National Governmental Institutions Research Articles

Bibliometric Analysis of Open Government: A Study on the Open Government Partnership

This study aims to analyze the Open Government Partnership (OGP) bibliometrics. The OGP is a global effort to realize open government. In the Google Scholar database, in the span of the last decade, there have been 117 OGP articles that have been cited 486 times. From the article, there are 15 keyword clusters, 1196 total link strengths, and 428 occurrences. Open government partnership, national government, action plans, local government, and multilateral institutions are the keywords with the highest scores. Currently, 73 countries and 110 local governments have joined the OGP. To achieve open government, OGP is committed to increasing the availability of information on government activities, supporting citizen participation, applying the highest standards of professional integrity, and increasing access to new technologies. As a follow-up, OGP established ten policy areas, namely: anti-corruption and integrity, civic space, digital governance, fiscal openness, inclusion, justice, natural resources, open parliaments, public service delivery, and the right to information. OGP has also forged partnerships with leading multilateral institutions to promote and support open government

Why the 2020 Belarusian Protests Failed to Oust Lukashenka

AbstractThis article uses a comparison with Ukraine to investigate why protests against Lukashenka in 2020 failed to oust the Belarusian dictator. First, in contrast to his counterparts in Ukraine, Lukashenka successfully built new authoritarian economic and coercive institutions in the 1990s that raised the costs of opposition activity and reduced challengers’ access to business support. Second, Belarus has lacked a strong national identity that was critical to opposition success in Ukraine. In Ukraine, relatively powerful anti-Russian nationalism repeatedly motivated a core group of anti-incumbent activists and facilitated the opposition’s control over local power structures that supported protest activities at critical moments. In Belarus, weak national identity and consequent dearth of committed activists in national government institutions in the 1990s hampered efforts to challenge Lukashenka’s consolidation of authoritarian power. In addition, weaker national identity undermined the capacity of opposition forces to control local power structures that might have aided opposition protest.

Crisis management: Developing PSIT structures for Ukrainians displaced persons in Slovakia

The way in which PSIT services are provided to national government institutions in Slovakia, the opportunities for professionalisation, training and social recognition of translators and interpreters differ from the standards of quality set by theory (e.g. Giambruno, 2014, Valero-Garcés, Tipton, 2017). The coutry has significant problems in the availability of PSIT in minority language combinations and fluctuation in the quality of the services provided (Štefková, Bossaert, 2019). In the face of a major increase in demand for PSIT in the current crisis situation related to the transfer of a large number of displaced persons from Ukraine the paper (1) reports on an initial research on the state of PSIT provision in this crisis situation in Slovakia and (2) on the basis of the needs analysis, describes the basis for setting up a sustainable PSIT translation and interpreting model.

Geopolitical risk and M&A: The role of national governance institutions

Geopolitical risk and M&A: The role of national governance institutions

Policy Accumulation in China: A Longitudinal Analysis of Circular Economy Initiatives

In response to the mounting environmental problems the circular economy (CE) has become a popular policy concept to achieve sustainable production and consumption goals (SDG12). In line with this China's national government has issued and implemented a series of policies over the last fifteen years, leading to a sudden increase in the volume of CE policies. In the literature this phenomenon is referred to as ‘policy accumulation’, a concept which occurs when governments adopt increasingly more policy than they terminate. In the case of China, the question can be raised how CE policy accumulation has manifested. The present paper analyses policy on national policy spanning 2006–2021 and uses expert interviews to gain more insights in factors driving policy accumulation. Results show that after a stable period with limited growth (2006–2015) government issued increasing numbers of policy over 2016–2021. CE policy goals experienced a shift in focus from improving production efficiency via lowering of consumption patterns, to embracing whole life cycle thinking. CE policy instruments moved from predominantly economic instruments (2006–2015) to regulatory instruments along with accompanying communicative and network instruments (2016–2021), which indicates a move from a market and innovation policy approach to a more centralized model emphasizing hierarchical instruments. Several factors explain for CE policy accumulation: (i) a response to economic growth and environmental degradation; (ii) national government institutions, their interests and agendas; and (iii) policy learning. Implications pertain to future research critically analyzing CE policy accumulation in other contexts or in sub-domains regarding topics referring to SDG12.

Adaptation of Eastern Europe to the EU’s <i>Acquis Communautaire</i>: Poland and Hungary in 2004–2021

This article features the special position that Poland and Hungary demonstrate towards the national government institutions and civil rights. The research objective was to describe the internal transformation and adaptation processes of Hungarian and Polish societies to the European concept of acquis communautaire, as well as the tensions between these two countries and the older EU members. This special position can be explained by the growing sentiments of national pride and identity. The social and economic achievements that happened aſter the 1990s allowed these states to increase the quality of life, and their citizens are not willing to give up on their identity to accommodate the demands of the European Union. For instance, people of Poland and Hungary saw a certain threat to their identity in the pressure from Brussels to welcome migrants from the Middle East, whom they could not accept on the mental and religious levels. Another threat was the Brussels’ pursuit to make Poland and Hungary accept sexual minorities in a very short timeframe, despite the fact that this process took Western Europe several centuries. Considering that the church had a very negative attitude to both issues, certain political parties managed to seize the power. They suppressed the freedom of speech, denied the independence of the judicial power, and challenged Brussels.

The Market for Corporate Control and Risk‐taking: Evidence from Global Merger and Acquisition Laws

AbstractWe examine the effect of international regulations governing the market for corporate control (MCC) on firm risk‐taking using the staggered enactment of country‐level merger and acquisition (M&A) laws of 34 countries. Consistent with the theoretical argument of deterrence, we show that the MCC leads to unintended consequences by discouraging value‐relevant corporate risk‐taking. Our investigation of real earnings management suggests that the MCC induces real earnings smoothing and also provides evidence of short‐termism. This reduction in corporate risk‐taking is associated with a decrease in real investments, an increase in cash‐holding, an increase in debt employment, and a propensity to diversify in M&A. Further examination of the heterogeneous effect of the quality of national governance institutions on the relationship between the MCC and risk‐taking shows that the country‐level investor protection and transparency levels positively moderate the effect of the MCC. Our study highlights that there could be complementary roles played by national institutional features and the MCC in encouraging value‐relevant corporate risk‐taking.

Cancer Research in the Time of COVID-19: A Colombian Narrative.

Cancer research is deficient in Colombia and efforts and resources diverted due to the COVID-19 pandemic could worsen the situation. We explore the impact of the pandemic on cancer research funding, output, and conduct. We sought information at national level and used the experience of an academic reference center to contrast the impact at institutional level. We searched databases and official documents of national governmental institutions, trial registries, hospital registries, and the Web of Science. We interviewed principal investigators (PIs) to retrieve information on the conduct of cancer research. A decline in resource availability and new proposals was observed at the national level with a shift to COVID-19 related research. However, at institutional level there was no decline in the number of cancer research proposals. The predominance of observational studies as opposed to the preponderance of clinical trials and basic science in high-income countries may be related to the lower impact at institutional level. Nevertheless, we found difficulties similar to previous reports for conducting research during the pandemic. PIs reported long recovery times and a great impact on research other than clinical trials, such as observational and qualitative studies. No significant impact on research output was observed. Alternatives to ensure research continuity such as telemedicine and remote data collection have scarcely been implemented given limited access and low technology literacy. In this middle-income setting the situation shows a notable dependency of international collaborations to develop research on COVID-19 and cancer and to overcome challenges for cancer research during the pandemic.

Geopolitical Risk and M&A: The Role of National Governance Institutions

Geopolitical Risk and M&A: The Role of National Governance Institutions

Geopolitical Risk and M&A: The Role of National Governance Institutions

Geopolitical Risk and M&A: The Role of National Governance Institutions

Scottish Burden of Disease (SBOD) study: a population health surveillance system for meaningful action

Abstract In 2012, planning began to launch the Scottish Burden of Disease (SBOD) study. The aim was to create a population health surveillance system to assess the impact of over 100 causes of disease and injury, and risks, measured by disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). The study has become a mainstay over the last five years as a tool to aid strategic and proportionate decision-making. In 2017, its scope expanded to highlight the extent of inequalities in DALYs by socioeconomic status. Additionally, it now provides comprehensive estimates for 14 regional Health Boards, which are responsible for protecting and improving the health of their local populations. It also provides estimates for 32 local government regions, which provide services related to the broader determinants of health, such as: education, social care and housing. To help turn findings from the SBOD study into action, push, pull and integrated efforts are used. Push efforts involve working together with publishing and communications leads to share key findings. These are commonly in the form of plain English and academic reports, summary briefings, social media messages and infographics. Key messages are also shared through television, radio and newsprint. Pull efforts have recently been improved to house estimates within interactive R Shiny dashboards, which contain user-friendly charts and easy to download data. Integrated approaches involve working with relevant national and local stakeholders, to help shape national and local priority setting. Findings from the study are being used by national and local government and health institutions. Third sector organisations are also key users of SBOD findings, particularly for health conditions that generate high-levels of ill-health, rather than mortality. In 2021, the study will publish an update, and increase capacity on integrated efforts to further embed the SBOD in national and local strategic planning.

Cancer Survivorship in Latin America: Current Status and Opportunities.

PURPOSEThe number of cancer survivors is increasing globally although the status of cancer survivorship care provision and research in developing countries is limited. This study aimed to review published literature and available guidelines and/or recommendations to inform cancer survivorship care in Latin America.METHODSEmbase, Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and SciELO were systematically searched for articles and guidelines and/or recommendations published through December 31, 2020. Our search terms included cancer, survivors, neoplasm, cancer, survivorship, survivor, follow-up studies, and the name of the countries. We categorized the articles by country, year, cancer type(s), language, and domain of cancer survivorship care. We also searched governmental health agencies websites in all Latin American countries.RESULTSOur literature review found 664 articles for inclusion. The number of publications increased over time. Brazil had most of the survivorship research (n = 483, 72.7%). The most common topics included surveillance and management of psychosocial effects (n = 237, 35.7%) and physical effects (n = 230, 34.6%). Prevention and surveillance for recurrences and health promotion and disease prevention were each addressed by about 10% (n = 71) of the publications. Although close to half of the publications included more than one cancer, 28.9% (n = 192) focused solely on breast cancer. We found no guidelines and/or recommendations explicitly focusing on Latin America in the reviews of the literature or the national governmental institutions' websites.CONCLUSIONWe found a growing body of cancer survivorship publications, mainly focusing on psychosocial and physical effects, although no cancer survivorship guidance and/or recommendations focused on Latin America were identified. Expanding research across Latin American countries and covering a broader spectrum of cancer survivorship care is needed. Development of guidelines may further promote provision of quality care for this growing population of cancer survivors.

Institutional Conditions for Inclusive, Flood Resilient Urban Deltas: A Comparative Institutional Analysis of Two International Resilience Programs in Southeast Asia

Policy makers in Southeast Asian flood-vulnerable regions are confronted with various institutional challenges when planning for inclusive flood resilience. This paper focuses on the role of international resilience programs and investigates how these programs can enable institutional transformation. The key question is which institutional conditions promote the development and implementation of inclusive flood resilience strategies by international resilience programs. The Mekong Delta Plan in Vietnam (MDP) and the Water as Leverage for Resilient Cities Asia (WaL) program in Semarang, Indonesia, are selected as the cases for a comparative analysis. To structure the comparative analysis of these programs, the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework is adopted and operationalized for the institutional analysis of inclusive flood resilience planning. The findings illustrate that whereas the MDP was able to involve decision makers from the national government and international financial institutions for mobilizing funding and technical support, the strength of the WaL program was its enabling environment for the cocreation of context-specific flood resilience proposals. Overall, this study concludes that the institutional conditions that enable project financing and the implementation of long-term and integrated flood resilience solutions are determined by engagement with national governments and by ownership of the solutions at both the national and local levels.

Laboratory Readiness and Response for SARS-Cov-2 in Indonesia.

The laboratory diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection comprises the informational cornerstone in the effort to contain the infections. Therefore, the ability to leverage laboratories' capacity in diagnostic testing and to increase the number of people being tested are critical. This paper reviews the readiness of Indonesian laboratories during the early months of the pandemic. It discusses the success of cross-sectoral collaboration among previously siloed national and sub-national government institutions, international development agencies, and private sector stakeholders. This collaboration managed to scale-up the COVID-19 referral laboratory network from one Ministry of Health NIHRD laboratory in the capital to 685 laboratories across 34 provinces. However, this rapid growth within 12 months since the first Indonesian case was discovered remained insufficient to cater for the constantly surging testing demands within the world's fourth most populous country. Reflecting on how other countries built their current pandemic preparedness from past emergencies, this paper highlights challenges and opportunities in workforce shortage, logistic distribution, and complex administration that need to be addressed.

Climate Emergency—Climate Action Planning and Delivery Recommendations

In 2019, the United Kingdom (UK) became one of the first countries to declare a climate emergency. In this regard, many local governments in the country (which encompass districts, unitary counties, boroughs, and councils) have taken the lead to declare a climate emergency. Only a few local authorities developed and issued plans with specific actions on achieving the targets of their declared emergencies. The following policy memo sheds light upon the most pressing challenges in climate emergency action planning. A preceding comparative analysis (Kandzhova et. al., 2020) revealed that the currently published action plans differ considerably in structure, detailedness and overall approaches. The lack of standardisation of climate action planning from either the national government or other responsible institutions leads to varying local policy responses. The preceding analysis identified the most pertinent challenges to be in the areas of 1) securing finance; 2) social inclusiveness and equality; and 3) realisation of co-benefits of action plans. We present recommendations for each of the aforementioned areas.

Climate Change, Health Risks, and Vulnerabilities in Burkina Faso: A Qualitative Study on the Perceptions of National Policymakers.

Climate change (CC) constitutes one of the greatest threats to human health, and requires political awareness for effective and efficient adaptation planning. This study identified the perceptions of climate change and health adaptation (CC&H) among relevant stakeholders, decision-makers, and policymakers (SDPs) in Burkina Faso (BF) by determining their perceptions of CC, of related health risks and vulnerabilities, and of CC impacts on agriculture and food security. We carried out 35 semi-structured, qualitative in-depth interviews with SDPs, representing national governmental institutions, international organizations, and civil society organizations. The interviews were analyzed using content analysis. SDPs shared similar perceptions of CC and concurred with three ideas (1) CC is a real and lived experience in BF; (2) the population is aware of climatic changes in their environment; (3) CC is intertwined with the agricultural and economic development of the country. SDPs identified biodiversity loss, floods, droughts, and extreme heat as posing the highest risk to health. They elaborated five exposure pathways that are and will be affected by CC: water quality and quantity, heat stress, food supply and safety, vector borne diseases, and air quality. In conclusion, SDPs in Burkina Faso are highly aware of CC hazards, relevant health exposure pathways, and their corresponding health outcomes. Mental health and the interplay between social factors and complex health risks constitute perception gaps. SDPs perceived CC&H risks and vulnerabilities align with current evidence.

Interaction of Factors Influencing the Sustainability of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Services in Rural Indonesia: Evidence from Small Surveys of WASH-Related Stakeholders in Indonesia

It is argued that there are interconnected and dynamic factors that influence the sustainability of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services in developing countries. Five sustainability factors are often mentioned by literature: financial, institutional, environmental, technical, and social (FIETS) factors. This article aims to understand the interaction of those five sustainability factors in the context of WASH services in Indonesia. A system approach, in the form of a “modified” causal loop diagram, was utilized to analyze this interaction. The strength of influence from one factor to others were obtained from small surveys of 16 WASH practitioners and experts from international and national non-governmental organizations (NGOs) based in Indonesia and national government institutions related to WASH. It was found that institutional factor is the “leverage” factor, i.e., the most influential and least dependent, in the WASH services system in Indonesia. It means that WASH institutional strengthening is necessary to sustain WASH services in Indonesia. Furthermore, the most important feedback loop is social–WASH services. This depicts the importance of the bi-directional effect of WASH services and the social conditions of the community, i.e., the more supportive the community is, the higher the likelihood of the sustainability of WASH services, and then positively influence back the social conditions of the community. Moreover, the relationship between factors varies across context or location. Finally, this paper shows that the sustainability of WASH services involves complex interactions of the sustainability factors and understanding these interactions is critical to sustaining the WASH services or program in rural Indonesia.

Elektroniczna partycypacja obywatelska jako przedmiot badań

Citizens’ electronic participation (civic e-participation) is of interest to both researchers and international organizations, and national and local government institutions. It is related to the influence of modern technologies on civil society and the changes in civil-state relations. Even though it is a relatively new area of scientific research, it is the subject of numerous theoretical reflections and empirical verification. The article aims to systematize knowledge about electronic civic participation as a subject of scientific research. It presents its definition, provides an overview of scientific theories and empirical research conducted in this area.

Institutional Effectiveness and Inclusions: Public Perceptions on Indonesia’s Disaster Management Authorities

Disaster risk events always have impacts on disaster losses in terms of the sustainability. The phenomena of natural hazards continue to threaten the social and economic livelihoods of the community, ─ while policies and stipulated regulations for mitigating disaster risks reduction (DRR) endlessly become polemics both in national and local government institutions. The study was conducted to address public perceptions on the effectiveness of Indonesia’s Disaster Management Authorities in managing DRR across the archipelago. Relying on the coproduction principle, the author conducted a case-study through in-depth interviews and literature studies to gain public insights, including related encountered situations ─ revealing perceptions on the track-records of the performance of disaster management authorities in a SWOT analysis. The results indicated that both national and local disaster management authorities respectively are less effective due to the lack of effective communication, coordination, collaboration, and synchronization in managing DRR. Moreover, the scarcity of existing potential leaderships for decision makings through vertical and horizontal negotiations, ─ and lack of persuasive approaches for communities’ engagement at all risk cycles. The study highlighted the importance of reforming the status of national disaster management authority ─ thus, it is more powerful in functioning to command, monitor, and control the lower disaster risk institutions and be able to synergize implemented policies with other government institutions. The study also suggested increasing coproduction through public-private partnerships and philanthropies to upgrade innovations, education and training, also psychological healings as a recovery process for greater sustainable development.

Decentralized Institutions for Public Goods: Entrepreneurial Responses to Wildfire Risk

We combine insights from theories of environmental and institutional entrepreneurship with the community resilience literature to investigate whether communities can create decentralized institutions to reduce losses from natural hazards that are more effective than relying on state and national government institutions. We argue that decentralized institutions emerging from local communities may be more effective in responding to a community’s specific needs because of their incorporation of local knowledge. Using an original longitudinal dataset of wildfire prevention plans in Northern California, we find evidence that institutions combining local and governmental knowledge and resources can improve the provision of this public good. We suggest this has important implications for environmental entrepreneurship and the many ongoing efforts directed at creating more sustainable and responsible living.