Effectiveness of Mechanisms and Models of Coordination between Organizations, Agencies and Bodies Providing or Financing Health Services in Humanitarian Crises: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Effective coordination between organizations, agencies and bodies providing or financing health services in humanitarian crises is required to ensure efficiency of services, avoid duplication, and improve equity. The objective of this review was to assess how, during and after humanitarian crises, different mechanisms and models of coordination between organizations, agencies and bodies providing or financing health services compare in terms of access to health services and health outcomes. METHODS: We registered a protocol for this review in PROSPERO International prospective register of systematic reviews under number PROSPERO2014:CRD42014009267. Eligible studies included randomized and nonrandomized designs, process evaluations and qualitative methods. We electronically searched Medline, PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and the WHO Global Health Library and websites of relevant organizations. We followed standard systematic review methodology for the selection, data abstraction, and risk of bias assessment. We assessed the quality of evidence using the GRADE approach. RESULTS: Of 14,309 identified citations from databases and organizations' websites, we identified four eligible studies. Two studies used mixed-methods, one used quantitative methods, and one used qualitative methods. The available evidence suggests that information coordination between bodies providing health services in humanitarian crises settings may be effective in improving health systems inputs. There is additional evidence suggesting that management/directive coordination such as the cluster model may improve health system inputs in addition to access to health services. None of the included studies assessed coordination through common representation and framework coordination. The evidence was judged to be of very low quality. CONCLUSION: This systematic review provides evidence of possible effectiveness of information coordination and management/directive coordination between organizations, agencies and bodies providing or financing health services in humanitarian crises. Our findings can inform the research agenda and highlight the need for improving conduct and reporting of research in this field

Supply chain finance : a conceptual framework to advance research Supply Chain Finance A conceptual framework to advance research Supply Chain Finance A conceptual framework to advance research Supply Chain Finance A conceptual framework to advance resear

Abstract Supply Chain Finance (SCF) arrangements aim to add value by taking a cooperative approach to financing in the supply chain. SCF has recently enjoyed considerable attention from industry, and providers of capital and technology are investing in platforms to facilitate new applications. A limited number of theoretical and empirical studies on the topic have been published. Current trends suggest, however, that the landscape of SCF is becoming increasingly complex and diverse. We describe some key developments and their implications for firms that (may) implement an SCF arrangement. In particular, we show that strategic and tactical considerations may impact the value of these arrangements. Failure to recognize alternatives and associated trade-offs may entail missed opportunities for firms. We present a framework that positions SCF concepts and shows the need for further research. We conclude with observations on managerial relevance

Capital renewal as a real option

We consider the timing of replacement of obsolete subsystems within an extensive, complex infrastructure. Such replacement action, known as capital renewal, must balance uncertainty about future profitability against uncertainty about future renewal costs. Treating renewal investments as real options, we derive an optimal solution to the infinite horizon version of this problem and determine the total present value of an institution's capital renewal options. We investigate the sensitivity of the infinite horizon solution to variations in key problem parameters and highlight the system scenarios in which timely renewal activity is most profitable. For finite horizon renewal planning, we show that our solution performs better than a policy of constant periodic renewals if more than two renewal cycles are completed.Investment analysis Maintenance Replacement Facilities planning and design Simulation

Supporting small suppliers through buyer-backed purchase order financing

This paper considers a creditworthy buyer who has two supplies: a low-cost but capital-constrained unreliable SME (small and medium-sized enterprise), and a high-cost but reliable backup source. The buyer may consider a novel financing mechanism named BPOF (buyer-backed purchase order financing) for supporting the SME indirectly. Under the BPOF scheme, the buyer provides partial or full guarantee to share the bank’s financing risk thus facilitate the SME’s loan application. To balance the risk with the benefit due to BPOF, we specify the conditions under which BPOF works and identify the properties of the buyer’s optimal strategy for sourcing and guaranteeing jointly. Generally speaking, a rational buyer’s guarantee should positively correlate to her product margins and the suppliers’ reliability. Finally, we claim when the risk-adjusted wholesale price is sufficiently low, dual financing (BPOF and subsidy) should be suggested

Entrepreneurship in Peace Operations

Journal of Civic Society," 6(01), (2010), pp. 1-21.A central question guides this article: To what extent can entrepreneurship be a force for change and transformation in war-torn areas? To address the question, this article introduces the topic of social entrepreneurship and illustrates how social entrepreneurs are serving as change agents in rebuilding and reconstructing areas devastated by conflict. The social enterprise of Kiva, the brainchild of social entrepreneurs Matthew Flannery and Jessica Jackley, provides an example. It is notable for its innovative idea—a Web-based, internet-facilitated micro-loan process that attracts individual investors worldwide in support of business entrepreneurs in the developing world. As a counter example to top-down, mandate-driven, organization-centric intervention strategies that many organizations pursue in peace operations, Kiva’s enduring legacy may very well be its bottom-up, entrepreneur-driven, network-centric model of change. Its most salient features are: a supply chain that ‘contractually’ connects all the partners in the loan process to minimize coordination problems and ensure that each step in the workflow sequentially adds value; processes and systems that guarantee work is transparent, efficient and accountable; a model of learning that enables global and local partners to co-create a complex, worldwide community-based learning system in support of entrepreneurship; and a rich network of social relations built from face-to-face and online interactions to help generate social capital needed for development

The Role of Workplace Chaplains in Industrial Relations: Evidence from Australia

This paper examines a neglected and largely invisible actor within the field of industrial relations. Taking the case of industrial chaplains in Australian workplaces, it demonstrates that not only do chaplains play an important and independent role in their own right, but that their ostensible neutrality is also used to help achieve the interests of both management and trade unions. The location of chaplains in industrial relations and their need to develop workplace legitimacy accounts for this finding. This suggests that future studies that seek to explore the purpose and activities of new and non-traditional groups in industrial relations will need to place their analyses within the context of more established actors. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd/London School of Economics 2006.

International Brain Initiative: An Innovative Framework for Coordinated Global Brain Research Efforts.

The International Brain Initiative (IBI) has been established to coordinate efforts across existing and emerging national and regional brain initiatives. This NeuroView describes how to be involved and the new opportunities for global collaboration that are emerging between scientists, scientific societies, funders, industry, government, and society