Search results

This chapter highlights ecosystem-based adaptation in coastal Bangladesh aimed at securing climate and disaster-resilient environment for safer life and livelihood for vulnerable communities in the face of changing climate. Development intervention based on the opportunities offered by the nature and adaptation management plan from the perspective of vulnerability analysis can make a substantive difference in enhancing resilience. Engagement of broad-based stakeholders at vertical and horizontal levels in building adaptive capacity can be linked through both at the policy and institutional levels as well as at ecosystem levels for effective results. Innovation in convergence of disaster risk reduction and adaptation through fish, fruit, and forest as a part of livelihood integrated into the coastal afforestation ensure better livelihood in a safer coastal habitats. Such forest-based adaptive livelihood and carbon sequestration help land development that is promising to offset the sea level rise due to higher rate of siltation. Climate resilient habitat is another innovative initiative that protects the households, and their livelihood is protected by eco-engineering structures and green defense to make it safer from cyclone and tidal surge.

This paper aims to examine how various academic disciplines shape the field of event portfolio management. Given the complex nature of portfolios comprising different genres that are studied separately from their respective disciplinary realms, the academic event portfolio landscape remains fragmented. This is against the nature of portfolios, which requires inter-disciplinarity and novel integration of genres, stakeholders and perspectives.

Based on a scoping literature review, this conceptual paper sets up a common ground for the academic study and industrial development of event portfolio management.

A comprehensive view of event portfolio literature across disciplines reveals its hypostasis as a compound transdisciplinary field. The authors suggest a set of foundational premises whereby they identify 22 principal thematic areas that comprise this emerging field.

The establishment of event portfolio management as a distinct field will help in the osmosis and diffusion of new ideas, models and best practices to run and leverage portfolios. The portfolio perspective highlights the need for cohesive learning to design comprehensive systems of events, implement joint strategies, solidify social networks, coordinate multiple stakeholders and develop methods of holistic evaluation.

By examining comprehensively event portfolio management as a transdisciplinary field, the authors have been able to identify principal research directions and priorities. This comprehensive analysis provides a synergistic ground, which at this embryonic stage of development, can be used to set out joint trajectories and reciprocal foci across the whole span of scholarship studying planned series of events.

The purpose of this paper is to review and compare the implementation of “arts inclusion” policies (AIPs) by 14 different public administrative systems around the world. It aims to provide a consolidated source which informs further studies in this field, and to develop a framework to compare AIPs at a global level.

Using “arts inclusion policy” as the search term, academic journals from a wide spectrum of fields were reviewed. A data set was extracted from the Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends’ online database which provided real-time information of national cultural policies. Another data set is from the United Nations’ Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, as the geographic scope of the review – largely focussing on UK, US, Australian, Scandinavian and Asian contexts. Using existing policy-making literature as benchmark, the authors designed and applied a comparative framework dedicated to AIPs which focussed on “policy-making structures” as the main ground of comparison.

An important finding is that the policy development and implementation of AIPs often underscore inter-sectoral involvement in many public administrations in this study. With policy leadership and financial incentives pivotal to effective AIPs, central governments should take a more concerted leadership role to include AIPs in national inter-sectoral policies, encourage evidence-based research, expand funding and advocate the recognition of the impacts of arts inclusion. It is concluded that AIPs in western countries remain more developed in targeted scopes and programme diversity compared to those of Asian countries and regions. Continued studies in this field are encouraged.

This review is the first of its kind to include a number of Asian and western countries within its research scope, allowing it to offer a more holistic outlook on the development and implementation of AIPs in different countries and regions. A common critique with all relevant existing literature was usually their lack of concrete comparative grounds, and the present study’s all-encompassing review of literature from across different levels and sectors of respective public administrative systems contribute to a unique and comprehensive perspective in the arts and health discourse.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of pensionomics as a prospective tool for pension evaluation. This paper suggests a paradigm shift – a multi-disciplinary synthesis of differing perspectives in evaluating pension’s overall performance based on past work on pension evaluation – incorporating non-economic variables with significant impact on economic growth and social development.

This paper suggests a new analytical tool called “Pensions Consistency (PC) Index” that identifies the level of consistency and the strengths and weaknesses within any pension system. The new conceptual framework focusses on building inter-sectoral and holistic policies able to respond to the new multi-dimensional dynamic environment.

The consideration of pensionomics concept as an evaluation tool for pension schemes provides insights that are helpful in explaining performance differentials. Taking definition, classification and evaluation as a guiding principle, the new conceptual framework can be a useful point of reference for the overall evaluation of pension schemes, revealing deficiencies that traditional evaluation methods cannot detect. The multi-disciplinary approach focusses on building inter-sectoral and holistic policies that are able to respond to the multi-dimensional uncertainties of the new dynamic environment.

The heterogeneity and complexity in event dynamics are systemic in the sense that the impact is far from linear. The idiosyncratic nature of unexpected and unpredictable events is rather a result of multi-dimensionality based, among others, on magnitude, frequency, timing, intensity and impact. It is plausible to argue that crisis episodes can destabilize critical systems of economic activity, producing economic spillovers that can directly or indirectly affect the sustainability of pension schemes. If the calculation of direct economic impact is readily traceable, the estimation of indirect economic impact can be an onerous task.

Pensionomics places the concept of retirement in a multi-disciplinary context. Pensionomics overcomes theoretical and empirical limitations encountered by the path-dependency perspective, developing a new research agenda to study pension schemes under historical, cultural, social, political, economic, political and environmental prism. Integrating diversified data, techniques, perspectives and concepts, pensionomics’ objective is to connect natural and man-made events with social protection mechanisms for the development of a dynamic social protection framework where individual, community and society needs are met effectively and efficiently by implementing tailored policies, closely related to their specific context.

The concept of retirement has evolved constantly, transforming societies and shaping both income and non-income dimensions of well-being. Pension entitlement turned gradually from a political discourse to a human right discourse. Pension schemes have extended the scope of insurance coverage beyond labour markets and the lifecycle, supporting the broader needs of entire population. Furthermore, pension schemes are widely acknowledged as drivers of economic growth: they enhance labour productivity; foster smooth consumption; and create a stable economic environment for investment and innovation. Current expectations require pension schemes to adopt proactive and reactive policies to examine options for mitigation or for modification of potential consequences in anticipation of exceptional events.

This paper suggests a paradigm shift, a multi-disciplinary approach called pensionomics, and this “multi-disciplinary” focus builds a new analytical framework to evaluate pension’s overall performance based on past work on pension evaluation, incorporating non-economic variables with significant impact on economic growth and social development. PC-Index introduces a comprehensive evaluation tool to study the coverage, performance, efficiency, effectiveness, current trends and future possibilities of pension schemes.

Explains that Health for All is an international extra‐governmental movement that seeks to pursue equity in access to health‐related resources by broadening the scope of health policy. Notes that its major principles include social participation in state decision making, inter‐sectoral collaboration in policy formulation and the improvement of conditions for the disadvantaged. Points out that its local initiatives often encompass health‐service professionals and practitioners as well as the voluntary sector, social services and other local authority departments, and that the effect of this local activity on political understandings of health at a national level gives some indication of the extent to which this local time and effort have been justified. In this respect, notes two limits to the impact of the Health for All movement on the political debates about health in Britain. Suggests that these centre on a largely indifferent but powerful national government and an emphasis within the movement initiatives at the level of a politically marginalized local state.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been involved in academic programs in many Western countries, actively participating and reshaping policy implementation. This tremendous growth in external voluntary and philanthropic organizations in schools is associated with a global trend toward decentralization, commodification, privatization, neoliberalism and governmental budget cuts. NGOs have become very popular partners in attempts to meet education goals set by the government and are increasingly involved both in policy formation and implementation. And arise questions regarding the special challenges facing school principals. This study explored the perceptions of school principals regarding the NGO involvement in designing and implementing education policy in Israel.

The authors applied a qualitative research method, conducting in-depth interviews with primary school principals of schools with low socioeconomic student populations, where NGOs operate at the national level to promote educational achievement programs. This research approach acknowledges the existence of structured, fluid, subjective, flexible and dynamic realities that are attributed different meanings and interpretations and are shaped within political, cultural and social contexts. Thus, this study aims to reflect the perceptions of school principals regarding the involvement of NGOs in design and implementation of education policies. The authors utilized an inductive process of condensing, encoding, categorizing, and theorizing to analyze the data.

Data analysis revealed the following three major themes evident in the perceptions of school principals: intersectoral partnership policies in education; a policy of re-examining mutual responsibility for education; and the benefit of NGO engagement in education. Inter-sectoral partnership policy is the emergence of alternative models, defined as different political and institutional ways of organizing collective action is an effective way to organize and benefit, and is a way of introducing new ideas, actors and resources into public education systems. However, this new model is a complex, ongoing and dynamic process with school principals at the helm of these new relationships.

This study includes new information on how school principals see NGOs involvement in planning and implementation of education policy. However, it was conducted with various limitations. First, participants and their input all relate specifically to education in Israel. Any generalizations that may be drawn from them to shed light on similar processes around the world would require the study also be conducted in diverse sociocultural contexts. Second, interviews with principals were held through the 2016–2017 school year. A longitudinal study would be required to examine whether and how principals feel after years of working with NGOs on various projects. Finally, this study only focused on the opinions of principals, representing only one involved party. This cannot be a comprehensive perspective on the partnership and collaboration between formal education systems and NGOs. Thus, further research is necessary to examine the perceptions of NGOs managers, policymakers, supervisors, teachers, pupils and parents. Based on the authors’ study's findings, they recommend investigating whether, how, and under what conditions principals can nurture partnerships with NGOs as a platform for initiative, particularly the vigorous leadership needed to carry out the policy.

The establishment and support of intersectoral partnerships between the Education Ministry and NGOs is a complex, ongoing and dynamic process with school principals at the helm of these new relationships. Principals have been given more independence, autonomy and clout as they maintain the external networks now contributing to improved outcomes and addressing unique community needs. Consequently, the more external factors become involved in education, the more principals are required to manage and implement the partnership. As such, policymakers (main office and district supervisors), implementers (NGO managers, school principals, teachers) and recipients (parents and teachers) must stay attentive to each other, adjust expectations as to the limits of responsibility, and primary to recognize the needs to keep making improvements to the partnership that are based on reciprocal assessment. More, all involved parties must continue to be active in developing, deepening and maintaining the employed mechanisms, normalizing them to become the standard in intersectoral partnerships in education.

This study provides theoretical contributions and practical implications of NGO involvement in designing and implementing education policies from the perspective and function of school principals in this era of ever-changing economic and social reality. Establishment and support of intersectoral partnerships between the Education Ministry and NGOs is a complex ongoing and dynamic process with school principals at the helm of these new relationships. The principals have been given more independence autonomy and clout as they maintain the external networks now contributing to improved outcomes and addressing unique community needs and more principals are required to manage and implement the partnership.

Recognition that not every climate adaptation policy is a good one has shifted attention to new tools and methods to measure the adequacy and effectiveness of adaptation policies. This study aims to propose and apply and applies an innovative adaptation policy assessment framework to identify the extent to which climate adaptation policies in Vietnam exhibit conditions that are likely to ensure a sufficient, credible and effective adaptation.

In total, 21 conditions, categorized under five normative principles and covering critical issue areas in adaptation domain, form the climate adaptation policy assessment framework. The principles were double-checked and tested in case studies through observations and analyses of policy documents to ensure that each condition should be distinct and not overlapping across principles. To see if the principles and attendant conditions were able to capture all relevant aspects of adaptation, the authors used structured expert judgment. In total, 39 policy documents pertaining to climate change adaptation were selected for qualitative document analysis. In-depth interviews with local officials and experts were conducted to address data gaps.

The study reveals major weaknesses constituting a reasonably worrisome picture of the adaptation policies in Vietnam since several critical conditions were underrepresented. These results shed new light on why some adaptation policies falter or are posing adverse impacts. The findings suggest that a sound policy assessment framework can provide evidence on what effective adaptation policy looks like and how it can be enabled. The framework for climate adaptation policy assessment in this study can be easily adjusted and used for different socio-environmental contexts in which new conditions for policy assessment might emerge.

The findings show underlying weaknesses constituting a reasonably worrisome picture of the adaptation regime in Vietnam. In the absence of mechanisms and measures for accountability and transparency in policy processes, adaptation in Vietnam appears more likely to be prone to maladaptation and corruption. While solving these problems will not be easy for Vietnam, the government needs to evaluate whether the short-term gains in sustaining the existing adaptation policies really make progress and serve its long-term climate-adaptive development goals.

Although interpretations of adaptation effectiveness may be very divergent in different normative views on adaptation outcomes, the authors argue that a common, agreed-upon effectiveness can be reached if it is clearly defined and measurable in adaptation policies. Thus, the climate adaptation policy assessment framework proposed in this study is critical for policymakers, practitioners, donors and stakeholders dealing with adaptation to better understand the weaknesses in policymaking processes, pinpoint priority areas of action and timely prevent or prepare for possible adverse impacts of policies.

Rural regions in Canada are aging faster than urban centers, but access to health and social care is limited. Integrated health and social care (IHSC) through collaboration across different health and social care organizations can support enhanced care for older adults living in rural regions. However, IHSC is not well understood within a rural Canadian context.

A case study of a Canadian IHSC initiative, Geriatric Assessment Program Collaboratory (GAPC), in northern Alberta was undertaken to understand how successful IHSC can occur in an urban/rural region. The study used key informant interviews and a focus group of representatives from the GAPC organizations.

Nine factors were identified that support GAPC: communications, information sharing, shared vision and goals, inter-organizational culture, diffused leadership, team-based approaches, dedicated resources, role clarity, champions and pre-existing relationships. Eight external influence factors were identified as influencing partnership including geography, strong sense of community, inter-sectoral work, public policy, governance authorities and structures, funding models, aging communities and operating within a not-for-profit (NFP) setting.

The study reveals insights into how IHSC can occur within a rural Canadian context. This study demonstrates that IHSC occurs at the local level and that primary care providers can drive IHSC successfully.

This paper aims to analyse innovation models and interdisciplinarity in science, technology and innovation (STI) policy in Costa Rica between 2015 and 2021. The core focus is to evaluate the public policy in light of the groundwork that sustains the designed and proposed actions.

The authors applied a qualitative approach to build a set of dimensions and conducted content-analysis of selected documents. The analysis encompasses all current STI public policy documents in Costa Rica, including the planning instruments of the Central Government and the National Policy on STI.

The main findings show that STI policy in Costa Rica is based on different innovation models, but the projects and instruments themselves show the predominance of the reductionist model. Innovation receives a residual role. In turn, interdisciplinarity is based on the concept of convergence, which limits disciplinary collaboration to the natural, physical and engineering sciences, minimising contributions from other fields of knowledge to an instrumental role in innovation processes.

The authors conclude that the interlinkage between open innovation models, the participation of diverse societal actors and the inclusion of an interdisciplinary perspective leads to inclusive and more democratic public policy, allowing more sectors and organisations to benefit from innovation processes. This would imply a greater reach and impact of the policy, conditions that translate into innovation achievements and a better return on public investment.

This paper contributes to current discussions on STI policy by studying the implications of the link among policies, innovation models and interdisciplinarity.