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on Project, Program and Portfolio Management |
| By: | Gert Verschraegen; Sebastiano Sabato |
| Abstract: | This report examines how place-based socially innovative policies and actions can be better integrated into the broader European Union (EU) social agenda. On the basis of previous work and a roundtable taking place in the context of the Improve project, it a) identifies some main challenges for upscaling and consolidating place-based social innovation throughout the European multi-level governance system; b) analyses whether social innovation dovetails with the broader European policy goals of territorial cohesion and public participation, and c) proposes some cautious policy recommendations with regard to how EU resources can be used to better support socially innovative practices. Three main conclusions can be drawn from our analysis. Firstly, the EU supports social innovation both directly (by providing different kinds of resources for local socially innovative projects, not limited to financial resources) and indirectly, by supporting European umbrella organisations operating in the field of poverty and social inclusion. Yet, the degree of innovativeness of EU supported projects differs. Secondly, although EU support for place-based social innovation is significant, it is not consistent throughout the whole life cycle of social innovation. EU support is particularly effective in the early stages of socially innovative projects (conception and start-up). Institutionalisation of those projects depends on domestic circumstances (including welfare regimes’ peculiarities) and, what is more surprising given the emphasis at the EU level, EU resources are no used for up-scaling local socially innovative practices. Thirdly, an important challenge is to adapt the increasingly top-down approach in the support of socially innovative projects, with scarce attention being paid to the involvement and empowerment of socially excluded groups. |
| Keywords: | Social innovation, Europe 2020, poverty and social exclusion, participatory governance, usages of Europe |
| JEL: | I3 L3 Z18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hdl:improv:1610&r=ppm |
| By: | Albert Banal-Estañol; Inés Macho-Stadler; David Pérez-Castrillo |
| Abstract: | We study what makes a research grant application successful in terms of ability, type of research, experience, and demographics of the applicants. But our main objective is to investigate whether public funding organizations support the teams that are most likely to undertake transformative or "radical" research. Making use of the literature on recombinant innovation, we characterize such "radical teams" as those formed by eclectic and non-usual collaborators, and those that are heterogeneous and scientifically diverse. Our results, using data from the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), show that the more able, more basic, and more senior researchers, working in a top university, are more likely to be successful. But, radical teams are less likely to be funded by funding bodies. Our analysis of the research output of the awarded projects suggests that, voluntarily or involuntarily, the evaluation process in these organizations is biased against radical teams. |
| Keywords: | radical innovation, funding organizations, research grants |
| JEL: | O32 I23 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bge:wpaper:890&r=ppm |
| By: | Chomitz,Kenneth M.; Koenig,Pierre-Yves; Melancon,Guy; Renoust,Benjamin |
| Abstract: | About a third of development projects fail to achieve satisfactory outcomes, according to agencies'independent evaluation units. To a large extent, these outcomes appear to be baked into projects at their inception due to inadequate project design or relevance. This prompts questions about the diffusion of project design concepts: To what extent are better-designed or better-performing projects more likely to be emulated? Do factors of bureaucratic or political attractiveness -- such as ease of set-up and rapidity of disbursement -- play a role? To address these questions, this paper explores the use of methods from network science. It constructs a network graph of the relationship among the components of all World Bank investment projects initiated from 1996 to 2014, based on the semantic similarity of the component descriptions. It uses the network to assess the characteristics of projects that are more'prolific'in the sense of having closely related followers, and as tool for visualizing diffusion of design concepts. This illustrative exercise defines a measures of project'influence'on subsequent projects and tests simple, nonexclusive hypotheses about the determinants of influence. It finds no significant impact of project outcome or quality of entry (as independently rated) on'influence.'Nor does ease of project preparation (as proxied by time from concept note to effectiveness) have any significant effect. However, very small projects (less than $10 million) have markedly lower'influence'on average. This finding may have implications for the usefulness of small projects as pilots for subsequent scale up. |
| Keywords: | E-Business,Banks&Banking Reform,Economic Theory&Research,Poverty Monitoring&Analysis,Housing&Human Habitats |
| Date: | 2016–03–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7601&r=ppm |
| By: | Kris Bachus (HIVA, KU Leuven); Kristine Van Herck (HIVA, KU Leuven); Lize Van Dyck (HIVA, KU Leuven) |
| Abstract: | This research paper provides an overview of the main international climate finance and governance bodies, such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF), where Belgium was a Board member in 2015. The specific objectives of the study are to provide a comprehensive overview of the financial instruments that a donor can use to make contributions to the GCF taking into account the aim of the GCF and the institutional context (“upstream financial instruments”), the financial instruments that the Board of the GCF and national and regional intermediaries can use to mobilize private finance (“instream financial instruments”) and the financial instruments that the Board of the GCF can use to finance projects (“downstream financial instruments”). |
| Keywords: | Green Climate Fund, climate finance, climate flows, climate-related development finance, climate change, UNFCCC |
| JEL: | F35 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nam:befdwp:8&r=ppm |
| By: | Iwata, Hiroki |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the effect of an environmental regulation on the innovation choice of firms in an oligopoly. Most existing studies on environmental regulations and innovations examine the optimal behavior of firms when one innovation project is feasible. In our model, firms are allowed to choose from multiple types of innovation projects. Our main contributions are that we derive the conditions under which environmentally friendly and cost reducing innovations are selected in Bertrand competition and we show how environmental regulation affects innovation choice. |
| Keywords: | environmental regulation; innovation; the Porter hypothesis |
| JEL: | D21 Q55 Q58 |
| Date: | 2016–03–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:70280&r=ppm |
| By: | Jan Stede |
| Abstract: | The Italian white certificate scheme is the main national policy instrument to incentivise energy efficiency of the industrial sector. The mechanism sets binding energy-saving targets on electricity and gas distributors with at least 50,000 clients and includes a voluntary opt-in model for participation from other parties. This paper investigates and assesses the elements of the scheme that help overcome several barriers to deliver industrial energy efficiency. Results from a survey conducted among leading experts indicate that the Italian system provides a strong financial incentive to energy efficiency investments, covering a significant share of investment costs and thus reducing payback time. Moreover, the scheme fosters the development of energy service companies (ESCOs), which are key to developing, installing and arranging finance for projects on the ground. In conjunction with other policies, the mechanism also raises awareness of energy efficiency investment opportunities, thus helping overcome the market failure of insufficient information. Core challenges remain, including tackling regulatory uncertainty and improving access to finance. |
| Keywords: | White certificates, energy efficiency obligations, financial incentives, policy evaluation, ESCOs, industrial energy savings, market barriers |
| JEL: | D22 D82 L14 L97 Q48 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1565&r=ppm |
| By: | Will McDowall; Dimitri Zenghelis; Paul Drummond |
| Abstract: | The CCCEP Policy Innovation fund supported a project to explore the feasibility and perceived usefulness of an indicator of confidence in climate change policies. This final report presents the analysis that was undertaken by the project team, the outcomes of a workshop, and highlights ongoing steps to further develop the work. A stakeholder workshop was held to inform the proposed indicator. This took place on November 18th 2015 at UCL (see the annexes for a list of participants, and for the slides presented at the workshop by the project team). Prior to the workshop, a discussion paper was developed and circulated to participants. This report first provides the background and rationale of the idea itself, and examines why an indicator of confidence in policy might be useful. Section 3 then examines key issues relating to the scope and focus of such an indicator, and illustrates the views of stakeholders that participated in the project workshop on these issues. Sections 4 and 5 examine existing attempts or methods for measuring confidence or policy uncertainty in climate and energy fields, and in other related fields, and draws lessons for how a better climate policy confidence indicator might be developed. A summary of the methodological options for developing an indicator is presented in section 6, while section 7 draws conclusions and highlights next steps. Throughout the report, the perspectives of stakeholders consulted during the workshop are provided in text boxes. |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp231&r=ppm |
| By: | Hagen, Tobias |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates a placement coaching program implemented in Zurich during 2009-2013 that focused on the reemployment of persons drawing disability insurance (DI) benefits. A private company was commissioned to implement the program. Kernel-based matching and radius matching with bias adjustment estimators combined with difference-in-differences are applied to administrative panel data. The estimates point to a successful project in terms of a reduction in DI benefits and an increase in income even in the medium-run. A simple cost-benefit analysis suggests that the project was a profitable investment for the social security system. Sensitivity analyses indicate that the results are robust to confounders and further specification issues. An interesting policy implication is that it seems possible to enhance the employment prospects of disabled persons with a relatively inexpensive intervention which does not include any explicit investments in human capital. |
| Keywords: | rehabilitation,placement coaching,disability,evaluation,matching |
| JEL: | I38 J08 J14 J64 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fhfwps:10&r=ppm |
| By: | Klein, Helmut |
| Abstract: | Die vorliegende Studie betrifft die Gen. Y und ihre spezifischen Anforderungen an die Unternehmensorganisation. Im Ergebnis einer durchgeführten Befragung ist festzuhalten, dass die Gen. Y die Kernkompetenzen eines Managers verstärkt einfordert und eine hohe Betreuungsintensität verlangt. Dies hat Auswirkungen auf die Führungsspanne, Planung und Kontrolle von Aufgaben, die Gestaltung der vertikalen und horizontalen Prozesse sowie die Zusammensetzung von Teamarbeitsformen. Projektarbeit sowie interessante und abwechslungsreiche Aufgabenstellungen schätzt die Gen. Y ebenso wie ihr entgegengebrachtes Feedback und Wertschätzung. Unterstützung bedarf die Gen. Y durch Sensibilisierung bzgl. der Aussagekraft, Korrektheit, Vollständigkeit und Plausibilität recherchierter Daten. |
| Abstract: | The presented study analyses work-related requirements of Gen. Y and discusses the possible impact on company organizations. Data analysis of a questionnaire shows that Gen. Y demands a high level of people management skills and support. As a consequence, team size, planning and control of tasks, design of horizontal and vertical processes as well as staffing of teams require special attention. Project work as well as interesting and diversified tasks are appreciated by Gen. Y. Also feedback and appreciation are important values in their business life. Usage of IT and communication tools is integral part of their business and private life. However, employees of Gen. Y need support to strengthen their awareness about significance, correctness, completeness and plausibility of the information they research. |
| Keywords: | Organisation,Unternehmenskultur,Generation Y |
| JEL: | L22 M14 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:hawdps:56&r=ppm |