Innovative Deployment Research Articles

Prepaid meter issues in Ghana: Assessing the impact and the way forward

When it comes to electricity, several African developing nations confront a "twofold tragedy." The rate of access to power is minimal, and those who do experience frequent outages have significant consequences. Ongoing attempts are being made to expand access to energy throughout the continent. However, the necessity to increase electrical supply stability gets little concern. Unreliable power has negative effects on customers by reducing energy use and the advantages that should result from having an electrical connection. Using data obtained from 400 ECG users and 33 in-depth interviews, this research investigates the effect of prepaid meter problems in Ghana as well as potential solutions. The research used descriptive and logistic regression methods to examine socioeconomic characteristics, perceptions, recommendations, and self-reported effects of the recent October 2022 Prepaid Meter Issues (O22PMI) in Ghana. The O22PMI was determined to have a negative influence on the daily activities and security (89.5%) of respondents. Lack of public trust, approved illegal connections, worry, frustrations, and fear, insufficient resources and personnel at the ECG, business and financial losses, and the destruction of household appliances were key themes that emerged from the research. Income and residence are significant indicators of the self-reported impacts of the outage. The O22PMI was more likely to affect those with incomes below the federal minimum wage. To avoid future prepaid metering failures and frequent power outages, it is recommended that the government and other ECG stakeholders help in the deployment of stable systems and new innovations to increase power capacity.

Assessing differential gains that outstanding and average performing farmers attain from climate-smart cassava innovations in Nyando climate-smart villages, Kenya

In adoption of agricultural innovations, a few farmers attain outstanding outcomes above their peer majority. This reveals a positive deviance behavior in successful deployment of technologies and innovations. Assessing this behavior in climate-smart agriculture (CSA) can reveal the yield gap in triple wins of CSA (adaptation, farm productivity and mitigation). This study investigated differential gains in these CSA triple wins between outstanding (positive deviants) and average (typical) performing farmers who have adopted climate smart cassava innovations in Nyando Climate Smart Villages (CSV). In a household survey, a sample of 150 farmers were reached, which through snowballing approach, peers identified 30 to exhibit positive deviant behaviour. Presenting these in Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with stakeholders further isolated six farmers being those they consider positive deviants (PDs) in climate smart cassava innovations. Data were subjected to cross-tabulation to generate frequencies used to compute weighted index scores. This revealed increasing magnitude and was a preferred fair comparison of a sample of fewer positive deviants (n=6) with large number of typical (n=144) farmers. Results revealed substantial differences in the attained triple win gains from climate smart cassava innovations between typical and positive deviant farmers. The weighted index scores showed that positive deviant farmers had attained higher adaptability, production diversification, farm productivity and intensification, food security and were implementing more mitigation practices for climate change. This empirical evidence demonstrates potential gains from climate smart cassava innovations when deployed effectively. This is because innovative management practices distinguish positive deviant farmers from typical farmers. These typical farmers would benefit more by learning from positive deviant farmers about effective deployment of climate smart cassava innovations. The study recommends strengthening extension services linked to farmer platforms in order to grow capacity for more effective deployment of climate smart cassava innovations for realising the CSA triple wins. Key words: Adaptability, food security, productivity, production diversification, positive deviants, cassava innovation

Socio-economic determinants for the deployment of Climate-Smart One-Health innovations. A meta-analysis approach prioritizing Ghana and Benin

An ecosystem is inhabited by organisms that rely on it for their livelihoods. For an ecosystem to sustain life, its life-supporting components must be alive to be able to preserve both the ecosystem’s life-supporting components like soil, vegetation, water, etc., and the living organisms inhabiting the ecosystem like humans, birds, domestic, and wild animals, termed as the One-Health concept. This is indispensable for the sustainability of life. Several factors determine the ability of the ecosystem to provide ecosystem services and support life, more so amidst climate change. Hence, climate-smart (CS) One-Health innovations are essential to maintain the integrity of the ecosystem to be able to support life. However, factors that could effectively determine the deployment of such CS One-Health innovations are not well identified. This paper, closes the knowledge gap through a systematic review of literature for a meta-analysis of the socio-economic determinants for the successful deployment of CS One-Health innovations. Using a scoping review methodology, search engines like Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, and AgriEcon were explored extensively for literature on CS One-Health innovations. Search results were then screened and only articles that met the inclusion criteria were considered in this study. Subsequently, appropriate articles were identified for data extraction. Results revealed that political will, community participation, knowledge of CS One-Health practices, the willingness of parties to engage in multi-disciplinary collaborative activities, and level of investment (income/funds) were enablers for the deployment of CS One-Health innovations. On the other hand, behavior incompatibility with innovations, policy failure to restrict the use of toxic substances in agriculture, poor community knowledge of CS One-Health innovations, and language barriers between communities and innovators, hindered such deployment. Hence, multiple factors (fostering and hindering) must be addressed in a multi-disciplinary framework to ensure the successful deployment of CS One-Health innovations.

5G-Enabled Cyber-Physical Systems for Smart Transportation Using Blockchain Technology

The physical world can be controlled directly over the Internet once a Cyber-Physical 1 System (CPS) infrastructure is established. The Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) encompasses Wireless Sensor Network (WSN), Vehicular ad hoc network (VANET), and 5G-enabled Internet of Things (IoT) solutions to transform traditional transportation into an ITS. This research investigates the option of running a blockchain-driven security assurance model to safeguard intelligent roads and smart vehicles as part of ITS. The proposed model considers a semi-distributed model in blockchain deployment to ensure satisfactory Internet of Vehicles (IoV) service while mining acceptable security assurance. The experimental outcomes on intelligent roads and smart parking management indicate that the proposed model achieves comparably good data delivery and reduced latency, paving the way to an innovative deployment of blockchain technologies in IoV for a dependable and trustworthy ITS.

An application of extenics, spatial factors, and natural resource market in China: The role of artificial intelligence and geopolitical risk

Scientific breakthroughs in recent years have earned widespread recognition. The significance of extenics has become so vital that the discipline is continuously evolving. Additionally, with the deployment of extenics and other innovations, the countries are now more connected and spatially reliant, influencing the global economy. The current study aims to investigate the role of extenics (measured by artificial intelligence (AI)) and spatial factors (measured by geopolitical risk (GPR)) in affecting the natural resources market (NRM). The analysis is performed on the Chinese economy data range from 1985 to 2022. The empirical assessment is carried out by using the unit root tests (Augmented Dickey fuller (ADF) and Phillips-Perron (PP) test), the non-linearity test (BDS test), and the non-linear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model. The NARDL results show an asymmetric relationship between AI, GPR, and NRM in both the short run (SR) and long run (LR). A positive (negative) shock to AI, according to the findings, lowers (raises) natural resource rent and hence improves the natural resource market. Similarly, a positive (negative) shock to the GPR increases (decreases) natural resource rent and allows for the exploitation of the natural resource market. The study suggests that in addition to concentrating on extenics applications, the Chinese government needs to strengthen and reform its strategies to regulate spatial impacts to optimize its natural resource market.

Impact of the digital economy and innovation on the businesses of small and medium enterprises

The COVID-19 outbreak posed a significant economic threat to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Despite its negative impact on the economy and SMEs, the pandemic also presented opportunities for reform to help the economy recover quickly. Moreover, the pandemic accelerated digitalization, which brought fundamental changes in competitiveness drivers, such as business models, business processes, and required skills and competencies for employability (Shafi et al., 2020; Ssenyonga, 2021). This study aimed to explore post-COVID-19 pandemic opportunities for SMEs in Krabi, Thailand, through digitization. In-depth interviews were conducted, and a purposive sampling of eight Thai SME business owners in Krabi, Thailand, was selected for the qualitative study. The data were analyzed using content analysis and NVivo software. The results indicated that there are opportunities for SMEs to benefit from the deployment of digital technologies and innovation in the post-pandemic era. Additionally, SMEs have incorporated digital technologies and innovation into their services and operations to achieve long-term development, as these advancements also provide substantial advantages to SMEs.

The virtuous smart city: Bridging the gap between ethical principles and practices of data-driven innovation

Abstract For smart cities, data-driven innovation promises societal benefits and increased well-being for residents and visitors. At the same time, the deployment of data-driven innovation poses significant ethical challenges. Although cities and other public-sector actors have increasingly adopted ethical principles, employing them in practice remains challenging. In this commentary, we use a virtue-based approach that bridges the gap between abstract principles and the daily work of practitioners who engage in and with data-driven innovation processes. Inspired by Aristotle, we describe practices of data-driven innovation in a smart city applying the concepts of virtue and phronêsis, meaning good judgment of and sensitivity to ethical issues. We use a dialogic case-study approach to study two cases of data-driven innovation in the city of Helsinki. We then describe as an illustration of how our approach can help bridge the gap between concrete practices of data-driven innovation and high-level principles. Overall, we advance a theoretically grounded, virtue-based approach, which is practice oriented and linked to the daily work of data scientists and other practitioners of data-driven innovation. Further, this approach helps understand the need for and importance of individual application of phronêsis, which is particularly important in public-sector organizations that can experience gaps between principle and practice. This importance is further intensified in cases of data-driven innovation in which, by definition, novel and unknown contexts are explored.

A Driven Modern Portfolio Theory for Virtual Network Embedding in SDN-Enabled Cloud

Network virtualization (NV) has evolved systematically through the urge to share computing resources and improve service deployment in a large-scale environment. Virtual network embedding (VNE) is a well-established technology applied to reinforce the NV process, providing a devoted implementation for a particular case study. In cloud computing, integration of software-defined networking (SDN) has proved to be a practical support to the principal cloud utilities. In return, the SDN-enabled cloud offers innovative deployment techniques for network-based services, which increase the opportunity to efficiently incorporate new network management policies that solve the VNE problem. In this paper, the authors proposed a transition of modern portfolio theory (MPT) into a VNE approach that optimally addresses the selection and ranking of resources in data center networks (DCNs). Results analysis demonstrates the VNE approach's better performance versus similar methods in terms of acceptance ratio, runtime, and substrate resource utilization.

Sustainable development in the construction industry: The role of frugal innovation

The journey towards sustainable development is largely limited by practices in the construction industry, which is a significant generator of wastes and other anthropogenic emissions. It therefore follows that a transition to cleaner construction technologies and methods through the deployment of innovations that minimize the use of resources and anthropogenic pollutants such as greenhouse gasses (GHG), aerosols, carbon dioxide, sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxide, benzene, and other emissions which adversely affect humans and impact the environment will foster the sustainable development goals. To sustainably develop, it is imperative for the construction industry as a hub of economic development to look inwards for solutions that are frugal, pragmatic, and inclusive. The tools for understanding the phenomena investigated are derived from the theories of frugal innovation, sustainable construction, and appropriate technology. The case of Hydraform was studied to understand how it contributes to sustainable development. Semi-structured interviews with industry experts and stakeholders provide qualitative insights into the phenomena investigated. The findings indicate that frugal innovation (FI) in the construction industry is shaped by large institutional players such as state governments, and non-profit organizations (NGOs), while a segment of the target user-groups interpret the innovation as lower-class status artifacts. Specifically, this study contributes to an understanding of how locally-engineered technology can foster development in the bottom of the pyramid (BoP) economies. Practitioners also gain through knowledge of the diffusion inhibitors, and how to navigate the diffusion barriers.

Classification of Corn Diseases from Leaf Images Using Deep Transfer Learning

Corn is a mass-produced agricultural product that plays a major role in the food chain and many agricultural products in addition to biofuels. Furthermore, households in poor countries may depend on small-scale corn cultivation for their basic needs. However, corn crops are vulnerable to diseases, which greatly affects farming yields. Moreover, extreme weather conditions and unseasonable temperatures can accelerate the spread of diseases. The pervasiveness and ubiquity of technology have allowed for the deployment of technological innovations in many areas. Particularly, applications powered by artificial intelligence algorithms have established themselves in many disciplines relating to image, signal, and sound recognition. In this work, we target the application of deep transfer learning in the classification of three corn diseases (i.e., Cercospora leaf spot, common rust, and northern leaf blight) in addition to the healthy plants. Using corn leaf image as input and convolutional neural networks models, no preprocessing or explicit feature extraction was required. Transfer learning using well-established and well-designed deep learning models was performed and extensively evaluated using multiple scenarios for splitting the data. In addition, the experiments were repeated 10 times to account for variability in picking random choices. The four classes were discerned with a mean accuracy of 98.6%. This and the other performance metrics exhibit values that make it feasible to build and deploy applications that can aid farmers and plant pathologists to promptly and accurately perform disease identification and apply the correct remedies.

The Better Building Initiative — a Collaborative Ecosystem Involving All Stakeholders as Catalyst to Accelerate the Adoption of Circular Economy Innovations in the Construction Sector

Despite the recognition and a growing interest in sustainable innovation in the construction industry, the speed at which such innovations are being deployed into practical and scalable solutions that reduce the environmental impact of our built world is far too slow. Considering the complex structure of the industry, which involves a multidisciplinary mix of stakeholders from various backgrounds, adopting the systems thinking approach of circular economy (CE) is crucial to deploy effective and holistic solutions that can be scaled exponentially. Hence, addressing the challenges resulting from the complexity and multidisciplinary constitution of the industry for the deployment of sustainable innovations necessitates a deepening of collaboration between stakeholders with highly diverse cultures, ways of working, business models, and priorities. Within this communication, it is being discussed how a holistic system-thinking approach as constituted by the CE paradigm can be practically deployed in the typically traditional construction industry. The proposed approach, called the Better Building Initiative, centers around establishing an ecosystem for circular innovation in building and construction that involves intrinsically motivated stakeholders from all relevant disciplines and interests. Based on the action-oriented Better Building Manifesto, it is proposed how to unify the three sustainable innovation areas: materials, design, and process in one holistic innovation approach and develop an innovation platform that accelerates circular innovation in the building and construction industry.

Deployment of Sulfinimines in Charge-Accelerated Sulfonium Rearrangement Enables a Surrogate Asymmetric Mannich Reaction.

β-Amino acid derivatives are key structural elements in synthetic and biological chemistry. Despite being a hallmark method for their preparation, the direct Mannich reaction encounters significant challenges when carboxylic acid derivatives are employed. Indeed, not only is chemoselective enolate formation a pitfall (particularly with carboxamides), but most importantly the inability to reliably access α-tertiary amines through an enolate/ketimine coupling is an unsolved problem of this century-old reaction. Herein, we report a strategy enabling the first direct coupling of carboxamides with ketimines for the diastereo- and enantioselective synthesis of β-amino amides. This conceptually novel approach hinges on the innovative deployment of enantiopure sulfinimines in sulfonium rearrangements, and at once solves the problems of chemoselectivity, reactivity, and (relative and absolute) stereoselectivity of the Mannich process. In-depth computational studies explain the observed, unexpected (dia)stereoselectivity and showcase the key role of intramolecular interactions, including London dispersion, for the accurate description of the reaction mechanism.

Digitalization in small and medium enterprise: a parsimonious model of digitalization of accounting information for sustainable innovation ecosystem value generation

Purpose This study aims to dispense a concrete and coherent picture on the role of digitalization of accounting information (DOAI) among the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through a statistically reliable and parsimonious paradigm for procuring the impact of DOAI on sustainable innovation ecosystem (SIE) and public value (PV) generation. With this cue, the geographical scope of this tentative manuscript was framed in SMEs of developing countries. Design/methodology/approach A three-pronged methodology was disposed in this research, namely, literature review, expert interviews and self-administered survey. Qualitative data was procured from a series of semi-structured in-depth interviews. The quantitative data was drawn on a self-administered survey in which the closed-ended questionnaires were conveniently circulated to a cross-sectional sample of 583 respondents. The data captured from quantitative approach was processed and analyzed via covariance-based structural equation modeling with AMOS 26.0. Findings The outcomes analysis highlighted that there were significant positive associations between the hypothesized constructs regarding significance and effect size. These interlinks were also partially mediated through the mediation of quality of information on financial reports and SIE. Research limitations/implications This research was bounded by geographical provenance emphasis on one country and relative smallness of the data set procured through anonymous survey-based approach drawn from a convenient sample of digitally savvy respondents working in one sub-sector resulted in the reduction in the robustness and generalizability of the observations. Nevertheless, these above-mentioned limitations could thus offer the starting points for novel avenues creation for the future research. Practical implications The practitioners would definitely have valuable benefits from in-depth insights on the obtained findings. Concretely, as lifting the degree of understandings on the magnitude of long-term cooperation and superior coordination within the SIE would enable practitioners to enlarge their business viewpoints to better cope with the challenges of complicated business settings, facilitating them to co-create PV for all their key stakeholders through giving priority to implementing DOAI. Social implications Society could benefit from this study if policymakers and the influencers of government focus on innovative features and assure the possible environment for innovation deployment through embarking on introducing policies that would facilitate the digitalization as well as stimulate and incentivize establishing the SIE for PV generation. It would be good for both the SMEs and society when SMEs could thrive in community settings as well as this togetherness. Originality/value Unpacking the potential of DOAI has been considered as the promising research avenues that are outlined not only to redress the shortfall in the research stream in relation to the digitalization among SMEs but also provide the right directions for sustainable development among SMEs.

Associated Sensors, Innovative Sensor Deployment furthermore, Intelligent Data Analysis for Online Water Quality Monitoring

Abstract: The sensor innovation for water quality checking (WQM) has improved during late years. The financially savvy sensorised instruments that can independently gauge the fundamental physical - substance and organic (PCB) factors are presently promptly accessible and are being sent on floats, boats and ships. However, there is a distinction between the information quality, information gathering and information examination because of the absence of normalized approaches for information assortment and handling, spatio-fleeting variety of key boundaries in water bodies and new pollutants. Such holes can be spanned with an organization of multiparametric sensor frameworks sent in water bodies utilizing independent vehicles, for example, marine robots and flying vehicles to widen the information inclusion in existence. Further, smart calculations could be utilized for normalized information examination what's more, determining. This paper presents an exhaustive survey of the sensors, sending and examination advancements for WQM. An organization of arranged water bodies could improve the worldwide information interoperability and empower WQM at worldwide scale to address worldwide difficulties connected with food, drinking water, and wellbeing.

REGIONALY IMPORTANT SINCRO.GRID SMART GRID PROJECT

Regional transmission and distribution challenges has evolved and changed a lot in recent years. Four contradictory influences increasingly affected the operations of Slovenian and Croatian electricity systems. Regional electricity systems experienced increasing support of RES integration to meet the EU targets, a lower electricity consumption due to the economic crisis, a growing lack of centralized electricity production for electric system support and the high interconnectivity between the neighboring control zones. TSOs and DSOs observed growing network overvoltage issues as well as a decrease in secondary reserve capacities. Such situation starts to impact national and regional renewable integration targets affecting the security of supply at European level. SINCRO.GRID joint investment project addressed the above-mentioned issues in a sustainable manner. Such cross-border systemic approach will bring synergetic benefits. It will enable an acceptable level of security of operation for at least the next ten years hosting levels of RES in line with the trends foreseen to reach the 2030 targets safely. The project is going to integrate new active elements in the transmission and distribution grids. It leans on the following main pillars: deployment of six compensation devices, deployment of advanced dynamic thermal rating (DTR) systems, deployment of electricity storage systems, integration of distributed renewable generation (DG) and deployment of a virtual cross-border control center (VCBCC). A key aspect of the SINCRO.GRID project lies in the synergy brought by the simultaneous innovative deployment of a portfolio of mature technology-based solutions bring high benefits and positive externalities for the region and European Union.

Mitigating Carbon Emissions in China: The Role of Clean Energy, Technological Innovation, and Political-Institutional Quality

The global warming phenomena arise from the subject of climate change, which draws intellectuals’ attention toward replacing polluting energy sources with clean energy sources by continued deployment of innovations. Also, global warming problems put large pressure on governments, individuals, and policymakers. Therefore, for reliable energy supply and economic development, the target of achieving a low-carbon and sustainable environment is needed. In this light, we explore the role of clean energy and technological innovation in carbon emission reduction in China from 1995 to 2018. The key outcomes from the fully modified least-squares and robust least-squares indicate an elasticity of −0.065 and −0.075, respectively, for the nexus of renewable energy and CO2 emissions. Similarly, nuclear energy, technology innovation, and political-institutional quality have a negative influence on CO2 emissions. Furthermore, the granger causality demonstrates feedback between renewable energy and CO2 emissions, as well as between technological innovation and CO2 emissions. To achieve a cleaner environment, the implementation of the existing policy pathways is potentially geared toward applying technological innovations to produce renewable energy at lower costs.

Sensing and Stimulating Electrodes for Electroceuticals

Electroceuticals is an emerging field that combines the technology in conductive materials with their ability to interface with biological systems. The development of highly conductive electrodes to monitor human health in real-time while simultaneously delivering stimulation promises to revolutionize medical science. Aspects to consider during development include the desired shape, electrode material properties, number of active sites, carriers used, and methods of deployment and activation. Novel organic-conductor based electrode compositions offer properties unattainable with conventional metal electrodes. Emerging innovative deployment strategies communicate directly with target tissues while minimizing damage to the surrounding biological environment. Here we highlight the recent reported technology on platinized graphene fibers (sutrode), a high performance electrode, capable of recording electrophysiological signals from small autonomic nerves, which could bring us closer to the ultimate goal: modulating the activity of individual organs with high selectivity and precision for a therapeutic medical outcome. An in-depth understanding of electrode materials and methods of fabrication and deployment can provide unprecedented opportunities for electroceutical research.

Dynamic Trade Finance in the Presence of Information Frictions and FinTech

Problem definition: The paper focuses on an innovative bank-intermediated trade finance contract, which we call dynamic trade finance (DTF, under which banks dynamically adjust loan interest rates as an order passes through different steps in the trade process). We examine the value of DTF, the impact of process uncertainties, and the associated information frictions on this value and the strategic interaction between DTF and FinTech. Academic/practical relevance: As more than 30% of global trade involves bank-intermediated trade finance, examining contract innovation in trade finance (DTF) and its strategic interaction with FinTech is of practical importance. Also, analyzing trade finance in the presence of process dynamics and information frictions complements the existing academic literature. Methodology: We construct a parsimonious model of a supply chain process consisting of two steps. The duration of each step is uncertain, and the process may fail at either step. Information delay may also occur when verifying the process passing a step. The seller borrows from a bank to finance this two-step process either through uniform financing (the interest rate remains constant throughout the process) or DTF (the interest rates are adjusted according to a precommitted schedule as the process passes each step). When lending, the bank faces a regulatory capital requirement (the bank is required to hold capital reserve when issuing risky loans) or information asymmetry (the seller/borrower possesses more accurate information about the trade process than the bank). Results: The value of DTF lies in its ability to reduce transactional deadweight loss (under the regulatory capital requirement) and screening (separate high-quality borrowers from the low-quality ones under information asymmetry). This value is greater for more reliable or lengthier trade processes, yet DTF’s ability to screen is stronger when the process is less reliable. The severity of information delay hurts the value of DTF convexly. FinTech that expedites information transmission and verification and enables automatic execution complements DTF, and those that segment customers more efficiently could substitute DTF. Managerial implications: Our results shed light on how the underlying trade process dynamics and the type of information frictions involved affect the optimal deployment of contract innovations (DTF) and FinTech in trade finance.

Blockchain‐Based IoT‐Enabled System for Secure and Efficient Logistics Management in the Era of IR 4.0

As the global logistics business expands as a result of the industrial 4.0 revolution, logistics operations continue to evolve as new technologies such as IoT, cloud, and big data are deployed. These IoT devices improve the logistics function by boosting real‐time product tracking, improved data collection, smart storage of logistics data, etc. Some of these new technologies present an avenue for cyberattacks on these logistics systems due to their centralized database structure. Logistics operations entail the exchange of private consumer information (name, address, phone number, and bank account information) as well as product information amongst logistics stakeholders (manufacturers, suppliers, transporters, and customers). And the engagement of so many logistics stakeholders creates privacy and security issues for the private information because customer information, as well as product details, are transferred and shared across different logistical stakeholders during the logistics process. It faces unwanted access, which could lead to fraud or the creation of counterfeit products by a bad actor in the system. All of these challenges are significant because logistics data integrity is important for customer satisfaction. The deployment of Blockchain innovation will address these challenges with the application of its special feature such as immutability, efficient cryptography, and distributed decentralized storage system. In this paper, we highlighted the technology that enables smart logistics and reviewed smart logistics, Blockchain, and IoT in logistics; we present the significance of integrating Blockchain and IoT in logistics. We proposed a Blockchain‐based IoT‐enabled system framework for secure and efficient logistics management where logistics data can be captured with the use of IoT sensors, and we also designed and describe the sequence diagram for secured communication between the logistics stakeholder through a smart contract. In conclusion, Blockchain can provide security to logistics data and enhance operational efficiency with its key features.

Health crisis: What opportunities for clinical drug research?

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the deployment of an unprecedented academic and industrial research effort, the sometimes redundant nature of which is regrettable, as is the lack of both national and international management. However, it must be noted that during this crisis, regulatory procedures were adapted and certain obstacles in the organisation of clinical research were partly removed to contribute to the deployment of trials as close as possible to patients and to facilitate monitoring and control procedures. The digitisation of certain processes and the decentralisation of certain activities were implemented under the cover of a mobilisation of the authorities and all institutional, academic and industrial players. While in the UK, the optimisation of resources through a single platform trial has made it possible to demonstrate or invalidate the efficacy of many treatments, in France the health crisis has highlighted the fragility of the organisation of clinical research, in particular a lack of coordination and funding, difficulties in implementing studies and a certain reluctance to share data. However, the crisis has also revealed the adaptability of the various stakeholders and has led to the improvement of several processes useful for the deployment of therapeutic innovation. Let us hope that the lessons learned during this crisis will allow for greater efficiency in the event of a new pandemic and, above all, that the progress made will continue to apply to all future clinical research activities.