Resilence, rural development and suistainable management: a working with people model approach

Nowadays, it has become evident the need to seek sustainable development models that address challenges arising in a variety of contexts. The resilience concept appears connected to the ability of people to cope with adversities that inevitably arise due to context dynamics, at different spatial and temporal scales. This concept is related to the model known as Working With People (WWP), focused on rural development projects planning, management and evaluation, from the integration of three dimensions: technical-entrepreneurial, ethical-social and political-contextual. The research reported is part of the RETHINK European Project, whose overall aim is farm modernization and rural resilience. The resilience concept has been analyzed, in the scope of rural development projects management, and a relationship with the WWP model has been established. To this end, a thorough review of the scientific literature concerning this topic has been addressed, in order to develop the state of the art of the different concepts and models involved. A conceptual proposal for the integration of resilience in rural development projects sustainable management, through the three-dimensional WWP model is presented

Analyzing intergibles in rural development project management

Facing the frequent failure of projects in rural areas with top-down approaches, there has been a promotion of participation of the local people in decisions that affect their territories (bottom-up approach) to promote sustainable regional development (Chambers, 1997; Lusthaus et al., 1999; Horton, 2004; Vazquez-Barquero, 2000). In fact participation was deemed necessary to ensure the success and sustainability of projects (UNDP, 2006; WRI, 2008; Davies, 2009). Hence, the progressive strengthening of the local population should be promoted so that they can acquire a range of skills and knowledge that allow them to manage resources properly and undertake productive activities in their territory (Contreras, 2000). These are intangibles and therefore difficult to measure. Hence, in this research a model of integration of intangibles in rural development projects management is proposed. The model designed supplements and enriches the conceptual framework ?Working with People? WWP (Cazorla et al, 2013)

Ecological agriculture and its influence on rural prosperity: an agricultural Company?s Vision (Murcia, Spain)

La agricultura ecológica (AE) es una tendencia global que busca una relación natural y amigable con el ambiente para fomentar la biodiversidad vegetal y animal. El debate de la AE frente a la agricultura convencional se ha discutido a nivel internacional en numerosas investigaciones. Sin embargo, pocos estudios se han centrado en abordar los efectos de la AE en relación con el concepto de prosperidad rural. En este artículo se analiza, desde un proceso de aprendizaje de casi 40 años de experiencia de una Sociedad Agraria de Transformación (SAT), la relación entre la AE y su influencia en la prosperidad rural. La metodología aplicada parte del modelo Working With People (WWP), integrando el conocimiento experto y experimentado a lo largo de las acciones de la SAT. La experiencia se centra en una de las regiones de España con mayor superficie de cultivo dedicada a la AE. Los resultados evidencian los efectos que tiene la AE en las distintas dimensiones de la prosperidad rural. La generación de confianza y el trabajo con la gente son las principales premisas que permiten generar prosperidad y desarrollo rural con una visión de sostenibilidad

Best practices for school leaders: Implementation of a profesional competence model for school management in Chile

In Chile, during the last three decades there has been a strong decentralization process whose main objective has been to improve the management of schools through the transfer of responsibilities and resources of education and thus improve the outcome of learning, reducing equity gaps between schools and territories. This is how, there has been an evolution of school principals¿ professional profile from an administrative to a management approach, in which principals have become project managers of educational projects. From a competence model for school leaders, based on IPMA guidelines, the present article presents an analysis of best practices for school management, allowing to generate a link between competencies and school management, from the perspective of project management. Results showed that the different competence elements, have relative weights according to the different practice fields, and that this analysis can be considered as a strategic element in educational project planning and development

Teaching Planning of Forestry Engineering in Spain : origins and evolution

This paper addresses the historical evolution of, from its inception, to the present day, within the changing context of EHEA and linked to professional competences. The research methodology, although it is mainly a historical document review, expert opinions on university educational planning of university education of forestry engineering in Spain are also included. The results show the evolution of centralized planning, based on technical knowledge transmission to an approach based on competences (technical, contextual and behavioral) focusing on learning for improving employability

Madrid food banck: 20 years working on volunteering project in favor of needed people

The debate around Food Banks has reactivated at international level, especially in moments of economic crisis. Nevertheless, few scientific papers have focused on analysing the success factors of their management as institutions that work through projects, neither on estimating their social impacts. This paper aims to analyse the Madrid Food Bank which has more than 20 years of learning process based on the ?Working With People ?(WWP) model, which integrates experienced and expert knowledge of the project stakeholders as well as analysing various projects that have been carried out: Great Food Collection, Kilo Operations, Awareness journeys, etc. Results show success in their project management and therefore in the effects generated on the population since its foundation in 1994. During the last years, the creation of new University-Company bonds such as the Food Bank Chair has allowed the expansion of the scope of its actions and projects. The generation of trust in society, its organizational structure and its human capital are the key elements of the achievements of the Food Banks, managing to reach up to 172.400 people and 546 institutions over the past year

Determinants of farmer participation in direct marketing channels: A case study for cassava in the Oyo State of Nigeria

Improving rural farmers’ access to direct agricultural markets is required to ensure sustainable supply of food. Rural farmers in the developing world account for the largest share of food supply including cassava. Globally, cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is recognised as an important source of valuable semi-processed industrial raw materials such as ethanol, high-quality cassava flour and starch. However, there is less empirical research on rural farmers’ participation in direct marketing channels in the cassava sector. This study focused on analysing the determinants of farmer participation in direct marketing channels using the case of the cassava sector in the Oyo State of Nigeria. The Bivariate Tobit model was applied in the empirical analysis, based on a primary dataset generated from 400 rural cassava farmers from the Oyo State of Nigeria. The result showed that, in general, farmers sold a higher percentage of their cassava output to processors. The Bivariate Tobit results showed that human capital, physical capital, social capital, and market conditions had significant effects on farmers’ decisions on whether to sell their cassava output directly to processors or middlemen. On the contrary, natural and financial capitals did not significantly affect farmers’ marketing channel decision. The study recommends that policy instruments should target improving road networks in rural areas, enhancing farmers’ access to market information, and increasing membership of farmer association to ensure an active participation of farmers in the direct marketing channels

Los Sistemas de Información Geográfica Participativos como herramientas para el desarrollo rural sostenible: Análisis conceptual y revisión de experiencias

El concepto de SIGP está referido al uso de la tecnología para integrar el conocimiento experto con el conocimiento experimentado en el ámbito de un proyecto. La tecnología permite la gestión, análisis y representación de grandes volúmenes de datos con proyección territorial, facilitando la comprensión de las múltiples variables que influyen en los procesos de toma de decisiones. Los SIGP presentan fortalezas y riesgos que han generado estudios de mejora de la práctica, asociados frecuentemente a aplicaciones online. El elemento fundamental de éxito es la participación, definida atendiendo al propósito, personas involucradas y forma de aplicación. En los proyectos de desarrollo rural, la aplicación de los SIGP debe tener como objetivo el desarrollo sostenible. Para ello la participación debe estar presente en cada una de las etapas del proceso, organizado según el esquema del Ciclo del Proyecto. La revisión de múltiples experiencias de SIGP en proyectos de desarrollo rural indica que en la mayoría de los casos no se analiza la participación y uso de esta tecnología en cada fase del proyecto. Esto justifica la definición de una metodología que integre el conocimiento experto y experimentado en la aplicación de los SIGP en las fases del Ciclo del Proyecto

Complexity in project management: analysis from the conceptual model working with people

At present, traditional methods to direct -centered projects in meeting goals, time, budget and quality-requirements are insufficient. In recent years, various studies have shown that the main factors of complexity in project management come from the social dimension of the parties involved and from contextual aspects. It has also been shown to analyze and understand the complex factors that affect the project is a necessary step for proper direction