Aspects Of Partnership Research Articles

Conceptualising public-private partnerships

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to survey various meanings attached to a public–private partnership (PPP) and related aspects in Western literature and to identify commonalities and differences between them. Additionally, the article intends to critically assess conflicting and overlapping views on contractual and institutional PPPs, their forms and models and to draw insights for transitional economies. Design/methodology/approach The article contrasts and compares views on PPP meanings, forms and models within Western PPP literature and also draws comparisons with understanding of partnership aspects in the Russian language sources. The paper examines theories underpinning PPPs, builds connections to PPP advantages and drawbacks and provides critical assessment of net benefits that PPPs may bring along to the society. Findings The article concludes that future PPP research in transitional countries such as Kazakhstan and Russia, particularly in the area of organisational and power arrangements in partnerships, may delineate new concepts such as government as a guarantor of a PPP project, social significance of a PPP project and risk management in a country’s contextual environment. Originality/value Research in the field of PPPs in transitional countries such as Russia and Kazakhstan is in its infancy. The paper intends to contribute to the body of knowledge about PPPs by providing detailed account and categorisation of their principal meanings, forms, models and underpinning theories and by drawing insights for future research in transitional countries.

Operational readiness for conducting global health research abroad.

Research excellence is the goal of all researchers. Conducting quality research with the ultimate aim of improving health is a shared goal among researchers in the global health domain. The competencies required for conducting and producing quality research in global health go far beyond the academic or scientific spheres. They incorporate aspects of research partnership, which places humility, empathy, and mutual respect at its core. Conducting quality respectful global health research requires an appropriate balance of operational readiness (i.e., technical, physical, and mental readiness). This paper reports on the pertinence and potential shaping of conceptual work and exploratory research focusing on aspects of mental readiness. These aspects may be perceived to be significant enough to influence success and warrant further investigation in the context of conducting global health research abroad.

International publishing partnerships for China's English language journals and financial security

This article considers China's English language journals (CELJs) and looks at two aspects of partnership with international publishers: the financial cost and their ability to deliver the quick success objectives of the journals. Success is defined as being indexed in international databases such as SCI (Science Citation Index) and Ei (Engineering Index) Compendex databases. Our research shows that 226 CELJs (57.8%) have an international publishing partnership with publishers such as Springer, Elsevier, and Wiley. A survey of 12 CELJs in Hubei Province, China, shows that 75% journals have financial pressures on the journal operation. The Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering ( JRMGE ) is provided as an illustration of the operation costs of CELJs and to demonstrate the associated financial pressures. We conclude that although international partnership is an on‐going fashion at present in China, it has both benefits and limitations. We also propose that to reduce the financial pressure on CELJs, government funding should be differently apportioned, providing a better return on investment (ROI).

Developing a framework for successful research partnerships in global health.

BackgroundThe Centre for Global Health, Trinity College Dublin has as one of its goals, strengthening health systems in developing countries. In realising this goal we work across more than 40 countries with third-level, civil society, government, private sector and UN partners. Each of these requires that different relationships be established. Good principles must guide all global health research partnerships.An exploratory research project was undertaken with research partners of, and staff within, the Centre for Global Health. The aim was to build an evidence-based framework.MethodsAn inductive exploratory research process was undertaken using a grounded theory approach in three consecutive phases: Phase I: An open-ended questionnaire was sent via email to all identified partners. Phase II: A series of consultative meetings were held with the staff of the Centre for Global Health. Phase III: Data sets from Phases I and II were applied to the development of a unifying framework. Data was analysed using grounded theory three stage thematic analysis - open, axial and selective coding.ResultsRelational and operational aspects of partnership were highlighted as being relevant across every partnership. Seven equally important core concepts emerged (focus, values, equity, benefit, leadership, communication and resolution), and are described and discussed here. Of these, two (leadership and resolution) are less often considered in existing literature on partnerships.ConclusionsLarge complex partnerships can work well if all parties are agreed in advance to a common minimum programme, have been involved from the design stage, and have adequate resources specifically allocated. Based on this research, a framework for partnerships has been developed and is shared.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12992-016-0152-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The Unsung Heroes of Welfare Collaboration: Complexities around individuals’ contribution to effective inter-agency working in LSCBs

The article addresses an under-explored aspect of public partnerships: individuals’ role in the effectiveness of collaborations such as the Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards (LSCBs) in England and Wales. Building upon theoretical concepts around complex emergence, we conceptualize individuals as conveyors of complex negotiated individual, professional and organizational frames. Shifting focus away from inter-organizational and towards inter-personal communication in partnerships is consistent with miscommunication being the widest recognized problem in collaborations. Qualitative data from policy documents, interviews, and participant and non-participant observation are used to show individuals in the LSCB case study advancing or hindering collaborative work as ‘boundary spanners’ or ‘reluctant’ partners.

Legal Aspects of Public-Private Partnership in Ukraine: Snapshot of Recent Experience and Current Processes

Legal Aspects of Public-Private Partnership in Ukraine: Snapshot of Recent Experience and Current Processes

Financial and legal aspects of public-private partnership in financing revitalization activities - general issues

Public participation is gaining importance with regard to the implementation of munici­pal investments of various kinds. The relations between inhabitants and local authorities, are cur­rently coming more towards participation based on consensus rather than confrontation. Changes in this area are a positive result of both the examples of good practices coming from the developed European countries (Norway, France, Germany), as well as the orientation of the EU urban policy in this direction. At the same time, however, the EU urban policy draws attention to the scarcity of public financing as regards municipal investment projects. The EU policy emphasizes the need to involve private funds. Both the EU and Polish strategic documents on urban policy point to the role and importance of public-private partnership in financing municipal investments. The pa­per presents public-private partnership as one of the basic means of realization of the idea of social participation in the financing of revitalization processes as well as the problems related to this fund­ing model within the Polish legislation in relation to the European Union provisions in this regard.

Cross-Sector Partnerships: Factors Supporting Social Innovation by Nonprofits

ABSTRACTThis research investigated key aspects of cross-sector partnerships that support the socially innovative efforts of direct-social-service nonprofit organizations (DSSNs). Utilizing qualitative research methods, executive directors of DSSNs in Alberta, Canada, were interviewed. Findings highlight four general analytic categories for cross-sector partnerships: (1) structure of engagement; (2) alignment between partnering organizations; (3) clarity of outcomes; and (4) interpersonal dynamics among partnership actors. The findings provide a conceptual model of the conditions that support successful cross-sector partnerships for further empirical testing. A greater emphasis among public policy actors to create these conditions for successful cross-sector partnerships is recommended.

Erectile Dysfunction in Diabetic Men - Current Diagnostics and Therapy

Sexual functional dysfunctions represent a multidimensional nosological entity. Apart from the directly measurable pathophysiological parameters, psychological and dynamic partnership aspects are almost always involved. These can exert a triggering and a potentiating influence. Similarly, sociocultural factors have to be taken into account. In men the problem most frequently has a physiological focus and the main symptom within the complex of sexual difficulties, especially for diabetic patients, is erectile dysfunction. Disorders of ejaculation and orgasm may also occur. Testosterone production in men may be impaired due to obesity-related dysfunctions of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis and this can lead to a clinically significant androgen deficit and thus also to a decline of libido.

Female violence and toxic couples

The author describes the development and expression of violence by women against their own children and against their partners, within a perverse relationship, or ‘toxic coupling’. Female aggression against intimate partners can be a feature of these relationships, playing a significant role in the perpetuation of destructive interactions. The fact of female violence in such partnerships is often minimised or denied altogether and the male is identified as the perpetrator while the female is configured simply as the victim: the author describes how such a view of women reflects a failure to acknowledge the reality of female agency and perversion. This, in turn, prevents a full understanding of the complex dynamics of violent relationships and effective psychotherapeutic interventions with them, leaving children exposed to such situations at serious risk. This concept rests on the notion that it is not the individual partners that are ‘toxic’ but the relationship itself, with its entrenched destructive dynamics. The ‘toxic couple’ is created by the interaction of two disturbed individual attachment systems in each, revealing the violent impulses and psychic disturbance of the female as well as the male partner. In this paper, the author describes how women, as well as their male partners, can be both perpetrators and victims of extreme cruelty. As with female violence generally, because females are assumed not to be violent, there is a danger that some aspects of toxic partnerships are so taboo as to be unthinkable.

Can you use community policing for counter terrorism? Evidence from NSW, Australia

A contested question in the international policing literature is whether it is possible to undertake effective anti-terrorism community policing. The NSW Police Force’s Counter Radicalisation Strategy involved a community engagement initiative that used community liaison officers, mostly working with Sydney Muslim communities. This study reviews the success of this initiative, drawing on data from a survey of Sydney Muslims. The community engagement initiative was found to have direct contact with the community, it was public, and it involved aspects of partnership and relations of depth. For these reasons, the initiative was within the community policing paradigm. There was strong community awareness of the programme, and a majority saw it as successful. There remained pockets of community suspicion and critique, which require attention. The respondents recommended an enhancement of the community policing aspects: more (and wider) contact, visibility and partnership. The findings affirm the utility of community policing for counter-terror work.

A Three-Way Approach to Evaluating Partnerships: Partnership Survey, Integration Measure and Social Network Analysis

An increasing number of initiatives are delivered through cross-sectoral or cross-jurisdictional partnerships. Methods to evaluate partnerships have also proliferated, but tend to focus only on particular aspects of partnerships. None alone provide a comprehensive picture of how a partnership is working. Working on commissioned evaluations of partnership initiatives, we have faced the challenge of selecting appropriate methods to gather information on partnership processes—from program or community-level partnerships to partnerships across the highest levels of government. While many partnership evaluations rely on analysis of participants’ views on how effectively the partnership works, more powerful evaluation demands methods to collect systematic quantifiable data on the actual behaviour of the partnership and how it changes over time. We reviewed a number of quantitative methods for assessing partnership processes and outcomes. As a result, we have been adapting and trialling three data collection tools to assess different aspects of partnerships: 1 A partnership survey (adapted from the Nuffield Partnership Assessment Tool): to collect systematic feedback from participating stakeholders on key partnership dimensions. 2 An integration measure (based on the Human Services Integration Measure developed by Browne and colleagues in Canada): to assess the level of cooperation between participating partners. 3 Social network analysis (employing a sociocentric approach and analysing data using UCINET1): to collect information on interactions between individuals in the partnership. We have found that the complementarity of these methods provides a robust and more complete picture of the processes and outcomes of partnership initiatives and can be used in combination with qualitative methods to enhance the robustness of partnership assessments.

Ukraine and Poland: Facing the 21st Century Challenges

Establishing a common strategic framework is a decisive factor in the Ukrainian-Polishrelations in the current social and political context. The complexity of the partnership between thetwo states arise from their geographical location on the borderline between civilizations, the site ofhistorical cataclysms. At the same time, national sovereignty of was always a high priority for bothpeoples. The recognition of Ukraine’s independence by Poland marked a new stage ofrapprochement between Warsaw and Kyiv, the act being evidence of maturity of the Polishpolitical elite. Poland made its best to promote the interest of Ukraine in the international politicalarena. The article suggests periodization in the history of the Ukrainian-Polish partnership.Ukrainian policy can be modelled on Poland’s experience of the transformation of society.Being a member of the European Union, Poland advocates the idea of European and EuroAtlantic integration of Ukraine. Increased economic cooperation is one of the aspects of theUkrainian-Polish partnership. Cooperation at regional level, between local government bodies isalso important for the relations between the two states. Step by step, visa regulations are beingliberalized, interpersonal contacts broadened. The beginning of the 21st century witnesses a changein political consciousness of Ukrainian and Polish people, who reconsider painful events from theirpast

Preliminary Mapping of Posdaya Performance as Family Empowerment Program

Posdaya is a model of family empowerment to revive the mutual cooperation culture to build human resources through active participation in the family. Posdaya performance can be assessed from several aspects, including aspects of secretarial, partnerships, education, economic, health and environmental aspects. Although Posdaya has grown quite well, but so far there has been no attempt to map Posdaya performance in Indonesia. The objectives of the study were to assess the performance of Posdaya in term of its secretarial, partnerships, education, economics, health, and the environment aspects. Based on the results of the study note that Posdaya is lack of its performance in partnership, economy and environment. Whereas for the growth status of Posdaya, they were classified into five category of Posdaya, namely potential Posdaya category, dinamic Posdaya category, productive Posdaya category, creative Posdaya category, and innovative Posdaya category. The results showed that of the 50 Posdaya studied, it turns out 54% including productive Posdaya category, 30% are categorized as creative Posdaya category, and 16% are dynamic Posdaya category. There is no Posdaya with potential and innovative category. To improve the performance of Posdaya, is necessary to increase partnerships in the areas of program development, economic and environmental.

Partnership Strategy in SMEs Industry to develop Competitiveness and the Implication to the Corporate Performance : A Study on SMEs development in West Java Indonesia

It has been commonly acknowledged that the micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a very important and strategic role in the national economic especially in the GDP, the regional GDP, employment, income distribution and the poverty reduction. The population of SMEs in Indonesia has reached up to 53,823,732 units or 99.9% which are distributed throughout the Indonesian regions (The Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, 2012), and in the West Java Province itself there are 8,731,790 business units. This shows that through optimum capitalizing, it would bring significant contribution to the people’s welfare (BPS, 2011).Under the national development program aiming at pro poor, pro growth and pro rural, the counseling program to develop the SMEs should be prioritized. According to Zuhal (2010) the employment rate of 99.5% is the basic foundation and that the counseling and guiding in technological support to increase the productivity has been needed. However, the problem arising is that the competitiveness is pretty low which is due to the financing and marketing (BPS, 2011). Thus the mortality and frequency of shifting in types of business operation has become the common phenomena. The mission as prescribed in the Law number 20 regarding SMEs is to uplift the competitiveness and develop the business climate through a policy regarding partnership. One of the partnership aspects is the mutually beneficial relation between SMEs and the large scale business facilitated by both the Central and Regional Government to stimulate the partnership (Law number 20 of 2008 Chapter V articles 11 and 25).
 Partnership is not a new strategy but it has come up as an important issue due to the complexity and risks both in the national and international economic environment as well as the limited capability and resources in a business unit. Therefore the strategic partnership is sought to enhance the relation between the demand and supply in the form of cooperation between independent business organizations. Striving for the sales in the hight competition requires collaborative venture to face technology, extend the resources, increase productivity and quality, and penetrate new markets (Cravens, 2013). Thus, this research attempts to find out to what extent the effect of the strategic partnership can increase the competitiveness and the implication to the performance of SMEs in West Java.

Partnership Strategy in SMEs Industry to develop Competitiveness and the Implication to the Corporate Performance : A Study on SMEs development in West Java Indonesia

It has been commonly acknowledged that the micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a very important and strategic role in the national economic especially in the GDP, the regional GDP, employment, income distribution and the poverty reduction. The population of SMEs in Indonesia has reached up to 53,823,732 units or 99.9% which are distributed throughout the Indonesian regions (The Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, 2012), and in the West Java Province itself there are 8,731,790 business units. This shows that through optimum capitalizing, it would bring significant contribution to the people’s welfare (BPS, 2011).Under the national development program aiming at pro poor, pro growth and pro rural, the counseling program to develop the SMEs should be prioritized. According to Zuhal (2010) the employment rate of 99.5% is the basic foundation and that the counseling and guiding in technological support to increase the productivity has been needed. However, the problem arising is that the competitiveness is pretty low which is due to the financing and marketing (BPS, 2011). Thus the mortality and frequency of shifting in types of business operation has become the common phenomena. The mission as prescribed in the Law number 20 regarding SMEs is to uplift the competitiveness and develop the business climate through a policy regarding partnership. One of the partnership aspects is the mutually beneficial relation between SMEs and the large scale business facilitated by both the Central and Regional Government to stimulate the partnership (Law number 20 of 2008 Chapter V articles 11 and 25). Partnership is not a new strategy but it has come up as an important issue due to the complexity and risks both in the national and international economic environment as well as the limited capability and resources in a business unit. Therefore the strategic partnership is sought to enhance the relation between the demand and supply in the form of cooperation between independent business organizations. Striving for the sales in the hight competition requires collaborative venture to face technology, extend the resources, increase productivity and quality, and penetrate new markets (Cravens, 2013). Thus, this research attempts to find out to what extent the effect of the strategic partnership can increase the competitiveness and the implication to the performance of SMEs in West Java.

Responding to environmental regulations through collaborative arrangements: Social aspects of manure partnerships in Denmark

In livestock-intensive regions of Europe, on-farm application of manure and other fertilisers is being increasingly regulated to protect aquatic environments. This study examined collaborative arrangements between intensive livestock farms in Denmark with surplus manure and farms requiring crop nutrients, in order to manage the manure resource at landscape scale and comply with environmental regulations. The extent of collaborative arrangements for manure among Danish farms was explored at national scale using registry data. This showed that in 2009, 50% of all farms in Denmark, managing 70% of the area, were involved in manure exchange, indicating that collaborative arrangements are widespread. Based on this analysis, a sample of 1500 livestock farmers who had provided manure to others was selected for a survey to determine the nature of the manure arrangements in terms of which farmers make partnerships with, and how the arrangements function in practice. Multivariate analysis (multiple correspondence analysis and cluster analysis) of 644 respondents was used to identify specific types of manure partnerships. The vast majority of respondents knew their partner before they established the arrangement, either through family, neighbours or their local or professional network. These different social relations played an important role in defining four types of partnerships, differing in e.g. burden sharing of manure transportation and spreading, frequency of communication and transport distance. The four types identified provide additional information about decision-making on manure allocation, which to date is mainly based on spatial-economic models.

Taxation of Partnerships

Partnerships including limited liability partnerships are available in India and this article provides an overview of the regime. The article also looks at the regulatory and tax aspects of partnerships, and concludes with some suggested refinements to the regime.

A fresh approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR): partnerships between businesses and non-profit sectors

Purpose– The aim of this paper is to offer a new conceptualisation on partnership emergence and dynamism between the business sector and the non-governmental organization (NGO) sector from a corporate social responsibility perspective. More specifically, the paper intends to examine partnering behaviour and management from a socio-political standpoint.Design/methodology/approach– The case study approach used in the study utilised data from eight in-depth, semi-structured interviews, with managers from the business and NGO sectors engaged in a large-scale partnership between a Palestinian Cellular Corporation and an NGO. Interview transcripts were analysed using content and narrative analyses. Findings to be presented include reciprocity, corporate constitutionalism and utilitarianism.Findings– The results found in this paper show that partnership has social, political, and ethical dimensions in support of the theoretical framework developed for this paper. More specifically, the results show that the studied partnership is an emergent process, fundamentally concerned with self-efficacy over community welfare, as well as being driven by individual organisational goals.Originality/value– This paper sheds light on certain aspects of partnership that are often overlooked in mainstream research. It does not only highlight the multifaceted dimensions of partnering but also discusses how partnership can be envisioned and practised as inter-organisational relationships. It stimulates a pragmatic understanding of partnership nature and management showing that partnership emergence, direction and sustainability are conditioned by the stakeholders’ socio-political and ethical practices.

Family-centered care for children with cerebral palsy: conceptual and practical considerations to advance care and practice.

This article focuses on conceptual and practical considerations in family-centered care for children with cerebral palsy and their families. In the last 5 years, there have been important advances in our understanding of the components of family-centered care, and initial attempts to understand the client change processes at play. Recent research elaborates on family-centered care by delving into aspects of family-provider partnership, and applying family-centered principles to organizational service delivery to bring about organizational cultures of family-centered care. Recent research has also begun to consider mediators of client change, and new practice models have been proposed that embrace family-centered principles and illustrate the "art" of practice. Future research directions are discussed, including explorations of causal relationships between family-centered care principles, elements of caregiving practice, client change processes, and child and family outcomes. The meaning of the recent literature for pediatric neurology practice is considered.