Measuring sustainable procurement: scoping study

This report describes measures of sustainability that can be used within the procurement process. This is achieved by means of a critical review of existing methodologies that provides a considered base from which to recommend examples of smart indicators to measure key elements of sustainability. These have then been piloted with a subset of emda’s tier one suppliers

Information Processing for Smart Indicators

[unpublished paper]Learners need various types of information in order to monitor their progress while performing a task. Indicators help learners to organise, orientate, and navigate through complex environments by providing contextual information that is relevant for the performance of learning tasks. In this paper we discuss a service-oriented implementation of an architecture for indicators, which is applied in a co-operative learning scenario. The services of this implementation utilise learning technology specifications, which provide semantics for modelling educational scenarios. This paper implies that the given learning technology specifications are suitable for modelling learner support for non- and informal learning, but further research is required on analysing context dependent factors of learner support.The work on this publication has been sponsored by the TENCompetence Integrated Project that is funded by the European Commission's 6th Framework Programme, priority IST/Technology Enhanced Learning. Contract 027087 [http://www.tencompetence.org

Smart Indicators and Learner Monitoring

Glahn, C. (2007). Smart Indicators and Learner Monitoring. Prensented at the TENCompetence Workshop. June, 22, 2007, Barcelona, Spain.This presentation shows and discusses the components of the architecture for smart indicators.The work on this publication has been sponsored by the TENCompetence Integrated Project that is funded by the European Commission's 6th Framework Programme, priority IST/Technology Enhanced Learning. Contract 027087 [http://www.tencompetence.org

Smart Indicators on Learning Interactions

Glahn, C. (2007). Smart Indicators on Learning Interactions. Presented at Second European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning, EC-TEL 2007. September, 20, 2007, Hiraklion, Greece.This presentation introduces the key concepts of the Smart Indicator Environment. The presentation focuses on the research motivation, personalisation strategies of interaction indicators, and provides an example strategy for a web2.0 community.The work on this publication has been sponsored by the TENCompetence Integrated Project that is funded by the European Commission's 6th Framework Programme, priority IST/Technology Enhanced Learning. Contract 027087 [http://www.tencompetence.org

Towards evaluation design for smart city development

Smart city developments integrate digital, human, and physical systems in the built environment. With growing urbanization and widespread developments, identifying suitable evaluation methodologies is important. Case-study research across five UK cities - Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Milton Keynes and Peterborough - revealed that city evaluation approaches were principally project-focused with city-level evaluation plans at early stages. Key challenges centred on selecting suitable evaluation methodologies to evidence urban value and outcomes, addressing city authority requirements. Recommendations for evaluation design draw on urban studies and measurement frameworks, capitalizing on big data opportunities and developing appropriate, valid, credible integrative approaches across projects, programmes and city-level developments

Lessons Learned on Gender Equality

The purpose of this evaluation study is twofold: Firstly, to compile lessons learned from Danida evaluations, evaluation studies and other evaluation publications, and secondly, to distil a set of recommendations relevant to the roll-out of The Right to a Better Life (2012), more particularly the planned update of Danida's strategy, Gender Equality in Danish Development Cooperation (2004). The evaluation study was carried out between June and September 2013. The methodology is based on a desk review of Danida evaluation publications carried out between 2004 and 2013, and comprises three interconnected phases:1. Screening of a long list of 104 evaluation publications2. Analysis of 26 shortlisted evaluations3. Reporting findings and recommendatio

The role of remote sensing in the development of SMART indicators for ecosystem services assessment

Human beings benefit from a wide range of goods and services from the natural environment that are collectively known as ecosystem services. However, rapid natural habitat loss, overexploitation and climate change is causing accelerating losses of populations and species, with largely unknown consequences on ecosystem functioning and the sustainable provision of ecosystem services. It is crucial, therefore, to develop a suite of indicators of the health and status of ecosystems, to monitor and quantify services delivery and to facilitate policy responses to stop and reverse negative trends. An effective framework to facilitate the development of suitable indicators is by using the SMART approach, which defines five criteria that could be applied to set monitoring and management goals, which are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-sensitive. Remote sensing provides a useful data source that can monitor ecosystems over multiple spatial and temporal scales. Although the development and application of landscape indicators (vegetation indices, for example) derived from remote sensing data are comparatively advanced, it is acknowledged that a number of organisms and ecosystem processes are not detectable by remote sensing. This paper explores several approaches to overcome this limitation, by examining the strong affinity of species with dominant habitat structures and through the coupling of remote sensing and ecosystem process models using examples drawn from a number of important ecosystems

How Can Aid Be Gender Responsive in the Context of the New Aid Modalities? Lessons From Gender Responsive Budgeting Initiatives

This document presents the principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (PD)(2005) demonstrate a globalcommitment to reform aid managementmodalities, and improve the quality ofaid so that it contributes to the achievementof collectively agreed developmentgoals, such as the MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs). In thiscontext, gender equality advocates,human rights activists, and environmentalgroups have demanded increasedaction to ensure that aid reform translatesinto rights-based, sustainable, andequitable development