Development Projects Research Articles

The emerging institutionalisation of knowledge co-production in sustainability research.

Co-production of knowledge in science-policy interfaces has received increased attention as a way of addressing grand societal challenges with the hope that it will create a base for enacting transformative change. We explore the development and outputs of projects funded by the Strategic Research Council of Finland, which has had the aim of generating strategic knowledge through interactions with stakeholders. We examine how producers and users of knowledge understand co-production as revealed by a researcher survey and stakeholder interviews in relation to different domains in the institutionalisation process. Our results show advanced, emerging and explorative levels of institutionalisation of knowledge co-production practices and highlight the differences between needs-based and transformative approaches to co-production. We conclude that to succeed, efforts to institutionalise knowledge co-production should recognise several societal domains from governance to resources and culture. Advanced institutionalisation for the co-production of transformative knowledge can significantly strengthen the potential of sustainability research.

Development and Future Outlook of Rail Transit Projects in Mining Subsidence Areas

Development and Future Outlook of Rail Transit Projects in Mining Subsidence Areas

Academics’ Leadership Styles and Their Motivation to Participate in a Leadership Training Program in the Digital Era

Previous studies have demonstrated the significance of leadership training for the professional growth of academics. In the Digital Era, where technological advancements and new learning environments are transforming leadership development, this study seeks to explore whether and how academics’ leadership styles influence their motivation to participate in a leadership training program. Based on survey data from 761 participants directly involved in a leadership development project, this study adopted a path model analysis method and provides novel empirical evidence on whether participants’ leadership styles influence their motivation to participate in leadership training programs. By examining this relationship in the context of the Digital Era, where digital tools and virtual platforms play a significant role, the study sheds light on how leadership approaches drive individuals’ motivation for further development—an aspect that has been underexplored in the past. Focusing on participants from a leadership development project, the study offers practical insights into how different leadership styles may impact engagement and interest in leadership training, particularly in digital and hybrid learning settings. This could help organizations tailor their leadership programs to better address the diverse needs of participants with varying leadership orientations in a digitally connected world.

Participatory prioritization of sustainable development projects in informal territories: A case study of Gran Yomasa, Usme, Bogotá, Colombia

The article presents an innovative methodology to prioritize sustainable development projects in informal territories, applying the GERC-ES Method in Gran Yomasa, Usme, and Bogotá. Adopting a mixed quantitative-qualitative approach, the research selected 64 indicators that articulate key variables related to urban habitat and sustainability. The participatory process, which involved 53 community residents, 14 students, and 6 researchers, allowed defining and prioritizing 14 sustainable projects aligned with local needs. The projects were classified according to their impact on environmental, social, and economic dimensions, as well as their alignment with sustainable development goals, which ensured relevant and applicable interventions in similar contexts. The proposed methodology highlights the importance of integrating the community in planning and prioritization, promoting sustainable and equitable solutions that respond to the problems of the territory.

Sustainable Development Projects Implementing in BANI Environment Based on AI Tools

This study proposes a conceptual framework for applying artificial intelligence (AI) to sustainable development projects, emphasizing its role in mitigating risks, enhancing flexibility, and fostering resilience. A case study analysis demonstrates the practical application of AI tools in optimizing project outcomes while aligning with global sustainability goals. The findings underscore the transformative potential of AI in enabling sustainable practices and achieving long-term success in the BANI (brittle, anxious, nonlinear, incomprehensible) environment. This research contributes to the growing discourse on digital transformation and sustainability by presenting actionable strategies for project managers and stakeholders. To highlight this study’s quantitative findings, key numerical estimates derived from the case study and model validation have been incorporated into the abstract, showcasing AI’s measurable impact on project resilience, efficiency, and stakeholder confidence.

DETROIT’S FIGHTS FOR COMMUNITY BENEFITS: Exploring the Challenges and Strategies of Securing Community Benefits Agreements in a Legacy City

AbstractCommunity benefits agreements (CBAs) have emerged from the accountable development movement as a widespread, most often community‐initiated practice for extracting benefits from development projects at the cost of developers. Scholarship chronicling the strategies for negotiating benefits has largely concluded that a strong real estate market is needed for local communities to secure the necessary leverage to win benefits. However, there are cases when legacy cities with weak real estate markets have been successful in negotiating for community benefits. We examine 14 CBAs negotiated in Detroit to uncover lessons about the ways that cities with weaker economies and lower‐profile reputations as investment‐ready places may experience brokering agreements. In light of its status as a legacy city, this article uses Detroit's CBAs to explore the unique challenges in that city and the specialized strategies that emerged from organizing CBAs there. We find that Detroit faces specific challenges to realizing benefits like jobs and affordable housing due to structural issues brought on by decades of decline. We also find that Detroiters have innovated ways to extract benefits to mitigate some of the historic neglect and disinvestment in their neighborhoods through CBAs.

Associative Inferential Transitions, or One Problem with Siegel’s Response Hypothesis

Abstract What is inference? This paper discusses a recent account that aims to answer this question—Susanna Siegel’s Response Hypothesis. The hallmark of inference, on Siegel’s account, is the epistemic dependence of a mental transition’s output state(s) on its input state(s). In this paper, I argue that some alleged non-inferential transitions exhibit the kind of epistemic dependence that Siegel’s account takes to be characteristic of inference. More precisely, I argue that some associative transitions exhibit this kind of epistemic dependence—a problematic conclusion, since Siegel takes inference and association to be mutually exclusive kinds of mental transitions. I then suggest a way out of this problem: to reject the assumption that association and inference are mutually exclusive. This may be considered a bold move, for associative transitions are often considered a paradigm example of non-inferential transitions. So, I end up discussing the motivation behind the move and arguing that it opens up an attractive niche for the development of some philosophical projects.

The importance of city services to internally displaced persons, returnees, and host residents in Juba, South Sudan

ABSTRACT Increasing numbers of people are displaced worldwide (108 million), and well over half of displaced persons move to urban areas in lower-income countries. While some research has focused on how displaced persons fare in camps, little research focuses on displaced persons, returnees, and host residents living together in urban areas. This research uses a mixed-methods approach for data collection, including 60 randomly selected households in three residential areas (n = 180) in Juba, South Sudan. Household surveys compared how displaced persons valued basic city services (water, latrine/wastewater, electricity, and security), transportation, and shared facilities (hospitals, schools, parks, and markets) relative to host residents and returnees. Using linear regression modeling, our research found that the perceived value of city services amongst hosts, IDPs, and returning refugees varied significantly when controlling for residential areas and household characteristics. However, many common patterns existed among the three groups. Host residents and IDPs rated cheaper transportation as their greatest need. All three groups highly rated the need for security, and IDPs and returnees highly rated the need for parks. When designing and implementing development projects, we recommend that humanitarian agencies collaborate with city officials to engage with existing IDP and returnee networks.

More than raising money: the role of crowdfunding in the development of cultural projects

ABSTRACT Driven by worldwide digitalization alongside the culture sector’s lifelong challenges of getting funds, crowdfunding has increasingly become a popular strategy for realizing cultural productions. There is, though, a lack of understanding cultural-creative crowdfunding from a broader-than-finance perspective, which is addressed in this paper by exploring how it functions beyond the obvious mechanism of raising money. By adopting a multiple-case design, this paper sheds empirical light on crowdfunding’s role as a complementary source of finance or a form of business model, and its function of gatekeeper for individuals starting their artistic careers. Based on cases spanning from the audiovisual industry to music and design, we elaborate on how the crowdfunding process shapes the professional path of diverse cultural-creative workers and their projects. Some creators enthusiastically embrace this entrepreneurial finance as core for their business where consumers share ownership over a pre-sold product, while others do not consider using crowdfunding again but (indirectly) recognize its role as an entry door to a new professional path in the sector. In sum, there is potential to elaborate on crowdfunding’s role for both artists’ career and cultural project development and this paper is among the first to suggest a theoretical model in this direction.

Segregation and Recycling in the Operating Room. An Intervention to Accelerate the Decarbonisation Process in the Health Sector.

To evaluate the impact of a multilevel intervention in a surgical department on the segregation of non-hazardous healthcare waste (plastic and paper) during the perioperative period as well as its effect on the carbon footprint of the healthcare organisation. A prospective before-after interventional study without a control group was carried out in the operating room of the Universitary Hospital Mútua Terrassa in Catalonia (Spain). A multilevel programme to improve the segregation process during the surgical interventions was implemented in several phases from May 2023 to December 2024. Data collection was conducted in each phase of the study through questionnaires addressed to the professionals along with calculations of the carbon footprint and the volume of waste segregation. The study is framed within the socio-ecological model and employs a collaborative design. The study population included all professionals working in the operating room (n = 320). A multidisciplinary team was formed with consideration for all stakeholders. The project phases were implemented consecutively. A total of 141 professionals (44.4%) completed the baseline questionnaire. As a result of the project's development, the carbon footprint has been reduced to 79.1 kg CO2 eq/week, representing an 85% reduction in emissions. The implementation of the recycling project has led to significant reductions in the amount of waste generated and it has been positively evaluated by the professionals. The benefits of fostering a behavioural change among the professionals, coupled with the implementation of a well-designed segregation and recycling system, lead to significant benefits for the institution in carbon footprint. Nurses can lead this type of project with a clear impact on both the institution and the environment. Reduction of the carbon footprint in the operating room increased satisfaction among professionals for contributing to environmental improvement. The reporting of intervention evaluation studies using nonrandomized designs: the TREND statement Des Jarlais etal. (2004) was used to evaluate the quality of the study. N/A. Only professionals are involved in this study.

A study on the development of decarbonisation projects in each municipality according to local characteristics

A study on the development of decarbonisation projects in each municipality according to local characteristics

The INO80E at 16p11.2 locus increases risk of schizophrenia in humans and induces schizophrenia-like phenotypes in mice.

The INO80E at 16p11.2 locus increases risk of schizophrenia in humans and induces schizophrenia-like phenotypes in mice.

Leveraging Multi-source Data for Local Government Financing Vehicles Debt Risk Assessment Via Random Forests

Local government financing vehicles (LGFVs), in China, are pivotal indirect financing channels for urban development projects. However, the significant debt accumulated by these vehicles presents considerable long-term risks, including challenges to fiscal sustainability, threats to financial system stability, and disruptions to regional economic development. Timely monitoring of LGFV debt risks is essential for enabling effective interventions. This study develops a robust risk evaluation system for LGFVs by leveraging multi-source data and employing the Random Forest (RF) machine learning algorithm. We collected and analyzed a sample of 1584 Chinese LGFVs from a major state-owned bank. Through an examination of the mechanisms underlying LGFV debt risk and a review of relevant literature, we identified seven primary categories and 20 key risk indicators to construct our risk indicator system. After comparing several machine learning algorithms, we selected the RF algorithm to build the LGFV debt risk prediction model due to its superior performance. Our findings emphasize the External Guarantee Ratio, GDP growth rate, and proportion of the tertiary industry as critical risk indicators. The model evaluation demonstrates high accuracy, underscoring its significant potential for practical application. This study contributes to the management of local government debt risks and introduces a novel methodology with potential applicability in other areas of risk management.

Improving configurator development: a coordinated performance assessment approach

PurposeConfigurators support product and service specification processes by automating tasks, such as producing quotes, operation plans and bills of materials. However, misalignment between configurator objectives and development processes poses threats to the success of configurator projects. To address such problems, this research presents a coordinated approach to improve configurator development and reduce the likelihood of project failure, through the use of coordinated performance assessment.Design/methodology/approachThe suggested approach was developed by organizing existing configurator performance measurement methods, which were identified through a literature review. A longitudinal, action research–based case study was conducted on a large energy company that operates offshore oil and gas platforms in Denmark. The case study evaluates the usefulness of the proposed approach through a maintenance work configurator developed in the case company.FindingsThe case shows that early-stage co-scoping of a configurator and its performance metrics can ensure the alignment of configurator objectives and performance measures and can secure the data required to achieve comprehensive performance measurements. These measures, in turn, support the continuous improvement of the configurator in its subsequent development cycles. The results of the empirical case study suggest that the approach produces considerable benefits in cost reduction and improved efficiency in configurator development.Originality/valueExisting approaches to configurator development and implementation place little emphasis on the derivation and decision-support capability of performance measures. To address this, the proposed approach provides a structured, integrated method to continuously guide the development and implementation of configurator projects through performance assessment.

Life cycle assessment of sandstone aggregate quarry activities—a case study in Istanbul, Türkiye

Abstract Purpose In this study, a life cycle assessment (LCA) of aggregate quarry activities in Istanbul, Türkiye, based on energy and raw material consumption was carried out. The Cebeci quarry plays a vital role in Istanbul’s aggregate production, contributing significantly to economic development and infrastructure projects. Methods LCA methodology was applied using GaBi Education software. An analysis from cradle-to-gate analysis was performed. EN 15804 + A2 impact assessment method was used to evaluate twelve impact categories including climate change, acidification, and eutrophication potential. Results and discussion Results show that the main contributor to all impact categories is the crushing and sieving plant. Electricity consumption is the major factor in the crushing and sieving process. The calculated climate change potential was about 2.30 kg CO2 eq/ton sandstone aggregate product. The alternative scenarios demonstrate the potential environmental improvements, with the use of wind energy in crushing-sieving plants showing a substantial improvement in many impact categories compared to the use of conveyor belts in transportation. Integrating wind energy into the conveyor belt system as a third scenario reveals the lowest environmental load, with climate change and acidification potential values of 0.146 kg CO2 equivalent and 3.20E-04 mol of H + equivalent, respectively. Conclusions This LCA study provides valuable insights into the environmental footprint of sandstone aggregate production and suggests alternative scenarios for mitigating its impacts. The findings can inform decision-making processes in the mining industry and contribute to the development of more sustainable practices in aggregate production. Renewable energy is the best option to mitigate the environmental burden. The main novelty of this study is that it is the first initiative to apply LCA in the Turkish aggregate mining industry.

Innovation hesitancy: exploring reluctance to digital innovation in the Swedish cultural sector

Introduction. This paper explores a challenge for any novel digital intervention: the hesitancy or reluctance among the designated user group. Purpose. The overall purpose is to better understand the hesitant reception of digital innovations through a specific case study. The aim is to further our understanding of resistance towards digital innovation as well as reflect upon the pro-innovation bias of digital development projects. Method. Multiple sources were combined: data collected within the case project and conducted document analysis of project documentation. Results. Labor and maintenance were the main reasons behind stakeholder hesitancy, as well as concerns regarding the hosting, funding, and local relevance of the proposed innovation. Conclusions. The assumption that digitization is inherently beneficial shaped the direction of the case project. Yet ongoing cultural changes and current adaptations must be understood to ensure a new digital solution is actually needed. As researchers we must pay enough attention to relevant local conditions by critically engaging with the innovation process of the project itself. This requires looking pass the pro-innovation bias.

Escaping Inequity: A Digital Escape Room Professional Development for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

ABSTRACTIn this design‐based research study, in‐service educators participated in a grant‐funded professional development (PD) project to increase district capacity for multilingual learner instruction. Initial data indicated teacher comfort with technology but difficulty tailoring it to the unique multiliterate practices of culturally and linguistically diverse students. Based on teachers' needs and a departmental goal, a modification of a digital escape room (the JEDI Library Escape) was designed and implemented to teach principles of culturally sustaining pedagogies (CSPs) and multiliteracies. Results indicate that infusing CSP and multiliteracies into a digital escape room as PD enacted critical reflection, increased multiliteracies awareness, and created an overall enjoyable experience while shifting teachers' holistic impressions of multilinguals and their caregivers. Future iterations of the JEDI escape will include more opportunities for applying multiliteracies and JEDI principles to classroom settings, followed by opportunities for peer reflection through coursework.

FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS FOR SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT

The article proposes an approach to improving the financial support for the spatial development of territorial communities through the implementation of adaptive mechanisms that address modern challenges of socio-economic instability and external threats. Effective financial support is identified as a key factor influencing the ability of local self-government bodies (LSGBs) to implement long-term development projects aimed at infrastructure creation, environmental improvement, and enhancing the quality of life for residents. The study emphasizes the importance of key financial instruments, such as public-private partnerships, grant funding, and local borrowing, which contribute to strengthening the financial sustainability of local self-governance systems. At the same time, the main challenges hindering the spatial development of communities are identified, including limited own revenues, heavy dependence on state transfers, and insufficient fiscal autonomy, which complicate the planning and implementation of strategic projects. The research aims to develop theoretical and practical recommendations for implementing effective financial mechanisms to ensure balanced community development, even under conditions of limited financial resources. To achieve this, methods of analysis, synthesis, systems approach, and expert assessments were used, providing a comprehensive review of the issue. The results of the study indicate that the introduction of financial mechanisms such as public-private partnerships, internal and external borrowing, international grants, and state transfers significantly enhances the financial capacity of LSGBs. This, in turn, facilitates infrastructure development, improves the accessibility of services for the population, and ensures sustainable and balanced territorial development. Thus, adopting a comprehensive approach to financial support for spatial development enables local self-government bodies to manage financial resources effectively, implement strategic objectives, and respond to contemporary challenges. The development and implementation of adaptive financial support mechanisms will lay the foundation for sustainable community development and improve the quality of life for their residents.

Optimization and Practice of Project Management Models in Real Estate Development

The complexity of real estate development projects demands efficient project management models. However, in practice, many real estate development projects face issues such as long cycles, difficult cost control, and inefficient resource allocation. Optimizing the project management model is crucial to addressing these issues. This paper explores the current state of project management in real estate development, analyzes the shortcomings of traditional management models, and proposes optimization methods based on lean management, informatization management, and risk management. Furthermore, the article presents practical cases to demonstrate the outcomes achieved after optimizing the management model. Finally, the paper summarizes the key factors for optimizing real estate development project management models and offers suggestions for industry development. The research aims to provide practical and feasible project management optimization solutions for real estate development companies to improve project execution and profitability.

The Role of Women Empowerment on Environmental Sustainability: A Cross-Country Analysis

The study aims to provide insights into the impact of women's political empowerment on environmental sustainability measured using the level of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. We use a panel dataset of 135 countries (30 developed and 105 developing) from 1990 to 2020. The analyses are conducted separately for developed and developing countries. We use the Women’s Political Empowerment Index (WPE) constructed by the Varieties of Development Project (V-Dem). WPE has three dimensions: women’s civil liberties, women’s participation in civil society, and women’s political participation. The dependent variable, Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions, along with control variables such as GDP per capita, population levels, and renewable energy consumption, are derived from the World Development Indicators (WDI) dataset. Using fixed effects (FE) panel data analysis, our findings indicate that, in most cases, higher levels of women’s political empowerment resulted in lower CO2 emissions across both developed and developing countries.