/AEI/ERDF-UE

Mapping the Swiss Public Administration: Challenges and First Research Steps

In the present paper, we argue that the existing data collections fail to map specific features of modern public administration in Switzerland, namely new modes of governance with hybrid state structures. After presenting the Swiss federal administration in a nutshell, we discuss the challenge of mapping hybrid state structures based on different studies focusing on four different aspects: first, quasi-state bodies; second, joined up government; third, emerging new institutions for problems not adequately captured by existing political geography, most prominently seen in the case of functional urban regions; and fourth, new modes of governance with co-production of public goods by state and non-state actors. We then present newer studies and ongoing research (which could be coupled with the mapping of public administration in Switzerland), namely the "agenda setting"-project, research on independent regulatory bodies and, finally, the courts' impact on public administration. In further conceptual work, we may discuss in more depth how the challenge of new modes of governance and cooperative government can be addressed by focusing on the transformation of state structures rather than by adopting a static view.

Global Geo-Demographic Data and GIS for E-Business

The results of a comprehensive survey of the availability and characteristics of digital geo-demographic data in 40 countries around the world are presented. Geographic information systems (GIS) often used in conjunction with the Internet are being used by technologically savvy companies to perform marketing studies and provide location specific data such as maps to clients and customers. However, the national level Availability and characteristics of the required digital geo-spatial data vary considerably from nation to nation. Every country’s data differs in terms of existence, cost, accuracy, precision, format, content, and availability over the Internet. Some countries (such as Switzerland and the United Kingdom) have current data on every hectare and house along with demographics for every group of 100 residents available for interactive web-based mapping and analysis. Other nations have such data in only non-digital forms and then only internally. Most nations are intermediate in terms of the use of characteristics and availability of geospatial data relevant for E-business. Presented here are the results, especially those pertaining to E-business, of an e-mail survey of the national census and national mapping authorities of 40 selected countries. These the G7, Russia, China (PRC, Taiwan and Hong Kong), India, Australia, many European countries, along with 4 other Asian, 4 Latin American, 2 Middle Eastern and 2 African nations. Also presented is statistical analysis of the responses and information from follow-up questions

European Information System for Organic Markets (EISFOM QLK5-2002-02400): WP 2: “Data collection and processing systems (DCPS) for the conventional markets” and WP 3: “Data collection and processing systems for organic markets” = Deliverable D2

European markets for organic products are developing fast. In Europe, as other parts of the world, more and more farm land is being converted to organic production. In order to adjust production and consumption levels, detailed market information is needed, especially where decisions with a long-term impact need to be taken, for example on converting specific land or livestock enterprises requiring high levels of investment in glasshouses, housing, processing facilities etc. Since public subsidies (regional / national / European) are heavily involved in these investments, valid, accurate and up-to-date information is essential not only for farmers and growers, but also for policy-makers, consultants, processing industry etc. EU-research projects such as OFCAP (FAIR3-CT96-1794) and OMIaRD (QLK5-2000-01124) have shown that regional or national data gathering takes place in many countries, but often only very basic data are reported, such as certified organic holdings, land areas and livestock numbers. Important market data, e.g. the amount of production, consumption, international trade or producer and consumer prices, do not exist in most European countries. In some European countries there are only rough estimates of the levels of production and consumption. There is no standardization and data are seldom comparable. Furthermore, detailed information on specific commodities is missing. Hence, investment decisions are taken under conditions of great uncertainty. Likewise, if politicians want to support organic agriculture, they do not know whether it would be better to support production or consumption or to address problems in the marketing channel. The EU concerted action EISfOM (QLK5-2002-02400) (European Information System for Organic Markets) is attempting to take the first steps in solving these problems. The aim of this concerted action is to build up a framework for reporting valid and reliable data for relevant production and market sectors of the European organic sector in order to meet the needs of policy-makers, farmers, processors, wholesalers and other actors involved in organic markets. In order to reach this aim, this action was split into several workpackages. This report describes the approach and results of workpackages 2 and 3. In this first chapter the objective and general approach of these work packages are described. Chapters 2 and 3 provide an overview of international statistics and data collection systems within the food supply chain at the public and the private level. Chapter 4 describes national statistics and data collection systems within the food supply chain. In Chapter 5, an analysis and appraisal is made of the results with regard to organic data collection and processing systems (DCPSs) and their integration into existing common DCPSs. Chapter 6 draws several general conclusions. Two substantial annexes complete the report, one with the country reports on the situation of data collection and processing in all investigated countries and the other with the first and the second stage questionnaires covering the different data collection levels

The State of Sustainable Markets 2017 - Statistics and Emerging Trends

Voluntary sustainability standards are in the mainstream, and no longer a novelty for niche markets. This second global report outlines data on area, production volume and producers for 14 major sustainability standards across bananas, cocoa, coffee, cotton, palm oil, soybeans, cane sugar, tea and forestry products. The report is based on a partnership with the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture and the International Institute of Sustainable Development. The data can help shape decisions of policymakers, producers and businesses, working to address systemic labour and environmental challenges through certified sustainable production

Mapping bilateral information interests using the activity of Wikipedia editors

We live in a global village where electronic communication has eliminated the geographical barriers of information exchange. The road is now open to worldwide convergence of information interests, shared values, and understanding. Nevertheless, interests still vary between countries around the world. This raises important questions about what today's world map of in- formation interests actually looks like and what factors cause the barriers of information exchange between countries. To quantitatively construct a world map of information interests, we devise a scalable statistical model that identifies countries with similar information interests and measures the countries' bilateral similarities. From the similarities we connect countries in a global network and find that countries can be mapped into 18 clusters with similar information interests. Through regression we find that language and religion best explain the strength of the bilateral ties and formation of clusters. Our findings provide a quantitative basis for further studies to better understand the complex interplay between shared interests and conflict on a global scale. The methodology can also be extended to track changes over time and capture important trends in global information exchange.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures in Palgrave Communications 1 (2015

Understanding the hobbit: the cross-national and cross-linguistic reception of a global media product in Belgium, France and the Netherlands

The Hobbit franchise, as many global media products, reaches audiences worldwide. Audience members apparently consume a uniform media product. But do they? The World Hobbit Project offers a new and exciting opportunity to explore differences and similarities, for it provides us with audiences' understandings of the trilogy across languages and nationalities. In this paper we conduct a statistical analysis on differences and similarities in understandings of The Hobbit trilogy between Belgium, the Netherlands, and France – both in what audiences do and do not feel The Hobbit films to be. Analyzing this particular region in Europe provides an extraordinary opportunity, for The World Hobbit project allows us to compare on the language level (the Dutch and French-speaking Belgian regions with respectively the Netherlands and France), as well as on the level of national identities (comparing the three countries amongst each other). In doing so, we are able to further understand what informs geographical and linguistic differences in the consumption of a uniform media product. As such, this paper touches upon cultural hegemony, cross-border flows of fiction, language and cultural proximity

After the Financial Crisis: Achieving the Millennium Development Goals in Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia

The Pan-European Region made significant progress from 1995 to 2007 in improving the economic, social, environmental and health indicators incorporated into the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). However, given the huge set-backs associated with the transition recession in the early 1990s and the more recent economic declines from the global financial crisis, achievement of some of the MDGs in a significant number of countries by 2015 is now problematic. The degree to which the actual targets can be achieved by 2015 will depend critically on: (i) the speed of recovery from the current crisis and the policy responses to it; (ii) the commitment by national governments to focus resources on the MDG objectives and their willingness to implement new policy initiatives, and (iii) the level of foreign assistance and regional cooperation that can be obtained. The EU new Member States (NMS) are most likely to meet the MDGs, while the prospects for the other European emerging economies are more mixed, especially for MDGs related to poverty and health. All of the Pan-European economies are falling short in terms of achieving environmental sustainability and gender equality.millennium development goals, economic development, Europe, financial crisis, transition economies, CIS, Russia, caucasus, central Asia, health, education, environmental sustainability, gender, HIV, AIDS, Tuberculosis, trade,