Designing Graduate-Level Plant Breeding Curriculum: A Delphi Study of Private Sector Stakeholder Opinions

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Jane K.; Repinski, Shelby L.; Hayes, Kathryn N.; Bliss, Frederick A.; Trexler, Cary J.

2011-01-01

A broad-based survey using the Delphi method was conducted to garner current information from private sector stakeholders and build consensus opinions supporting key ideas for enhancing plant breeder education and training. This study asked respondents to suggest and rate topics and content they deemed most important to plant breeding graduate…

Power, conflict and consensus building in Africa: Ideology revisited

African Journals Online (AJOL)

As presently applied in Africa, consensus building seems to be a product of knowledge ... Often international professional negotiators and .... The conflict model views individual or group relationships in all structures of power as a ..... for political parties to win and maintain power, Weber states that 'parties live in the house of ...

Stakeholder engagement in dredged material management decisions.

Science.gov (United States)

Collier, Zachary A; Bates, Matthew E; Wood, Matthew D; Linkov, Igor

2014-10-15

Dredging and disposal issues often become controversial with local stakeholders because of their competing interests. These interests tend to manifest themselves in stakeholders holding onto entrenched positions, and deadlock can result without a methodology to move the stakeholder group past the status quo. However, these situations can be represented as multi-stakeholder, multi-criteria decision problems. In this paper, we describe a case study in which multi-criteria decision analysis was implemented in a multi-stakeholder setting in order to generate recommendations on dredged material placement for Long Island Sound's Dredged Material Management Plan. A working-group of representatives from various stakeholder organizations was formed and consulted to help prioritize sediment placement sites for each dredging center in the region by collaboratively building a multi-criteria decision model. The resulting model framed the problem as several alternatives, criteria, sub-criteria, and metrics relevant to stakeholder interests in the Long Island Sound region. An elicitation of values, represented as criteria weights, was then conducted. Results show that in general, stakeholders tended to agree that all criteria were at least somewhat important, and on average there was strong agreement on the order of preferences among the diverse groups of stakeholders. By developing the decision model iteratively with stakeholders as a group and soliciting their preferences, the process sought to increase stakeholder involvement at the front-end of the prioritization process and lead to increased knowledge and consensus regarding the importance of site-specific criteria. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The Role of Scientific Studies in Building Consensus in Environmental Decision Making: a Coral Reef Example

Science.gov (United States)

We present a new approach for characterizing the potential of scientific studies to reduce conflict among stakeholders in an analytic-deliberative environmental decision-making process. The approach computes a normalized metric, the Expected Consensus Index of New Research (ECINR...

Guided Inquiry and Consensus-Building Used to Construct Cellular Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joel I. Cohen

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Using models helps students learn from a “whole systems” perspective when studying the cell. This paper describes a model that employs guided inquiry and requires consensus building among students for its completion. The model is interactive, meaning that it expands upon a static model which, once completed, cannot be altered and additionally relates various levels of biological organization (molecular, organelle, and cellular to define cell and organelle function and interaction. Learning goals are assessed using data summed from final grades and from images of the student’s final cell model (plant, bacteria, and yeast taken from diverse seventh grade classes. Instructional figures showing consensus-building pathways and seating arrangements are discussed. Results suggest that the model leads to a high rate of participation, facilitates guided inquiry, and fosters group and individual exploration by challenging student understanding of the living cell.

Building a model based on scientific consensus for Life Cycle Impact Assessment of chemicals:

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Huijbregts, Mark; Jolliet, Olivier

2008-01-01

Achieving consensus among scientists is often a challenge - particularly in model development. In this article we describe a recent scientific consensus-building process for Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) models applied to chemical emissions - including the strategy, execution, and results...

How to target climate-smart agriculture? Concept and application of the consensus-driven decision support framework “targetCSA”

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brandt, Patric; Kvakić, Marko; Butterbach-Bahl, Klaus; Rufino, Mariana C.

2017-01-01

Planning for agricultural adaptation and mitigation has to lean on informed decision-making processes. Stakeholder involvement, consensus building and the integration of comprehensive and reliable information represent crucial, yet challenging, pillars for successful outcomes. The spatially-explicit

Linking mortgage finance incentives to a voluntary home energy rating system: Insight into consensus building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jenior, M.-M.

1994-01-01

A collaborative consensus process was created to implement a program linking voluntary home energy rating systems (HERS) to mortgage incentives. The participants involved many of the stakeholders or interest groups who have a role in implementing and who will be affected by energy efficiency mortgate incentive programs linked to HERS. The participants included representatives from the primary and secondary mortgage market; real estate, home building, and remodeling industries; utilities; state, local, consumer, and environmental organizations; and home energy rating providers. The participants defined the actions required to implement as well as the technical requirements of a program linking home energy ratings and mortgage finance. Building on the recommendations of the collaborative process, members of the collaborative continue to take initiatives to put a Home Energy Rating Systems Council into place, in planning pilot programs for developing and testing ways to link HERS and mortgage programs, and in making home buyers and owners aware of existing mortgage incentives. At the same time, mortgage providers are working to develop uniformity among mortgage incentive programs and with the US Department of Energy to develop procedures to verify the relative accuracy of HERS calculation tools and their application, and with the emerging HERS Council to develop the guidelines for voluntary HERS required under the Energy Policy Act of 1992

The life and health challenges of young Malaysian couples: results from a stakeholder consensus and engagement study to support non-communicable disease prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Norris, S A; Anuar, H; Matzen, P; Cheah, J C H; Jensen, B B; Hanson, M

2014-01-01

Malaysia faces burgeoning obesity and diabetes epidemics with a 250% and 88% increase respectively between 1996 and 2006. Identifying the health challenges of young adults in Malaysia, who constitute 27.5 % of the population, is critical for NCD prevention. The aim of the study was two-fold: (1) to achieve consensus amongst stakeholders on the most important challenge impacting the health of young adults, and (2) to engage with stakeholders to formulate a NCD prevention framework. The Delphi Technique was utilised to achieve group consensus around the most important life and health challenges that young adults face in Malaysia. Subsequently, the results of the consensus component were shared with the stakeholders in an engagement workshop to obtain input on a NCD prevention framework. We found that life stress was a significant concern. It would seem that the apathy towards pursuing or maintaining a healthy lifestyle among young adults may be significantly influenced by the broader distal determinant of life stress. The high cost of living is suggested to be the main push factor for young working adults towards attaining better financial security to improve their livelihood. In turn, this leads to a more stressful lifestyle with less time to focus on healthier lifestyle choices. The findings highlight a pivotal barrier to healthier lifestyles. By assisting young adults to cope with daily living coupled with realistic opportunities to make healthier dietary choices, be more active, and less sedentary could assist in the development of NCD health promotion strategies.

Implementing change in health professions education: stakeholder analysis and coalition building.

Science.gov (United States)

Baum, Karyn D; Resnik, Cheryl D; Wu, Jennifer J; Roey, Steven C

2007-01-01

The challenges facing the health sciences education fields are more evident than ever. Professional health sciences educators have more demands on their time, more knowledge to manage, and ever-dwindling sources of financial support. Change is often necessary to either keep programs viable or meet the changing needs of health education. This article outlines a simple but powerful three-step tool to help educators become successful agents of change. Through the application of principles well known and widely used in business management, readers will understand the concepts behind stakeholder analysis and coalition building. These concepts are part of a powerful tool kit that educators need in order to become effective agents of change in the health sciences environment. Using the example of curriculum change at a school of veterinary medicine, we will outline the three steps involved, from stakeholder identification and analysis to building and managing coalitions for change.

77 FR 4984 - Solicitation of Input From Stakeholders Regarding the Capacity Building Grants for Non Land Grant...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-01

... Stakeholders Regarding the Capacity Building Grants for Non Land Grant Colleges of Agriculture Institutions... and request for stakeholder input. SUMMARY: The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is... of the Secretary of Agriculture in soliciting public comments and stakeholder input from interested...

Participatory System Dynamics Modeling: Increasing Stakeholder Engagement and Precision to Improve Implementation Planning in Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmerman, Lindsey; Lounsbury, David W; Rosen, Craig S; Kimerling, Rachel; Trafton, Jodie A; Lindley, Steven E

2016-11-01

Implementation planning typically incorporates stakeholder input. Quality improvement efforts provide data-based feedback regarding progress. Participatory system dynamics modeling (PSD) triangulates stakeholder expertise, data and simulation of implementation plans prior to attempting change. Frontline staff in one VA outpatient mental health system used PSD to examine policy and procedural "mechanisms" they believe underlie local capacity to implement evidence-based psychotherapies (EBPs) for PTSD and depression. We piloted the PSD process, simulating implementation plans to improve EBP reach. Findings indicate PSD is a feasible, useful strategy for building stakeholder consensus, and may save time and effort as compared to trial-and-error EBP implementation planning.

Building a stakeholder network for the Indiana Climate Change Impacts Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Dukes, J. S.; Widhalm, M.

2017-12-01

The Indiana Climate Change Impacts Assessment (IN CCIA) is a stakeholder-informed, service-driven resource developed under the coordination of the Purdue Climate Change Research Center (PCCRC) and with involvement from a diverse mix of contributors throughout the state. The IN CCIA brings together the best available climate change research into a series of reports aimed at helping Hoosiers better understand climate change-related risks so they can prepare for challenges and capitalize on opportunities. The IN CCIA development process aims to 1) increase the dialogue about climate change across the state, 2) provide Indiana decision makers with accessible, credible climate impact information, and 3) build a network of experts and stakeholders to support ongoing assessment efforts and knowledge sharing. This presentation will report on our experience with developing and maintaining a diverse stakeholder network. We will describe our efforts to connect with stakeholders before, during, and after the development of assessment reports and share the top themes that emerged from our pre-assessment inquires and other interactions.

Consensus Making in Requirements Negotiation: the communication perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jenny Price

2005-11-01

Full Text Available When developing an Information System (IS, organizational goals of various stakeholders are commonly in direct conflict. Furthermore, individuals often rank their private objectives well over their management's directions. Recognising and reconciling all these diverse goals, and reaching agreement among the stakeholders, are prerequisite to establishing project cooperation and collaboration. This paper focuses, in particular, on the negotiation and consensus making during requirements elicitation - the earliest stages of the IS development process. As requirements elicitation involves rich communication between project stakeholders, we therefore explore negotiation and consensus making from the communication perspective. The resulting model assists our understanding of the communication factors that influence the consensus process during requirements negotiation.

Stakeholder participation in radiological decision making: processes and implication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

Since 1998, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency has been organizing a series of workshops to address the various aspects of stakeholder involvement in radiological protection decision making. These workshops have been instrumental in forging consensus and improving understanding of key issues in this area. Building on the experience of the first two 'Villigen workshops', the third in the series extensively analysed three case studies, which covered the licensing of a new facility, the clean-up and release of an old facility, and the rehabilitation of a large, contaminated area. Consideration was given to the stakeholder involvement processes that had been used, and the implications that these did or could have on radiological protection policy, regulation and application. The workshop papers analysing these processes and implications are presented in these proceedings, which should provide valuable examples and lessons for governments, regulators and practitioners. (author)

Linking advanced biofuels policies with stakeholder interests: A method building on Quality Function Deployment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schillo, R. Sandra; Isabelle, Diane A.; Shakiba, Abtin

2017-01-01

The field of renewable energy policy is inherently complex due to the long-term impacts of its policies, the broad range of potential stakeholders, the intricacy of scientific, engineering and technological developments, and the interplay of complex policy mixes that may result in unintended consequences. Quality Function Deployment (QFD) provides a systematic consideration of all relevant stakeholders, a rigorous analysis of the needs of stakeholders, and a prioritization of design features based on stakeholders needs. We build on QFD combined with Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to develop a novel method applied to the area of advanced biofuel policies. This Multi-Stakeholder Policy QFD (MSP QFD) provides a systematic approach to capture the voice of the stakeholders and align it with the broad range of potential advanced biofuels policies. To account for the policy environment, the MSP QFD utilizes a novel approach to stakeholder importance weights. This MSP QFD adds to the literature as it permits the analysis of the broad range of relevant national policies with regards to the development of advanced biofuels, as compared to more narrowly focused typical QFD applications. It also allows policy developers to gain additional insights into the perceived impacts of policies, as well as international comparisons. - Highlights: • Advanced biofuels are mostly still in research and early commercialization stages. • Government policies are expected to support biofuels stakeholders in market entry. • A Multi-Stakeholder Policy QFD (MSP QFD) links biofuels policies with stakeholders. • MSP QFD employs novel stakeholder weights method. • The case of advanced biofuels in Canada shows comparative importance of policies.

The Role of Trust Building in the Development of Biosafety Regulations in Kenya - Comment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Justin Mabeya, Peter A. Singer and Obidimma C. Ezezika

2010-09-01

Full Text Available The potential of biotechnology to contribute to the reduction of hunger, malnutrition and poverty in Africa can only be realised with the presence of biosafety legislation. Recently, Kenya enacted the Biosafety Act 2008 after more than six years of stakeholder engagement with farmers, academicians, researchers, members of the community, funders, regulators, and private sector players. In this article, we highlight the challenges and importance of trust among stakeholders in the development and implementation of biosafety legislation in Kenya . We show how open stewardship by government, time investment, consensus building and sustained stakeholder engagement could be key aspects in building trust among stakeholders in the development of national biosafety regulations. Through our analyses of the process of development of Kenya biosafety regulations, we provide a set of guidelines that could help other African countries develop and improve stakeholder trust in developing biosafety regulations.

DOE Building America Stakeholder Outreach and Engagement Highlights: Jan. 1, 2016, through Dec. 31, 2016

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rothgeb, Stacey K [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2017-06-08

Fact sheet showing the metrics from calendar year 2016 from Building America's various outreach activities, including website, webinars, publications, etc. Metrics report on data for outreach and stakeholder engagement.

DOE Building America Stakeholder Outreach and Engagement Highlights: Jan. 1, 2016, through Dec. 31, 2016

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stacey Rothgeb

2017-05-01

Fact sheet showing the metrics from calendar year 2016 from Building America's various outreach activities, including website, webinars, publications, etc. Metrics report on data for outreach and stakeholder engagement.

Community engagement in the CTSA program: stakeholder responses from a national Delphi process.

Science.gov (United States)

Freeman, Elmer; Seifer, Sarena D; Stupak, Matthew; Martinez, Linda Sprague

2014-06-01

In response to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee's December 2012 public request for stakeholder input on the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program, two nonprofit organizations, the Center for Community Health Education Research and Service, Inc. (CCHERS) and Community-Campus Partnerships for Health (CCPH), solicited feedback from CTSA stakeholders using the Delphi method. Academic and community stakeholders were invited to participate in the Delphi, which is an exploratory method used for group consensus building. Six questions posed by the IOM Committee to an invited panel on community engagement were electronically sent to stakeholders. In Round 1 stakeholder responses were coded thematically and then tallied. Round 2 asked stakeholders to state their level of agreement with each of the themes using a Likert scale. Finally, in Round 3 the group was asked to rank the Round 2 based on potential impact for the CTSA program and implementation feasibility. The benefits of community engagement in clinical and translational research as well as the need to integrate community engagement across all components of the CTSA program were common themes. Respondents expressed skepticism as to the feasibility of strengthening CTSA community engagement. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

More than a headcount: towards strategic stakeholder representation in catchment management in South Africa and Zimbabwe

Science.gov (United States)

Manzungu, Emmanuel

In 1998 both South Africa and Zimbabwe promulgated new water laws to ensure that ownership and user-ship patterns of water resources match the new socio-political order. Integrated water resource management, incorporating among other things decentralized and democratized water management institutions and the principles of stakeholder participation, was regarded as the cornerstone of the reforms. This article examines how stakeholder representation, particularly of the formerly disadvantaged people, has been handled. It is observed that there has been too much effort dedicated to ensure a mere headcount of the stakeholders at the water table rather than on strategic representation. Strategic representation emphasizes stakeholder identity instead of consensus. Selective alliance building is important as is establishing genuine local level platforms with enough political space outside the state-tailored formal straight jackets. It is equally important to address developmental aspects of establishing catchment-wide bodies and structural problems such as access to land and financial resources. Without addressing these issues stakeholder representation will remain hamstrung in good intentions.

Stakeholder integration : Building Mutually Enforcing Relationships

NARCIS (Netherlands)

P.P.M.A.R. Heugens (Pursey); F.A.J. van den Bosch (Frans); C.B.M. van Riel (Cees)

2002-01-01

textabstractThis study examines the central contention ofinstrumental stakeholder theory— namely, that firms that breed trust-based, cooperative ties with their stakeholders will have a competitive advantage over firms that do not.Acase study of the introduction ofgenetically modified food products

Capacity building efforts and perceptions for wildlife surveillance to detect zoonotic pathogens: comparing stakeholder perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwind, Jessica S; Goldstein, Tracey; Thomas, Kate; Mazet, Jonna A K; Smith, Woutrina A

2014-07-04

The capacity to conduct zoonotic pathogen surveillance in wildlife is critical for the recognition and identification of emerging health threats. The PREDICT project, a component of United States Agency for International Development's Emerging Pandemic Threats program, has introduced capacity building efforts to increase zoonotic pathogen surveillance in wildlife in global 'hot spot' regions where zoonotic disease emergence is likely to occur. Understanding priorities, challenges, and opportunities from the perspectives of the stakeholders is a key component of any successful capacity building program. A survey was administered to wildlife officials and to PREDICT-implementing in-country project scientists in 16 participating countries in order to identify similarities and differences in perspectives between the groups regarding capacity needs for zoonotic pathogen surveillance in wildlife. Both stakeholder groups identified some human-animal interfaces (i.e. areas of high contact between wildlife and humans with the potential risk for disease transmission), such as hunting and markets, as important for ongoing targeting of wildlife surveillance. Similarly, findings regarding challenges across stakeholder groups showed some agreement in that a lack of sustainable funding across regions was the greatest challenge for conducting wildlife surveillance for zoonotic pathogens (wildlife officials: 96% and project scientists: 81%). However, the opportunity for improving zoonotic pathogen surveillance capacity identified most frequently by wildlife officials as important was increasing communication or coordination among agencies, sectors, or regions (100% of wildlife officials), whereas the most frequent opportunities identified as important by project scientists were increasing human capacity, increasing laboratory capacity, and the growing interest or awareness regarding wildlife disease or surveillance programs (all identified by 69% of project scientists). A One

Lessons learned on stakeholder issues in decommissioning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Sullivan, P.; Pescatore, C.

2008-01-01

Issues of public concern during decommissioning and dismantling (D and D) are partly the same and partly different from those of the preceding phases (planning, construction and operation). While in the course of construction and operation the main challenges include meeting expectations of a higher quality of life, accommodating a growing population, mitigating construction nuisances, and assuring the safe operation of the facility, the main concerns in the D and D phase are decreasing employment rate, the eventual reduction of revenues for the municipality, the future use of the affected land and negative social impacts (e.g., out-migration). The decommissioning phase is characterised by heterogeneity of stakeholder interests and values, difficulties of reaching consensus or compromise, and difficulties in connection with the harmonization of energy production, environmental protection and sustainable socio-economic development considerations. Typically, there might also be tensions between local and regional decisions. As in other phases, the building of trust between stakeholder is crucial from the point of view of conflict management, and social lessons learnt from the siting and developments of nuclear facilities are widely applicable in the field of D and D as well. A review is presented of major lessons to be learnt from NEA activities in the field of decommissioning and stakeholder involvement. (author)

Lessons learned on stakeholder issues in decommissioning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

O' Sullivan, P.; Pescatore, C. [OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, 92 - Issy les Moulineaux (France)

2008-07-01

Issues of public concern during decommissioning and dismantling (D and D) are partly the same and partly different from those of the preceding phases (planning, construction and operation). While in the course of construction and operation the main challenges include meeting expectations of a higher quality of life, accommodating a growing population, mitigating construction nuisances, and assuring the safe operation of the facility, the main concerns in the D and D phase are decreasing employment rate, the eventual reduction of revenues for the municipality, the future use of the affected land and negative social impacts (e.g., out-migration). The decommissioning phase is characterised by heterogeneity of stakeholder interests and values, difficulties of reaching consensus or compromise, and difficulties in connection with the harmonization of energy production, environmental protection and sustainable socio-economic development considerations. Typically, there might also be tensions between local and regional decisions. As in other phases, the building of trust between stakeholder is crucial from the point of view of conflict management, and social lessons learnt from the siting and developments of nuclear facilities are widely applicable in the field of D and D as well. A review is presented of major lessons to be learnt from NEA activities in the field of decommissioning and stakeholder involvement. (author)

Creating sustainable directions. Collaborative stakeholder approach of governments and businesses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keijzers, G.H.J.

2003-01-01

In this study it is demonstrated that the increasing complexity of sustainable development processes makes it necessary to intensify the collaboration between public and private parties to ensure effective, committed and enduring change. It is also demonstrated that this applies to both the development of government and business strategies and policies for sustainability. Report is given on research into the development of collaborative stakeholder and consensus-building approach for sustainable development. The emergence of new processes of collaboration and the increased intensity of collaboration between governments, businesses and societal groups is illustrated. The main research questions of this dissertation were formulated as: How does the complex and broadening range of sustainability issues affect policy processes for governments and businesses?; and How can enterprises manage the strategic processes of adapting their resources and capabilities to the evolving sustainability demands from a growing number of stakeholders?

Stakeholder views on returning research results.

Science.gov (United States)

Haga, Susanne B; Zhao, Jennifer Q

2013-01-01

While the disclosure of research findings is relevant to all types of biomedical research, it has garnered particular attention with respect to genetics and genomics research due to some of the unique aspects of the data and the high public profile of the field. In this chapter, we review the attitudes of stakeholders (research participants, policymakers, and researchers) to define areas of consensus regarding the issue of returning research results across and within groups. In addition to stakeholder attitudes about obligations and interest in research results, other major related issues related to returning research results, such as informed consent, communication of research results, and cost, are discussed. Given the consensus between stakeholders to return summary reports of a study's outcomes and individual research results of clinical significance, we conclude that the time has come to encourage, if not require, researchers to consider these issues in the developmental planning stages of a project and to plan and budget accordingly. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Building consensus in developing radioactive waste management systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Terrell, R.; Philpott, R.; Smith, S.L.; Gibson, J.

1991-01-01

To successfully develop radioactive waste management systems, national authorities must work to establish consensus on numerous complex issues among many affected and interested parties. This paper explores the meaning of consensus in waste management, with special attention to the different arenas in which consensus is established and how DOE can respond if consensus is withheld. Highlights of other national waste management programs are introduced to provide a broader perspective on consensus. It is suggested that the US waste management program has reached a point where Congress needs to act to reaffirm consensus on the direction of the US program

Automated consensus contour building for prostate MRI.

Science.gov (United States)

Khalvati, Farzad

2014-01-01

Inter-observer variability is the lack of agreement among clinicians in contouring a given organ or tumour in a medical image. The variability in medical image contouring is a source of uncertainty in radiation treatment planning. Consensus contour of a given case, which was proposed to reduce the variability, is generated by combining the manually generated contours of several clinicians. However, having access to several clinicians (e.g., radiation oncologists) to generate a consensus contour for one patient is costly. This paper presents an algorithm that automatically generates a consensus contour for a given case using the atlases of different clinicians. The algorithm was applied to prostate MR images of 15 patients manually contoured by 5 clinicians. The automatic consensus contours were compared to manual consensus contours where a median Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) of 88% was achieved.

Consensus group sessions are useful to reconcile stakeholders’ perspectives about network performance evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marie-Eve Lamontagne

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Having a common vision among network stakeholders is an important ingredient to developing a performance evaluation process. Consensus methods may be a viable means to reconcile the perceptions of different stakeholders about the dimensions to include in a performance evaluation framework.Objectives: To determine whether individual organizations within traumatic brain injury (TBI networks differ in perceptions about the importance of performance dimensions for the evaluation of TBI networks and to explore the extent to which group consensus sessions could reconcile these perceptions.Methods: We used TRIAGE, a consensus technique that combines an individual and a group data collection phase to explore the perceptions of network stakeholders and to reach a consensus within structured group discussions.Results: One hundred and thirty-nine professionals from 43 organizations within eight TBI networks participated in the individual data collection; 62 professionals from these same organisations contributed to the group data collection. The extent of consensus based on questionnaire results (e.g. individual data collection was low, however, 100% agreement was obtained for each network during the consensus group sessions. The median importance scores and mean ranks attributed to the dimensions by individuals compared to groups did not differ greatly. Group discussions were found useful in understanding the reasons motivating the scoring, for resolving differences among participants, and for harmonizing their values.Conclusion: Group discussions, as part of a consensus technique, appear to be a useful process to reconcile diverging perceptions of network performance among stakeholders.

Consensus shaping and safe space public participation processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andersson, Kjell [Karita Research AB, Taeaby (Sweden)

2015-07-01

Stakeholder involvement and public participation is recognized as a necessary part of nuclear waste management. It is possible to see three driving forces behind this development: (1) a deliberative movement with its roots in the 1960s leftish movement (a philosophical argument), (2) the need for public acceptance of proposed solutions (a practical argument), and (3) the need for awareness and clarity before crucial decisions are made (a practical and democratic argument). Depending on which driving force dominates an initiative for public participation, the initiator is likely to prefer certain public participation processes before others. The initiator has to select among a large number of processes already having been implemented or design a new one tailored for the specific situation. The process choice is crucial for which stakeholders are able to join and which goals can be reached. Much of the debate about public participation has referred to the ''Arnstein ladder'' (Arnstein, 1969) or its modernized versions, such as the participation ladder used in the IPPA Project (Richardson et.al. 2011) building on work by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (MNP, 2008). The various forms of ladders have in common an increasing level of ambition for participation from low to high. The higher up on the ladder, the better it is often anticipated. However, with this should follow more responsibility and accountability of all participants, which in practice is often lacking. There are also practical problems in using the ladder to map public participation processes. For example the step 'collaboration' is ambiguous as it can mean different things. In the RISCOM Process, participants collaborate to improve clarity and awareness but not for finding common solutions. Therefore, the RISCOM Process (Vojtechova, 2009) does not fit into the ladder structure. To avoid these and other problems it is suggested to use three basic approaches to

Consensus shaping and safe space public participation processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andersson, Kjell

2015-01-01

Stakeholder involvement and public participation is recognized as a necessary part of nuclear waste management. It is possible to see three driving forces behind this development: (1) a deliberative movement with its roots in the 1960s leftish movement (a philosophical argument), (2) the need for public acceptance of proposed solutions (a practical argument), and (3) the need for awareness and clarity before crucial decisions are made (a practical and democratic argument). Depending on which driving force dominates an initiative for public participation, the initiator is likely to prefer certain public participation processes before others. The initiator has to select among a large number of processes already having been implemented or design a new one tailored for the specific situation. The process choice is crucial for which stakeholders are able to join and which goals can be reached. Much of the debate about public participation has referred to the ''Arnstein ladder'' (Arnstein, 1969) or its modernized versions, such as the participation ladder used in the IPPA Project (Richardson et.al. 2011) building on work by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (MNP, 2008). The various forms of ladders have in common an increasing level of ambition for participation from low to high. The higher up on the ladder, the better it is often anticipated. However, with this should follow more responsibility and accountability of all participants, which in practice is often lacking. There are also practical problems in using the ladder to map public participation processes. For example the step 'collaboration' is ambiguous as it can mean different things. In the RISCOM Process, participants collaborate to improve clarity and awareness but not for finding common solutions. Therefore, the RISCOM Process (Vojtechova, 2009) does not fit into the ladder structure. To avoid these and other problems it is suggested to use three basic approaches to

Science, policy, and stakeholders: developing a consensus science plan for Amchitka Island, Aleutians, Alaska.

Science.gov (United States)

Burger, Joanna; Gochfeld, Michael; Kosson, David S; Powers, Charles W; Friedlander, Barry; Eichelberger, John; Barnes, David; Duffy, Lawrence K; Jewett, Stephen C; Volz, Conrad D

2005-05-01

With the ending of the Cold War, the US Department of Energy is responsible for the remediation of radioactive waste and disposal of land no longer needed for nuclear material production or related national security missions. The task of characterizing the hazards and risks from radionuclides is necessary for assuring the protection of health of humans and the environment. This is a particularly daunting task for those sites that had underground testing of nuclear weapons, where the radioactive contamination is currently inaccessible. Herein we report on the development of a Science Plan to characterize the physical and biological marine environment around Amchitka Island in the Aleutian chain of Alaska, where three underground nuclear tests were conducted (1965-1971). Information on the ecology, geology, and current radionuclide levels in biota, water, and sediment is necessary for evaluating possible current contamination and to serve as a baseline for developing a plan to ensure human and ecosystem health in perpetuity. Other information required includes identifying the location of the salt water/fresh water interface where migration to the ocean might occur in the future and determining groundwater recharge balances, as well as assessing other physical/geological features of Amchitka near the test sites. The Science Plan is needed to address the confusing and conflicting information available to the public about radionuclide risks from underground nuclear blasts in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as well as the potential for volcanic or seismic activity to disrupt shot cavities or accelerate migration of radionuclides into the sea. Developing a Science Plan involved agreement among regulators and other stakeholders, assignment of the task to the Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation, and development of a consensus Science Plan that dealt with contentious scientific issues. Involvement of the regulators (State of Alaska), resource

Seeking consensus for cyberinfrastructure governance in the USA

Science.gov (United States)

Allison, M. Lee; Zanzkerkia, Eva

2014-05-01

Governance of geosciences cyberinfrastructure is a complex and essential undertaking, critical in enabling distributed knowledge communities to collaborate and communicate across disciplines, distances, and cultures. Advancing science with respect to "grand challenges," such as global change, Earth system observation, modeling, and prediction, and core fundamental science, depends not just on technical cyber systems, but also on social systems for strategic planning, decision-making, project management, learning, teaching, and building a community of practice. Simply put, a robust, agile technical system depends on an equally robust and adaptable social system. Cyberinfrastructure development is wrapped in social, organizational and governance challenges which may significantly impede technical progress and result in inefficiencies, duplication of effort, incompatibilities, wasted resources or user frustration. These issues are also the most time consuming to resolve due to significant institutional and social inertia: hence the urgency for developing a governance blueprint. An agile development process is underway for governance of transformative investments in geosciences cyberinfrastructure through the US National Science Foundation's EarthCube Program. Agile development is iterative and incremental, and promotes adaptive planning and rapid and flexible response. Such iterative deployment across a variety of EarthCube stakeholders encourages transparency, consensus, accountability, and inclusiveness. A broad coalition of stakeholder groups comprises an Assembly to serve as a preliminary venue for identifying, evaluating, and testing potential governance models. To offer opportunity for ensure broader end-user input and buy-in, a crowd-source approach engages stakeholders not involved otherwise in the Assembly. Developmental evaluators from the social sciences embedded in the project will provide real-time review and adjustments. In order to ensure an open and

Cultural consensus modeling to measure transactional sex in Swaziland: Scale building and validation.

Science.gov (United States)

Fielding-Miller, Rebecca; Dunkle, Kristin L; Cooper, Hannah L F; Windle, Michael; Hadley, Craig

2016-01-01

Transactional sex is associated with increased risk of HIV and gender based violence in southern Africa and around the world. However the typical quantitative operationalization, "the exchange of gifts or money for sex," can be at odds with a wide array of relationship types and motivations described in qualitative explorations. To build on the strengths of both qualitative and quantitative research streams, we used cultural consensus models to identify distinct models of transactional sex in Swaziland. The process allowed us to build and validate emic scales of transactional sex, while identifying key informants for qualitative interviews within each model to contextualize women's experiences and risk perceptions. We used logistic and multinomial logistic regression models to measure associations with condom use and social status outcomes. Fieldwork was conducted between November 2013 and December 2014 in the Hhohho and Manzini regions. We identified three distinct models of transactional sex in Swaziland based on 124 Swazi women's emic valuation of what they hoped to receive in exchange for sex with their partners. In a clinic-based survey (n = 406), consensus model scales were more sensitive to condom use than the etic definition. Model consonance had distinct effects on social status for the three different models. Transactional sex is better measured as an emic spectrum of expectations within a relationship, rather than an etic binary relationship type. Cultural consensus models allowed us to blend qualitative and quantitative approaches to create an emicly valid quantitative scale grounded in qualitative context. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Empowering stakeholders through simulation in water resources planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Palmer, R.N.; Keyes, A.M.; Fisher, S.

1993-01-01

During the past two years, researchers at the University of Washington (UW) have had the unique opportunity to facilitate and observe the development of drought planning activities associated with the National Drought Study (NDS) and its Drought Preparedness Studies (DPS) sites as sponsored by the Institute of Water Resources of the US Army Corps of Engineers. Each of the DPS sites is unique, with different study objectives and institutional constraints. However, one uniform requirement of the study is to develop tactical and strategic drought plans that can be successfully implemented within the study region. At the onset of the study, it was recognized that successful implementation is directly related to the active involvement of affected parties and agencies (denoted as stakeholders) and the degree to which they support the plan's conclusions. Their involvement is also necessary because the problems addressed by the DPS's require the experience and knowledge of a variety of water resource interests in order to arrive at effective alternatives. Their support of the plan conclusions enables regional implementation. Several techniques were used to encourage stakeholder participation in the planning process. Individuals representing the stakeholders had a wide range of professional backgrounds. This paper concentrates on one specific approach found useful in encouraging comprehensive and meaningful participation by a wide range of stakeholders; the development of object-oriented simulation models for the water resource systems under study. Simulation models were to develop tactical and strategic drought plans and to ensure the acceptance of the plans by building consensus among the stakeholders. The remainder of this paper describes: how simulation models became a part of the National Drought Study, procedures used to develop the DPS models, and how the model empowered stakeholders

Reconciling patient and provider priorities for improving the care of critically ill patients: A consensus method and qualitative analysis of decision making.

Science.gov (United States)

McKenzie, Emily; Potestio, Melissa L; Boyd, Jamie M; Niven, Daniel J; Brundin-Mather, Rebecca; Bagshaw, Sean M; Stelfox, Henry T

2017-12-01

Providers have traditionally established priorities for quality improvement; however, patients and their family members have recently become involved in priority setting. Little is known about how to reconcile priorities of different stakeholder groups into a single prioritized list that is actionable for organizations. To describe the decision-making process for establishing consensus used by a diverse panel of stakeholders to reconcile two sets of quality improvement priorities (provider/decision maker priorities n=9; patient/family priorities n=19) into a single prioritized list. We employed a modified Delphi process with a diverse group of panellists to reconcile priorities for improving care of critically ill patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Proceedings were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using qualitative content analysis to explore the decision-making process for establishing consensus. Nine panellists including three providers, three decision makers and three family members of previously critically ill patients. Panellists rated and revised 28 priorities over three rounds of review and reached consensus on the "Top 5" priorities for quality improvement: transition of patient care from ICU to hospital ward; family presence and effective communication; delirium screening and management; early mobilization; and transition of patient care between ICU providers. Four themes were identified as important for establishing consensus: storytelling (sharing personal experiences), amalgamating priorities (negotiating priority scope), considering evaluation criteria and having a priority champion. Our study demonstrates the feasibility of incorporating families of patients into a multistakeholder prioritization exercise. The approach described can be used to guide consensus building and reconcile priorities of diverse stakeholder groups. © 2017 The Authors Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Part A: An Exploration of Stakeholder Engagement in Social Enterprise

OpenAIRE

Carroll, Roopam

2008-01-01

This report sets out to explore stakeholder engagement as currently practised in social enterprises in Nottingham City. The literature displays confusion about many of the characteristics of social enterprise, but there is overwhelming consensus that social enterprises are built on stakeholder engagement. Given the debate about definitions of and this expectation of stakeholder involvement in Social Enterprise, this report addresses the following questions in the context of three social e...

Building Stakeholder Trust: Defensible Government Decisions - 13110

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Franklin, Victor A. [Savannah River Remediation LLC, Bldg. 705-1C, Aiken, SC 29808 (United States)

2013-07-01

Administrative decisions must be grounded in reasonable expectations, founded on sound principles, and bounded by societal norms. Without these first principles, attaining and retaining public trust is a Herculean task. Decisions made by governmental administrators must be both transparent and defensible: without the former the agency will lose the public's trust and support (possibly prompting a legal challenge to the decision) and without the latter the decision may fail to withstand judicial scrutiny. This presentation and accompanying paper delves into the process by which governmental decisions can achieve both defensibility and openness through building stakeholder trust with transparency. Achieving and maintaining stakeholder trust is crucial, especially in the environs of nuclear waste management. Proving confidence, stability, and security to the surrounding citizenry as well as those throughout the country is the goal of governmental nuclear waste remediation. Guiding administrative decision-making processes and maintaining a broad bandwidth of communication are of incalculable importance to all those charged with serving the public, but are especially essential to those whose decisional impacts will be felt for millennia. A strong, clear, and concise administrative record documenting discrete decisions and overarching policy choices is the strongest defense to a decisional challenge. However, this can be accomplished using transparency as the fundamental building block. This documentation allows the decision-makers to demonstrate the synthesis of legal and technical challenges and fortifies the ground from which challenges will be defended when necessary. Further, administrative actions which capture the public's interest and captivate that interest throughout the process will result in a better-informed, more deeply-involved, and more heavily-invested group of interested parties. Management of information, involvement, and investment on the

Building Stakeholder Trust: Defensible Government Decisions - 13110

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franklin, Victor A.

2013-01-01

Administrative decisions must be grounded in reasonable expectations, founded on sound principles, and bounded by societal norms. Without these first principles, attaining and retaining public trust is a Herculean task. Decisions made by governmental administrators must be both transparent and defensible: without the former the agency will lose the public's trust and support (possibly prompting a legal challenge to the decision) and without the latter the decision may fail to withstand judicial scrutiny. This presentation and accompanying paper delves into the process by which governmental decisions can achieve both defensibility and openness through building stakeholder trust with transparency. Achieving and maintaining stakeholder trust is crucial, especially in the environs of nuclear waste management. Proving confidence, stability, and security to the surrounding citizenry as well as those throughout the country is the goal of governmental nuclear waste remediation. Guiding administrative decision-making processes and maintaining a broad bandwidth of communication are of incalculable importance to all those charged with serving the public, but are especially essential to those whose decisional impacts will be felt for millennia. A strong, clear, and concise administrative record documenting discrete decisions and overarching policy choices is the strongest defense to a decisional challenge. However, this can be accomplished using transparency as the fundamental building block. This documentation allows the decision-makers to demonstrate the synthesis of legal and technical challenges and fortifies the ground from which challenges will be defended when necessary. Further, administrative actions which capture the public's interest and captivate that interest throughout the process will result in a better-informed, more deeply-involved, and more heavily-invested group of interested parties. Management of information, involvement, and investment on the front-end of

Developing biodiversity indicators on a stakeholders' opinions basis: the gypsum industry Key Performance Indicators framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Pitz, Carline; Mahy, Grégory; Vermeulen, Cédric; Marlet, Christine; Séleck, Maxime

2016-07-01

This study aims to establish a common Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) framework for reporting about the gypsum industry biodiversity at the European level. In order to integrate different opinions and to reach a consensus framework, an original participatory process approach has been developed among different stakeholder groups: Eurogypsum, European and regional authorities, university scientists, consulting offices, European and regional associations for the conservation of nature, and the extractive industry. The strategy is developed around four main steps: (1) building of a maximum set of indicators to be submitted to stakeholders based on the literature (Focus Group method); (2) evaluating the consensus about indicators through a policy Delphi survey aiming at the prioritization of indicator classes using the Analytic Hierarchy Process method (AHP) and of individual indicators; (3) testing acceptability and feasibility through analysis of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and visits to three European quarries; (4) Eurogypsum final decision and communication. The resulting framework contains a set of 11 indicators considered the most suitable for all the stakeholders. Our KPIs respond to European legislation and strategies for biodiversity. The framework aims at improving sustainability in quarries and at helping to manage biodiversity as well as to allow the creation of coherent reporting systems. The final goal is to allow for the definition of the actual biodiversity status of gypsum quarries and allow for enhancing it. The framework is adaptable to the local context of each gypsum quarry.

A national stakeholder consensus study of challenges and priorities for clinical learning environments in postgraduate medical education.

Science.gov (United States)

Kilty, Caroline; Wiese, Anel; Bergin, Colm; Flood, Patrick; Fu, Na; Horgan, Mary; Higgins, Agnes; Maher, Bridget; O'Kane, Grainne; Prihodova, Lucia; Slattery, Dubhfeasa; Stoyanov, Slavi; Bennett, Deirdre

2017-11-22

High quality clinical learning environments (CLE) are critical to postgraduate medical education (PGME). The understaffed and overcrowded environments in which many residents work present a significant challenge to learning. The purpose of this study was to develop a national expert group consensus amongst stakeholders in PGME to; (i) identify important barriers and facilitators of learning in CLEs and (ii) indicate priority areas for improvement. Our objective was to provide information to focus efforts to provide high quality CLEs. Group Concept Mapping (GCM) is an integrated mixed methods approach to generating expert group consensus. A multi-disciplinary group of experts were invited to participate in the GCM process via an online platform. Multi-dimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis were used to analyse participant inputs in regard to barriers, facilitators and priorities. Participants identified facilitators and barriers in ten domains within clinical learning environments. Domains rated most important were those which related to residents' connection to and engagement with more senior doctors. Organisation and conditions of work and Time to learn with senior doctors during patient care were rated as the most difficult areas in which to make improvements. High quality PGME requires that residents engage and connect with senior doctors during patient care, and that they are valued and supported both as learners and service providers. Academic medicine and health service managers must work together to protect these elements of CLEs, which not only shape learning, but impact quality of care and patient safety.

[Materiality Analysis of Health Plans Based on Stakeholder Engagement and the Issues Included at ISO 26000:2010].

Science.gov (United States)

Moyano Santiago, Miguel Angel; Rivera Lirio, Juana María

2017-01-18

Health plans of the Spanish autonomous communities can incorporate sustainable development criteria in its development. There have been no analysis or proposals about development and indicators. The goal is to add a contribution to help build better health plans aimed at sustainable development and help to manage economic, social and environmental impacts of health systems criteria. We used a variation of the RAND/UCLA or modified Delphi technique method. The process consisted of a bibliographical and context matters and issues related to health and social responsibility analysis based on ISO 26000: 2010. A survey by deliberately to a selection of 70 expert members of the identified stakeholders was carried out and a discussion group was held to determine the consensus on the issues addressed in the survey sample. The research was conducted in 2015. From the literature review 33 health issues included in ISO 26000:2010 were obtained. 7 survey proved relevant high consensus, 8 relevance and average consensus and 18 with less relevance and high level of dissent. The expert group excluded 4 of the 18 subjects with less consensus. 29 issues included 33 at work, divided into 7 subjects contained in the guide ISO 26000 of social responsibility, were relevant stakeholders regarding possible inclusion in health plans. Considering the direct relationship published by ISO (International Organization for Standardization) among the issues ISO 26000 and the economic, social and environmental indicators in GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) in its G4 version, a panel with monitoring indicators related to relevant issues were elaborated.

Shaping innovations in long-term care for stroke survivors with multimorbidity through stakeholder engagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Sadler, Euan; Porat, Talya; Marshall, Iain; Hoang, Uy; Curcin, Vasa; Wolfe, Charles D A; McKevitt, Christopher

2017-01-01

Stroke, like many long-term conditions, tends to be managed in isolation of its associated risk factors and multimorbidity. With increasing access to clinical and research data there is the potential to combine data from a variety of sources to inform interventions to improve healthcare. A 'Learning Health System' (LHS) is an innovative model of care which transforms integrated data into knowledge to improve healthcare. The objective of this study is to develop a process of engaging stakeholders in the use of clinical and research data to co-produce potential solutions, informed by a LHS, to improve long-term care for stroke survivors with multimorbidity. We used a stakeholder engagement study design informed by co-production principles to engage stakeholders, including service users, carers, general practitioners and other health and social care professionals, service managers, commissioners of services, policy makers, third sector representatives and researchers. Over a 10 month period we used a range of methods including stakeholder group meetings, focus groups, nominal group techniques (priority setting and consensus building) and interviews. Qualitative data were recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically. 37 participants took part in the study. The concept of how data might drive intervention development was difficult to convey and understand. The engagement process led to four priority areas for needs for data and information being identified by stakeholders: 1) improving continuity of care; 2) improving management of mental health consequences; 3) better access to health and social care; and 4) targeting multiple risk factors. These priorities informed preliminary design interventions. The final choice of intervention was agreed by consensus, informed by consideration of the gap in evidence and local service provision, and availability of robust data. This shaped a co-produced decision support tool to improve secondary prevention after stroke for

Shaping innovations in long-term care for stroke survivors with multimorbidity through stakeholder engagement.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Euan Sadler

Full Text Available Stroke, like many long-term conditions, tends to be managed in isolation of its associated risk factors and multimorbidity. With increasing access to clinical and research data there is the potential to combine data from a variety of sources to inform interventions to improve healthcare. A 'Learning Health System' (LHS is an innovative model of care which transforms integrated data into knowledge to improve healthcare. The objective of this study is to develop a process of engaging stakeholders in the use of clinical and research data to co-produce potential solutions, informed by a LHS, to improve long-term care for stroke survivors with multimorbidity.We used a stakeholder engagement study design informed by co-production principles to engage stakeholders, including service users, carers, general practitioners and other health and social care professionals, service managers, commissioners of services, policy makers, third sector representatives and researchers. Over a 10 month period we used a range of methods including stakeholder group meetings, focus groups, nominal group techniques (priority setting and consensus building and interviews. Qualitative data were recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically.37 participants took part in the study. The concept of how data might drive intervention development was difficult to convey and understand. The engagement process led to four priority areas for needs for data and information being identified by stakeholders: 1 improving continuity of care; 2 improving management of mental health consequences; 3 better access to health and social care; and 4 targeting multiple risk factors. These priorities informed preliminary design interventions. The final choice of intervention was agreed by consensus, informed by consideration of the gap in evidence and local service provision, and availability of robust data. This shaped a co-produced decision support tool to improve secondary prevention after

Consensus statement on genetic research in dementia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rikkert, M.G. Olde; der, V van; Burns, A.

2008-01-01

In this article, the authors describe how the European Dementia Consensus Network developed a consensus on research ethics in dementia, taking into account the questions posed by the era of genetic research and its new research methods. The consensus process started with a Delphi procedure...... to analyze relevant stakeholders' positions by describing their statements on the possibilities and limitations of research into genetic determinants of Alzheimer disease and to describe and analyze the moral desirability of genetic research on Alzheimer disease. The conclusions drawn from the Delphi...... procedure fuelled the development of the consensus statement, which is presented in this paper. The consensus statement aims to stimulate ethically acceptable research in the field of dementia and the protection of vulnerable elderly patients with dementia from application of inadequate research methods...

Final Report - Facilitating Wind Energy: Addressing Challenges around Visual Impacts, Noise, Credible Data, and Local Benefits through Creative Stakeholder Engagement

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harvey, Kate; Field, Patrick; Fierman, Elizabeth; Raab, Jonathan; Susskind, Lawrence

2011-08-04

The project team consisting of the Consensus Building Institute, Inc., Raab Associates, Ltd., and the MIT-Harvard Program on Negotiation created a model and set of tools for building the capacity of state officials to effectively collaborate with diverse stakeholders in advancing wind development policy formation, wind facility siting, and transmission policy and siting. The model was used to enhance the ability of state officials to advance wind development in their states. Training was delivered in Cambridge, MA, in Spring 2011. The training and associated materials, including a Wind Energy Workbook, website, and simulations, is available for ongoing and widespread dissemination throughout the US.

The European climate change program. An evaluation of stakeholder involvement and policy achievements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maxian Rusche, Tim

2010-01-01

In order to step up its efforts in reducing climate change, the European Commission (hereafter: the Commission) has launched in June 2000 its European climate change program (hereafter: ECCP). This wide-ranging stakeholder consultation aimed at identifying and developing all elements necessary for a European climate change strategy. The ECCP formally came to a close in April 2003. This paper analyses the inner workings of ECCP, and how ECCP has delivered with regard to its objectives. Special attention is paid to ECCP's Working Group 1, 'Flexible Mechanisms', which developed the foundations for the European emission trading scheme (hereafter: EU ETS). The paper draws on documents published on the Commission's ECCP web-site, on academic literature, on press releases from stakeholders and on interviews with four participants in the ECCP process. Using this method, the paper offers important insights as to how the consensus-building for establishing the world's biggest carbon-trading scheme has started long time before the formal legislative process. (author)

The Limits of Consensus.

Science.gov (United States)

Poster, John B.

Dynamics in the education policy arena suggest that, despite two generations of researchers extolling democratic leadership styles and consensus building over autocratic techniques, wide participation in policymaking and the broadest possible consensus are not always productive: American society has not yet agreed on what schools should…

Operational tools to build a multicriteria territorial risk scale with multiple stakeholders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cailloux, Olivier; Mayag, Brice; Meyer, Patrick; Mousseau, Vincent

2013-01-01

Evaluating and comparing the threats and vulnerabilities associated with territorial zones according to multiple criteria (industrial activity, population, etc.) can be a time-consuming task and often requires the participation of several stakeholders. Rather than a direct evaluation of these zones, building a risk assessment scale and using it in a formal procedure permits to automate the assessment and therefore to apply it in a repeated way and in large-scale contexts and, provided the chosen procedure and scale are accepted, to make it objective. One of the main difficulties of building such a formal evaluation procedure is to account for the multiple decision makers' preferences. The procedure used in this article, ELECTRE TRI, uses the performances of each territorial zone on multiple criteria, together with preferential parameters from multiple decision makers, to qualitatively assess their associated risk level. We also present operational tools in order to implement such a procedure in practice, and show their use on a detailed example

Analysis of responses to the microgeneration strategy and low carbon buildings programme consultation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gibbard, J; Long, S; McCartney, K; Rushton, K

2005-10-15

This report summarises and analyses the written responses to the consultation document, 'Microgeneration Strategy and Low Carbon Buildings Programme', issued by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in June 2005. Responses were received from 204 different organisations representing 29 stakeholder groups. The consultation document contained 41 core questions divided into eight sections: general; product development and deployment; communications; economics; installation; Low Carbon Buildings Programme; physical infrastructure; and local authorities and regional bodies. In the analysis, the responses to these questions were categorised according to whether they represented a 'clear consensus', a 'majority view', 'supporting themes' and 'divergent themes'. Using these categories, stakeholder agreement on the eight strategic issues is summarised in a matrix. The report is divided into three sections: introduction; summary of responses; and key findings. The respondents are listed in an appendix. Another appendix reproduces the consultation questions.

A national stakeholder consensus study of challenges and priorities for clinical learning environments in postgraduate medical education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caroline Kilty

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background High quality clinical learning environments (CLE are critical to postgraduate medical education (PGME. The understaffed and overcrowded environments in which many residents work present a significant challenge to learning. The purpose of this study was to develop a national expert group consensus amongst stakeholders in PGME to; (i identify important barriers and facilitators of learning in CLEs and (ii indicate priority areas for improvement. Our objective was to provide information to focus efforts to provide high quality CLEs. Methods Group Concept Mapping (GCM is an integrated mixed methods approach to generating expert group consensus. A multi-disciplinary group of experts were invited to participate in the GCM process via an online platform. Multi-dimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis were used to analyse participant inputs in regard to barriers, facilitators and priorities. Results Participants identified facilitators and barriers in ten domains within clinical learning environments. Domains rated most important were those which related to residents’ connection to and engagement with more senior doctors. Organisation and conditions of work and Time to learn with senior doctors during patient care were rated as the most difficult areas in which to make improvements. Conclusions High quality PGME requires that residents engage and connect with senior doctors during patient care, and that they are valued and supported both as learners and service providers. Academic medicine and health service managers must work together to protect these elements of CLEs, which not only shape learning, but impact quality of care and patient safety.

Stakeholder Priorities for Comparative Effectiveness Research in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Science.gov (United States)

Lindenauer, Peter K.; Au, David H.; Carson, Shannon S.; Lee, Todd A.; McBurnie, Mary Ann; Naureckas, Edward T.; Vollmer, William M.; Mularski, Richard A.

2013-01-01

Comparative effectiveness research (CER) is intended to address the expressed needs of patients, clinicians, and other stakeholders. Representatives of 54 stakeholder groups with an interest in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) participated in workshops convened by the COPD Outcomes-based Network for Clinical Effectiveness and Research Translation (CONCERT) over a 2-year period. Year 1 focused on chronic care and care coordination. Year 2 focused on acute care and transitions in care between healthcare settings. Discussions and provisional voting were conducted via teleconferences and e-mail exchanges before the workshop. Final prioritization votes occurred after in-person discussions at the workshop. We used a modified Delphi approach to facilitate discussions and consensus building. To more easily quantify preferences and to evaluate the internal consistency of rankings, the Analytic Hierarchy Process was incorporated in Year 2. Results of preworkshop and final workshop voting often differed, suggesting that prioritization efforts relying solely on requests for topics from stakeholder groups without in-person discussion may provide different research priorities. Research priorities varied across stakeholder groups, but generally focused on studies to evaluate different approaches to healthcare delivery (e.g., spirometry for diagnosis and treatment, integrated healthcare strategies during transitions in care) rather than head-to-head comparisons of medications. This research agenda may help to inform groups intending to respond to CER funding opportunities in COPD. The methodologies used, detailed in the online supplement, may also help to inform prioritization efforts for CER in other health conditions. PMID:23155144

Sustainability needs and practices assessment in the building industry of China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Pingjian; He, Gang; Mao, Guozhu; Liu, Yong; Xu, Mingzhu; Guo, Huaicheng; Liu, Xi

2013-01-01

The building industry in China has huge potential capacity for energy/resources conservation and pollutants reduction to achieve sustainable development. However, stakeholders are hardly able to reach a consensus on preferential needs and effective solutions, which was a difficulty faced by policy makers. To better identify the common interests on sustainable development in this field, the Sustainability Solutions Navigator (SSN) was adopted in China for the first time to assess the sustainability needs and practices. Based on the participation of stakeholders from the government, businesses, academia, and non-government organizations, prioritized needs and practices were identified using SSN, and gap analyses were conducted for comparison to global benchmarks. According to the results, the top needs were mainly focused on improving government efficiency and implementation, maintaining healthy indoor environments and obtaining adequate funds; priority practices were mainly focused on governmental action, renewable energy development and pollutant source reduction. The gap analysis indicated that the government efficiency and performance had the largest gap to the benchmark. By using a simple interactive tool to bring different stakeholders into policy making process, this study produces all-around information for decision makers. The results imply that the sustainability of the building industry in China has a much better expectation than governmental performance. - Highlights: ► SSN was first used for sustainability assessment in China's building industry. ► Prioritized needs and practices of multiple stakeholders were identified. ► High expectation of improved governmental efforts from the study

The role of stakeholder involvement in risk communication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Renn, O.

2004-01-01

Inviting stakeholders to be part of the decision making process in risk analysis and management improves the likelihood that the resulting decision will be accepted. Unfortunately, early public involvement may compromise, however, the objective of efficient and effective risk reduction or violate the principle of fairness. Another problem is that the public consists of many groups with different value structures and preferences. Without a systematic procedure to reach consensus on values and preferences, the public's position often appears as unclear. Participatory processes are thus needed that combine technical expertise, rational decision making, and public values and preferences. The recent report by the National Academy of Sciences encourages risk professionals to foster citizen participation and public involvement in risk management. The report emphasizes the need for a combination of assessment and dialogue which the authors have framed the 'analytic-deliberative' approach. The popularity associated with the concepts of two-way-communication, trust-building, and citizen participation, however, obscures the challenge of how to put these noble goals into practice and how to ensure that risk management reflects competence, efficiency, and fair burden sharing. This paper discusses the potential and requirements for stakeholder participation in the field of risk management and communication. (orig.)

Analysis of responses to the microgeneration strategy and low carbon buildings programme consultation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gibbard, J.; Long, S.; McCartney, K.; Rushton, K.

2005-10-15

This report summarises and analyses the written responses to the consultation document, 'Microgeneration Strategy and Low Carbon Buildings Programme', issued by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in June 2005. Responses were received from 204 different organisations representing 29 stakeholder groups. The consultation document contained 41 core questions divided into eight sections: general; product development and deployment; communications; economics; installation; Low Carbon Buildings Programme; physical infrastructure; and local authorities and regional bodies. In the analysis, the responses to these questions were categorised according to whether they represented a 'clear consensus', a 'majority view', 'supporting themes' and 'divergent themes'. Using these categories, stakeholder agreement on the eight strategic issues is summarised in a matrix. The report is divided into three sections: introduction; summary of responses; and key findings. The respondents are listed in an appendix. Another appendix reproduces the consultation questions.

Establishment of Kansei Database and Application to Design for Consensus Building

Science.gov (United States)

Yasuda, Keiichi; Shiraki, Wataru

Reflecting the recent social background where the importance of bridge landscape design is recognized and the new business style of citizen-involved infrastructure development has started, there has been a growing need of design where aesthetic feeling of actual users is reflected. In this research, a focus has been placed on the Kansei engineering technique where users' needs are reflected on product development. A questionnaire survey has been conducted for bridge engineers who are most intensively involved in design work and students as actual users. The result was analyzed by factor analysis and the Hayashi's quantification methods (category I). A tool required at consensus-building occasions has been created to change design elements and display accompanying evaluation difference while using the Kansei database.

Stakeholders or subject matter experts, who should be consulted?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alberts, Daniel J.

2007-01-01

The Energy Office of Michigan asked Lawrence Technological University (LTU) to conduct Delphi Inquires into wind turbine noise and wildlife issues. These inquiries collected and analyzed stakeholders' perceptions of how to address turbine noise and potential wildlife impacts in the Michigan Siting Guidelines for Wind Energy Systems. This paper uses Beierle and Cayford's conceptual framework for evaluating the success of public participation to compare the two inquiries. Beierle and Cayford's framework identifies five social goals for public participation in policy development: incorporating public values into decisions, improving the substantive quality of decisions, resolving conflict among competing interests, building trust in institutions, and educating and informing the public. The framework also identifies several process elements that contribute to the success of meeting those goals. This paper examines how the participants' prior experience with each issue influenced two important elements of the participation process: the participants' ability to engage in meaningful discourse and their ability to exert control over the process. This paper examines how some participants' inexperience prevented them from effectively participating in the process of developing wind energy policy; demonstrating that it can be more productive to seek input primarily from technical experts than to seek consensus from all stakeholders

Involvement of stakeholders in determining health priorities of adolescents in rural South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Twine, Rhian; Kahn, Kathleen; Scholtz, Alexandra; Norris, Shane A

2016-01-01

When developing intervention research, it is important to explore issues from the community perspective. Interventions that promote adolescent health in South Africa are urgently needed, and Project Ntshembo ('hope') aims to improve the health of young women and their offspring in the Agincourt sub-district of rural northeast South Africa, actively using stakeholder involvement throughout the research process. This study aimed to determine adolescent health priorities according to key stakeholders, to align stakeholder and researcher priorities, and to form a stakeholder forum, which would be active throughout the intervention. Thirty-two stakeholders were purposefully identified as community members interested in the health of adolescents. An adapted Delphi incorporating face-to-face discussions, as well as participatory visualisation, was used in a series of three workshops. Consensus was determined through non-parametric analysis. Stakeholders and researchers agreed that peer pressure and lack of information, or having information but not acting on it, were the root causes of adolescent health problems. Pregnancy, HIV, school dropout, alcohol and drug abuse, not accessing health services, and unhealthy lifestyle (leading to obesity) were identified as priority adolescent health issues. A diagram was developed showing how these eight priorities relate to one another, which was useful in the development of the intervention. A stakeholder forum was founded, comprising 12 of the stakeholders involved in the stakeholder involvement process. The process brought researchers and stakeholders to consensus on the most important health issues facing adolescents, and a stakeholder forum was developed within which to address the issues. Stakeholder involvement as part of a research engagement strategy can be of mutual benefit to the researchers and the community in which the research is taking place.

A successful effort to involve stakeholders in a facility siting decision using LIPS with stakeholder involvement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Merkhofer, L.; Conway, R.; Anderson, B.

1995-01-01

Local public opposition to federal bureaucratic decisions has resulted in public agencies rethinking the role of stakeholders in decision making. Efforts to include stakeholders directly in the decision-making process are on the increase. Unfortunately, many attempts to involve members of the public in decisions involving complex technical issues have failed. A key problem has been defining a meaningful role for the public in the process of arriving at a technical decision. This paper describes a successful effort by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) in New Mexico to involve stakeholders in an important technical decision associated with its Environmental Restoration (ER) Project. The decision was where to locate a Corrective Action Management Unit (CAMU), a facility intended to consolidate and store wastes generated from the cleanup of hazardous waste sites. A formal priority setting process known as the Laboratory Integration Prioritization System (LIPS) was adapted to provide an approach for involving the public. Although rarely applied to stakeholder participation, the LIPS process proved surprisingly effective. It produced a consensus over a selected site and enhanced public trust and understanding of Project activities

A new challenges in international cooperation. Via interdisciplinary approach towards safe nuclear industry back-end

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dreimanis, Andrejs

2011-01-01

Development of multinational radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel repositories requires safe nuclear industry back-end. We propose an interdisciplinary synergetic approach to multilevel consensus building for siting shared multinational repositories, based on self-organization, chaos and fuzziness concepts. An entire partnering country is considered as a higher-level stakeholder - the national stakeholder, being faced to simultaneous seeking an upward (international) and a downward (intra-national) consensus in the environment, being characterized by diverse political, economic and social interests. There is deduced: a) building of international stakeholder consensus could be promoted by activating the international scale multilateral interactions between intra- and international stakeholders, b) gradual progress in intergovernmental consensus and reaching multilateral agreements - the result of dialogue, via observing the whole set of various interests and common resolving of emerged controversies, and c) knowledge, mental flexibility and systems thinking - basic prerogatives for elevating the level of mutual understanding and consensus. (author)

DEVELOPMENT OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL RATING TOOL FOR BUILDINGS THROUGH A NEW KIND OF DIALOGUE BETWEEN STAKEHOLDERS AND RESEARCHERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mauritz Glaumann

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Buildings need to be more environmentally benign since the building sector is responsible for about 40% of all of energy and material use in Sweden. For this reason a unique cooperation between companies, municipalities and the Government called “Building- Living and Property Management for the future”, in short “The Building Living Dialogue” has going on since 2003. The project focuses on: a healthy indoor environment, b efficient use of energy, and c efficient resource management. In accordance with the dialogue targets, two research projects were initiated aiming at developing an Environmental rating tool taking into accounts both building sector requirements and expectations and national and international research findings. This paper describes the first phase in the development work where stakeholders and researchers cooperate. It includes results from inventories and based on this experience discusses procedures for developing assessment tools and what the desirable features of a broadly accepted building rating tool could be.

THE STAKEHOLDER MODEL REFINED

OpenAIRE

Y. FASSIN

2008-01-01

The popularity of the stakeholder model has been achieved thanks to its powerful visual scheme and its very simplicity. Stakeholder management has become an important tool to transfer ethics to management practice and strategy. Nevertheless, legitimate criticism continues to insist on clarification and emphasises on the perfectible nature of the model. Here, rather than building on the discussion from a philosophical or theoretical point of view, a different and innovative approach has been c...

Stakeholders in the Political Marketing Context

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ormrod, Robert

Stakeholders influence the ability of organisations to achieve their aims, but little work has been carried out into understanding the stakeholder concept as applied to the political marketing context. This paper first discusses the contextual nature of stakeholders using normative...... occurs in. Finally, it is proposed that in the political marketing context, the stakeholder concept can be defined as ‘context-specific actors that directly or indirectly influence or are influenced by the political actor’......./strategic and broad/narrow dimensions. Building on the assumption that ‘political marketing is different’, the paper argues that stakeholders can be considered as direct or indirect depending on which of the three interaction marketplaces of the political exchange triad the political actor-stakeholder interaction...

Building consensus on key priorities for rural health care in South Africa using the Delphi technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Versteeg, Marije; du Toit, Lilo; Couper, Ian

2013-01-24

South Africa is currently undergoing major health system restructuring in an attempt to improve health outcomes and reduce inequities in access. Such inequities exist between private and public health care and within the public health system itself. Experience shows that rural health care can be disadvantaged in policy formulation despite good intentions. The objective of this study was to identify the major challenges and priority interventions for rural health care provision in South Africa thereby contributing to pro-rural health policy dialogue. The Delphi technique was used to develop consensus on a list of statements that was generated through interviews and literature review. A panel of rural health practitioners and other stakeholders was asked to indicate their level of agreement with these statements and to rank the top challenges in and interventions required for rural health care. Response rates ranged from 83% in the first round (n=44) to 64% in the final round (n=34). The top five priorities were aligned to three of the WHO health system building blocks: human resources for health (HRH), governance, and finance. Specifically, the panel identified a need to focus on recruitment and support of rural health professionals, the employment of managers with sufficient and appropriate skills, a rural-friendly national HRH plan, and equitable funding formulae. Specific policies and strategies are required to address the greatest rural health care challenges and to ensure improved access to quality health care in rural South Africa. In addition, a change in organisational climate and a concerted effort to make a career in rural health appealing to health care workers and adequate funding for rural health care provision are essential.

Public health efforts to build a surveillance system for child maltreatment mortality: lessons learned for stakeholder engagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Lucia Rojas; Gibbs, Deborah; Wetterhall, Scott; Schnitzer, Patricia G; Farris, Tonya; Crosby, Alex E; Leeb, Rebecca T

2011-01-01

Reducing the number of largely preventable and tragic deaths due to child maltreatment (CM) requires an understanding of the magnitude of and risk factors for fatal CM and targeted research, policy, and prevention efforts. Public health surveillance offers an opportunity to improve our understanding of the problem of CM. In 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded state public health agencies in California, Michigan, and Oregon to implement a model approach for routine and sustainable CM surveillance and evaluated the experience of those efforts. We describe the experiences of 3 state health agencies in building collaborations and partnerships with multiple stakeholders for CM surveillance. Qualitative, structured key informant interviews were carried out during site visits as part of an evaluation of a CDC-funded project to implement a model approach to CM surveillance. Key informants included system stakeholders from state health agencies, law enforcement, child protective services, the medical community, and child welfare advocacy groups in the 3 funded states. Factors that facilitated stakeholder engagement for CM surveillance included the following: streamlining and coordinating the work of Child Death Review Teams (CDRTs); demonstrating the value of surveillance to non-public health partners; codifying relationships with participating agencies; and securing the commitment of decision-makers. Legislative mandates were helpful in bringing key stakeholders together, but it was not sufficient to ensure sustained engagement. The engagement process yielded multiple benefits for the stakeholders including a deeper appreciation of the complexity of defining CM; a greater understanding of risk factors for CM; and enhanced guidance for prevention and control efforts. States considering or currently undertaking CM surveillance can glean useful insights from the experiences of these 3 states and apply them to their own efforts to engage

Crafting consensus

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Zápal, Jan

2017-01-01

Roč. 173, 1–2 (2017), s. 169-200 ISSN 0048-5829 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GP14-27902P Institutional support: Progres-Q24 Keywords : consensus building * agenda setting * vote buying Subject RIV: AH - Economics OBOR OECD: Economic Theory Impact factor: 0.788, year: 2016

Stakeholder priorities for comparative effectiveness research in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a workshop report.

Science.gov (United States)

Krishnan, Jerry A; Lindenauer, Peter K; Au, David H; Carson, Shannon S; Lee, Todd A; McBurnie, Mary Ann; Naureckas, Edward T; Vollmer, William M; Mularski, Richard A

2013-02-01

Comparative effectiveness research (CER) is intended to address the expressed needs of patients, clinicians, and other stakeholders. Representatives of 54 stakeholder groups with an interest in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) participated in workshops convened by the COPD Outcomes-based Network for Clinical Effectiveness and Research Translation (CONCERT) over a 2-year period. Year 1 focused on chronic care and care coordination. Year 2 focused on acute care and transitions in care between healthcare settings. Discussions and provisional voting were conducted via teleconferences and e-mail exchanges before the workshop. Final prioritization votes occurred after in-person discussions at the workshop. We used a modified Delphi approach to facilitate discussions and consensus building. To more easily quantify preferences and to evaluate the internal consistency of rankings, the Analytic Hierarchy Process was incorporated in Year 2. Results of preworkshop and final workshop voting often differed, suggesting that prioritization efforts relying solely on requests for topics from stakeholder groups without in-person discussion may provide different research priorities. Research priorities varied across stakeholder groups, but generally focused on studies to evaluate different approaches to healthcare delivery (e.g., spirometry for diagnosis and treatment, integrated healthcare strategies during transitions in care) rather than head-to-head comparisons of medications. This research agenda may help to inform groups intending to respond to CER funding opportunities in COPD. The methodologies used, detailed in the online supplement, may also help to inform prioritization efforts for CER in other health conditions.

Engaging stakeholder networks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Svendsen, A. [CoreRelation Consulting Inc., Delta, BC (Canada)]|[Simon Fraser Univ., Burnaby, BC (Canada); Laberge, M. [Simon Fraser Univ., Burnaby, BC (Canada)

2004-07-01

Management philosophies concerning stakeholder engagement were reviewed. This presentation provided guidelines for managers working from a sustainability value creation framework who wish to develop more effective ways to engage with stakeholders and high stakes issues that cross political, social and organizational boundaries. It was suggested that conflicts over resources, the demand for participation and the increasing power of Non-Governmental Organizations have all contributed to the increased need for stakeholder engagement. A review of different types of stakeholders was provided. Earlier strategies of managing stakeholders were examined, in which externalities such as environmental cost were not accounted for. By contrast, the emerging management philosophy presented here stressed a recognition that long term survival relied on the good health of external and internal environments. Core business strategies were discussed with reference to core values. It was suggested that a longer term focus, inclusiveness, and integration were beneficial to businesses as a whole. A case study of Clayoquot Sound was presented. The concept of social capital was examined. Individual and collective learning were evaluated. A model for engaging stakeholder networks was presented as well as a step by step procedural guide, which included the creation of a solid foundation; organizational alignment; strategy; the importance of asking questions; trust building; evaluation; and renewal. Challenges to stakeholder engagement included finding resources; ensuring consistency; patience; a tendency in business to measure success in short term payoffs; and maintaining a stakeholder perspective. It was concluded that the benefits of a sustainability value creation framework for businesses far outweighed any initial disadvantages. refs., tabs., figs.

Collaborative learning framework for online stakeholder engagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Khodyakov, Dmitry; Savitsky, Terrance D; Dalal, Siddhartha

2016-08-01

Public and stakeholder engagement can improve the quality of both research and policy decision making. However, such engagement poses significant methodological challenges in terms of collecting and analysing input from large, diverse groups. To explain how online approaches can facilitate iterative stakeholder engagement, to describe how input from large and diverse stakeholder groups can be analysed and to propose a collaborative learning framework (CLF) to interpret stakeholder engagement results. We use 'A National Conversation on Reducing the Burden of Suicide in the United States' as a case study of online stakeholder engagement and employ a Bayesian data modelling approach to develop a CLF. Our data modelling results identified six distinct stakeholder clusters that varied in the degree of individual articulation and group agreement and exhibited one of the three learning styles: learning towards consensus, learning by contrast and groupthink. Learning by contrast was the most common, or dominant, learning style in this study. Study results were used to develop a CLF, which helps explore multitude of stakeholder perspectives; identifies clusters of participants with similar shifts in beliefs; offers an empirically derived indicator of engagement quality; and helps determine the dominant learning style. The ability to detect learning by contrast helps illustrate differences in stakeholder perspectives, which may help policymakers, including Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, make better decisions by soliciting and incorporating input from patients, caregivers, health-care providers and researchers. Study results have important implications for soliciting and incorporating input from stakeholders with different interests and perspectives. © 2015 The Authors. Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Processes for consensus building and role sharing. Lessons learned from HLW policies in European countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagano, Koji

2003-01-01

This report attempts to obtain lessons in implementation of HLW management policies for Japan by reviewing past experiences and present status of policy formulation and implementation as well as reflection of public opinions and consensus building of selected European countries, such as Finland, Sweden and others. After examining the situations of those countries, the author derives four key aspects that need to be addressed; separation of nuclear energy policies and HLW policies, fundamental support shared among national public, sense of controllability, and proper scheme of responsibility sharing. (author)

Stakeholder involvement - a japanese perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kobayashi, S.

2004-01-01

Traditional societal and cultural background of Japanese in general indicates the intrinsic difficulty in involving the public as stakeholders in the process of any type of decision making in policy matters. It is characterized by the long-taught virtue of harmonization and obedience to others. In addition, characteristic system of Japanese traditional industrial society, such as lifetime employment, seniority-based wage system, and enterprise-based labour union, encourages the loyalty to the employer/company, but not to the public. The public or ordinary citizens would seldom come out as stakeholders and express their true feelings or real opinions, even though younger generation is notably getting out from such a trend. On the other hand, it is a common practice in Japanese society for any business or administrative transactions to try to obtain 'consensus' among relevant parties concerned (stakeholders) by negotiations behind the curtain prior to the formal discussion. In this sense, 'stakeholders involvement' is accepted and practised as a matter of course, but mostly for actions between parties of equivalently influential status levels or between 'directly relevant' parties such as those between the different government agencies, between regulators and industries. The concept of 'Involving the public in decision making as stakeholders' is not yet fully understood nor accepted in Japan both by regulators and by the public so far as the issue of radiation protection is concerned. These situations are explained with some examples. (author)

Building sustainable organizational capacity to deliver HIV programs in resource-constrained settings: stakeholder perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Anjali; Chiliade, Philippe; Michael Reyes, E; Thomas, Kate K; Collens, Stephen R; Rafael Morales, José

2013-12-13

In 2008, the US government mandated that HIV/AIDS care and treatment programs funded by the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) should shift from US-based international partners (IPs) to registered locally owned organizations (local partners, or LPs). The US Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) developed the Clinical Assessment for Systems Strengthening (ClASS) framework for technical assistance in resource-constrained settings. The ClASS framework involves all stakeholders in the identification of LPs' strengths and needs for technical assistance. This article examines the role of ClASS in building capacity of LPs that can endure and adapt to changing financial and policy environments. All stakeholders (n=68) in Kenya, Zambia, and Nigeria who had participated in the ClASS from LPs and IPs, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and, in Nigeria, HIV/AIDS treatment facilities (TFs) were interviewed individually or in groups (n=42) using an open-ended interview guide. Thematic analysis revealed stakeholder perspectives on ClASS-initiated changes and their sustainability. Local organizations were motivated to make changes in internal operations with the ClASS approach, PEPFAR's competitive funding climate, organizational goals, and desired patient health outcomes. Local organizations drew on internal resources and, if needed, technical assistance from IPs. Reportedly, ClASS-initiated changes and remedial action plans made LPs more competitive for PEPFAR funding. LPs also attributed their successful funding applications to their preexisting systems and reputation. Bureaucracy, complex and competing tasks, and staff attrition impeded progress toward the desired changes. Although CDC continues to provide technical assistance through IPs, declining PEPFAR funds threaten the consolidation of gains, smooth program transition, and continuity of treatment services. The well-timed adaptation and implementation of Cl

Building sustainable organizational capacity to deliver HIV programs in resource-constrained settings: stakeholder perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anjali Sharma

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Background: In 2008, the US government mandated that HIV/AIDS care and treatment programs funded by the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR should shift from US-based international partners (IPs to registered locally owned organizations (local partners, or LPs. The US Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA developed the Clinical Assessment for Systems Strengthening (ClASS framework for technical assistance in resource-constrained settings. The ClASS framework involves all stakeholders in the identification of LPs’ strengths and needs for technical assistance. Objective: This article examines the role of ClASS in building capacity of LPs that can endure and adapt to changing financial and policy environments. Design: All stakeholders (n=68 in Kenya, Zambia, and Nigeria who had participated in the ClASS from LPs and IPs, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, and, in Nigeria, HIV/AIDS treatment facilities (TFs were interviewed individually or in groups (n=42 using an open-ended interview guide. Thematic analysis revealed stakeholder perspectives on ClASS-initiated changes and their sustainability. Results: Local organizations were motivated to make changes in internal operations with the ClASS approach, PEPFAR's competitive funding climate, organizational goals, and desired patient health outcomes. Local organizations drew on internal resources and, if needed, technical assistance from IPs. Reportedly, ClASS-initiated changes and remedial action plans made LPs more competitive for PEPFAR funding. LPs also attributed their successful funding applications to their preexisting systems and reputation. Bureaucracy, complex and competing tasks, and staff attrition impeded progress toward the desired changes. Although CDC continues to provide technical assistance through IPs, declining PEPFAR funds threaten the consolidation of gains, smooth program transition, and continuity of treatment services

Building consensus on key priorities for rural health care in South Africa using the Delphi technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marije Versteeg

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Background: South Africa is currently undergoing major health system restructuring in an attempt to improve health outcomes and reduce inequities in access. Such inequities exist between private and public health care and within the public health system itself. Experience shows that rural health care can be disadvantaged in policy formulation despite good intentions. The objective of this study was to identify the major challenges and priority interventions for rural health care provision in South Africa thereby contributing to pro-rural health policy dialogue. Methods: The Delphi technique was used to develop consensus on a list of statements that was generated through interviews and literature review. A panel of rural health practitioners and other stakeholders was asked to indicate their level of agreement with these statements and to rank the top challenges in and interventions required for rural health care. Results: Response rates ranged from 83% in the first round (n=44 to 64% in the final round (n=34. The top five priorities were aligned to three of the WHO health system building blocks: human resources for health (HRH, governance, and finance. Specifically, the panel identified a need to focus on recruitment and support of rural health professionals, the employment of managers with sufficient and appropriate skills, a rural-friendly national HRH plan, and equitable funding formulae. Conclusion: Specific policies and strategies are required to address the greatest rural health care challenges and to ensure improved access to quality health care in rural South Africa. In addition, a change in organisational climate and a concerted effort to make a career in rural health appealing to health care workers and adequate funding for rural health care provision are essential.

Methodological Quality of Consensus Guidelines in Implant Dentistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Faggion, Clovis Mariano; Apaza, Karol; Ariza-Fritas, Tania; Málaga, Lilian; Giannakopoulos, Nikolaos Nikitas; Alarcón, Marco Antonio

2017-01-01

Consensus guidelines are useful to improve clinical decision making. Therefore, the methodological evaluation of these guidelines is of paramount importance. Low quality information may guide to inadequate or harmful clinical decisions. To evaluate the methodological quality of consensus guidelines published in implant dentistry using a validated methodological instrument. The six implant dentistry journals with impact factors were scrutinised for consensus guidelines related to implant dentistry. Two assessors independently selected consensus guidelines, and four assessors independently evaluated their methodological quality using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation (AGREE) II instrument. Disagreements in the selection and evaluation of guidelines were resolved by consensus. First, the consensus guidelines were analysed alone. Then, systematic reviews conducted to support the guidelines were included in the analysis. Non-parametric statistics for dependent variables (Wilcoxon signed rank test) was used to compare both groups. Of 258 initially retrieved articles, 27 consensus guidelines were selected. Median scores in four domains (applicability, rigour of development, stakeholder involvement, and editorial independence), expressed as percentages of maximum possible domain scores, were below 50% (median, 26%, 30.70%, 41.70%, and 41.70%, respectively). The consensus guidelines and consensus guidelines + systematic reviews data sets could be compared for 19 guidelines, and the results showed significant improvements in all domain scores (p dentistry journals is needed. The findings of the present study may help researchers to better develop consensus guidelines in implant dentistry, which will improve the quality and trust of information needed to make proper clinical decisions.

Challenges in linking health research to policy: a commentary on developing a multi-stakeholder response to orphans and vulnerable children in Ghana

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anakwah Kwadwo

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract The Research and Development Division (RDD of the Ghana Health Service (GHS has a remit to build research capacity and conduct policy relevant research. By being situated within the GHS, RDD has good access to directors and programme managers, within and beyond the Ministry of Health. This structure has been facilitating collaboration through research cycles for 20 years, from agenda setting to discussions on policy relevance. This approach has been applied to research activities within the Addressing the Balance of Burden in AIDS (ABBA Research Programme Consortium to tackle the challenges facing HIV affected orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs. The government strategy on OVCs recommends they should be encouraged to live in their home communities rather than in institutions. We present lessons here on efforts to use research to build a response across different agencies to address the problems that communities and families face in caring for these children in their communities. This approach to building consensus on research priorities points to the value of collaboration and dialogue with multiple stakeholders as a means of fostering ownership of a research process and supporting the relevance of research to different groups. Our experience has shown that if the context within which researchers, policy makers and stakeholders work were better understood, the links between them were improved and research were communicated more effectively, then better policy making which links across different sectors may follow. At the same time, collaboration among these different stakeholders to ensure that research meets social needs, must also satisfy the requirements of scientific rigour.

Mud, models, and managers: Reaching consensus on a watershed strategy for sediment load reduction

Science.gov (United States)

Wilcock, P. R.; Cho, S. J.; Gran, K.; Belmont, P.; Hobbs, B. F.; Heitkamp, B.; Marr, J. D.

2017-12-01

Agricultural nonpoint source sediment pollution is a leading cause of impairment of U.S. waters. Sediment sources are often on private land, such that solutions require not only considerable investment, but broad acceptance among landowners. We present the story of a participatory modeling exercise whose goal was to develop a consensus strategy for reducing sediment loading from the Greater Blue Earth River Basin, a large (9,200 km2) watershed in southern Minnesota dominated by row crop agriculture. The Collaborative for Sediment Source Reduction was a stakeholder group of farmers, industry representatives, conservation groups, and regulatory agencies. We used a participatory modeling approach to promote understanding of the problem, to define the scope of solutions acceptable to farmers, to develop confidence in a watershed model, and to reach consensus on a watershed strategy. We found that no existing watershed model could provide a reliable estimate of sediment response to management actions and developed a purpose-built model that could provide reliable, transparent, and fast answers. Because increased stream flow was identified as an important driver of sediment loading, the model and solutions included both hydrologic and sediment transport components. The model was based on an annual sediment budget with management actions serving to proportionally reduce both sediment sources and sediment delivery. Importantly, the model was developed in collaboration with stakeholders, such that a shared understanding emerged regarding of the modeling challenges and the reliability of information used to strongly constrain model output. The simplicity of the modeling approach supported stakeholder engagement and understanding, thereby lowering the social barrier between expert modeler and concerned stakeholder. The consensus strategy focused on water storage higher in the watershed in order to reduce river discharge and the large supply of sediment from near

Building performance simulation for sustainable buildings

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hensen, J.L.M.

2010-01-01

This paper aims to provide a general view of the background and current state of building performance simulation, which has the potential to deliver, directly or indirectly, substantial benefits to building stakeholders and to the environment. However the building simulation community faces many

DPSIR and Stakeholder Analysis of the Use of Nanosilver

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Steffen Foss; Baun, Anders

2015-01-01

First concerns about the use of nanosilver were raised almost a decade ago, but assessing the risks has been extremely challenging scientifically, and regulation to protect environmental and human health remains controversial. In order to understand the known risks and issues associated with the ......First concerns about the use of nanosilver were raised almost a decade ago, but assessing the risks has been extremely challenging scientifically, and regulation to protect environmental and human health remains controversial. In order to understand the known risks and issues associated......, we carried out a stakeholder analysis, in order to explore possibilities for reaching consensus amongst stakeholders. Through the stakeholder analysis, the interests, views, power and influence of the identified stakeholders were mapped. Overall, the policy options identified in the DPSIR analysis...... were deemed not to be implementable, as industry and NGOs seem to have fundamentally conflicting views and interests. The use of the combination of DPSIR and stakeholder analysis proved valuable for use in cases of complexity, as they compensate for each other’s limitations and open up for a discussion...

Key performance indicators (KPIs) and priority setting in using the multi-attribute approach for assessing sustainable intelligent buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

ALwaer, H. [The University of Dundee, School of Architecture, Matthew Building, 13 Perth Road, Dundee DD1 4HT (United Kingdom); Clements-Croome, D.J. [School of Construction Management and Engineering, The University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 219, Reading RG6 6AW (United Kingdom)

2010-04-15

The main objectives of this paper are to: firstly, identify key issues related to sustainable intelligent buildings (environmental, social, economic and technological factors); develop a conceptual model for the selection of the appropriate KPIs; secondly, test critically stakeholder's perceptions and values of selected KPIs intelligent buildings; and thirdly develop a new model for measuring the level of sustainability for sustainable intelligent buildings. This paper uses a consensus-based model (Sustainable Built Environment Tool- SuBETool), which is analysed using the analytical hierarchical process (AHP) for multi-criteria decision-making. The use of the multi-attribute model for priority setting in the sustainability assessment of intelligent buildings is introduced. The paper commences by reviewing the literature on sustainable intelligent buildings research and presents a pilot-study investigating the problems of complexity and subjectivity. This study is based upon a survey perceptions held by selected stakeholders and the value they attribute to selected KPIs. It is argued that the benefit of the new proposed model (SuBETool) is a 'tool' for 'comparative' rather than an absolute measurement. It has the potential to provide useful lessons from current sustainability assessment methods for strategic future of sustainable intelligent buildings in order to improve a building's performance and to deliver objective outcomes. Findings of this survey enrich the field of intelligent buildings in two ways. Firstly, it gives a detailed insight into the selection of sustainable building indicators, as well as their degree of importance. Secondly, it tesst critically stakeholder's perceptions and values of selected KPIs intelligent buildings. It is concluded that the priority levels for selected criteria is largely dependent on the integrated design team, which includes the client, architects, engineers and facilities managers

Stem cell research ethics: consensus statement on emerging issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Caulfield, Timothy; Ogbogu, Ubaka; Nelson, Erin; Einsiedel, Edna; Knoppers, Bartha; McDonald, Michael; Brunger, Fern; Downey, Robin; Fernando, Kanchana; Galipeau, Jacques; Geransar, Rose; Griener, Glenn; Grenier, Glenn; Hyun, Insoo; Isasi, Rosario; Kardel, Melanie; Knowles, Lori; Kucic, Terrence; Lotjonen, Salla; Lyall, Drew; Magnus, David; Mathews, Debra J H; Nisbet, Matthew; Nisker, Jeffrey; Pare, Guillaume; Pattinson, Shaun; Pullman, Daryl; Rudnicki, Michael; Williams-Jones, Bryn; Zimmerman, Susan

2007-10-01

This article is a consensus statement by an international interdisciplinary group of academic experts and Canadian policy-makers on emerging ethical, legal and social issues in human embryonic stem cells (hESC) research in Canada. The process of researching consensus included consultations with key stakeholders in hESC research (regulations, stem cell researchers, and research ethics experts), preparation and distribution of background papers, and an international workshop held in Montreal in February 2007 to discuss the papers and debate recommendations. The recommendations provided in the consensus statement focus on issues of immediate relevance to Canadian policy-makers, including informed consent to hESC research, the use of fresh embryos in research, management of conflicts of interest, and the relevance of public opinion research to policy-making.

Public and Stakeholder Engagement and the Built Environment: a Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Leyden, Kevin M; Slevin, Amanda; Grey, Thomas; Hynes, Mike; Frisbaek, Fanney; Silke, Richard

2017-09-01

We review 50 articles from 2015 and 2016 that focus upon public and stakeholder engagement as it pertains to the built environment. Our purpose is to understand the current state of the literature and approaches being used to better enable public and stakeholder engagement. As part of this review, we consider whether recent digital and mobile technologies have enabled advances for stakeholder and public participation. The literature suggests some positive and some challenging developments. Researchers clearly suggest that most policy-makers and planners understand, and to some extent, aspire toward enabling more inclusive participatory planning processes. That said, there is far less consensus as to how to make meaningful inclusive participatory processes possible even with digital, as well as more traditional, tools. This lack of consensus is true across all academic disciplines reviewed. We discuss these issues as well as current solutions offered by many scholars. We find that no single solution can be applied to different situations, as contextual factors create different problems in different situations, and that the participation process itself can create biases that can-intentionally or unintentionally-benefit some participants over others. We conclude with a series of questions for practitioners and researchers to consider when evaluating inclusive engagement.

Executive summary—Biomarkers of Nutrition for Development: Building a Consensus123

Science.gov (United States)

Namasté, Sorrel; Brabin, Bernard; Combs, Gerald; L'Abbe, Mary R; Wasantwisut, Emorn; Darnton-Hill, Ian

2011-01-01

The ability to develop evidence-based clinical guidance and effective programs and policies to achieve global health promotion and disease prevention goals depends on the availability of valid and reliable data. With specific regard to the role of food and nutrition in achieving those goals, relevant data are developed with the use of biomarkers that reflect nutrient exposure, status, and functional effect. A need exists to promote the discovery, development, and use of biomarkers across a range of applications. In addition, a process is needed to harmonize the global health community's decision making about what biomarkers are best suited for a given use under specific conditions and settings. To address these needs, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, US Department of Health and Human Services, organized a conference entitled “Biomarkers of Nutrition for Development: Building a Consensus,” which was hosted by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Partners included key multilateral, US agencies and public and private organizations. The assembly endorsed the utility of this initiative and the need for the BOND (Biomarkers of Nutrition for Development) project to continue. A consensus was reached on the requirement to develop a process to inform the community about the relative strengths or weaknesses and specific applications of various biomarkers under defined conditions. The articles in this supplement summarize the deliberations of the 4 working groups: research, clinical, policy, and programmatic. Also described are content presentations on the harmonization processes, the evidence base for biomarkers for 5 case-study micronutrients, and new frontiers in science and technology. PMID:21733880

Consensus Building Through Systems Thinking: the case of policy and planning in healthcare

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kambiz E. Maani

2002-05-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses a methodology and a case study using qualitative system dynamics to create consensus, team learning and shared vision in a public organisation. The case involves determining planning priorities for a Division of the Ministry of Health in New Zealand, leading to the creation of a business plan. The methodology involves Systems Thinking using Group Model Building (GMB - A three-step process starting with structured brainstorming using the partial KJ (Jiro Kawakita technique to identify priority areas and then clustering them into 'affinity' groups. Next, the priority clusters are used by the participants to construct causal loop diagrams representing 'systems of priorities'(in contrast with list of priorities. Finally, through a group process, leverage points or key priorities are identified as the basis for a business plan. While the above process was well agreed upon by the participants at the outset, strong group resistance was encountered when managers attempted to reduce the number of priority areas. Systems thinking approach was used to create consensus and the commitment to the outcome. The GMB approach offers significant promise in using qualitative system dynamics with non-systems experts. The methodology can be applied to change management initiative and complex decisions such as restructuring, reengineering, and supply chain design. The expected outcomes are greater commitment and shared vision.

Stakeholder involvement and decommissioning. Some lessons derived from papers presented at WPDD (2000 - 2004)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pescatore, Claudio

2006-01-01

Decommissioning and dismantling (D and D) are the last elements of the life cycle of both nuclear and non-nuclear facilities. The problems of this phase are partly the same and partly different from those of the preceding phases (planning, construction and operation). Public concerns about safety, for instance, are present in every phase. In the course of construction and operation important challenges include meeting public expectations of a higher quality of life, accommodation of an increasing population, mitigation of construction nuisances and assurance of the safe operation of the facility. In the decommissioning and dismantling phase public concerns include decrease in employment, the reduction of revenues for the municipality, the future use of the affected land, and other negative social impacts (e.g. emigration of part of the skilled population) [d'Abadal, Castellnou]. This phase too is characterised - as earlier phases - by the heterogeneity of stakeholder interests and values, and the difficulties to achieve consensus or compromise. The difficulties arise in connection with the harmonisation of energy production, environmental protection and sustainable socio-economic development considerations. Issues of interaction between local and regional decisions are also characteristic. From the point of view of conflict management the building of trust amongst stakeholders is very important in the decommissioning and dismantling phase. Consequently, social lessons learned from the siting and development of nuclear facilities are widely applicable in the field of D and D. This paper summarises some lessons learned from papers on stakeholder involvement presented at WPDD meetings mainly between 2000 and 2004. In conclusion, community/stakeholder participation and economic development involve the identification of all relevant stakeholders and the community needs. There must be an early discussion of plans with all stakeholders. A continuous dialogue with the

Corporate communications and stakeholder management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Đorđević Mira

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Corporate communications represent a modern communications discipline used by businesses across the globe to communicate with key stakeholders. Chief executive officers and executive management teams strive to create, protect and advance corporate reputation through corporate communications. Further, by communicating with key stakeholders the company adequately prepares for good news and future problems. With the benefit of technology and greater transparency, corporations of the future will continue to use corporate communications approaches to advance their business. Company's reputation derives from the way stakeholders perceive the organization, how they think, feel or act towards it. It is therefore vital that organizations interested in developing and building their reputational capital; pay careful attention to the way they are perceived and that they manage the relationships with their various stakeholders like a strategic resource. Stakeholders represent both opportunity and threat for the organizations. For instance, if an institution has a good reputation with stakeholders they may provide the organization more latitude to operate. On the other hand a poor reputation may result in creating the legislative that can make it more difficult for an institution to operate.

Green buildings: A Mauritian built environment stakeholders ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The literature reviewed and results of a survey among professionals and contractors from the ... green building materials are more durable than traditional materials, resulting in ..... Building-construction methods for residential buildings include.

Stakeholders' perceptions on teaching and learning arts and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study aims at building a positive perception towards the teaching and learning of arts and humanities and advocating for their scholarship given their value in the cultivation of human development in East Africa. The study is anchored in the stakeholders' theory of salience that claims that once latent stakeholders (who ...

Building upon cooperative prospects amongst stakeholders for fighting Arctic marine invasion challenges

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kourantidou, Melina; Kaiser, Brooks; Fernandez, Linda

Biological invasions in Arctic marine environments are expected to noticeably affect the way the ecosystem will look and function in coming years. Along with many other rapid changes taking place in these previously isolated ecosystems, invasions of which we are both aware and unaware may have ir...... in the decision making process to help articulate incentive-compatible ecosystem management strategies that are adaptive to new information garnered from sustained Arctic observations....... expect that game theoretic environmental economic tools can help illuminate aspects of invasive species management significant for sound decision-making processes. Building blocks of such a game theoretic approach include the different players (stakeholders) involved. In our case study, we take...... environmental quality outcomes: Norwegian and Russian fishermen, Live and frozen crab markets, and Society, representing all possible beneficiaries of a healthy and well-sustained marine ecosystem in the Barents Sea as well as those in areas to which the invasion may spread. These actors must make decisions...

Consensus Based Nuclear Public-Hearing System Model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Young Wook Lee; Suk Hoon Kim; Young Ho Cho; Hyun Seok Ko; Dong Hoon Shin; Chang Sun Kang; Joo Hyun Moon

2006-01-01

Although the government admit the benefit of construction of a nuclear facility for national electric source, related policy could be developed and carried out only if the public, especially who have some stake on it, recognize the benefit and accept the policy. For public participation, Korea has a system of public-hearing in accordance with the law. Because of the absence of the detailed way for public opinion aggregation and for the reflection of the aggregated opinion, Korean public-hearing system is only a conceptual model. Therefore, some specific system for Korean Public-Hearing should be developed and applied. In this study, to share the right of decision making, which is an ultimate concept for public participation, decision making components and the characteristics of each phase are analyzed. The criteria weight for assessment and comparison with alternatives are founded as a valuation factor of the decision making components, which should be based on the social consensus. On these foundations, a system for aggregation and reflection of the public opinion was proposed. The system named 'CPDM' (Consensus based Participatory Decision Making) has three authority groups for decision making. At first, 'advisory experts group' play a role for the technical assessment and the serve utility value on the criteria for each alternatives. Next, 'participatory deliberation group' play a role for consensus building on the relative-importance (weight) between the criteria by feedback to promote degree of consensus. Lastly including gentlemen of the long robe, 'expert group for decision making' play a role to reflect the utility and weight and make a decision with agreement for performance of it. Also, in this study, a mathematical model for the quantification of the degree of consensus was conceptualized using Ordered Weighted Averaging (OWA) aggregation operator and fuzzy similarity theory, which is a comparison concept. Since this model enables influence of each

Irregular Shaped Building Design Optimization with Building Information Modelling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lee Xia Sheng

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This research is to recognise the function of Building Information Modelling (BIM in design optimization for irregular shaped buildings. The study focuses on a conceptual irregular shaped “twisted” building design similar to some existing sculpture-like architectures. Form and function are the two most important aspects of new buildings, which are becoming more sophisticated as parts of equally sophisticated “systems” that we are living in. Nowadays, it is common to have irregular shaped or sculpture-like buildings which are very different when compared to regular buildings. Construction industry stakeholders are facing stiff challenges in many aspects such as buildability, cost effectiveness, delivery time and facility management when dealing with irregular shaped building projects. Building Information Modelling (BIM is being utilized to enable architects, engineers and constructors to gain improved visualization for irregular shaped buildings; this has a purpose of identifying critical issues before initiating physical construction work. In this study, three variations of design options differing in rotating angle: 30 degrees, 60 degrees and 90 degrees are created to conduct quantifiable comparisons. Discussions are focused on three major aspects including structural planning, usable building space, and structural constructability. This research concludes that Building Information Modelling is instrumental in facilitating design optimization for irregular shaped building. In the process of comparing different design variations, instead of just giving “yes or no” type of response, stakeholders can now easily visualize, evaluate and decide to achieve the right balance based on their own criteria. Therefore, construction project stakeholders are empowered with superior evaluation and decision making capability.

Resolving a Prickly Situation: Involving Stakeholders in Invasive Cactus Management in South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Novoa, Ana; Kaplan, Haylee; Wilson, John R U; Richardson, David M

2016-05-01

The regulation and management of alien species can be contentious, particularly when the stakeholders who benefit from alien species are different from those who suffer the costs. We propose a consultative process involving relevant stakeholders in invasive species management decisions. The process involves (1) the identification of relevant stakeholders, (2) assessing their perceptions, (3) enhancing interaction between stakeholders, (4) assessing changes in stakeholders' perceptions following interactions with other stakeholders, and (5) developing management recommendations in collaboration with stakeholders. We demonstrate the application of the process using the family Cactaceae ('cacti') in South Africa. Many species of cacti have been introduced to the country over the past two centuries, mostly for horticulture, food and fodder, and hundreds of other species have been introduced in the past few decades (or are likely to be introduced soon) for horticulture. Using the proposed process enabled the negotiation and participation of all stakeholders in decision making and helped minimize contentious situations by clarifying stakeholder's beliefs and exploring consensus solutions. Consequently, management objectives were broadly supported by all stakeholders. These results will be included in a national cactus management strategy for South Africa.

Building the adult protective services system of tomorrow: The role of the APS national voluntary consensus guidelines.

Science.gov (United States)

Bobitt, Julie; Kuhne, Jamie; Carter, Julie; Whittier Eliason, Stephanie; Twomey, Mary

2018-01-01

In 2015, the Administration for Community Living (ACL) established the first federal "home" for Adult Protective Services (APS). This leadership has included working collaboratively with state Adult Protective Service systems to ensure that older adults and adults with disabilities are afforded the same protections against abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation regardless of where in the country they live. As part of that leadership, ACL created draft Voluntary Consensus Guidelines for State APS Systems. ACL undertook a process of public and stakeholder engagement and analyzed the resulting comments to improve upon the initial draft of the draft to arrive at the final version. This article examines the comments, including the concerns raised by the commenters about specific areas of the Guidelines, areas identified for future research, and reflections and opinions on the role of the federal government in guiding the development of the field of adult protection.

Collaboratively managing sudden oak death using tangible geospatial modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Ross K. Meentemeyer; Francesco Tonini; Douglas Shoemaker; Richard C. Cobb; Brendan A. Harmon; Vaclav Petras; Anna Petrasova; Helena Mitasova

2017-01-01

Failure to build consensus amongst stakeholders has been a primary obstacle barring progress in developing and implementing strategies to manage sudden oak death (SOD). Consensus as to the goals of in situ management of SOD has rarely been reached, because stakeholders’ visions of success vary widely and often compete with each other...

Combining Human Resource and Stakeholder Management Perspectives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ravazzani, Silvia; Mormino, Sara

2015-01-01

This paper explores collaborative learning activities involving HR and external stakeholders that organizations decide to plan and implement in order to obtain benefits in terms of knowledge sharing, stakeholder understanding and value creation. The increasing uncertainty and multiplicity of comp...... and corporate learning in a stakeholder-oriented perspective can play a strategic role in supporting business strategy, providing organizations the resources to meet internal and external needs (Wilson, 2005) and to interconnect with their value network.......This paper explores collaborative learning activities involving HR and external stakeholders that organizations decide to plan and implement in order to obtain benefits in terms of knowledge sharing, stakeholder understanding and value creation. The increasing uncertainty and multiplicity...... of competitive pressures and stakeholder demands (Harrison, St. John, 1996) require organizations, and in particular HR, to take on a more strategic role aimed to build new capability and support the overarching business strategy (Ulrich, Beatty 2001). This study draws on Strategic Human Resource Management...

Forum on Stakeholder Confidence: A Platform to build and share Knowledge about Stakeholder Confidence in Radioactive Waste Management. Reflections on Stakeholder Involvement. How do we ensure engagement for a project running over decades - Case study Sweden. Case Study Switzerland: stakeholder involvement in the Swiss site selection procedure; View of the Implementer on the Swiss Site Selection Procedure. Stakeholder Engagement on Radioactive Waste: Australia's Experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuenzi, Pascale Jana; Shaver, Kathryn; Gerhardsson, Ansi; Toernqvist, Johanna Yngve; Bjoerklund, Sara

2017-01-01

Session 4 focused on the topic of radioactive waste management and how governments, implementers and regulators have utilised stakeholder involvement to make fair and sustainable decisions. Presentations included case studies from Australia, Canada, Sweden and Switzerland. The session also provided insight on how the Forum on Stakeholder Confidence (FSC), created by the NEA Radioactive Waste Management Committee in 2000, has brought together policy-makers, regulatory officials, experts, implementers and industry representatives to promote open discussion on radioactive waste management among various stakeholders. The session highlighted an ongoing transition of radioactive waste management from theoretical foundations to practical implementation, and how stakeholder involvement plays a significant role in this process. In Mr Minon's opening remarks, he highlighted that a both politically and scientifically stable solution for deep geological repositories must be found, built on trust among all stakeholders. The joint presentation by Ms Kuenzi and Mr Birkhaeuser provided an example of how the younger generation was involved in discussions on radioactive waste management by inviting ten youth from Switzerland to participate in FSC's National Workshop in 2016. Based on the outcomes of the workshop, it will be critical to continue engagement of youth in the near future by expanding outreach to increase participation levels. The Swedish case study illustrated that the roles of a potential repository host community, the implementer and the regulator are complementary. These actors maintained engagement at a high level over decades by ensuring an open process and by building competence in the municipal government. Ms Shaver's presentation conveyed the benefits of sustained engagement. Several presentations also marked the importance of utilising social media in informing stakeholders on issues related to radioactive waste management. Examples of implementation in using

Multi-stakeholder perspectives in defining health-services quality in cataract care.

Science.gov (United States)

Stolk-Vos, Aline C; van de Klundert, Joris J; Maijers, Niels; Zijlmans, Bart L M; Busschbach, Jan J V

2017-08-01

To develop a method to define a multi-stakeholder perspective on health-service quality that enables the expression of differences in systematically identified stakeholders' perspectives, and to pilot the approach for cataract care. Mixed-method study between 2014 and 2015. Cataract care in the Netherlands. Stakeholder representatives. We first identified and classified stakeholders using stakeholder theory. Participants established a multi-stakeholder perspective on quality of cataract care using concept mapping, this yielded a cluster map based on multivariate statistical analyses. Consensus-based quality dimensions were subsequently defined in a plenary stakeholder session. Stakeholders and multi-stakeholder perspective on health-service quality. Our analysis identified seven definitive stakeholders, as follows: the Dutch Ophthalmology Society, ophthalmologists, general practitioners, optometrists, health insurers, hospitals and private clinics. Patients, as dependent stakeholders, were considered to lack power by other stakeholders; hence, they were not classified as definitive stakeholders. Overall, 18 stakeholders representing ophthalmologists, general practitioners, optometrists, health insurers, hospitals, private clinics, patients, patient federations and the Dutch Healthcare Institute sorted 125 systematically collected indicators into the seven following clusters: patient centeredness and accessibility, interpersonal conduct and expectations, experienced outcome, clinical outcome, process and structure, medical technical acting and safety. Importance scores from stakeholders directly involved in the cataract service delivery process correlated strongly, as did scores from stakeholders not directly involved in this process. Using a case study on cataract care, the proposed methods enable different views among stakeholders concerning quality dimensions to be systematically revealed, and the stakeholders jointly agreed on these dimensions. The methods

Stakeholders' resistance to telemedicine with focus on physicians: utilizing the Delphi technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Woo Seok; Park, Joowoong; Choi, Jin Young Brian; Yang, Jae-Suk

2018-01-01

Introduction Sufficient infrastructure for information and communications technology (ICT) and a well-established policy are necessary factors for smooth implementation of telemedicine. However, despite these necessary conditions being met, there are situations where telemedicine still fails to be accepted as a system due to the low receptivity of stakeholders. In this study, we analyse stakeholders' resistance to an organization's implementation of telemedicine. Focusing on the physicians' interests, we propose a strategy to minimize conflicts and improve acceptance. Methods The Delphi study involved 190 telemedicine professionals who were recommended by 485 telemedicine-related personnel in South Korea. Results Out of 190 professionals, 60% of enrolled participants completed the final questionnaires. The stakeholders were categorized into four groups: policy-making officials, physicians, patients, and industrialists. Among these, the physicians were most opposed to the adoption of telemedicine. The main causes of such opposition were found to be the lack of a medical services delivery system and the threat of disruption for primary care clinics. Very little consensus was observed among the stakeholders, except on the following points: the need for expansion of the national health insurance budget by the government, and the need for enhancement of physicians' professional autonomy to facilitate smooth agreements. Discussion Our analysis on the causes of the resistance to telemedicine, carried out with the groups mentioned above, has important implications for policy-makers deriving strategies to achieve an appropriate consensus.

Building Performance Simulation for Sustainable Energy Use in Buildings

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hensen, J.L.M.

2010-01-01

This paper aims to provide a general view of the background and current state of building performance simulation, which has the potential to deliver, directly or indirectly, substantial benefits to building stakeholders and to the environment. However the building simulation community faces many

Building performance simulation for sustainable building design and operation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hensen, J.L.M.

2011-01-01

This paper aims to provide a general view of the background and current state of building performance simulation, which has the potential to deliver, directly or indirectly, substantial benefits to building stakeholders and to the environment. However the building simulation community faces many

Organization, execution and evaluation of the 2014 Academic Emergency Medicine consensus conference on Gender-Specific Research in Emergency Care - an executive summary.

Science.gov (United States)

Safdar, Basmah; Greenberg, Marna R

2014-12-01

With the goal of reducing inequalities in patient care, the 2014 Academic Emergency Medicine (AEM) consensus conference, "Gender-Specific Research in Emergency Care: Investigate, Understand, and Translate How Gender Affects Patient Outcomes," convened a diverse group of researchers, clinicians, health care providers, patients, and representatives of federal agencies and policy-makers in Dallas, Texas, in May 2014. The executive and steering committees identified seven clinical domains as key to gender-specific emergency care: cardiovascular, neurological, trauma/injury, substance abuse, pain, mental health, and diagnostic imaging. The main aims of the conference were to: 1) summarize and consolidate current data related to sex- and gender-specific research for acute care and identify critical gender-related gaps in knowledge to inform an EM research agenda; 2) create a consensus-driven research agenda that advances sex- and gender-specific research in the prevention, diagnosis, and management of acute diseases and identify strategies to investigate them; and 3) build a multinational interdisciplinary consortium to disseminate and study the sex and gender medicine of acute conditions. Over a 2-year period, this collaborative network of stakeholders identified key areas where sex- and gender-specific research is most likely to improve clinical care and ultimately patient outcomes. The iterative consensus process culminated in a daylong conference on May 13, 2014, with a total of 133 registrants, with the majority being between ages 31 and 50 years (57%), females (71%), and whites (79%). Content experts led the consensus-building workshops at the conference and used the nominal group technique to consolidate consensus recommendations for priority research. In addition, panel sessions addressed funding mechanisms for gender-specific research as well as gender-specific regulatory challenges to product development and approval. This special issue of AEM reports the

Stakeholder Analisys of Higher Education Institutions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivana Maric

2013-04-01

Full Text Available In recent years, knowledge, the human capital, and learning organizations have become the key determinants of current global progress. Higher educational sector has been faced with globalization and strong competition. Therefore, the need has arisen for professional management structures and more entrepreneurial style of leadership. Organizations have been transformed to learning organizations by the life long learning concept, while the knowledge management has become the leading tool in building competitive advantages. High education organizations are being pushed forward by competitiveness. That pressure requires continuous improvement emphasizing the need for measuring outcomes and building excellence. The paradigm of stakeholder analysis, applied to specific determinations of the system of higher education institutions, could be a good way for comprehending and predicting interests, needs and requirements of all key players in the environment. The purpose of this paper is to enhance the possibility of understanding the connection between higher education institutions and its environment in context of stakeholder analysis. The paper uses literature as a basis in identifying critical parameters for stakeholder analysis and its implementation to higher education sector. The findings of the paper reveal that the concept of stakeholders is critical and difficult to implement everywhere and to everything. There is a clear attempt of all organizations, especially those that create and encourage knowledge, to understand the actions of all participants and predictions of interests and requirements of the changing environment.

Stakeholder-focused evaluation of an online course for health care providers.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunet, Diane O; Reyes, Michele

2006-01-01

Different people who have a stake or interest in a training course (stakeholders) may have markedly different definitions of what constitutes "training success" and how they will use evaluation results. Stakeholders at multiple levels within and outside of the organization guided the development of an evaluation plan for a Web-based training course on hemochromatosis. Stakeholder interests and values were reflected in the type, level, and rigor of evaluation methods selected. Our mixed-method evaluation design emphasized small sample sizes and repeated measures. Limited resources for evaluation were leveraged by focusing on the data needs of key stakeholders, understanding how they wanted to use evaluation results, and collecting data needed for stakeholder decision making. Regular feedback to key stakeholders provided opportunities for updating the course evaluation plan to meet emerging needs for new or different information. Early and repeated involvement of stakeholders in the evaluation process also helped build support for the final product. Involving patient advocacy groups, managers, and representative course participants improved the course and enhanced product dissemination. For training courses, evaluation planning is an opportunity to tailor methods and data collection to meet the information needs of particular stakeholders. Rigorous evaluation research of every training course may be infeasible or unwarranted; however, course evaluations can be improved by good planning. A stakeholder-focused approach can build a picture of the results and impact of training while fostering the practical use of evaluation data.

New thinking imperative in a multinational partnership: towards the strengthening of the nuclear industry back-end

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dreimanis, A.

2009-01-01

An efficient way to increase safety and security in the use of nuclear energy nowadays is to develop multinational radioactive waste (RW) and spent fuel repositories - the nuclear industry back-end. The problem of multilevel consensus building for siting and construction of shared multinational/regional repositories for RW deep disposal is considered. We propose an interdisciplinary synergetic approach to multilevel consensus building for siting and construction of shared multinational repositories for RW deep disposal, based on self-organization (SO) of various stakeholders, chaos and fuzziness concepts as well as the principle of requisite variety. An entire partnering country is considered as a higher-level stakeholder - the national stakeholder, represented by the national government, being faced to simultaneous seeking an upward (international) and a downward (intra-national) consensus in a psychologically stressed environment, possibly being characterized by diverse political, economic and social interests. There is deduced: a) building of international stakeholder consensus would be promoted by activating on the international scale multilateral interactions between intra- and international stakeholders, including web-based networks of disposal site investigations and decision-making, as well as networks for international cooperation among government authorities in nuclear safety, b) gradual progress in intergovernmental consensus and reaching multilateral agreements on shared deep repositories will be the result of dialogue, via observing the whole set of various interests and common resolving of emerged controversies by using advanced synergetic approaches of conflict resolution, and c) knowledge, mental flexibility and creativity are considered as basic prerogatives for gaining a higher level of mutual understanding and consensus, for advancing the preparedness to act together and achieving desired shared goals. It is proposed: self-organized social

Variation in stakeholder opinion on countermeasures across Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nisbet, A.F.; Mercer, J.A.; Rantavaara, A.; Hanninen, R.; Vandecasteele, C.; Hardeman, F.; Ioannides, K.G.; Tzialla, C.; Ollagnon, H.; Pupin, V.; Jullien, T.

2005-01-01

A compendium of agricultural countermeasures and rural waste disposal options has been compiled as part of the EC STRATEGY (Sustainable Restoration and Long-Term Management of Contaminated Rural, Urban and Industrial Ecosystems) project. The compendium was discussed by the FARMING (Food and Agriculture Restoration Management Involving Networked Groups) network of stakeholders during meetings of national panels in the UK, Finland, Belgium, Greece and France in 2002. Their preliminary feedback has been summarised in terms of whether an option is generally acceptable, unacceptable or only acceptable under specific circumstances. A considerable divergence of opinion between national panels was apparent for many of the options considered. This could be attributed to differences in geomorphology, climate, land management, infrastructure, consumer confidence, sociopolitical context and culture. Where consensus was reached between stakeholders it was generally for those countermeasures that provide public reassurance, sustain farming practices and minimise environmental impact. Furthermore, whilst there was general agreement that contaminated food should not enter the food chain, many of the options proposed for its subsequent management were not generally acceptable to stakeholders

Involving Stakeholders in Programme Theory Specification: Discussion of a Systematic, Consensus-Based Approach

Science.gov (United States)

van Urk, Felix; Grant, Sean; Bonell, Chris

2016-01-01

The use of explicit programme theory to guide evaluation is widely recommended. However, practitioners and other partnering stakeholders often initiate programmes based on implicit theories, leaving researchers to explicate them before commencing evaluation. The current study aimed to apply a systematic method to undertake this process. We…

Private sector malaria RDT initiative in Nigeria: lessons from an end-of-project stakeholder engagement meeting.

Science.gov (United States)

Odugbemi, Babatunde; Ezeudu, Chijioke; Ekanem, Anyiekere; Kolawole, Maxwell; Akanmu, Idowu; Olawole, Aderemi; Nglass, Nkabono; Nze, Chinwe; Idenu, Edward; Audu, Bala Mohammed; Ntadom, Godwin; Alemu, Wondimagegnehu; Mpazanje, Rex; Cunningham, Jane; Akubue, Augustine; Arowolo, Tolu; Babatunde, Seye

2018-02-06

The malaria rapid diagnosis testing (RDT) landscape is rapidly evolving in health care delivery in Nigeria with many stakeholders playing or having potential for critical roles. A recent UNITAID grant supported a pilot project on the deployment of quality-assured RDTs among formal and informal private service outlets in three states in Nigeria. This paper describes findings from a series of stakeholder engagement meetings held at the conclusion of the project. The agreed meeting structure was a combination of plenary presentations, structured facilitated discussions, and nominal group techniques to achieve consensus. Rapporteurs recorded the meeting proceeding and summaries of the major areas of discussion and consensus points through a retrospective thematic analysis of the submitted meeting reports. Key findings indicate that private providers were confident in the use of RDTs for malaria diagnosis and believed it has improved the quality of their services. However, concerns were raised about continued access to quality-assured RDT kits. Going forward, stakeholders recommended increasing client-driven demand, and continuous training and supervision of providers through integration with existing monitoring and supervision mechanisms.

An Innovative Approach to Stakeholder Theory: application in spanish transnational corporations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jose Luis Retolaza

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Objective – This paper describes a different perspective on the application of stakeholder theory, concentrating only on the interests of stakeholders rather than on their roles. The purpose of this article is to provide an option for solving Jensen’s “problem of governance”; this approach will allow the agent to manage the stakeholders having ascertained that the needs of stakeholders overlap and, accordingly, the agent should be able to monitor multiple stakes as they are aligned. Design/methodology/approach – A Delphi method was used with the aim to achieve consensus about the interests of stakeholders for companies in Spain. The confirmatory phase was based on interviews to test whether the interests identified in the preliminary study match the interests that the IBEX-35 firms recognized in relation with their stakeholders. Findings – The main contributions are: the addition of a new interestbased perspective to the different classifications made by stakeholder theory; a solution to the diversity of indicators between stakeholders and shareholders; and, finally, a proposal for an integrated accounting system, incorporating economic as well as social issues employing a common metric (monetary. Practical implications – A new perspective focusing on stakeholder interests and the confirmation that interests may converge permits the control and management of multiple principals in transnational corporations operating in different countries. Originality/value – There is a gap in the applicability of stakeholder management that the interest-based perspective can help resolve; moreover the monetization of social value is an option to efficiently manage transnational corporations.

Building America Research-to-Market Plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Werling, Eric [Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Washington, DC (United States)

2015-11-01

This report presents the Building America Research-to-Market Plan (Plan), including the integrated Building America Technology-to-Market Roadmaps (Roadmaps) that will guide Building America’s research, development, and deployment (RD&D) activities over the coming years. The Plan and Roadmaps will be updated as necessary to adapt to research findings and evolving stakeholder needs, and they will reflect input from DOE and stakeholders.

A multi-channel stakeholder consultation process for transmission deregulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gregory, Robin; Fischhoff, Baruch; Thorne, Sarah; Butte, Gordon

2003-01-01

Deregulating Ontario's energy market required designing a rate structure for transmission costs that previously had been bundled with other electricity services. The Ontario Hydro Networks Company (now called Hydro One Networks, or 'Hydro One') owns and operates the transmission lines. It sought input from a full spectrum of stakeholders in preparing a proposed rate structure for submission to the regulator, the Ontario Energy Board (OEB). Securing that input meant accommodating great differences in stakeholders' familiarity with the (often highly technical) issues of rate setting. Hydro One drew on recent developments in stakeholder processes, integrated assessment, and risk communication to create a multi-channel process for eliciting and responding to stakeholder input. That process included (a) detailed background documents, (b) dedicated briefings and workshops, (c) mental models interviews, (d) focused meetings, and (e) mail (and email) boxes. The process was coordinated with a formal expert model, summarizing the factors determining the multiple impacts of the rate structure and the regulatory process producing it. The model analyzed these impacts, structured communications, and organized inputs, in a comprehensive and coherent way. This process facilitated developing proposals that were both technically sound and widely accepted by stakeholders, including the OEB. The case study provides a model for addressing other problems requiring stakeholder input on complex technical issues. It contrasts with other consultative processes with a less formal structure for eliciting concerns, less ability to encourage learning, and greater emphasis on achieving consensus

Australian recommendations for the integration of emergency care for older people: Consensus Statement.

Science.gov (United States)

Lowthian, Judy A; Arendts, Glenn; Strivens, Edward

2018-05-07

Management of older patients during acute illness or injury does not occur in isolation in emergency departments. We aimed to develop a collaborative Consensus Statement to enunciate principles of integrated emergency care. Briefing notes, informed by research and evidence reviews, were developed and evaluated by a Consensus Working Party comprising cross-specialty representation from clinical experts, service providers, consumers and policymakers. The Consensus Working Party then convened to discuss and develop the statement's content. A subcommittee produced a draft, which was reviewed and edited by the Consensus Working Party. Consensus was reached after three rounds of discussion, with 12 principles and six recommendations for how to follow these principles, including an integrated care framework for action. Dissemination will encourage stakeholders and associated policy bodies to embrace the principles and priorities for action, potentially leading to collaborative work practices and improvement of care during and after acute illness or injury. © 2018 AJA Inc.

Transnational Strategies for the Promotion of Physical Activity and Active Aging: The World Health Organization Model of Consensus Building in International Public Health

Science.gov (United States)

Chodzko-Zajko, Wojtek; Schwingel, Andiara

2009-01-01

In this paper we focus our attention on an examination of the four-step process adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its systematic campaign to promote physically active lifestyles by older adults across the 193 WHO member states. The four steps adopted by the WHO include (1) Building Consensus Among Professionals; (2) Educating the…

Stakeholder involvement in decommissioning nuclear facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-01-01

Significant numbers of nuclear facilities will need to be decommissioned in the coming decades. In this context, NEA member countries are placing increasing emphasis on the involvement of stakeholders in the associated decision procedures. This study reviews decommissioning experience with a view to identifying stakeholder concerns and best practice in addressing them. The lessons learnt about the end of the facility life cycle can also contribute to better foresight in siting and building new facilities. This report will be of interest to all major players in the field of decommissioning, in particular policy makers, implementers, regulators and representatives of local host communities

Engaging stakeholders on complex, and potentially contested, science

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holmes, John; Atherton, Elizabeth; Tweed, Cherry

2014-01-01

An effective process for engaging stakeholders on the science underpinning radioactive waste disposal will be essential for the successful implementation of geological disposal in the United Kingdom. Of particular importance are those stakeholders representing, and living in, volunteer communities. There have been two major shifts over the last 10-20 years in society's engagement with science which are particularly relevant to the Radioactive Waste Management Directorate's (RWMD) stakeholder engagement: - a shift to a more inclusive approach in which the public have more of a say about science and its uses; - a shift to a more evidence-based approach to societal decision making. Significant challenges to effective communication and confidence building in geological disposal arise from: - the complexities and uncertainties inherent in the relevant science; - the sensitivities and 'high stakes' (locally and nationally) associated with a disposal facility; - the expectation that there will continue to be vocal stakeholders who are fundamentally opposed to geological disposal of radioactive wastes who will focus on any remaining uncertainties as just cause for their position. This abstract summarises the findings of a project to evaluate approaches to engaging with stakeholders on the science underpinning sensitive decisions in sectors other than radioactive waste disposal and to identify elements of good practice which may help RWMD in taking forward the implementation of a geological disposal facility for the United Kingdom's radioactive wastes. Six elements of good practice are listed and discussed below: - Using science appropriately: Taking an inclusive, evidence-based approach in which collaborative inquiry takes a holistic, weight-of-evidence view of the science rather than focusing on items of evidence in isolation, using them to prove or disprove a particular point of view. - Building trust: Ensuring that processes of engagement engender trust, and that trust

Stakeholders' perspectives on quality indicators for diabetes care: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Markhorst, Joekie; Martirosyan, Liana; Calsbeek, Hiske; Braspenning, Jozé

2012-01-01

Transparency in diabetes care requires quality indicators that are of interest to stakeholders in order to optimise their usage. Indicator development is often focused on consensus, and little is known about stakeholders' preferences for information on quality. To explore the preferences of consumers, providers, purchasers and policy makers for different quality domains and indicators in relation to the intended use of quality indicators. Between June and December 2009, 14 semi-structured interviews were held with stakeholders who have a decisive vote in the selection of the national indicator set for diabetes care in the Netherlands. The following subjects were explored: (1) the aims of using information on quality; (2) the interpretation of and preferences for the quality domains of safety, timeliness, effectiveness and patient-centredness in relation to the user aims; and (3) the preferences for structure, process or outcome indicators. Content analysis was used to analyse qualitative data. Stakeholders had similar and different aims according to their roles. The interpretations of quality domains varied greatly between the stakeholders. Besides differences in interpretation, their preferences were similar. Most stakeholders prioritised patient-centredness above the other domains of quality, ranked in order of priority as safety, effectiveness and timeliness, whereas purchasers also prioritised efficiency. All stakeholders preferred to use process indicators or a mix of process and outcome indicators. The preferences of the stakeholders for quality indicators seem to be neither well-refined nor congruent. The implementation of an indicator set can probably be improved if the stakeholders' definitions and preferences for quality domains become more explicit during the selection process for indicators.

Executive Summary from the 2017 Emergency Medicine Resident Wellness Consensus Summit.

Science.gov (United States)

Battaglioli, Nicole; Ankel, Felix; Doty, Christopher I; Chung, Arlene; Lin, Michelle

2018-03-01

Physician wellness has recently become a popular topic of conversation and publication within the house of medicine and specifically within emergency medicine (EM). Through a joint collaboration involving Academic Life in Emergency Medicine's (ALiEM) Wellness Think Tank, Essentials of Emergency Medicine (EEM), and the Emergency Medicine Residents' Association (EMRA), a one-day Resident Wellness Consensus Summit (RWCS) was organized. The RWCS was held on May 15, 2017, as a pre-day event prior to the 2017 EEM conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. Seven months before the RWCS event, pre-work began in the ALiEM Wellness Think Tank, which was launched in October 2016. The Wellness Think Tank is a virtual community of practice involving EM residents from the U.S. and Canada, hosted on the Slack digital-messaging platform. A working group was formed for each of the four predetermined themes: wellness curriculum development; educator toolkit resources for specific wellness topics; programmatic innovations; and wellness-targeted technologies. Pre-work for RWCS included 142 residents from 100 different training programs in the Wellness Think Tank. Participants in the actual RWCS event included 44 EM residents, five EM attendings who participated as facilitators, and three EM attendings who acted as participants. The four working groups ultimately reached a consensus on their specific objectives to improve resident wellness on both the individual and program level. The Resident Wellness Consensus Summit was a unique and novel consensus meeting, involving residents as the primary stakeholders. The summit demonstrated that it is possible to galvanize a large group of stakeholders in a relatively short time by creating robust trust, communication, and online learning networks to create resources that support resident wellness.

Stakeholder Perspectives on Creating and Maintaining Trust in Community-Academic Research Partnerships.

Science.gov (United States)

Frerichs, Leah; Kim, Mimi; Dave, Gaurav; Cheney, Ann; Hassmiller Lich, Kristen; Jones, Jennifer; Young, Tiffany L; Cene, Crystal W; Varma, Deepthi S; Schaal, Jennifer; Black, Adina; Striley, Catherine W; Vassar, Stefanie; Sullivan, Greer; Cottler, Linda B; Brown, Arleen; Burke, Jessica G; Corbie-Smith, Giselle

2017-02-01

Community-academic research partnerships aim to build stakeholder trust in order to improve the reach and translation of health research, but there is limited empirical research regarding effective ways to build trust. This multisite study was launched to identify similarities and differences among stakeholders' perspectives of antecedents to trust in research partnerships. In 2013-2014, we conducted a mixed-methods concept mapping study with participants from three major stakeholder groups who identified and rated the importance of different antecedents of trust on a 5-point Likert-type scale. Study participants were community members ( n = 66), health care providers ( n = 38), and academic researchers ( n = 44). All stakeholder groups rated "authentic communication" and "reciprocal relationships" the highest in importance. Community members rated "communication/methodology to resolve problems" ( M = 4.23, SD = 0.58) significantly higher than academic researchers ( M = 3.87, SD = 0.67) and health care providers ( M = 3.89, SD = 0.62; p importance of issues related to "sustainability." The importance of communication and relationships across stakeholders indicates the importance of colearning processes that involve the exchange of knowledge and skills. The differences uncovered suggest specific areas where attention and skill building may be needed to improve trust within partnerships. More research on how partnerships can improve communication specific to problem solving and sustainability is merited.

Medical Students and informed consent: A consensus statement prepared by the Faculties of Medical and Health Science of the Universities of Auckland and Otago, Chief Medical Officers of District Health Boards, New Zealand Medical Students' Association and the Medical Council of New Zealand.

Science.gov (United States)

Bagg, Warwick; Adams, John; Anderson, Lynley; Malpas, Phillipa; Pidgeon, Grant; Thorn, Michael; Tulloch, David; Zhong, Cathy; Merry, Alan F

2015-05-15

To develop a national consensus statement to promote a pragmatic, appropriate and unified approach to seeking consent for medical student involvement in patient care. A modified Delphi technique was used to develop the consensus statement involving stakeholders. Feedback from consultation and each stakeholder helped to shape the final consensus statement. The consensus statement is a nationally-agreed statement concerning medical student involvement in patient care, which will be useful for medical students, health care professionals and patients.

Chapter 8: Using GTR 220 to build stakeholder collaboration

Science.gov (United States)

C. Thomas

2012-01-01

Since 2008, Sierra Forest Legacy, a nonprofit conservation organization, has increased its participation in the design of projects on national forest lands in the Sierra Nevada. Our interest has been to engage scientists, managers, and other stakeholders in the design of projects that integrate the best available scientific information. Our second interest has been to...

Building consensus on clinical procedural skills for South African ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: The development of registrar training as part of the newly created speciality of family medicine in South Africa requires the development of a national consensus on the clinical procedural skills outcomes that should be expected of training programmes. Methods: This study utilized a Delphi technique to ...

Tackling wicked problems in infection prevention and control : a guideline for co-creation with stakeholders

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Woezik, Anne F. G.; Braakman-Jansen, Louise M. A.; Kulyk, Olga; Siemons, Liseth; van Gemert-Pijnen, Julia E. W. C.

2016-01-01

Background: Infection prevention and control can be seen as a wicked public health problem as there is no consensus regarding problem definition and solution, multiple stakeholders with different needs and values are involved, and there is no clear end-point of the problem-solving process.

Tackling wicked problems in infection prevention and control: a guideline for co-creation with stakeholders

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Woezik, Anne; Braakman-Jansen, Louise Marie Antoinette; Kulyk, Olga Anatoliyivna; Tjin-Kam-Jet-Siemons, Liseth; van Gemert-Pijnen, Julia E.W.C.

2016-01-01

Background Infection prevention and control can be seen as a wicked public health problem as there is no consensus regarding problem definition and solution, multiple stakeholders with different needs and values are involved, and there is no clear end-point of the problem-solving process.

What Is Real-World Data? A Review of Definitions Based on Literature and Stakeholder Interviews

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Makady, Amr; de Boer, Anthonius; Hillege, Hans; Klungel, Olaf; Goettsch, Wim

2017-01-01

Background: Despite increasing recognition of the value of real-world data (RWD), consensus on the definition of RWD is lacking.  Objectives: To review definitions publicly available for RWD to shed light on similarities and differences between them.  Methods: A literature review and stakeholder

Essential Skills for Project Stakeholders Identification: Sustainability Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Md. Mashiur Rahman

2017-09-01

Full Text Available In every life cycle of the project there are numerous people or organizations involved either directly or indirectly. While these type of people and organizations involved are called stakeholders and these may include the project team, client or customer, community, environment, suppliers, government. Stakeholders contribute and share their experiences, knowledge, and insights to support the project throughout its life cycle and therefore it is crucial to capture their input. However, before initiation of the project, stakeholders need to be identified. Following the fact that there are strategies and processes for stakeholder identification, it is not clear what skills are needed to employ those strategies for stakeholder identification. These skills are exceedingly important to have because in today's corporate world, the project team must be flexible in every aspect of their job and be able to complement their skills for the success of stakeholder identification. Using literature review, this paper seeks to describe the skills of project leader needed to identify the project team and the external stakeholders. Inductive approach was followed in this study and data was collected qualitatively using secondary sources. There are two essential skills i.e. relationship building skills and communication skills for internal stakeholders and four major skills i.e. communication skills, people skills, intellectual skills and conceptual skills for external stakeholders are identified for the identification of project stakeholders through literature review considering the sustainability issues in the project management.

Making Sense of Stakeholder Brand Reputations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

von Wallpach, Sylvia; Koll, Oliver

Marketing science and practice acknowledge that a brand’s reputation amongst consumers is essential for success. However, brand reputation may also affect other stakeholders’ exchange relationships with a brand. We discuss (1) the relevance of a multi-stakeholder approach to brand management, (2...... may show substantial overlap and divergence at the same time. When relating these stakeholders’ reputations to management-intended brand reputation, we find that some reputation elements have permeated to none, one or both groups, but also that the two stakeholder groups may agree about reputation...... elements which are not intended. We discuss how brand management can and why it should use such results in their brand-building efforts....

Stakeholder analysis in the management of irrigation in Kampili area

Science.gov (United States)

Jumiati; Ali, M. S. S.; Fahmid, I. M.; Mahyuddin

2018-05-01

Irrigation has appreciable contribution in building food security, particularly rice crops. This study aims to analyze the role of stakeholders involved in distributing of irrigation water. The study was conducted in the Kampili Irrigation Area in South Sulawesi Province Indonesia, the data were obtained through observation and interviews with stakeholders involved, and analysed by stakeholder analysis, based on the interests and power held by the actors. This analysis is intended to provide an optimal picture of the expected role of each stakeholder in the management of irrigation resources. The results show that there were many stakeholders involved in irrigation management. In the arrangement of irrigation distribution there was overlapping authority of the stakeholders to its management, every stakeholder had different interests and power between each other. The existence have given positive and negative values in distributing irrigation water management, then in the stakeholder collaboration there was contestation between them. This contestation took place between the agriculture department, PSDA province, the Jeneberang River Region Hall, the Farmers Group and the P3A.

What Is Real-World Data (RWD)? : A Review of Definitions Based on Literature and Stakeholder Interviews

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Makady, Amr; de Boer, Anthonius; Hillege, Hans; Klungel, Olaf; Goettsch, Wim

Background: Despite increasing recognition of the value of real-world data (RWD), consensus on the definition of RWD is lacking. Objectives: To review definitions publicly available for RWD to shed light on similarities and differences between them. Methods: A literature review and stakeholder

Building Better Drought Resilience Through Improved Monitoring and Early Warning: Learning From Stakeholders in Europe, the USA, and Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Stahl, K.; Hannaford, J.; Bachmair, S.; Tijdeman, E.; Collins, K.; Svoboda, M.; Knutson, C. L.; Wall, N.; Smith, K. H.; Bernadt, T.; Crossman, N. D.; Overton, I. C.; Barker, L. J.; Acreman, M. C.

2016-12-01

With climate projections suggesting that droughts will intensify in many regions in future, improved drought risk management may reduce potential threats to freshwater security across the globe. One aspect that has been called for in this respect is an improvement of the linkage of drought monitoring and early warning, which currently focuses largely on indicators from meteorology and hydrology, to drought impacts on environment and society. However, a survey of existing monitoring and early warning systems globally, that we report on in this contribution, demonstrates that although impacts are being monitored, there is limited work, and certainly little consensus, on how to best achieve this linkage. The Belmont Forum project DrIVER (Drought impacts: Vulnerability thresholds in monitoring and early-warning research) carried out a number of stakeholder workshops in North America, Europe and Australia to elaborate on options for such improvements. A first round of workshops explored current drought management practices among a very diverse range of stakeholders, and their expectations from monitoring and early warning systems (particularly regarding impact characterization). The workshops revealed some disconnects between the indices used in the public early warning systems and those used by local decision-makers, e.g. to trigger drought measures. Follow-up workshops then explored how the links between information at these different scales can be bridged and applied. Impact information plays a key role in this task. This contribution draws on the lessons learned from the transdisciplinary interactions in DrIVER, to enhance the usability of drought monitoring and early-warning systems and other risk management strategies.

Executive Summary from the 2017 Emergency Medicine Resident Wellness Consensus Summit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Felix Ankel

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Physician wellness has recently become a popular topic of conversation and publication within the house of medicine and specifically within emergency medicine (EM. Through a joint collaboration involving Academic Life in Emergency Medicine’s (ALiEM Wellness Think Tank, Essentials of Emergency Medicine (EEM, and the Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association (EMRA, a one-day Resident Wellness Consensus Summit (RWCS was organized. Methods: The RWCS was held on May 15, 2017, as a pre-day event prior to the 2017 EEM conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. Seven months before the RWCS event, pre-work began in the ALiEM Wellness Think Tank, which was launched in October 2016. The Wellness Think Tank is a virtual community of practice involving EM residents from the U.S. and Canada, hosted on the Slack digital-messaging platform. A working group was formed for each of the four predetermined themes: wellness curriculum development; educator toolkit resources for specific wellness topics; programmatic innovations; and wellness-targeted technologies. Results: Pre-work for RWCS included 142 residents from 100 different training programs in the Wellness Think Tank. Participants in the actual RWCS event included 44 EM residents, five EM attendings who participated as facilitators, and three EM attendings who acted as participants. The four working groups ultimately reached a consensus on their specific objectives to improve resident wellness on both the individual and program level. Conclusion: The Resident Wellness Consensus Summit was a unique and novel consensus meeting, involving residents as the primary stakeholders. The summit demonstrated that it is possible to galvanize a large group of stakeholders in a relatively short time by creating robust trust, communication, and online learning networks to create resources that support resident wellness.

78 FR 21607 - Stakeholder Listening Session in Preparation for the 66th World Health Assembly

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-11

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Stakeholder Listening Session in Preparation for the 66th... hold an informal Stakeholder Listening Session on Monday, May 6, 3-4:30 p.m., in the Great Hall of the HHS Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20201. The Stakeholder...

Stakeholders involvement in the decommissioning processes in Italy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dionisi, Mario

2006-01-01

The aim of this paper is to present the situation about stakeholders involvement in Italy in the framework of the decommissioning process of the Italian nuclear installations, and in particular the specific experience of the Italian Regulatory Body APAT. Specific aspects and APAT initiatives for building confidence of stakeholders in the process of the release of solid material from the regulatory control are presented. Content: Decommissioning activities in Italy, Decommissioning licensing procedures (Site and material release, APAT - ARPA Partnership approach in the clearance process)

Shareholder, stakeholder-owner or broad stakeholder maximization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mygind, Niels

2004-01-01

With reference to the discussion about shareholder versus stakeholder maximization it is argued that the normal type of maximization is in fact stakeholder-owner maxi-mization. This means maximization of the sum of the value of the shares and stake-holder benefits belonging to the dominating...... including the shareholders of a company. Although it may be the ultimate goal for Corporate Social Responsibility to achieve this kind of maximization, broad stakeholder maximization is quite difficult to give a precise definition. There is no one-dimensional measure to add different stakeholder benefits...... not traded on the mar-ket, and therefore there is no possibility for practical application. Broad stakeholder maximization instead in practical applications becomes satisfying certain stakeholder demands, so that the practical application will be stakeholder-owner maximization un-der constraints defined...

Building trust : corporations and their stakeholders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chin, R.I.

1998-01-01

The issue of corporate responsibility in terms of societal, economic and environmental matters within the petrochemical sector and the role played in this area by the Council on Economic Priorities (CEP) was discussed. CEP is a non-profit research organization whose mission is to analyse the social and environmental records of corporations in an effort to influence corporate behaviour. CEP campaigns for more communication, more social disclosure and environmentally cleaner corporations. The campaign for cleaner corporations, (C-3), began in 1992 as a public awareness campaign to list the worst environmental performers in the U.S. In the C-3 process, CEP provides recommendations to listed companies and de-lists those which have improved their environmental and social performance. The focus in 1997 was on the petrochemical industry. The overall ranking of 15 major petrochemical companies was provided, along with two case histories illustrating the C-3 process from 'listing' to 'delisting'. Measures used in determining environmental performance for a company include their environmental management policy, environmental impact, environmental reporting and communications, product stewardship and stakeholder relations

Towards a Consensus View on Understanding Nanomaterials Hazards and Managing Exposure: Knowledge Gaps and Recommendations

Science.gov (United States)

Hunt, Geoffrey; Lynch, Iseult; Cassee, Flemming; Handy, Richard D.; Fernandes, Teresa F.; Berges, Markus; Kuhlbusch, Thomas A. J.; Dusinska, Maria; Riediker, Michael

2013-01-01

The aim of this article is to present an overview of salient issues of exposure, characterisation and hazard assessment of nanomaterials as they emerged from the consensus-building of experts undertaken within the four year European Commission coordination project NanoImpactNet. The approach adopted is to consolidate and condense the findings and problem-identification in such a way as to identify knowledge-gaps and generate a set of interim recommendations of use to industry, regulators, research bodies and funders. The categories of recommendation arising from the consensual view address: significant gaps in vital factual knowledge of exposure, characterisation and hazards; the development, dissemination and standardisation of appropriate laboratory protocols; address a wide range of technical issues in establishing an adequate risk assessment platform; the more efficient and coordinated gathering of basic data; greater inter-organisational cooperation; regulatory harmonization; the wider use of the life-cycle approaches; and the wider involvement of all stakeholders in the discussion and solution-finding efforts for nanosafety. PMID:28809359

Integrating conflict analysis and consensus reaching in a decision support system for water resource management.

Science.gov (United States)

Giordano, R; Passarella, G; Uricchio, V F; Vurro, M

2007-07-01

The importance of shared decision processes in water management derives from the awareness of the inadequacy of traditional--i.e. engineering--approaches in dealing with complex and ill-structured problems. It is becoming increasingly obvious that traditional problem solving and decision support techniques, based on optimisation and factual knowledge, have to be combined with stakeholder based policy design and implementation. The aim of our research is the definition of an integrated decision support system for consensus achievement (IDSS-C) able to support a participative decision-making process in all its phases: problem definition and structuring, identification of the possible alternatives, formulation of participants' judgments, and consensus achievement. Furthermore, the IDSS-C aims at structuring, i.e. systematising the knowledge which has emerged during the participative process in order to make it comprehensible for the decision-makers and functional for the decision process. Problem structuring methods (PSM) and multi-group evaluation methods (MEM) have been integrated in the IDSS-C. PSM are used to support the stakeholders in providing their perspective of the problem and to elicit their interests and preferences, while MEM are used to define not only the degree of consensus for each alternative, highlighting those where the agreement is high, but also the consensus label for each alternative and the behaviour of individuals during the participative decision-making. The IDSS-C is applied experimentally to a decision process regarding the use of treated wastewater for agricultural irrigation in the Apulia Region (southern Italy).

Social responsible communication of nuclear power plant with external stakeholders

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Simoncic, Milan [Nuclear Power Plant Krsko (Slovenia); Zurga, Gordana [Faculty of Organisation Studies in Novo Mesto (Slovenia)

2016-11-15

Implications that nuclear technology brings to common physical and social environment, are on daily lists of questions that stakeholders address to owners and operators of nuclear power plants. In this respect, stakeholders expect and demand narrow and explicit answers to concrete questions set. We claim that the acceptability of the NPP in the society can be achieved and maintained also through active communication and trust building between NPP and its stakeholders. A research in this respect was conducted on case of the Krsko NPP, Slovenia. Some institutional and international implications are presented, as well as possible areas for further investigation and research.

Who has a stake? How stakeholder processes influence partnership sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mary-Ellen Boyle

2011-11-01

Full Text Available As universities attempt to expand their relevance by engaging with local and regional societal challenges, various kinds of partnerships are emerging. A broad range of stakeholders, from both the university and the community, are typically engaged in and influence the development, implementation and perpetuation of these partnerships. This paper juxtaposes analysis of three community-university partnerships in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA, paying particular attention to the partnerships’ stakeholders, and to their relative importance. This research builds upon current understandings of critical factors in partnership sustainability, as these three partnerships have different goals, involve different university and community stakeholders, and are at different points in their organisational history. The fact that they share the same context – the same city – offers a unique opportunity for comparative case study analysis. The theory of stakeholder salience is used to explain findings about partnership sustainability and to make suggestions for strengthening existing partnerships. Specifically, we argue that stakeholder power and legitimacy, along with stakeholder urgency, are key factors in sustaining community-university partnerships. Keywords Community-university partnerships; economic development; community development; stakeholder salience

A quick needs assessment of key stakeholder groups on the role of family medicine in Zambia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J Sanders

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Background. Zambia is a nation of nine million people, and has too few physicians to meet the country’s health needs. Following the strategy of other sub-Saharan countries, Zambia has developed a training programme in family medicine to help improve the medical competencies of its physician workforce. A needs assessment was undertaken to better understand the landscape into which Zambian family medicine is being placed. Methods. In 2014, a nine-question survey in Likert-scale format was developed, validated, and then delivered to four stakeholder groups: (i practicing clinical physicians, (ii the general public, (iii the University of Zambia’s School of Medicine’s academic faculty and (iv medical students. The needs assessment was delivered through several different mechanisms: via web-based service, to respondents’ email addresses; in paper form, to population samples of convenience; and verbally, through face-to-face encounters. Results. The number of stakeholders from each group who responded to the needs assessment were: clinical physicians, 27; general public, 15; academic faculty, 14; and medical students, 31. Five of the nine survey statements achieved super-majority consensus, with >66% of stakeholders in each group agreeing. Two additional statements achieved a simple-majority consensus with >50% agreement within each stakeholder group. Conclusion. This survey suggests that there is a broad-based a priori understanding of family medicine in Zambia, and general agreement that its presence would be valuable to Zambia’s healthcare system.

Consensus building for interlaboratory studies, key comparisons, and meta-analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Koepke, Amanda; Lafarge, Thomas; Possolo, Antonio; Toman, Blaza

2017-06-01

Interlaboratory studies in measurement science, including key comparisons, and meta-analyses in several fields, including medicine, serve to intercompare measurement results obtained independently, and typically produce a consensus value for the common measurand that blends the values measured by the participants. Since interlaboratory studies and meta-analyses reveal and quantify differences between measured values, regardless of the underlying causes for such differences, they also provide so-called ‘top-down’ evaluations of measurement uncertainty. Measured values are often substantially over-dispersed by comparison with their individual, stated uncertainties, thus suggesting the existence of yet unrecognized sources of uncertainty (dark uncertainty). We contrast two different approaches to take dark uncertainty into account both in the computation of consensus values and in the evaluation of the associated uncertainty, which have traditionally been preferred by different scientific communities. One inflates the stated uncertainties by a multiplicative factor. The other adds laboratory-specific ‘effects’ to the value of the measurand. After distinguishing what we call recipe-based and model-based approaches to data reductions in interlaboratory studies, we state six guiding principles that should inform such reductions. These principles favor model-based approaches that expose and facilitate the critical assessment of validating assumptions, and give preeminence to substantive criteria to determine which measurement results to include, and which to exclude, as opposed to purely statistical considerations, and also how to weigh them. Following an overview of maximum likelihood methods, three general purpose procedures for data reduction are described in detail, including explanations of how the consensus value and degrees of equivalence are computed, and the associated uncertainty evaluated: the DerSimonian-Laird procedure; a hierarchical Bayesian

Shareholder, stakeholder-owner or broad stakeholder maximization

OpenAIRE

Mygind, Niels

2004-01-01

With reference to the discussion about shareholder versus stakeholder maximization it is argued that the normal type of maximization is in fact stakeholder-owner maxi-mization. This means maximization of the sum of the value of the shares and stake-holder benefits belonging to the dominating stakeholder-owner. Maximization of shareholder value is a special case of owner-maximization, and only under quite re-strictive assumptions shareholder maximization is larger or equal to stakeholder-owner...

Consensus clustering approach to group brain connectivity matrices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javier Rasero

2017-10-01

Full Text Available A novel approach rooted on the notion of consensus clustering, a strategy developed for community detection in complex networks, is proposed to cope with the heterogeneity that characterizes connectivity matrices in health and disease. The method can be summarized as follows: (a define, for each node, a distance matrix for the set of subjects by comparing the connectivity pattern of that node in all pairs of subjects; (b cluster the distance matrix for each node; (c build the consensus network from the corresponding partitions; and (d extract groups of subjects by finding the communities of the consensus network thus obtained. Different from the previous implementations of consensus clustering, we thus propose to use the consensus strategy to combine the information arising from the connectivity patterns of each node. The proposed approach may be seen either as an exploratory technique or as an unsupervised pretraining step to help the subsequent construction of a supervised classifier. Applications on a toy model and two real datasets show the effectiveness of the proposed methodology, which represents heterogeneity of a set of subjects in terms of a weighted network, the consensus matrix.

Stakeholders in nursing education: their role and involvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Virgolesi, M; Marchetti, A; Piredda, M; Pulimeno, A M L; Rocco, G; Stievano, A; De Marinis, M G

2014-01-01

In literature, there is evidence that all stakeholders need to be involved in the curricula building process to make sure that health professionals are "educated" to meet the stakeholders' "demands". In Italy, the involvement of stakeholders in the definition of university curricula is ratified by various regulations. To describe the major experiences of stakeholder involvement in nursing education, identify the main stakeholders for nursing education, and the processes in which they are involved. The search strategy included an electronic exploration of the relevant databases. The search terms were: Stakeholders, Curriculum, Nursing Education combined with Boolean operators. The references of the retrieved articles were hand searched for additional related studies. Most of the studies identified were from the United Kingdom, Australia, and the USA. In Italy, no relevant studies were found. The most frequently identified stakeholders were: students, clinicians, educators, nurse managers. They were mainly involved during profound changes in the curricula and the implementation of new educational approaches. Stakeholders are mostly involved in countries with a private funding system for universities. Such funding systems have probably developed in the academia a greater propensity to involve stakeholders, to provide recognition of success when starting new programs, and are perceived more as marketing research. This seems contrary to the spirit of the Italian and European regulatory interventions, which instead, provide a structured commitment to consolidating and expanding the collaboration among universities, users, and the world of labor. This latter collaboration should facilitate internship activities, lifelong learning, and employability of the newly-graduated professionals.

Stakeholder Analysis as a Medium to Aid Change in Information System Reengineering Projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jean Davison

2004-04-01

Full Text Available The importance of involving stakeholders within a change process is well recognised, and successfully managed change is equally important. Information systems development and redesign is a form of change activity involving people and social issues and therefore resistance to change may occur. A stakeholder identification and analysis (SIA technique has been developed as an enhancement to PISO® (Process Improvement for Strategic Objectives, a method that engages the users of a system in the problem solving and reengineering of their own work-based problem areas. The SIA technique aids the identification and analysis of system stakeholders, and helps view the projected outcome of system changes and their effect on relevant stakeholders with attention being given to change resistance to ensure smooth negotiation and achieve consensus. A case study is presented here describing the successful implementation of a direct appointment booking system for patients within the National Health Service in the UK, utilising the SIA technique, which resulted in a feeling of empowerment and ownership of the change of those involved.

Development of a Unifying Target and Consensus Indicators for Global Surgical Systems Strengthening: Proposed by the Global Alliance for Surgery, Obstetric, Trauma, and Anaesthesia Care (The G4 Alliance).

Science.gov (United States)

Haider, Adil; Scott, John W; Gause, Colin D; Meheš, Mira; Hsiung, Grace; Prelvukaj, Albulena; Yanocha, Dana; Baumann, Lauren M; Ahmed, Faheem; Ahmed, Na'eem; Anderson, Sara; Angate, Herve; Arfaa, Lisa; Asbun, Horacio; Ashengo, Tigistu; Asuman, Kisembo; Ayala, Ruben; Bickler, Stephen; Billingsley, Saul; Bird, Peter; Botman, Matthijs; Butler, Marilyn; Buyske, Jo; Capozzi, Angelo; Casey, Kathleen; Clayton, Charles; Cobey, James; Cotton, Michael; Deckelbaum, Dan; Derbew, Miliard; deVries, Catherine; Dillner, Jeanne; Downham, Max; Draisin, Natalie; Echinard, David; Elneil, Sohier; ElSayed, Ahmed; Estelle, Abigail; Finley, Allen; Frenkel, Erica; Frykman, Philip K; Gheorghe, Florin; Gore-Booth, Julian; Henker, Richard; Henry, Jaymie; Henry, Orion; Hoemeke, Laura; Hoffman, David; Ibanga, Iko; Jackson, Eric V; Jani, Pankaj; Johnson, Walter; Jones, Andrew; Kassem, Zeina; Kisembo, Asuman; Kocan, Abbey; Krishnaswami, Sanjay; Lane, Robert; Latif, Asad; Levy, Barbara; Linos, Dimitrios; Linz, Peter; Listwa, Louis A; Magee, Declan; Makasa, Emmanuel; Marin, Michael L; Martin, Claude; McQueen, Kelly; Morgan, Jamie; Moser, Richard; Neighbor, Robert; Novick, William M; Ogendo, Stephen; Omigbodun, Akinyinka; Onajin-Obembe, Bisola; Parsan, Neil; Philip, Beverly K; Price, Raymond; Rasheed, Shahnawaz; Ratel, Marjorie; Reynolds, Cheri; Roser, Steven M; Rowles, Jackie; Samad, Lubna; Sampson, John; Sanghvi, Harshadkumar; Sellers, Marchelle L; Sigalet, David; Steffes, Bruce C; Stieber, Erin; Swaroop, Mamta; Tarpley, John; Varghese, Asha; Varughese, Julie; Wagner, Richard; Warf, Benjamin; Wetzig, Neil; Williamson, Susan; Wood, Joshua; Zeidan, Anne; Zirkle, Lewis; Allen, Brendan; Abdullah, Fizan

2017-10-01

After decades on the margins of primary health care, surgical and anaesthesia care is gaining increasing priority within the global development arena. The 2015 publications of the Disease Control Priorities third edition on Essential Surgery and the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery created a compelling evidenced-based argument for the fundamental role of surgery and anaesthesia within cost-effective health systems strengthening global strategy. The launch of the Global Alliance for Surgical, Obstetric, Trauma, and Anaesthesia Care in 2015 has further coordinated efforts to build priority for surgical care and anaesthesia. These combined efforts culminated in the approval of a World Health Assembly resolution recognizing the role of surgical care and anaesthesia as part of universal health coverage. Momentum gained from these milestones highlights the need to identify consensus goals, targets and indicators to guide policy implementation and track progress at the national level. Through an open consultative process that incorporated input from stakeholders from around the globe, a global target calling for safe surgical and anaesthesia care for 80% of the world by 2030 was proposed. In order to achieve this target, we also propose 15 consensus indicators that build on existing surgical systems metrics and expand the ability to prioritize surgical systems strengthening around the world.

How can health care organisations make and justify decisions about risk reduction? Lessons from a cross-industry review and a health care stakeholder consensus development process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sujan, Mark A.; Habli, Ibrahim; Kelly, Tim P.; Gühnemann, Astrid; Pozzi, Simone; Johnson, Christopher W.

2017-01-01

Interventions to reduce risk often have an associated cost. In UK industries decisions about risk reduction are made and justified within a shared regulatory framework that requires that risk be reduced as low as reasonably practicable. In health care no such regulatory framework exists, and the practice of making decisions about risk reduction is varied and lacks transparency. Can health care organisations learn from relevant industry experiences about making and justifying risk reduction decisions? This paper presents lessons from a qualitative study undertaken with 21 participants from five industries about how such decisions are made and justified in UK industry. Recommendations were developed based on a consensus development exercise undertaken with 20 health care stakeholders. The paper argues that there is a need in health care to develop a regulatory framework and an agreed process for managing explicitly the trade-off between risk reduction and cost. The framework should include guidance about a health care specific notion of acceptable levels of risk, guidance about standardised risk reduction interventions, it should include regulatory incentives for health care organisations to reduce risk, and it should encourage the adoption of an approach for documenting explicitly an organisation's risk position. - Highlights: • Empirical description of industry perceptions on making risk reduction decisions. • Health care consensus development identified five recommendations. • Risk concept should be better integrated into safety management. • Education and awareness about risk concept are required. • Health systems need to start a dialogue about acceptable levels of risk.

Searching for consensus among physicians involved in the management of sick-listed workers in the Belgian health care sector: a qualitative study among practitioners and stakeholders.

Science.gov (United States)

Vanmeerbeek, Marc; Govers, Patrick; Schippers, Nathalie; Rieppi, Stéphane; Mortelmans, Katrien; Mairiaux, Philippe

2016-02-17

In Belgium, the management of sick leave involves general practitioners (GPs), occupational health physicians (OPs) and social insurance physicians (SIPs). A dysfunctional relationship among these physicians can impede a patient's ability to return to work. The objective of this study was to identify ways to improve these physicians' mutual collaboration. Two consensus techniques were successively performed among the three professional groups. Eight nominal groups (NGs) gathered 74 field practitioners, and a two-round Delphi process involved 32 stakeholders. From the results, it appears that two areas (reciprocal knowledge and evolution of the legal and regulatory framework) are objects of consensus among the three medical group that were surveyed. Information transfer, particularly electronic transfer, was stressed as an important way to improve. The consensual proposals regarding interdisciplinary collaboration indicate specific and practical changes to be implemented when professionals are managing workers who are on sick leave. The collaboration process appeared to be currently more problematic, but the participants correctly identified the need for common training. The three physician groups all agree regarding several inter-physician collaboration proposals. The study also revealed a latent conflict situation among the analysed professionals that can arise from a lack of mutual recognition. Practical changes or improvements must be included in an extended framework that involves the different determinants of interdisciplinary collaboration that are shown by theoretical models. Collaboration is a product of the actions and behaviours of various partners, which requires reciprocal knowledge and trust; collaboration also implies political and economic structures that are led by public health authorities.

Assessing and addressing increased stakeholder and operator information needs in nuclear fuel cycle facilities: two concepts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saltiel, David H. [Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque (United States)

2007-12-15

Nuclear energy programs around the world increasingly find themselves at the nexus of potentially conflicting demands from both domestic and international stakeholders. On one side, the rapid growth in demand for electricity coupled with the goal of reducing carbon emissions calls for a significant expansion of nuclear energy. On the other, stakeholders are seeking ever greater safety, environmental, security, and nonproliferation assurances before consenting to the construction of new nuclear energy facilities. Satisfying the demand for clean energy supplies will require nuclear energy operators to find new and innovative ways to build confidence among stakeholders. This paper discusses two related concepts which can contribute to meeting the needs of key stakeholders in cost effective and efficient ways. Structured processes and tools for assessing stakeholder needs can build trust and confidence while facilitating the 'designing-in' of information collection systems for new facilities to achieve maximum efficiency and effectiveness. Integrated approaches to monitoring facilities and managing the resulting data can provide stakeholders with continued confidence while offering operators additional facility and process information to improve performance.

Assessing and addressing increased stakeholder and operator information needs in nuclear fuel cycle facilities: two concepts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saltiel, David H.

2007-01-01

Nuclear energy programs around the world increasingly find themselves at the nexus of potentially conflicting demands from both domestic and international stakeholders. On one side, the rapid growth in demand for electricity coupled with the goal of reducing carbon emissions calls for a significant expansion of nuclear energy. On the other, stakeholders are seeking ever greater safety, environmental, security, and nonproliferation assurances before consenting to the construction of new nuclear energy facilities. Satisfying the demand for clean energy supplies will require nuclear energy operators to find new and innovative ways to build confidence among stakeholders. This paper discusses two related concepts which can contribute to meeting the needs of key stakeholders in cost effective and efficient ways. Structured processes and tools for assessing stakeholder needs can build trust and confidence while facilitating the 'designing-in' of information collection systems for new facilities to achieve maximum efficiency and effectiveness. Integrated approaches to monitoring facilities and managing the resulting data can provide stakeholders with continued confidence while offering operators additional facility and process information to improve performance

Conflict resolution efforts through stakeholder mapping in Labanan Research Forest, Berau, East Kalimantan, Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Wiati, C. B.; Indriyanti, S. Y.; Maharani, R.; Subarudi

2018-04-01

Conflict resolution in Labanan Research Forest (LRF) by the Dipterocarps Forest Ecosystem Research and Development Center (Balai Besar Penelitian dan Pengembangan Ekosistem Hutan Dipterokarpa – B2P2EHD) needs support from other parties that are also interested in such forest management. This paper aimed to presented conflict resolution in LRF through stakeholder mapping for its engagement. This research was conducted for seven months (June to December 2015) with interviews and literature study as its data collection. Collected data were analysed by a stakeholder analysis and matrix based on their interest and power levels. Two important findings were: (1) There are 19 parties having interests in the existence of LRF should be engaged; (2) Conflict resolution of LRF can be achieved: (a) ensuring key stakeholders which have high interest and high power level has same perception in existence and management of LRF, (b) establishing a partnership with primary stakeholders which have high interest and high power levels; (c) building partnerships between primary stakeholders which have high interest but low power levels, (d) building partnerships between key and secondary stakeholders which have low interest but high power levels and (e) gaining support from primary and secondary stakeholders which have low interest and low power levels. Stakeholder mapping is an important tool for tenure conflict resolution through mapping the power and interest of the conflicted parties and finding the proper parties to be approached.

Core Outcomes for Colorectal Cancer Surgery: A Consensus Study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angus G K McNair

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Colorectal cancer (CRC is a major cause of worldwide morbidity and mortality. Surgical treatment is common, and there is a great need to improve the delivery of such care. The gold standard for evaluating surgery is within well-designed randomized controlled trials (RCTs; however, the impact of RCTs is diminished by a lack of coordinated outcome measurement and reporting. A solution to these issues is to develop an agreed standard "core" set of outcomes to be measured in all trials to facilitate cross-study comparisons, meta-analysis, and minimize outcome reporting bias. This study defines a core outcome set for CRC surgery.The scope of this COS includes clinical effectiveness trials of surgical interventions for colorectal cancer. Excluded were nonsurgical oncological interventions. Potential outcomes of importance to patients and professionals were identified through systematic literature reviews and patient interviews. All outcomes were transcribed verbatim and categorized into domains by two independent researchers. This informed a questionnaire survey that asked stakeholders (patients and professionals from United Kingdom CRC centers to rate the importance of each domain. Respondents were resurveyed following group feedback (Delphi methods. Outcomes rated as less important were discarded after each survey round according to predefined criteria, and remaining outcomes were considered at three consensus meetings; two involving international professionals and a separate one with patients. A modified nominal group technique was used to gain the final consensus. Data sources identified 1,216 outcomes of CRC surgery that informed a 91 domain questionnaire. First round questionnaires were returned from 63 out of 81 (78% centers, including 90 professionals, and 97 out of 267 (35% patients. Second round response rates were high for all stakeholders (>80%. Analysis of responses lead to 45 and 23 outcome domains being retained after the first and

Building stakeholder relations online: How nonprofit organizations use dialogic and relational maintenance strategies on Facebook

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Wissen, N.; Wonneberger, A.

2017-01-01

Although Facebook provides organizations with the opportunity to easily engage with stakeholders online, very little is known about the effectiveness of organizational communication strategies. This study examines how nonprofit organizations (NPOs) use Facebook to engage with stakeholders through

A Methodological Framework to Analyze Stakeholder Preferences and Propose Strategic Pathways for a Sustainable University

Science.gov (United States)

Turan, Fikret Korhan; Cetinkaya, Saadet; Ustun, Ceyda

2016-01-01

Building sustainable universities calls for participative management and collaboration among stakeholders. Combining analytic hierarchy and network processes (AHP/ANP) with statistical analysis, this research proposes a framework that can be used in higher education institutions for integrating stakeholder preferences into strategic decisions. The…

Modelling with stakeholders - Next generation

Science.gov (United States)

Voinov, Alexey; Kolagani, Nagesh; McCall, Michael K; Glynn, Pierre D.; Kragt, Marit E; Ostermann, Frank O; Pierce, Suzanne A; Ramu, Palaniappan

2016-01-01

This paper updates and builds on ‘Modelling with Stakeholders’ Voinov and Bousquet, 2010 which demonstrated the importance of, and demand for, stakeholder participation in resource and environmental modelling. This position paper returns to the concepts of that publication and reviews the progress made since 2010. A new development is the wide introduction and acceptance of social media and web applications, which dramatically changes the context and scale of stakeholder interactions and participation. Technology advances make it easier to incorporate information in interactive formats via visualization and games to augment participatory experiences. Citizens as stakeholders are increasingly demanding to be engaged in planning decisions that affect them and their communities, at scales from local to global. How people interact with and access models and data is rapidly evolving. In turn, this requires changes in how models are built, packaged, and disseminated: citizens are less in awe of experts and external authorities, and they are increasingly aware of their own capabilities to provide inputs to planning processes, including models. The continued acceleration of environmental degradation and natural resource depletion accompanies these societal changes, even as there is a growing acceptance of the need to transition to alternative, possibly very different, life styles. Substantive transitions cannot occur without significant changes in human behaviour and perceptions. The important and diverse roles that models can play in guiding human behaviour, and in disseminating and increasing societal knowledge, are a feature of stakeholder processes today.

A structured multi-stakeholder learning process for Sustainable Land Management.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwilch, Gudrun; Bachmann, Felicitas; Valente, Sandra; Coelho, Celeste; Moreira, Jorge; Laouina, Abdellah; Chaker, Miloud; Aderghal, Mohamed; Santos, Patricia; Reed, Mark S

2012-09-30

There are many, often competing, options for Sustainable Land Management (SLM). Each must be assessed - and sometimes negotiated - prior to implementation. Participatory, multi-stakeholder approaches to identification and selection of SLM options are increasingly popular, often motivated by social learning and empowerment goals. Yet there are few practical tools for facilitating processes in which land managers may share, select, and decide on the most appropriate SLM options. The research presented here aims to close the gap between the theory and the practice of stakeholder participation/learning in SLM decision-making processes. The paper describes a three-part participatory methodology for selecting SLM options that was tested in 14 desertification-prone study sites within the EU-DESIRE project. Cross-site analysis and in-depth evaluation of the Moroccan and Portuguese sites were used to evaluate how well the proposed process facilitated stakeholder learning and selection of appropriate SLM options for local implementation. The structured nature of the process - starting with SLM goal setting - was found to facilitate mutual understanding and collaboration between stakeholders. The deliberation process led to a high degree of consensus over the outcome and, though not an initial aim, it fostered social learning in many cases. This solution-oriented methodology is applicable in a wide range of contexts and may be implemented with limited time and resources. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Marketing Plan for Scientists: Building Effective Products and Connecting with Stakeholders in Meaningful Ways

Science.gov (United States)

A disconnect often occurs between the creation of scientific research outputs and their use by intended stakeholders. Even with the diligent efforts of scientists to create products of value, many scientific outputs are underutilized by intended stakeholders. Marketing methods ca...

Building information deduced

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tamke, Martin; Myrup Jensen, Morten; Beetz, Jakob

2014-01-01

In recent years, Building Information Models have become commonplace in building profession. The extensive use and increasing experience with BIM models offers new perspectives and potentials for design and planning. A recent stakeholder study conducted by the authors of this paper show that in p......In recent years, Building Information Models have become commonplace in building profession. The extensive use and increasing experience with BIM models offers new perspectives and potentials for design and planning. A recent stakeholder study conducted by the authors of this paper show...... that in practice models are no longer solely observed as culmination of knowledge in a 3d representation of future built structures, but as a source of information in itself. Experienced users of BIM want to Find Information within a model or across a set of these and Compare models in order to evaluate states...... of a model, differences in separate models or models from different point of time. Current BIM tools support both modes only in a rudimentary form. This paper discusses current modes of information query within and across BIM models, shows beneficial scenarios for building and planning practice through...

Barriers to Building Energy Efficiency (BEE) promotion: A transaction costs perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Qian Kun, Queena

Worldwide, buildings account for a surprisingly high 40% of global energy consumption, and the resulting carbon footprint significantly exceeds that of all forms of transportation combined. Large and attractive opportunities exist to reduce buildings' energy use at lower costs and higher returns than in other sectors. This thesis analyzes the concerns of the market stakeholders, mainly real estate developers and end-users, in terms of transaction costs as they make decisions about investing in Building Energy Efficiency (BEE). It provides a detailed analysis of the current situation and future prospects for BEE adoption by the market's stakeholders. It delineates the market and lays out the economic and institutional barriers to the large-scale deployment of energy-efficient building techniques. The aim of this research is to investigate the barriers raised by transaction costs that hinder market stakeholders from investing in BEES. It explains interactions among stakeholders in general and in the specific case of Hong Kong as they consider transaction costs. It focuses on the influence of transaction costs on the decision-making of the stakeholders during the entire process of real estate development. The objectives are: 1) To establish an analytical framework for understanding the barriers to BEE investment with consideration of transaction costs; 2) To build a theoretical game model of decision making among the BEE market stakeholders; 3) To study the empirical data from questionnaire surveys of building designers and from focused interviews with real estate developers in Hong Kong; 4) To triangulate the study's empirical findings with those of the theoretical model and analytical framework. The study shows that a coherent institutional framework needs to be established to ensure that the design and implementation of BEE policies acknowledge the concerns of market stakeholders by taking transaction costs into consideration. Regulatory and incentive options

Strengthening stakeholder-engaged research and research on stakeholder engagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Ray, Kristin N; Miller, Elizabeth

2017-06-01

Stakeholder engagement is an emerging field with little evidence to inform best practices. Guidelines are needed to improve the quality of research on stakeholder engagement through more intentional planning, evaluation and reporting. We developed a preliminary framework for planning, evaluating and reporting stakeholder engagement, informed by published conceptual models and recommendations and then refined through our own stakeholder engagement experience. Our proposed exploratory framework highlights contexts and processes to be addressed in planning stakeholder engagement, and potential immediate, intermediate and long-term outcomes that warrant evaluation. We use this framework to illustrate both the minimum information needed for reporting stakeholder-engaged research and the comprehensive detail needed for reporting research on stakeholder engagement.

Seeking consensus on universal health coverage indicators in the sustainable development goals.

Science.gov (United States)

Reddock, Jennifer

2017-01-01

There is optimism that the inclusion of universal health coverage in the Sustainable Development Goals advances its prominence in global and national health policy. However, formulating indicators for Target 3.8 through the Inter-Agency Expert Group on Sustainable Development Indicators has been challenging. Achieving consensus on the conceptual and methodological aspects of universal health coverage is likely to take some time in multi-stakeholder fora compared with national efforts to select indicators.

Neural mechanisms underlying human consensus decision-making.

Science.gov (United States)

Suzuki, Shinsuke; Adachi, Ryo; Dunne, Simon; Bossaerts, Peter; O'Doherty, John P

2015-04-22

Consensus building in a group is a hallmark of animal societies, yet little is known about its underlying computational and neural mechanisms. Here, we applied a computational framework to behavioral and fMRI data from human participants performing a consensus decision-making task with up to five other participants. We found that participants reached consensus decisions through integrating their own preferences with information about the majority group members' prior choices, as well as inferences about how much each option was stuck to by the other people. These distinct decision variables were separately encoded in distinct brain areas-the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, posterior superior temporal sulcus/temporoparietal junction, and intraparietal sulcus-and were integrated in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. Our findings provide support for a theoretical account in which collective decisions are made through integrating multiple types of inference about oneself, others, and environments, processed in distinct brain modules. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

STAKEHOLDER DISTRUST - Implications of Distrust Research for Stakeholder Theory

OpenAIRE

Laude, Daniel; Weibel, Antoinette; Sachs, Sybille; Schafheitle, Simon Daniel

2017-01-01

Stakeholder theory has addressed the role of trust in organization-stakeholder relationships in depth. Although it is similarly relevant, distrust as a distinct construct from (low) trust has received relatively little consideration by stakeholder theorists. Thus, this article focuses on stakeholder distrust and reflects on the findings of distrust research in organizational studies and the implications for stakeholder theory. For this purpose, we conduct a systematic literature review of org...

Baltic herring fisheries management: stakeholder views to frame the problem

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haapasaari, Päivi Elisabet; Mäntyniemi, Samu; Kuikka, Sakari

2012-01-01

Comprehensive problem framing that includes different perspectives is essential for holistic understanding of complex problems and as the first step in building models. We involved five stakeholders to frame the management problem of the Central Baltic herring fishery. By using the Bayesian belief...... nongovernmental organization included markets and fishing industry influences. Management measures were considered to have a relatively small impact on the development of the herring stock; their impact on socioeconomic objectives was greater. Overall, the framings by these stakeholders propose a focus...... networks (BBNs) approach, the views of the stakeholders were built into graphical influence diagrams representing variables and their dependencies. The views of the scientists involved concentrated on biological concerns, whereas the fisher, the manager, and the representative of an environmental...

Application of the Multi-Attribute Value Theory for engaging stakeholders in groundwater protection in the Vosvozis catchment in Greece.

Science.gov (United States)

Stefanopoulos, Kyriakos; Yang, Hong; Gemitzi, Alexandra; Tsagarakis, Konstantinos P

2014-02-01

Multi-Attribute Value Theory (MAVT) was used to investigate stakeholders' preferences and beliefs in ameliorating a deteriorating ecosystem, i.e. Vosvozis River and Ismarida Lake in Northeastern Greece. Various monetary and environmental criteria were evaluated with scores and weights by different stakeholder groups and key individuals such as farmers, fishermen, entrepreneurs, residents and ecologists to elicit their preferences concerning alternative protection scenarios. The ultimate objective was to propose policy recommendations for a sustainable water resources management for the case study area. The analysis revealed an overwhelming agreement among stakeholders regarding the dire need for immediate actions in order to preserve and enhance Vosvozis ecosystem. With a two stage evaluation process, the MAVT analysis led to a high consensus among the stakeholders on the alternative that favors water recycling from the wastewater treatment plant combined with small dams for rainwater harvesting. © 2013.

Do African and European energy stakeholders agree on key energy drivers in Africa? Using Q methodology to understand perceptions on energy access debates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matinga, Margaret N.; Pinedo-Pascua, Irene; Vervaeke, Jonathan; Monforti-Ferrario, Fabio; Szabó, Sándor

2014-01-01

This paper uses Q methodology to reveal stakeholder perceptions on how best to address energy issues in Africa. We sampled a group of stakeholders involved in various energy sub-sectors to uncover perspectives on how to achieve and promote access to modern energy, energy efficiency and renewable energy in Africa, whether the perceptions could be correlated to educational or geographical background and implications such patterns could have on policies and current dialogues. We found that all stakeholders agree on the need to prioritise sustainability but had different views on how to achieve sustainable energy for all in Africa, depending on the relevance given to each energy driver. Stakeholders could be categorised into four groups: (I) preference of large-scale high-impact projects; (II) supporters of targeted sectoral solutions with preference for small-scale technology and microfinance; (III) supporters of centralised solutions with preference for grid extension, and (IV) supporters of local entrepreneurship with scepticism about centralised solutions. The results show that differences in stakeholders’ perceptions can be associated with respondents’ educational but not geographical background. This implies that dialogues on energy in Africa should focus on inter-disciplinary understanding while further examining the trans-continent consensus that appears to have been established. - Highlights: • We use Q-methodology to reveal stakeholder perceptions on energy issues in Africa. • We assess whether background results in different perceptions among stakeholders. • We identify four main factor groups and only one group supports grid extension. • Results challenge assumptions that African and European viewpoints differ. • More interdisciplinary dialogue is needed while supporting geographic consensus

Building Bridges

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

The report Building Bridges adresses the questions why, how and for whom academic audience research has public value, from the different points of view of the four working groups in the COST Action IS0906 Transforming Audiences, Transforming Societies – “New Media Genres, Media Literacy and Trust...... in the Media”, “Audience Interactivity and Participation”, “The Role of Media and ICT Use for Evolving Social Relationships” and “Audience Transformations and Social Integration”. Building Bridges is the result of an ongoing dialogue between the Action and non-academic stakeholders in the field of audience......, Brian O’Neill, Andra Siibak, Sascha Trültzsch-Wijnen, Nicoletta Vittadini, Igor Vobič and Frauke Zeller. Stakeholder feedback from: Michelle Arlotta (DeAgostini), Andreea M. Costache (Association of Consumers of Audiovisual Media in Catalonia/TAC), Francesco Diasio (AMARC Europe), Marius Dragomir (Open...

Developing syndrome definitions based on consensus and current use

Science.gov (United States)

Dowling, John N; Baer, Atar; Buckeridge, David L; Cochrane, Dennis; Conway, Michael A; Elkin, Peter; Espino, Jeremy; Gunn, Julia E; Hales, Craig M; Hutwagner, Lori; Keller, Mikaela; Larson, Catherine; Noe, Rebecca; Okhmatovskaia, Anya; Olson, Karen; Paladini, Marc; Scholer, Matthew; Sniegoski, Carol; Thompson, David; Lober, Bill

2010-01-01

Objective Standardized surveillance syndromes do not exist but would facilitate sharing data among surveillance systems and comparing the accuracy of existing systems. The objective of this study was to create reference syndrome definitions from a consensus of investigators who currently have or are building syndromic surveillance systems. Design Clinical condition–syndrome pairs were catalogued for 10 surveillance systems across the United States and the representatives of these systems were brought together for a workshop to discuss consensus syndrome definitions. Results Consensus syndrome definitions were generated for the four syndromes monitored by the majority of the 10 participating surveillance systems: Respiratory, gastrointestinal, constitutional, and influenza-like illness (ILI). An important element in coming to consensus quickly was the development of a sensitive and specific definition for respiratory and gastrointestinal syndromes. After the workshop, the definitions were refined and supplemented with keywords and regular expressions, the keywords were mapped to standard vocabularies, and a web ontology language (OWL) ontology was created. Limitations The consensus definitions have not yet been validated through implementation. Conclusion The consensus definitions provide an explicit description of the current state-of-the-art syndromes used in automated surveillance, which can subsequently be systematically evaluated against real data to improve the definitions. The method for creating consensus definitions could be applied to other domains that have diverse existing definitions. PMID:20819870

Green Buildings in Use: Post Occupancy Evaluations

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, Chris

2007-01-01

This article briefly describes users' experiences of two "green" education buildings. It goes on to conclude that stakeholders' negotiation of building performance is necessary to minimise environmental impact, just as it is necessary to achieve other aspects of building performance.

One Health stakeholder and institutional analysis in Kenya

Science.gov (United States)

Kimani, Tabitha; Ngigi, Margaret; Schelling, Esther; Randolph, Tom

2016-01-01

extending the OH network to include the other 50% stakeholders and fostering of the process at subnational-level building on available cross-sectoral platforms. PMID:27330042

Functional Land Management: Bridging the Think-Do-Gap using a multi-stakeholder science policy interface.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Sullivan, Lilian; Wall, David; Creamer, Rachel; Bampa, Francesca; Schulte, Rogier P O

2018-03-01

Functional Land Management (FLM) is proposed as an integrator for sustainability policies and assesses the functional capacity of the soil and land to deliver primary productivity, water purification and regulation, carbon cycling and storage, habitat for biodiversity and recycling of nutrients. This paper presents the catchment challenge as a method to bridge the gap between science, stakeholders and policy for the effective management of soils to deliver these functions. Two challenges were completed by a wide range of stakeholders focused around a physical catchment model-(1) to design an optimised catchment based on soil function targets, (2) identify gaps to implementation of the proposed design. In challenge 1, a high level of consensus between different stakeholders emerged on soil and management measures to be implemented to achieve soil function targets. Key gaps including knowledge, a mix of market and voluntary incentives and mandatory measures were identified in challenge 2.

Consensus on consensus: a synthesis of consensus estimates on human-caused global warming

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, John; Oreskes, Naomi; Doran, Peter T.; Anderegg, William R. L.; Verheggen, Bart; Maibach, Ed W.; Carlton, J. Stuart; Lewandowsky, Stephan; Skuce, Andrew G.; Green, Sarah A.; Nuccitelli, Dana; Jacobs, Peter; Richardson, Mark; Winkler, Bärbel; Painting, Rob; Rice, Ken

2016-04-01

The consensus that humans are causing recent global warming is shared by 90%-100% of publishing climate scientists according to six independent studies by co-authors of this paper. Those results are consistent with the 97% consensus reported by Cook et al (Environ. Res. Lett. 8 024024) based on 11 944 abstracts of research papers, of which 4014 took a position on the cause of recent global warming. A survey of authors of those papers (N = 2412 papers) also supported a 97% consensus. Tol (2016 Environ. Res. Lett. 11 048001) comes to a different conclusion using results from surveys of non-experts such as economic geologists and a self-selected group of those who reject the consensus. We demonstrate that this outcome is not unexpected because the level of consensus correlates with expertise in climate science. At one point, Tol also reduces the apparent consensus by assuming that abstracts that do not explicitly state the cause of global warming (‘no position’) represent non-endorsement, an approach that if applied elsewhere would reject consensus on well-established theories such as plate tectonics. We examine the available studies and conclude that the finding of 97% consensus in published climate research is robust and consistent with other surveys of climate scientists and peer-reviewed studies.

Physiotherapy Research Priorities in Switzerland: Views of the Various Stakeholders.

Science.gov (United States)

Nast, Irina; Tal, Amir; Schmid, Stefan; Schoeb, Veronika; Rau, Barbara; Barbero, Marco; Kool, Jan

2016-09-01

Research priorities, defined by multiple stakeholders, can proximally facilitate the coordination of research projects and national and international cooperation and distally further improve the quality of physiotherapy practice. The aim of this study was therefore to establish physiotherapy research priorities in Switzerland considering multiple stakeholders' opinions. A mixed methods design was chosen. For a qualitative identification of physiotherapy research topics, 18 focus group discussions and 23 semi-structured interviews/written commentaries were conducted. For the quantitative analysis, 420 participants prioritized research topics using a two-round Delphi questionnaire survey. The following stakeholder groups were surveyed in the German-speaking, French-speaking and Italian-speaking regions of Switzerland: physiotherapy researchers, practitioners and educators, representatives of patient organizations, public health organizations, health insurers, physicians, nurses, occupational therapists and other health professionals, as well as physical educators. The top five overall physiotherapy research priorities identified were as follows: physiotherapy treatment, physiotherapy assessment and diagnosis, prevention, physiotherapist-patient interaction and physiotherapy professional education at the bachelor level. With regard to diagnostic groups, the highest priorities were placed on musculoskeletal disorders, neurology, orthopaedics, geriatrics and ergonomics/occupational health. Consensus was moderate to high, and only few differences between stakeholder groups were revealed. Research directly related to physiotherapy treatment is of highest priority. It should focus on diagnostic groups related to chronicity in anticipation of demographic changes. Multidisciplinary networks for research and practice, alongside sound coordination of research projects, should increase the impact of physiotherapy research. An accurate dissemination of research priorities

Is There a Consensus on Consensus Methodology? Descriptions and Recommendations for Future Consensus Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Waggoner, Jane; Carline, Jan D; Durning, Steven J

2016-05-01

The authors of this article reviewed the methodology of three common consensus methods: nominal group process, consensus development panels, and the Delphi technique. The authors set out to determine how a majority of researchers are conducting these studies, how they are analyzing results, and subsequently the manner in which they are reporting their findings. The authors conclude with a set of guidelines and suggestions designed to aid researchers who choose to use the consensus methodology in their work.Overall, researchers need to describe their inclusion criteria. In addition to this, on the basis of the current literature the authors found that a panel size of 5 to 11 members was most beneficial across all consensus methods described. Lastly, the authors agreed that the statistical analyses done in consensus method studies should be as rigorous as possible and that the predetermined definition of consensus must be included in the ultimate manuscript. More specific recommendations are given for each of the three consensus methods described in the article.

Sixth national stakeholder workshop summary report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1999-03-01

On June 17--18, 1998, the Department of Energy`s (DOE) Office of Worker and Community Transition convened its sixth National Stakeholder Workshop at the Ramada Plaza Hotel Old Town in Alexandria, Virginia. Approximately 325 stakeholders attended representing DOE headquarters and field offices, contractors, labor organizations, state and local government, education and community interest groups. The meeting addressed the progress made on the issues and challenges identified at the last stakeholder`s meeting in Oakland, California on April 9--11, 1997. Also discussed were the full range of the Department`s work force issues and creative solutions to the inherent challenges of simultaneously implementing the Department`s post Cold-War mission, work force restructuring guidance, contract reform objectives, asset disposition, performance-based management requirements, and business process improvement policies. The format of the Workshop included several plenary sessions and a number of small group discussion sessions. The small group sessions focused on topics related to labor issues, work force restructuring, work force planning, community transition, and employee concerns. The sessions provided a wide range of views on worker and community transition issues. The plenary sessions of the Workshop included presentations on the following topics: welcome and introductions; opening remarks; building a better labor-management relationship; keynote speech from Secretary of Energy Federico Pena; meeting tomorrow`s challenges (early site closures); harnessing the contracting process to encourage local growth; and, the British experience in economic conversion.

Exploring Stakeholder Definitions within the Aerospace Industry: A Qualitative Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Hebert, Jonathan R.

A best practice in the discipline of project management is to identify all key project stakeholders prior to the execution of a project. When stakeholders are properly identified, they can be consulted to provide expert advice on project activities so that the project manager can ensure the project stays within the budget and schedule constraints. The problem addressed by this study is that managers fail to properly identify key project stakeholders when using stakeholder theory because there are multiple conflicting definitions for the term stakeholder. Poor stakeholder identification has been linked to multiple negative project outcomes such as budget and schedules overruns, and this problem is heightened in certain industries such as aerospace. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore project managers' and project stakeholders' perceptions of how they define and use the term stakeholder within the aerospace industry. This qualitative exploratory single-case study had two embedded units of analysis: project managers and project stakeholders. Six aerospace project managers and five aerospace project stakeholders were purposively selected for this study. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews with both project managers and project stakeholders. All data were analyzed using Yin's (2011) five-phased cycle approach for qualitative research. The results indicated that the aerospace project managers and project stakeholder define the term stakeholder as "those who do the work of a company." The participants build upon this well-known concept by adding that, "a company should list specific job titles" that correspond to their company specific-stakeholder definition. Results also indicated that the definition of the term stakeholder is used when management is assigning human resources to a project to mitigate or control project risk. Results showed that project managers tended to include the customer in their stakeholder definitions

Risk communication strategies : achieving a multidisciplinary consensus; La communication des risques : un consensus multidisciplinaire

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Robert, B.; Cloutier, I. [Ecole Polytechnique, Montreal, PQ (Canada). Dept. de Mathematiques et de Genie Industriel; Sabourin, J.P. [Ville de Quebec, Quebec, PQ (Canada)

2006-07-01

Risk management related to floods and dam failures requires input from a variety of stakeholders from both the private and the public sector. This paper provided details of a risk management communication strategy based on a consequence approach that established work sequence modes to achieve a multidisciplinary consensus of opinion. The communication of risk was considered as a bilateral exchange of information between concerned parties, who were divided into 2 spheres: (1) a public sphere which included interest groups, government agencies, individuals and the media; and (2) a technical sphere comprised of industry members, scientific experts, and government agencies. Divided between the 2 spheres, government agencies play a distinct role in both the communication and understanding of risk. In Quebec, municipal agencies are required to identify risk and develop plans that ensure public safety. Risk management plans developed by industry members are a valuable source of information for municipal authorities, who can identify vulnerabilities in their own risk communication strategies. In addition, members of the public play an important role in eliciting further risk communications to improve areas of vulnerability. Interest groups can demand further analyses from impartial sources on sensitive issues. Conflicting results offer a plurality of opinions that must be considered to obtain a consensus in risk assessment, which is the ultimate aim of all risk analyses and communications strategies. It was concluded that risk communication strategies benefit from the engagement of a variety of often conflicting views. 8 refs., 3 figs.

Evaluation of Nine Consensus Indices in Delphi Foresight Research and Their Dependency on Delphi Survey Characteristics: A Simulation Study and Debate on Delphi Design and Interpretation.

Science.gov (United States)

Birko, Stanislav; Dove, Edward S; Özdemir, Vural

2015-01-01

The extent of consensus (or the lack thereof) among experts in emerging fields of innovation can serve as antecedents of scientific, societal, investor and stakeholder synergy or conflict. Naturally, how we measure consensus is of great importance to science and technology strategic foresight. The Delphi methodology is a widely used anonymous survey technique to evaluate consensus among a panel of experts. Surprisingly, there is little guidance on how indices of consensus can be influenced by parameters of the Delphi survey itself. We simulated a classic three-round Delphi survey building on the concept of clustered consensus/dissensus. We evaluated three study characteristics that are pertinent for design of Delphi foresight research: (1) the number of survey questions, (2) the sample size, and (3) the extent to which experts conform to group opinion (the Group Conformity Index) in a Delphi study. Their impacts on the following nine Delphi consensus indices were then examined in 1000 simulations: Clustered Mode, Clustered Pairwise Agreement, Conger's Kappa, De Moivre index, Extremities Version of the Clustered Pairwise Agreement, Fleiss' Kappa, Mode, the Interquartile Range and Pairwise Agreement. The dependency of a consensus index on the Delphi survey characteristics was expressed from 0.000 (no dependency) to 1.000 (full dependency). The number of questions (range: 6 to 40) in a survey did not have a notable impact whereby the dependency values remained below 0.030. The variation in sample size (range: 6 to 50) displayed the top three impacts for the Interquartile Range, the Clustered Mode and the Mode (dependency = 0.396, 0.130, 0.116, respectively). The Group Conformity Index, a construct akin to measuring stubbornness/flexibility of experts' opinions, greatly impacted all nine Delphi consensus indices (dependency = 0.200 to 0.504), except the Extremity CPWA and the Interquartile Range that were impacted only beyond the first decimal point (dependency = 0

Social Media for Enhancing Stakeholders' Innovation Networks in Ontario, Canada

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kaushik, Pawandeep; Chowdhuy, Ataharul; Hambly Odame, Helen; Passen, van Annemarie

2018-01-01

This case study assessed local food stakeholders' use of Facebook and Twitter to support interaction and build their networks of innovation in Ontario. Data were collected using Netlytic − an online data mining tool from the social media platforms − and key informant interviews. Findings revealed

Tackling wicked problems in infection prevention and control: a guideline for co-creation with stakeholders.

Science.gov (United States)

van Woezik, Anne F G; Braakman-Jansen, Louise M A; Kulyk, Olga; Siemons, Liseth; van Gemert-Pijnen, Julia E W C

2016-01-01

Infection prevention and control can be seen as a wicked public health problem as there is no consensus regarding problem definition and solution, multiple stakeholders with different needs and values are involved, and there is no clear end-point of the problem-solving process. Co-creation with stakeholders has been proposed as a suitable strategy to tackle wicked problems, yet little information and no clear step-by-step guide exist on how to do this. The objectives of this study were to develop a guideline to assist developers in tackling wicked problems using co-creation with stakeholders, and to apply this guideline to practice with an example case in the field of infection prevention and control. A mixed-method approach consisting of the integration of both quantitative and qualitative research was used. Relevant stakeholders from the veterinary, human health, and public health sectors were identified using a literature scan, expert recommendations, and snowball sampling. The stakeholder salience approach was used to select key stakeholders based on 3 attributes: power, legitimacy, and urgency. Key values of stakeholders (N = 20) were derived by qualitative semi-structured interviews and quantitatively weighted and prioritized using an online survey. Our method showed that stakeholder identification and analysis are prerequisites for understanding the complex stakeholder network that characterizes wicked problems. A total of 73 stakeholders were identified of which 36 were selected as potential key stakeholders, and only one was seen as a definite stakeholder. In addition, deriving key stakeholder values is a necessity to gain insights into different problem definitions, solutions and needs stakeholders have regarding the wicked problem. Based on the methods used, we developed a step-by-step guideline for co-creation with stakeholders when tackling wicked problems. The mixed-methods guideline presented here provides a systematic, transparent method to

Tackling wicked problems in infection prevention and control: a guideline for co-creation with stakeholders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne F. G. van Woezik

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Infection prevention and control can be seen as a wicked public health problem as there is no consensus regarding problem definition and solution, multiple stakeholders with different needs and values are involved, and there is no clear end-point of the problem-solving process. Co-creation with stakeholders has been proposed as a suitable strategy to tackle wicked problems, yet little information and no clear step-by-step guide exist on how to do this. The objectives of this study were to develop a guideline to assist developers in tackling wicked problems using co-creation with stakeholders, and to apply this guideline to practice with an example case in the field of infection prevention and control. Methods A mixed-method approach consisting of the integration of both quantitative and qualitative research was used. Relevant stakeholders from the veterinary, human health, and public health sectors were identified using a literature scan, expert recommendations, and snowball sampling. The stakeholder salience approach was used to select key stakeholders based on 3 attributes: power, legitimacy, and urgency. Key values of stakeholders (N = 20 were derived by qualitative semi-structured interviews and quantitatively weighted and prioritized using an online survey. Results Our method showed that stakeholder identification and analysis are prerequisites for understanding the complex stakeholder network that characterizes wicked problems. A total of 73 stakeholders were identified of which 36 were selected as potential key stakeholders, and only one was seen as a definite stakeholder. In addition, deriving key stakeholder values is a necessity to gain insights into different problem definitions, solutions and needs stakeholders have regarding the wicked problem. Based on the methods used, we developed a step-by-step guideline for co-creation with stakeholders when tackling wicked problems. Conclusions The mixed

Zero-Acreage Farming in the City of Berlin: An Aggregated Stakeholder Perspective on Potential Benefits and Challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kathrin Specht

2015-04-01

Full Text Available How can buildings be combined with agricultural production and what are the major potential benefits and challenges for the introduction of zero-acreage farming (ZFarming in Berlin from the relevant stakeholders’ perspectives? These questions were explored through a series of interviews and stakeholder workshops held between 2011 and 2013. The aim was to identify the most suitable building-integrated farming model for the Berlin metropolitan area and to develop guidelines for the model’s successful and sustainable implementation through a stakeholder-driven approach. This paper provides an aggregated synthesis of the outcomes derived from the qualitative interviews and stakeholder workshops. As the results reveal, the stakeholders perceive potential benefits and challenges related to the issue of ZFarming in all dimensions (economic, social, environmental and political. They largely agreed on the importance of focusing on local resources, using energy-efficient production—including social and educational aspects—and developing new market structures when introducing ZFarming to the city of Berlin. The stakeholders identified urban rooftop greenhouses (RTG as the most promising farming model for Berlin. In a joint collaboration of all stakeholders, a manual for RTG was developed within the participatory innovation process that addresses the identified problems and challenges associated with future implementation and governance of RTG in Berlin and beyond.

Microfoundations for stakeholder theory: Managing stakeholders with heterogeneous motives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bridoux, F.; Stoelhorst, J.W.

2014-01-01

Instrumental stakeholder theory proposes a positive relationship between fairness toward stakeholders and firm performance. Yet, some firms are successful with an arms-length approach to stakeholder management, based on bargaining power rather than fairness. We address this puzzle by relaxing the

OCWM Transportation Institutional Program Update on Collaborative Efforts with Key Stakeholders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saris, E.; Austin, P.; Offner, J.J.

2004-01-01

The Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) created the Office of National Transportation in 2003 recognizing the need to revitalize and accelerate development of the transportation system. The Department has made a commitment to work through a collaborative planning process before developing specific policies and procedures and making transportation decisions. OCRWM has begun to build the institutional framework to support development of this transportation system. Interactions with stakeholders have been initiated. The authors describe the key stakeholders, identified issues, regional and national planning activities, and mechanisms for interaction

U.S. Department of Energy Commercial Reference Building Models of the National Building Stock

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deru, M.; Field, K.; Studer, D.; Benne, K.; Griffith, B.; Torcellini, P.; Liu, B.; Halverson, M.; Winiarski, D.; Rosenberg, M.; Yazdanian, M.; Huang, J.; Crawley, D.

2011-02-01

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building Technologies Program has set the aggressive goal of producing marketable net-zero energy buildings by 2025. This goal will require collaboration between the DOE laboratories and the building industry. We developed standard or reference energy models for the most common commercial buildings to serve as starting points for energy efficiency research. These models represent fairly realistic buildings and typical construction practices. Fifteen commercial building types and one multifamily residential building were determined by consensus between DOE, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and represent approximately two-thirds of the commercial building stock.

Desires and management preferences of stakeholders regarding feral cats in the Hawaiian islands.

Science.gov (United States)

Lohr, Cheryl A; Lepczyk, Christopher A

2014-04-01

Feral cats are abundant in many parts of the world and a source of conservation conflict. Our goal was to clarify the beliefs and desires held by stakeholders regarding feral cat abundance and management. We measured people's desired abundance of feral cats in the Hawaiian Islands and identified an order of preference for 7 feral cat management techniques. In 2011 we disseminated a survey to 5407 Hawaii residents. Approximately 46% of preidentified stakeholders and 20% of random residents responded to the survey (1510 surveys returned). Results from the potential for conflict index revealed a high level of consensus (86.9% of respondents) that feral cat abundance should be decreased. The 3 most common explanatory variables for respondents' stated desires were enjoyment from seeing feral cats (84%), intrinsic value of feral cats (12%), and threat to native fauna (73%). The frequency with which respondents saw cats and change in the perceived abundance of cats also affected respondent's desired abundance of cats; 41.3% of respondents stated that they saw feral cats daily and 44.7% stated that the cat population had increased in recent years. Other potential environmental impacts of feral cats had little affect on desired abundance. The majority of respondents (78%) supported removing feral cats from the natural environment permanently. Consensus convergence models with data from 1388 respondents who completed the relevant questions showed live capture and lethal injection was the most preferred technique and trap-neuter-release was the least preferred technique for managing feral cats. However, the acceptability of each technique varied among stakeholders. Our results suggest that the majority of Hawaii's residents would like to see effective management that reduces the abundance of feral or free-roaming cats. © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

Public Health Climate Change Adaptation Planning Using Stakeholder Feedback.

Science.gov (United States)

Eidson, Millicent; Clancy, Kathleen A; Birkhead, Guthrie S

2016-01-01

Public health climate change adaptation planning is an urgent priority requiring stakeholder feedback. The 10 Essential Public Health Services can be applied to adaptation activities. To develop a state health department climate and health adaptation plan as informed by stakeholder feedback. With Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funding, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) implemented a 2010-2013 climate and health planning process, including 7 surveys on perceptions and adaptation priorities. New York State Department of Health program managers participated in initial (n = 41, denominator unknown) and follow-up (72.2%) needs assessments. Surveillance system information was collected from 98.1% of surveillance system managers. For adaptation prioritization surveys, participants included 75.4% of NYSDOH leaders; 60.3% of local health departments (LHDs); and 53.7% of other stakeholders representing environmental, governmental, health, community, policy, academic, and business organizations. Interviews were also completed with 38.9% of other stakeholders. In 2011 surveys, 34.1% of state health program directors believed that climate change would impact their program priorities. However, 84.6% of state health surveillance system managers provided ideas for using databases for climate and health monitoring/surveillance. In 2012 surveys, 46.5% of state health leaders agreed they had sufficient information about climate and health compared to 17.1% of LHDs (P = .0046) and 40.9% of other stakeholders (nonsignificant difference). Significantly fewer (P climate and health into planning compared to state health leaders (55.8%) and other stakeholders (68.2%). Stakeholder groups agreed on the 4 highest priority adaptation categories including core public health activities such as surveillance, coordination/collaboration, education, and policy development. Feedback from diverse stakeholders was utilized by NYSDOH to develop its Climate and Health

Nuclear regulatory organisations: Learning from stakeholders to enhance communication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lorin, Aurelie

2015-01-01

Since its creation 15 years ago, the NEA Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA) Working Group on Public Communication of Nuclear Regulatory Organisations (WGPC) has been addressing a broad range of communication issues, with two reports recently issued on Nuclear Regulatory Organisations, the Internet and Social Media: The What, How and Why of Their Use as Communication Tools and on Nuclear Regulatory Organisations and Communication Strategies. After the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident in 2011, nuclear regulatory organisations around the world reaffirmed the need to strengthen stakeholder outreach and communication, and to create more robust avenues for stakeholder involvement in regulatory matters. The WGPC proposed a means for stakeholders to play a more active role in the group by holding one-day workshops in conjunction with regular meetings. These workshops offer a platform for stakeholder exchange with communication experts from nuclear regulatory organisations (NROs). The objective is to stimulate co-operation and improve communication by better understanding stakeholder perceptions, needs and expectations, and by discussing how to use traditional and social media more effectively. While nuclear regulatory organisations may have a common willingness to improve their communication methods and to build constructive relationships with stakeholders, every country has its own practices and cultural background, and thus its own challenges. Following the first workshop in Paris, which brought together European stakeholders, and the second in North America, the NEA is now organising a third workshop in Asia (Japan) to be held in April 2016. This third workshop will enable the NEA to gather stakeholder views from a third continent. A report on the workshops' findings will be issued after the completion of this third workshop, thus giving a broader idea of how to improve the overall communication methods of nuclear regulatory

Board Effectiveness and Employee Engagement: Nigeria Stakeholder Perceptions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bashir Mande

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study is to determine whether employee participation yields effective board performance. To stimulatedebates inthe stakeholder theoretical perspective in an attempt to offer more inclusive approach to strengthen the existing governance structure in Nigeria.This research intends to investigate the suitability of employees participating in board’s decision-making hierarchy because of their contractual importance as wealth creators of the firm. A conceptual model is proposed and tested on public listed companies in Nigeria based on survey perception of sampled 154 respondents. The study employs in-depth confirmatory factory analysis in a structural equation modeling approach. Building upon constructs such as union relations, productivity, and skilled-labor turnover, the study found the indicator variables measure employee participation, which focused more on the board’s control, operational decisions, and strategy in monitoring, service, and networking roles. Hence, we conclude that employees as important contractual company stakeholders affect board performance. Builds on the limited research agenda for boards and corporate governance that focus on coordinating, exploring and distribution of stakes using adventurous research designs and statistical tools, especially in Nigerian emerging economy. This paper exposes the firm’s potentials as provider of sustainable and longer-term benefits not only limited to equityholders, but also to employees as wealth creators, which will improve mutual trust, harmony and confidence for more stable and productive outputs that could give visibility to income inequality. The paper provides valid measures that link corporate governance debates to broader stakeholder perspective.

Project stakeholder management

CERN Document Server

Eskerod, Pernille

2013-01-01

Carrying out a project as planned is not a guarantee for success. Projects may fail because project management does not take the requirements, wishes and concerns of stakeholders sufficiently into account. Projects can only be successful though contributions from stakeholders. And in the end, it is the stakeholders that evaluate whether they find that the project is a success. To manage stakeholders effectively, you need to know your stakeholders, their behaviours and attitudes towards the project. In Project Stakeholder Management, the authors give guidance on how to adopt an analytical and s

Building support for your wind project : engaging stakeholders : the Dillon Wind Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Philpott, G. [PPM Energy, Calgary, AB (Canada)

2007-07-01

Iberdrola, the world's largest renewable energy company, acquired Scottish Power PLC and its subsidiary PPM Energy in April 2007. Iberdrola operates 6,500 MW of wind energy worldwide. This presentation described PPM Energy's experience with the proposed 45 MW Dillon Wind Project in southern California. The proposed project includes fourty-five 1 MW 327 ft tall Mitsubishi turbines as well as associated facilities such as turbine access roads, underground collector lines, and a collector substation. The wind turbine array occupies 2 per cent of 1500 acres. The vacant rural desert properties surrounding the proposed project area already house 2,700 existing turbines within San Gorgonio Pass, 513 existing turbines within 1/2 of the proposed project, and 2 sites of formerly hosted wind turbines. PPM held an open house for interested residents and stakeholders to learn about the Dillon project and express concerns. The meetings were attended by local wildlife agencies, homeowner groups, the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership and Palm Springs Economic Development Council. The project would help California meet its renewable energy mandates and serve 13,500 homes. It would eliminate 186 million pounds of carbon dioxide, 9.6 million pounds of sulfur dioxide and 5.8 million pounds of nitrous oxides each year. Lessons learned by PPM were: engage in community outreach; emphasize project benefits; build flexibility into design; and address real environmental concerns. In response to public concerns, PPM Energy eliminated 2 turbines from the project. In addition, turbines were shifted away from residences and a scenic highway. All collector lines were placed underground, without any overhead lines. figs.

The market for green building in developed Asian cities. The perspectives of building designers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chan, Edwin H.W.; Qian, Queena K.; Lam, Patrick T.I.

2009-01-01

Green building (GB) is part of the concept of promoting sustainability. Although GB and the concept of sustainability are well studied for environmental concerns, their business rationale and related social concerns have not been fully explored or widely accepted by the parties involved in the building sector. In this study, the situation of GB market in relation to the general building market is reviewed and the business rationales of stakeholders to invest in the GB market have been investigated from the perspective of building designers. In addition, the factors that enhance the popularity of GB have been explored and the obstacles that hinder its market have been examined. The data are collected by a questionnaire survey covering building designers in Hong Kong and Singapore, the cities that are categorized as economically developed cities in Asia. After data analysis of the survey, this paper presents the findings of the business reasons for stakeholders to be involved in GB, the most favorable conditions required to promote GB business and the important obstacles that hinder its popularity. Based on the findings, recommendations and policy implications are tendered. (author)

Balancing management ‘for’ and ‘of’ stakeholders in projects and in temporary organizations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aagaard, Annabeth; Eskerod, Pernille; Huemann, Martina

need stakeholder resources, e.g. expertise and raw materials, and how this is managed appears to have an impact on the success of the project. This paper addressed the question on how sustainable development can be enhanced by building bridge between two fundamentally different management approaches......The global developments within society have an impact on all organizations and therefore also on temporary organizations, like projects. However, these temporary organizations are often managed differently than permanent organizations, as projects are more fluid and time restricted. Yet, they still...... to stakeholders: management ‘of’ versus ‘for’ stakeholders. The former derives from strategic management, ‘how do we make stakeholders comply with the organization’s needs?’, whereas the latter derives from business ethics, ‘how do we accommodate the needs of the stakeholders?’. A conceptual framework pointing...

Development of the Neptune Deepwater Port: The Importance of Key Stakeholder Involvement and Benefits

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silver, Marc

2010-09-15

In 2005, a subsidiary of GDF SUEZ began developing the Neptune LNG Deepwater Port off the coast of Massachusetts. The project met with minimal opposition and maintained a very aggressive timeline. The reasons? Productive involvement with key stakeholders and well-defined benefits. This paper outlines the systematic approach to stakeholder outreach and mitigation planning that Neptune LNG LLC took to garner project acceptance. Details of the pre-planning phase, the stakeholder outreach phase, and the project mitigation phase are all discussed. The result was a major energy project that took less than 3.5 years to permit and 1.5 years to build.

Summary of stakeholder engagement session of WPDD topical session on stakeholder involvement in decommissioning projects - November 14, 2005

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chandler, Steve

2006-01-01

Full text of publication follows: The Swedish speaker made clear that giving information to stakeholders is not enough; we need to ensure real participation in our decision making process. Where possible, this should be part of existing democratic structures. The Canadian presentation raised a number of important issues, including who leads the process and how to build public confidence in a waste disposal site. In terms of leadership it is clear that there are various options, central and local. However, what is important is that there is some form of legal agreement that legitimises this leadership role. This helps to ensure buy-in of all groups and also helps local democratic bodies to recognize the decisions made. Public confidence in waste disposal sites (or decommissioned sites for that matter) is improved by finding some open public use for the sites, for example sports facilities. The Canadians also raised the issue of independent peer review. It is important that local stakeholders have a source of independent advice on whether what they are being told by the central government and regulators is reasonable. The Canadian regulator mentioned that nuclear operators have a requirement in their licence to communicate with stakeholders. If I have understood this correctly it seems a very positive development. He also mentioned staff confidence and credibility, illustrating this by his amusing joke on the difference between introvert and extrovert engineers. This is something that the FSC has also taken an interest in. It is vital that the nuclear industry and regulators recruit, develop and reward staff who have strong communication skills. Historically, our business has placed more emphasis on pure technical ability than on communicating simply the outcome of technical work. But the public does not see it this way. Indeed, we could go further and question the value of a safety case that cannot be understood by any intelligent person. Simplicity and clarity is

A review of interdependence of sustainable building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ju, Chuanjing; Ning, Yan; Pan, Wei

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT: Despite the worldwide promotion of the sustainable building (SB) approach, its associated interdependence has seldom been explored. This knowledge gap is significant given the paradigm shift of regarding SBs as complex socio-technical systems embedded with multifaceted interdependence. The aim of this paper is to examine the interdependence of SB through a literature review. The literature review was guided by a framework comprising three dimensions of SB systems, i.e., building performance, methodology and stakeholders, on their theoretical grounds ranged from reductionism to holism. In order to articulate the integration of the three dimensions, this paper examined zero carbon building as a specific case of SB. The findings contribute an innovative approach to examining the interdependence of SB, and should guide the development of strategies for managing the trade-offs in delivering SBs. - Highlights: • Performance scope of sustainable building triggers interdependence. • Material flow from cradle to cradle causes interdependence. • Interdependence occurs between the building and their context. • Interdependence exists in stakeholders' participation.

Consensus modeling to develop the farmers' market readiness assessment and decision instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Eunlye; Dalton, Jarrod; Ngendahimana, David; Bebo, Pat; Davis, Ashley; Remley, Daniel; Smathers, Carol; Freedman, Darcy A

2017-09-01

Nutrition-related policy, system, and environmental (PSE) interventions such as farmers' markets have been recommended as effective strategies for promoting healthy diet for chronic disease prevention. Tools are needed to assess community readiness and capacity factors influencing successful farmers' market implementation among diverse practitioners in different community contexts. We describe a multiphase consensus modeling approach used to develop a diagnostic tool for assessing readiness and capacity to implement farmers' market interventions among public health and community nutrition practitioners working with low-income populations in diverse contexts. Modeling methods included the following: phase 1, qualitative study with community stakeholders to explore facilitators and barriers influencing successful implementation of farmers' market interventions in low-income communities; phase 2, development of indicators based on operationalization of qualitative findings; phase 3, assessment of relevance and importance of indicators and themes through consensus conference with expert panel; phase 4, refinement of indicators based on consensus conference; and phase 5, pilot test of the assessment tool. Findings illuminate a range of implementation factors influencing farmers' market PSE interventions and offer guidance for tailoring intervention delivery based on levels of community, practitioner, and organizational readiness and capacity.

Stakeholder Analysis for Farmer inclusive Value chain Development in Mango

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nadhika K

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Mango is being cultivated over a substantial area in Palakkad District of Kerala state. Being one of the significant agricultural commodity value chains existing in Kerala, the mango value chain of Palakkad district needs urgent attention to improve its performance. The study highlights the stakeholder analysis and SWOC matrix analysis of the mango sector. Stakeholders were asked to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges in the mango sector. Based on the highest score obtained, four strategic options viz., enhancing value addition and product development, promotion of branding, educating the farmers on building competitiveness and increasing export potential by addressing quality parameters were identified.

Building consensus on youth violence prevention and citizen ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2016-04-20

Apr 20, 2016 ... ... promising practices, intervention models, methodologies, and public policies to ... Building on the IDRC and Organization of American States ... Involving urban communities in controlling dengue fever in Latin America.

Guidelines for Building Science Education

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Metzger, Cheryn E. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Rashkin, Samuel [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Huelman, Pat [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2015-11-01

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) residential research and demonstration program, Building America, has triumphed through 20 years of innovation. Partnering with researchers, builders, remodelers, and manufacturers to develop innovative processes like advanced framing and ventilation standards, Building America has proven an energy efficient design can be more cost effective, healthy, and durable than a standard house. As Building America partners continue to achieve their stretch goals, they have found that the barrier to true market transformation for high performance homes is the limited knowledge-base of the professionals working in the building industry. With dozens of professionals taking part in the design and execution of building and selling homes, each person should have basic building science knowledge relevant to their role, and an understanding of how various home components interface with each other. Instead, our industry typically experiences a fragmented approach to home building and design. After obtaining important input from stakeholders at the Building Science Education Kick-Off Meeting, DOE created a building science education strategy addressing education issues preventing the widespread adoption of high performance homes. This strategy targets the next generation and provides valuable guidance for the current workforce. The initiative includes: • Race to Zero Student Design Competition: Engages universities and provides students who will be the next generation of architects, engineers, construction managers and entrepreneurs with the necessary skills and experience they need to begin careers in clean energy and generate creative solutions to real world problems. • Building Science to Sales Translator: Simplifies building science into compelling sales language and tools to sell high performance homes to their customers. • Building Science Education Guidance: Brings together industry and academia to solve problems related to

Confidence building in implementation of geological disposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Umeki, Hiroyuki

2004-01-01

Long-term safety of the disposal system should be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the stakeholders. Convincing arguments are therefore required that instil in the stakeholders confidence in the safety of a particular concept for the siting and design of a geological disposal, given the uncertainties that inevitably exist in its a priori description and in its evolution. The step-wise approach associated with making safety case at each stage is a key to building confidence in the repository development programme. This paper discusses aspects and issues on confidence building in the implementation of HLW disposal in Japan. (author)

Do You Have 5 Minutes To Spare? –The Challenges Of Stakeholder Processes In Ecosystem Services Studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Koschke, L.

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Operationalization of the ecosystem services (ES concept for improved natural resource management and decision support cannot, thus far, be rated as satisfactory. Participation of stakeholders is still a major methodical and conceptual challenge for implementing ES. Therefore, we conducted an online survey and a literature analysis to identify benefits and challenges of the application of ES in participatory processes. The results show that the purpose of stakeholder engagement is very diverse as a result of varying objectives, spatial scales and institutional levels of analysis. The complexity, terminology and (lacking coherent classification of ES are pivotal aspects that should be accounted for in the design of studies to improve stakeholder participation. Although limitations of time and financial resources are bigger challenges than ES related ones, tailoring communication strategies and information for different stakeholder groups are of major importance for the success of ES studies. Results support the view that the potential benefits of applying ES, e.g., consensus finding, and development of integrated solutions, cannot be realized consistently across the different spatial scales and decision-making levels. Focusing on stakeholder processes represents a means to increase the relevance, reliability and impact of study results and to move participation in ES research from theory to reality.

Stakeholder Perceptions of an Ecosystem Services Approach to Clearing Invasive Alien Plants on Private Land

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lauren S. Urgenson

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Incentivizing private landowners and other stakeholders is central to the effective conservation of ecosystem services in working landscapes. To better understand how to design effective incentives, the perceptions of landowners and other stakeholders are explored regarding a proposed approach to clearing invasive alien plants on private land in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. The public funded national program, Working for Water, conserves ecosystem services while employing and training people from marginalized sectors of society to clear these plants. Private landowner involvement is a key conservation challenge, because without adequate landowner involvement, invasive alien plants persist on the landscape and continuously reinvade cleared areas. We collected interview data from private landowners in three study sites, and web-survey data from conservation professionals and Working for Water managers, in order to compare stakeholder perceptions of (1 government and landowners' responsibilities for clearing invasive alien plants; (2 existing and proposed policy tools; and (3 the extent to which stakeholders consider the proposed financial incentive to be sufficient. There was significant consensus among stakeholders concerning their preference for shared landowner and government responsibility and for a policy mix that combines incentives with disincentives. Landowners from the three study sites differed in the level of responsibility they were willing to assume. Stakeholders also diverged in terms of their perceptions of the proposed financial incentives. Furthermore, the perspectives of landowners were strongly associated with ecological and social features of the landscapes in which they are located. Understanding stakeholders' points of view within their differing contexts is shown to be a valuable means of gaining insight into the opportunities and constraints that face ecosystem service conservation in working landscapes.

Convergence to consensus in heterogeneous groups and the emergence of informal leadership.

Science.gov (United States)

Gavrilets, Sergey; Auerbach, Jeremy; van Vugt, Mark

2016-07-14

When group cohesion is essential, groups must have efficient strategies in place for consensus decision-making. Recent theoretical work suggests that shared decision-making is often the most efficient way for dealing with both information uncertainty and individual variation in preferences. However, some animal and most human groups make collective decisions through particular individuals, leaders, that have a disproportionate influence on group decision-making. To address this discrepancy between theory and data, we study a simple, but general, model that explicitly focuses on the dynamics of consensus building in groups composed by individuals who are heterogeneous in preferences, certain personality traits (agreeability and persuasiveness), reputation, and social networks. We show that within-group heterogeneity can significantly delay democratic consensus building as well as give rise to the emergence of informal leaders, i.e. individuals with a disproportionately large impact on group decisions. Our results thus imply strong benefits of leadership particularly when groups experience time pressure and significant conflict of interest between members (due to various between-individual differences). Overall, our models shed light on why leadership and decision-making hierarchies are widespread, especially in human groups.

Local Partnerships: Achieving Stakeholder Consensus on Low-Level Waste Disposal?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hooft, E.; Bergmans, A.; Derveaux, K.; Vanhoof, L.

2002-01-01

Nuclear waste management is more then finding a technical answer to a technical problem. Dealing with nuclear, or any other form of hazardous waste, for that matter, not only implies solving a technical problem, it also means solving a societal problem. And societal questions cannot be resolved in a technical laboratory. Of course, the technical aspect of nuclear waste management and disposal is a very important one, but the societal aspect is of equal importance. In order to find an implementable solution to deal with nuclear waste, attention should be paid to what kind of solution the society wants and under what conditions a proposed solution might be acceptable. This, however, cannot be achieved by simply adding a number of ''societal parameters'' to a technical concept modeling. It is something that can only be established through interaction with the public concerned. And that, in addition, is not something that can be preformed as an accidental spin off of a vastly elaborated technical program. Communicating or interacting with the public does not mean sweeping them off their feet with smoothly edited leaflets explaining how technically sound the proposed solution is and how wonderful it would fit in their back yard. Adding, just to proof how brilliantly this all has been thought through, numerous safety measures, so people would feel reassured. This kind of communication, will only activate people's suspicion and drive them straight into a ''NIMBY''-reaction. The public (and by this we mean the stakeholders or the people actually concerned) should be involved in the decision making on nuclear waste from the very start of the program. This means that they must be aware of the fact that tests are taken place, that they can participate in the follow up of these technical analysis, and, that they have a say in whether further steps will eventually be taken

We are all experts! Does stakeholder engagement in health impact scoping lead to consensus? A Dutch case study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Broeder, den Lea; Yin Chung, Kai; Geelen, Loes; Schuit, Albertina Jantine; Wagemakers, A.

2016-01-01

Stakeholder engagement in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Health Impact Assessment (HIA) provides opportunities for inclusive environmental decision-making contributing to the attainment of agreement about the potential environmental and health impacts of a plan. A case evaluation of

The Oslo consensus conference on protection of the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oughton, D.H.; Strand, P.

2004-01-01

A number of international organisations are focussing on a revision of radiation protection policy from the existing system which addresses only effects on man, to one which also addresses effects on the wider environment. These developments are expected to effect a wide range of stakeholders, including industry, regulators, scientists, users and the public. With this in mind a 'Consensus Conference on Protection of the Environment' was arranged as part of an International Seminar on 'Radiation Protection in the 21st Century: Ethical, Philosophical and Environmental Issues' held at the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. The conference attracted 46 international experts representing various disciplines and affiliations including Environmental Science, Health Physics, Radioecology, Ethics and Philosophy and a wide spectrum of perspectives bearing on the question of radiation protection of the environment. The conference was novel in that the participants were professionals rather than laypersons, and the purpose of the consensus procedure was to identify areas of agreement as an input to the ongoing regulatory developments. The success and innovation of the model is reflected in the significant areas of agreement identified in the final consensus statement, and the subsequent interest at an international level. Participants also noted the need for furthering the debate through ongoing work. Notable issues were the harmonisation of standards for radiation with other environmental stressors, guidance for balancing different interests and values within practical management, and the need for assessment criteria

Stakeholder engagement for promoting the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT): Malaysia’s experience

Science.gov (United States)

Rashid, F. I. A.; Zolkaffly, M. Z.; Jamal, N.

2018-01-01

In order to keep abreast on issues related to CTBT in Malaysia, Malaysian Nuclear Agency (Nuklear Malaysia), as the CTBT National Authority in Malaysia, has collaborated with local partners to implement various stakeholder engagement programme. This paper aims at highlighting Malaysia’s approach in promoting CTBT through stakeholder engagement programme targeted at multilevel stakeholders, both national and international. Such programmes includes participation in the international forums, inter-agency meetings, awareness seminars, training courses, technical visits to IMS station, promoting civil and scientific application of International Monitoring System (IMS) data and International Data Centre (IDC) products using Virtual Data Exploitation Center (vDEC), inviting youth groups to participate in the CTBTO Youth Group, and publications of CTBT-related topics. This approach has successfully fortify Malaysia’s commitments at the international level, enhanced national awareness of global multilateral framework, increased stakeholders awareness and their roles related to CTBT, as well as building domestic capacity on CTBT matters. In conclusion, stakeholder engagement is crucial in promoting and enhancing stakeholders understanding on CTBT. Continuous engagement with relevant stakeholders will enable effective dissemination and smooth implementation of CTBT related matters that will eventually support global universalization of CTBT.

A consensus statement on how to conduct inclusive health research.

Science.gov (United States)

Frankena, T K; Naaldenberg, J; Cardol, M; Garcia Iriarte, E; Buchner, T; Brooker, K; Embregts, P; Joosa, E; Crowther, F; Fudge Schormans, A; Schippers, A; Walmsley, J; O'Brien, P; Linehan, C; Northway, R; van Schrojenstein Lantman-de Valk, H; Leusink, G

2018-04-11

The active involvement of people with intellectual disabilities in research, or inclusive research, is relatively common. However, inclusive health research is less common, even though it is expected to lead to appropriate healthcare and increased quality of life. Inclusive health research can build upon lessons learned from inclusive research. A total of 17 experts on inclusive (health) research without intellectual disabilities and 40 experts with intellectual disabilities collaborated in this consensus statement. The consensus statement was developed in three consecutive rounds: (1) an initial feedback round; (2) a roundtable discussion at the 2016 International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities World Congress; and (3) a final feedback round. This consensus statement provides researchers with guidelines, agreed upon by experts in the field, regarding attributes, potential outcomes, reporting and publishing, and future research directions, for designing and conducting inclusive health research. Consensus was reached on how to design and conduct inclusive health research. However, this statement should be continuously adapted to incorporate recent knowledge. The focus of this consensus statement is largely on inclusive health research, but the principles can also be applied to other areas. © 2018 MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Comparison research on stakeholders analysis of disposition of medical dispute between China and abroad

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qin Chen

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: We learn about the methods, process, effects of each stakeholder and the principles of the disposition of medical dispute home and abroad through stakeholder analysis. Methods: We investigate the methods, process and the principles of the disposition of medical dispute home and abroad by literature retrieval, key informant interview and depth interview. Results: The stakeholders of medical disputes mainly include patients and families, medical staff and hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, governments, laws, non-government organizations and media. They play different roles in medical disputes and have different effects. Over all, patients and families, medical staff and hospitals have the greatest effect and then laws, media, government, non-government organizations and pharmaceutical companies. Conclusion: Different stakeholders affect the disposition of medical disputes differently. It is crucial to establish harmonious relationship between patients and doctors and to build harmonious society by untangling the responsibility between all the stakeholders and dispose medical disputes quickly and effectively.

"One for all and all for one": consensus-building within communities in rural India on their health microinsurance package

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dror DM

2014-08-01

Full Text Available David M Dror,1,2 Pradeep Panda,1 Christina May,3 Atanu Majumdar,1 Ruth Koren4 1Micro Insurance Academy, New Delhi, India; 2Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; 3University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany; 4Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel Introduction: This study deals with consensus by poor persons in the informal sector in rural India on the benefit-package of their community-based health insurance (CBHI. In this article we describe the process of involving rural poor in benefit-package design and assess the underlying reasons for choices they made and their ability to reach group consensus. Methods: The benefit-package selection process entailed four steps: narrowing down the options by community representatives, plus three Choosing Healthplans All Together (CHAT rounds conducted among female members of self-help groups. We use mixed-methods and four sources of data: baseline study, CHAT exercises, in-depth interviews, and evaluation questionnaires. We define consensus as a community resolution reached by discussion, considering all opinions, and to which everyone agrees. We use the coefficient of unalikeability to express consensus quantitatively (as variability of categorical variables rather than just categorically (as a binomial Yes/No. Findings: The coefficient of unalikeability decreased consistently over consecutive CHAT rounds, reaching zero (ie, 100% consensus in two locations, and confirmed gradual adoption of consensus. Evaluation interviews revealed that the wish to be part of a consensus was dominant in all locations. The in-depth interviews indicated that people enjoyed the participatory deliberations, were satisfied with the selection, and that group decisions reflected a consensus rather than majority. Moreover, evidence suggests that pre-selectors and communities aimed to enhance the likelihood that many households would benefit from CBHI. Conclusion: The voluntary and contributory CBHI relies on an engaging

Renovation versus New Construction and Building Decision Tool for Educational Facilities

OpenAIRE

Pope, Carrie; Marks, Eric; Back, Edward; Leopard, Tim; Love, Thomas

2016-01-01

Renovation of an existing building is an accomplished stem of the construction industry because it supplies financial diversification for construction stakeholders. Although several construction planning tools and stakeholder alignment exercises have been developed, no tool exists to assist project owners to decide between renovating an existing building and new construction with a comprehensive decision criteria. The objective of this research is to create and test a renovation versus new bu...

Consensus methodology to determine minor ailments appropriate to be directed for management within community pharmacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Nazar, Hamde; Nazar, Zachariah; Yeung, Andre; Maguire, Mike; Connelly, Alex; Slight, Sarah P

2018-01-04

National Health Service (NHS) 111, a medical helpline for urgent care used within the England and Scotland, receives significant numbers of patient calls yearly for a range of clinical conditions. Some are considered high acuity and mainly directed to urgent and emergency care. Low acuity conditions are also directed to these costly, overburdened services. Community pharmacy is a recognised setting for effective low acuity condition management and could offer an alternative. To design and evaluate a new NHS111 pathway re-directing patients with low acuity conditions to community pharmacy. Two consensus development stakeholder workshops were undertaken. A "low acuity" condition was defined as one that can be clinically assessed by a community pharmacist and requires a treatment and/or advice available within a community pharmacy. Retrospective NHS111 patient data (February-August 2016) from the North East of England and access to the NHS Pathways clinical decision support software were available to stakeholders. The NHS111 data demonstrated the volume of patient calls for these conditions that could have been redirected to community pharmacy. Stakeholders reached consensus that 64 low acuity conditions could be safely redirected to community pharmacy via NHS111. This represented approximately 35,000 patients (11.5% of total) being shifted away from the higher cost settings in the North East region alone during February-August 2016. The stakeholder group discussions provided rationale behind their classifications of conditions to ensure patient safety, the care experience and added value. The resulting definitive list of low acuity conditions that could be directed to community pharmacy via NHS111 could result in a shift of workload from urgent and emergency care settings. Future work needs to evaluate the cost, clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction of a community pharmacy referral service that has the potential to improve integration of community pharmacy in the

Contrasting and not-so-contrasting perspectives between local stakeholders and scientists and across dryland sites in participatory assessment of land management

Science.gov (United States)

Bautista, Susana; Zucca, Claudio; Urghege, Anna M.; Ramón Vallejo, V.

2015-04-01

knowledge exchange at multiple levels. The change between the initial and final perspectives on the assessment criteria and the quality of the management actions assessed was considered to be a metric of the learning gained through the IAPro process. A decrease in the variability of weights and rates given by the stakeholders to each criteria and management action reflects the consensus building process that takes place during the discussion sessions.

Stakeholder Groups of Public and Private Universities in the Czech Republic – Identification, Categorization and Prioritization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Slabá Marie

2015-09-01

Full Text Available With regard to changes in the environment of tertiary education and tertiary educational systems, universities are now unlikely to succeed as ‘separated closed’ institutions that are unresponsive to their environment and stakeholders. Stakeholder analysis is considered as an important part of university management and marketing and universities have to take care of key stakeholder groups and build long term relationships with them. This paper focuses on the stakeholder analysis and adopts the stake-holder theory and analysis for the needs of the Czech market of tertiary education. This paper analyses results of the author’s online questionnaire that provided the input for data analysis deploying basic descriptive analysis and first steps of stakeholder analysis – identification, categorization and prioritization. Results of author’s research show that there are only slight differences between public and private universities and their perspective concerning generic stakeholder groups of universities. However the research revealed two controversial stakeholder groups – donors and competitors. In comparison with other stakeholder groups perception of these two stakeholder groups by public and private universities is very different. Stakeholder groups of public and private universities were categorized into four basic groups - primary internal stakeholder groups, primary external stakeholder groups, secondary internal stakeholder groups, and secondary external stakeholder groups. Primary internal and external stakeholder groups which are crucial for survival of universities are the most important stakeholder groups for universities. The author identified ten most important stakeholder groups for public and private universities separately, based on assigned priorities that will be used for further research.

Measures to assess the performance of an Australian non-government charitable non-acute health service: A Delphi Survey of Organisational Stakeholders.

Science.gov (United States)

Colbran, Richard; Ramsden, Robyn; Stagnitti, Karen; Adams, Samantha

2018-02-01

Organisation performance measurement is relevant for non-profit charitable organisations as they strive for security in an increasingly competitive funding environment. This study aimed to identify the priority measures and indicators of organisational performance of an Australian non-government charitable organisation that delivers non-acute health services. Seventy-seven and 59 participants across nine stakeholder groups responded to a two-staged Delphi technique study of a case study organisation. The stage one questionnaire was developed using information garnered through a detailed review of literature. Data from the first round were aggregated and analysed for the stage two survey. The final data represented a group consensus. Quality of care was ranked the most important of six organisational performance measures. Service user satisfaction was ranked second followed by financial performance, internal processes, employee learning and growth and community engagement. Thirteen priority indicators were determined across the six measures. Consensus was reached on the priority organisational performance measures and indicators. Stakeholders of the case study organisation value evidence-based practice, technical strength of services and service user satisfaction over more commercially orientated indicators.

Ideals, practices, and future prospects of stakeholder involvement in sustainability science.

Science.gov (United States)

Mielke, Jahel; Vermaßen, Hannah; Ellenbeck, Saskia

2017-12-12

This paper evaluates current stakeholder involvement (SI) practices in science through a web-based survey among scholars and researchers engaged in sustainability or transition research. It substantiates previous conceptual work with evidence from practice by building on four ideal types of SI in science. The results give an interesting overview of the varied landscape of SI in sustainability science, ranging from the kinds of topics scientists work on with stakeholders, over scientific trade-offs that arise in the field, to improvements scientists wish for. Furthermore, the authors describe a discrepancy between scientists' ideals and practices when working with stakeholders. On the conceptual level, the data reflect that the democratic type of SI is the predominant one concerning questions on the understanding of science, the main goal, the stage of involvement in the research process, and the science-policy interface. The fact that respondents expressed agreement to several types shows they are guided by multiple and partly conflicting ideals when working with stakeholders. We thus conclude that more conceptual exchange between practitioners, as well as more qualitative research on the concepts behind practices, is needed to better understand the stakeholder-scientist nexus. Copyright © 2017 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

A review of interdependence of sustainable building

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ju, Chuanjing [Department of Real Estate and Construction, The University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong); Ning, Yan, E-mail: cqningyan@gmail.com [Department of Construction and Real Estate, Southeast University, 210096 (China); Pan, Wei [Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong)

2016-01-15

ABSTRACT: Despite the worldwide promotion of the sustainable building (SB) approach, its associated interdependence has seldom been explored. This knowledge gap is significant given the paradigm shift of regarding SBs as complex socio-technical systems embedded with multifaceted interdependence. The aim of this paper is to examine the interdependence of SB through a literature review. The literature review was guided by a framework comprising three dimensions of SB systems, i.e., building performance, methodology and stakeholders, on their theoretical grounds ranged from reductionism to holism. In order to articulate the integration of the three dimensions, this paper examined zero carbon building as a specific case of SB. The findings contribute an innovative approach to examining the interdependence of SB, and should guide the development of strategies for managing the trade-offs in delivering SBs. - Highlights: • Performance scope of sustainable building triggers interdependence. • Material flow from cradle to cradle causes interdependence. • Interdependence occurs between the building and their context. • Interdependence exists in stakeholders' participation.

Multi-stakeholder Virtual Dialogue

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kornum, Niels; Mühlbacher, Hans

2013-01-01

This article introduces the special issue on multi-stakeholder virtual dialogue. Research as well as managerial practice in marketing has traditionally focused on single stakeholders and a one-way communication perspective. This special issue takes a novel approach by directing attention...... success. While marketing literature increasingly recognizes that divers stakeholders have an impact on a company''s success, little is known about how virtual multi-stakeholder dialogue changes marketing research and management. This special issue provides insights on what roles stakeholders may play...... to the simultaneous interaction with and of a variety of stakeholders and the fact that customers and other stakeholders of a company can take the initiative to that interaction. Stakeholders can launch a discussion, spread news, participate in value creation, can heavily influence each other and a company''s market...

Stakeholder perceptions of a total market approach to family planning in Nicaragua.

Science.gov (United States)

Drake, Jennifer Kidwell; Espinoza, Henry; Suraratdecha, Chutima; Lacayo, Yann; Keith, Bonnie M; Vail, Janet G

2011-05-01

To assess private-sector stakeholders' and donors' perceptions of a total market approach (TMA) to family planning in Nicaragua in the context of decreased funding; to build evidence for potential strategies and mechanisms for TMA implementation (including public-private partnerships (PPPs)); and to identify information gaps and future priorities for related research and advocacy. A descriptive exploratory study was conducted in various locations in Nicaragua from March to April 2010. A total of 24 key private-sector stakeholders and donors were interviewed and their responses analyzed using two questionnaires and a stakeholder analysis tool (PolicyMakerTM software). All survey participants supported a TMA, and public-private collaboration, in family planning in Nicaragua. Based on the survey responses, opportunities for further developing PPPs for family planning include building on and expanding existing governmental frameworks, such as Nicaragua's current coordination mechanism for contraceptive security. Obstacles include the lack of ongoing government engagement with the commercial (for-profit) sector and confusion about regulations for its involvement in family planning. Strategies for strengthening existing PPPs include establishing a coordination mechanism specifically for the commercial sector and collecting and disseminating evidence supporting public-private collaboration in family planning. There was no formal or absolute opposition to a TMA or PPPs in family planning in Nicaragua among a group of diverse nongovernmental stakeholders and donors. This type of study can help identify strategies to mobilize existing and potential advocates in achieving articulated policy goals, including diversification of funding sources for family planning to achieve contraceptive security.

Indian Society of Neuro-Oncology consensus guidelines for the contemporary management of medulloblastoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Tejpal; Sarkar, Chitra; Rajshekhar, Vedantam; Chatterjee, Sandip; Shirsat, Neelam; Muzumdar, Dattatreya; Pungavkar, Sona; Chinnaswamy, Girish; Jalali, Rakesh

2017-01-01

The high success rate in the management medulloblastoma achieved in the western world is not exactly mirrored in developing countries including India. Socio-demographic differences, health-care disparity, and lack in uniformity of care with resultant widespread variations in the clinical practice are some of the reasons that may partly explain this difference in outcomes. Patients with medulloblastoma require a multi-disciplinary team approach involving but not limited to neuro-radiology, neurosurgery; neuropathology, molecular biology, radiation oncology, pediatric medical oncology and rehabilitative services for optimizing outcomes. The Indian Society of Neuro-Oncology (ISNO) constituted an expert multi-disciplinary panel with adequate representation from all stakeholders to prepare national consensus guidelines for the contemporary management of medulloblastoma. Minimum desirable, as well as preferable though optional recommendations (as appropriate), were developed and adopted for the pre-surgical work-up including neuroimaging; neurosurgical management including surgical principles, techniques, and complications; neuropathology reporting and molecular testing; contemporary risk-stratification in the molecular era; appropriate adjuvant therapy (radiotherapy and chemotherapy); and follow-up schedule in medulloblastoma. The current document represents a broad consensus reached amongst various stakeholders within the neuro-oncology community involved in the contemporary curative-intent management of children with medulloblastoma. It provides both general as well as specific guidelines and recommendations to be adopted by physicians and health care providers across India to achieve uniformity of care, improve disease-related outcomes, and compare results between institutions within the country.

Southern Energy Efficiency Center (SEEC)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vieira, Robin; Sonne, Jeffrey; Withers, Charles; Cummings, James; Verdict, Malcolm; Roberts, Sydney

2009-09-30

The Southern Energy Efficiency Center (SEEC) builds collaborative partnerships with: state and local governments and their program support offices, the building delivery industry (designers, contractors, realtors and commissioning agents), product manufacturers and their supply chains, utilities and their program implementers, consumers and other stakeholders in order to forge a strong regional network of building energy efficiency allies. Through a project Steering Committee composed of the state energy offices and building industry stakeholders, the SEEC works to establish consensus-based goals, priorities and strategies at the regional, state and local levels that will materially advance the deployment of high-performance “beyond code” buildings. In its first Phase, SEEC will provide limited technical and policy support assistance, training, certification and education to a wide spectrum of the building construction, codes and standards, and the consumer marketplace.

Building capacity in Australian interprofessional health education: perspectives from key health and higher education stakeholders.

Science.gov (United States)

Matthews, Lynda R; Pockett, Rosalie B; Nisbet, Gillian; Thistlethwaite, Jill E; Dunston, Roger; Lee, Alison; White, Jill F

2011-05-01

A substantial literature engaging with the directions and experiences of stakeholders involved in interprofessional health education exists at the international level, yet almost nothing has been published that documents and analyses the Australian experience. Accordingly, this study aimed to scope the experiences of key stakeholders in health and higher education in relation to the development of interprofessional practice capabilities in health graduates in Australia. Twenty-seven semi-structured interviews and two focus groups of key stakeholders involved in the development and delivery of interprofessional health education in Australian higher education were undertaken. Interview data were coded to identify categories that were organised into key themes, according to principles of thematic analysis. Three themes were identified: the need for common ground between health and higher education, constraints and enablers in current practice, and the need for research to establish an evidence base. Five directions for national development were also identified. The study identified a range of interconnected changes that will be required to successfully mainstream interprofessional education within Australia, in particular, the importance of addressing issues of culture change and the need for a nationally coordinated and research informed approach. These findings reiterate those found in the international literature.

Expert consensus document: The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) consensus statement on the definition and scope of prebiotics.

Science.gov (United States)

Gibson, Glenn R; Hutkins, Robert; Sanders, Mary Ellen; Prescott, Susan L; Reimer, Raylene A; Salminen, Seppo J; Scott, Karen; Stanton, Catherine; Swanson, Kelly S; Cani, Patrice D; Verbeke, Kristin; Reid, Gregor

2017-08-01

In December 2016, a panel of experts in microbiology, nutrition and clinical research was convened by the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics to review the definition and scope of prebiotics. Consistent with the original embodiment of prebiotics, but aware of the latest scientific and clinical developments, the panel updated the definition of a prebiotic: a substrate that is selectively utilized by host microorganisms conferring a health benefit. This definition expands the concept of prebiotics to possibly include non-carbohydrate substances, applications to body sites other than the gastrointestinal tract, and diverse categories other than food. The requirement for selective microbiota-mediated mechanisms was retained. Beneficial health effects must be documented for a substance to be considered a prebiotic. The consensus definition applies also to prebiotics for use by animals, in which microbiota-focused strategies to maintain health and prevent disease is as relevant as for humans. Ultimately, the goal of this Consensus Statement is to engender appropriate use of the term 'prebiotic' by relevant stakeholders so that consistency and clarity can be achieved in research reports, product marketing and regulatory oversight of the category. To this end, we have reviewed several aspects of prebiotic science including its development, health benefits and legislation.

Building Energy Monitoring and Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hong, Tianzhen; Feng, Wei; Lu, Alison; Xia, Jianjun; Yang, Le; Shen, Qi; Im, Piljae; Bhandari, Mahabir

2013-06-01

This project aimed to develop a standard methodology for building energy data definition, collection, presentation, and analysis; apply the developed methods to a standardized energy monitoring platform, including hardware and software, to collect and analyze building energy use data; and compile offline statistical data and online real-time data in both countries for fully understanding the current status of building energy use. This helps decode the driving forces behind the discrepancy of building energy use between the two countries; identify gaps and deficiencies of current building energy monitoring, data collection, and analysis; and create knowledge and tools to collect and analyze good building energy data to provide valuable and actionable information for key stakeholders.

The Role of the International Code Council in the U.S. Building Regukation System and Green Building Contruction

OpenAIRE

David Walls

2015-01-01

This paper will address the components of the International Code Council (ICC) as one of the most important organizations in terms of developing the model building codes for the US: the international codes. This membership-driven organization has the task of providing the building industry and all its stakeholders with the necessary regulatory documents, training, certification, plan check, product evaluation, and accreditation services to achieve safer and more sustainable building construct...

Building consensus on youth violence prevention and citizen ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

IDRC's efforts in negotiation and coalition building contributed to a high-level dialogue that engaged high-level officials and reaffirmed their commitment to preventing violence particularly among youth in Central America. At a meeting held at the Earth University in Costa Rica´s Limon Province in early February, Luis Fallas, ...

Stakeholder Relationships in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Kettunen, Juha

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study is to develop a stakeholder map to describe the most important stakeholders and the process of stakeholder relationships in higher education. According to the perspective of the balanced scorecard, the classification of stakeholders integrates stakeholders into strategic management. Stakeholder maps are essential in…

Towards a stakeholder model for the co-production of the public-sector information system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zita P. Correia

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Proposes a systemic approach to Public Sector Information (PSI, defined as comprising entities in four categories - citizens, businesses, policymakers and administrations. This system also comprises four categories of information - on citizenship, economic and social development, policy and administration. Method. . A selective literature review was conducted to produce a convergence of perspectives from different fields, to provide the foundations for the stakeholder model. Analysis. The implications of the systemic approach to PSI, are: a a holistic and open view of the entities and elements involved; b clarification of the role of each of the stakeholder groups; c commitment of each group to the public sector information system, and hence co-responsibility for the system. The principle of co-production is applied to the PSI system, by building on lessons from development studies. Results. A model is developed where the different groups of stakeholders are seen as groups of people and organizations with distinctive characteristics, playing different roles, but not mutually exclusive regarding their participation in the different subsystems. Conclusion. Success in adopting the proposed model may depend on pre-existing characteristics and conditions of each socio-political context, including existing levels of social capital, as much as on the implementation of technology to improve public service delivery. However, it is possible to build synergistic relations relatively quickly, through an imaginative application of 'soft technologies', such as institution-building and organizational change.

Patient and Stakeholder Engagement in the PCORI Pilot Projects: Description and Lessons Learned.

Science.gov (United States)

Forsythe, Laura P; Ellis, Lauren E; Edmundson, Lauren; Sabharwal, Raj; Rein, Alison; Konopka, Kristen; Frank, Lori

2016-01-01

changes to their research attributed to engagement. This study identifies early lessons and barriers that should be addressed to facilitate engagement. While this research suggests potential impact of stakeholder engagement, systematic characterization and evaluation of engagement at multiple stages of research is needed to build the evidence base.

Strengthening stakeholder involvement in health workforce governance: why we need to talk about power.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuhlmann, Ellen; Burau, Viola

2018-01-01

There is now widespread agreement on the benefits of an integrated, people-centred health workforce, but the implementation of new models is difficult. We argue that we need to think about stakeholders and power, if we want to ensure change in the health workforce. We discuss these issues from a governance perspective and suggest a critical approach to stakeholder involvement as an indicator of good governance. Three models of involving stakeholders in health workforce governance can be identified: corporatist professional involvement either in a continental European model of conservative corporatism or in a Nordic model of public corporatism; managerialist and market-centred involvement of professions as organizational agents; and a more inclusive, network-based involvement of plural professional experts at different levels of governance. The power relations embedded in these models of stakeholder involvement have different effects on capacity building for an integrated health workforce.

Implementing an organised cervical screening programme in the Republic of Moldova-Stakeholder identification and engagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, Philip; Valuta, Diana; Cojohari, Natalia; Sancho-Garnier, Helene

2017-10-01

Successfully implementing cervical screening programmes requires them to be adapted to the local context and have broad stakeholder support. This can be achieved by actively engaging local stakeholders in planning as well as implementing the programmes. The Moldovan government started implementing an organised cervical screening programme in 2010 with the first step being stakeholder identification and engagement. This process started by contacting easily identified stakeholders with each asked to recommend others and the process continued until no new ones were identified. Stakeholders were then involved in a series of individual and group meetings over a 2-year period to build confidence and encourage progressively greater engagement. In total, 87 individuals from 46 organisations were identified. Over the 2-year process, the individual and group meetings facilitated a change in stakeholder attitudes from disinterest, to acceptance and finally to active cooperation in designing the screening programme and preparing an implementation plan that were both well adapted to the Moldovan context. Developing the broad support needed to implement cervical screening programmes required ongoing interaction with stakeholders over an extended period. This interaction allowed stakeholder concerns to be identified and addressed, progress to be demonstrated, and stakeholders to be educated about organised screening programmes so they had the knowledge to progressively take greater responsibility and ownership. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

78 FR 5817 - Detecting and Evaluating Drug-Induced Liver Injury; What's Normal, What's Not, and What Should We...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-28

... with the Critical Path Institute (C-Path) and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. Its purpose is to discuss, debate, and build consensus among stakeholders in the pharmaceutical... philanthropic support from the southern Arizona community, Science Foundation Arizona, and FDA. The...

The Relationship Between Nuclear Regulators and Their Stakeholders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burns, Stephen G.

2017-01-01

Mr Burns, Chairman of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, delivered a keynote speech. He recognised there is a global movement towards broadening information flow and participation. He displayed the so-called Arnstein 'ladder' that can be applied to assess the degree of public involvement and influence achieved in any state or private decision making. The lower rungs depict non-participation and the middle rungs focus on education and information as well as consultation. Mr Burns suggested that the higher level of partnership was of most interest to the workshop. In his experience, partnership between stakeholders and regulatory organisations, as well as openness and transparency, are today seen as traits of a good regulator, and are increasingly set out as goals in regulatory strategic plans throughout the world. Mr Burns highlighted a broad definition of 'stakeholder' as 'one who is involved in or affected by a course of action'. Nuclear stakeholders thus include those who live near or work in nuclear facilities; own or run the facilities; govern at the national, regional or local level; manufacture the components or the fuel; regulate the output or use of the facility; benefit from the use of radiological material and nuclear installations; and those who might be adversely affected in any way by materials or facilities. Stakeholders also include the media who convey information to others, and the non-governmental organisations that represent the views of many individuals. Mr Burns focused on the concept of trust as enabling public confidence in technical calculations and risk management. He suggested that listening carefully to stakeholders is an important element of trust-building. He closed by affirming that regulators can maintain their independence while nonetheless considering others' opinions. Mr Burns emphasised that at the end of the day, the regulator holds sole responsibility for achieving its own regulatory objectives and consistent, well

Managing Diverse Stakeholders

OpenAIRE

Pipkin, Erin; Porter, Sean; Clark, Rickie

2017-01-01

For every public project, there is a diverse group of stakeholders who need and want information. During this session we outline important stakeholders, how and when to involve them in the planning process, and how targeted messaging might be the key to your project’s success. We also discuss how to identify and manage stakeholders who oppose your project.

Building Adaptive Capacity with the Delphi Method and Mediated Modeling for Water Quality and Climate Change Adaptation in Lake Champlain Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Coleman, S.; Hurley, S.; Koliba, C.; Zia, A.; Exler, S.

2014-12-01

Eutrophication and nutrient pollution of surface waters occur within complex governance, social, hydrologic and biophysical basin contexts. The pervasive and perennial nutrient pollution in Lake Champlain Basin, despite decades of efforts, exemplifies problems found across the world's surface waters. Stakeholders with diverse values, interests, and forms of explicit and tacit knowledge determine water quality impacts through land use, agricultural and water resource decisions. Uncertainty, ambiguity and dynamic feedback further complicate the ability to promote the continual provision of water quality and ecosystem services. Adaptive management of water resources and land use requires mechanisms to allow for learning and integration of new information over time. The transdisciplinary Research on Adaptation to Climate Change (RACC) team is working to build regional adaptive capacity in Lake Champlain Basin while studying and integrating governance, land use, hydrological, and biophysical systems to evaluate implications for adaptive management. The RACC team has engaged stakeholders through mediated modeling workshops, online forums, surveys, focus groups and interviews. In March 2014, CSS2CC.org, an interactive online forum to source and identify adaptive interventions from a group of stakeholders across sectors was launched. The forum, based on the Delphi Method, brings forward the collective wisdom of stakeholders and experts to identify potential interventions and governance designs in response to scientific uncertainty and ambiguity surrounding the effectiveness of any strategy, climate change impacts, and the social and natural systems governing water quality and eutrophication. A Mediated Modeling Workshop followed the forum in May 2014, where participants refined and identified plausible interventions under different governance, policy and resource scenarios. Results from the online forum and workshop can identify emerging consensus across scales and sectors

Acne severity grading: determining essential clinical components and features using a Delphi consensus.

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Jerry; Wolfe, Barat; Weiss, Jonathan; Stein-Gold, Linda; Bikowski, Joseph; Del Rosso, James; Webster, Guy F; Lucky, Anne; Thiboutot, Diane; Wilkin, Jonathan; Leyden, James; Chren, Mary-Margaret

2012-08-01

There are multiple global scales for acne severity grading but no singular standard. Our objective was to determine the essential clinical components (content items) and features (property-related items) for an acne global grading scale for use in research and clinical practice using an iterative method, the Delphi process. Ten acne experts were invited to participate in a Web-based Delphi survey comprising 3 iterative rounds of questions. In round 1, the experts identified the following clinical components (primary acne lesions, number of lesions, extent, regional involvement, secondary lesions, and patient experiences) and features (clinimetric properties, ease of use, categorization of severity based on photographs or text, and acceptance by all stakeholders). In round 2, consensus for inclusion in the scale was established for primary lesions, number, sites, and extent; as well as clinimetric properties and ease of use. In round 3, consensus for inclusion was further established for categorization and acceptance. Patient experiences were excluded and no consensus was achieved for secondary lesions. The Delphi panel consisted solely of the United States (U.S.)-based acne experts. Using an established method for achieving consensus, experts in acne vulgaris concluded that an ideal acne global grading scale would comprise the essential clinical components of primary acne lesions, their quantity, extent, and facial and extrafacial sites of involvement; with features of clinimetric properties, categorization, efficiency, and acceptance. Copyright © 2011 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Is local participation always optimal for sustainable action?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brandt, Urs Steiner; Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard

2013-01-01

Is local participation always optimal for sustainable action? Here, Local Agenda 21 is a relevant case as it broadly calls for consensus-building among stakeholders. Consensus-building is, however, costly. We show that the costs of making local decisions are likely to rapidly exceed the benefits......-solutions, or not making any choices at all. Even though the informational value of meetings may be helpful to policy makers, the model shows that it also decreases as the number of participants increase. Overall, the result is a thought provoking scenario for Local Agenda 21 as it highlights the risk of less sustainable...

Stakeholder Value Matrix - Die VErbindung zwischen Shareholder Value und Stakeholder Value

OpenAIRE

Frank Figge

2004-01-01

Die Studie zeigt, was unter Stakeholder Value verstanden werden kann, wie Shareholder Value und Stakeholder Value gemessen werden können und welche Verbindung zwischen beiden Konzepten besteht. In dieser Studie wird erstmals die Wertbeitragsanalyse von Stakeholderbeziehungen vorgestellt. Anhand der Stakeholder Value Matrix lässt sich zeigen, welche Stakeholdergruppen zusammen positiv zum Unternehmenswert beitragen.

The Role of Agro-Veterinary Shops in Animal Health Services, Information and Technology Delivery in Kenya

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ngotho, R.N.

2002-01-01

With the withdrawal of animal health services by the government of Kenya, 'private' delivery has become increasingly important, especially in urban and per-urban settings. Rural agri- business shops ('dukas') are situated everywhere in the country and areas devoid of veterinarians due to poor establishment of private practice as in the ASALs, they have mushroomed to address the delivery vacuum. Four participatory approaches were used in a study to gauge the perceptions of stakeholders on the role of 'dukas' in delivery of animal health services, technologies and information. Rapid rural appraisals were carried out in three representative districts of Kenya to obtain perceptions in farmers' group settings. Semi-structured interviews of key informants endeavoured to tease out opinions of the professionals on the service and information delivery mode they considered to be most effective and sustainable. Shop exit surveys targeting individual consumers sought to assess what livestock keepers had to say on a one to one basis regarding the agro-veterinary shops. Two consensus-building workshop meetings for stakeholders were held to help crystallise recommendations and develop guidelines and support mechanisms for future duka involvements in AHSD. In this paper, the main stakeholders' perspectives and highlights from stakeholders' consensus-building workshops are also presented. In conclusion the role of the dukas is discussed impartially

Measure Guideline. Air Sealing Attics in Multifamily Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Otis, Casey [Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings (CARB), Norwalk, CT (United States); Maxwell, Sean [Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings (CARB), Norwalk, CT (United States)

2012-06-01

This Building America Measure Guideline is intended for owners, builders, contractors, homeowners, and other stakeholders in the multifamily building industry, and focuses on challenges found in existing buildings for a variety of housing types. It explains why air sealing is desirable, explores related health and safety issues, and identifies common air leakage points in multifamily building attics. In addition, it also gives an overview of materials and techniques typically used to perform air sealing work.

Stakeholders' views on the strengths and weaknesses of maternal care financing and its reform in Georgia.

Science.gov (United States)

Shengelia, Lela; Pavlova, Milena; Groot, Wim

2017-08-08

The improvement of maternal health has been one of the aims of the health financing reforms in Georgia. Public-private relationships are the most notable part of the reform. This study aimed to assess the strengths and weakness of the maternal care financing in Georgia in terms of adequacy and effects. A qualitative design was used to explore the opinions of key stakeholders about the adequacy of maternal care financing and financial protection of pregnant women in Georgia. Women who had used maternal care during the past 4 years along with health care providers, policy makers, and representatives of international partner organizations and national professional body were the respondents in this study. Six focus group discussions to collect data from women and 15 face-to-face in-depth interviews to collect data from the other stakeholders were conducted. Each focus group discussion consisted of 7-8 women. Two focus group discussions were carried out at each of the target settings (i.e. Tbilisi, Imereti and Adjara). Women were selected in each location through the hospital registry and snowballing method. The evidence shows that there is a consensus among maternal care stakeholder groups on the influence of the healthcare financing reforms on maternal health. Specifically, the privatization of the maternal care services has had positive effects because it significantly improved the environment and technical capacity of the maternity houses. Also, in contrast to other former-soviet republics, there are no informal payments anymore for maternal care in Georgia. However the privatization, which was done without strict regulation, negatively influenced the reform process and provided the possibility to private providers to manipulate the formal user fees in maternal care. Stakeholders also indicated that the UHC programs implemented at the last stage of the healthcare financing reform as well as other state maternal health programs protect women from catastrophic health

Time to Talk? How the Structure of Dialog Processes Shapes Stakeholder Learning in Participatory Water Resources Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melanie Muro

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Public participation is increasingly viewed as a means to initiate social learning among stakeholders, resource managers, and policy makers rather than to ensure democratic representation. This growing understanding of participatory activities as learning platforms can be seen as a direct response to shifts in how natural resources management is framed, namely as uncertain, non-linear, and interlinked with the human dimensions. Social learning as it is discussed within the natural resources management (NRM context features a process of collective and communicative learning that is thought to enable stakeholders to arrive at a shared understanding of a specific environmental situation and to develop new solutions as well as ways of acting together in pursuit of a shared ambition. Yet, although case-study research on social-learning processes provides multiple accounts of positive experiences, there are also reports of mistaken learning, the intensification of tensions or conflict, and failure to reach agreement or verifiable consensus. Based on results of a postal survey of stakeholder experiences in two involvement initiatives, we can draw two main conclusions: First, social learning is a multidimensional and dynamic process and, as such, evolves in stages and to various degrees. Second, stakeholder processes are shaped and affected by a multitude of factors that constrain the occurrence of learning processes and eventually limit the extent to which these can contribute to sustainable NRM. Foremost, the fact that the intensity of stakeholder learning differed in the two investigated initiatives reinforces the role organizational arrangements play in encouraging the type of communicative process necessary for stakeholder learning.

Moulding Interpersonal Relations through Conditional Clauses: Consensus-Building Strategies in Written Academic Discourse

Science.gov (United States)

Warchal, Krystyna

2010-01-01

This paper focuses on the interpersonal potential of the conditional clause as a rhetorical device for establishing a dialogue between the author and the reader of an academic text in search for shared understanding and consensus. It presents a corpus-based analysis of functions conditional clauses play in linguistics research articles in an…

A New Era for Education in the Global Development Agenda

Science.gov (United States)

Benavot, Aaron; Naidoo, Jordan

2018-01-01

Diverse actors and organizations representing governments, civil society, international agencies, and the private sector participated in consensus-building and negotiation activities toward shaping SDG 4 and outlining the priority targets and indicators for which all education stakeholders would have collective responsibility to meet. As the…

78 FR 44036 - Appliance Standards and Rulemaking Federal Advisory Committee: Notice of Intent To Establish the...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-23

.... The role of the mediator, also called a facilitator, is to apply proven consensus-building techniques... discussion from both private- sector stakeholders and government officials who are familiar with energy...'s role generally includes: Impartially assisting the members of the working group in conducting...

Installed water resource modelling systems for catchment ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Following international trends there are a growing number of modelling systems being installed for integrated water resource management, in Southern Africa. Such systems are likely to be installed for operational use in ongoing learning, research, strategic planning and consensus-building amongst stakeholders in the ...

International recommendations for national patient safety incident reporting systems: an expert Delphi consensus-building process.

Science.gov (United States)

Howell, Ann-Marie; Burns, Elaine M; Hull, Louise; Mayer, Erik; Sevdalis, Nick; Darzi, Ara

2017-02-01

Patient safety incident reporting systems (PSRS) have been established for over a decade, but uncertainty remains regarding the role that they can and ought to play in quantifying healthcare-related harm and improving care. To establish international, expert consensus on the purpose of PSRS regarding monitoring and learning from incidents and developing recommendations for their future role. After a scoping review of the literature, semi-structured interviews with experts in PSRS were conducted. Based on these findings, a survey-based questionnaire was developed and subsequently completed by a larger expert panel. Using a Delphi approach, consensus was reached regarding the ideal role of PSRSs. Recommendations for best practice were devised. Forty recommendations emerged from the Delphi procedure on the role and use of PSRS. Experts agreed reporting system should not be used as an epidemiological tool to monitor the rate of harm over time or to appraise the relative safety of hospitals. They agreed reporting is a valuable mechanism for identifying organisational safety needs. The benefit of a national system was clear with respect to medication error, device failures, hospital-acquired infections and never events as these problems often require solutions at a national level. Experts recommended training for senior healthcare professionals in incident investigation. Consensus recommendation was for hospitals to take responsibility for creating safety solutions locally that could be shared nationally. We obtained reasonable consensus among experts on aims and specifications of PSRS. This information can be used to reflect on existing and future PSRS, and their role within the wider patient safety landscape. The role of PSRS as instruments for learning needs to be elaborated and developed further internationally. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Delay-Induced Consensus and Quasi-Consensus in Multi-Agent Dynamical Systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yu, Wenwu; Chen, Guanrong; Cao, Ming; Ren, Wei

2013-01-01

This paper studies consensus and quasi-consensus in multi-agent dynamical systems. A linear consensus protocol in the second-order dynamics is designed where both the current and delayed position information is utilized. Time delay, in a common perspective, can induce periodic oscillations or even

Industry Stakeholder Recommendations for DOE's RD&D for Increasing Energy Efficiency in Existing Homes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Plympton, P.; Dagher, L.; Zwack, B.

2007-06-01

This technical report documents feedback for Industry Stakeholders on the direction of future U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) research and development in the area of improving energy efficiency in existing residential buildings.

Building a Foundation for Knowledge Co-Creation in Collaborative Water Governance: Dimensions of Stakeholder Networks Facilitated through Bridging Organizations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wietske Medema

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The sustainable governance of water resources relies on processes of multi-stakeholder collaborations and interactions that facilitate the sharing and integration of diverse sources and types of knowledge. In this context, it is essential to fully recognize the importance of fostering and enhancing critical connections within and between networks of relationships between different government and non-government agencies, as well as the dynamics that are in support of the development of new knowledge and practices. In Quebec, a network of watershed organizations (WOs has been put in place to serve as bridging organizations (BOs for stakeholder groups in their watershed territories. Using the WOs as a case study, this research aims to contribute to a greater understanding of how stakeholder groups can be effectively connected to support knowledge co-creation through networked relationships facilitated by BOs. In line with this overall research aim, the following research objectives are proposed: (1 to assess the quality of the knowledge that is developed and shared through the WOs and their stakeholder networks; (2 to determine the characteristics of stakeholders participating in the WOs’ networks that either hinder or support collaborations and knowledge co-creation; (3 to describe the collaborative processes and mechanisms through which the WOs facilitate stakeholder interactions and knowledge co-creation; and (4 to assess the quality of the relationships and interactions between stakeholders participating in the WOs’ collaborative networks. A comprehensive literature review is provided of collaborative network dimensions that are in support of knowledge co-creation that forms the foundation of a research framework to assess knowledge co-creation processes that are facilitated through BOs and their collaborative networks. Documented experiences have been gathered through face-to-face semi-structured interviews, as well as a Quebec-wide survey

State-Level Renewable Energy Policy Implementation: How and Why Do Stakeholders Participate?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valerie Rountree

2018-02-01

superficial; and yet, their continued participation suggests that they may play a long game, building coalitions, relationships, and knowledge to position themselves to influence decisions later on. Finally, we find that the regulatory environment influences which participatory processes are available, the incentives for participation, and ultimately the outcomes of stakeholder participation.

Stakeholder involvement in the decommissioning of Dounreay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harrisson, Norman; LOVE, June; Murray, Marc

2006-01-01

The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) was established in the 1950's to pioneer the development of nuclear energy within the UK. Today its primary mission is to decommission UK's former nuclear research sites and restore its environment in a way that is safe and secure, environmentally friendly, value for money and publicly Acceptable. UKAEA Dounreay celebrated its 50 birthday in 2005, having pioneered the development of fast reactor technology since 1955. Today the site is now leading the way in decommissioning. The Dounreay nuclear site licence covers an area of approximately 140 acres and includes 3 reactors: the Dounreay Material Test Reactor (DMTR), the Dounreay Fast Reactor (DFR), and the Prototype Fast Reactor (PFR). In addition there are 180 facilities on site which have supported the fast reactor programme, including a fuel reprocessing capability, laboratories and administration buildings. The reactors are now all in advanced stages of decommissioning. In October 2000 the Dounreay Site Restoration Plan (DSRP) was published to provide a framework for the site's restoration. The plan's objective was to reduce the site's hazards progressively by decontaminating and dismantling the plant, equipment and facilities, remediating contaminated ground and treating and packaging waste so it is suitable for long term storage or disposal. Whilst hailed as the most detailed plan integrating some 1500 activities and spanning 60 years it was criticised for having no stakeholder involvement. In response to this criticism, UKAEA developed a process for public participation over the following 2 years and launched its stakeholder engagement programme in October 2002. In order to provide a larger platform for the engagement process an advertisement was placed in the Scottish media inviting people to register as stakeholders in the Dounreay Site Restoration Plan. The stakeholder list now total over 1000. In October 2002 UKAEA launched their commitment to public

Towards global consensus on core outcomes for hidradenitis suppurativa research: an update from the HISTORIC consensus meetings I and II*

Science.gov (United States)

Thorlacius, L.; Garg, A.; Ingram, J.R.; Villumsen, B.; Riis, P. Theut; Gottlieb, A.B.; Merola, J.F.; Dellavalle, R.; Ardon, C.; Baba, R.; Bechara, F.G.; Cohen, A.D.; Daham, N.; Davis, M.; Emtestam, L.; Fernández-Peñas, P.; Filippelli, M.; Gibbons, A.; Grant, T.; Guilbault, S.; Gulliver, S.; Harris, C; Harvent, C.; Houston, K.; Kirby, J.S.; Matusiak, L.; Mehdizadeh, A.; Mojica, T.; Okun, M.; Orgill, D.; Pallack, L.; Parks-Miller, A.; Prens, E.P.; Randell, S.; Rogers, C.; Rosen, C.F.; Choon, S.E.; van der Zee, H.H.; Christensen, R.; Jemec, G.B.E.

2018-01-01

Summary Background A core outcomes set (COS) is an agreed minimum set of outcomes that should be measured and reported in all clinical trials for a specific condition. Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) has no agreed-upon COS. A central aspect in the COS development process is to identify a set of candidate outcome domains from a long list of items. Our long list had been developed from patient interviews, a systematic review of the literature and a healthcare professional survey, and initial votes had been cast in two e-Delphi surveys. In this manuscript, we describe two in-person consensus meetings of Delphi participants designed to ensure an inclusive approach to generation of domains from related items. Objectives To consider which items from a long list of candidate items to exclude and which to cluster into outcome domains. Methods The study used an international and multistakeholder approach, involving patients, dermatologists, surgeons, the pharmaceutical industry and medical regulators. The study format was a combination of formal presentations, small group work based on nominal group theory and a subsequent online confirmation survey. Results Forty-one individuals from 13 countries and four continents participated. Nine items were excluded and there was consensus to propose seven domains: disease course, physical signs, HS-specific quality of life, satisfaction, symptoms, pain and global assessments. Conclusions The HISTORIC consensus meetings I and II will be followed by further e-Delphi rounds to finalize the core domain set, building on the work of the in-person consensus meetings. PMID:29080368

Stakeholder Valuing: A Process for Identifying the Interrelationships between Firm and Stakeholder Attributes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Donna M. Carlon

2014-05-01

Full Text Available As firms are creating and recreating themselves as stakeholder corporations, tensions mount between a firm’s fiduciary duties to its shareholders and the broader responsibilities inherent in a stakeholder focus. Firms have employed several techniques to help resolve this tension with limited success. We suggest that the next step in reducing this tension is formally accounting for stakeholder value through changes in financial reporting. We contend that stakeholders have a financial value to the firm that can and should be accounted for through the firm’s financial reporting system. We propose a three-step process we call stakeholder valuing (SV to begin a conversation regarding how such a method can be created. SV begins with codifying the firm’s identity as a stakeholder entity, moves to assessing stakeholder value that’s consistent with that identity, and concludes with accounting for and reporting that value. What we are suggesting will be seen by some as a radical change in accounting practices but we believe it is necessary as we move toward a consistent, reliable, verifiable, transparent, and comparable means of accounting for the true value of a stakeholder corporation.

Baltic Herring Fisheries Management: Stakeholder Views to Frame the Problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Päivi Haapasaari

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Comprehensive problem framing that includes different perspectives is essential for holistic understanding of complex problems and as the first step in building models. We involved five stakeholders to frame the management problem of the Central Baltic herring fishery. By using the Bayesian belief networks (BBNs approach, the views of the stakeholders were built into graphical influence diagrams representing variables and their dependencies. The views of the scientists involved concentrated on biological concerns, whereas the fisher, the manager, and the representative of an environmental nongovernmental organization included markets and fishing industry influences. Management measures were considered to have a relatively small impact on the development of the herring stock; their impact on socioeconomic objectives was greater. Overall, the framings by these stakeholders propose a focus on socioeconomic issues in research and management and explicitly define management objectives, not only in biological but also in social and economic terms. We find the approach an illustrative tool to structure complex issues systematically. Such a tool can be used as a forum for discussion and for decision support that explicitly includes the views of different stakeholder groups. It enables the examination of social and biological factors in one framework and facilitates bridging the gap between social and natural sciences. A benefit of the BBN approach is that the graphical model structures can be transformed into a quantitative form by inserting probabilistic information.

Protecting drinkable water: an analysis of action plans and stakeholders' networks

Science.gov (United States)

Gascuel-Odoux, Chantal; Menard, Marjorie

2015-04-01

for, more or less actively, mobilizing stakeholders' networks and knowledge that enable to build a strategic management. Reciprocally, institutional stakeholders push for more formal or demanding approaches, with most of the time low level of knowledge that could objectivize the relevance of action plans. This analysis contributes to help some key stakeholders, particularly local authorities, in building more efficient action plans.

Stake-holder involvement in the management of rural areas after an accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nisbet, A.F.

2001-01-01

Widespread contamination of the food chain following a nuclear accident could have considerable consequences for European farming and food industries. For the purposes of contingency planning it is important to bring together the many and diverse stakeholders who would be involved in intervention so that strategies can be developed for maintaining agricultural production and food safety. This type of approach has been successfully implemented in the UK through the setting up of the Agriculture and Food Countermeasures Working Group. Building on this initiative, the European Commission under the auspices of its 5. Framework Programme is funding a thematic network in which similar stakeholder groups are being established in four other Member States. These national groups contain individuals involved in making policy decisions within government departments and agencies, regulatory authorities, the water, milk and farming industries, the retail trade and consumer groups, as well as individuals with specialist expertise. The stakeholder network will provide a European focus for tackling future nuclear accidents and assist in the harmonization of policies and strategies between Member States. This paper gives an overview of the approaches being adopted and discusses the achievements and expected benefits of stakeholder engagement. (author)

Stakeholder Understandings of Wildfire Mitigation: A Case of Shared and Contested Meanings

Science.gov (United States)

Champ, Joseph G.; Brooks, Jeffrey J.; Williams, Daniel R.

2012-10-01

This article identifies and compares meanings of wildfire risk mitigation for stakeholders in the Front Range of Colorado, USA. We examine the case of a collaborative partnership sponsored by government agencies and directed to decrease hazardous fuels in interface areas. Data were collected by way of key informant interviews and focus groups. The analysis is guided by the Circuit of Culture model in communication research. We found both shared and differing meanings between members of this partnership (the "producers") and other stakeholders not formally in the partnership (the "consumers"). We conclude that those promoting the partnership's project to mitigate risk are primarily aligned with a discourse of scientific management. Stakeholders outside the partnership follow a discourse of community. We argue that failure to recognize and account for differences in the way risk mitigation is framed and related power dynamics could hamper the communicational efforts of the collaborative partnership and impact goals for fuels reduction. We recommend ways that both groups can capitalize on shared meanings and how agency managers and decision makers can build better working relationships with interface communities and other external stakeholders.

Stakeholder understandings of wildfire mitigation: a case of shared and contested meanings.

Science.gov (United States)

Champ, Joseph G; Brooks, Jeffrey J; Williams, Daniel R

2012-10-01

This article identifies and compares meanings of wildfire risk mitigation for stakeholders in the Front Range of Colorado, USA. We examine the case of a collaborative partnership sponsored by government agencies and directed to decrease hazardous fuels in interface areas. Data were collected by way of key informant interviews and focus groups. The analysis is guided by the Circuit of Culture model in communication research. We found both shared and differing meanings between members of this partnership (the "producers") and other stakeholders not formally in the partnership (the "consumers"). We conclude that those promoting the partnership's project to mitigate risk are primarily aligned with a discourse of scientific management. Stakeholders outside the partnership follow a discourse of community. We argue that failure to recognize and account for differences in the way risk mitigation is framed and related power dynamics could hamper the communicational efforts of the collaborative partnership and impact goals for fuels reduction. We recommend ways that both groups can capitalize on shared meanings and how agency managers and decision makers can build better working relationships with interface communities and other external stakeholders.

A successful effort to involve stakeholders in the selection of a site for a corrective action management unit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conway, R.; Merkhofer, M.W.; Oms, E.

1995-01-01

As part of the effort to clean up hazardous waste sites, Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico (SNL/NM) adopted a novel approach to involving stakeholders in a key decision associated with its Environmental Restoration (ER) Project. The decision was where to locate a Corrective Action Management Unit (CAMU), an area designed to consolidate, store, and treat wastes generated from cleanup activities. The decision-making approach was a variation of a technique known as multiattribute utility analysis (MUA). Although MUA has rarely been undertaken during normal Project activities, it proved to be a surprisingly effective means for involving stakeholders in the decision process, generating consensus over a selected site, and enhancing public trust and understanding of Project activities. Requirements and criteria for selecting CAMU sites are provided by the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) CAMU Final Rule (EPA 1993). Recognizing the lack of experience with the Rule and the importance of community understanding and support, the ER Project sought an approach that would allow stakeholders to participate in the site-selection process

The utilization of the concept of relationship marketing in the process of building the ties of a university with external stakeholders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zygmunt Waśkowski

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Constantly changing social-economic conditions are forcing Polish universities to change the orientation of their approach from focusing solely on educating to building relations with external stakeholders, the associated transfer of knowledge and continuous adaptation of offer to the needs of the labour market. An important element of this reorientation is establishing cooperation with entities which may be interested in exchange of information, access to latest research results, or which express the willingness to share knowledge in the process of teaching students. Actual cooperation between the sphere of science and economic practice is becoming a priority and the main determinant implicating the development of each of the sides. Taking the above into consideration, it becomes reasonable for universities to apply the concept of relational marketing. The assumptions of relational marketing perfectly respond to the new challenges ahead of scientific units. A university, assuming the role on an integrator should build a network of relations with entities from its environment such as: employees, opinion-forming units, schools and other universities, research-scientific units, business incubators, entities from the so-called third sector of the economy, media. These relations have to be based on trust, openness, readiness for changes, as well as on transfer of knowledge and technology, assuming common, long-term benefits for each of the involved sides.

Making Capacity Building Meaningful: A Framework for Strategic Action

Science.gov (United States)

Robins, Lisa

2008-11-01

This paper aims to give practical meaning to ‘capacity building’ through (a) identifying a suite of practical measures, such as mentoring or best practice guidelines, that have been shown to or are considered to build human, social, institutional, and economic capital; (b) placing these measures within a broader systems framework; and (c) exploring stakeholder feedback on specific measures to inform framework implementation. The 29 measures described provide actors, whether government or nongovernment, with a suite of practical investment choices for building capacity. These measures are then clustered into eight groups according to their primary purpose and placed within a systems framework. The framework provides a tool for actors with responsibilities for or an interest in capacity building to inform more holistic and strategic targeting of effort and investment. Stakeholder feedback gathered through surveys and workshops is subsequently reported to further inform implementation of specific measures within the framework’s eight groupings. The framework presented may be built upon through the identification and inclusion of further capacity building measures. The research is conducted within the context of decentralized governance arrangements for natural resource management (NRM), with specific focus on Australia’s recently formalized 56 NRM regions and their community-based governing boards as an informative arena of learning. Application of the framework is explored in the Australian setting through the identification and comparison of measures supported and most preferred by four major stakeholder groups, namely board members, regional NRM organization staff, policy/research interests, and Indigenous interests. The research also examines stakeholder perceptions of capacity issues, and whether these issues are likely to be addressed through implementing their preferred measures.

Stakeholder Analysis Worksheet

Science.gov (United States)

Stakeholder Analysis WorksheetA worksheet that can be used to document potential stakeholder groups, the information or expertise they hold, the role that they can play, their interests or concerns about the HIA

Stakeholder Governance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Flak, Leif Skiftenes; Rose, Jeremy

2005-01-01

to e-Government. Originally a management theory, stakeholder theory advocates addressing the concerns of all stakeholders in a firm, as opposed to concentration on the interests of senior managers and stockholders. Apart from the original profit focus, there is no serious conceptual mismatch between...... of governance. Finally, the paper makes recommendations for future work in adapting ST to the e-government context....

Dialogic Consensus In Clinical Decision-Making.

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, Paul; Lovat, Terry

2016-12-01

This paper is predicated on the understanding that clinical encounters between clinicians and patients should be seen primarily as inter-relations among persons and, as such, are necessarily moral encounters. It aims to relocate the discussion to be had in challenging medical decision-making situations, including, for example, as the end of life comes into view, onto a more robust moral philosophical footing than is currently commonplace. In our contemporary era, those making moral decisions must be cognizant of the existence of perspectives other than their own, and be attuned to the demands of inter-subjectivity. Applicable to clinical practice, we propose and justify a Habermasian approach as one useful means of achieving what can be described as dialogic consensus. The Habermasian approach builds around, first, his discourse theory of morality as universalizable to all and, second, communicative action as a cooperative search for truth. It is a concrete way to ground the discourse which must be held in complex medical decision-making situations, in its actual reality. Considerations about the theoretical underpinnings of the application of dialogic consensus to clinical practice, and potential difficulties, are explored.

The Anthropology of Science Education Reform: An Alabama Model for Building an Integrated Stakeholder Systems Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Denson, R. L.; Cox, G. N.

2004-12-01

Anthropologists are concerned with every aspect of the culture they are investigating. One of the five main branches of anthropology, socio-cultural anthropology, concerns itself with studying the relationship between behavior and culture. This paper explores the concept that changing the behavior of our culture - its beliefs and values - towards science is at the heart of science education reform. There are five institutions that socio-cultural anthropologists use to study the social organization of cultures: the educational system is only one of them. Its function - across all cultures - is to serve as a mechanism for implementing change in cultural beliefs and values. As leaders of science education reform, the Alabama model contends that we must stop the struggle with our purpose and get on with the business of leading culture change through an integrated stakeholder systems approach. This model stresses the need for the interaction of agencies other than education - including government, industry, the media and our health communities to operate in an integrated and systemic fashion to address the issues of living among a technically literate society. Twenty-five years of science education reform needs being voiced and programs being developed has not produced the desired results from within the educational system. This is too limited a focus to affect any real cultural change. It is when we acknowledge that students spend only an average of 12 percent of their life time in schools, that we can begin to ask ourselves what are our students learning the other 88 percent of their time - from their peers, their parents and the media - and what should we be doing to address this cultural crisis in these other arenas in addition to the educational system? The Alabama Math, Science and Technology Education Coalition (AMSTEC) is a non-profit 501c(3) organization operating in the state of Alabama to provide leadership in improving mathematics, science, and technology

A safe an easy method for building consensus HIV sequences from 454 massively parallel sequencing data.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernández-Caballero Rico, Jose Ángel; Chueca Porcuna, Natalia; Álvarez Estévez, Marta; Mosquera Gutiérrez, María Del Mar; Marcos Maeso, María Ángeles; García, Federico

2018-02-01

To show how to generate a consensus sequence from the information of massive parallel sequences data obtained from routine HIV anti-retroviral resistance studies, and that may be suitable for molecular epidemiology studies. Paired Sanger (Trugene-Siemens) and next-generation sequencing (NGS) (454 GSJunior-Roche) HIV RT and protease sequences from 62 patients were studied. NGS consensus sequences were generated using Mesquite, using 10%, 15%, and 20% thresholds. Molecular evolutionary genetics analysis (MEGA) was used for phylogenetic studies. At a 10% threshold, NGS-Sanger sequences from 17/62 patients were phylogenetically related, with a median bootstrap-value of 88% (IQR83.5-95.5). Association increased to 36/62 sequences, median bootstrap 94% (IQR85.5-98)], using a 15% threshold. Maximum association was at the 20% threshold, with 61/62 sequences associated, and a median bootstrap value of 99% (IQR98-100). A safe method is presented to generate consensus sequences from HIV-NGS data at 20% threshold, which will prove useful for molecular epidemiological studies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica. All rights reserved.

Learning from Stakeholder Pressure and Embeddedness: The Roles of Absorptive Capacity in the Corporate Social Responsibility of Dutch Agribusinesses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul T. M. Ingenbleek

2016-10-01

Full Text Available In spite of much research on corporate social responsibility (CSR responses to secondary stakeholders (i.e., social movements, activists, media, civil society and non-governmental organizations, the debate on how companies learn from pressure and collaboration with these societal groups is still open. Building upon stakeholder and knowledge management theories, this paper analyzes how secondary stakeholder pressure and embeddedness influence agribusiness companies’ absorptive capacity and their CSR strategies. Data are obtained from 152 Dutch agribusiness company managers. The results highlight that, first, absorptive capacity influences companies’ new product innovation, product positioning and organizational innovation to be more oriented towards CSR. Second, stakeholder embeddedness of agribusiness companies triggers absorptive capacity more than pressure from them. Third, stakeholder pressure and embeddedness also have direct (i.e., not mediated by companies’ absorptive capacity yet weaker effects on CSR organizational innovation and product positioning. Findings corroborate the idea that firms develop innovative CSR strategies when they combine internal reflection processes and partnerships with secondary stakeholders.

Customized Consensus Spectral Library Building for Untargeted Quantitative Metabolomics Analysis with Data Independent Acquisition Mass Spectrometry and MetaboDIA Workflow.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Gengbo; Walmsley, Scott; Cheung, Gemmy C M; Chen, Liyan; Cheng, Ching-Yu; Beuerman, Roger W; Wong, Tien Yin; Zhou, Lei; Choi, Hyungwon

2017-05-02

Data independent acquisition-mass spectrometry (DIA-MS) coupled with liquid chromatography is a promising approach for rapid, automatic sampling of MS/MS data in untargeted metabolomics. However, wide isolation windows in DIA-MS generate MS/MS spectra containing a mixed population of fragment ions together with their precursor ions. This precursor-fragment ion map in a comprehensive MS/MS spectral library is crucial for relative quantification of fragment ions uniquely representative of each precursor ion. However, existing reference libraries are not sufficient for this purpose since the fragmentation patterns of small molecules can vary in different instrument setups. Here we developed a bioinformatics workflow called MetaboDIA to build customized MS/MS spectral libraries using a user's own data dependent acquisition (DDA) data and to perform MS/MS-based quantification with DIA data, thus complementing conventional MS1-based quantification. MetaboDIA also allows users to build a spectral library directly from DIA data in studies of a large sample size. Using a marine algae data set, we show that quantification of fragment ions extracted with a customized MS/MS library can provide as reliable quantitative data as the direct quantification of precursor ions based on MS1 data. To test its applicability in complex samples, we applied MetaboDIA to a clinical serum metabolomics data set, where we built a DDA-based spectral library containing consensus spectra for 1829 compounds. We performed fragment ion quantification using DIA data using this library, yielding sensitive differential expression analysis.

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Danish consensus version of the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eskildsen, Anita; Dalgaard, Vita Ligaya; Nielsen, Kent Jacob

2015-01-01

with work-related stress complaints. METHODS: A consensus-building process was performed involving the authors of the three previous Danish translations and the consensus version was back-translated into English and pilot-tested. Psychometric properties of the final version were examined in a sample of 64...... patients with work-related stress complaints. RESULTS: The face validity, reliability, and internal consistency of the Danish consensus version of the PSS-10 were satisfactory, and convergent construct validity was confirmed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of the change scores showed......OBJECTIVES: The aims of the present study were to (i) cross-culturally adapt a Danish consensus version of the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) and (ii) evaluate its psychometric properties in terms of agreement, reliability, validity, responsiveness, and interpretability among patients...

Theory-Based Stakeholder Evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Morten Balle; Vedung, Evert

2010-01-01

This article introduces a new approach to program theory evaluation called theory-based stakeholder evaluation or the TSE model for short. Most theory-based approaches are program theory driven and some are stakeholder oriented as well. Practically, all of the latter fuse the program perceptions of the various stakeholder groups into one unitary…

Stakeholder approach, Stakeholders mental model: A visualization test with cognitive mapping technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Garoui Nassreddine

2012-04-01

Full Text Available The idea of this paper is to determine the mental models of actors in the firm with respect to the stakeholder approach of corporate governance. The use of the cognitive map to view these diagrams to show the ways of thinking and conceptualization of the stakeholder approach. The paper takes a corporate governance perspective, discusses stakeholder model. It takes also a cognitive mapping technique.

Online Company-stakeholder Communication

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eriksen, Rikke Augustinus; Morsing, Mette

Based on a systematic data collection we study one of the first pioneering company-stakeholder communication campaigns in social media: the case of energy company Vattenfall A/S’s pan-European campaign ‘The Climate Manifesto’. Our findings challenge the general assumption, that stakeholder...... lacked between the company and stakeholders. Vattenfall was accused of green-washing, resulting in a communications crisis. Negative stakeholder reactions consisted of prejudiced and non-negotiable argumentation indicating that social media imposes new managerial challenges since communication processes...... technologies and we question to what extent social media serve the enhancement of improved understandings across corporate and civil society on CSR issues. This paper suggests that managers face a risk of the “double-edge of stakeholder communication” when incorporating social media into their CSR strategies...

Sparc: a sparsity-based consensus algorithm for long erroneous sequencing reads

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chengxi Ye

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Motivation. The third generation sequencing (3GS technology generates long sequences of thousands of bases. However, its current error rates are estimated in the range of 15–40%, significantly higher than those of the prevalent next generation sequencing (NGS technologies (less than 1%. Fundamental bioinformatics tasks such as de novo genome assembly and variant calling require high-quality sequences that need to be extracted from these long but erroneous 3GS sequences. Results. We describe a versatile and efficient linear complexity consensus algorithm Sparc to facilitate de novo genome assembly. Sparc builds a sparse k-mer graph using a collection of sequences from a targeted genomic region. The heaviest path which approximates the most likely genome sequence is searched through a sparsity-induced reweighted graph as the consensus sequence. Sparc supports using NGS and 3GS data together, which leads to significant improvements in both cost efficiency and computational efficiency. Experiments with Sparc show that our algorithm can efficiently provide high-quality consensus sequences using both PacBio and Oxford Nanopore sequencing technologies. With only 30× PacBio data, Sparc can reach a consensus with error rate <0.5%. With the more challenging Oxford Nanopore data, Sparc can also achieve similar error rate when combined with NGS data. Compared with the existing approaches, Sparc calculates the consensus with higher accuracy, and uses approximately 80% less memory and time. Availability. The source code is available for download at https://github.com/yechengxi/Sparc.

Principles for research on ethnicity and health: the Leeds Consensus Statement.

Science.gov (United States)

Mir, Ghazala; Salway, Sarah; Kai, Joe; Karlsen, Saffron; Bhopal, Raj; Ellison, George Th; Sheikh, Aziz

2013-06-01

There is substantial evidence that health and health-care experiences vary along ethnic lines and the need to understand and tackle ethnic health inequalities has repeatedly been highlighted. Research into ethnicity and health raises ethical, theoretical and methodological issues and, as the volume of research in this area grows, so too do concerns regarding its scientific rigour and reporting, and its contribution to reducing inequalities. Guidance may be helpful in encouraging researchers to adopt standard practices in the design, conduct and reporting of research. However, past efforts at introducing such guidance have had limited impact on research practice, and the diversity of disciplinary perspectives on the key challenges and solutions may undermine attempts to derive and promote guiding principles. A consensus building Delphi exercise--the first of its kind in this area of research practice--was undertaken with leading academics, practitioners and policymakers from a broad range of disciplinary backgrounds to assess whether consensus on key principles could be achieved. Ten key principles for conducting research on ethnicity and health emerged, covering: the aims of research in this field; how such research should be framed and focused; key design-related considerations; and the direction of future research. Despite some areas of dispute, participants were united by a common concern that the generation and application of research evidence should contribute to better health-care experiences and health outcomes for minority ethnic people. The principles provide a strong foundation to guide future ethnicity-related research and build a broader international consensus.

Science in the public process of ecosystem management: lessons from Hawaii, Southeast Asia, Africa and the US Mainland.

Science.gov (United States)

Gutrich, John; Donovan, Deanna; Finucane, Melissa; Focht, Will; Hitzhusen, Fred; Manopimoke, Supachit; McCauley, David; Norton, Bryan; Sabatier, Paul; Salzman, Jim; Sasmitawidjaja, Virza

2005-08-01

Partnerships and co-operative environmental management are increasing worldwide as is the call for scientific input in the public process of ecosystem management. In Hawaii, private landowners, non-governmental organizations, and state and federal agencies have formed watershed partnerships to conserve and better manage upland forested watersheds. In this paper, findings of an international workshop convened in Hawaii to explore the strengths of approaches used to assess stakeholder values of environmental resources and foster consensus in the public process of ecosystem management are presented. Authors draw upon field experience in projects throughout Hawaii, Southeast Asia, Africa and the US mainland to derive a set of lessons learned that can be applied to Hawaiian and other watershed partnerships in an effort to promote consensus and sustainable ecosystem management. Interdisciplinary science-based models can serve as effective tools to identify areas of potential consensus in the process of ecosystem management. Effective integration of scientific input in co-operative ecosystem management depends on the role of science, the stakeholders and decision-makers involved, and the common language utilized to compare tradeoffs. Trust is essential to consensus building and the integration of scientific input must be transparent and inclusive of public feedback. Consideration of all relevant stakeholders and the actual benefits and costs of management activities to each stakeholder is essential. Perceptions and intuitive responses of people can be as influential as analytical processes in decision-making and must be addressed. Deliberative, dynamic and iterative decision-making processes all influence the level of stakeholder achievement of consensus. In Hawaii, application of lessons learned can promote more informed and democratic decision processes, quality scientific analysis that is relevant, and legitimacy and public acceptance of ecosystem management.

Report on ISCTM Consensus Meeting on Clinical Assessment of Response to Treatment of Cognitive Impairment in Schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Keefe, Richard S E; Haig, George M; Marder, Stephen R; Harvey, Philip D; Dunayevich, Eduardo; Medalia, Alice; Davidson, Michael; Lombardo, Ilise; Bowie, Christopher R; Buchanan, Robert W; Bugarski-Kirola, Dragana; Carpenter, William T; Csernansky, John T; Dago, Pedro L; Durand, Dante M; Frese, Frederick J; Goff, Donald C; Gold, James M; Hooker, Christine I; Kopelowicz, Alex; Loebel, Antony; McGurk, Susan R; Opler, Lewis A; Pinkham, Amy E; Stern, Robert G

2016-01-01

If treatments for cognitive impairment are to be utilized successfully, clinicians must be able to determine whether they are effective and which patients should receive them. In order to develop consensus on these issues, the International Society for CNS Clinical Trials and Methodology (ISCTM) held a meeting of experts on March 20, 2014, in Washington, DC. Consensus was reached on several important issues. Cognitive impairment and functional disability were viewed as equally important treatment targets. The group supported the notion that sufficient data are not available to exclude patients from available treatments on the basis of age, severity of cognitive impairment, severity of positive symptoms, or the potential to benefit functionally from treatment. The group reached consensus that cognitive remediation is likely to provide substantial benefits in combination with procognitive medications, although a substantial minority believed that medications can be administered without nonpharmacological therapy. There was little consensus on the best methods for assessing cognitive change in clinical practice. Some participants supported the view that performance-based measures are essential for measurement of cognitive change; others pointed to their cost and time requirements as evidence of impracticality. Interview-based measures of cognitive and functional change were viewed as more practical, but lacking validity without informant involvement or frequent contact from clinicians. The lack of consensus on assessment methods was viewed as attributable to differences in experience and education among key stakeholders and significant gaps in available empirical data. Research on the reliability, validity, sensitivity, and practicality of competing methods will facilitate consensus. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center.

Use of LCA as a Tool for Building Ecodesign. A Case Study of a Low Energy Building in Spain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alberto Jáñez

2013-08-01

Full Text Available This paper demonstrates how to achieve energy savings in the construction and operation of buildings by promoting the use of life cycle assessment techniques in the design for new buildings and for refurbishment. The paper aims to draw on the application of a specific methodology for low energy consumption, integrated planning, environmental performance evaluation of buildings, and design for sustainability and LCA techniques applied to buildings. The ENergy Saving through promotion of LIfe Cycle assessment in buildings (ENSLIC methodology based on LCA for use in an integral planning process has been promoted to stakeholders who require a means to optimize the environmental performance of buildings. Feedback from the stakeholders has facilitated the creation of simplified LCA guidelines, a systematic approach guiding the user through the alternative options regarding software choices, their strengths and weaknesses, the databases available, the usefulness of different indicators, aggregation, definition of limits and options for simplifying the process. As a result, this paper presents the applied results of a case study where this methodology is implemented serving as an energy savings evaluation tool for decision makers, end-users, professionals involved in the different stages of construction, etc. Finally, it is demonstrated how LCA can facilitate comparisons between different buildings, showing the influence of all variables on a building’s life cycle environmental impact and showing the potential for energy savings. Removing market barriers to sustainable construction is actually stricter and this is good news for promoting higher energy efficiency in buildings.

Consensus implementation of a groundwater remediation project at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hastings, K.R.; Carlson, D.S.

1996-01-01

Because of significant characterization uncertainties existing when the Record of Decision was signed and the unfavorable national reputation of groundwater pump and treat remediation projects, the Test Area North (TAN) groundwater ROD includes the evaluation of five emerging technologies that show potential for treating the organic contamination in situ or reducing the toxicity of contaminants above ground. Treatability studies will be conducted to ascertain whether any may be suitable for implementation at TAN to yield more timely or cost effective restoration of the aquifer. The implementation approach established for the TAN groundwater project is a consensus approach, maximizing a partnership relation with stakeholders in constant, iterative implementation decision making

Canadian Paediatric Neurology Workforce Survey and Consensus Statement.

Science.gov (United States)

Doja, Asif; Orr, Serena L; McMillan, Hugh J; Kirton, Adam; Brna, Paula; Esser, Michael; Tang-Wai, Richard; Major, Philippe; Poulin, Chantal; Prasad, Narayan; Selby, Kathryn; Weiss, Shelly K; Yeh, E Ann; Callen, David Ja

2016-05-01

Little knowledge exists on the availability of academic and community paediatric neurology positions. This knowledge is crucial for making workforce decisions. Our study aimed to: 1) obtain information regarding the availability of positions for paediatric neurologists in academic centres; 2) survey paediatric neurology trainees regarding their perceptions of employment issues and career plans; 3) survey practicing community paediatric neurologists 4) convene a group of paediatric neurologists to develop consensus regarding how to address these workforce issues. Surveys addressing workforce issues regarding paediatric neurology in Canada were sent to: 1) all paediatric neurology program directors in Canada (n=9) who then solicited information from division heads and from paediatric neurologists in surrounding areas; 2) paediatric neurology trainees in Canada (n=57) and; 3) community paediatric neurologists (n=27). A meeting was held with relevant stakeholders to develop a consensus on how to approach employment issues. The response rate was 100% from program directors, 57.9% from residents and 44% from community paediatric neurologists. We found that the number of projected positions in academic paediatric neurology is fewer than the number of paediatric neurologists that are being trained over the next five to ten years, despite a clinical need for paediatric neurologists. Paediatric neurology residents are concerned about job availability and desire more career counselling. There is a current and projected clinical demand for paediatric neurologists despite a lack of academic positions. Training programs should focus on community neurology as a viable career option.

National Green Building Standard Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

none,

2012-07-01

DOE's Building America Program is a research and development program to improve the energy performance of new and existing homes. The ultimate goal of the Building America Program is to achieve examples of cost-effective, energy efficient solutions for all U.S. climate zones. Periodic maintenance of an ANSI standard by review of the entire document and action to revise or reaffirm it on a schedule not to exceed five years is required by ANSI. In compliance, a consensus group has once again been formed and the National Green Building Standard is currently being reviewed to comply with the periodic maintenance requirement of an ANSI standard.

Ethical theory and stakeholder-related decisions: The role of stakeholder culture

NARCIS (Netherlands)

T.M. Jones; W.A. Felps (William); G. Bigley

2007-01-01

textabstractWe use convergent elements of major ethical theories to create a typology of corporate stakeholder cultures—the aspects of organizational culture consisting of the beliefs, values, and practices that have evolved for solving problems and otherwise managing stakeholder relationships. We

Reaching Consensus on Essential Biomedical Science Learning Objectives in a Dental Curriculum.

Science.gov (United States)

Best, Leandra; Walton, Joanne N; Walker, Judith; von Bergmann, HsingChi

2016-04-01

This article describes how the University of British Columbia Faculty of Dentistry reached consensus on essential basic biomedical science objectives for DMD students and applied the information to the renewal of its DMD curriculum. The Delphi Method was used to build consensus among dental faculty members and students regarding the relevance of over 1,500 existing biomedical science objectives. Volunteer panels of at least three faculty members (a basic scientist, a general dentist, and a dental specialist) and a fourth-year dental student were formed for each of 13 biomedical courses in the first two years of the program. Panel members worked independently and anonymously, rating each course objective as "need to know," "nice to know," "irrelevant," or "don't know." Panel members were advised after each round which objectives had not yet achieved a 75% consensus and were asked to reconsider their ratings. After a maximum of three rounds to reach consensus, a second group of faculty experts reviewed and refined the results to establish the biomedical science objectives for the renewed curriculum. There was consensus on 46% of the learning objectives after round one, 80% after round two, and 95% after round three. The second expert group addressed any remaining objectives as part of its review process. Only 47% of previous biomedical science course objectives were judged to be essential or "need to know" for the general dentist. The consensus reached by participants in the Delphi Method panels and a second group of faculty experts led to a streamlined, better integrated DMD curriculum to prepare graduates for future practice.

What Is Real-World Data? A Review of Definitions Based on Literature and Stakeholder Interviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Makady, Amr; de Boer, Anthonius; Hillege, Hans; Klungel, Olaf; Goettsch, Wim

Despite increasing recognition of the value of real-world data (RWD), consensus on the definition of RWD is lacking. To review definitions publicly available for RWD to shed light on similarities and differences between them. A literature review and stakeholder interviews were used to compile data from eight groups of stakeholders. Data from documents and interviews were subjected to coding analysis. Definitions identified were classified into four categories: 1) data collected in a non-randomized controlled trial setting, 2) data collected in a non-interventional/non-controlled setting, 3) data collected in a non-experimental setting, and 4) others (i.e., data that do not fit into the other three categories). The frequency of definitions identified per category was recorded. Fifty-three documents and 20 interviews were assessed. Thirty-eight definitions were identified: 20 out of 38 definitions (53%) were category 1 definitions, 9 (24%) were category 2 definitions, 5 (13%) were category 3 definitions, and 4 (11%) were category 4 definitions. Differences were identified between, and within, definition categories. For example, opinions differed on the aspects of intervention with which non-interventional/non-controlled settings should abide. No definitions were provided in two interviews or identified in 33 documents. Most of the definitions defined RWD as data collected in a non-randomized controlled trial setting. A considerable number of definitions, however, diverged from this concept. Moreover, a significant number of authors and stakeholders did not have an official, institutional definition for RWD. Persisting variability in stakeholder definitions of RWD may lead to disparities among different stakeholders when discussing RWD use in decision making. Copyright © 2017 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Building Budgets and Trust through the Alchemy of Superintendent Leadership

Science.gov (United States)

Bird, James J.

2010-01-01

Superintendents have the burden and the opportunity to exert leadership through the budget-building process. This article details a dozen tenets which can be implemented by practicing superintendents. Doing so increases the chances of building trust among the stakeholders of administrators, staff, community, and school board members. The district…

Effective stakeholder management for medical practitioners

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E Zigiriadis

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The importance of organizational-stakeholder relationships is highlighted in most organizational studies literature. This article investigates the relationship between medical practices and their stakeholders and has been developed to provide guidance on stakeholder engagement and communication. It is intended to provide a useful reference point for all medical practices concerning stakeholder engagement activities. Direction is provided on how to identify and ultimately engage with stakeholders. It should hopefully further develop the effectiveness of engagement efforts that are undertaken between a medical practice and its stakeholders. The ability of a medical practice to cultivate and sustain strong relationships with its prominent stakeholder groups greatly enhances the likelihood that the relationship will endure. Medical practitioners in South Africa are generally in urgent need of pursuing new ways of delivering quality health care through developing new service models that have been developed with the help of relevant stakeholders. Since stakeholder relationship management is critical for corporate sustainability, medical practice management should seek strategic direction by investigating the relative competitive threat and relative supportive value of each stakeholder and then classify them accordingly.

Tobacco Control and Health Advocacy in the European Union: Understanding Effective Coalition-Building.

Science.gov (United States)

Weishaar, Heide; Collin, Jeff; Amos, Amanda

2016-02-01

Coalitions of supporters of comprehensive tobacco control policy have been crucial in achieving policy success nationally and internationally, but the dynamics of such alliances are not well understood. Qualitative semi-structured, narrative interviews with 35 stakeholders involved in developing the European Council Recommendation on smoke-free environments. These were thematically analyzed to examine the dynamics of coalition-building, collaboration and leadership in the alliance of organizations which successfully called for the development of comprehensive European Union (EU) smoke-free policy. An alliance of tobacco control and public health advocacy organizations, scientific institutions, professional bodies, pharmaceutical companies, and other actors shared the goal of fighting the harms caused by second-hand smoke. Alliance members jointly called for comprehensive EU smoke-free policy and the protection of the political debates from tobacco industry interference. The alliance's success was enabled by a core group of national and European actors with long-standing experience in tobacco control, who facilitated consensus-building, mobilized allies and synchronized the actions of policy supporters. Representatives of Brussels-based organizations emerged as crucial strategic leaders. The insights gained and identification of key enablers of successful tobacco control advocacy highlight the strategic importance of investing into tobacco control at European level. Those interested in effective health policy can apply lessons learned from EU smoke-free policy to build effective alliances in tobacco control and other areas of public health. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.

Universal Health Insurance Coverage in Vietnam: A Stakeholder Analysis From Policy Proposal (1989) to Implementation (2014).

Science.gov (United States)

Hoang, Chi K; Hill, Peter; Nguyen, Huong T

In 1989, health insurance (HI) was introduced in Vietnam and began to be implemented in 1992. There was limited progress until the 2014 Law on HI that was revised with the aim of universal health insurance coverage (UHIC) by 2020. This article explores stakeholder roles and positions from the initial introduction of HI to the implementation of the Master Plan accelerating UHIC. To better understand the influence of stakeholders in accelerating UHIC to achieve equity in health care. Using a qualitative study design, we conducted content analysis of HI-related documents and interviewed social security and health system key informants, government representatives, and community stakeholders to determine their positions and influence on UHIC. Our findings demonstrate different levels of support of stakeholders that influence in the HI formulation and implementation, from opposition when HI was first introduced in 1989 to collaboration of stakeholders from 2013 when the Master Plan for UHIC was implemented. Despite an initial failure to secure the support of the Parliament for a Law on HI, a subsequent series of alternative legislative strategies brought limited increases in HI coverage. With government financial subsidization, the involvement of multiple stakeholders, political commitment, and flexible working mechanisms among stakeholders have remained important, with an increasing recognition that HI is not only a technical aspect of the health system but also a broader socioeconomic and governance issue. The different levels of power and influence among stakeholders, together with their commercial and political interests and their different perceptions of HI, have influenced stakeholders' support or opposition to HI policies. Despite high-level policy support, stakeholders' positions may vary, depending on their perceptions of the policy implications. A shift in government stakeholder positions, especially at the provincial level, has been necessary to accelerate

Multiple forms of stakeholder interaction in environmental management: business arguments regarding differences in stakeholder relationships

OpenAIRE

Onkila, Tiina

2011-01-01

This study describes and interprets differences in stakeholder interaction as rhetorically constructed in environmental reports and in interviews with environmental managers. It also interprets the role of the natural environment among stakeholders, and discusses how that role is justified or not justified. The study focuses in a business perspective on stakeholder interaction in environmental management. Characteristically, stakeholder studies of environmental management have concentrated on...

Continuing to Build a Community Consensus on the Future of Human Space Flight: Report of the Fourth Community Workshop on Achievability and Sustainability of Human Exploration of Mars (AM IV)

Science.gov (United States)

Thronson, Harley A.; Baker, John; Beaty, David; Carberry, Chris; Craig, Mark; Davis, Richard M.; Drake, Bret G.; Cassady, Joseph; Hays, Lindsay; Hoffman, Stephen J.;

The European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Steffen; Hviid, Christian Anker

This paper investigates the actual energy use for building operation with the calculated energy use according to the Danish implementation of the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). This is important to various stakeholders in the building industry as the calculated energy...... performance is used for estimating investment security, operating budgets and for policy making. A case study shows that the actual and calculated energy use is practically the same in an average scenario. In the worst-case uncertainty scenario, the actual energy use is 20 % higher than the corrected...

NEA Workshop on Stakeholder Involvement in Nuclear Decision Making, 17-19 January 2017, OECD Conference Centre, Paris, Room CC9

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burns, Stephen G.; Yanush, Maryna; Jendroska, Jerzy; Beyens, Marc; Emmerechts, Sam; Touitou-Durand, Florence; Crosland, Martha; Ziakova, Marta; Nuclear Regulatory Authority of the Slovak Republic; Nuclear Regulation Authority; Ferapontov, Alexey; Hayano, Ryugo; Boyd, Mike; Mayall, Andrew; Tomkiv, Yevgeniya; Kawabuchi, Hideo; Kuenzi, Pascale; Shaver, Kathryn; Yngve Toernqvist, Johanna; Bjoerklund, Sara; Gerhardsson, Ansi; Kuenzi, Pascale; Birkhaeuser, Philip; Smith, Katherine; Katz, Sharonne; Vanhatalo, Hanna; Thome-Jassaud, Pierre-Franck; Bae, Su Hwan; Straub, Ralf; Gadano, Julian; Wolsink, Maarten; Komendantova, Nadejda; Kalaydjian, Francois; Harrington, Holly; Bouchot, Emmanuel; Runyon, Timothy; Gonzalez Herrero, Eva; Maclachlan, Ann

2017-01-01

Nuclear issues are embedded with broader societal issues such as the environment, risk management, energy and health policies, and sustainability. As such, nuclear projects often generate considerable interest and concern from stakeholders. In this context 'stakeholder' is intended to be taken in its broadest sense and should include concerned public, businesses, economic actors, NGOs, local, regional and national authorities, nuclear regulators, etc. Anyone who has relevant information, experience or concerns may seek to participate in the decision making process, and to interact with other stakeholders. Nuclear regulators, governments, operators, and other decision makers have a responsibility to ensure a high degree of transparency and to make clear and well-reasoned decisions. In this respect, there is an increasing demand for stakeholder involvement, participation and engagement. Across NEA member countries, many different approaches are taken to stakeholder involvement as decisions are made and implemented. Well-informed decisions broadly reflect the input of stakeholder views in a balanced fashion, the achievement of which can be difficult to assess. Attempts to achieve such broad understanding of views and acceptance of resulting decisions are an important part of building public confidence. Additionally, interested citizens, other stakeholders, and non-governmental organisations often call upon decision processes to be conducted in a manner that maintains public confidence. This workshop was not about what decision is made. Rather, it was about decision making processes used to reflect stakeholder concerns and input. How does one effectively involve stakeholders? How does one build and assess public confidence? How can broader stakeholder involvement help decision makers to make well-informed decisions that effectively address stakeholder views? On 17-19 January 2017, the NEA hosted a workshop on Stakeholder Involvement in Nuclear Decision Making

Building information modelling (BIM: now and beyond

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Salman Azhar

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Building Information Modeling (BIM, also called n-D Modeling or Virtual Prototyping Technology, is a revolutionary development that is quickly reshaping the Architecture-Engineering-Construction (AEC industry. BIM is both a technology and a process. The technology component of BIM helps project stakeholders to visualize what is to be built in a simulated environment to identify any potential design, construction or operational issues. The process component enables close collaboration and encourages integration of the roles of all stakeholders on a project. The paper presents an overview of BIM with focus on its core concepts, applications in the project life cycle and benefits for project stakeholders with the help of case studies. The paper also elaborates risks and barriers to BIM implementation and future trends.

Building information modelling (BIM: now and beyond

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Salman Azhar

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Building Information Modeling (BIM, also called n-D Modeling or Virtual Prototyping Technology, is a revolutionary development that is quickly reshaping the Architecture-Engineering-Construction (AEC industry. BIM is both a technology and a process. The technology component of BIM helps project stakeholders to visualize what is to be built in a simulated environment to identify any potential design, construction or operational issues. The process component enables close collaboration and encourages integration of the roles of all stakeholders on a project. The paper presents an overview of BIM with focus on its core concepts, applications in the project life cycle and benefits for project stakeholders with the help of case studies. The paper also elaborates risks and barriers to BIM implementation and future trends.

Building National Innovation Platform in China

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Jizhen; Deng, Quwen; Sørensen, Olav Jull

2011-01-01

The focus of the article is the "national innovation platform" that are being build in China to enhance interaction between stakeholders and encourage knowledge flows. The textile industry is used as an example to discuss suitablity and lay a foundation for theoretical reflections of the new...

Toward criteria for pragmatic measurement in implementation research and practice: a stakeholder-driven approach using concept mapping.

Science.gov (United States)

Powell, Byron J; Stanick, Cameo F; Halko, Heather M; Dorsey, Caitlin N; Weiner, Bryan J; Barwick, Melanie A; Damschroder, Laura J; Wensing, Michel; Wolfenden, Luke; Lewis, Cara C

2017-10-03

Advancing implementation research and practice requires valid and reliable measures of implementation determinants, mechanisms, processes, strategies, and outcomes. However, researchers and implementation stakeholders are unlikely to use measures if they are not also pragmatic. The purpose of this study was to establish a stakeholder-driven conceptualization of the domains that comprise the pragmatic measure construct. It built upon a systematic review of the literature and semi-structured stakeholder interviews that generated 47 criteria for pragmatic measures, and aimed to further refine that set of criteria by identifying conceptually distinct categories of the pragmatic measure construct and providing quantitative ratings of the criteria's clarity and importance. Twenty-four stakeholders with expertise in implementation practice completed a concept mapping activity wherein they organized the initial list of 47 criteria into conceptually distinct categories and rated their clarity and importance. Multidimensional scaling, hierarchical cluster analysis, and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The 47 criteria were meaningfully grouped into four distinct categories: (1) acceptable, (2) compatible, (3) easy, and (4) useful. Average ratings of clarity and importance at the category and individual criteria level will be presented. This study advances the field of implementation science and practice by providing clear and conceptually distinct domains of the pragmatic measure construct. Next steps will include a Delphi process to develop consensus on the most important criteria and the development of quantifiable pragmatic rating criteria that can be used to assess measures.

Reveal or Conceal? Signaling Strategies for Building Legitimacy in Cleantech Firms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ekaterina S. Bjornali

2017-10-01

Full Text Available New entrants in technology-intense industries are in a race to build legitimacy in order to compete with established players. Legitimacy has been identified as a driver of venture survival and growth; it helps mitigate third-party uncertainty and so facilitates access to resources, engagement with customers and other stakeholders. Nevertheless, we know little about how legitimacy is built and how new entrants build legitimacy in complex technology-intensive industries. In this research we explore how Norwegian cleantech firms use signaling and strategic actions to build legitimacy. We analyze five cases while investigating their actions in different phases of the venture’s evolution. The results suggest that, contrary to signaling theory expectations, young clean-tech firms do not always build legitimacy by conveying information on their strengths. Instead, we observe that they use signaling strategies to address the specific concerns of different stakeholders. This is very much contingent upon the evolutionary stage of the venture and the firm’s current weaknesses.

Acceptability and Perceived Benefits and Risks of Public and Patient Involvement in Health Care Policy: A Delphi Survey in Belgian Stakeholders.

Science.gov (United States)

Cleemput, Irina; Christiaens, Wendy; Kohn, Laurence; Léonard, Christian; Daue, François; Denis, Alain

2015-06-01

In systems with public health insurance, coverage decisions should reflect social values. Deliberation among stakeholders could achieve this goal, but rarely involves patients and citizens directly. This study aimed at evaluating the acceptability, and the perceived benefits and risks, of public and patient involvement (PPI) in coverage decision making to Belgian stakeholders. A two-round Delphi survey was conducted among all stakeholder groups. The survey was constructed on the basis of interviews with 10 key stakeholders and a review of the literature on participation models. Consensus was defined as 65% or more of the respondents agreeing with a statement and less than 15% disagreeing. Eighty stakeholders participated in both rounds. They were defined as the Delphi panel. Belgian stakeholders are open toward PPI in coverage decision processes. Benefits are expected to exceed risks. The preferred model for involvement is to consult citizens or patients, within the existing decision-making structures and at specific milestones in the process. Consulting citizens and patients is a higher level of involvement than merely informing them and a lower level than letting them participate actively. Consultation involves asking nonbinding advice on (parts of) the decision problem. According to the Delphi panel, the benefits of PPI could be increasing awareness among members of the general public and patients about the challenges and costs of health care, and enriched decision processes with expertise by experience from patients. Potential risks include subjectivity, insufficient resources to participate and weigh on the process, difficulties in finding effective ways to express a collective opinion, the risk of manipulation, and lobbying or power games of other stakeholders. PPI in coverage decision-making processes is acceptable to Belgian stakeholders, be it in different ways for different types of decisions. Benefits are expected to outweigh risks. Copyright © 2015

Consensus statement on diabetes in children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K M Prasanna Kumar

2014-01-01

Full Text Available While T1DM has been traditionally seen as a minor concern in the larger picture of pediatric ailments, new data reveals that the incidence of T1DM has assumed alarming proportions. It has long been clear that while the disease may be diagnosed at an early age, its impact is not isolated to afflicted children. The direct impact of the disease on the patient is debilitating due to the nature of the disease and lack of proper access to treatment in India. But this impact is further compounded by the utter apathy and often times antipathy, which patients withT1DM have to face. Lack of awareness of the issue in all stakeholders, low access to quality healthcare, patient, physician, and system level barriers to the delivery of optimal diabetes care are some of the factors which hinder successful management of T1DM. The first international consensus meet on diabetes in children was convened with the aim of providing a common platform to all the stakeholders in the management of T1DM, to discuss the academic, administrative and healthcare system related issues. The ultimate aim was to articulate the problems faced by children with diabetes in a way that centralized their position and focused on creating modalities of management sensitive to their needs and aspirations. It was conceptualized to raise a strong voice of advocacy for improving the management of T1DM and ensuring that "No child should die of diabetes". The unique clinical presentations of T1DM coupled with ignorance on the part of the medical community and society in general results in outcomes that are far worse than that seen with T2DM. So there is a need to substantially improve training of HCPs at all levels on this neglected aspect of healthcare.

Stakeholder analysis methodologies resource book

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Babiuch, W.M.; Farhar, B.C.

1994-03-01

Stakeholder analysis allows analysts to identify how parties might be affected by government projects. This process involves identifying the likely impacts of a proposed action and stakeholder groups affected by that action. Additionally, the process involves assessing how these groups might be affected and suggesting measures to mitigate any adverse effects. Evidence suggests that the efficiency and effectiveness of government actions can be increased and adverse social impacts mitigated when officials understand how a proposed action might affect stakeholders. This report discusses how to conduct useful stakeholder analyses for government officials making decisions on energy-efficiency and renewable-energy technologies and their commercialization. It discusses methodological issues that may affect the validity and reliability of findings, including sampling, generalizability, validity, ``uncooperative`` stakeholder groups, using social indicators, and the effect of government regulations. The Appendix contains resource directories and a list of specialists in stakeholder analysis and involvement.

Managing stakeholders in transformational government

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reinwald, Anja Kaldahl; Kræmmergaard, Pernille

2012-01-01

a stakeholder perspective. The paper reports how they succeeded in involving the most important stakeholders in the process of reaching transformational government. Finally the paper offers six lessons learned, based on the case study, about how to manage the involved stakeholders to reach transformational...

Evaluation, testing and application of participatory approaches in the Czech Republic Consensus panel - Spent nuclear fuel management alternatives. Deliverable 11

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vojtechova, Hana

2009-06-01

An important part of the ARGONA project is the testing and application of novel participation and dialogue approaches. The ways in this is being done include a series of events involving different stakeholders such as a focused science shop, a consensus panel and an interaction panel. In the framework of these activities in the Czech Republic the consensus panel was held on June 12, 2008 in Rez and addressed the theme: 'Spent nuclear fuel management alternatives'. The main goals of this consensus panel were: 1. Identification of the main criteria relevant to the assessment of the existing alternatives and determination their importance (weight) from the perspective of all stakeholders; 2. Achieving at least a partial consensus on selecting the most suitable alternative (management of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel). A broader audience was selected with a suitable mixture of specialists and interested technical and non-technical peers including representatives from NRI, universities, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of the Environment, State Office for Nuclear Safety and Radioactive Waste Repository Authority, representatives of municipalities and NGOs, and waste producers such as CEZ plc etc. In opinion of all participants, there was a 'safe space' for debate ensured and everyone had the same opportunity to express his opinion. All participants also agreed that the whole course of seminar was transparent and correct. From this perspective, the chosen format of dialogue seems appropriate to ensure the exchange of new information and mutual discussion among the interested parties on the contentious issues in the NWM and nuclear energy in general. It was also found, however, that at present the social and political problems are the most important and the most urgent problems in the field of the nuclear waste management in the Czech Republic. It is very important not only to ensure a safe space for meaningful communication, but also: - To increase the

78 FR 20119 - Broad Stakeholder Survey

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-03

... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY [Docket No. DHS-2012-0042] Broad Stakeholder Survey AGENCY... concerning the Broad Stakeholder Survey. DHS previously published this ICR in the Federal Register on August... across the Nation. The Broad Stakeholder Survey is designed to gather stakeholder feedback on the...

Towards global consensus on outcome measures for atopic eczema research: results of the HOME II meeting.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmitt, Jochen; Spuls, Phyllis; Boers, Maarten; Thomas, Kim; Chalmers, Joanne; Roekevisch, Evelien; Schram, Mandy; Allsopp, Richard; Aoki, Valeria; Apfelbacher, Christian; Bruijnzeel-Koomen, Carla; Bruin-Weller, Marjolein; Charman, Carolyn; Cohen, Arnon; Dohil, Magdalene; Flohr, Carsten; Furue, Masutaka; Gieler, Uwe; Hooft, Lotty; Humphreys, Rosemary; Ishii, Henrique Akira; Katayama, Ichiro; Kouwenhoven, Willem; Langan, Sinéad; Lewis-Jones, Sue; Merhand, Stephanie; Murota, Hiroyuki; Murrell, Dedee F; Nankervis, Helen; Ohya, Yukihiro; Oranje, Arnold; Otsuka, Hiromi; Paul, Carle; Rosenbluth, Yael; Saeki, Hidehisa; Schuttelaar, Marie-Louise; Stalder, Jean-Francois; Svensson, Ake; Takaoka, Roberto; Wahlgren, Carl-Fredrik; Weidinger, Stephan; Wollenberg, Andreas; Williams, Hywel

2012-09-01

The use of nonstandardized and inadequately validated outcome measures in atopic eczema trials is a major obstacle to practising evidence-based dermatology. The Harmonising Outcome Measures for Eczema (HOME) initiative is an international multiprofessional group dedicated to atopic eczema outcomes research. In June 2011, the HOME initiative conducted a consensus study involving 43 individuals from 10 countries, representing different stakeholders (patients, clinicians, methodologists, pharmaceutical industry) to determine core outcome domains for atopic eczema trials, to define quality criteria for atopic eczema outcome measures and to prioritize topics for atopic eczema outcomes research. Delegates were given evidence-based information, followed by structured group discussion and anonymous consensus voting. Consensus was achieved to include clinical signs, symptoms, long-term control of flares and quality of life into the core set of outcome domains for atopic eczema trials. The HOME initiative strongly recommends including and reporting these core outcome domains as primary or secondary endpoints in all future atopic eczema trials. Measures of these core outcome domains need to be valid, sensitive to change and feasible. Prioritized topics of the HOME initiative are the identification/development of the most appropriate instruments for the four core outcome domains. HOME is open to anyone with an interest in atopic eczema outcomes research. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

A novel framework for analysing stakeholder interest in healthy foods: A case study on iodine biofortification.

Science.gov (United States)

Mogendi, Joseph Birundu; De Steur, Hans; Gellynck, Xavier; Makokha, Anselimo

2016-01-01

Despite the availability of novel strategies to prevent micronutrient malnutrition, such as biofortification, limited understanding of stakeholders often hampers their success. We build upon the existing literature on protection motivations (PMT) and technology acceptance (TAM) to develop an integrated PMTAM model for analyzing stakeholders' reactions, on both the supply and demand sides. Regarding the latter, the case of the iodine biofortified food chain is used to evaluate African households' interest. All model constructs, and threat appraisal in particular, are decisive in determining the uptake of biofortification, while also social demographics and own nutrition status play an important role.

Corporate Leadership and Governance for Increasing Stakeholder Involvement and Developing Stronger Connections

OpenAIRE

Coulson-Thomas, Colin

2018-01-01

Many organisations and their supply chains are networks of relationships, but greater connectivity, additional connections and more intimate relationships can involve costs and risks as well as confer benefits, while inappropriate relationships can be harmful. Aspects of company law and regulation and contemporary corporate leadership and governance codes, priorities and practices favour some stakeholders over others and can hinder rather than help the building of relationships with a wider r...

Knowledge Brokers in the Making: Opportunities to Connect Researchers and Stakeholders

Science.gov (United States)

Pennell, K. G.; Pennell, M. C.

2014-12-01

Environmental science and engineering graduate students often lack training on how to communicate with policy decision makers who are grappling with questions to which research is responding. They communicate directly with mutual experts, but are many times unable to engage with non-experts about their research, thereby limiting the reach and impact of their findings. This presentation highlights opportunities within environmental science and engineering research to create opportunities for researchers to hone skills as knowledge brokers, so they learn ways to meaningfully engage with a range of stakeholders. A knowledge broker is an individual who connects scientific experts and relevant stakeholders with meaningful and useable information. Recognizing that information must flow in multiple directions, the knowledge broker must quickly and effectively translate needs and questions using established relationships. It is these relationships, as well as the synthesis of scientific knowledge into useable information, on which the success of the knowledge broker lies. Using lessons learned, as well as communication science theory related to knowledge brokering, this presentation highlights training opportunities for knowledge brokers who are primarily educated in science and engineering fields, yet seek to engage with societally relevant stakeholders. We present case study examples of knowledge brokering within two large multi-disciplinary research centers. These centers provide unique experiences for researchers to build relationships with stakeholders, so that the scientific experts not only create novel research within their specific discipline, but also inform policy decision makers, community members and regulatory officials.

Info avond Go&Learn stakeholders

OpenAIRE

Brabant, Karen

2014-01-01

De infoavond licht de stakeholders in over de planning en invulling van de circuits en de praktische organisatie ervan. De stakeholders worden ingelicht over de huidige realisaties binnen het project, zowel op nationaal als internationaal niveau. Het geeft aan de stakeholders eveneens de kans om te netwerken.

Stakeholder participation in adaption to climate change - Lessons and experience from Germany

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rotter, Maja; Hoffmann, Esther; Hirschfeld, Jesko; Schroeder, Andre; Mohaupt, Fanziska; Schaefer, Laura [Institut fuer Oekologische Wirtschaftsforschung (IOEW) gGmbH, Berlin (Germany)

2012-08-15

Openness and cooperation is one major principle of the German Adaptation Strategy; the development and implementation of adaptation policies is hence accompanied by broad and diversified stakeholder participation processes. Mainly three German ministries have initiated and supported stakeholder participation: the Federal Ministry for the Environment that has the lead in developing adaptation policies, the Federal Ministry for Education and Research through funding two research programs on adaptation, and the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development through funding regional model projects. A review of these stakeholder integration processes shows that different degrees of participation were realised (communication, consultation, co-production and co-decision) and that both science-based and policy-based approaches were pursued. While science-based approaches aim at improving research results, policy-based approaches target at influencing political decision-making. A broad variety of actors have been involved and almost all 15 sectors mentioned in the German Adaptation Strategy have been covered. While topics such as agriculture or water have been broadly addressed, economic issues have been touched only by a minority of events. Researchers and representatives from administration have participated in almost all events whereas policy-makers, companies and civil society organizations were less represented. The report concludes with recommendations for planning and conducting stakeholder participation processes and suggests suitable designs depending on the pursued objectives.

Multi-Stakeholder Decision Aid for Improved Prioritization of the Public Health Impact of Climate Sensitive Infectious Diseases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valerie Hongoh

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The effects of climate change on infectious diseases are an important global health concern and necessitate decisions for allocation of resources. Economic tools have been used previously; however, how prioritization results might differ when done using broader considerations identified by local stakeholders has yet to be assessed. A multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA approach was used to assess multi-stakeholder expressed concerns around disease prioritization via focus groups held in Quebec and Burkina Faso. Stakeholders weighted criteria and comparisons were made across study sites. A pilot disease prioritization was done to examine effects on disease rankings. A majority of identified criteria were common to both sites. The effect of context specific criteria and weights resulted in similar yet distinct prioritizations of diseases. The presence of consistent criteria between sites suggests that common concerns exist for prioritization; however, context-specific adjustments reveal much regarding resource availability, capacity and concerns that should be considered as this impacts disease ranking. Participatory decision aid approaches facilitate rich knowledge exchange and problem structuring. Furthermore, given multiple actors in low- and middle-income countries settings, multi-actor collaborations across non-governmental organizations, local government and community are important. Formal mechanisms such as MCDA provide means to foster consensus, shared awareness and collaboration.

Multi-Stakeholder Decision Aid for Improved Prioritization of the Public Health Impact of Climate Sensitive Infectious Diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Hongoh, Valerie; Michel, Pascal; Gosselin, Pierre; Samoura, Karim; Ravel, André; Campagna, Céline; Cissé, Hassane Djibrilla; Waaub, Jean-Philippe

2016-04-12

The effects of climate change on infectious diseases are an important global health concern and necessitate decisions for allocation of resources. Economic tools have been used previously; however, how prioritization results might differ when done using broader considerations identified by local stakeholders has yet to be assessed. A multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach was used to assess multi-stakeholder expressed concerns around disease prioritization via focus groups held in Quebec and Burkina Faso. Stakeholders weighted criteria and comparisons were made across study sites. A pilot disease prioritization was done to examine effects on disease rankings. A majority of identified criteria were common to both sites. The effect of context specific criteria and weights resulted in similar yet distinct prioritizations of diseases. The presence of consistent criteria between sites suggests that common concerns exist for prioritization; however, context-specific adjustments reveal much regarding resource availability, capacity and concerns that should be considered as this impacts disease ranking. Participatory decision aid approaches facilitate rich knowledge exchange and problem structuring. Furthermore, given multiple actors in low- and middle-income countries settings, multi-actor collaborations across non-governmental organizations, local government and community are important. Formal mechanisms such as MCDA provide means to foster consensus, shared awareness and collaboration.

Planning for decommissioning of nuclear facilities - Nuclear as a semi-sustainable energy source, the views of younger stakeholders - 59222

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindskog, Staffan; Labor, Bea

2012-01-01

Document available in abstract form only. Full text of publication follows: It is planned that many nuclear facilities will be decommissioned in the near future. This challenge includes certified repositories for LLW and ILW, procedures for classification and free release, systems for transportation, planning activities, and liaison with the public. The last item can have a substantial impact on the efficiency of decommissioning projects. Insufficient dialogue with various stakeholder groups can be a factor that drives costs, whilst appropriate programs, means and environments for communication and knowledge transfer may facilitate the establishment of contemporary and comprehensive bases for decisions and thereby also enhance the possibility for consensus and thereby achieve feasible and sustainable solutions. The programs thus decided for the decommissioning of nuclear facilities and the management of the nuclear waste must then be communicated openly and constitute an integral part of the stakeholder related activities. The nuclear renaissance implies as well as calls for newer platforms for communications with the stakeholders. This communication must include how compliance with the Polluter Pays Principle (PPP) (and also preferably the Extended Polluter Responsibility, EPR) is to be achieved

Energy Justice and the Stakeholders Involved: A Case Study of Solar Power in Rural Haiti

Science.gov (United States)

Romulus, Elijah Rey Asse

This paper explores and analyzes energy justice and the stakeholders involved. Energy insecurity, specifically the lack of access to electricity effects over 1.3 billion people worldwide and energy justice is a way to address it. This paper is supported by a case study with data collected in the southern rural regions of Haiti regarding energy justice communities. Three cities were studied: Les Cayes, Anse-a-Veau, and Les Anglais. It examines how solar businesses can aid energy justice communities seeking access to electricity. Stakeholders such as the communities themselves, solar businesses, and nonprofits in the region are studied and analyzed. The paper concludes solar businesses are helping said communities but needs participation from other stakeholders to be successful. Finally, there are five recommendations to build capacity, develop infrastructure in the region, explore the possibility of solar cooperatives, strengthen the solar economy in Haiti, and demand reparations.

Integrating Environmental and Stakeholder Management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Henning; Ulhøi, John Parm

2001-01-01

Regulation has been an important instrument in pushing the business community towards im-proved environmental performance. However, there has also been increasing pressure from a growing number of stakeholders, including employees, customers, neighbours and NGOs, etc. In order to improve corporate...... relationships with various stakeholders, companies need to be able to identify these stakeholders and assess their influence. The first part of this paper will discuss the relevant theory and introduce a model to analyse and identify the most significant stakeholder groups and their influence on corporate...

Stakeholder Thinking in Sustainability Management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gjerdrum Pedersen, Esben Rahbek; Hove Henriksen, Morten; Frier, Claus

2013-01-01

Purpose – The objective of the paper is to describe and discuss how the biotech company Novozymes integrates stakeholder thinking into everyday sustainability practices. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on first-hand experiences as well as secondary information from Novozymes' sta...... to make sense of stakeholder thinking. Originality/value – The contribution of this paper is to provide a detailed analysis of how various stakeholder relations management methods can be used in practice to integrate sustainability in an organisation.......' stakeholder-oriented sustainability activities. Findings – The paper illustrates how a company is striving to transform the general stakeholder principles into concrete, manageable actions. Moreover, the paper describes some of the needs, challenges, and paradoxes experienced by an organisation that is trying...

Involving stakeholders and developing a policy for stakeholder involvement in the European network for Health Technology Assessment, EUnetHTA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Palmhøj Nielsen, Camilla; Wadmann, Sarah; Børlum Kristensen, Finn

2009-01-01

in national/regional policy making. A stakeholder Web site, analyses of stakeholder opinions on HTA and EUnetHTA in a discussion topic catalog, and a draft stakeholder policy resulted from the work. Conclusions: Stakeholder involvement in EUnetHTA is necessary to ensure the legitimacy and prospects...... be continued. Our experience shows the challenge of obtaining balanced stakeholder representation across the identified stakeholder groups. Continued attention should be given to achieving balanced stakeholder representation....

HACCP-Based Programs for Preventing Disease and Injury from Premise Plumbing: A Building Consensus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

William F. McCoy

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Thousands of preventable injuries and deaths are annually caused by microbial, chemical and physical hazards from building water systems. Water is processed in buildings before use; this can degrade the quality of the water. Processing steps undertaken on-site in buildings often include conditioning, filtering, storing, heating, cooling, pressure regulation and distribution through fixtures that restrict flow and temperature. Therefore, prevention of disease and injury requires process management. A process management framework for buildings is the hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP adaptation of failure mode effects analysis (FMEA. It has been proven effective for building water system management. Validation is proof that hazards have been controlled under operating conditions and may include many kinds of evidence including cultures of building water samples to detect and enumerate potentially pathogenic microorganisms. However, results from culture tests are often inappropriately used because the accuracy and precision are not sufficient to support specifications for control limit or action triggers. A reliable negative screen is based on genus-level Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR for Legionella in building water systems; however, building water samples with positive results from this test require further analysis by culture methods.

HACCP-Based Programs for Preventing Disease and Injury from Premise Plumbing: A Building Consensus

Science.gov (United States)

McCoy, William F.; Rosenblatt, Aaron A.

2015-01-01

Thousands of preventable injuries and deaths are annually caused by microbial, chemical and physical hazards from building water systems. Water is processed in buildings before use; this can degrade the quality of the water. Processing steps undertaken on-site in buildings often include conditioning, filtering, storing, heating, cooling, pressure regulation and distribution through fixtures that restrict flow and temperature. Therefore, prevention of disease and injury requires process management. A process management framework for buildings is the hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) adaptation of failure mode effects analysis (FMEA). It has been proven effective for building water system management. Validation is proof that hazards have been controlled under operating conditions and may include many kinds of evidence including cultures of building water samples to detect and enumerate potentially pathogenic microorganisms. However, results from culture tests are often inappropriately used because the accuracy and precision are not sufficient to support specifications for control limit or action triggers. A reliable negative screen is based on genus-level Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for Legionella in building water systems; however, building water samples with positive results from this test require further analysis by culture methods. PMID:26184325

Achieving consensus in environmental programs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurstedt, H.A.; Jones, R.M.; Walker, J.A.; Middleman, L.I.

1989-01-01

In this paper, the authors describe a research effort on consensus tied to the Environmental Restoration Program (ERP) within the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Defense Waste and Transportation Management (DWTM). They define consensus and explain why consensus decisions are not merely desirable but necessary in furthering ERP activities. As examples of their planned applied research, the authors first discuss nominal group technique as a representative consensus-generating tool, and conclude by describing the consensus-related mission of the Waste Management Review Group, established to conduct independent, third-party review of DWTM/ERP plans and activities

Achieving consensus in environmental programs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kurstedt, Jr., H. A.; Jones, R. M.; Walker, J. A.; Middleman, L. I.

1989-01-01

In this paper, we describe a new research effort on consensus tied to the Environmental Restoration Program (ERP) within the US Department of Energy's Office of Defense Waste and Transportation Management (DWTM). We define consensus and explain why consensus decisions are not merely desirable but necessary in furthering ERP activities. As examples of our planned applied research, we first discuss Nominal Group Technique as a representative consensus-generating tool, and we conclude by describing the consensus-related mission of the Waste Management Review Group, established at Virginia Tech to conduct independent, third-party review of DWTM/ERP plans and activities. 10 refs.

What does it mean to manage sky survey data? A model to facilitate stakeholder conversations

Science.gov (United States)

Sands, Ashley E.; Darch, Peter T.

2016-06-01

Astronomy sky surveys, while of great scientific value independently, can be deployed even more effectively when multiple sources of data are combined. Integrating discrete datasets is a non-trivial exercise despite investments in standard data formats and tools. Creating and maintaining data and associated infrastructures requires investments in technology and expertise. Combining data from multiple sources necessitates a common understanding of data, structures, and goals amongst relevant stakeholders.We present a model of Astronomy Stakeholder Perspectives on Data. The model is based on 80 semi-structured interviews with astronomers, computational astronomers, computer scientists, and others involved in the building or use of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). Interviewees were selected to ensure a range of roles, institutional affiliations, career stages, and level of astronomy education. Interviewee explanations of data were analyzed to understand how perspectives on astronomy data varied by stakeholder.Interviewees described sky survey data either intrinsically or extrinsically. “Intrinsic” descriptions of data refer to data as an object in and of itself. Respondents with intrinsic perspectives view data management in one of three ways: (1) “Medium” - securing the zeros and ones from bit rot; (2) “Scale” - assuring that changes in state are documented; or (3) “Content” - ensuring the scientific validity of the images, spectra, and catalogs.“Extrinsic” definitions, in contrast, define data in relation to other forms of information. Respondents with extrinsic perspectives view data management in one of three ways: (1) “Source” - supporting the integrity of the instruments and documentation; (2) “Relationship” - retaining relationships between data and their analytical byproducts; or (3) “Use” - ensuring that data remain scientifically usable.This model shows how data management can

Evaluating stakeholder management performance using a stakeholder report card: the next step in theory and practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Malvey, Donna; Fottler, Myron D; Slovensky, Donna J

2002-01-01

In the highly competitive health care environment, the survival of an organization may depend on how well powerful stakeholders are managed. Yet, the existing strategic stakeholder management process does not include evaluation of stakeholder management performance. To address this critical gap, this paper proposes a systematic method for evaluation using a stakeholder report card. An example of a physician report card based on this methodology is presented.

Core competencies for pain management: results of an interprofessional consensus summit.

Science.gov (United States)

Fishman, Scott M; Young, Heather M; Lucas Arwood, Ellyn; Chou, Roger; Herr, Keela; Murinson, Beth B; Watt-Watson, Judy; Carr, Daniel B; Gordon, Debra B; Stevens, Bonnie J; Bakerjian, Debra; Ballantyne, Jane C; Courtenay, Molly; Djukic, Maja; Koebner, Ian J; Mongoven, Jennifer M; Paice, Judith A; Prasad, Ravi; Singh, Naileshni; Sluka, Kathleen A; St Marie, Barbara; Strassels, Scott A

2013-07-01

The objective of this project was to develop core competencies in pain assessment and management for prelicensure health professional education. Such core pain competencies common to all prelicensure health professionals have not been previously reported. An interprofessional executive committee led a consensus-building process to develop the core competencies. An in-depth literature review was conducted followed by engagement of an interprofessional Competency Advisory Committee to critique competencies through an iterative process. A 2-day summit was held so that consensus could be reached. The consensus-derived competencies were categorized within four domains: multidimensional nature of pain, pain assessment and measurement, management of pain, and context of pain management. These domains address the fundamental concepts and complexity of pain; how pain is observed and assessed; collaborative approaches to treatment options; and application of competencies across the life span in the context of various settings, populations, and care team models. A set of values and guiding principles are embedded within each domain. These competencies can serve as a foundation for developing, defining, and revising curricula and as a resource for the creation of learning activities across health professions designed to advance care that effectively responds to pain. Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

World Endometriosis Society consensus on the classification of endometriosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Neil P; Hummelshoj, Lone; Adamson, G David; Keckstein, Jörg; Taylor, Hugh S; Abrao, Mauricio S; Bush, Deborah; Kiesel, Ludwig; Tamimi, Rulla; Sharpe-Timms, Kathy L; Rombauts, Luk; Giudice, Linda C

2017-02-01

Enzian and Endometriosis Fertility Index staging systems), that may be used by all surgeons in each case of surgery undertaken for women with endometriosis. We also propose wider use of the World Endometriosis Research Foundation Endometriosis Phenome and Biobanking Harmonisation Project surgical and clinical data collection tools for research to improve classification of endometriosis in the future, of particular relevance when surgery is not undertaken. This consensus process differed from that of formal guideline development, although based on the same available evidence. A different group of international experts from those participating in this process may have yielded subtly different consensus statements. This is the first time that a large, global, consortium-representing 29 major stake-holding organizations, from 19 countries - has convened to systematically evaluate the best available evidence on the classification of endometriosis and reach consensus. In addition to 21 international medical organizations and companies, representatives from eight national endometriosis organizations were involved, including lay support groups, thus generating and including input from women who suffer from endometriosis in an endeavour to keep uppermost the goal of optimizing quality of life for women with endometriosis. The World Endometriosis Society convened and hosted the consensus meeting. Financial support for participants to attend the meeting was provided by the organizations that they represented. There was no other specific funding for this consensus process. Mauricio Abrao is an advisor to Bayer Pharma, and a consultant to AbbVie and AstraZeneca; G David Adamson is the Owner of Advanced Reproductive Care Inc and Ziva and a consultant to Bayer Pharma, Ferring, and AbbVie; Deborah Bush has received travel grants from Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and Bayer Pharmaceuticals; Linda Giudice is a consultant to AbbVie, Juniper Pharmaceutical, and NextGen Jane, holds research

Reviewing the role of stakeholders in Operational Research; A stakeholder theory perspective

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gooyert, V. de; Rouwette, E.A.J.A.; Kranenburg, H.L. van; Freeman, R.E.

2017-01-01

The role of stakeholders in organizational decision-making is gaining more and more attention. Managers find that in order to create value sustainably and ethically, it is necessary to balance the interests of various stakeholders. This trend is reflected in the management literature, where much

The Dutch Consumer Quality Index: an example of stakeholder involvement in indicator development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rademakers Jany JDJM

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Like in several other Western countries, in the Dutch health care system regulated competition has been introduced. In order to make this work, comparable information is required about the performance of health care providers in terms of effectiveness, safety and patient experiences. Without further coordination, external actors will all try to force health care providers to be transparent. For health care providers this might result in a situation in which they have to deliver data for several sets of indicators, defined by different actors. Therefore, in the Netherlands an effort is made to define national sets of performance indicators and related measuring instruments. In this article, the following questions are addressed, using patient experiences as an example: - When and how are stakeholders involved in the development of indicators and instruments that measure the patients' experiences with health care providers? - Does this involvement lead to indicators and instruments that match stakeholders' information needs? Discussion The Dutch experiences show that it is possible to implement national indicator sets and to reach consensus about what needs to be measured. Preliminary evaluations show that for health care providers and health insurers the benefits of standardization outweigh the possible loss of tailor-made information. However, it has also become clear that particular attention should be given to the participation of patient/consumer organisations. Summary Stakeholder involvement is complex and time-consuming. However, it is the only way to balance the information needs of all the parties that ask for and benefit from transparency, without frustrating the health care system.

Open Innovation and Stakeholder Engagement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert Wayne Gould

2012-09-01

Full Text Available The paradox of open innovation lies in the conflict between the practical desire to reap the benefits of open innovation and concern over the risk that others will misappropriate those benefits. Stakeholder theory and recent developments in value creation through stakeholder engagement can assist with reconciliation of this inherent structural risk. The limitations of existing open innovation typologies are identified, and a process-based model of open innovation is proposed. The model is then expanded to include stakeholder engagement. When integrated with stakeholder engagement, open innovation processes can be understood to generate benefits beyond the acquisition of specific information sought from external experts. The addition of stakeholder engagement to the open innovation model allows for greater understanding and easier acceptance of the risks inherent in the open innovation process.

Model-based consensus

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boumans, M.; Martini, C.; Boumans, M.

2014-01-01

The aim of the rational-consensus method is to produce "rational consensus", that is, "mathematical aggregation", by weighing the performance of each expert on the basis of his or her knowledge and ability to judge relevant uncertainties. The measurement of the performance of the experts is based on

Optimising perioperative care for hip and knee arthroplasty in South Africa: a Delphi consensus study.

Science.gov (United States)

Plenge, U; Nortje, M B; Marais, L C; Jordaan, J D; Parker, R; van der Westhuizen, N; van der Merwe, J F; Marais, J; September, W V; Davies, G L; Pretorius, T; Solomon, C; Ryan, P; Torborg, A M; Farina, Z; Smit, R; Cairns, C; Shanahan, H; Sombili, S; Mazibuko, A; Hobbs, H R; Porrill, O S; Timothy, N E; Siebritz, R E; van der Westhuizen, C; Troskie, A J; Blake, C A; Gray, L A; Munting, T W; Steinhaus, H K S; Rowe, P; van der Walt, J G; Isaacs Noordien, R; Theron, A; Biccard, B M

2018-05-09

A structured approach to perioperative patient management based on an enhanced recovery pathway protocol facilitates early recovery and reduces morbidity in high income countries. However, in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the feasibility of implementing enhanced recovery pathways and its influence on patient outcomes is scarcely investigated. To inform similar practice in LMICs for total hip and knee arthroplasty, it is necessary to identify potential factors for inclusion in such a programme, appropriate for LMICs. Applying a Delphi method, 33 stakeholders (13 arthroplasty surgeons, 12 anaesthetists and 8 physiotherapists) from 10 state hospitals representing 4 South African provinces identified and prioritised i) risk factors associated with poor outcomes, ii) perioperative interventions to improve outcomes and iii) patient and clinical outcomes necessary to benchmark practice for patients scheduled for primary elective unilateral total hip and knee arthroplasty. Thirty of the thirty-three stakeholders completed the 3 months Delphi study. The first round yielded i) 36 suggestions to preoperative risk factors, ii) 14 (preoperative), 18 (intraoperative) and 23 (postoperative) suggestions to best practices for perioperative interventions to improve outcomes and iii) 25 suggestions to important postsurgical outcomes. These items were prioritised by the group in the consecutive rounds and consensus was reached for the top ten priorities for each category. The consensus derived risk factors, perioperative interventions and important outcomes will inform the development of a structured, perioperative multidisciplinary enhanced patient care protocol for total hip and knee arthroplasty. It is anticipated that this study will provide the construct necessary for developing pragmatic enhanced care pathways aimed at improving patient outcomes after arthroplasty in LMICs.

Isocyanates and human health: Multi-stakeholder information needs and research priorities

Science.gov (United States)

Lockey, JE; Redlich, CA; Streicher, R; Pfahles-Hutchens, A; Hakkinen, PJ; Ellison, GL; Harber, P; Utell, M; Holland, J; Comai, A; White, Marc

2014-01-01

Objective Outline the knowledge gaps and research priorities identified by a broad-base of stakeholders involved in the planning and participation of an international conference and research agenda workshop on isocyanates and human health held in Potomac, Maryland in April 2013. Methods A multi-modal iterative approach was employed for data collection including pre-conference surveys, review of a 2001 consensus conference on isocyanates, oral and poster presentations, focused break-out sessions, panel discussions and post-conference research agenda workshop. Results Participants included representatives of consumer and worker health, health professionals, regulatory agencies, academic and industry scientists, labor, and trade associations. Conclusions Recommendations were summarized regarding knowledge gaps and research priorities in the following areas: worker and consumer exposures; toxicology, animal models, and biomarkers; human cancer risk; environmental exposure and monitoring; and respiratory epidemiology and disease, and occupational health surveillance. PMID:25563538

Evaluating the practice of the Design-Build procurement method in South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Babsola Olubunmi Ilori

2017-12-01

Full Text Available A well implemented good practice of Design-Build procurement method brings different disciplines and aspects of construction process together, which in turn minimizes the incidents of constructors having to repeat work, and thus, result in cost and time savings. This type of procurement method increases the probability of a successful project that meets the expectations of all stakeholders. A bad practice of Design–Build procurement method increases the probability that the project’s performance will be compromised and that some or all of the stakeholders disappointed. The aim of this research is to determine whether Design-build procurement method is rightly practiced in South Africa. Data were collected from consultants and contractors using a structured questionnaire via personal contact and email. The collected data were subjected to descriptive statistical analyses. This paper argues that design-build procurement is not correctly practiced in South Africa. This may be due to the late introduction and the level of understanding of the procurement method.

Summary of Needs and Opportunities from the 2011 Residential Energy Efficiency Stakeholders Meeting: Atlanta, Georgia -- March 16-18, 2011

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2011-05-01

This summary report outlines needs and issues for increasing energy efficiency of new and existing U.S homes, as identified at the U.S Department of Energy Building America program Spring 2011 stakeholder meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.

Diverse interpretations of confidence building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Macintosh, J.

1998-01-01

This paper explores the variety of operational understandings associated with the term 'confidence building'. Collectively, these understandings constitute what should be thought of as a 'family' of confidence building approaches. This unacknowledged and generally unappreciated proliferation of operational understandings that function under the rubric of confidence building appears to be an impediment to effective policy. The paper's objective is to analyze these different understandings, stressing the important differences in their underlying assumptions. In the process, the paper underlines the need for the international community to clarify its collective thinking about what it means when it speaks of 'confidence building'. Without enhanced clarity, it will be unnecessarily difficult to employ the confidence building approach effectively due to the lack of consistent objectives and common operating assumptions. Although it is not the intention of this paper to promote a particular account of confidence building, dissecting existing operational understandings should help to identify whether there are fundamental elements that define what might be termed 'authentic' confidence building. Implicit here is the view that some operational understandings of confidence building may diverge too far from consensus models to count as meaningful members of the confidence building family. (author)

Finding First-Year Success in Extension: Navigating Stakeholders Needs and Institutional Expectations

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Donald A. Llewellyn

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Functioning within a defined administrative framework and meeting the needs of the stakeholders are essential in an Extension appointment. The first day of employment starts the promotion and tenure clock. It is the responsibility of the new Extension professional to take immediate steps to move forward with development of programming and application of the skill set that they bring to the job. Finding success in the first year of an Extension appointment revolves around understanding the expectations of the institution and the needs of the stakeholders. Once the institutional expectations and programming needs are understood, formulating a strategy that includes plans of work and logic models, measurement of outcomes and impacts, team building, professional development, peer mentoring, grant writing, and scholarship will provide a foundation for first year success in Extension. A willingness to follow a timely and systematic approach to meeting the expectations of the institution and stakeholders will provide for an efficient transition and relieve many of the stressors associated with a new appointment. This paper is based primarily on the author’s first year experience as an Extension faculty member and summarizes several best practices.

The Importance of Integration of Stakeholder Views in Core Outcome Set Development: Otitis Media with Effusion in Children with Cleft Palate

Science.gov (United States)

Harman, Nicola L.; Bruce, Iain A.; Kirkham, Jamie J.; Tierney, Stephanie; Callery, Peter; O'Brien, Kevin; Williamson, Paula R.

2015-01-01

Background Approximately 75% of children with cleft palate (CP) have Otitis Media with Effusion (OME) histories. Evidence for the effective management of OME in these children is lacking. The inconsistency in outcome measurement in previous studies has led to a call for the development of a Core Outcome Set (COS). Despite the increase in the number of published COS, involvement of patients in the COS development process, and methods to integrate the views of patients and health professionals, to date have been limited. Methods and Findings A list of outcomes measured in previous research was identified through reviewing the literature. Opinion on the importance of each of these outcomes was then sought from key stakeholders: Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) surgeons, audiologists, cleft surgeons, speech and language therapists, specialist cleft nurses, psychologists, parents and children. The opinion of health professionals was sought in a three round Delphi survey where participants were asked to score each outcome using a bespoke online system. Parents and children were also asked to score outcomes in a survey and provided an in-depth insight into having OME through semi-structured interviews. The results of the Delphi survey, interviews and parent/patient survey were brought together in a final consensus meeting with representation from all stakeholders. A final set of eleven outcomes reached the definition of “consensus in” to form the recommended COS: hearing; chronic otitis media (COM); OME; receptive language skills; speech development; psycho social development; acute otitis media (AOM); cholesteatoma; side effects of treatment; listening skills; otalgia. Conclusions We have produced a recommendation about the outcomes that should be measured, as a minimum, in studies of the management of OME in children with CP. The development process included input from key stakeholders and used novel methodology to integrate the opinion of healthcare professionals

The Importance of Integration of Stakeholder Views in Core Outcome Set Development: Otitis Media with Effusion in Children with Cleft Palate.

Science.gov (United States)

Harman, Nicola L; Bruce, Iain A; Kirkham, Jamie J; Tierney, Stephanie; Callery, Peter; O'Brien, Kevin; Bennett, Alex M D; Chorbachi, Raouf; Hall, Per N; Harding-Bell, Anne; Parfect, Victoria H; Rumsey, Nichola; Sell, Debbie; Sharma, Ravi; Williamson, Paula R

2015-01-01

Approximately 75% of children with cleft palate (CP) have Otitis Media with Effusion (OME) histories. Evidence for the effective management of OME in these children is lacking. The inconsistency in outcome measurement in previous studies has led to a call for the development of a Core Outcome Set (COS). Despite the increase in the number of published COS, involvement of patients in the COS development process, and methods to integrate the views of patients and health professionals, to date have been limited. A list of outcomes measured in previous research was identified through reviewing the literature. Opinion on the importance of each of these outcomes was then sought from key stakeholders: Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) surgeons, audiologists, cleft surgeons, speech and language therapists, specialist cleft nurses, psychologists, parents and children. The opinion of health professionals was sought in a three round Delphi survey where participants were asked to score each outcome using a bespoke online system. Parents and children were also asked to score outcomes in a survey and provided an in-depth insight into having OME through semi-structured interviews. The results of the Delphi survey, interviews and parent/patient survey were brought together in a final consensus meeting with representation from all stakeholders. A final set of eleven outcomes reached the definition of "consensus in" to form the recommended COS: hearing; chronic otitis media (COM); OME; receptive language skills; speech development; psycho social development; acute otitis media (AOM); cholesteatoma; side effects of treatment; listening skills; otalgia. We have produced a recommendation about the outcomes that should be measured, as a minimum, in studies of the management of OME in children with CP. The development process included input from key stakeholders and used novel methodology to integrate the opinion of healthcare professionals, parents and children.

The Importance of Integration of Stakeholder Views in Core Outcome Set Development: Otitis Media with Effusion in Children with Cleft Palate.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicola L Harman

Full Text Available Approximately 75% of children with cleft palate (CP have Otitis Media with Effusion (OME histories. Evidence for the effective management of OME in these children is lacking. The inconsistency in outcome measurement in previous studies has led to a call for the development of a Core Outcome Set (COS. Despite the increase in the number of published COS, involvement of patients in the COS development process, and methods to integrate the views of patients and health professionals, to date have been limited.A list of outcomes measured in previous research was identified through reviewing the literature. Opinion on the importance of each of these outcomes was then sought from key stakeholders: Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT surgeons, audiologists, cleft surgeons, speech and language therapists, specialist cleft nurses, psychologists, parents and children. The opinion of health professionals was sought in a three round Delphi survey where participants were asked to score each outcome using a bespoke online system. Parents and children were also asked to score outcomes in a survey and provided an in-depth insight into having OME through semi-structured interviews. The results of the Delphi survey, interviews and parent/patient survey were brought together in a final consensus meeting with representation from all stakeholders. A final set of eleven outcomes reached the definition of "consensus in" to form the recommended COS: hearing; chronic otitis media (COM; OME; receptive language skills; speech development; psycho social development; acute otitis media (AOM; cholesteatoma; side effects of treatment; listening skills; otalgia.We have produced a recommendation about the outcomes that should be measured, as a minimum, in studies of the management of OME in children with CP. The development process included input from key stakeholders and used novel methodology to integrate the opinion of healthcare professionals, parents and children.

Indicators of sustainable capacity building for health research: analysis of four African case studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Bates, Imelda; Taegtmeyer, Miriam; Squire, S Bertel; Ansong, Daniel; Nhlema-Simwaka, Bertha; Baba, Amuda; Theobald, Sally

2011-03-28

Despite substantial investment in health capacity building in developing countries, evaluations of capacity building effectiveness are scarce. By analysing projects in Africa that had successfully built sustainable capacity, we aimed to identify evidence that could indicate that capacity building was likely to be sustainable. Four projects were selected as case studies using pre-determined criteria, including the achievement of sustainable capacity. By mapping the capacity building activities in each case study onto a framework previously used for evaluating health research capacity in Ghana, we were able to identify activities that were common to all projects. We used these activities to derive indicators which could be used in other projects to monitor progress towards building sustainable research capacity. Indicators of sustainable capacity building increased in complexity as projects matured and included- early engagement of stakeholders; explicit plans for scale up; strategies for influencing policies; quality assessments (awareness and experiential stages)- improved resources; institutionalisation of activities; innovation (expansion stage)- funding for core activities secured; management and decision-making led by southern partners (consolidation stage).Projects became sustainable after a median of 66 months. The main challenges to achieving sustainability were high turnover of staff and stakeholders, and difficulties in embedding new activities into existing systems, securing funding and influencing policy development. Our indicators of sustainable capacity building need to be tested prospectively in a variety of projects to assess their usefulness. For each project the evidence required to show that indicators have been achieved should evolve with the project and they should be determined prospectively in collaboration with stakeholders.

Resource-poor settings: infrastructure and capacity building: care of the critically ill and injured during pandemics and disasters: CHEST consensus statement.

Science.gov (United States)

Geiling, James; Burkle, Frederick M; Amundson, Dennis; Dominguez-Cherit, Guillermo; Gomersall, Charles D; Lim, Matthew L; Luyckx, Valerie; Sarani, Babak; Uyeki, Timothy M; West, T Eoin; Christian, Michael D; Devereaux, Asha V; Dichter, Jeffrey R; Kissoon, Niranjan

2014-10-01

Planning for mass critical care (MCC) in resource-poor or constrained settings has been largely ignored, despite their large populations that are prone to suffer disproportionately from natural disasters. Addressing MCC in these settings has the potential to help vast numbers of people and also to inform planning for better-resourced areas. The Resource-Poor Settings panel developed five key question domains; defining the term resource poor and using the traditional phases of disaster (mitigation/preparedness/response/recovery), literature searches were conducted to identify evidence on which to answer the key questions in these areas. Given a lack of data upon which to develop evidence-based recommendations, expert-opinion suggestions were developed, and consensus was achieved using a modified Delphi process. The five key questions were then separated as follows: definition, infrastructure and capacity building, resources, response, and reconstitution/recovery of host nation critical care capabilities and research. Addressing these questions led the panel to offer 33 suggestions. Because of the large number of suggestions, the results have been separated into two sections: part 1, Infrastructure/Capacity in this article, and part 2, Response/Recovery/Research in the accompanying article. Lack of, or presence of, rudimentary ICU resources and limited capacity to enhance services further challenge resource-poor and constrained settings. Hence, capacity building entails preventative strategies and strengthening of primary health services. Assistance from other countries and organizations is needed to mount a surge response. Moreover, planning should include when to disengage and how the host nation can provide capacity beyond the mass casualty care event.

The use of ovarian reserve markers in IVF clinical practice: a national consensus.

Science.gov (United States)

La Marca, Antonio; Ferraretti, Anna Pia; Palermo, Roberto; Ubaldi, Filippo M

2016-01-01

Ovarian reserve markers have been documented to perform very well in the clinical practice. While this is widely recognized, still now there is no consensus on how to use new biomarkers in the clinical practice. This study was conducted among Italian IVF centres using the Delphi technique, a validated consensus-building process. Briefly three consecutive questionnaires were developed for clinicians in charge of IVF centres. In the first rounds, participants were asked to rate the importance of a list of statements regarding the categorization of ovarian response and the diagnostic role of biomarkers. In round 3, participants were asked to rate their agreement and consensus on the list of statements derived from the first two rounds. There were 120 respondents. Consensus was achieved for many points: (a) poor ovarian response is predicted on the basis of the following: AMH  3 ng/ml or AFC > 14; (c) day 3 FSH measurement should always be associated to estradiol; (d) AMH can be measured on a random basis; (e) the measurement of the AFC with the 2D technology may be considered adequate and (f) the AFC should be measured in the early follicular phase and consists in the total number of 2-9 mm follicles in both the ovaries. The present study suggests that extensive consensus on the importance and use of new ovarian reserve markers to improve IVF safety and performance is already present among clinicians.

Dual-track CCS stakeholder engagement: Lessons learned from FutureGen in Illinois

Science.gov (United States)

Hund, G.; Greenberg, S.E.

2011-01-01

FutureGen, as originally planned, was to be the world's first coal-fueled, near-zero emissions power plant with fully integrated, 90% carbon capture and storage (CCS). From conception through siting and design, it enjoyed strong support from multiple stakeholder groups, which benefited the overall project. Understanding the stakeholder engagement process for this project provides valuable insights into the design of stakeholder programs for future CCS projects. FutureGen is one of few projects worldwide that used open competition for siting both the power plant and storage reservoir. Most site proposals were coordinated by State governments. It was unique in this and other respects relative to the site selection method used on other DOE-supported projects. At the time of site selection, FutureGen was the largest proposed facility designed to combine an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) coal-fueled power plant with a CCS system. Stakeholder engagement by states and the industry consortium responsible for siting, designing, building, and operating the facility took place simultaneously and on parallel tracks. On one track were states spearheading state-wide site assessments to identify candidate sites that they wanted to propose for consideration. On the other track was a public-private partnership between an industry consortium of thirteen coal companies and electric utilities that comprised the FutureGen Alliance (Alliance) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The partnership was based on a cooperative agreement signed by both parties, which assigned the lead for siting to the Alliance. This paper describes the stakeholder engagement strategies used on both of these tracks and provides examples from the engagement process using the Illinois semi-finalist sites. ?? 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Engaging stakeholders and target groups in prioritising a public health intervention: the Creating Active School Environments (CASE) online Delphi study.

Science.gov (United States)

Morton, Katie L; Atkin, Andrew J; Corder, Kirsten; Suhrcke, Marc; Turner, David; van Sluijs, Esther M F

2017-01-13

Stakeholder engagement and public involvement are considered as integral to developing effective public health interventions and is encouraged across all phases of the research cycle. However, limited guidelines and appropriate tools exist to facilitate stakeholder engagement-especially during the intervention prioritisation phase. We present the findings of an online 'Delphi' study that engaged stakeholders (including young people) in the process of prioritising secondary school environment-focused interventions that aim to increase physical activity. Web-based data collection using an online Delphi tool enabling participation of geographically diverse stakeholders. 37 stakeholders participated, including young people (age 13-16 years), parents, teachers, public health practitioners, academics and commissioners; 33 participants completed both rounds. Participants were asked to prioritise a (short-listed) selection of school environment-focused interventions (eg, standing desks, outdoor design changes) based on the criteria of 'reach', 'equality', 'acceptability', 'feasibility', 'effectiveness' and 'cost'. Participants were also asked to rank the criteria and the effectiveness outcomes (eg, physical activity, academic achievement, school enjoyment) from most to least important. Following feedback along with any new information provided, participants completed round 2 4 weeks later. The intervention prioritisation process was feasible to conduct and comments from participants indicated satisfaction with the process. Consensus regarding intervention strategies was achieved among the varied groups of stakeholders, with 'active lessons' being the favoured approach. Participants ranked 'mental health and well-being' as the most important outcome followed by 'enjoyment of school'. The most important criteria was 'effectiveness', followed by 'feasibility'. This novel approach to engaging a wide variety of stakeholders in the research process was feasible to conduct

Mapping and Analyzing Stakeholders in China's Essential Drug System by Using a Circular Model: Who We Should Deal with Next?

Science.gov (United States)

Shao, Hui; Li, Shixue; Xu, Lingzhong; Yang, Shuang; Thomas, Nicholas J; Mir, Mohammed Umer; Guo, Zhen; Ning, Bo; Shi, Lizheng

2015-05-01

To predict the prospects of the essential drug system by using the Stakeholder Impact Index (SII) and evaluate the current performance of each main stakeholder and suggested dangerous stakeholders and dormant stakeholders. A Delphi method was used, involving 36 experts with experience in implementation and evaluation of the essential drug policy, to construct the circular model as well as evaluate the performance of each stakeholder. The central government was a dominant stakeholder of the whole essential drug system. The provincial governments were definitive stakeholders, whereas local governments and medical institutions were dependent stakeholders. Furthermore, media and drug stores were dormant stakeholders and pharmaceutical manufacturers and delivery enterprises were dangerous stakeholders. Patients, community residents, and medical insurance programs were discretionary stakeholders. The SII for the essential drug system was positive (SII proj ⁎ = 2.72). The overall anticipation of the essential drug policy is optimistic. Letting definitive stakeholders (provincial governments) having more autonomy can efficiently accelerate the pace of implementation of the essential drug policy in the current situation. Central government, however, also needs to construct an experience exchange platform with the aim of building versatile methods for running the essential drug system in all provinces. Pharmaceutical manufacturers and delivery enterprises were dangerous stakeholders for the essential drug policy. Because of their potential threat to the implementation of the policy, the central government should motivate them to support the construction of the essential drug system spontaneously. In that case, provincial governments need to construct a fair, balanced, and self-stabilized bidding platform. Copyright © 2015 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The keys to governance and stakeholder engagement: the southeast michigan beacon community case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Des Jardins, Terrisca R

2014-01-01

Community-based health information exchanges (HIEs) and efforts to consolidate and house data are growing, given the advent of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) under the Affordable Care Act and other similar population health focused initiatives. The Southeast Michigan Beacon Community (SEMBC) can be looked to as one case study that offers lessons learned, insights on challenges faced and accompanying workarounds related to governance and stakeholder engagement. The SEMBC case study employs an established Data Warehouse Governance Framework to identify and explain the necessary governance and stakeholder engagement components, particularly as they relate to community-wide data sharing and data warehouses or repositories. Perhaps the biggest lesson learned through the SEMBC experience is that community-based work is hard. It requires a great deal of community leadership, collaboration and resources. SEMBC found that organizational structure and guiding principles needed to be continually revisited and nurtured in order to build the relationships and trust needed among stakeholder organizations. SEMBC also found that risks and risk mitigation tactics presented challenges and opportunities at the outset and through the duration of the three year pilot period. Other communities across the country embarking on similar efforts need to consider realistic expectations about community data sharing infrastructures and the accompanying and necessary governance and stakeholder engagement fundamentals.

The Keys to Governance and Stakeholder Engagement: The Southeast Michigan Beacon Community Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Des Jardins, Terrisca R.

2014-01-01

Community-based health information exchanges (HIEs) and efforts to consolidate and house data are growing, given the advent of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) under the Affordable Care Act and other similar population health focused initiatives. The Southeast Michigan Beacon Community (SEMBC) can be looked to as one case study that offers lessons learned, insights on challenges faced and accompanying workarounds related to governance and stakeholder engagement. The SEMBC case study employs an established Data Warehouse Governance Framework to identify and explain the necessary governance and stakeholder engagement components, particularly as they relate to community-wide data sharing and data warehouses or repositories. Perhaps the biggest lesson learned through the SEMBC experience is that community-based work is hard. It requires a great deal of community leadership, collaboration and resources. SEMBC found that organizational structure and guiding principles needed to be continually revisited and nurtured in order to build the relationships and trust needed among stakeholder organizations. SEMBC also found that risks and risk mitigation tactics presented challenges and opportunities at the outset and through the duration of the three year pilot period. Other communities across the country embarking on similar efforts need to consider realistic expectations about community data sharing infrastructures and the accompanying and necessary governance and stakeholder engagement fundamentals. PMID:25848612

Stakeholder involvement in establishing a milk quality sub-index in dairy cow breeding goals: a Delphi approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Henchion, M; McCarthy, M; Resconi, V C; Berry, D P; McParland, S

2016-05-01

The relative weighting on traits within breeding goals are generally determined by bio-economic models or profit functions. While such methods have generally delivered profitability gains to producers, and are being expanded to consider non-market values, current approaches generally do not consider the numerous and diverse stakeholders that affect, or are affected, by such tools. Based on principles of respondent anonymity, iteration, controlled feedback and statistical aggregation of feedback, a Delphi study was undertaken to gauge stakeholder opinion of the importance of detailed milk quality traits within an overall dairy breeding goal for profit, with the aim of assessing its suitability as a complementary, participatory approach to defining breeding goals. The questionnaires used over two survey rounds asked stakeholders: (a) their opinion on incorporating an explicit sub-index for milk quality into a national breeding goal; (b) the importance they would assign to a pre-determined list of milk quality traits and (c) the (relative) weighting they would give such a milk quality sub-index. Results from the survey highlighted a good degree of consensus among stakeholders on the issues raised. Similarly, revelation of the underlying assumptions and knowledge used by stakeholders to make their judgements illustrated their ability to consider a range of perspectives when evaluating traits, and to reconsider their answers based on the responses and rationales given by others, which demonstrated social learning. Finally, while the relative importance assigned by stakeholders in the Delphi survey (4% to 10%) and the results of calculations based on selection index theory of the relative emphasis that should be placed on milk quality to halt any deterioration (16%) are broadly in line, the difference indicates the benefit of considering more than one approach to determining breeding goals. This study thus illustrates the role of the Delphi technique, as a complementary

Dynamic Average Consensus and Consensusability of General Linear Multiagent Systems with Random Packet Dropout

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wen-Min Zhou

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper is concerned with the consensus problem of general linear discrete-time multiagent systems (MASs with random packet dropout that happens during information exchange between agents. The packet dropout phenomenon is characterized as being a Bernoulli random process. A distributed consensus protocol with weighted graph is proposed to address the packet dropout phenomenon. Through introducing a new disagreement vector, a new framework is established to solve the consensus problem. Based on the control theory, the perturbation argument, and the matrix theory, the necessary and sufficient condition for MASs to reach mean-square consensus is derived in terms of stability of an array of low-dimensional matrices. Moreover, mean-square consensusable conditions with regard to network topology and agent dynamic structure are also provided. Finally, the effectiveness of the theoretical results is demonstrated through an illustrative example.

Stakeholder Governance, Competition and Firm Value

OpenAIRE

Allen, Franklin; Carletti, Elena; Marquez, Robert

2014-01-01

In many countries, the legal system or social norms ensure that firms are stakeholder oriented. We analyze the advantages and disadvantages of stakeholder-oriented firms that are concerned with employees and suppliers compared to shareholder-oriented firms in a model of imperfect competition. Stakeholder firms are more (less) valuable than shareholder firms when marginal cost uncertainty is greater (less) than demand uncertainty. With globalization shareholder firms and stakeholder firms ofte...

a Case Study in Documentation Production as Learning Tools Benefitting Multiple Stakeholders

Science.gov (United States)

Truesdale, T. J.; Hierlihy, B.; Jouan, P.

2017-08-01

The Fondation Strutt Foundation has taken on the conservation planning of the Strutt House as part of a P3 collaborative effort with the National Capital Commission (NCC). This paper will address three of the primary documents/data sets (documentary methodologies) being used on/for the Strutt House project. The Strutt House is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building and a significant example of Canadian modernist architecture. Stakeholder is a term often used in Architectural Projects reflecting an economic interest in success of the project. In conservation projects the stakeholder generally reflects social, cultural and/or economic interests in a given project. The Strutt House project has benefitted from stakeholders that have all been interested in the above, as well as the education of our future conservationists. The Strutt house was purchased from the architect's daughter in 2010, and as part of the acquisition, a Heritage Structure Report was commissioned and produced by PTAH Consultants Inc., Architects. The report forms the first of the primary referenced documents of this paper, including: a comprehensive photographic record of existing conditions; and, a building simulation model of the house `as designed/built'. This HSR and the accompanying data/documents have been adopted as the basis of an evolving document in the development of the Conservation Plan including: additional heritage surveys and technologies; traditional drawings, photographic and video records; and, a series of workshops on the structural stabilization efforts, thermography scans, and smoke/blow-door (air pressure) testing. In 2016, Pierre Jouan, a Master's thesis student from KU Leuvan, working with the Carleton University CIMS lab under the direction of Professor Mario Santana, and the FSF completed a 3-D scanning and photogrammetry workshop on the Strutt House and created a building information model (BIM model) from the collected data. The three primary documentation processes

A CASE STUDY IN DOCUMENTATION PRODUCTION AS LEARNING TOOLS BENEFITTING MULTIPLE STAKEHOLDERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. J. Truesdale

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The Fondation Strutt Foundation has taken on the conservation planning of the Strutt House as part of a P3 collaborative effort with the National Capital Commission (NCC. This paper will address three of the primary documents/data sets (documentary methodologies being used on/for the Strutt House project. The Strutt House is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building and a significant example of Canadian modernist architecture. Stakeholder is a term often used in Architectural Projects reflecting an economic interest in success of the project. In conservation projects the stakeholder generally reflects social, cultural and/or economic interests in a given project. The Strutt House project has benefitted from stakeholders that have all been interested in the above, as well as the education of our future conservationists. The Strutt house was purchased from the architect’s daughter in 2010, and as part of the acquisition, a Heritage Structure Report was commissioned and produced by PTAH Consultants Inc., Architects. The report forms the first of the primary referenced documents of this paper, including: a comprehensive photographic record of existing conditions; and, a building simulation model of the house ‘as designed/built’. This HSR and the accompanying data/documents have been adopted as the basis of an evolving document in the development of the Conservation Plan including: additional heritage surveys and technologies; traditional drawings, photographic and video records; and, a series of workshops on the structural stabilization efforts, thermography scans, and smoke/blow-door (air pressure testing. In 2016, Pierre Jouan, a Master’s thesis student from KU Leuvan, working with the Carleton University CIMS lab under the direction of Professor Mario Santana, and the FSF completed a 3-D scanning and photogrammetry workshop on the Strutt House and created a building information model (BIM model from the collected data. The three primary

PARTISIPASI STAKEHOLDERS DALAM OPERASI DAN PEMELIHARAAN JARINGAN IRIGASI PADA DAERAH IRIGASI UNDA DI KABUPATEN KLUNGKUNG

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I Made Ari Wahyudhi

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Although it has a large amount water resources but the agricultural land of Unda Irrigation Area still has water crisis. Many potential water of  Unda river waste into the sea that indicate the management of irrigation network is still less. The lack participation of stakeholders from the government and the public in this case Irrigation Area of Unda river seen from the number of the irrigation channels damage and existing buildings. The approach used in this research is explorative and descriptive approach. The collecting Data obtained by questionnaires and in-depth interviews with stakeholders were selected using purposive sampling method. Data were analyzed with descriptive qualitative Likert scale used to measure attitudes, opinions and perceptions of stakeholders in the securement and maintenance. The test results show the value of the adjusted R Square is 0.747. This mean that stakeholders have 74.7% effects, while 25.3% is influenced by other factors. Which is government contributes most, followed by Subak / P3A. It caused by the influence of the test simultaneously or partial value of Fcount > Ftable, so it can be concluded participation of stakeholders have a significant influence on this operation and maintenance of irrigation system in Unda Irrigation area in Klungkung district either simultaneously or partially. This means increased participation of stakeholders simultaneously and partially will improve the operation and maintenance of irrigation networks. From this research can be given some suggestions. In order for the participation of stakeholders can be improved, the other stakeholders instead of government sector and Subak / P3A which is not included in the study need to observe. To increase the participation of Subak / P3A in the operation and maintenance of irrigation networks needs to be disseminated about the importance of stakeholder participation by the government so that the participation of Subak / P3A can be maximized.

Integrating Renewable Energy Requirements Into Building Energy Codes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaufmann, John R.; Hand, James R.; Halverson, Mark A.

2011-07-01

This report evaluates how and when to best integrate renewable energy requirements into building energy codes. The basic goals were to: (1) provide a rough guide of where we’re going and how to get there; (2) identify key issues that need to be considered, including a discussion of various options with pros and cons, to help inform code deliberations; and (3) to help foster alignment among energy code-development organizations. The authors researched current approaches nationally and internationally, conducted a survey of key stakeholders to solicit input on various approaches, and evaluated the key issues related to integration of renewable energy requirements and various options to address those issues. The report concludes with recommendations and a plan to engage stakeholders. This report does not evaluate whether the use of renewable energy should be required on buildings; that question involves a political decision that is beyond the scope of this report.

Stakeholder Salience in ERP Projects

OpenAIRE

Salhotra, Eashan

2014-01-01

The aim of this study is to examine stakeholder involvement in an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System project that involves implementation and improvement of the implemented system. The study targets stakeholders, their classification, and their degree of importance during different phases of an ERP project life cycle, i.e. planning, implementation, stabilisation and improvement. The study shows that stakeholder involvement and their salience vary along the ERP project life cycle a...

Building our stories

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tourism transforms people and places. New stakeholders are emerging, landscapes of power are shifting, and lines of responsibilities are being redrawn. Everyday stories of coping, success, empowerment, nurturing, relationship building and activism are important tools for reflection and learning...... for our first TEFI regional conference. Storytelling is a powerful way of exploring, linking and crafting values, articulating them is such a way as to instil action. This conference proceedings assembles 31research stories of sustainable, caring and ethical worldmaking in tourism....

Stakeholder perspectives on national policy for regulating the school food environment in Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Monterrosa, Eva C; Campirano, Fabricio; Tolentino Mayo, Lizbeth; Frongillo, Edward A; Hernández Cordero, Sonia; Kaufer-Horwitz, Martha; Rivera, Juan A

2015-02-01

In Mexico, the school environment has been promoting sale of unhealthy foods. There is little empirical evidence on multi-stakeholder perspectives around national school food policy to regulate this. We studied stakeholders' perspectives on the proposed regulation for school sale of unhealthy foods. Comments about the regulation were available from an open consultation process held in June 2010 before the approval and implementation of the regulation. To examine perspectives, we coded 597 comments for beliefs, expectations and demands in NVivo. We created matrices by actors: academics, parents, citizens, health professionals and food industry. For academics, citizens and health professionals, the primary issue regarding the regulation was obesity, while for parents it was health of children. Academics, citizens, health professionals and parents believed that government was responsible for health of citizens, expected that this regulation would improve eating habits and health (i.e. less obesity and chronic diseases), and demanded that unhealthy foods be removed from schools. Parents demanded immediate action for school food policy that would protect their children. Citizens and health professionals demanded nutrition education and healthy food environment. Food industry opposed the regulation because it would not solve obesity or improve diet and physical activity behaviours. Instead, industry would lose income and jobs. Food industry demanded policy aimed at families that included nutrition education and physical activity. There was substantial consensus in narratives and perspectives for most actor types, with the primary narrative being the food environment followed by shared responsibility. Food industry rejected both these narratives, espousing instead the narrative of personal responsibility. Consensus among most actor groups supports the potential success of implementation of the regulation in Mexican schools. With regard to addressing childhood obesity

Using consensus methods to develop a country-specific Master of Public Health curriculum for the Republic of Maldives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robotin MC

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Monica C Robotin,1,2 Muthau Shaheem,3 Aishath S Ismail3 1Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health, University of Sydney, 2Cancer Programs Division, Cancer Council New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; 3Faculty of Health Sciences, Maldives National University, Male, Maldives Background: Over the last four decades, the health status of Maldivian people improved considerably, as reflected in child and maternal mortality indicators and the eradication or control of many communicable diseases. However, changing disease patterns are now undermining these successes, so the local public health practitioners need new skills to perform effectively in this changing environment. To address these needs, in 2013 the Faculty of Health Sciences of the Maldives National University developed the country's first Master of Public Health (MPH program.Methods: The process commenced with a wide scoping exercise and an analysis of the curricular structure of MPH programs of high-ranking universities. Thereafter, a stakeholder consultation using consensus methods reached agreement on overall course structure and the competencies required for local MPH graduates. Subsequently, a working group developed course descriptors and identified local public health research priorities, which could be addressed by MPH students.Results: Ten semistructured interviews explored specific training needs of prospective MPH students, key public health competencies required by local employers and preferred MPH training models. The recommendations informed a nominal group meeting, where participants agreed on MPH core competencies, overall curricular structure and core subjects. The 17 public health electives put forward by the group were prioritized using an online Delphi process. Participants ranked them by their propensity to address local public health needs and the locally available teaching expertise. The first student cohort commenced their MPH studies in January 2014.Conclusion

Design and construction strategies for reducing embodied impacts from buildings – Case study analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Malmqvist, Tove; Nehasilova, Marie; Moncaster, Alice

2018-01-01

, individual building projects. This is done by a systematic analysis of the Annex 57 case study collection as well as additional scientific literature. While it should be noted that the actual EEG savings at building level illustrated in this collection of studies are only applicable to each specific case...... of national energy mixes. Stakeholders therefore have a growing interest in understanding the possibilities for reducing em- bodied impacts in buildings. In the IEA EBC project ‘Annex 57’ a broad call for case studies was launched with the aim to identify design strategies for reducing embodied energy and GHG...... emissions (EEG) from buildings. The aim of this paper is to identify and provide a collected and comprehensive overview of quantitative reduction potentials of the particular EEG reduction strategies which should be considered by the stakeholders engaged in, and with the capacity to influence the outcome of...

Supporting multi-stakeholder environmental decisions.

Science.gov (United States)

Hajkowicz, Stefan A

2008-09-01

This paper examines how multiple criteria analysis (MCA) can be used to support multi-stakeholder environmental management decisions. It presents a study through which 48 stakeholders from environmental, primary production and community interest groups used MCA to prioritise 30 environmental management problems in the Mackay-Whitsunday region of Queensland, Australia. The MCA model, with procedures for aggregating multi-stakeholder output, was used to inform a final decision on the priority of the region's environmental management problems. The result was used in the region's environmental management plan as required under Australia's Natural Heritage Trust programme. The study shows how relatively simple MCA methods can help stakeholders make group decisions, even when they hold strongly conflicting preferences.

Eliciting Public Attitudes Regarding Bioremediation Cleanup Technologies: Lessons Learned from a Consensus Workshop in Idaho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Denise Lach, Principle Investigator; Stephanie Sanford, Co-P.I.

2003-03-01

During the summer of 2002, we developed and implemented a ''consensus workshop'' with Idaho citizens to elicit their concerns and issues regarding the use of bioremediation as a cleanup technology for radioactive nuclides and heavy metals at Department of Energy (DOE) sites. The consensus workshop is a derivation of a technology assessment method designed to ensure dialogue between experts and lay people. It has its origins in the United States in the form of ''consensus development conferences'' used by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to elicit professional knowledge and concerns about new medical treatments. Over the last 25 years, NIH has conducted over 100 consensus development conferences. (Jorgensen 1995). The consensus conference is grounded in the idea that technology assessment and policy needs to be socially negotiated among many different stakeholders and groups rather than narrowly defined by a group of experts. To successfully implement new technology, the public requires access to information that addresses a full complement of issues including understanding the organization proposing the technology. The consensus conference method creates an informed dialogue, making technology understandable to the general public and sets it within perspectives and priorities that may differ radically from those of the expert community. While specific outcomes differ depending on the overall context of a conference, one expected outcome is that citizen panel members develop greater knowledge of the technology during the conference process and, sometimes, the entire panel experiences a change in attitude toward the technology and/or the organization proposing its use (Kluver 1995). The purpose of this research project was to explore the efficacy of the consensus conference model as a way to elicit the input of the general public about bioremediation of radionuclides and heavy metals at Department of Energy sites

Eliciting Public Attitudes Regarding Bioremediation Cleanup Technologies: Lessons Learned from a Consensus Workshop in Idaho

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Denise Lach, Principle Investigator; Stephanie Sanford, Co-P.I.

2003-01-01

During the summer of 2002, we developed and implemented a ''consensus workshop'' with Idaho citizens to elicit their concerns and issues regarding the use of bioremediation as a cleanup technology for radioactive nuclides and heavy metals at Department of Energy (DOE) sites. The consensus workshop is a derivation of a technology assessment method designed to ensure dialogue between experts and lay people. It has its origins in the United States in the form of ''consensus development conferences'' used by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to elicit professional knowledge and concerns about new medical treatments. Over the last 25 years, NIH has conducted over 100 consensus development conferences. (Jorgensen 1995). The consensus conference is grounded in the idea that technology assessment and policy needs to be socially negotiated among many different stakeholders and groups rather than narrowly defined by a group of experts. To successfully implement new technology, the public requires access to information that addresses a full complement of issues including understanding the organization proposing the technology. The consensus conference method creates an informed dialogue, making technology understandable to the general public and sets it within perspectives and priorities that may differ radically from those of the expert community. While specific outcomes differ depending on the overall context of a conference, one expected outcome is that citizen panel members develop greater knowledge of the technology during the conference process and, sometimes, the entire panel experiences a change in attitude toward the technology and/or the organization proposing its use (Kluver 1995). The purpose of this research project was to explore the efficacy of the consensus conference model as a way to elicit the input of the general public about bioremediation of radionuclides and heavy metals at Department of Energy sites. Objectives of the research included: (1

How to Choose? Using the Delphi Method to Develop Consensus Triggers and Indicators for Disaster Response.

Science.gov (United States)

Lis, Rebecca; Sakata, Vicki; Lien, Onora

2017-08-01

To identify key decisions along the continuum of care (conventional, contingency, and crisis) and the critical triggers and data elements used to inform those decisions concerning public health and health care response during an emergency. A classic Delphi method, a consensus-building survey technique, was used with clinicians around Washington State to identify regional triggers and indicators. Additionally, using a modified Delphi method, we combined a workshop and single-round survey with panelists from public health (state and local) and health care coalitions to identify consensus state-level triggers and indicators. In the clinical survey, 122 of 223 proposed triggers or indicators (43.7%) reached consensus and were deemed important in regional decision-making during a disaster. In the state-level survey, 110 of 140 proposed triggers or indicators (78.6%) reached consensus and were deemed important in state-level decision-making during a disaster. The identification of consensus triggers and indicators for health care emergency response is crucial in supporting a comprehensive health care situational awareness process. This can inform the creation of standardized questions to ask health care, public health, and other partners to support decision-making during a response. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:467-472).

Governing for Stakeholders : How Organizations May Create or Destroy Value for their Stakeholders

NARCIS (Netherlands)

P. Vishwanathan (Pushpika)

2016-01-01

markdownabstractThis PhD thesis lies at the intersection of stakeholder theory and corporate governance research. Stakeholder theory proposes that firms are best understood as a set of relationships among groups that have a stake in the activities of the firm. Corporate governance research, on the

Consensus of recommendations guiding comparative effectiveness research methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Morton, Jacob B; McConeghy, Robert; Heinrich, Kirstin; Gatto, Nicolle M; Caffrey, Aisling R

2016-12-01

Because of an increasing demand for quality comparative effectiveness research (CER), methods guidance documents have been published, such as those from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). Our objective was to identify CER methods guidance documents and compare them to produce a summary of important recommendations which could serve as a consensus of CER method recommendations. We conducted a systematic literature review to identify CER methods guidance documents published through 2014. Identified documents were analyzed for methods guidance recommendations. Individual recommendations were categorized to determine the degree of overlap. We identified nine methods guidance documents, which contained a total of 312 recommendations, 97% of which were present in two or more documents. All nine documents recommended transparency and adaptation for relevant stakeholders in the interpretation and dissemination of results. Other frequently shared CER methods recommendations included: study design and operational definitions should be developed a priori and allow for replication (n = 8 documents); focus on areas with gaps in current clinical knowledge that are relevant to decision-makers (n = 7); validity of measures, instruments, and data should be assessed and discussed (n = 7); outcomes, including benefits and harms, should be clinically meaningful, and objectively measured (n = 7). Assessment for and strategies to minimize bias (n = 6 documents), confounding (n = 6), and heterogeneity (n = 4) were also commonly shared recommendations between documents. We offer a field-consensus guide based on nine CER methods guidance documents that will aid researchers in designing CER studies and applying CER methods. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Core Competencies for Pain Management: Results of an Interprofessional Consensus Summit

Science.gov (United States)

Fishman, Scott M; Young, Heather M; Lucas Arwood, Ellyn; Chou, Roger; Herr, Keela; Murinson, Beth B; Watt-Watson, Judy; Carr, Daniel B; Gordon, Debra B; Stevens, Bonnie J; Bakerjian, Debra; Ballantyne, Jane C; Courtenay, Molly; Djukic, Maja; Koebner, Ian J; Mongoven, Jennifer M; Paice, Judith A; Prasad, Ravi; Singh, Naileshni; Sluka, Kathleen A; St Marie, Barbara; Strassels, Scott A

2013-01-01

Objective The objective of this project was to develop core competencies in pain assessment and management for prelicensure health professional education. Such core pain competencies common to all prelicensure health professionals have not been previously reported. Methods An interprofessional executive committee led a consensus-building process to develop the core competencies. An in-depth literature review was conducted followed by engagement of an interprofessional Competency Advisory Committee to critique competencies through an iterative process. A 2-day summit was held so that consensus could be reached. Results The consensus-derived competencies were categorized within four domains: multidimensional nature of pain, pain assessment and measurement, management of pain, and context of pain management. These domains address the fundamental concepts and complexity of pain; how pain is observed and assessed; collaborative approaches to treatment options; and application of competencies across the life span in the context of various settings, populations, and care team models. A set of values and guiding principles are embedded within each domain. Conclusions These competencies can serve as a foundation for developing, defining, and revising curricula and as a resource for the creation of learning activities across health professions designed to advance care that effectively responds to pain. PMID:23577878

Link between Research, Development and Demonstration (RD and D) and Stakeholder Confidence: Use of Analogues for Confidence Building. Proceedings of a Topical Session, 4-6 June 2008, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

As part of its programme of work the OECD/NEA Forum on Stakeholder Confidence continues to investigate the theme of 'Link Between RD and D and Stakeholder Confidence'. Regulators need a technical demonstration to aid in evaluating the safety case. Local stakeholders appreciate the opportunity to visualise technological arrangements. In both cases, demonstration adds to confidence in the feasibility of solutions. Some believe that, if handled with integrity, there is an important role for analogues in both the technical safety case and in communication with stakeholders. A topical session was held on June 4, 2008 on the use of analogues to help understand and to build confidence in radioactive waste management approaches and safety cases. Case studies were presented from Finland, Spain and Switzerland and from joint international endeavours (EC projects NANET and PAMINA). The results of a questionnaire filled by FSC members in co-ordination with their IGSC colleagues served as the basis of the introductory presentation. The Chair of the Topical Session, Mitsuo Takeuchi of Japan's NUMO, told the FSC: 'Analogy is a manner very often used in explaining complex things to lay people in a much more understandable way. The expectation behind the use of analogy is to give greater comprehensibility and approachability to repository safety in communication with stakeholders. Implementers want to use analogy, for example, to explain long-term behavior of repository components in order to provide greater confidence in its safety assessment, responding to the regulator's demands of increasingly more credibility in the safety concept of the repository. It goes without saying that the reference to analogy should be based on sound science. However, when using natural and anthropogenic analogues in communication, we have to carefully consider issues of adaption and then avoid misuse. There is agreement that analogues cannot meet all communication needs'. This topical session

Exploring technological and architectural solutions for nursing home residents, care professionals and technical staff: Focus groups with professional stakeholders.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M.H. Wetzels; H.T.G. Weffers; A.M.C. Dooremalen; Joost van Hoof; Eveline Wouters

2014-01-01

Buildings with innovative technologies and architectural solutions are needed as a means of support for future nursing homes alongside adequate care services. This study investigated how various groups of stakeholders from healthcare and technology envision the nursing home of the future in the

18 CFR 50.4 - Stakeholder participation.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Stakeholder... ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION FACILITIES § 50.4 Stakeholder participation. A Project Participation Plan is required to ensure stakeholders have access to accurate and timely information on the proposed project and...

40 CFR 155.52 - Stakeholder engagement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 23 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Stakeholder engagement. 155.52 Section... REGISTRATION STANDARDS AND REGISTRATION REVIEW Registration Review Procedures § 155.52 Stakeholder engagement... Agency may meet with stakeholders regarding a forthcoming or ongoing registration review. For example...

Participatory Sustainability Approach to Value Capture-Based Urban Rail Financing in India through Deliberated Stakeholder Engagement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Satya Sai Kumar Jillella

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Increasingly, cities around the world are seeking innovative financial mechanisms to build rail transit projects. Land value capture (VC is a financing mechanism to fund urban rail transit. Often VC mechanisms are viewed only as a financing tool applied in relation to increased land values from the administration and legislation perspectives, without actively involving the community in the process. The lack of such participation has resulted in the under collection of the true value established. The transit beneficiary community and city tax payers are especially important stakeholders in this process as their willingness to participate is really critical to the overall VC success and transport outcome. This paper introduces a participatory sustainability approach to enable a more deliberated stakeholder engagement intervention across the VC life cycle. A four-step “Participatory Strategic Value Capture (PSVC” framework is proposed offering step-by-step guidance toward facilitating a meaningful stakeholder dialogue, deliberation, and collaboration around the stated engagement interests. The PSVC framework, applied to the proposed Bangalore sub-urban rail project in India, has demonstrated the importance of stakeholder engagement using deliberated participatory approaches from a win-win perspective.

Stakeholder Alignment and Changing Geospatial Information Capabilities

Science.gov (United States)

Winter, S.; Cutcher-Gershenfeld, J.; King, J. L.

2015-12-01

Changing geospatial information capabilities can have major economic and social effects on activities such as drought monitoring, weather forecasts, agricultural productivity projections, water and air quality assessments, the effects of forestry practices and so on. Whose interests are served by such changes? Two common mistakes are assuming stability in the community of stakeholders and consistency in stakeholder behavior. Stakeholder communities can reconfigure dramatically as some leave the discussion, others enter, and circumstances shift — all resulting in dynamic points of alignment and misalignment . New stakeholders can bring new interests, and existing stakeholders can change their positions. Stakeholders and their interests need to be be considered as geospatial information capabilities change, but this is easier said than done. New ways of thinking about stakeholder alignment in light of changes in capability are presented.

Towards a More Holistic Stakeholder Analysis Approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sedereviciute, Kristina; Valentini, Chiara

2011-01-01

are identified based on the dimensions of connectivity and the content shared. Accordingly, the study introduces four groups of important actors from social media: unconcerned lurkers, unconcerned influencers, concerned lurkers and concerned influencers and integrates them into the existing Stakeholder Salience...... in finding stakeholders on new environments (social media), where connectivity and relationships play a key role. The argument stems from the need to assess stakeholder presence beyond the dyadic ties. Consequently, the combination of the Stakeholder Salience Model (SSM) and social network analysis (SNA......) is proposed as a more holistic solution for stakeholder identification including those from social media. A process of finding “unknown” but important stakeholders from social media was identified incorporating the content search and the principles of SNA. Consequently, stakeholders from social media...

If We Build It, Will They Come? A Qualitative Study of Key Stakeholder Opinions on the Implementation of a Videogame Intervention for Risk Reduction in Adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Pendergrass, Tyra M; Hieftje, Kimberly; Crusto, Cindy A; Montanaro, Erika; Fiellin, Lynn E

2016-08-01

Serious games are emerging as important tools that offer an innovative approach to teach adolescents behavioral skills to avoid risky situations. PlayForward: Elm City Stories, an interactive videogame targeting risk reduction, is currently undergoing evaluation. Collecting stakeholder data on its acceptability and real-life implementation strategies is critical for successful dissemination. We collected interview data from four stakeholder groups regarding incorporating PlayForward into settings with adolescents. Transcripts were coded, creating a comprehensive code structure for each stakeholder group. We conducted 40 semi-structured interviews that included 14 adolescents (aged 12-15 years; 10 boys), eight parents/guardians (all women), 12 after-school/school coordinators (nine women), and 14 community partners (13 women). We identified four themes that reflected stakeholders' perceptions about how the videogame might be implemented in real-world settings. (1) Stakeholder groups expressed that the topics of sex, alcohol, and drugs were not being taught in an educational setting. (2) Stakeholder groups saw a videogame as a viable option to teach about sex, alcohol, and drugs. (3) Stakeholder groups thought that the videogame would fit well into other settings, such as after-school programs or community organizations. (4) Some stakeholder groups highlighted additional tools that could help with implementation, such as manuals, homework assignments, and group discussion questions. Stakeholder groups supported the game as a delivery vehicle for targeted content, indicating high acceptability but highlighting additional tools that would aid in implementation.

Power and Conflict in Adaptive Management: Analyzing the Discourse of Riparian Management on Public Lands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer S. Arnold

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Adaptive collaborative management emphasizes stakeholder engagement as a crucial component of resilient social-ecological systems. Collaboration among diverse stakeholders is expected to enhance learning, build social legitimacy for decision making, and establish relationships that support learning and adaptation in the long term. However, simply bringing together diverse stakeholders does not guarantee productive engagement. Using critical discourse analysis, we examined how diverse stakeholders negotiated knowledge and power in a workshop designed to inform adaptive management of riparian livestock grazing on a National Forest in the southwestern USA. Publicly recognized as a successful component of a larger collaborative effort, we found that the workshop effectively brought together diverse participants, yet still restricted dialogue in important ways. Notably, workshop facilitators took on the additional roles of riparian experts and instructors. As they guided workshop participants toward a consensus view of riparian conditions and management recommendations, they used their status as riparian experts to emphasize commonalities with stakeholders supportive of riparian grazing and accentuate differences with stakeholders skeptical of riparian grazing, including some Forest Service staff with power to influence management decisions. Ultimately, the management plan published one year later did not fully adopt the consensus view from the workshop, but rather included and acknowledged a broader diversity of stakeholder perspectives. Our findings suggest that leaders and facilitators of adaptive collaborative management can more effectively manage for productive stakeholder engagement and, thus, social-ecological resilience if they are more tentative in their convictions, more critical of the role of expert knowledge, and more attentive to the knowledge, interests, and power of diverse stakeholders.

7 CFR 3430.607 - Stakeholder input.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Stakeholder input. 3430.607 Section 3430.607 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COOPERATIVE STATE RESEARCH, EDUCATION... § 3430.607 Stakeholder input. CSREES shall seek and obtain stakeholder input through a variety of forums...

Buildings Interoperability Landscape

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hardin, Dave [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Stephan, Eric G. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Wang, Weimin [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Corbin, Charles D. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Widergren, Steven E. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2015-12-31

Through its Building Technologies Office (BTO), the United States Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (DOE-EERE) is sponsoring an effort to advance interoperability for the integration of intelligent buildings equipment and automation systems, understanding the importance of integration frameworks and product ecosystems to this cause. This is important to BTO’s mission to enhance energy efficiency and save energy for economic and environmental purposes. For connected buildings ecosystems of products and services from various manufacturers to flourish, the ICT aspects of the equipment need to integrate and operate simply and reliably. Within the concepts of interoperability lie the specification, development, and certification of equipment with standards-based interfaces that connect and work. Beyond this, a healthy community of stakeholders that contribute to and use interoperability work products must be developed. On May 1, 2014, the DOE convened a technical meeting to take stock of the current state of interoperability of connected equipment and systems in buildings. Several insights from that meeting helped facilitate a draft description of the landscape of interoperability for connected buildings, which focuses mainly on small and medium commercial buildings. This document revises the February 2015 landscape document to address reviewer comments, incorporate important insights from the Buildings Interoperability Vision technical meeting, and capture thoughts from that meeting about the topics to be addressed in a buildings interoperability vision. In particular, greater attention is paid to the state of information modeling in buildings and the great potential for near-term benefits in this area from progress and community alignment.

Stakeholders' Perspectives on Stakeholder-engaged Research (SER): Strategies to Operationalize Patient-centered Outcomes Research Principles for SER.

Science.gov (United States)

Mackie, Thomas I; Sheldrick, Radley C; de Ferranti, Sarah D; Saunders, Tully; Rojas, Erick G; Leslie, Laurel K

2017-01-01

US federal funding agencies increasingly incentivize stakeholder-engaged research which represents a paradigm shift toward incorporating a range of stakeholders in research design, conduct, and dissemination. We use qualitative methods to capture experience-based recommendations on how to operationalize 4 Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (PCOR) principles in stakeholder-engaged research, specifically: (1) reciprocal relationships; (2) colearning; (3) partnership; and (4) trust, transparency, and honesty. We conducted semistructured interviews with members of a stakeholder panel who participated in a 2-year comparative effectiveness study of cholesterol screening and treatment among young adults. Participants included 8 young adults and parent panelists and 11 professional panelists (clinicians, researchers, policy developers, and disseminators). The interview guide included questions about the 4 PCOR principles and queried preferred strategies to attain them. Interview transcripts were analyzed using an a priori and emergent coding structure. Participants provided strategies to promote the 4 PCOR principles. Although some stakeholder-identified strategies were complementary, others conflicted due to (1) competing ideologies identified among the principles, and (2) distinct stakeholder preferences. Illustrative of competing ideologies, participants simultaneously preferred receiving relevant articles before calls (to facilitate colearning) but also minimal outside reading (to achieve partnership). Illustrative of distinct stakeholder preferences, young adult and parent panelists generally preferred calls to occur on weekends/evenings, whereas professional panelists preferred mid-week work hours. Our exploratory study provides stakeholder-identified strategies to achieve the 4 PCOR principles, and demonstrates the need to identify, acknowledge, and address potentially conflicting strategies due to the potential for competing ideologies or variation in stakeholder

Influence of Selected Stakeholders of Construction Investment Projects on the Course of Project

Science.gov (United States)

Bizon-Górecka, Jadwiga; Górecki, Jarosław

2017-10-01

The article presents an entity perspective of the construction investment projects. In a course of the project there are stakeholders who have an indirect influence (e.g. decision-makers in the selection of projects) or a direct influence (e.g. members of the project team). An intuitive opinion about a significant influence of project stakeholders on the project’s course encouraged the authors to undertake a research in this area. The article illustrates the initial phases of the construction project life cycle in a perspective of the entities and, in particular, a role of different stakeholders in making decisions that affect a course of the project. An analysis of the structure of the construction project life cycle makes a substantial involvement of various subjects in the initial phases of the project, i.e. in an initial phase and during a creation of the structures. A key point is to underline the factors of decision-making by the participants of the construction process. It was indicated that the stakeholders have a different impact on the course of the project. In large projects, which have many stakeholders, their role in the implementation of the investment project can vary, depending on the life cycle of the project. They can have positive or negative impacts on achieving the project objectives. The paper presents the results of 100 surveys made among participants of the building processes, executors of the construction projects in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian region. The study was conducted in December 2016 and January 2017. It revealed what is the impact of individual stakeholders of the construction projects on the course of the project. A special attention was paid to a complex relationship between objectives of the project and stakeholders’ goals. A great care to the smallest possible number of risks, which may arise from the different objectives of the project and its stakeholders’ goals, should be focused on the augmentation of correlation of

Stakeholder Definition for Indonesian Integrated Agriculture Information System (IAIS)

Science.gov (United States)

Budi Santoso, Halim; Delima, Rosa

2017-03-01

Stakeholders plays an important roles to determine the system requirements. Stakeholders are people or organizations that has an interest to the enterprise. Timely and effective consultation of relevant stakeholders is a paramount importance in the requirements engineering process. From the research and analysis of system stakeholder finds that there are four stakeholder groups in IAIS. Stakeholder analysis is being implemented by identifying stakeholder, stakeholder category, and analysis interaction between stakeholders.

Research Stakeholders' Views on Benefits and Challenges for Public Health Research Data Sharing in Kenya: The Importance of Trust and Social Relations.

Science.gov (United States)

Jao, Irene; Kombe, Francis; Mwalukore, Salim; Bull, Susan; Parker, Michael; Kamuya, Dorcas; Molyneux, Sassy; Marsh, Vicki

2015-01-01

There is increasing recognition of the importance of sharing research data within the international scientific community, but also of the ethical and social challenges this presents, particularly in the context of structural inequities and varied capacity in international research. Public involvement is essential to building locally responsive research policies, including on data sharing, but little research has involved stakeholders from low-to-middle income countries. Between January and June 2014, a qualitative study was conducted in Kenya involving sixty stakeholders with varying experiences of research in a deliberative process to explore views on benefits and challenges in research data sharing. In-depth interviews and extended small group discussions based on information sharing and facilitated debate were used to collect data. Data were analysed using Framework Analysis, and charting flow and dynamics in debates. The findings highlight both the opportunities and challenges of communicating about this complex and relatively novel topic for many stakeholders. For more and less research-experienced stakeholders, ethical research data sharing is likely to rest on the development and implementation of appropriate trust-building processes, linked to local perceptions of benefits and challenges. The central nature of trust is underpinned by uncertainties around who might request what data, for what purpose and when. Key benefits perceived in this consultation were concerned with the promotion of public health through science, with legitimate beneficiaries defined differently by different groups. Important challenges were risks to the interests of study participants, communities and originating researchers through stigmatisation, loss of privacy, impacting autonomy and unfair competition, including through forms of intentional and unintentional 'misuse' of data. Risks were also seen for science. Given background structural inequities in much international research

Research Stakeholders' Views on Benefits and Challenges for Public Health Research Data Sharing in Kenya: The Importance of Trust and Social Relations.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irene Jao

Full Text Available There is increasing recognition of the importance of sharing research data within the international scientific community, but also of the ethical and social challenges this presents, particularly in the context of structural inequities and varied capacity in international research. Public involvement is essential to building locally responsive research policies, including on data sharing, but little research has involved stakeholders from low-to-middle income countries.Between January and June 2014, a qualitative study was conducted in Kenya involving sixty stakeholders with varying experiences of research in a deliberative process to explore views on benefits and challenges in research data sharing. In-depth interviews and extended small group discussions based on information sharing and facilitated debate were used to collect data. Data were analysed using Framework Analysis, and charting flow and dynamics in debates.The findings highlight both the opportunities and challenges of communicating about this complex and relatively novel topic for many stakeholders. For more and less research-experienced stakeholders, ethical research data sharing is likely to rest on the development and implementation of appropriate trust-building processes, linked to local perceptions of benefits and challenges. The central nature of trust is underpinned by uncertainties around who might request what data, for what purpose and when. Key benefits perceived in this consultation were concerned with the promotion of public health through science, with legitimate beneficiaries defined differently by different groups. Important challenges were risks to the interests of study participants, communities and originating researchers through stigmatisation, loss of privacy, impacting autonomy and unfair competition, including through forms of intentional and unintentional 'misuse' of data. Risks were also seen for science.Given background structural inequities in much

Rational consensus under uncertainty: Expert judgment in the EC-USNRC uncertainty study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cooke, R.; Kraan, B.; Goossens, L.

1999-01-01

Governmental bodies are confronted with the problem of achieving rational consensus in the face of substantial uncertainties. The area of accident consequence management for nuclear power plants affords a good example. Decisions with regard to evacuation, decontamination, and food bans must be taken on the basis of predictions of environmental transport of radioactive material, contamination through the food chain, cancer induction, and the like. These predictions use mathematical models containing scores of uncertain parameters. Decision makers want to take, and want to be perceived to take, these decisions in a rational manner. The question is, how can this be accomplished in the face of large uncertainties? Indeed, the very presence of uncertainty poses a threat to rational consensus. Decision makers will necessarily base their actions on the judgments of experts. The experts, however, will not agree among themselves, as otherwise we would not speak of large uncertainties. Any given expert's viewpoint will be favorable to the interests of some stakeholders, and hostile to the interests of others. If a decision maker bases his/her actions on the views of one single expert, then (s)he is invariably open to charges of partiality toward the interests favored by this viewpoint. An appeal to 'impartial' or 'disinterested' experts will fail for two reasons. First, experts have interests; they have jobs, mortgages and professional reputations. Second, even if expert interests could somehow be quarantined, even then the experts would disagree. Expert disagreement is not explained by diverging interests, and consensus cannot be reached by shielding the decision process from expert interests. If rational consensus requires expert agreement, then rational consensus is simply not possible in the face of uncertainty. If rational consensus under uncertainty is to be achieved, then evidently the views of a diverse set of experts must be taken into account. The question is how

7 CFR 3430.15 - Stakeholder input.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Stakeholder input. 3430.15 Section 3430.15... Stakeholder input. Section 103(c)(2) of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998... RFAs for competitive programs. CSREES will provide instructions for submission of stakeholder input in...

Co-creating Stakeholder and Brand Identities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

von Wallpach, Sylvia; Voyer, Benjamin; Kastanakis, Minas

2017-01-01

This article introduces the special section on reciprocal co-creation of stakeholder and brand identities. Branding research and practice traditionally focus on the managerial creation and implementation of brand identity. Based on recent paradigmatic shifts from managerial to co-creative branding...... and from consumer to multi-stakeholder approaches in marketing, this special section develops a dynamic, process-oriented perspective on brand identity. Brand identity continuously emerges as a dynamic outcome of social processes of stakeholder interaction. Reciprocally, brand identity plays a potentially...... important role in ongoing interactive identity development processes of stakeholders. The special section contributes to deepening the understanding of this reciprocal co-creation of stakeholder and brand identities, through a series of conceptual and empirical articles. The Introduction reviews four...

Assessing the feasibility of introducing health insurance in Afghanistan: a qualitative stakeholder analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Wu; Kim, Christine; Archer, Lauren; Sayedi, Omarzaman; Jabarkhil, Mohammad Yousuf; Sears, Kathleen

2017-02-22

In the last decade, the health status of Afghans has improved drastically. However, the health financing system in Afghanistan remains fragile due to high out-of-pocket spending and reliance on donor funding. To address the country's health financing challenges, the Ministry of Public Health investigated health insurance as a mechanism to mobilize resources for health. This paper presents stakeholders' opinions on seven preconditions of implementing this approach, as their understanding and buy-in to such an approach will determine its success. Key informant interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with stakeholders. The interviews focused on perceptions of the seven preconditions of introducing health insurance, and adapting a framework developed by the International Labor Organization. Content analysis was conducted after interviews and discussions were transcribed and coded. Almost all of the stakeholders from government agencies, the private sector, and development partners are interested in introducing health insurance in Afghanistan, and they were aware of the challenges of the country's health financing system. Stakeholders acknowledged that health insurance could be an instrument to address these challenges. However, stakeholders differed in their beliefs about how and when to initiate a health insurance scheme. In addition to increasing insecurity in the country, they saw a lack of clear legal guidance, low quality of healthcare services, poor awareness among the population, limited technical capacity, and challenges to willingness to pay as the major barriers to establishing a successful nationwide health insurance scheme. The identified barriers prevent Afghanistan from establishing health insurance in the short term. Afghanistan must progressively address these major impediments in order to build a health insurance system.

Consensus on core phenomena and statements describing Basic Body Awareness Therapy within the movement awareness domain in physiotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Skjaerven, L H; Mattsson, M; Catalan-Matamoros, D; Parker, A; Gard, G; Gyllensten, A Lundvik

2018-02-26

Physiotherapists are facing complex health challenges in the treatment of persons suffering from long-lasting musculoskeletal disorders and mental health problems. Basic Body Awareness Therapy (BBAT) is a physiotherapy approach within the movement awareness domain developed to bridge physical, mental, and relational health challenges. The purpose of this study was to reach a consensus on core phenomena and statements describing BBAT. A consensus-building process was conducted using the nominal group technique (NGT). Twenty-one BBAT experts from 10 European countries participated in a concentrated weekend workshop of 20 hours. All participants signed informed consent. Participants reached a consensus on 138 core phenomena, clustered in three overarching categories: clinical core, historical roots, and research and evaluation phenomena. Of the 106 clinical core phenomena, the participants agreed on three categories of phenomena: movement quality, movement awareness practice, and movement awareness therapy and pedagogy. Furthermore, the participants reached 100 percent consensus on 16 of 30 statements describing BBAT. This study provides a consensus on core phenomena and statements describing BBAT. The data reveal phenomena implemented when promoting movement quality through movement awareness. Data provide clarity in some aspects of the vocabulary as fundamental theory. Further reearch will be developed.

A Fractional Supervision Game Model of Multiple Stakeholders and Numerical Simulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rongwu Lu

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Considering the popular use of a certain kind of supervision management problem in many fields, we firstly build an ordinary supervision game model of multiple stakeholders. Secondly, a fractional supervision game model is set up and solved based on the theory of fractional calculus and a predictor-corrector numerical approach. Thirdly, the methods of phase diagram and time series graph were applied to simulate and analyse the dynamic process of the fractional order game model. Results of numerical solutions are given to illustrate our conclusions and referred to the practice.

Social acceptance of renewable energy technologies for buildings in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area of Finland

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jung, N.; Moula, M.E.; Fang, T.; Hamdy, M.; Lahdelma, R.

2016-01-01

The application of renewable energy technologies (RETs) in the residential building sector requires acceptance of technical solutions by key stakeholders, such as building owners, real-estate developers, and energy providers. The objective of this study is to identify the current status of public

Overview of stakeholders issues and activities: report of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Forinash, Betsy

2004-01-01

(1) a clear understanding of the basis for our decisions, and (2) belief in the integrity of our Agency people and processes. - Establish clearly what re-certification means, and how the review will progress. We have developed key messages describing the re-certification: The review is not intended to revisit the original decision to open WIPP; We will conduct a thorough technical evaluation focused on changes to the WIPP; Based on our ongoing oversight, we haven't identified issues to date that we expect would lead us to deny re-certification. We use the same messages internally and externally and repeat them often. In addition, we have published a step-by-step description of the review process, estimated schedule, and public role at each stage. - Provide more opportunities for dialogue and face-to-face meetings. This is a departure from past strategies emphasizing public hearings and comment periods, in which the Agency only gathers information, and responses to concerns tend to be provided long afterwards. We've been more direct about asking stakeholders what information and meetings they want, rather than trying to predict. - Promise only what we know we can deliver. This can be challenging because it means saying 'no' more frequently, and often in person. It also requires being blunt about what kind of information is most useful to us, and about how we will provide feedback. But we believe it is an important factor in building personal trust, and that establishing more realistic expectations will lead to less frustration for stakeholders. - Take advantage of new technologies. While maintaining telephone hot-lines and libraries of printed material, we are increasingly using e-mail and the internet to allow broader and quicker distribution of information. Through a new e-mail alert system, we can notify interested stakeholders of actions the same day they occur. Similarly, we have been able to make DOE's technical documentation fully

Environmental management initiatives and stakeholder influences

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Henning; Ulhøi, John Parm

1999-01-01

in Danish industrial companies. These findings are discussed in the light of similar reported results and case studies of companies which are reportedly pioneers in the introduction of environmental initiatives from a number of EU countries. Implications for theory, practice and training are addressed...... of change, from the point of view of stakeholder theory, from a merely reactive attitude in industry, where companies only tend to respond to stakeholder pressure which cannot be ignored (e.g. ex post responses to one or two stakeholders, such as regulators and customers), towards an increasingly proactive...... attitude characterised by ex ante responses to several strategic groups of stakeholders (including NGOs, employees, neighbours, etc.). The present situation is illustrated by the findings in two recent surveys concerning perceived stakeholder influence in relation to environmental management initiatives...

Promoting children's health: Toward a consensus statement on food literacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Truman, Emily; Raine, Kim; Mrklas, Kelly; Prowse, Rachel; Carruthers Den Hoed, Rebecca; Watson-Jarvis, Katherine; Loewen, Jewel; Gorham, Megan; Ricciardi, Carolin; Tyminski, Sheila; Elliott, Charlene

2017-06-16

This consensus statement reflects the views of a diverse group of stakeholders convened to explore the concept of "food literacy" as it relates to children's health. Evidence-based conceptions of food literacy are needed in light of the term's popularity in health promotion and educational interventions designed to increase food skills and knowledge that contribute to overall health. Informed by a comprehensive scoping review that identified seven main themes of food literacy, meeting participants ranked those themes in terms of importance. Discussions highlighted two key points in conceptualizing food literacy: the need to recognize varying food skill and knowledge levels, and the need to recognize critical food contexts. From these discussions, meeting participants created two working definitions of food literacy, as well as the alternative conception of "radical food literacy". We conclude that multiple literacies in relation to food skills and knowledge are needed, and underline the importance of ongoing dialogue in this emergent area of research.

Implicit Consensus: Blockchain with Unbounded Throughput

OpenAIRE

Ren, Zhijie; Cong, Kelong; Pouwelse, Johan; Erkin, Zekeriya

2017-01-01

Recently, the blockchain technique was put in the spotlight as it introduced a systematic approach for multiple parties to reach consensus without needing trust. However, the application of this technique in practice is severely restricted due to its limitations in throughput. In this paper, we propose a novel consensus model, namely the implicit consensus, with a distinctive blockchain-based distributed ledger in which each node holds its individual blockchain. In our system, the consensus i...

Moroccan Coastal Management : Building Capacity to Adapt to ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Impacts from rising sea levels, coastal flooding and storm surges are becoming a challenging policy issue for planners, local authorities and stakeholders in areas such as Morocco's northeastern coast. This project will support capacity building and the development of tools and methods to underpin preparation for and ...

Defining the Stakeholder Concept for Political Marketing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ormrod, Robert

The concept of a ‘stakeholder’ is often misused in the academic literature; stakeholders can range from the few actors with which the organisation has a direct interaction (Carroll 1993), to anything that can exert some form of influence over the organisation, including nature, the deceased...... and the unborn (Starik 1995). It is therefore necessary to provide a precise definition of the stakeholder concept to maintain academic rigour. However, a specification of the nature of the stakeholder concept is generally missing in political marketing literature. This paper addresses this issue by discussing...... how the stakeholder concept is understood, and then applies the stakeholder concept to the political marketing context, proposing a definition of the stakeholder concept for political marketing research....

Building partnerships: a pilot study of stakeholders' attitudes on technology disruption in behavioral health delivery and research.

Science.gov (United States)

Sucala, Madalina; Nilsen, Wendy; Muench, Frederick

2017-12-01

Collaborations between scientists, care providers, and technology industry professionals are becoming more relevant for developing, testing, and implementing behavioral health technologies. As the need for such partnerships increases, it is important to understand stakeholders' attitudes about their role in partnering for developing such technologies and how much do they expect technology to impact behavioral research and care. The aim of this study was to investigate how much technology disruption do stakeholders expect in healthcare, as well as their perceived contribution in partnering for developing behavioral health technologies. Stakeholders (N = 74) responded to an online convenience sampling survey. Over 89% of participants reported expecting that technology will bring at least a moderate amount of disruption in the current models of behavioral healthcare, with respondents with the most experience in digital health expecting the most disruption. As for their perception of each other's role in partnering for developing behavioral health technologies, one group's weakness was considered to be complemented by another group's strength. Academics were perceived as having more theoretical and research expertise but being less technology-savvy, while industry professionals were considered to excel at technological and marketing activities. Providers were considered to have the most clinical and real-world healthcare industry expertise. Our results indicate that technology is expected to disrupt current healthcare models, while also highlighting the need for collaboration, as no single group was considered to have sufficient expertise and resources to develop successful, effective behavioral health technologies on its own. These results may contribute to a better understanding of how technology disruption is affecting behavioral healthcare from the standpoint of its key players, which may lead to better collaborative models of research and care delivery.

Impacts of building information modeling on facility maintenance management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahamed, Shafee; Neelamkavil, Joseph; Canas, Roberto [Centre for Computer-assisted Construction Technologies, National Research Council of Canada, London, Ontario (Canada)

2010-07-01

Building information modeling (BIM) is a digital representation of the physical and functional properties of a building; it has been used by construction professionals for a long time and stakeholders are now using it in different aspects of the building lifecycle. This paper intends to present how BIM impacts the construction industry and how it can be used for facility maintenance management. The maintenance and operations of buildings are in most cases still managed through the use of drawings and spreadsheets although life cycle costs of a building are significantly higher than initial investment costs; thus, the use of BIM could help in achieving a higher efficiency and so important benefits. This study is part of an ongoing research project, the nD modeling project, which aims at predicting building energy consumption with better accuracy.

Policy Pathways: Energy Performance Certification of Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2010-07-01

Improving energy efficiency is one of the most effective measures to address energy security, climate change and economic objectives. The Policy Pathways series can help countries capture this potential by assisting with the implementation of the 25 energy efficiency policy recommendations that were published by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in 2008. This policy pathway on energy performance certification of buildings is the second in the series. It aims to provide a 'how-to' guide to policy makers and relevant stakeholders on the essential elements in implementing energy performance certification of buildings programmes. Energy performance certification of buildings is a way to rate the energy efficiency of individual buildings -- whether they be residential, commercial or public. It is a key policy instrument that can assist governments in reducing energy consumption in buildings. This policy pathway showcases experiences from countries around the world to show examples of good practice and delivers a pathway of ten critical steps to implement energy performance certification of buildings programmes.

EDUCATIONAL PROJECTS STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Юлія Юріївна ГУСЄВА

2016-02-01

Full Text Available An approach based on an integration of requirements breakdown structure and work breakdown structure of the project is proposed. It can complement existing methods of project stakeholders classification with the indicator of resource input, which can be defined in monetary terms. A method of requirements monitoring is proposed, which allows you to track the requirements of project stakeholders over time according to the actual amount of resources spent by analogy with the earned value method. Proposed indexes are the basis not only for monitoring but for the forecast of the project. The need of creating of a mechanism for getting baseline data taking into account the existence of different types of requirements of project stakeholders is grounded.

Stakeholder views on pharmacogenomic testing.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Haridarshan N; Ursan, Iulia D; Zueger, Patrick M; Cavallari, Larisa H; Pickard, A Simon

2014-02-01

Pharmacogenomics has an important role in the evolution of personalized medicine, and its widespread uptake may ultimately depend on the interests and perspectives of key players in health care. Our aim was to summarize studies on stakeholder perspectives and attitudes toward pharmacogenomic testing. Thus, we conducted a review of original research studies that reported stakeholder views on pharmacogenomic testing using a structured approach in PubMed, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and EMBASE. A standardized data abstraction form was developed that included stakeholder group of interest-patients, general public, providers, and payers. Stakeholder views regarding barriers to pharmacogenetic implementation were organized into the following themes: ancillary information-related, clinical, economic, educational, ethical or legal, medical mistrust, and practicality. Of 34 studies that met our inclusion criteria, 37 perspectives were reported (15 on providers, 9 on the general public, 9 on patients, and 4 on payers). The most common topics that arose in studies of providers related to clinical usefulness of genetic data (n=11) and educational needs (n=11). Among the general public, the most common concerns were medical mistrust (n=5), insufficient education (n=5), and practicality (n=5). The most prevalent issues from the patient perspective were ethical or legal (n=6) and economic (n=5) issues. Among payers, leading issues were practicality (n=4) and clinical usefulness (n=3). There was overlap in the topics and concerns across stakeholder perspectives, including lack of knowledge about pharmacogenomic testing. Views on issues related to privacy, cost, and test result dissemination varied by stakeholder perspective. Limited research had been conducted in underrepresented groups. Efforts to address the issues raised by stakeholders may facilitate the implementation of pharmacogenomic testing into

Cost–benefit analysis method for building solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Araújo, Catarina; Almeida, Manuela; Bragança, Luís; Barbosa, José Amarilio

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A new cost–benefit method was developed to compare building solutions. • The method considers energy performance, life cycle costs and investment willingness. • The graphical analysis helps stakeholders to easily compare building solutions. • The method was applied to a case study showing consistency and feasibility. - Abstract: The building sector is responsible for consuming approximately 40% of the final energy in Europe. However, more than 50% of this consumption can be reduced through energy-efficient measures. Our society is facing not only a severe and unprecedented environmental crisis but also an economic crisis of similar magnitude. In light of this, EU has developed legislation promoting the use of the Cost-Optimal (CO) method in order to improve building energy efficiency, in which selection criteria is based on life cycle costs. Nevertheless, studies show that the implementation of energy-efficient solutions is far from ideal. Therefore, it is very important to analyse the reasons for this gap between theory and implementation as well as improve selection methods. This study aims to develop a methodology based on a cost-effectiveness analysis, which can be seen as an improvement to the CO method as it considers the investment willingness of stakeholders in the selection process of energy-efficient solutions. The method uses a simple graphical display in which the stakeholders’ investment willingness is identified as the slope of a reference line, allowing easy selection between building solutions. This method will lead to the selection of more desired – from stakeholders’ point of view – and more energy-efficient solutions than those selected through the CO method.

e-Bitter: Bitterant Prediction by the Consensus Voting From the Machine-Learning Methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Suqing; Jiang, Mengying; Zhao, Chengwei; Zhu, Rui; Hu, Zhicheng; Xu, Yong; Lin, Fu

2018-01-01

In-silico bitterant prediction received the considerable attention due to the expensive and laborious experimental-screening of the bitterant. In this work, we collect the fully experimental dataset containing 707 bitterants and 592 non-bitterants, which is distinct from the fully or partially hypothetical non-bitterant dataset used in the previous works. Based on this experimental dataset, we harness the consensus votes from the multiple machine-learning methods (e.g., deep learning etc.) combined with the molecular fingerprint to build the bitter/bitterless classification models with five-fold cross-validation, which are further inspected by the Y-randomization test and applicability domain analysis. One of the best consensus models affords the accuracy, precision, specificity, sensitivity, F1-score, and Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) of 0.929, 0.918, 0.898, 0.954, 0.936, and 0.856 respectively on our test set. For the automatic prediction of bitterant, a graphic program "e-Bitter" is developed for the convenience of users via the simple mouse click. To our best knowledge, it is for the first time to adopt the consensus model for the bitterant prediction and develop the first free stand-alone software for the experimental food scientist.

e-Bitter: Bitterant Prediction by the Consensus Voting From the Machine-learning Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Suqing; Jiang, Mengying; Zhao, Chengwei; Zhu, Rui; Hu, Zhicheng; Xu, Yong; Lin, Fu

2018-03-01

In-silico bitterant prediction received the considerable attention due to the expensive and laborious experimental-screening of the bitterant. In this work, we collect the fully experimental dataset containing 707 bitterants and 592 non-bitterants, which is distinct from the fully or partially hypothetical non-bitterant dataset used in the previous works. Based on this experimental dataset, we harness the consensus votes from the multiple machine-learning methods (e.g., deep learning etc.) combined with the molecular fingerprint to build the bitter/bitterless classification models with five-fold cross-validation, which are further inspected by the Y-randomization test and applicability domain analysis. One of the best consensus models affords the accuracy, precision, specificity, sensitivity, F1-score, and Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) of 0.929, 0.918, 0.898, 0.954, 0.936, and 0.856 respectively on our test set. For the automatic prediction of bitterant, a graphic program “e-Bitter” is developed for the convenience of users via the simple mouse click. To our best knowledge, it is for the first time to adopt the consensus model for the bitterant prediction and develop the first free stand-alone software for the experimental food scientist.

How can stakeholder involvement be improved?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-12-01

Radioactive waste management is embedded in broader societal issues such as environment, risk management, sustainability, energy and health policy. In all these fields, there is an increasing demand for public involvement, participation or engagement. Guidance for public authorities also generally encourages greater involvement of the public. Involvement may take different forms at different phases and can include sharing information, consulting, dialoguing or deliberating on decisions with relevant stakeholders. Stakeholder involvement should be seen as a meaningful part of formulating and implementing public policy. There is no single technique for organising engagement. Initiatives should respond to their context and to stakeholders' particular needs. As the number of stakeholder involvement approaches and publications describing them continues to grow, new opportunities are opening up through social media, which has become an important tool for stakeholder involvement in recent years

Linking environmental and stakeholder management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Henning; Ulhøi, John Parm

1999-01-01

is to discuss how the influence from an increasing number of stakeholders may influence the companies to adopt a more proactive attitude towards environmentally related initiatives. The first part of the paper will discuss the relevant theory and introduce a model to analyse and identify the most relevant......Regulation has been an important instrument in pushing the business community towards a more sustainable way of conduct. But recently an increasing pressure from a growing number of stakeholders including employees, customers, neighbours, NGO's etc has been observed. The purpose of this paper...... stakeholder groups and their influence. Based on a recent survey among Danish companies the second part of the paper will report on the actual perceived influence from a variety of stakeholders to force companies to introduce environmentally-related initiatives. The results will then be discussed in light...

Possibilities of consensus: toward democratic moral discourse.

Science.gov (United States)

Jennings, B

1991-08-01

The concept of consensus is often appealed to in discussions of biomedical ethics and applied ethics, and it plays an important role in many influential ethical theories. Consensus is an especially influential notion among theorists who reject ethical realism and who frame ethics as a practice of discourse rather than a body of objective knowledge. It is also a practically important notion when moral decision making is subject to bureaucratic organization and oversight, as is increasingly becoming the case in medicine. Two models of consensus are examined and criticized: pluralistic consensus and overlapping consensus. As an alternative to these models, the paper argues that consensus refers to the dialogic aspects of a broader normative conception of democratic moral agency. When the preconditions for that dialogic democratic practice are met, consensus has a justificatory role in ethics; when they are not, consensus, as distinct from mere agreement, does not emerge and can have no moral authority.

Credibility and trust in federal facility cleanups

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raynes, D.B.

1995-01-01

The most important indicator of a well-managed site cleanup effort may no longer be funding or scientific expertise. While support for federal facility cleanup has included appropriations of more than $10 billion annually, these expenditures alone are unlikely to assure progress toward environmental remediation. open-quotes Trustclose quotes is now overwhelmingly mentioned as a prerequisite for progress with site cleanup in DOE's weapons complex. In part, federal budget deficits are forcing participants to focus on factors that build consensus and lead to cost-effective cleanup actions. In some cases, the stakeholders at cleanup sites are making efforts to work cooperatively with federal agencies. A report by 40 representatives of federal agencies, tribal and state governments, associations, and others developed recommendations to create a open-quotes new era of trust and consensus-building that allows all parties to get on with the job of cleaning up federal facilities in a manner that reflects the priorities and concerns of all stakeholders.close quotes Changes are underway affecting how federal agencies work with federal and state regulators reflecting this concept of shared responsibility for conducting cleanup. This paper addresses these changes and provides examples of the successes and failures underway

Method for Developing and Assessing Holistic Energy Renovation of Multi-Storey Buildings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eriksen, Marlene Stenberg Hagen; Rode, Carsten; Bjarløv, Søren Peter

A large part of the Danish building stock is from the post-war era, and thus there is an immense need for renovation within a few years. Also there is a persistent focus on energy use in buildings as it corresponds to about 40% of the total energy use in Denmark. However to secure durable solutions....... The assessment method is tested on two case buildings, and the assessment involves all relevant stakeholders including building owner, users, and caretakers. An element of the project looks to the development of new products and solutions for renovation for buildings. As part of the method, user involvement...

Building energy, building leadership : recommendations for the adoption, development, and implementation of a commercial building energy code in Manitoba

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Akerstream, T. [Manitoba Hydro, Winnipeg, MB (Canada); Allard, K. [City of Thompson, Thompson, MB (Canada); Anderson, N.; Beacham, D. [Manitoba Office of the Fire Commissioner, Winnipeg, MB (Canada); Andrich, R. [The Forks North Portage Partnership, MB (Canada); Auger, A. [Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, ON (Canada). Office of Energy Efficiency; Downs, R.G. [Shindico Realty Inc., Winnipeg, MB (Canada); Eastwood, R. [Number Ten Architectural Group, Winnipeg, MB (Canada); Hewitt, C. [SMS Engineering Ltd., Winnipeg, MB (Canada); Joshi, D. [City of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB (Canada); Klassen, K. [Manitoba Dept. of Energy Science and Technology, Winnipeg, MB (Canada); Phillips, B. [Unies Ltd., Winnipeg, MB (Canada); Wiebe, R. [Ben Wiebe Construction Ltd., Winnipeg, MB (Canada); Woelk, D. [Bockstael Construction Ltd., Winnipeg, MB (Canada); Ziemski, S. [CREIT Management LLP, Winnipeg, MB (Canada)

2006-09-15

This report presented a strategy and a set of recommendations for the adoption, development and implementation of an energy code for new commercial construction in Manitoba. The report was compiled by an advisory committee comprised of industry representatives and government agency representatives. Recommendations were divided into 4 categories: (1) advisory committee recommendations; (2) code adoption recommendations; (3) code development recommendations; and (4) code implementation recommendations. It was suggested that Manitoba should adopt an amended version of the Model National Energy Code for Buildings (1997) as a regulation under the Buildings and Mobile Homes Act. Participation in a national initiative to update the Model National Energy Code for Buildings was also advised. It was suggested that the energy code should be considered as the first step in a longer-term process towards a sustainable commercial building code. However, the code should be adopted within the context of a complete market transformation approach. Other recommendations included: the establishment of a multi-stakeholder energy code task group; the provision of information and technical resources to help build industry capacity; the establishment of a process for energy code compliance; and an ongoing review of the energy code to assess impacts and progress. Supplemental recommendations for future discussion included the need for integrated design by building design teams in Manitoba; the development of a program to provide technical assistance to building design teams; and collaboration between post-secondary institutions to develop and deliver courses on integrated building design to students and professionals. 17 refs.

Stakeholder relations and financial performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scholtens, B.; Zhou, Y.

2008-01-01

We analyze how shareholder performance can be associated with stakeholder relations. As such, we try to find out whether there is an association between financial performance and stakeholder relations with respect to different theoretical notions about the firm. Financial performance is

Examining Strategies to Build and Sustain Healthy Aging Programming Collaboratives

Science.gov (United States)

Altpeter, Mary; Schneider, Ellen Caylor; Whitelaw, Nancy

2014-01-01

Background: Community collaboratives provide a means to build local capacity, reduce service fragmentation and duplication, maximize efficiency, and create synergies for "systems change". But what are the collaborative practices that aging services providers and other stakeholders employ for "system change" and…

Stakeholder expectation and satisfaction in road maintenance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hietbrink, M.; Hartmann, Andreas; Dewulf, Geert P.M.R.

2012-01-01

Understanding the process of stakeholder satisfaction is a prerequisite for successful stakeholder management. The expectancy disconfirmation model describes the process of stakeholder satisfaction by relating customers’ satisfaction with a product or service to discrepancy between the perceived

Stakeholder management from the business perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krstić Nataša

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In an increasingly global and highly competitive business world of today, the business sector pays meticulous attention to stakeholders - groups or individuals, which affect or are affected by business decisions. The paper examines the methodology of identifying key stakeholders, demonstrates the process of their various mapping models, as well as the manner in which stakeholders, in cooperation with a corporation, create the opportunity to be engaged at an early stage of a project, activity or business decision, thus establishing a precedent according to which both sides benefit. By doing so, the business sector can ensure that its actions will receive 'a social licence to operate', whereas various groups of stakeholders will be offered a possibility to be included in business dealings for the sake of protecting their interests. The authors of the paper have analysed a two-way process of stakeholder management in establishing corporate reputation which is reflected in business performance and results. It was concluded that stakeholder engagement should foster innovation and lead to broader social prosperity, achieving the main goal of sustainability: business excellence according to the principles of the triple final result, by realizing synergy between the social community, environment and profit.

A Response to Proposed Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Regulations on Employer-Sponsored Health, Safety, and Well-Being Initiatives.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-03-01

The aim of this study was to identify areas of consensus in response to proposed Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 regulations on employer-sponsored health, safety, and well-being initiatives. The consensus process included review of existing and proposed regulations, identification of key areas where consensus is needed, and a methodical consensus-building process. Stakeholders representing employees, employers, consulting organizations, and wellness providers reached consensus around five areas, including adequate privacy notice on how medical data are collected, used, and protected; effective, equitable use of inducements that influence participation in programs; observance of reasonable alternative standards; what constitutes reasonably designed programs; and the need for greater congruence between federal agency regulations. Employee health and well-being initiatives that are in accord with federal regulations are comprehensive, evidence-based, and are construed as voluntary by employees and regulators alike.

Stakeholder approach for evaluating organizational change projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Peltokorpi, Antti; Alho, Antti; Kujala, Jaakko; Aitamurto, Johanna; Parvinen, Petri

2008-01-01

This paper aims to create a model for evaluating organizational change initiatives from a stakeholder resistance viewpoint. The paper presents a model to evaluate change projects and their expected benefits. Factors affecting the challenge to implement change were defined based on stakeholder theory literature. The authors test the model's practical validity for screening change initiatives to improve operating room productivity. Change initiatives can be evaluated using six factors: the effect of the planned intervention on stakeholders' actions and position; stakeholders' capability to influence the project's implementation; motivation to participate; capability to change; change complexity; and management capability. The presented model's generalizability should be explored by filtering presented factors through a larger number of historical cases operating in different healthcare contexts. The link between stakeholders, the change challenge and the outcomes of change projects needs to be empirically tested. The proposed model can be used to prioritize change projects, manage stakeholder resistance and establish a better organizational and professional competence for managing healthcare organization change projects. New insights into existing stakeholder-related understanding of change project successes are provided.

Attitudes of stakeholders in psychiatry towards the inclusion of children in genomic research.

Science.gov (United States)

Sundby, Anna; Boolsen, Merete Watt; Burgdorf, Kristoffer Sølvsten; Ullum, Henrik; Hansen, Thomas Folkmann; Mors, Ole

2018-03-05

Genomic sequencing of children in research raises complex ethical issues. This study aims to gain more knowledge on the attitudes towards the inclusion of children as research subjects in genomic research and towards the disclosure of pertinent and incidental findings to the parents and the child. Qualitative data were collected from interviews with a wide range of informants: experts engaged in genomic research, clinical geneticists, persons with mental disorders, relatives, and blood donors. Quantitative data were collected from a cross-sectional web-based survey among 1227 parents and 1406 non-parents who were potential stakeholders in psychiatric genomic research. Participants generally expressed positive views on children's participation in genomic research. The informants in the qualitative interviews highlighted the age of the child as a critical aspect when disclosing genetic information. Other important aspects were the child's right to an autonomous choice, the emotional burden of knowing imposed on both the child and the parents, and the possibility of receiving beneficial clinical information regarding the future health of the child. Nevertheless, there was no consensus whether the parent or the child should receive the findings. A majority of survey stakeholders agreed that children should be able to participate in genomic research. The majority agreed that both pertinent and incidental findings should be returned to the parents and to the child when of legal age. Having children does not affect the stakeholder's attitudes towards the inclusion of children as research subjects in genomic research. Our findings illustrate that both the child's right to autonomy and the parents' interest to be informed are important factors that are found valuable by the participants. In future guidelines governing children as subjects in genomic research, it would thus be essential to incorporate the child's right to an open future, including the right to receive

Stakeholder Engagement Road Map and Peer Review Overview for EPA's Study of the Potential Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing on Drinking Water Resources

Science.gov (United States)

This roadmap outlines EPA’s plans to build upon the Agency’s commitment to transparency & stakeholder engagement coordinated during the development of the Hydraulic Fracturing (HF) Study Plan & will help inform the 2014 HF study draft assessment report.

ANALISIS STAKEHOLDER PENGELOLAAN TAMAN NASIONAL BANTIMURUNG BULUSARAUNG, PROPVINSI SULAWESI SELATAN (Stakeholder Analysis of Bantimurung Bulusaraung National Park Management, South Sulawesi Province

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abd. W Kadir

2013-03-01

Full Text Available ABSTRAK Para pihak (stakeholder yang terkait dalam pengelolaan TN Babul memiliki kepentingan dan pengaruh yang beragam sehingga harus dapat dikelola dengan baik dalam mencapai tujuan pengelolaan TN Babul. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi stakeholder dalam pengelolaan TN Babul, mendapatkan penjelasan tentang kepentingan dan pengaruh setiap stakeholder dalam pengelolaan TN Babul, serta peran stakeholder dalam mengakomodir kepentingan masyarakat sekitar TN Babul. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan di Kabupaten Maros pada Kawasan TN Babul, Propinsi Sulawesi Selatan. Pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui observasi dan wawancara kepada sejumlah informan kunci. Data dianalisis dengan teknik analisis deskriptif kualitatif. Hasil analisis stakeholder menunjukkan bahwa stakeholder primer dalam pengelolaan TN Babul terdiri dari Balai TN Babul, Masyarakat sekitar TN Babul, PDAM Maros, Disparbud Maros, Lembaga Pengelola Air Desa. Sedangkan stakeholder sekunder terdiri dari Dishutbun Maros, Dinas Pertanian Maros, Pemerintah desa dan kecamatan, BP2KP Maros, BPN Maros, PNPM Mandiri, LSM, dan Perguruan Tinggi dan lembaga penelitian. Keberadaan stakeholder tersebut dapat memberikan pengaruh positif dan negatif terhadap kawasan TN Babul. Peran yang dapat dilakukan oleh stakeholder dalam mengakomodir kepentingan masyarakat dapat berupa fungsi kontrol, bantuan fisik, bantuan teknis, dan dukungan penelitian. Pengelolaan kolaborasi dapat menjadi alternatif model pengelolaan TN Babul dalam mengakomodir kepentingan stakeholder yang beragam.   ABSTRACT Stakeholders involved in management of the Babul National Park have diverse interest and power that must be managed well in achieving Babul National Park management objectives. This study aims to identify the stakeholders in Babul National Park management, an explanation of the intersest and power of each stakeholder, and the role of stakeholders in accommodating the interests of communities around Babul National

Consensus in controversy: The modified Delphi method applied to Gynecologic Oncology practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohn, David E; Havrilesky, Laura J; Osann, Kathryn; Lipscomb, Joseph; Hsieh, Susie; Walker, Joan L; Wright, Alexi A; Alvarez, Ronald D; Karlan, Beth Y; Bristow, Robert E; DiSilvestro, Paul A; Wakabayashi, Mark T; Morgan, Robert; Mukamel, Dana B; Wenzel, Lari

2015-09-01

To determine the degree of consensus regarding the probabilities of outcomes associated with IP/IV and IV chemotherapy. A survey was administered to an expert panel using the Delphi method. Ten ovarian cancer experts were asked to estimate outcomes for patients receiving IP/IV or IV chemotherapy. The clinical estimates were: 1) probability of completing six cycles of chemotherapy, 2) probability of surviving five years, 3) median survival, and 4) probability of ER/hospital visits during treatment. Estimates for two patients, one with a low comorbidity index (patient 1) and the other with a moderate index (patient 2), were included. The survey was administered in three rounds, and panelists could revise their subsequent responses based on review of the anonymous opinions of their peers. The ranges were smaller for IV compared with IP/IV therapy. Ranges decreased with each round. Consensus converged around outcomes related to IP/IV chemotherapy for: 1) completion of 6 cycles of therapy (type 1 patient, 62%, type 2 patient, 43%); 2) percentage of patients surviving 5 years (type 1 patient, 66%, type 2 patient, 47%); and 3) median survival (type 1 patient, 83 months, type 2 patient, 58 months). The group required three rounds to achieve consensus on the probabilities of ER/hospital visits (type 1 patient, 24%, type 2 patient, 35%). Initial estimates of survival and adverse events associated with IP/IV chemotherapy differ among experts. The Delphi process works to build consensus and may be a pragmatic tool to inform patients of their expected outcomes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Percutaneous coronary intervention for the left main stem and other bifurcation lesions: 12th consensus document from the European Bifurcation Club.

Science.gov (United States)

Lassen, Jens Flensted; Burzotta, Francesco; Banning, Adrian P; Lefèvre, Thierry; Darremont, Olivier; Hildick-Smith, David; Chieffo, Alaide; Pan, Manuel; Holm, Niels Ramsing; Louvard, Yves; Stankovic, Goran

2018-01-20

The European Bifurcation Club (EBC) was initiated in 2004 to support a continuous overview of the field of coronary artery bifurcation interventions and aims to facilitate a scientific discussion and an exchange of ideas on the management of bifurcation disease. The EBC hosts an annual, two-day compact meeting, dedicated to bifurcations, which brings together physicians, pathologists, engineers, biologists, physicists, mathematicians, epidemiologists and statisticians for detailed discussions. Every meeting is finalised with a consensus statement that reflects the unique opportunity of combining the opinion of interventional cardiologists with the opinion of a large variety of other scientists on bifurcation management. A series of consensus sessions dedicated to specific topics, to strengthen the consensus debates and focus the discussions, was introduced at this year's meeting. The sessions comprise an intensive overview of the present literature, a pro and con debate and a voting system, to guide the consensus-building process. The present document represents the summary of the up-to-date EBC consensus and recommendations from the 12th annual EBC meeting in 2016 in Rotterdam.

Continuity and consensus

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Abrahamson, Peter

2010-01-01

maternal leave. These changes can be explained as adjustments to post-industrial conditions within a political culture relying on class compromises and a broad consensus informed by expert advice coming from civil servants and ad hoc policy commissions. The paper concludes that changes in Danish family...... policy reflect changing conditions for employment and the minding of children and that there has been a high degree of continuity and consensus about the change, as indicated by the strong increase in female labour market involvement....

Assessing Storm Vulnerabilities and Resilience Strategies: A Scenario-Method for Engaging Stakeholders of Public/Private Maritime Infrastructure

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, A.; Burroughs, R.

2014-12-01

This presentation discusses a new method to assess vulnerability and resilience strategies for stakeholders of coastal-dependent transportation infrastructure, such as seaports. Much coastal infrastructure faces increasing risk to extreme events resulting from sea level rise and tropical storms. As seen after Hurricane Sandy, natural disasters result in economic costs, damages to the environment, and negative consequences on resident's quality of life. In the coming decades, tough decisions will need to be made about investment measures to protect critical infrastructure. Coastal communities will need to weigh the costs and benefits of a new storm barrier, for example, against those of retrofitting, elevating or simply doing nothing. These decisions require understanding the priorities and concerns of stakeholders. For ports, these include shippers, insurers, tenants, and ultimate consumers of the port cargo on a local and global scale, all of whom have a stake in addressing port vulnerabilities.Decision-makers in exposed coastal areas need tools to understand stakeholders concerns and perceptions of potential resilience strategies. For ports, they need answers to: 1) How will stakeholders be affected? 2) What strategies could be implemented to build resilience? 3) How effectively would the strategies mitigate stakeholder concerns? 4) What level of time and investment would strategies require? 5) Which stakeholders could/should take responsibility? Our stakeholder-based method provides answers to questions 1-3 and forms the basis for further work to address 4 and 5.Together with an expert group, we developed a pilot study for stakeholders of Rhode Island's critical energy port, the Port of Providence. Our method uses a plausible extreme storm scenario with localized visualizations and a portfolio of potential resilience strategies. We tailor a multi-criteria decision analysis tool and, through a series of workshops, we use the storm scenario, resilience strategies

Stakeholder orientation vs. shareholder value

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rose, Caspar

2003-01-01

management in listed firms and other traditional remedies. The theoretical insightsare applied on a case from the Danish Supreme Court (Louis Poulsen A/S) where theinterests of the stakeholders were decisive. However, it is shown that the verdict mayinstead harm the relevant stakeholders illustrating how...

Shared mental models of integrated care: aligning multiple stakeholder perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Jenna M; Baker, G Ross

2012-01-01

Health service organizations and professionals are under increasing pressure to work together to deliver integrated patient care. A common understanding of integration strategies may facilitate the delivery of integrated care across inter-organizational and inter-professional boundaries. This paper aims to build a framework for exploring and potentially aligning multiple stakeholder perspectives of systems integration. The authors draw from the literature on shared mental models, strategic management and change, framing, stakeholder management, and systems theory to develop a new construct, Mental Models of Integrated Care (MMIC), which consists of three types of mental models, i.e. integration-task, system-role, and integration-belief. The MMIC construct encompasses many of the known barriers and enablers to integrating care while also providing a comprehensive, theory-based framework of psychological factors that may influence inter-organizational and inter-professional relations. While the existing literature on integration focuses on optimizing structures and processes, the MMIC construct emphasizes the convergence and divergence of stakeholders' knowledge and beliefs, and how these underlying cognitions influence interactions (or lack thereof) across the continuum of care. MMIC may help to: explain what differentiates effective from ineffective integration initiatives; determine system readiness to integrate; diagnose integration problems; and develop interventions for enhancing integrative processes and ultimately the delivery of integrated care. Global interest and ongoing challenges in integrating care underline the need for research on the mental models that characterize the behaviors of actors within health systems; the proposed framework offers a starting point for applying a cognitive perspective to health systems integration.

Multi-Optimisation Consensus Clustering

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jian; Swift, Stephen; Liu, Xiaohui

Ensemble Clustering has been developed to provide an alternative way of obtaining more stable and accurate clustering results. It aims to avoid the biases of individual clustering algorithms. However, it is still a challenge to develop an efficient and robust method for Ensemble Clustering. Based on an existing ensemble clustering method, Consensus Clustering (CC), this paper introduces an advanced Consensus Clustering algorithm called Multi-Optimisation Consensus Clustering (MOCC), which utilises an optimised Agreement Separation criterion and a Multi-Optimisation framework to improve the performance of CC. Fifteen different data sets are used for evaluating the performance of MOCC. The results reveal that MOCC can generate more accurate clustering results than the original CC algorithm.

Stakeholder involvement in Swedish nuclear waste management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elam, Mark; Sundqvist, Goeran

2006-09-01

This report concerning Swedish nuclear waste management has been produced as part of a cross national research project: CARL - A Social Science Research Project into the Effects of Stakeholder involvement on Decision-Making in Radioactive Waste Management. Besides Sweden, the participating countries are Belgium, Canada, Finland, Slovenia and United Kingdom. A social science research team, working for three years, is in the first phase conducting research in their own countries in order to produce 6 country reports. During the next years the focus will shift to comparisons of stakeholder involvement practices in the participating countries. The report addresses current practices of Swedish nuclear waste management and their historical development. The main focus is on past, current and emerging patterns of stakeholder involvement in the siting of a deep repository for the final disposal of Sweden's spent nuclear fuel. The general questions attended to in the report are: Who are the main stakeholders, and how have they emerged and gained recognition as such? What are the issues currently subject to stakeholder involvement and how have these been decided upon? How is stakeholder involvement organized locally and nationally and how has this changed over time? How has stakeholder involvement gained acceptance as an activity of value in the siting of major waste facilities? The report have attempted to show the development of stakeholder involvement in the siting of a final repository for Sweden's spent nuclear fuel as resembling something other than a straightforward linear process of improvement and refinement. Stakeholder involvement has developed, over the past 15 years or so, into something more like a patchwork of different shapes and forms. Some of the forces that may well contribute to the further elaboration of the patchwork of stakeholder involvement have been pointed out, contingently modifying once more its overall colour and orientation. Questions have been

Stakeholder involvement in Swedish nuclear waste management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Elam, Mark; Sundqvist, Goeran [Goeteborg Univ. (Sweden). Section for Science and Technology Studies

2006-09-15

This report concerning Swedish nuclear waste management has been produced as part of a cross national research project: CARL - A Social Science Research Project into the Effects of Stakeholder involvement on Decision-Making in Radioactive Waste Management. Besides Sweden, the participating countries are Belgium, Canada, Finland, Slovenia and United Kingdom. A social science research team, working for three years, is in the first phase conducting research in their own countries in order to produce 6 country reports. During the next years the focus will shift to comparisons of stakeholder involvement practices in the participating countries. The report addresses current practices of Swedish nuclear waste management and their historical development. The main focus is on past, current and emerging patterns of stakeholder involvement in the siting of a deep repository for the final disposal of Sweden's spent nuclear fuel. The general questions attended to in the report are: Who are the main stakeholders, and how have they emerged and gained recognition as such? What are the issues currently subject to stakeholder involvement and how have these been decided upon? How is stakeholder involvement organized locally and nationally and how has this changed over time? How has stakeholder involvement gained acceptance as an activity of value in the siting of major waste facilities? The report have attempted to show the development of stakeholder involvement in the siting of a final repository for Sweden's spent nuclear fuel as resembling something other than a straightforward linear process of improvement and refinement. Stakeholder involvement has developed, over the past 15 years or so, into something more like a patchwork of different shapes and forms. Some of the forces that may well contribute to the further elaboration of the patchwork of stakeholder involvement have been pointed out, contingently modifying once more its overall colour and orientation. Questions

Quality partnerships: The community stakeholders' view

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vhonani Netshandama

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Since 1997 universities in South Africa have been encouraged to be responsive to the needs of communities, to encourage broader participation and to address issues of access in higher education (Department of Education 1997. This transformative agenda was found to be especially compelling in the case of rural-based South African universities, which often serve historically disadvantaged black populations in areas that are both under-resourced and underdeveloped (Nkomo & Sehoole 2007, pp. 235–36. In 2006 the traditional leadership of a local community approached the University of Venda to propose a partnership. This prompted the researcher to conduct a qualitative study, which sought to explore and describe community members’ views of what they understood to be a quality partnership. Thirty-seven community representatives were engaged in individual as well as focus group interviews. These representatives were identified first through a stakeholder analysis procedure that sought to determine who in the community would have valuable input for the university-community partnership. As a point of departure, the following two questions were asked consecutively: What are your needs and expectations of a partnership with the university and what would you regard as a quality partnership between the HEI and the community? The sample selection was purposive, utilising the snowball technique. Data was transcribed and analysed using Tesch’s eight-step method (Tesch 1990, in Creswell 1994, p. 155. Interview data and field notes were co-coded, crosschecked and triangulated. Feedback workshops were conducted with the community to confirm the findings. A consensus was reached that four main requirements emerged from the data: —Balance the partnership objectives of both parties —Ensure an unexploitative partnership —Share power and control in the partnership —Maintain and monitor the partnership. This article provides a brief overview of the national

Stakeholder mapping of CSR in Switzerland

OpenAIRE

Looser, S; Wehrmeyer, WCH

2015-01-01

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate, using stakeholder map methodology, showing power, urgency, legitimacy and concerns of different actors, the current state of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Switzerland. Previous research on CSR in Europe has made few attempts to identify stakeholders and their contribution to this topic. Design/methodology/approach – To derive this map, publicly available documents were explored, augmented by 27 interviews with key stakeholders (consumers, m...

Patient-centred outcomes research: perspectives of patient stakeholders.

Science.gov (United States)

Chhatre, Sumedha; Gallo, Joseph J; Wittink, Marsha; Schwartz, J Sanford; Jayadevappa, Ravishankar

2017-11-01

To elicit patient stakeholders' experience and perspectives about patient-centred care. Qualitative. A large urban healthcare system. Four patient stakeholders who are prostate cancer survivors. Experience and perspectives of patient stakeholders regarding patient-centred care and treatment decisions. Our patient stakeholders represented a diverse socio-demographic group. The patient stakeholders identified engagement and dialogue with physicians as crucial elements of patient-centred care model. The degree of patient-centred care was observed to be dependent on the situations. High severity conditions warranted a higher level of patient involvement, compared to mild conditions. They agreed that patient-centred care should not mean that patients can demand inappropriate treatments. An important attribute of patient-centred outcomes research model is the involvement of stakeholders. However, we have limited knowledge about the experience of patient stakeholders in patient-centred outcomes research. Our study indicates that patient stakeholders offer a unique perspective as researchers and policy-makers aim to precisely define patient-centred research and care.

Physical Activity and Exercise Interventions in the Workplace Impacting Work Outcomes: A Stakeholder-Centered Best Evidence Synthesis of Systematic Reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

White, M I; Dionne, C E; Wärje, O; Koehoorn, M; Wagner, S L; Schultz, I Z; Koehn, C; Williams-Whitt, K; Harder, H G; Pasca, R; Hsu, V; McGuire, L; Schulz, W; Kube, D; Wright, M D

2016-04-01

The prevention of work disability is beneficial to employees and employers, and mitigates unnecessary societal costs associated with social welfare. Many service providers and employers have initiated workplace interventions designed to reduce unnecessary work disability. To conduct a best-evidence synthesis of systematic reviews on workplace interventions that address physical activities or exercise and their impact on workplace absence, work productivity or financial outcomes. Using a participatory research approach, academics and stakeholders identified inclusion and exclusion criteria, built an abstraction table, evaluated systematic review quality and relevance, and interpreted the combined findings. A minimum of two scientists participated in a methodological review of the literature followed by a consensus process. Stakeholders and researchers participated as a collaborative team. 3363 unique records were identified, 115 full text articles and 46 systematic reviews were included, 18 assessed the impact of physical fitness or exercise interventions. 11 focused on general workers rather than workers who were absent from work at baseline; 16 of the reviews assessed work absence, 4 assessed productivity and 6 assessed financial impacts. The strongest evidence supports the use of short, simple exercise or fitness programs for both workers at work and those absent from work at baseline. For workers at work, simple exercise programs (1-2 modal components) appear to provide similar benefits to those using more complex multimodal interventions. For workers off-work with subacute low back pain, there is evidence that some complex exercise programs may be more effective than simple exercise interventions, especially if they involve workplace stakeholder engagement, communication and coordination with employers and other stakeholders. The development and utilization of standardized definitions, methods and measures and blinded evaluation would improve research quality

Physical Activity and Exercise Interventions in the Workplace Impacting Work Outcomes: A Stakeholder-Centered Best Evidence Synthesis of Systematic Reviews

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MI White

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Background: The prevention of work disability is beneficial to employees and employers, and mitigates unnecessary societal costs associated with social welfare. Many service providers and employers have initiated workplace interventions designed to reduce unnecessary work disability. Objective: To conduct a best-evidence synthesis of systematic reviews on workplace interventions that address physical activities or exercise and their impact on workplace absence, work productivity or financial outcomes. Methods: Using a participatory research approach, academics and stakeholders identified inclusion and exclusion criteria, built an abstraction table, evaluated systematic review quality and relevance, and interpreted the combined findings. A minimum of two scientists participated in a methodological review of the literature followed by a consensus process. Results: Stakeholders and researchers participated as a collaborative team. 3363 unique records were identified, 115 full text articles and 46 systematic reviews were included, 18 assessed the impact of physical fitness or exercise interventions. 11 focused on general workers rather than workers who were absent from work at baseline; 16 of the reviews assessed work absence, 4 assessed productivity and 6 assessed financial impacts. Conclusion: The strongest evidence supports the use of short, simple exercise or fitness programs for both workers at work and those absent from work at baseline. For workers at work, simple exercise programs (1–2 modal components appear to provide similar benefits to those using more complex multimodal interventions. For workers off-work with subacute low back pain, there is evidence that some complex exercise programs may be more effective than simple exercise interventions, especially if they involve workplace stakeholder engagement, communication and coordination with employers and other stakeholders. The development and utilization of standardized definitions

Analysing stakeholder power dynamics in multi-stakeholder processes : insights of practice from Africa and Asia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brouwer, J.H.; Hiemstra, W.; Vugt, van S.M.; Walters, H.

2013-01-01

This paper examines different practical methods for stakeholders to analyse power dynamics in multi-stakeholders processes (MSPs), taking into account the ambiguous and uncertain nature of complex adaptive systems. It reflects on an action learning programme which focused on 12 cases in Africa and

Stakeholder views on biofuels. WP1 Final report about the results of the stakeholder questionnaire

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-03-01

For the VIEWLS project an internet-based questionnaire on biofuels was distributed among a large group of stakeholders in the European Union, Accession Countries and the Americas in the second half of 2003. The purpose of the questionnaire was to collect information on stakeholders' opinion on biofuel related topics including the future potential of biofuels and drivers and barriers for the market introduction. Here the main results are presented. The results should only be regarded as indicative because no detailed statistical analysis was performed due to the difference in representation from different countries and stakeholder groups

CSR Model Implementation from School Stakeholder Perspectives

Science.gov (United States)

Herrmann, Suzannah

2006-01-01

Despite comprehensive school reform (CSR) model developers' best intentions to make school stakeholders adhere strictly to the implementation of model components, school stakeholders implementing CSR models inevitably make adaptations to the CSR model. Adaptations are made to CSR models because school stakeholders internalize CSR model practices…

Democracy-based consensus in medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Greco, Massimiliano; Zangrillo, Alberto; Mucchetti, Marta; Nobile, Leda; Landoni, Paolo; Bellomo, Rinaldo; Landoni, Giovanni

2015-04-01

High-quality evidence and derived guidelines, as typically published in major academic journals, are a major process that shapes physician decision-making worldwide. However, for many aspects of medical practice, there is a lack of High-quality evidence or an overload of somewhat contradictory low-quality information, which makes decision-making a difficult, uncertain, and unpredictable process. When the issues in question are important and evidence limited or controversial, the medical community seeks to establish common ground for "best practice" through consensus conferences and consensus statements or guidelines. Such consensus statements are seen as a useful tool to establish expert agreement, define the boundaries of acceptable practice, provide priorities for the research agenda, and obtain opinions from different countries and healthcare systems. This standard approach, however, can be criticized for being elitist, noninclusive, and poorly representative of the community of clinicians who will have to make decisions about the implementation of such recommendations. Accordingly, the authors propose a new model based on a combination of a local core meeting (detailed review and expert input) followed by a worldwide web-based network assessment (democracy-based consensus). The authors already have applied this approach to develop consensus on all nonsurgical interventions that increase or reduce perioperative mortality in critically ill patients and in those with acute kidney injury. The methodology was based on 5 sequential local and web-based steps. Both a panel of experts and a large number of professionals from all over the world were involved, giving birth to a new type of "democracy-based consensus." This new type of "democracy-based consensus" has the potential to increase grass-root clinician involvement, expand the reach to less-developed countries, provide a more global perspective on proposed interventions, and perhaps more importantly, increase

Building enterprise systems with ODP an introduction to open distributed processing

CERN Document Server

Linington, Peter F; Tanaka, Akira; Vallecillo, Antonio

2011-01-01

The Reference Model of Open Distributed Processing (RM-ODP) is an international standard that provides a solid basis for describing and building widely distributed systems and applications in a systematic way. It stresses the need to build these systems with evolution in mind by identifying the concerns of major stakeholders and then expressing the design as a series of linked viewpoints. Although RM-ODP has been a standard for more than ten years, many practitioners are still unaware of it. Building Enterprise Systems with ODP: An Introduction to Open Distributed Processing offers a gentle pa

On Younger Stakeholders and Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tyszkiewicz, Bogumila; Labor, Bea

2009-08-01

In modern democratic countries, information sharing and effective and open communication concerning dismantling and decommissioning of of nuclear facilities as well as the management of nuclear waste are essential for the task to build the confidence required for any further development of nuclear energy. At the same time, it is often perceived that all decision making processes about nuclear energy policies are probably increasingly influenced by public opinion. Nuclear and radiation safety Authorities have a clear role in this regard to provide unbiased information on any health and safety related issues. In order to meet this need, it is necessary for Authorities and others to understand the values and opinions of the citizens, and especially the younger ones. They hold the key to the future at the same time as their perspective on these issues is the least understood. The need of greater public participation in decision making is becoming increasingly recognised the scientific as well as the political community. Many activities are carried out in order to stimulate to higher levels of public involvement in decision making in this active research area. Younger citizens is a stakeholder group that is often excluded in decision- making processes. The existence of large gaps between the involvement of older and younger stakeholders in decision making processes needs to be addressed, since such imbalances might otherwise lead to unequal opportunities between generations and limit the future consumption level of the coming generations. Another demanding task for the present generation is to assure that appropriate financial resources are injected into the Swedish Nuclear Waste Fund. It will thereby be possible for coming generations to undertake efficient measures in the decommissioning and dismantling of older nuclear facilities. To undertake such measures in line with the environmental and health codex is essential. An appropriate balance in this regard must be

Differentiating innovation priorities among stakeholder in hospital care.

Science.gov (United States)

Lambooij, Mattijs S; Hummel, Marjan J

2013-08-16

Decisions to adopt a particular innovation may vary between stakeholders because individual stakeholders may disagree on the costs and benefits involved. This may translate to disagreement between stakeholders on priorities in the implementation process, possibly explaining the slow diffusion of innovations in health care. In this study, we explore the differences in stakeholder preferences for innovations, and quantify the difference in stakeholder priorities regarding costs and benefits. The decision support technique called the analytic hierarchy process was used to quantify the preferences of stakeholders for nine information technology (IT) innovations in hospital care. The selection of the innovations was based on a literature review and expert judgments. Decision criteria related to the costs and benefits of the innovations were defined. These criteria were improvement in efficiency, health gains, satisfaction with care process, and investments required. Stakeholders judged the importance of the decision criteria and subsequently prioritized the selected IT innovations according to their expectations of how well the innovations would perform for these decision criteria. The stakeholder groups (patients, nurses, physicians, managers, health care insurers, and policy makers) had different preference structures for the innovations selected. For instance, self-tests were one of the innovations most preferred by health care insurers and managers, owing to their expected positive impacts on efficiency and health gains. However, physicians, nurses and patients strongly doubted the health gains of self-tests, and accordingly ranked self-tests as the least-preferred innovation. The various stakeholder groups had different expectations of the value of the nine IT innovations. The differences are likely due to perceived stakeholder benefits of each innovation, and less to the costs to individual stakeholder groups. This study provides a first exploratory quantitative

Collaborative Stakeholder Engagement. Special Report

Science.gov (United States)

Jordan, Matt; Chrislip, David; Workman, Emily

2016-01-01

Stakeholder engagement and collaboration are essential to the development of an effective state plan. Engaging a diverse group of stakeholders tasked with working together to create education policies that will have a positive, lasting impact on students is not as easy as it sounds. Experts in the field argue that the traditional stakeholder…