Delivery Partners Research Articles

Hyderabad Metro Rail in India: a new record for public–private partnerships

Completed in 2020, the US$3.3 billion Hyderabad Metro Rail project in India set a new record public–private partnership delivery. The 67 km railway has three lines, 57 stations and two depots. Factors ensuring success included stakeholder consultation, ability to access funds, competitive and transparent procurement, a strong delivery consortium and appropriate risk allocation. Modular standardised stations and structures saved time and money, reduced design and quality control efforts and cut maintenance. The use of balanced cantilever construction and the spine and wing method also drastically reduced station footprints. The project has won multiple national and international awards.

Scaling Up Delivery of Biofortified Staple Food Crops Globally: Paths to Nourishing Millions.

Background:Micronutrient deficiencies affect over one quarter of the world’s population. Biofortification is an evidence-based nutrition strategy that addresses some of the most common and preventable global micronutrient gaps and can help improve the health of millions of people. Since 2013, HarvestPlus and a consortium of collaborators have made impressive progress in the enrichment of staple crops with essential micronutrients through conventional plant breeding.Objective:To review and highlight lessons learned from multiple large-scale delivery strategies used by HarvestPlus to scale up biofortification across different country and crop contexts.Results:India has strong public and private sector pearl millet breeding programs and a robust commercial seed sector. To scale-up pearl millet, HarvestPlus established partnerships with public and private seed companies, which facilitated the rapid commercialization of products and engagement of farmers in delivery activities. In Nigeria, HarvestPlus stimulated the initial acceptance and popularization of vitamin A cassava using a host of creative approaches, including “crowding in” delivery partners, innovative promotional programs, and development of intermediate raw material for industry and novel food products. In Uganda, orange sweet potato (OSP) is a traditional subsistence crop. Due to this, and the lack of formal seed systems and markets, HarvestPlus established a network of partnerships with community-based nongovernmental organizations and vine multipliers to popularize and scale-up delivery of OSP.Conclusions:Impact of biofortification ultimately depends on the development of sustainable markets for biofortified seeds and products. Results illustrate the need for context-specific, innovative solutions to promote widespread adoption.

The platform economy and the precarisation of food delivery work in the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from India

This study aims to explore work precarity in the platform economy from the perspective of food delivery workers. It also tries to contextualise work precarity in COVID-19 times. With the digital boom, food-based platform aggregators have emerged as a new workspace for food delivery workers in India. Food delivery workers working for platform aggregators are termed ‘independent contractors’ and ‘delivery partners’ to avoid legal issues of employer-employee relations; this enables a substantial reduction in transaction costs. Despite the huge number of food delivery workers, they are unable to organise into collectives. The platform economy is emerging as a sector offering new work opportunities, but at the same time it is plagued by low wages (and benefit), absence (or lack) of welfare measures, and digital controls contributing to the process of precarisation. The COVID-19 pandemic and resultant lockdown have aggravated the precarity of work for food delivery workers. It has led to the loss of jobs and incomes, and increased health risks, stigmas and occupation distress. Further, autonomy and flexibility should not come at the cost of the most basic social security and protection. This precarious situation calls for affirmative action from policymakers and platform aggregators.

Data science skills: Building partnership for efficient school curriculum delivery in Africa

Data science is a concept to unify statistics, data analysis, machine learning and their related methods in order to analyze actual phenomena with data to provide better understanding. This article focused its investigation on acquisition of data science skills in building partnership for efficient school curriculum delivery in Africa, especially in the area of teaching statistics courses at the beginners’ level in tertiary institutions. Illustrations were made using Big data of selected 18 African countries sourced from United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with special focus on some macro-economic variables that drives economic policy. Data description techniques were adopted in the analysis of the sourced open data with the aid of R analytics software for data science, as improvement on the traditional methods of data description for learning and thus open a new charter of education curriculum delivery in African schools. Though, the collaboration is not without its own challenges, its prospects in creating self-driven learning culture among students of tertiary institutions has greatly enhanced the quality of teaching, advancing students skills in machine learning, improved understanding of the role of data in global perspective and being able to critique claims based on data.

Access to e-government services by citizens through public/community libraries in Namibia

The role of public/community libraries in promoting national development is undeniable. It is therefore not surprising that these libraries are being heralded as partners in e-government service delivery. The libraries however experience challenges in providing this important service, many of which emanate from poor funding. The paper presents findings of a study that was conducted in urban, semi-urban and rural public/community libraries in Namibia to determine access to e-government services through public/community libraries. Related studies have highlighted the digital divide between rural and urban settings as one of the factors influencing e-government service delivery. There is an imbalance in the provision of technology infrastructure between rural and urban areas in Namibia. The study therefore was based on the assumption that the setting of the library will have an influence on access to e-government services. The study employed a survey research design using a questionnaire for data collection, which was administered via email. The study population were all 65 community libraries, of which 64 took part in the study and the units of analysis were library staff, of which 75 completed the questionnaire. The findings show that the e-government services that users were accessing through the libraries included downloading and completing employment forms, employment information, and filing tax returns. The challenges included few workstations in libraries, unreliable Internet connectivity and slow Internet access (i.e. slow bandwidth). The library setting had no impact on access to e-government services, suggesting that these other factors could equally be affecting libraries regardless of setting and that there could be other factors at play. The study recommends that a study be conducted to gather the perspective of the users which may highlight what these other factors are.

Bioeconomy as a transforming driver of intensive greenhouse horticulture in SE Spain

Bioeconomy is becoming the main driver transforming European agri-food value chains towards global sustainability in the food supply chain. Intensive horticultural production systems based on medium and low-tech greenhouses are suitable scenarios implementing bioeconomy strategies to achieve sustainability targets. Since the publication of the European Strategy of Bioeconomy in 2012, policy measures intended to boost bioeconomy are responsible for changing what are now considered outdated production systems to more high-tech models capable of responding to climate-change challenges. This article describes the potential for the agri-food supply chain to drive the transition of medium and low-tech intensive greenhouse systems to biobased, circular economy value-chains. Key areas of impact relate to waste valorisation and management, new inputs based on biotechnological innovations, building clusters of innovative delivery partners within the sector, and the increase in public awareness of the impact of the bioeconomy through socio-economic analysis.

A Study on Customer Perception towards Hike in Prices of Online Food Delivery Channels

Online Food Delivery channels have emerged in recent years which have made all the customers almost their slaves across India as most of us heavily rely upon them. At a lesser cost, these help us to order our food items with a wide variety of choice. When it comes to cost, Delivery charges play a major important factor in determining the price of different items through different online food channels.Customers as well as business houses now a days have a contemporary perception of delivery charges associated with such products and services available in the market
 This research paper explains the customer perception towards their ordering capacity when delivery charges are taken into consideration by them and more often are possibly changed by these food delivery partners. To study the customer perception, a sample size of 106 respondents was chosen and the data collected from such respondents was analyzed using Cross Tabulation and Chi Square Tests. It was elucidated from the analysis that for most of the customers delivery charges influences their capacity to order and most of the times customers have changed their mind to order online food when delivery charges are considerably high.

Leveraging Events to Develop Collaborative Partnerships: Examining the Formation and Collaborative Dynamics of the Ontario Parasport Legacy Group

The strategic formation of partnerships for leveraging sport events to achieve social impact is becoming a critical component of large-scale sport events. The authors know less about the process dimensions related to the formation and collaborative dynamics of a sport event–leveraging partnership. To address this gap, the authors focus on examining the formation and collaborative dynamics alongside the challenges of the cross-sector partnership, the Ontario Parasport Legacy Group (OPLG), which emerged as an important leveraging strategy for the Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games. The authors found that the formation of the OPLG was shaped through broader environmental elements—including resource conditions, window of collaborative opportunity, and cultural influence—and essential drivers of strategic leadership and consequential incentives. Furthermore, the authors’ analysis shows that the development of the OPLG and its effectiveness in partnership delivery were determined through key domains of collaborative dynamics (i.e., engagement, motivation, and joint capacity).

Dilating Low-Income Housing Financing: Lessons for Emerging Market REITs

Asymmetric movements of housing demand and supply has consequently led to extraordinary house price increments, thereby making housing unaffordable and unsustainable for significant proportion of urban settlers in many emerging economies. This deficit in low-income housing delivery strengthens the pertinence of looking elsewhere for solutions. With the emergence of REITs as a vast source of real estate financing, literature has identified the potential of this investment vehicle in financing low-income housing delivery in the form of social purpose REITs. Worryingly, studies on the applicability of these REITs in financing low-income housing is almost inexistent in emerging economies, outside China. The study is aimed at the examination of empirical literature on the use of social purpose REITs as vehicle for ameliorating low-income housing delivery with a view to extricating pertinent lessons for emerging market REITs. Content analysis was conducted using TEXTPACK; and the resulting synthesis of extant literature produced 4 main lessons for emerging market REITs. It was concluded that to dilate the financing of low-income housing delivery, REITs in emerging markets should adopt policies that encourage the establishment of social purpose REITs. Such policies should lend towards the implementation of tax credits to social purpose REITs and an exemption of low-income housing developers from development costs. Also, Public-Private Partnerships for housing delivery should be reviewed to incorporate strategies that ameliorate indemnificatory housing, while the mortgage system should be revamped to accommodate mortgage tranche and long-term debt capitalization. Keywords: Low-income housing delivery, Social purpose REITs, housing finance, REITs, Emerging Markets DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/12-18-05 Publication date: June 30th 2020

Partnership and collaboration in healthcare delivery in Ghana

The quest of most state or governments to adequately cater for the healthcare needs of its people continue to be a difficult task since many states have experienced, and continue to experience, a reduction in allocation of resources to the health sector. The involvement of the private sector in health care delivery is an option being explored by a number of states to augment resources in the health sector with some partnerships between the public and the private healthcare facilities in the fight against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. However, not many empirical studies have been conducted to identify and better understand these partnerships between the state agencies and the private sector in Ghana. This study, therefore, sought to answer questions on the range of partnership and collaborative activities existing between public and private healthcare institutions in Ghana, the need for these collaborations and the factors that hinder these collaborations in Ghana. The study adopted the stakeholder theory as various stakeholders come together to ensure the delivery of healthcare in Ghana. The study revealed that there was no direct partnership between these two groups. They, however, collaborated in some instances under the umbrella of their governing organization. The perceived need for collaboration that was identified under the study was for the protection of human lives. The study concluded that this collaboration is necessary to ensure an efficient healthcare delivery.

Community clinics in Bangladesh: A unique example of public-private partnership

BackgroundBangladesh has established more than 13,000 community clinics (CCs) to provide primary healthcare with a plan of each covering a population of around 6,000. The inception of CCs in the country has revolutionized the healthcare delivery to reach the doorstep of people. The provision of healthcare through CCs is truly participatory since the community people donate land for building infrastructure and also involve in management process. The study was conducted to assess pattern of public private partnership in healthcare delivery through participation of community people in establishment, management, monitoring and utilization of community clinics. MethodsThis quantitative study involving descriptive cross sectional design included 63 healthcare providers, 2,238 service-users and 3,285 community people as household members. Data were collected by face-to-face interview and reviewing records of CCs with the help of semi-structured questionnaire and checklist respectively. The public private partnership was assessed in this particular study by finding community participation in different activities of CCs. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. ResultsAlmost all (96.9%) CCs are located in easy-to-reach areas and have good infrastructure. Lands of all CCs are donated by the respective communities. The security of most of the CCs (93.7%) is maintained by community people. Cleanliness of the CCs is maintained by the cleaners or ayas who are appointed by local communities. Community Groups (CGs) of 88.9% and Community Support Groups (CSGs) of 96.8% CCs are found to be active. In most of the CCs (98.4%), monitoring is done by analysis of monthly reports. All CCs provide referral services for pregnant women. Health care delivery is found to be ‘good’ in more than three-fourths while health education service is ‘good’ in 96.7% of CCs. All CCs showed an increased trend in the utilization of services and conduction of normal child deliveries. Benefits of CCs as perceived by service users included free drugs (82.1%), free treatment (81.2%), easy access (76.3%), need-based health services (75.0%), and immunization services (68.6%). Almost all (99.0%) of the CC service users opined that CGs are involved in management of CC activities. ConclusionIn resource-poor settings of developing countries, public private partnership in primary healthcare delivery through community clinics may play crucial role in sustainable development of community health by providing quality health care. The study recommends public-private partnership for strengthening CCs including establishment, maintenance, utilization, monitoring and supply of essential drugs and logistics.

The Participatory Zeitgeist in Health Care: It is Time for a Science of Participation.

Participation in health care is currently the zeitgeist/spirit of our times. A myriad of practices characterizes this “participatory Zeitgeist” in contemporary health care, which range from patients and professionals collaborating as partners in service delivery and treatment decision-making, to crowdsourced cures and participation in online communities, to using health apps, to involvement in health care quality improvement initiatives for systems redesign using coproduction and co-design methods. To date, patient engagement and participation in online communities and the use of apps have received a good deal of attention in participatory medicine. However, there has been a less critical examination of participation in health care planning, design, delivery, and improvement. In the face of what Thomas Kuhn called a scientific revolution, we are presented with the opportunity to re-examine some of the assumptions underpinning participation in health care and some of the emerging anomalies and weaknesses in the current science. This re-examination will allow the development of a new paradigm, a science of participation. In this science, we can systematically test, refine, and advance participation in health care to build a unifying language and theories from across the interdisciplinary fields of participatory design, medicine, and research to develop and test models to explain impacts and outcomes. A science of participation will allow the emergent and unexplained facts to be addressed in the current participatory mood of health care planning, design, delivery, and improvement.

The Stanford Lightning Report Method: A comparison of rapid qualitative synthesis results across four implementation evaluations.

BackgroundCurrent evaluation methods are mismatched with the speed of health care innovation and needs of health care delivery partners. We introduce a qualitative approach called the lightning report method and its specific product—the “Lightning Report.” We compare implementation evaluation results across four projects to explore report sensitivity and the potential depth and breadth of lightning report method findings.MethodsThe lightning report method was refined over 2.5 years across four projects: team‐based primary care, cancer center transformation, precision health in primary care, and a national life‐sustaining decisions initiative. The novelty of the lightning report method is the application of Plus/Delta/Insight debriefing to dynamic implementation evaluation. This analytic structure captures Plus (“what works”), Delta (“what needs to be changed”), and Insights (participant or evaluator insights, ideas, and recommendations). We used structured coding based on implementation science barriers and facilitators outlined in the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) applied to 17 Lightning Reports from four projects.ResultsHealth care partners reported that Lighting Reports were valuable, easy to understand, and they implied reports supported “corrective action” for implementations. Comparative analysis revealed cross‐project emphasis on the domains of Inner Setting and Intervention Characteristics, with themes of communication, resources/staffing, feedback/reflection, alignment with simultaneous interventions and traditional care, and team cohesion. In three of the four assessed projects, the largest proportion of coding was to the clinic‐level domain of Inner Setting—ranging from 39% for the cancer center project to a high of 56% for the life‐sustaining decisions project.ConclusionsThe lightning report method can fill a gap in rapid qualitative approaches and is generalizable with consistent but flexible core methods. Comparative analysis suggests it is a sensitive tool, capable of uncovering differences and insights in implementation across projects. The Lightning Report facilitates partnered evaluation and communication with stakeholders by providing real‐time, actionable insights in dynamic health care implementations.

Emerging linked ecologies for a national scale retrofitting programme: The role of local authorities and delivery partners

Energy Efficient Scotland (EES) is the Scottish Government's flagship programme for the national-scale retrofitting of buildings over the next 15–20 years. This is a critical component of Scotland's commitment to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, that will also help to reduce fuel poverty and improve local economies. The success of EES is reliant on partnerships between local authorities, arms-length external organisations, charities, and social enterprises. However, little is known about how these organisations collaborate for the delivery of building retrofit. This paper analyses interview data from local authorities and these delivery partners, conceptualising them as part of linked ecologies, or interconnected networks of professional groups. EES is identified as a hinge that holds distinct meanings for different parties; it supports learning between local authorities and delivery partners, but does not guarantee the alignment of priorities. The concept of avatars, or individuals and skills that travel between organisations, reveals the search for relevant internal knowledge amongst local authority officers, whilst external delivery partners amass expertise for retrofitting. To ensure successful national-scale building retrofit, policy makers will need to develop shared databases, and clear guidance for the allocation and distribution of resources and responsibilities between local authorities and delivery partners.

Integrating social network development into marine protected area management capacity building and institutionalization in the Philippines and Indonesia

Abstract Recent research demonstrates a critical and ongoing need for capacity building of marine protected area (MPA) practitioners in order to ensure effective management of MPAs and MPA networks that protect coastal and marine ecosystems. MPA capacity development needs are site and network specific, although commonly include leadership development, building shared goals across networks, understanding impacts and identifying appropriate management approaches, and building system‐wide monitoring and evaluation programmes. Designing capacity‐building programmes at the network scale can contribute directly to enhancing learning and social networking, sustaining and strengthening effective management of ecosystems, and improving coordinated network governance. Network‐wide capacity building amplifies the effect and availability of technical resources and expertise, lessons learned at different management scales, and collaborative decision‐making. The net result is shared capacity development across the network and improved functioning of multiple MPAs as a unit, all from a singular capacity‐building effort. In the spirit of contributing to the ongoing growth of the global social network of MPA practitioners, this paper shares observations from social MPA network building as part of recent MPA capacity building in the Philippines and Indonesia. These programmes deliver technical capacity and a participatory learning framework for participants to enhance their MPA social network and support long‐term implementation of gained knowledge and skills. Important elements in supporting successful network development through capacity‐building programming include: comprehensive needs assessment; strong collaborative partnerships for programme delivery; clear learning objectives and intended long‐term results; and strong and sustained political will at the local, national, and regional scales. Each MPA site, region, and capacity‐building programme is unique in structure and content, yet what all programmes have in common is that they build on the principles of trust and community building to create a locally relevant format and framework for the network to flourish.

Адаптаційні резерви у партнерських пологах

Studying the causes of excessive intensity of the influence of stress factors is an urgent task of modern medicine, therefore, the scientific substantiation of the technology of partner birth will optimize obstetric and perinatal consequences and improve the psychoemotional adaptation of the mother. The objective: to study the stress of the adaptive reserves of the body in partners with partner births. Materials and methods. Surveyed: Group I 30 mothers of women in childbirth who acted as partners in childbirth; ІІ group – 30 husbands of women in childbirth; 30 husbands who visited their wives who were in separate pathology of pregnancy for prenatal preparation in the period of pregnancy of 38–40 weeks, comprised the control group. A survey was conducted using the Teylor, Spіelberger scales and the San Test definition. Results. The described correlation relationships between the levels of tension of psychoemotional adaptive abilities in husbands and mothers of women in childbirth at partner births. A significant difference was revealed in some psychological factors and behavioral reactions. Conclusion. Delivery partners have a high psychoemotional load. Husbands have a significantly greater psycho-emotional load acting as a partner in childbirth in relation to mothers-partners. Key words: cesarean section, psychoemotional state, pregnancy, childbirth, J. Teylor, Ch. Spielberger, SAN-test.

Risk assessment of logistic activities in foreign economic activity as a component of efficient management by a pharmaceutical company

Aim. The aim of the study is to develop a methodology for assessing the level of risk of the logistic component of foreign economic activity (FEA) of the pharmaceutical company (PhCo).Materials and methods. The study used methods of synthesis, analysis and synthesis, content analysis. To determine the risks of logistics in the foreign trade of pharmaceutical companies, an expert survey method was used. The survey was attended by leading specialists of departments of PhCo, whose functional responsibilities are related to the implementation of FEA. The total number of experts was 50 people. 100 % of respondents have a higher education, they are divided into the work experience: 0-10 years - 11 %, 11-20 years - 27 %, 21-25 years - 53 %, over 25 years - 8 %. According to the gender, 83 % of women and 17 % of men participated in the survey. Experts' conclusions are grounded.Results. It is determined that under the risk of logistics in the field of foreign trade of pharmaceutical companies it is appropriate to understand the likelihood of occurrence of events in the field of foreign trade of PhCo in relation to the management of all types of flows when they pass through the country's borders, which leads to certain consequences in space and time, namely, loss of part of the company's income, foreign partners, delays in fulfilling obligations to other partners in the untimely delivery of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), fines, penalties, etc. It is proved that the risks of logistic activity in the field of foreign economic activity on the basis of the species include the following subspecies: the risk of partnership, information, transport, innovation, organization, procurement of imported API, main and auxiliary materials, sale (export) of finished medicines, storage and loss of profit.Conclusions. The conducted research has led to the conclusion that the effectiveness of the functioning of PhCo is also influenced by the risks of logistics in the field of FEA

Translational Formative Evaluation before Scale-up of a Physical Activity Intervention for Older Men

ABSTRACT Introduction Despite irrefutable health benefits of physical activity, older adults remain among the least active Canadians. To achieve population health, physical activity interventions that proved effective in controlled research settings must be delivered at scale to reach broader populations of older adults across multiple settings. Formative evaluations are essential, as they identify barriers and enablers to implementation across levels of stakeholder groups and settings. Thus, we conducted a formative evaluation of a choice- and evidence-based physical activity intervention (Men on the Move) designed for scalability. Methods We adopted key elements of two implementation frameworks that place characteristics of the innovation, prevention delivery system, prevention support system, and prevention synthesis and translation system at the core of implementation success. Guided by the Interactive Systems Framework for Dissemination and Implementation, data were collected from delivery partners, including 1 leader from a key provincial recreation organization, 6 recreation directors/coordinators and 3 activity coaches, and 14 participants (older men). This research team participated in prevention support and prevention synthesis and translation systems. Two trained interviewers conducted telephone interviews with delivery partners, and five trained interviewers and a notetaker conducted in-person interviews with participants. Results Five themes emerged from analyses of delivery partner interviews: support, activity coaches, intervention delivery, Men on the Move continuation, and the absence of men. Two themes emerged from our analyses of participant data: monitoring and connectedness. Conclusion Lessons learned from this formative evaluation will guide the adaptation of the intervention to context and population for scale-up across British Columbia, Canada. In so doing, we aim to bridge the know–do–scale-up gap, which is imperative as we seek to improve older adult health at the population level.

Transcultural Diabetes Care in The United States – A Position Statement by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists

The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) has created a transculturalized diabetes chronic disease care model that is adapted for patients across a spectrum of ethnicities and cultures. AACE has conducted several transcultural activities on global issues in clinical endocrinology and completed a 3-city series of conferences in December 2017 that focused on diabetes care for ethnic minorities in the U.S. Proceedings from the "Diabetes Care Across America" series of transcultural summits are presented here. Information from community leaders, practicing health care professionals, and other stakeholders in diabetes care is analyzed according to biological and environmental factors. Four specific U.S. ethnicities are detailed: African Americans, Latino/Hispanics, Asian Americans, and Native Americans. A core set of recommendations to culturally adapt diabetes care is presented that emphasizes culturally appropriate terminology, transculturalization of white papers, culturally adapting clinic infrastructure, flexible office hours, behavioral medicine-especially motivational interviewing and building trust-culturally competent nutritional messaging and health literacy, community partnerships for care delivery, technology innovation, clinical trial recruitment and retention of ethnic minorities, and more funding for scientific studies on epigenetic mechanisms of cultural impact on disease expression. It is hoped that through education, research, and clinical practice enhancements, diabetes care can be optimized in terms of precision and clinical outcomes for the individual and U.S. population as a whole.

ThinkRx cognitive training for adults over age 50: Clinician–caregiver partners in delivery as effective as clinician-only delivery.

ThinkRx cognitive training for adults over age 50: Clinician–caregiver partners in delivery as effective as clinician-only delivery.