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The New Zealand Ministry of Education has constructed a wide‐ranging “Professional Development Plan” providing a four‐stage national pathway for progression to principalship; the first stage has been the conduction of the National Aspiring Principals Pilot (NAPP) programme in five regional locations. The purpose of this paper is to outline the evaluation of the programme.

A mixed method approach for evaluation was employed where qualitative and quantitative data were collected almost simultaneously, and compared and contrasted.

Key findings indicated overall sound programme delivery, curriculum coherence, high relevancy to stakeholders and good rates of principal appointments. Greater emphasis is placed on distinctive findings that have not been reported elsewhere. These included: primary‐sector participants rating course facilitation, online learning, and “relevancy of the course for principal development” more positively than their secondary counterparts; aspirants who had partial or full completion of a relevant post‐graduate leadership qualification rating eight aspects of NAPP lower than those without such qualifications; and aspirants who were approached and encouraged to apply for NAPP by their principal and subsequently supported by them, finding the programme more relevant and applicable.

The multiple positive outcomes reported reveal short‐term programme adequacy and effectiveness against a range of indicators. Long‐term impact (including capacity to change leadership practice, student learning and school improvement) evaluation is required to determine sustained effectiveness.

The paper provides distinctive findings that have not been reported previously for principal development and more general findings that should inform such development programmes.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of a shadowing/mentoring component of a post-graduate programme designed to prepare deputy and assistant principals for the principalship.

The research design is a qualitative evaluation of the shadowing/mentoring component of a principal preparation programme. The experiences of 13 individual aspiring principals who had taken part in the programme were explored using semi-structured interviews.

The shadowing/mentoring component of this programme allowed the aspiring principals to gain an understanding of the complexity of a principal’s role by shadowing and being mentored by experienced principals in a range of New Zealand schools. In addition to providing them with a network of effective principals, the experience led the aspiring principals to reflect on their leadership development.

The study drew on a small sample of 27 students enroled in the programme, 13 of whom were included in the data collection process.

This study presents the views of aspiring principals who valued the opportunity to relate theory to practice as part of a post-graduate programme.

The purpose of this paper is to review representative literature on social inclusion and evaluate the usefulness of the concept in current mental health policy.

The paper employs a selective review of the cost‐effectiveness of interventions aimed at improving social inclusion in children, young adults with first episode psychosis and unemployed adults of working age.

Social inclusion remains a useful concept in understanding both the causes of mental health problems and how these might best be addressed. Although measurement is not easy, it can be operationalised through a mixture of subjective and objective indicators. There is strong evidence for the effectiveness and cost‐effectiveness of interventions aimed at improving social inclusion for the groups selected. These findings provide strong support for prioritising these interventions, especially in times of severe financial restrictions.

The selection of literature for review limits the generalisability of the conclusions.

The paper sets out a clear and simple analysis of the concept of social inclusion and how it may be measured. It also brings together the cost‐effectiveness literature on attempts to improve social inclusion for three, key high‐risk groups. The paper strongly supports the value of retaining the concept of social inclusion, despite the fact that it has become temporarily unfashionable.

Competency frameworks can support public procurement capacity development and performance. However, literature on connecting professionalisation with national procurement contexts is limited. This paper aims to explain and conceptualise recent Romanian experience with developing bespoke competency frameworks at national level for public procurement that reflect the features of the Romanian public procurement system. The approach used could guide in broad-brush, mutatis mutandis, other (national) public procurement systems with comparable features, mainly those seeking a shift from a rather administrative function of public procurement towards a strategic function.

This case study reflects on the methodology used for analysing the Romanian public procurement environment in EU context to develop bespoke professionalisation instruments, and on ways to integrate competency management approaches in Romanian public procurement culture. That methodological mix has been mainly qualitative and constructionist, within an applied research approach. It combined desk research with empirical research and included legal research in this context.

A principled, methodological and pragmatic approach tailored to the procurement environment in question is essential for developing competency frameworks capable to resonate to and address the specific practical needs of that procurement system.

Competency frameworks can uphold societal objectives through public procurement.

Using valuable insights into the development of the Romanian public procurement competency frameworks, the paper provides a conceptual framework for instilling competency management approaches to public procurement professional development where the latter is governed by a rather distinct, public administration, paradigm. This conceptual framework can guide other public procurement systems and stimulate further research.

Competency frameworks can support public procurement capacity development and performance. However, literature on connecting professionalisation with national procurement contexts is limited. This paper aims to explain and conceptualise recent Romanian experience with developing bespoke competency frameworks at national level for public procurement that reflect the features of the Romanian public procurement system. The approach used could guide in broad-brush, mutatis mutandis, other (national) public procurement systems with comparable features, mainly those seeking a shift from a rather administrative function of public procurement towards a strategic function.

This case study reflects on the methodology used for analysing the Romanian public procurement environment in EU context to develop bespoke professionalisation instruments, and on ways to integrate competency management approaches in Romanian public procurement culture. That methodological mix has been mainly qualitative and constructionist, within an applied research approach. It combined desk research with empirical research and included legal research in this context.

A principled, methodological and pragmatic approach tailored to the procurement environment in question is essential for developing competency frameworks capable to resonate to and address the specific practical needs of that procurement system.

Competency frameworks can uphold societal objectives through public procurement.

Using valuable insights into the development of the Romanian public procurement competency frameworks, the paper provides a conceptual framework for instilling competency management approaches to public procurement professional development where the latter is governed by a rather distinct, public administration, paradigm. This conceptual framework can guide other public procurement systems and stimulate further research.

“Wide area cooperation” may be the ultimate challenge within transnational cooperation processes. Although the Alps share a remarkable history of mutual collaboration, they are facing the challenge of a new sustainable-coordination paradigm. The Alpine territories are at a turning point. They are striving for a new governance arrangement and trying to avoid both the Scylla of top-town dirigisme and the Charybdis of poor local governments. This paper aims to address the recent literature on the EU Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP) macro-regional strategy; provide some insights into the role that EUSALP could play as ultimate coordinator of the numerous networks operating in the Alpine space; and discuss a workable division of labour among the different actors that can ensure a renewed focus on sustainable development.

The review addresses two main strands of literature related to “wide area cooperation” and “multi-level governance” to synthesise the debate on the most appropriate governance structure for the Alps. The paper examines, dating back to 2000, the recent history of bottom-up projects related to sustainable tourism in the western arc of the Alps. The study uses a subset of best practices to evaluate the emerging governance frame.

The main outcomes of this study are a framework for a theoretical debate on the most appropriate governance structure for the Alps, guidance for policymakers on a division of labour among different stakeholders that can promote sustainable tourism in the Alps and a set of suggestions for practitioners. Further, the study acknowledges “sustainable tourism” as a highly relevant field to the emergence of bottom-up arrangements aimed at developing workable governance agreements.

The paper provides a state-of-the-art framework for “wide area cooperation” in the Alps and serves as a basis for discussion between academics and practitioners. As EUSALP is still in its infancy, its success will depend on the pro-active involvement of national stakeholders. In the case of Italy, this is all but granted because of the current unstable political situation.

This paper provides a rigorous framework for addressing top-down strategies and bottom-up planning in the Alpine space. The study also makes a practical contribution by addressing some topics of interest to policymakers.

The competitiveness of the Alpine regions is strongly influenced by environmental constraints and its relationship with the urban network in the valley floor, which cannot be one of pure dependence. This study aims to analyse the health of the Italian Alpine economy through the performance of its capital companies, defined as those operating in the strictly mountainous are-as within the territories covered by the Alpine Convention. The authors compare the performance (2012-2018) of the “inner core” firms with a counterfactual sample of companies from neighbouring territories to delineate the strengths and weaknesses of the Alpine enterprises. The paper addresses policymakers and practitioners who will design the future policies for the high lands, exploiting a vast collaborative planning network.

The study analyses two broad strands of literature on territorial competitiveness. It uses the coarsened exact matching techniques for the selection of a counterfactual sample at the enterprise level. The study follows a policy-oriented design, offering answers to future challenges.

The Alpine region has several different local production systems, with a significant level of heterogeneity among firms that differentiate the top 25% from the rest. The counterfactual analysis carried out does not provide clear evidence of significant differences. Instead, it con-firms strong similarities between the Alpine core and the peri-Alpine belt. It is only in terms of employment growth that the core grows less (with a high statistical significance). Finally, the authors introduce the analysis of sustainable value added (SVA) in the core area and use the “tourism chain” to compare different models. The focus here is on two keywords – rarefied and uncontaminated – that enable the transformation of some typical weaknesses of the “minor (or marginal) mountain” into assets for development, provided that place-based and network policies are activated.

The study focusses on the Italian Alps and could be extended in the future to the other countries participating in the Alpine Convention. It may also be enriched by qualitative analyses of partnerships and sole proprietorships that are not identified by the balance sheet analysis.

The study follows a policy-oriented design, offering possible solutions to future challenges.

The study offers some suggestions on the post-COVID-19 phase. The bottom-up, reluctant and community dimension are possible strengths to face the challenges that are opening up.

The study is one of the very few to carry out a counterfactual analysis of Alpine enterprises. It offers evidence on the strengths and weaknesses of the productive fabric of the high lands and updates the assessment of the health status of Alpine enterprises to accompany future fact-based policies after the COVID pandemic.

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that the application of standard environmental accounting practices for estimating long‐term discount rates is likely to lead to the rejection of biodiversity‐sensitive projects that are in the greater societal good.

The authors combine estimates of marginal ecosystem damages from two forestry case studies, one local, one global, with ten different term structures of discount rates taken from both the academic literature and policy choices to calculate present values.

Standard environmental accounting approaches for estimating the long‐term discount rate result in the under‐valuation of projects that are sensitive to biodiversity conservation.

This paper is set within a full cost accounting (FCA) framework, and therefore has the limitations that generally follow from taking this approach to biodiversity problems. Recommended extensions include looking at broader ranges of biodiversity costs and benefits.

Unless environmental accountants engage with environmental economists over the issue of intergenerational discount rates, then it is likely that socially responsible managers will reject projects that are in the greater societal good.

The paper introduces both normative discount rates and declining discount rates to estimates of shadow environmental provisions within FCA and contrasts these with current environmental accounting practices. It also provides two detailed case studies that demonstrate the extent to which biodiversity‐sensitive investment choices are likely to be undervalued by managers who follow current accounting recommendations concerning the appropriate choice of discount rate.

Startup companies represent a powerful engine of open innovation (OI) processes. The purpose of this paper is to represent a first step in building a map of the state-of-the-art knowledge of the “startups in an OI context” phenomenon. Through the selection and analysis of relevant literature, this study aims at deepening our understanding of the theme and at providing directions for future research.

By using an explicit method for the review (Pittaway et al., 2004) the authors selected a set of papers, which cover the knowledge domain object of this study. In total, 41 articles about “startups and OI” have been selected and the full papers have been analysed.

The analysed literature has been synthesized in seven sub-topics, which have been evaluated as the most relevant in explaining the phenomenon of startups in relation to OI. Implications for research, for managers and for policy makers conclude the paper.

The review produced valuable knowledge for both managers and policy decision-makers. The paper allows a better understanding of the role of startups in OI processes. This improved understanding can help managers of large firms as well as policy makers involved in OI in making their decisions. Besides, implications of OI strategies for startup managers have been singled-out.

Startup companies are intrinsically open organizations, necessarily engaged in innovation processes. Research at the intersection between the themes of OI and startups is gaining momentum. This review of the literature represents the first attempt to organize the scientific knowledge related to the intersection between the startups and OI phenomena systematically.

Nobody concerned with political economy can neglect the history of economic doctrines. Structural changes in the economy and society influence economic thinking and, conversely, innovative thought structures and attitudes have almost always forced economic institutions and modes of behaviour to adjust. We learn from the history of economic doctrines how a particular theory emerged and whether, and in which environment, it could take root. We can see how a school evolves out of a common methodological perception and similar techniques of analysis, and how it has to establish itself. The interaction between unresolved problems on the one hand, and the search for better solutions or explanations on the other, leads to a change in paradigma and to the formation of new lines of reasoning. As long as the real world is subject to progress and change scientific search for explanation must out of necessity continue.