Evaluation of business link in the East Midlands

An evaluation of activities delivered through the Business Link service in the East Midlands region between April 2007 and March 2010, focussing on: net economic impacts; Strategic Added Value (SAV); and potential lessons for the future delivery of business support services

Evaluating the London 2012 Games’ impact on sport participation in a non-hosting region: a practical application of realist evaluation

In the literature on Olympic legacies and impacts, there is a dearth of materials that specifically address the issue of Olympic impact for non-hosting regions. The literature tends to deal with impacts at a national level, or at a hosting-city region level, neglecting in large part the degree to which benefits can be leveraged by non-hosting regions. A further limitation identified in the literature is a failure to engage in detailed formal evaluation of policy implementation where assertions of potential policy impact are based on untested assumptions. This study is intended to address both of these concerns. It presents an empirical, ‘bottom-up’ application of a Realist Evaluation framework to assess the impact of a policy initiative – Workplace Challenge – aimed at leveraging enhanced sports participation in a non-hosting region – Leicestershire – in the period leading up to the 2012 Games. In doing so, it seeks to identify which causal mechanisms worked within this particular context to produce the observed outcomes. The evaluation results demonstrate that the programme represented a positive approach to fostering regular engagement with sport and physical activities for some groups in some types of organisations, and that awareness and motivational factors associated with the London 2012 Games are, in this case, linked (albeit weakly) to an increase in sport and physical activity participation for specific groups taking part in the programme in particular organisational contexts

Evaluación intermedia del Fondo de Cooperación para Agua y Saneamiento (FCAS) : Informe final de evaluación : Documentos anexos

Sumario: El objetivo general de esta evaluación es el que combinaba el análisis de los factores que potencian y dificultan la ejecución y el avance de los programas con la valoración de la adecuación del diseño inicial y los mecanismos operativos y de gestión para el cumplimiento de los objetivos

Making Europe go from bottles to the tap: Political and societal attempts to induce behavioral change

In several European countries and at the level of the European Union, we can observe political and societal attempts to promote the use of tap water. Most prominently, the European Commission proposed revisions for the Drinking Water Directive, which includes strategies for promoting the consumption of tap water. The strategies comprise the following: improving access to tap water, upgrading quality standards for tap water, and enhancing transparency concerning the benefits of tap water. National initiatives in European countries pursue similar strategies that concentrate on enhancing access to tap water and communicating its economic, environmental, and social benefits. By drawing on existent literature in different disciplines, we assess how promising these strategies are for inducing individuals to drink tap water rather than bottled water. Our overview reveals that our knowledge regarding the quality dimension is very good: numerous studies on European countries have shown that dissatisfaction with the sensory properties and health-related concerns prevent individuals from drinking (more) tap water and opting for bottled water instead. The body of research with a specific focus on Europe is significantly smaller concerning the other two dimensions: access to tap water and the benefits of tap water. Nonetheless, there is indicative and preliminary evidence that improved access to tap water and a better communication of the benefits of tap water could positively affect consumption patterns. This article is categorized under: Engineering Water > Sustainable Engineering of Water, Human Water > Water Governance, Human Water > Water as Imagined and Represented

Is Transition Experience Enough? The Donor-side Effectiveness of Czech and Polish Democracy Aid to Georgia

The paper examines the democracy aid practices of the Czech Republic and Poland in Georgia. These two countries have recently emerged as promoters of democracy, and have argued that their own transition experience puts them in a unique position to support democratization and the consolidation of democracy in the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood. The paper evaluates how these two countries provide democracy aid to Georgia along three criteria, derived from the aid effectiveness literature: supporting locally driven change, learning from results and coordination. The results indicate that both countries have plenty of space to improve the way their democracy aid is delivered. Neither country has formal systems in place to ensure that they actually support Georgian priorities; evaluations are ad hoc and feedback loops missing; and there is significant scope to improve coordination with other donors. Nonetheless, there seems to be a general perception among stakeholders that the democracy aid provided by the Czech Republic and Poland is relevant to Georgia’s needs

Learning from Communities: The Local Dynamics of Formal and Informal Volunteering in Korogocho, Kenya

Taking the Korogocho community as its starting point, this article explores the respective roles, dynamics and relationship between formal and informal volunteering. Following an overview of the research's participatory systemic action research (SAR) methodology, the article outlines how the widespread use of stipends and allowances by external development organisations has blurred the distinction between formal volunteerism and low?paid work – something that disincentivises volunteering through local organisations who lack the resources to pay allowances. It examines informal volunteering, such as mutual aid and self?help groups, and highlights how they add significant value when they emerge in response to a directly experienced community need. Finally, it discusses the risks and opportunities associated with formal and informal volunteering. Issues include how volunteering can be used in complementary ways to address community needs, the scales at which they are most effective, and their potential in promoting greater inclusion and more equitable gender roles

‘Test Driving’ a Financing Instrument for Climate Adaptation: Analyzing Institutional Dilemmas using Simulation Gaming

Urban physical public infrastructure is a frontline defense mechanism to manage and mitigate climate-related impacts. Market instruments are often cited as possible means to spread risk and reduce financial burdens on the public sector. The authors argue that existing research tends to focus on the technical issues of instruments and neglects considering institutional dynamics that may enable or constrain local market-based financing mechanisms. In this article, three core dilemmas (values uncertainty, planning horizon, and indirect benefits) are used to analyze the responses of practitioners to a possible financing instrument. The findings indicate that the practitioner’s responses to tax increment financing were largely shaped by the adaptation dilemmas and not the characteristics of the instrument per se. By mapping the dilemmas onto whether they would recommend it, participants imposed a financial barrier on climate adaptation investments. The authors conclude that a key imperative in the design of policy instruments is to pay attention to the congruency of informal institutions at the ‘street level’ in order to be in-step with the current sociopolitical conditions. The findings also point to four key attributes that a local market-based instrument would need to be aligned and responsive to the Dutch planning and development context

Something old, something new: historical perspectives provide lessons for blue growth agendas

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via the DOI in this record.The concept of ‘blue growth’, which aims to promote the growth of ocean economies whilst holistically managing marine socio-ecological systems, is emerging within national and international marine policy. The concept is often promoted as being novel, however, we show that, historical analogies exist which can provide insights for contemporary planning and implementation of blue growth. Using a case study approach based on expert knowledge, we identified 20 historical fisheries or aquaculture examples from 13 countries, spanning the last 40–800 years, that we contend embody blue growth concepts. This is the first time, to our knowledge, that blue growth has been investigated across such broad spatial and temporal scales. The past societies managed to balance exploitation with equitable access, ecological integrity, and/or economic growth for varying periods of time. Four main trajectories existed that led to the success or failure of blue growth. Success was linked to equitable rather than open access, innovation, and management that was responsive, holistic, and based on scientific knowledge and monitoring. The inability to achieve or maintain blue growth resulted from failures to address limits to industry growth and/or anticipate the impacts of adverse extrinsic events and drivers (e.g., changes in international markets, war), the prioritisation of short-term gains over long-term sustainability, and loss of supporting systems. Fourteen cross-cutting lessons and 10 recommendations were derived that can improve understanding and implementation of blue growth. Despite the contemporary literature broadly supporting our findings, these recommendations are not adequately addressed by agendas seeking to realize blue growth.European Commissio