Strategic Planning Objectives Research Articles

Criteria for sustainably implementing Project Management Offices (PMOS) in Federal Institutions of Higher Education (FIHES)

Many areas have emerged that specifically seek to plan and manage projects in educational institutions to create and achieve their established strategic planning objectives. This study sought to identify criteria for sustainably implementing Project Management Offices (PMOs) in Federal Institutions of Higher Education (FIHE). Actions were established related to: (a) identifying Brazilian FIHEs that have implemented PMOs; (b) surveying the macro steps used at these institutions for implementing PMOs, and the software and methodologies they used to do this; c) listing the main PMO attributions implemented at the FIHEs, and finally (d) assessing what these institutions think are the best PMO practices to sustainably replicate and implement PMOs at other institutions. We identified FIHEs that had implemented PMOs, along with the best practices and lessons learned that impacted sustainable growth for future PMOs using a survey. We also presented the main steps used by some institutions to structure the implementation and consolidate PMOs within institutional environments. The results contribute to reducing the knowledge gap on implementing PMOs in FIHEs and can direct further research in this area.

An international comparison of the scope and instruments of local spatial planning

This article analyses (based on multidimensional criteria) land-use plans at a local level (using selected cities as examples) and their relationships to crucial planning issues identified at both national and local levels. The planning approaches of cities from the following countries were compared: Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, China, Ghana, Iran, Mexico, Mongolia, Portugal and Poland. These countries are diverse in terms of their legal, political, cultural and geographical perspectives. Across these diverse countries, comparisons were made of local spatial plans (as enacted in specific cities), with regard to their legal features. From this, directions for a possible universal debate of local-level spatial plans as currently emerging is proposed. Based on the comparison undertaken, it is possible that the spatial plans studied designate zones of land use and detailed principles (including parameters) of development for cities. In some countries, attempts have also been made for the plans to solve spatial problems more broadly, for example by linking strategic planning objectives with the spatial development sphere. This article was published open access under a CC BY licence: https://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/

Incorporated Maritime Policy Concept: Adopting ESRS Principles to Support Maritime Sector’s Sustainable Growth

The international maritime sector plays an important part in contributing to the global sustainable economy and plays a significant role in achieving sustainable development goals. A variety of regulations and standards power the sustainability management of the global maritime sector, including the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and the European Union’s new draft European Sustainability Reporting Standard. Limited research on the potential contribution of maritime policy-making to support sustainable development has led the sector to face multiple challenges. In this study, we analyzed how local policy-making can impact international goals and global sustainable development based on comprehensive datasets of 143 maritime companies. The study recommends the incorporation of sustainability dimensions of the maritime sector into all levels of policy-making and supporting the policy implementation with the local maritime governance structure. A maritime country should have strategic planning objectives that embrace maritime affairs and use the interactions identified between local development and the maritime sector. We propose a framework for maritime policy-making that supports sustainable development. A maturity model for sustainable development in the maritime sector was developed. The results can be used as guidelines for policymakers in planning sustainable development in a maritime country.

Rosatom State Corporation: Assessment of strategic choice in the context of the results of activities

Decisions on the establishment of all companies in the organizational and legal form of "state corporation" (hereinafter — GC, State Corporation) in the "zero years" and GC "Rosatom" in particular were taken in extremely heated discussions, including the official denial of the legality of such a foundation. In connection with the fifteenth anniversary since the establishment of the Rosatom State Corporation, it is advisable to evaluate the results obtained, promising opportunities for further application, development, as well as the legality of extending this legal form to other areas of production.
 These tasks require consideration — the features of this organizational and legal form of the state corporation, its structural and economic organization, management system, the results of production, economic and innovation activities, including participation in the processes of global energy transition, and finally — the goals and objectives of strategic planning and its implementation.
 Research objectives — to substantiate the high and enduring systemic potential, on the one hand, of the managerial and legal organization imputed to Rosatom State Corporation by federal law on the scale of sectoral management, and on the other hand, of the structural and economic organization within the entire nuclear energy industry. In the analysis of the reporting and planning documents of Rosatom State Corporation, a system-structural approach was used, including the aspect of system synergy, methods of analogies and comparisons.

Impact of a Hospital Library Service at a Regional Health Service in Australia

ABSTRACT Being able to advocate for health library value and impact with local data is crucial to provide important indicators of service viability, staff engagement, as well as impact so these can be communicated effectively to management within organizations. As a part of its advocacy, continuous improvement and quality program, Ballarat Health Services Library, undertook a project, to understand its local impact on clinical decision-making, patient care, organizational governance, and staff education. Survey data demonstrated direct impact on modified clinical practice (65.57%); advice given to patients (43.44%); choice of medications (27.87%); diagnosis (22.13%); choice of tests (13.11%); and length of patient stay (12.30%). Perceptions of library impact were also high with 95.28% of respondents indicating impact on effective patient care. While service gaps were identified across advocacy and promotion of library services, the data from this study will inform strategic planning objectives and improve advocating the Library’s impact to management.

Стратегия-2030: вектор развития социохозяйственного комплекса Волгоградской области

The article presents the result of the analysis of the strategy for the social and economic development of Volgograd region until 2030, adopted at the end of 2021, which is the main strategic planning document that determines the goal-setting of the development of the federal entity of the Russian Federation. The article presents a description of the content of the strategy under consideration, its main parts, including an assessment of its financial and economic support and sources of financial resources. A brief overview of the achieved goals of social and economic development from the implementation of the previously existing strategy (strategy until 2025) is given, a comparative analysis of some elements of the strategy until 2025 and the new strategy until 2030 is carried out (main goal, strengths and weaknesses of Volgograd region, target scenarios and development priorities of the region). The author’s opinion appeared in relation to certain provisions of the strategy until 2030, including the presented analysis of adverse factors for the development of the region, approaches to the formation of target scenarios for the development of the region. A number of assumptions written in by the strategy until 2030 were critically assessed by the authors (potential to achieve the general goal, growth rate of the gross regional product, achievement of zero total population growth, consistency of tasks, activities and indicators according to the development priorities “Population, social services and a healthy lifestyle”, “Health care”, “Construction, housing policy and urban environment”, “Investment development”, “Transport infrastructure”). In addition, the article gives a description of the system of strategic planning as a whole within the framework of state strategic management, emphasizes the role of the strategy of social and economic development in it (including the example of identical documents of the federal level), legislatively established requirements for its structure and content, expert opinions are given on the goals and objectives of strategic planning.

Формування механізму адаптивного стратегічного планування для підприємств транспорту

The distorted idea of entrepreneurs about the essence and significance of the application of strategic planning leads to the lack of development of effective mechanisms for its implementation. This issue is especially acute for transport enterprises that depend on production-technological and marketing changes occurring not only in transport, but also in other sectors of the national economy. The presence of a significant arsenal of strategic planning tools developed by Western scientists requires their adjustment, adaptation and modification for use by Ukrainian enterprises. The article draws attention to the fact that the issue of the mechanism of strategic planning at the enterprise, being a socioeconomic unit, becomes topical in the present day reality. It is mainly covered at the level of hromadas, regions or the State as a whole, but is rarely considered in the plane of enterprises. The analyzed approaches of domestic scientists to the formation of the mechanism of strategic planning at enterprises indicate a limited use of the existing strategic planning tools, which focuses on the use of one method and the absence of the necessary components of the mechanism with a certain interoperability and interconnection among them. Such an approach is non-rational and ineffective given the difficult and changing conditions of operation of enterprises. With attention to the above, an adaptive strategic planning mechanism for transport enterprises has been formed, which is designed to coordinate the stages of strategic planning and determine the instruments to take into account the maximum number of factors, as well as form directions on the way to ensuring competitive activities, increase financial stability, overcome insolvency and stagnant processes in the activities of the enterprise taking into account environmental changes. The main components of the proposed mechanism are the strategic planning process itself, based on the principles, components and objectives of strategic planning and taking into account the prerequisites for the occurrence of threatening situations; comprehensive monitoring of the company’s activities, covering system analysis, determination of strategic priorities and influence of factors of the external and internal environment; defining the horizon of strategic planning, which provides for the development of medium, long-term and two-term plans; calculation of forecast indicators according to the indicator system and their adjustment in case of changes in the influence factors; evaluation of the efficiency of the strategic plan. The presence of these components is the key to successful strategic planning and implementation of strategic programs.

More Information in Fewer Drops

It's hard to believe that just a few months back, a Zoom call was an awkward novelty for most of us. But crises require innovation, and the pandemic accelerated the adoption of virtual meetings and transformed the common conference call forever. AWWA, like other large organizations, has adapted quickly to an increasingly digital world. This adaptation is clearly evident in how AWWA delivers its publications. In 2019, AWWA introduced its online-only research journal, AWWA Water Science, which is continuously published, meaning new content is regularly added and immediately available to read. The newly named Journal AWWA, formerly called Journal - American Water Works Association, was redesigned to be easier to use and more visually appealing. An added benefit of AWWA's ongoing digital transformation is the availability of archived online content. Not only can members access the most recent issue, they can access any published article from Journal AWWA dating back to 1914 and Opflow dating back to 1975. Continuing with the response to digital publishing trends and evolving member expectations, AWWA is implementing a 2021 strategy that introduces production efficiency for AWWA's periodicals and maintains global water professionals’ online access to research, best practices, and other timely information. Starting in 2021, AWWA will reduce the number of print issues for Journal AWWA and Opflow from 12 to 10 annually. Each periodical will print a combined January/February issue in January and a July/August issue in July. During the “off” months of February and August, the periodicals will introduce curated and timely collections of new and different content online. This means you have access to more collections of water-related information in February and August. For example, the online collections might include a consolidated assortment of the most popular recent articles. The collections might also include an anthology of sorts, with several articles focused on a single, time-sensitive water topic. You can count on us to notify you when it's time to tap into this new type of published content, and we will use your feedback to adjust what we publish. AWWA members will receive more diverse content than ever before. As Bill Murphy, AWWA's director of publications, put it, “We are always looking for new ways to deliver value to members, and if we can do that and achieve cost efficiencies, it's a win–win. The change in the number of print issues reflects a common trend in publishing. This adjustment allows us to provide additional content to our members.” AWWA Water Science provides the online, peer-reviewed articles focusing on the principles and innovations in water works and water supply. Journal AWWA has transitioned to broader water sector information that includes feature articles, columns (like this one), and news—available in print and online. Opflow features new and established technologies in water and wastewater operations—also available in print and online. AWWA members receive complimentary subscriptions to all three AWWA periodicals and full digital archives, so the articles are easily accessible and searchable anytime, anywhere, and from any device. Slightly reducing the frequency of the printed editions does not reduce the amount of valuable information provided. Busy AWWA members, including members from outside of North America, can access information whenever they need it. At the same time, the small reduction in printed issues allows for large production efficiency and, as a plus, less impact on the environment. (Let's not forget that making paper requires a lot of water.) AWWA's newly adopted 2025 Strategic Plan recognized that to be successful and sustainable in 2021, organizations must understand and embrace the digital transformation. Among its objectives are that AWWA will “Increase the use of technology through which AWWA and its members create and share knowledge resources” and “Enhance opportunities for global water professionals to connect and exchange knowledge and experiences.” Even before the new Strategic Plan was adopted, AWWA was advancing these objectives. We introduced envoi this year, a new digital platform for delivering technical content, which allows access to the most updated AWWA standards and manuals 24/7. We're offering video streaming on demand, allowing subscribers immediate access to AWWA's Safety First and WSO (Water System Operations) channels. We've also created the AWWA Exam Prep app, helping water operators prepare for certification on their phone or other digital devices. The new periodicals approach supports these Strategic Plan objectives. But one thing that can't be ignored—at least by me—is that with 10 printed editions of Journal AWWA, there will be two fewer “Last Drop” columns in 2021. As a result, you can rest assured that I'll endeavor to make every drop count!

Theoretical aspects of developing a strategic plan for socio-economic development of rural areas

The article examines the stages of development and implementation of the strategic development plan of rural areas for the socio-economic development of rural areas. The importance of a strategic plan in the development of rural areas is well established. The criteria for the formation of the strategic plan mission, methods of developing strategic plan objectives, the process of selecting strategic plan objectives are studied. The development and implementation of the strategic plan of the rural area is based on the strategic partnership of the population, business and government, as well as the importance of introducing strategic management elements in the rural district administration in order to increase the efficiency of territorial administration.

Study on the evaluation method of operation performance for rural domestic wastewater treatment facilities

Rural domestic wastewater treatment has become one of the key and main battlefields of China’s sewage treatment industry, the operation performance of rural domestic wastewater treatment facilities is directly related to the realization of rural environment comprehensive renovation and rural revitalization strategic planning objectives. This paper expounds the present situation and existing problems of the operation of rural domestic wastewater treatment facilities in China, and the necessity of carrying out the research on the evaluation method of the operation performance of rural domestic wastewater treatment facilities, and rural domestic wastewater treatment facilities Operation Evaluation Index System Construction, evaluation index calculation method, scoring standards and evaluation methods. It is expected to promote the operation reliability and effectiveness of rural domestic wastewater treatment facilities in China through the use of evaluation methods of the operation effectiveness of rural domestic wastewater treatment facilities.

ОЦЕНКА ВЫПОЛНЕНИЯ ГОСПРОГРАММЫ «ОБЕСПЕЧЕНИЕ ДОСТУПНЫМ И КОМФОРТНЫМ ЖИЛЬЕМ И КОММУНАЛЬНЫМИ УСЛУГАМИ ГРАЖДАН РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ»

Currently, in the Russian Federation, economic development largely depends on the implementation of national projects and government programs adopted by the president and government. The federal executive bodies are developing specific goals and objectives of strategic planning affecting almost all areas of the economy, as well as a set of various measures with established indicators for the timing of their implementation and the resources necessary for their implementation. State programs are divided into 5 areas, each of which is responsible for a specific area. The state program “Providing affordable and comfortable housing and utilities for citizens of the Russian Federation” is part of a major area of “New Quality of Life” under which projects are being implemented in the field of social policy and construction. This article presents an assessment of the goals and objectives set in the state program “Providing affordable and comfortable housing and utilities for citizens of the Russian Federation”, analyzes the results of achieving the goals, considers examples of foreign practices and techniques in this area, and presents possible actions to reduce risks failure to achieve program targets.

Управління екологічними ризиками в стратегії розвитку промислових підприємств.

The place and the role of an environmental risk management in the implementation of the industrial enterprise’s development strategy is researched in the article. The national approaches to environmental risk assessment are analyzed. It is revealed that the available methods of environmental risk management at industrial enterprises do not sufficiently take into account the strategic planning objectives of environmental modernization. The aim of the research is to determine the features of the environmental development strategy of industrial enterprises in the framework of a preventive approach to economic activities. Using the method of theoretical generalization and abstraction, the classification of development strategies with consideration of environmental factors of activity of industrial enterprises is proposed. The importance of environmental risk assessment in strategic planning of industrial enterprises is substantiated by logic-analytical methods. The main requirements for the methodology of environmental risk assessment are formulated, the basic tools for the analysis and management of environmental risks are presented. The scientific principles of choosing an ecological development strategy of industrial enterprises were improved. The main groups of factors of changing approach to economic management within the framework of ecological modernization are identified, which include rigidity of ecological requirements from external stakeholders, orientation on strengthening of ecological competitive advantages, international and national ecological legislation, tools of formation and implementation of ecological strategy, implementation of approaches to adapt ongoing activities to strategic and tactical environmental. This research creates the basis for further improvement of the methodology of environmental risk assessment of industrial enterprises and its implementation in the system of environmental risk management of industrial enterprises.

Development of a Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) for the active forest-urban fires management through location planning of mobile fire units

ABSTRACTCritical time of response constitutes the foundation for effective and timely forest fires management. It is the milestone for strategic and operational fire planning. Aim of the paper is the development of a Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) adopting a top-down approach for the immediate containment of forest and urban fires. The objectives lie in the coupling of strategic and operational nature of fire management, so that the proposed model to be used for real-time purposes. The strategic dimension focus on the location-allocation of fire vehicles to establish effective location schemes adjusted to population dynamics (Wildland Urban Interface). Four spatial patterns of optimal locations were developed based on ideal and realistic critical time of response as well as the current and desired capacity of fire agency. The operational dimension supports the strategic planning objectives through a series of additional sub-models for a second phase optimization (activating and leading the nearest fire vehicle(s) to the affected area through the determination of optimal route; and/or the rerouting in case of road closure due to evolving fires). Therefore, the current SDSS handles the forest and urban fires management in a more comprehensive way, creating an effective link between strategic and operational level.

Environmental assessment for major development projects: A case study “Qattara Depression”

The environmental assessment plays an important role in guiding the planning process. This requires employing advanced tools and methods such as the Geographic information system (GIS) to back the decision-making process. The study presents the application on a case study “Qattara Depression”- a 20,000 Km2 development project which has received a lot of attention; on one hand, for its expected benefits to achieve Egypt 2030 national plan in terms of clean electricity generation, while, on the other hand, some concerns have been raised regarding its environmental consequences. The study centers on the project's desalination development scenario considering five main environmental impacts; loss of biodiversity and threats to natural habitat, hydrogeological environmental impact, land use effect and terrestrial impact, impacts on marine life as well as natural hazards and casualties. The study uses the GIS overlaying and querying tools to determine and categorize the problematic areas into major, moderate and minor impact areas, in addition to providing recommendations for addressing their associated challenges. As a preliminary step, the study defines the limits of the area of interest (AOI) in terms of its proximity to the Mediterranean Sea and the River Nile. Each impact is represented with feature datasets including a number of feature classes. Then, the buffering impact area of each individual feature class is defined and overlaid to determine the extent of impacts for the proposed scenario. It is found that the critical sensitive areas are located in the northeastern tip and the western part of the AOI. This indicates that these areas should receive careful attention while planning for any kind of development activities. The results contribute towards setting a comprehensive clue to support the strategic planning objectives and mitigation measures for this huge development project in the Western Desert area.

Constraining Factors in Realizing Strategic Plan Objectives by Local Authorities in Zambia: Case of Kitwe City Council

The purpose of the study was to determine the constraining factors in realizing strategic plan objective by Kitwe City Council in Zambia. This was a case study that focused on the strategic plan of the Council for the period 2012 to 2016. The research used qualitative methodology that also employed grounded theory methods during the data collection, i.e., interviews and documentary reviews. Content analysis was the main analytical tool utilized for the analysis. The results of the study indicated that, the City Council had an ambitious plan which was unrealistic in the sense that within the plan period, too many priority projects were incorporated in the plan. Furthermore, the implementation of the plan lacked committed leadership drive and visioning at the departmental level of the institution, lacked ownership of the strategic plan document, inadequate financial resources generated by the Council to finance the projects, non-coordination and harmonization of strategies in implementation of strategic activities by the departments within the \council, political interference and non-collaboration of potential cooperating partners affected the implementation of the plan, hence achieving virtually insignificant proportion of the expected outcomes of the strategic objectives. The findings of the study provide significant and valuable information to all management of Local Authorities in Zambia and perhaps in the developing economies that perceive that formulation of strategic plan is significant to improve the service delivery to their citizenry under their areas of jurisdiction.

Can Strategic Spatial Planning Contribute to Land Degradation Reduction in Urban Regions? State of the Art and Future Research

Land degradation is becoming a serious environmental issue threatening fertile agricultural soils and other natural resources. There are many driving forces behind land degradation. The expansion of artificial surfaces due to various economic activities, such as housing, industry, and transport infrastructure, known as soil sealing, constitutes one of the most intensive forms of land degradation in urban regions. Measures to halt and reverse land degradation require both strong land-use management policies, as well as effective spatial planning mechanisms. In this regard, strategic spatial planning has been increasingly practised in many urban regions worldwide, as a means to achieve sustainable land-use patterns and to guide the location of development and physical infrastructures. It is reasonable, therefore, to expect that strategic spatial planning can counteract the outlined undesired land degradation effects, specifically those resulting from soil sealing. In this paper, we review strategic spatial planning literature published between 1992 and 2017. The focus is on the phenomena causing land degradation that are addressed by strategic spatial planning literature, as well as on the mechanisms describing the role of strategic spatial planning in land degradation reduction. Results show that sustainable development and environmental concerns have become core objectives of strategic planning in recent years, yet references to the drivers of land degradation are rare. The mechanisms that exist are mainly intended to address environmental issues in general, and are not aimed at reducing particular forms of land degradation. The paper concludes by sketching future research directions, intended to support strategic spatial planning and land-use policymaking related to coping with the global phenomenon of land degradation.

The Relationship Between Customer Expactations & Satisfaction and Strategic Planning

Modern marketing approach depends on that firms meet the expectations of the customers and satisfy them. In this direction, in the firms customer focused strategies are determined. To meeting the expectations of the customers and providing customer satisfaction, these determined strategies play an important role. Within this scope strategic planning objectives and strategic plans also gain importance in the firms. Influential strategies appear in the businesses which think strategic, and strategy is internalized, that is to say in the businesses that given high importance to the strategies. In this way becomes a direction giving at meeting the expectations of the customers, favorably as passing that aim, and at providing customer satisfaction. Thus, within the thermal tourism establishments by practicing strategic management the strategic planning objectives have importance too. Turkey is a country rich as its thermal springs, it's known. But when compared with the countries which leading thermal tourism in the world, it's seen that Turkey cannot sufficient amount put to good use its potential in this field. Also competition abilities of our thermal tourism establishments are weak against their competitors from the world. So, in the first place requires to increase the competitiveness of our local establishments which activated in this field. That can come true by a success at strategic planning and by meeting the expectations of the customers and satisfying them in the establishments.

Learning from the past

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to provide a historical analysis of the disaster management structure, policies and institutions in Pakistan between 1947 and 2005, and highlights the contemporary challenges in view of the learning from the past.Design/methodology/approach– The paper uses a historic-integrative case study approach to disaster management and risk reduction policy, planning and practice. Qualitative data were collected through purposive sampling and a case study design was adopted. A broad range of actors was recruited as research participants. In total, 22 semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted in relation to this study in six different districts of Pakistan to achieve insight into the role of different institutions and stakeholders.Findings– Overall, the post-colonial flood-centric policy framework and fragmented responsibilities of different disaster management institutions show the lack of an effective institutional structure for disaster management and mitigation in Pakistan, particularly at the local level. Until the event of the 2005 earthquake, policies heavily relied on attaining immediate and short-term goals of response and relief while ignoring the long-term objectives of strategic planning for prevention and preparedness as well as capacity building and empowerment of local institutions and communities.Practical implications– The analysis explains, in part, why disaster planning and management needs to be given due attention in the developing countries at different policy scales (from local to national) especially in the face of limited resources, and what measures should be taken to improve effectiveness at different phases of the disaster management cycle.Originality/value– The paper advances the importance of a historical case study approach to disaster management and mitigation. The empirical work provides original research evidence about the approaches to dealing with disasters in Pakistan and thus enriches existing knowledge of disaster management policy and planning about the country.

Open Educational Resources: a regional university’s journey

In a region of geographically scattered, small island states, developing quality-enhanced learning materials across the hugely diverse, predominantly ocean-based learning and teaching environments, continues to present new challenges. This paper explores the potentially transformative nature of Open Educational Resources (OER) in a regional university. Against the backdrop of the bold, new Strategic Plan 2013–2018, University of the South Pacific (USP) educators are faced with transforming learning systems, practices and pedagogy to achieve excellent standards in learning teaching and knowledge creation. Selected case studies are provided to support the discussions for the application and development of OER at USP and the integration of Open Learning Design (OLD) principles and practices. In the drive to enhance the quality of learning and teaching through integrating OER and OLD, research provides the most compelling results for informing practice to achieve effective and sustainable responses to the achievement of the Strategic Plan objectives.

Protecting the Brain: What's the Evidence Behind Strategies to Mitigate Cognitive Aging?

Protecting the Brain: What's the Evidence Behind Strategies to Mitigate Cognitive Aging?