Report a review of the concepts and definitions of the various forms of relational contracting

Partnering has been defined in many ways. It can be considered as an individual project mechanism or can be considered as a long term strategy. Alliancing is normally assumed to be a long term business strategy linking together client, contractor and supply chain. Relational contracting goes further than this and brings in the whole philosophy of the value chain and the linking of the interdependent parts within the construction project as a key business objective. This document aims to review existing definitions of these three concepts and present and overview of the current state of-the-art in terms of their use and implementation. The document should be useful for all of those project team members looking to sharpen their understanding of the various concepts and will also provide a platform for debating the current state of the definitions and implementations being used in Main Roads and Public Works Departments

Long Term Collaborative Business Relationships: The Impact of Trust and C3 Behaviour

Long-term, collaborative business relationships are like marriages where tolerance, forbearance and some reduction of freedom as well as innovation are necessary to ensure success. Trust and co-operative behaviours are known to be essential ingredients in securing an environment of continuous improvement but, how they are correlated has yet to be tested. The paper describes a research project within a sample of long-term monopoly businesses as a novel approach to bringing trust and cooperation, co-ordination and collaboration (C3 Behaviour) into sharper focus without competitive distractions. It was found that a correlation between trust and C3 Behaviour and the success of the collaborative relationship exists

Changing Scottish education policy definitions of what it means to be a teacher: fit for a diverse system?

As countries seek to secure their economic future, education has become increasingly central to socioeconomic strategy in the United Kingdom and beyond. As a result, there is increased governmental expectation and scrutiny of the learning outcomes achieved by pupils. Following from this, teaching quality has become a significant focus in a number of countries. As part of the quality agenda, career-long professional learning has become a major policy theme from which a range of approaches has been implemented in Scotland: increased entry qualifications, the development of professional standards, and emphasis on the ongoing professional development of teachers. Within these approaches can be identified a reconceptualisation of what it means to be a teacher. While there is some expression of values related to social justice, equality and inclusion in education policy, the actions to implement policy tend to centre on instrumental approaches to career-long development. The idea of 'career-long teacher education' is underpinned by an assumption of a stable and readily accepted understanding of what it means to be a teacher. However, as expectations of schools have intensified, education policy indicates significant changes in the construction of the ‘effective’ teacher within an overall reconstruction of the nature and trajectory of the teaching career. This paper draws from a comparative policy study project and traces the evolving and competing ideas of what it means to be a teacher evident in recent key reviews (McCrone 2000; Donaldson, 2010; McCormac, 2011). It pays particular attention to how these ideas have been translated into expectations for initial teacher education and beyond in the form of the Standards for Registration (GTCS, 2012) and the Standard for Career-Long Professional Learning (GTCS, 2012). The paper considers the implications of the policy and the standards for the construction of teacher identity in both an increasingly globalised educational policy context and a more diverse Scottish society. It sets out for discussion the question of whether or not policy definitions of what it means to be a teacher in Scotland today are fit for a diverse, globalised and inclusive education system

Work Organisation and Innovation

[Excerpt] Innovations in work organisation have the potential to optimise production processes in companies and improve employees’ overall experience of work. This report explores the links between innovations in work organisation – under the broader label of high performance work practices (HPWPs) – and the potential benefits for both employees and organisations. It draws on empirical evidence from case studies carried out in 13 Member States of the European Union where workplace innovations have resulted in positive outcomes

Governance of a complex system: water

This paper sets out a complex adaptive systems view of water governance. Overview Fresh water is a life - enabling resource as well as the source of spiritual, social and economic wellbeing and development. It is continuously renewed by the Earth’s natural recycling systems using heat from the sun to evaporate and purify, and then rain to replenish supplies. For thousands of years people have benefited from these systems with little concern for their ability to keep up with human population and economic development. Rapid increases in population and economic activity have brought concern for how these systems interact with human social and economic systems to centre stage this century in the guise of a focus on water governance. What do we mean by governance and how might we better understand our water governance systems to ensure their ongoing sustainability? This paper sets out a complex adaptive systems view of water governance. It draws on the academic literature on effective governance of complex systems and effective water governance to identify some principles for use in water governance in New Zealand. It illustrates aspects of emerging water governance practice with some examples from New Zealand which have employed a multi-actor, collaborative governance approach. The paper concludes with some implications for the future evolution of effective water governance in New Zealand. Collaborative governance processes are relatively unfamiliar to New Zealand citizens, politicians and other policy actors which makes it more important that we study and learn from early examples of the use of this mode of governance

An Architectural Approach to Managing Knowledge Stocks and Flows: Implications for Reinventing the HR Function

Sustainable competitive advantage is increasingly dependent upon a firm’s ability to manage both its knowledge stocks and flows. We examine how different employees’ knowledge stocks are managed within a firm and how—through their recombination and renewal—those stocks can create sustainable competitive advantage. To do this, we first establish an architectural framework for managing human resources and review how the framework provides a foundation for studying alternative employment arrangements used by firms in allocating knowledge stocks. Next, we extend the architecture by examining how knowledge stocks (human capital) can be both recombined and renewed through cooperative and entrepreneurial archetypes. We then position two HR configurations to focus on facilitating these two archetypes. By identifying and managing different forms of social capital across employee groups within the architecture, HR practices can facilitate the flow of knowledge within the firm, which ultimately leads to sustainable competitive advantage

Joint Learning Update

Over the past three years, the Joint Learning Network for Universal Health Coverage (JLN) has become a well-established practitioner-to-practitioner network of countries at the forefront of the global movement toward universal health coverage (UHC) . Now that the JLN has been active for a few years, many involved in the JLN felt that it was an appropriate time to assess what has been achieved to date and develop a roadmap for the future.In December 2012, the Rockefeller Foundation engaged Pact, an independent NGO that specializes in community engagement and networks, to conduct an independent strategic review of the JLN's value proposition, mechanisms for engaging members, and decision-making structures. Pact sampled each stakeholder group in the JLN by administering an online member survey and conducting a series of in-person interviews to gather perspectives from across the community and gain a deeper understanding of how each group contributes to the JLN's goals.One hundred and four JLN members -- a 45 percent response rate -- responded to the member survey and 27 stakeholders participated in semi-structured interviews. The results provided useful information about JLN members and how they are applying knowledge acquired through network activities in their own context