Governing policy evaluation? Towards a new typology

As policy evaluation matures, thoughts are turning to its governance. However, few scholars have combined insights from the evaluation and governance literatures to shed new light on this matter. In order to address this important gap, this article develops a new typology of ways to comprehend and perhaps ultimately govern ex-post policy evaluation activities. The article then explores its validity in the context of climate policy evaluation activities, a vibrant policy area in which the demand for and practices of evaluation have grown fast, particularly in Europe. The analysis reveals that the typology usefully guides new thinking, but also highlights important gaps in our empirical knowledge of the various modes of governing policy evaluation. The article identifies a need for a new research agenda that simultaneously develops a fuller understanding of these evaluation practices and the options for governing them

Sustainability of Global Golden Inland Waterways

Sustainable inland waterways should meet the needs of navigation without compromising the health of riverine ecosystems. Here we propose a hierarchical model to describe sustainable development of the Golden Inland Waterways (GIWs) which are characterized by great bearing capacity and transport need. Based on datasets from 66 large rivers (basin area > 100,000 km2) worldwide, we identify 34 GIWs, mostly distributed in Asia, Europe, North America, and South America, typically following a three-stage development path from the initial, through to the developing and on to the developed stage. For most GIWs, the exploitation ratio, defined as the ratio of actual to idealized bearing capacity, should be less than 80% due to ecological considerations. Combined with the indices of regional development, GIWs exploitation, and riverine ecosystem, we reveal the global diversity and evolution of GIWs' sustainability from 2015 to 2050, which highlights the importance of river-specific strategies for waterway exploitation worldwide

Business model innovation for eco-efficiency: an empirical study

Business model has the potential to create value and capture value for companies, which is critical for their sustainable development [1]. The concept of eco-efficiency can be a useful concept to link an enterprise’s business with sustainable development as well as achieving long-term profits [2,3]. Extant lit- erature reveals that there is a need to study business model innovation and eco- efficiency under one text to achieve a win-win rationale to increase profits while reducing environmental impact [4,5]. This empirical study conducted 8-in-depth case studies with manufacturing companies across UK and China. The author synthesized the cases and concluded the measures of business model innovation for eco-efficiency in five categories, namely (1) Selling of service model, (2) Direct selling model, (3) Collaboration strategy, (4) Whole system design strat- egy, and (5) Technology renovation strategy. The empirical finding suggests the adaptation of strategy and exploitation of the technologies are essential to busi- ness model innovation when manufacturing companies seeking to implement eco-efficiency

Openness in participation, assessment, and policy making upon issues of environment and environmental health: a review of literature and recent project results

Issues of environment and environmental health involve multiple interests regarding e.g. political, societal, economical, and public concerns represented by different kinds of organizations and individuals. Not surprisingly, stakeholder and public participation has become a major issue in environmental and environmental health policy and assessment. The need for participation has been discussed and reasoned by many, including environmental legislators around the world. In principle, participation is generally considered as desirable and the focus of most scholars and practitioners is on carrying out participation, and making participation more effective. In practice also doubts regarding the effectiveness and importance of participation exist among policy makers, assessors, and public, leading even to undermining participatory practices in policy making and assessment

Comics Telling Refugee Stories

This chapter begins with an indicative survey of comics responding to the current ‘refugee crisis’. The comics in question adopt one of two distinct and established approaches. The first is reportage, usually featuring the author/creator as a central device, while the second re-works and renders testimony in visual form. In their different ways, both contribute to a wider repertoire of positive and sympathetic representations of refugees, offering a counter-point to hostile media and political discourse, often by a focus on the stories of individuals. Mobilizing compassion and moral responses through personal stories of hardship, trauma, tenacity, and survival has long been a tactic of reformist agendas and humanitarian advocacy. By their qualitative difference from dominant forms of factual discourse, comics offer certain advantages. They may also circumvent certain problems associated with photographic representations of suffering. Such comics can nevertheless run the risk of re-producing established victim tropes, and just as with other forms of representation, human-interest angles carry the potential to obscure political dimensions. In an attempt to consider and situate these concerns, the analysis considers the various positions and relations that constitute ‘refugee comics’: subjects, readers, creators, (im)materiality, and circulation

Interdisciplinary research on energy efficiency standards and climate change mitigation : Methods, results, and communication

Energy efficiency regulations are one of the important policy packages employed for climate mitigation. Recent evaluations from the USA and the European Union (EU) indicate that the setting of minimum mandatory energy performance standards (MEPS) for different products-such as electric motors, TVs, and dishwashers-are among the best-performing climate policies and that these regulations are also cost-effective. In the EU, MEPS are adopted under the Ecodesign Directive. Despite the positive evaluations, MEPS have also come under criticism from media and some researchers, questioning their unintended effects and their cost-effectiveness. This chapter reflects the research of a five-year, interdisciplinary research program (2013-2018) which researched the effects and potential of the Ecodesign Directive. Multiple methods were employed in the project, which have resulted in various insights. The aim of this chapter is to discuss the main experiences with this interdisciplinary research project, including the variety of research methods, the ways the results have been communicated to policymakers and other actors outside academia, and the need for future research to better understand the interactions between resource efficiency and climate mitigation in the context of product regulation. Two issues of high importance in the climate change mitigation research arena are highlighted. The first issue concerns the need for research that looks at interactions between energy efficiency and resource efficiency in the case of MEPS, and the need to develop new methods and approaches. Secondly, in the case of the "policy mix" for effective climate mitigation, there is a need to develop new theories, and also to consider the political feasibility of proposed policies

Climate Policy Innovation:Developing An Evaluation Perspective

A key dimension of the debate about policy innovation is the extent to which new policies achieve significant and lasting effects on the problems they purport to address. However, little is known about such effects. We break new ground by investigating how far current evaluation practices in a policy system with relatively ambitious climate policies – the European Union – identify the most effective (carbon-reducing) policies. We find that a small number of policy instruments are projected to deliver the lion’s share of emission reductions. Setting aside the special case of emissions trading, these instruments are not particularly innovative. If significant practical and political obstacles can be addressed, more (detailed) evaluations could enhance the evidence base and also the political prospects for delivering deeper emissions cuts through to 2050. An evaluation perspective could also offer a very different way to consider policy innovation dynamics

Climate policy integration as a necessity for an efficient climate policy

International audienceIt is becoming evident that if high-consumption societies are to tackle climate change, significant changes in production processes as well as in consumption patterns will be required. Such transformations cannot be achieved unless climate change is taken into account in the general and sector-specific policies which underlie economic activity and general social development. When industry, energy producers or transport companies take action as a result of climate policies, they are also influenced significantly by other policies. The degree to which climate change issues are considered and integrated into existing policy areas is therefore a key issue, along with climate-specific measures such as emissions trading. The paper is based on the research project “Policy Integration, Coherence and Governance” conducted by the PEER network. It assesses the extent of climate policy integration in different European countries, policy sectors and in some cases regions and municipalities. The assessment is based on five criteria: inclusion, consistency, weighting, reporting and resources. The report also analyses measures and means for enhancing climate policy integration and improving policy coherence