Need For Greater Coordination Research Articles

Decarbonization in the European steel industry: Strategies, risks, and commitments

This paper investigates the challenge of decarbonizing the steel industry, a pillar of the global economy but also a major carbon emitter. Analyzing current decarbonization strategies, their effectiveness, and the role of corporate commitment and risk management offers insights needed to identify development paths in the current environment characterized by pressure driven by stringent environmental standards and fierce competition. An empirical approach, including a survey model and simulation, is used to answer prominent research questions. Aspects such as the influence of environmental and governance criteria, specific initiatives that can be undertaken, the importance of corporate commitment, and the integration of risk management into strategic planning are examined. Simulations suggest that the probability of meeting the 2030 goals range from 65.08 to 75.98 percent and the delta between low and high commitment ranges from 4.917 to 4.133 percent according to the share of renewables in the energy mix decarbonization. The influence of the energy mix is also included in the analysis. The research highlights the need for greater coordination and commitment across the industry to improve decarbonization efforts. It emphasizes the critical role of government policies and market dynamics in shaping industry actions toward achieving decarbonization goals. The findings contribute to understanding decarbonization processes, offering insights and guidance for the steel sector's transition to a low-carbon economy.

Impact of Devolution on Local Governance and Service Delivery in Kenya

Purpose: The main objective of this study was to explore the impact of devolution on local governance and service delivery in Kenya.
 Methodology: The study adopted a desktop methodology. Desk research refers to secondary data or that which can be collected without fieldwork. Desk research is basically involved in collecting data from existing resources hence it is often considered a low cost technique as compared to field research, as the main cost is involved in executive’s time, telephone charges and directories. Thus, the study relied on already published studies, reports and statistics. This secondary data was easily accessed through the online journals and library.
 Findings: The findings revealed that there exists a contextual and methodological gap relating to the impact of devolution on local governance and service delivery in Kenya. The empirical review revealed the devolution in Kenya has brought about positive changes in local governance and service delivery. To sustain and enhance these gains, it is imperative to prioritize capacity building, accountability, and collaboration among counties. Devolution remains a powerful tool for fostering development and democratizing governance in Kenya, but ongoing commitment and effort are required to ensure its continued success in improving the lives of Kenyan citizens.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The Decentralization theory, the Public Choice theory and the Institutional theory may be used to anchor future studies on the impact of devolution on local governance and service delivery in Kenya. There is a need for greater coordination and collaboration among counties. Many challenges, such as infrastructure development and resource allocation, transcend county boundaries. Counties should work together on regional development initiatives to maximize their impact and address common issues effectively. The national government can play a facilitating role in promoting inter-county cooperation through the provision of technical assistance and resources.

Benefits and Constraints Associated with the Harmonization of Financial Regulations: An Overview

The harmonization of financial regulations offers numerous benefits but also poses constraints and challenges. Cross-border derivative traffic has been on the rise, highlighting the need for a more coordinated, global approach to regulatory frameworks. Extraterritoriality, where regulatory reach extends beyond national borders, leads to duplicated efforts and compliance challenges for financial institutions engaged in cross-border transactions. Double reporting, discrepancies in data alignment and lack of standardized identifiers create complexities and increase costs for reporting to multiple regulatory authorities. Variations in asset pricing and market valuation standards further complicate compliance and reporting. The lack of harmonization between regulatory bodies results in inconsistencies and the need for greater coordination.

Homelessness and housing supply

ABSTRACT This research pairs point-in-time counts of adult homelessness prepared between 2015 and 2019 by 315 local housing assistance providers with data from the U.S. Census Bureau and other sources to quantify the impacts of regulatory and physical housing supply constraints on adult homelessness rates. The results from several random effects regression models suggest that a one standard deviation increase in the restrictiveness of local land use regulations directly increases the adult homelessness rate by between 9 and 12%, depending on the type of constraint. These estimated effects are uniformly smaller in magnitude than those which assume that constraints on housing supply influence homelessness indirectly through increased rents. These findings point to a need for greater coordination between land use planners and homeless assistance providers.

A living mapping review for COVID-19 funded research projects: 21 month update

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in an unprecedented research response, demonstrating exceptional examples of rapid research and collaboration. There has however been an ongoing need for greater coordination, with limited resources for research and the shifting global pandemic. Methods: The UK Collaborative on Development Research (UKCDR) and Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness (GloPID-R), two funder coordination groups have collaborated to develop a live database of funded research projects across the world relating to COVID-19. Drawing data continually from their members and further global funding bodies, as of 15 th April 2022 the database contains 16,353 projects, funded by 319 funders, taking place across 157 countries representing an investment of at least $6.2 billion. To our knowledge it is one of the most comprehensive databases. The database is aligned to the World Health Organisation and GloPID-R Global Research Roadmap: 2019 Novel Coronavirus and the UN Research Roadmap for the COVID-19 Recovery. It is being used by the WHO, governments and further policy makers, research funders and researchers. This living mapping review aims to supplement the database by providing an open accessible and frequently updated resource summarising the characteristics of the COVID-19 funded research portfolio. Both descriptive and thematic analysis are presented and updated frequently to aid interpretation of the global COVID-19 funded research portfolio. Results: In this version eight analysis we provide an updated detailed descriptive analysis of the database (on data from three months after version seven) and focus our thematic analysis on research gaps, research areas in need of coordination, study populations and research locations (with a focus on resource-limited countries). Conclusions: As the global funding response to COVID-19 plateaus, this living mapping review helps both funders and researchers to prioritise resources to areas where there is continued unmet research need.

Scaling up breastfeeding in England through the Becoming Breastfeeding Friendly initiative (BBF).

Breastfeeding is the most accessible and cost-effective activity available to public health and has been shown to be one of the most effective preventive measures mothers can take to protect their children's health. Despite the well-documented benefits, the UK has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world. The Becoming Breastfeeding Friendly (BBF) toolkit was developed through highly structured technical and academic collaboration, led by Yale University. It provides an evidence-based process to help countries assess their breastfeeding status and readiness to scale up, and identifies concrete measures countries can take to sustainably increase breastfeeding rates, based on data-driven recommendations. BBF is grounded in the Breastfeeding Gear Model complex adaptive systems framework which is made up of eight simultaneous conditions that sustain breastfeeding. In 2018, a committee of multi-agency stakeholders implemented the BBF process in England, collecting evidence to score the 'gear' components of England's breastfeeding environment against 54 benchmarks. The Training and Programme Delivery gear received the highest score, attributable to existing learning outcomes for health professionals and practitioners, peer supporters and specialist services, although there is a need for greater coordination and integration. The lowest scores were given for Promotion and Coordination, Goals and Monitoring due to the lack of a dedicated national strategy for breastfeeding and poor sharing of localised strategies and programmes. The process generated clear recommendations highlighting the need for more robust routine infant feeding data collection and reporting, and the necessity for strengthening leadership, monitoring and oversight to scale up and sustain breastfeeding.

Trade in health products and population health: A long‐run relation

AbstractThe effect of trade on different economic outcomes has been extensively studied but the literature on the specific effects of trade on health outcomes has remained relatively scanty. Our paper fills in the gap by examining the long‐run association between import expenditures on health products and longevity in a cross‐country panel setting of 32 developed and 24 developing countries, covering 1990–2018. It accounts for both time‐series properties and cross‐country heterogeneity, while remaining robust to omitted variables and endogeneity problems, by applying panel cointegration techniques. The results reveal that per capita medical import expenditure on pharmaceuticals, aggregate medical products and medicines have contributed around 0.34, 0.35 and 0.30 percentage points, respectively to the annual increase in life expectancy for an average country in our sample. The findings suggest that higher per capita import expenditure on health products can increase longevity significantly in the long‐run. The results remain robust to cross‐sectional dependence, sub‐samples of developed and developing countries and alternate measures of health outcomes such as adult mortality rates. These findings set the context for treating health product imports as critical for long‐term improvements in population health and outlines the need for greater coordination between health and trade policymakers for improving population health.

Toward Open Science: Contributing to Research Culture Change

Advancing open science across the complex and decentralized research ecosystem remains challenging to fully enact for a variety of reasons. Specific open science initiatives, including journal policy changes, preregistration, and Registered Reports represent existing opportunities for publishers, societies, institutions, funders, and researchers to contribute to more coordinated culture change across research communities. In a November 2021 post1 in The Scholarly Kitchen, Roger Schonfeld suggested that the current model for scientific scholarly communication may be ill-suited to improve and sustain public confidence and trust in science as it moves toward greater openness and transparency. The increasing politicization of science,2–4 along with related challenges in effectively managing the public communication of science, intensifies the need to build and sustain trust in the scientific process. After outlining proposed priorities for the scholarly communications community to contribute to trust-building in science, Schonfeld ultimately points to the need for greater coordination and collaboration across stakeholders in the global knowledge system—publishers, senior research officers, policy makers, institutions, funders, and libraries—to sustain a trusted information environment. System-level coordination and collaboration is a convergent theme across the open science reform movement.5–7 The recent adoption8 of UNESCO’s Recommendation of Open Science9 by all 193 member states offers a new signal of intentionality and a normative framework for global system coordination. The COVID-19 pandemic spurred coordination and implementation of open initiatives among various stakeholders across the scholarly communications system who aligned to thwart a global crisis. Specifically, the statement issued in January 2020 by the Wellcome Trust on “Sharing […]

The Remaking of Institutions for Local Climate Governance? Towards Understanding Climate Governance in a Multi-Level UK Local Government Area: A Micro-Local Case Study

The crisis of climate disruption and shortcomings in top-down approaches has focused attention on the effectiveness of governance to achieve climate goals. New sub-national governance models such as business alliances, city networks and NGO coalitions have emerged; such institutional ‘re-making’ is often motivated by frustration at national inaction, and by a belief thatlocal actors offer an effective ‘bottom-up’ approach. Literature on the emergence of climate-led multi-level and polycentric governance focuses primarily on cities; the role of urban-rural counties and of the micro-level of local government, and the challenges and opportunities before them, is less well studied. This paper draws on work in progress in a study exploring progress, challenges and failings in UK climate governance across multiple levels of county-based government: Surrey, an area of towns, peri-urban districts and countryside, is offered as a case study, with a focus on micro-level action in small towns and parishes. We find that despite a lack of national government orchestration or sub-regional frameworks, climate action is occurring voluntarily at all levels of governance. However, the nature of action is variable and irregular and there is little evidence as yet to demonstrate effectiveness. A fragmented form of multi-level governance is observed, with limited upward flows of ideas and no indication of national interest in micro-local climate lessons and experience. We identify the importance of ‘wilful actors’ and the need for greater coordination, information- and knowledge-sharing networks to achieve effective institutional ‘remaking’ for climate action.

Factores clave para modelos de atención a la insuficiencia cardiaca. Una visión integradora y multidisciplinar

Introduction and objectivesHeart failure (HF) is a challenge for health systems that can be responded through the development of comprehensive care models. A multidisciplinary group of experts reflected on the key factors that could facilitate the development of this type of models, proposing a roadmap aimed at all agents (politicians, managers, administrators, and health professional). MethodsA multidisciplinary Delphi panel was formed, made up of an advisory committee of 15 experts and an additional panel of 31 experts. After a systematic bibliographic review and semi-structured individual interviews, a diagnosis and identification of challenges and areas for improvement were made throughout the healthcare process. The Delphi panel agreed and prioritized the key factors applying Delphi Rand/UCLA methodology, assessing their appropriateness and need. ResultsAfter 2 rounds of Delphi assessment, a proposal of 7 challenges and 75 key factors was agreed upon for the development of integrated models for HF. The 25 key factors considered high priority are related to the need for greater coordination and planning at the health management level, the comprehensive approach during hospitalization and the implementation of measures of continuity and care coordination, ensuring that the specific needs of different patient profiles. ConclusionsThe proposal and prioritization of actions to advance in models of comprehensive care for HF must arise from multidisciplinary and multilevel reflections that include the vision of patients and caregivers.

Trends in Calcium Channel Blocker Use in Patients with Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction and Comorbid Atrial Fibrillation

BackgroundHeart failure with reduced ejection fraction and atrial fibrillation commonly coexist. Most calcium channel blockers are not recommended in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, but their use has been seldom evaluated. For patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and comorbid atrial fibrillation, we sought to 1) determine the proportion discharged on contraindicated calcium channel blockers, 2) describe how clinicians’ use of these medications at discharge have changed over time, and 3) identify predictors for contraindicated calcium channel blocker prescription at discharge. MethodsWe analyzed 395 patients discharged with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and atrial fibrillation between 2008 and 2018. Discharge on a contraindicated calcium channel blocker (any calcium channel blocker except amlodipine) was the primary outcome. Changes in calcium channel blocker prescription over time were evaluated with a Cochran-Armitage trend test. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify predictors of calcium channel blocker prescription at discharge. ResultsTwenty-nine (7.3%) patients were discharged on a contraindicated calcium channel blocker without change over time (Ptrend = .38). Of these, 26 (86.7%) were discharged on multiple atrioventricular nodal blocking medications. Hypertension (odds ratio [OR] 7.87; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04-59.40) and female sex (OR 3.01; 95% CI, 1.36-6.67) were both associated with contraindicated calcium channel blocker prescription at discharge while diabetes mellitus was negatively associated with this outcome (OR 0.34; 95% CI, 0.14-0.88). ConclusionOne in 14 patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and comorbid atrial fibrillation were discharged on a contraindicated calcium channel blocker, without change over time. Most patients were discharged on multiple atrioventricular nodal blockers, highlighting potential need for greater coordination between discharging physicians, pharmacists, and electrophysiology.

People plant trees for utility more often than for biodiversity or carbon

Tree planting is both a promising and controversial solution to climate change and biodiversity loss. However, this controversy is largely theoretical because we lack detailed information of how tree planting is proceeding on-the-ground. Here, we compiled a pantropical dataset of 174 tree planting organizations to determine the type of organizations involved in tree planting, their geographic locations and tree planting approaches. We found that the number of organizations have increased by 288% in the past 30 years, especially for-profit organizations. These organizations reported planting nearly 1.4 billion trees across 74 countries since 1961. Most frequently organizations reported establishing agroforestry systems or mixed species and single species plantations or using assisted natural regeneration, suggesting that tree planting programs are designed to support local communities as well as environmental objectives. Moreover, the most frequently reported species were commercial or utilitarian, with the top five including cacao, teak, moringa, mango and coffee. Finally, despite widespread efforts to plant more trees, there was a pronounced lack of monitoring on websites and in reports; only 18% of organizations mention monitoring at all, and only 5% mention measuring survival rate of plantings. Greater transparency and greater communication are needed between planting organizations and researchers to apply the most effective ways to restore forest cover. Further, while organizations often aimed to counter environmental problems, the use of the same sets of commercially useful species to meet economic development goals across the global indicates a need for greater coordination among organizations to avoid biotic homogenization.

A living mapping review for COVID-19 funded research projects: six-month update

Background:The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in an unprecedented research response, demonstrating exceptional examples of rapid research and collaboration. There is however a need for greater coordination, with limited resources and the shifting global nature of the pandemic resulting in a proliferation of research projects underpowered and unable to achieve their aims.Methods:The UK Collaborative on Development Research (UKCDR) and Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness (GloPID-R), two funder coordination groups have collaborated to develop a live database of funded research projects across the world relating to COVID-19. Drawing data continually from their members and further global funding bodies, as of 15thJanuary 2021 the database contains 7,778 projects, funded by 101 funders, taking place across 136 countries representing an investment of at least $3.8 billion. To our knowledge it is one of the most comprehensive databases. The database is aligned to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Research Roadmap: 2019 Novel Coronavirus. It is being used by the WHO, governments and multi-lateral policy makers, research funders and researchers.This living mapping review aims to supplement the database by providing an open accessible and frequently updated resource summarising the characteristics of the COVID-19 funded research portfolio. Both descriptive and thematic analysis will be presented and updated frequently to aid interpretation of the global COVID-19 funded research portfolio.Results:In this version three analysis we provide an updated detailed descriptive analysis of the database (three months after version two) and focus our thematic analysis on research gaps, research areas in need of coordination, study populations and research locations (with a focus on resource-limited countries).Conclusions:As the global funding response to COVID-19 plateaus, this living mapping review helps both funders and researchers to prioritise resources to areas where there is continued unmet research need.

Food poverty and youth work – A community response

This article discusses the findings of a small-scale study investigating the impact of food poverty on youth work in community based open access settings. It documents the growing impact of food poverty on the role of youth work in deprived communities and explores the role youth workers play in addressing it. Firstly this ‘community response’ addresses the issue of food poverty in localities where it arises. However, it not only meets basic needs, but it also helps build social capital by enacting important social relationships associated with food by ‘eating together’. Such responses also have the potential to combat stigma and abjection through the creation of critical consciousness and political education. The research also highlights the need for greater coordination of this response and for youth centres to be less isolated from other services. Finally, the legacy of food policy within youth work is highlighted, previously dominated by a focus on healthy eating since Every Child Matters (2003). Post austerity, for many communities the concern is simply ‘eating’!

The economics of COVID-19 pandemic: A survey

Through a survey of the literature on the economics of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, this study explores the effects of the pandemic and proposes potential policy directions to mitigate its effects. Our survey reveals that adverse economic effects have been observed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in addition to fatalities. Furthermore, the survey indicates the need for greater coordination at national and international levels. This study concludes by suggesting coordination among monetary, macroprudential, and fiscal policies (trio) to mitigate the adverse economic effects of COVID-19. Finally, this study explores potential directions for future research.

A Standards Organization for Open and FAIR Neuroscience: the International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility

There is great need for coordination around standards and best practices in neuroscience to support efforts to make neuroscience a data-centric discipline. Major brain initiatives launched around the world are poised to generate huge stores of neuroscience data. At the same time, neuroscience, like many domains in biomedicine, is confronting the issues of transparency, rigor, and reproducibility. Widely used, validated standards and best practices are key to addressing the challenges in both big and small data science, as they are essential for integrating diverse data and for developing a robust, effective, and sustainable infrastructure to support open and reproducible neuroscience. However, developing community standards and gaining their adoption is difficult. The current landscape is characterized both by a lack of robust, validated standards and a plethora of overlapping, underdeveloped, untested and underutilized standards and best practices. The International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility (INCF), an independent organization dedicated to promoting data sharing through the coordination of infrastructure and standards, has recently implemented a formal procedure for evaluating and endorsing community standards and best practices in support of the FAIR principles. By formally serving as a standards organization dedicated to open and FAIR neuroscience, INCF helps evaluate, promulgate, and coordinate standards and best practices across neuroscience. Here, we provide an overview of the process and discuss how neuroscience can benefit from having a dedicated standards body.

Análisis normativo-institucional de los espacios verdes públicos ribereños en el Área Metropolitana de Neuquén (Argentina)

Los frentes de agua (waterfront en terminología inglesa) responden a una categoría emergente de espacio público. En el Área Metropolitana de Neuquén (Argentina) durante los últimos 10 años se ha promovido una región de cara al río. Elobjetivo del trabajo es analizar comparativamente el marco normativo-institucional que rige los espacios públicos verdes ribereños asentados en el tramo inferior del río Limay, en las ciudades de Neuquén y Plottier, con base en una metodología cualitativa de recolección de datos no obstrusivos en documentos y registros en archivos públicos. El análisis se realizó en torno a 4 ejes, jurisdicción de los espacios verdes, marco normativo-institucional de Ordenamiento Territorial Ambiental, planificación hídrica y Ordenamiento Territorial de Bosques Nativos. A nivel local se observó, por un lado, la necesidad de una mayor articulación entre instituciones de diversas jurisdicciones y ámbitos de acción, y por el otro, que la calidad de los espacios verdes no responde a criterios normativos cuantitativos sino cualitativos. A nivel general, resulta fundamental re-pensar las formas de gestionar los espacios verdes de una visión sistémica, y para tal fin, identificar y definir para cada región específica los ejes de abordaje adecuados.

What cancer survivorship services do young people want?

Aim: To identify experiences of young cancer survivors and their perception of optimal components of survivorship care and wellness programs. Background: Most young people survive their cancer diagnosis and are then at risk for long-term negative consequences. Survivorship care is important, but there is little evidence to inform optimal service models. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with adolescents and young adults (15-24 years). Content analysis was used to identify themes. Results: Sixteen young people participated. Three major themes are described: concerns after treatment; after treatment services, and perceptions of a wellness survivorship program. Within each theme, further subthemes highlighted the difficulties young people face when trying to return to normal life. Fear of cancer recurrence and a need for greater coordination of support and services were the highest concerns. Conclusions: Findings highlight the need for an individualised approach to survivorship care that engages and empowers young people as partners in their own healthcare

Pandemic (COVID‐19) Policy, Regional Cooperation and the Emerging Global Production Network†

In this paper, we explore the possible policy responses to the COVID‐19 pandemic shock as well as the related economic (financial crisis) shocks on trade and global value chains (GVC) in East Asia. We find that regional policy coordination is critical to mitigate and isolate the pandemic shock. It is important to identify the pandemic events early to flatten the pandemic curve at the national and regional level. This supports a recent study by the World Bank (2020), which highlights the importance of early mitigation policies during the pandemic shock. The cost of the pandemic and economic shocks will increase significantly when several countries in the region experience the pandemic shock concurrently. In this case, flattening the regional pandemic curve becomes important. The results also indicate the need for greater coordination in East Asia to mitigate the pending economic shock in terms of unemployment, corporate bankruptcy and financial market fragility. The paper also highlights that the stability of the GVC network is critical during the pandemic in terms of hedging the risk of disruptions to the procurement of critical medical and health products as well as maintaining service linkages to manufacturing, such as the logistics sector. Regional policy coordination and the stability of GVC will be valuable in the post‐pandemic recovery of the region.

Transição sociotecnológica para a mobilidade urbana sustentável no Brasil

This article identifies micro, meso, and macro dynamics that influence the socio-technical transitions of cities to sustainable urban mobility in Brazil. The study analyzed the content of documents such as the National Urban Mobility Policy (PNMU), and the master plans and urban mobility plans of the cities of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Distrito Federal, Fortaleza, and Salvador. The research revealed that the master plans and other plans related to urban mobility of the main Brazilian capitals are developed in isolation, with no coordination among cities. At the micro level, the plans do not contemplate the adoption of alternative fuels and the effective integration among modes of public transport. At the meso level, three mobility regimes were introduced: the traditional public transport and non-motorized public transport regimes, which had a dynamic contrary to the regime of cars. At the macro level, the variables associated with the economic and social context, with the consumer market, and the industry shaped the trends of urban mobility systems. The research presents a dynamic of resistance to sustainable urban mobility and reinforces the need for greater coordination between private and public actors.