Public Sector Support Research Articles

ACCESS TO TREATMENT IN HIV PREVENTION TRIALS: PERSPECTIVES FROM A SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNITY

Access to treatment, in HIV vaccine trials (HVTs), remains ethically controversial. In most prevention trials, including in South Africa, participants who seroconvert are referred to publicly funded programmes for treatment. This strategy is problematic when there is inadequate and uneven access to public sector antiretroviral therapy (ART) and support resources. The responsibilities, if any, of researchers, sponsors and public health authorities involved in HVTs has been hotly debated among academics, scholars, representatives of international organizations and sponsors. However, there is little published on community perceptions. Recent guidance asserts that communities should make inputs into treatment and care decisions. This qualitative study explored a South African community's perceptions of who should provide what to HVT participants as well as how and why this should be done. Twenty-nine adults working at or attending five primary health care clinics in two rural areas in KwaZulu-Natal participated in in-depth interviews. Respondents expressed that researchers should 'help participants to access' treatment and care 'because they are in a position to do so' and 'are in a relationship with' trial participants. Respondents suggested that researchers could help by 'facilitating referral' until such time that participants can access care and treatment on their own. We highlight a series of implications for researchers in HVTs, including their need to be aware of prospective participants' considerable trust in and respect for researchers, the responsibility that this places on them, and the need for clear communication with communities so as not to erode community trust.

Introduction to Special Topic: Energy Pathways to a Low-Carbon Society

Energy and carbon are at the nexus of climate change, environment, health, and socio-economic development. The imperative to move towards cleaner and renewable energy to reduce greenhouse gas is gaining significant public and private sector support. Reducing carbon in the atmosphere has fast emerged as a major means to achieve this, since carbon content can be measured and hence the pathways can be well-defined. The December 2009 Copenhagen Accord recognized “the scientific view that the increase in global temperature should be below 2 degrees Celsius on the basis of equity and in the context of sustainable development.” To achieve this goal, the emerging scenario (e.g., the International Energy Agency (IEA) Report: World Energy Outlook 2009) is that the atmospheric concentration of CO2 be stabilized at around 450 ppm. If global emissions peak in 2015, we estimate that annual reductions in CO2 concentration of up to 5% would be necessary, equivalent to the Kyoto Protocol targets. Delaying reductions beyond the 2015 peak, however, would necessitate more drastic reduction rates that would be very difficult to achieve. To reach the necessary annual reduction in either case, investment in nonfossil energy must be significantly increased.

Public Sector Support for Special Events

The standard approach taken to assessing the economic impacts of special events, using input-output (I-O) modeling, has come under increasing attack in the recent research literature. Critics have argued that both I-O modeling should be replaced by computable general equilibrium modeling and that cost benefit analysis should be used to account for the wider social and environmental impacts of events. This article explores the critics concerns, prior to highlighting the preferred economic impact assessment tool. The role of CBA is also discussed, highlighting the type of data that is needed for informed analysis. Researchers tend to treat economic impact analysis and CBA as distinct techniques of assessment, with the potential to provide conflicting recommendations. The article outlines a method for partially integrating the two techniques. To set a context for the discussion, reference is made to the findings from research recently undertaken to estimate both the economic impacts and the net benefits of the Formula One Grand Prix held in Melbourne, Australia.

Knowledge Networks in an Uncompetitive Region: SME Innovation and Growth

ABSTRACTKnowledge networks are now recognised as a crucial element underlying the economic success and competitiveness of geographic locations, in particular regions. The aim of this paper is to assess the types of knowledge networks utilised and formed by knowledge‐based small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in the relatively uncompetitive regional setting of Yorkshire and Humberside in the UK. It explores the relationship between knowledge networking activity and the levels of innovation and growth achieved by these SMEs. It is found that SMEs tend to utilise and value more knowledge networks with actors outside the region. However, more innovative SMEs possess a balance of inside and outside the region knowledge networks. Knowledge networking activity is sometimes negatively associated with growth, suggesting that networks with certain actors, such as public sector support agencies, may be formed by SMEs when they are facing competitive pressures. In terms of policy implications, the paper recommends a shift from the cluster policies implemented by many regional authorities to a regional innovation systems approach, focusing equally on the regional and more global dimensions of knowledge networks. It is concluded that regional public policy makers need to renew their efforts to support SMEs in creating and sustaining their knowledge networks.

Mapping social enterprises: past approaches, challenges and future directions

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how mapping of social enterprises has been carried out in the past, and the challenges being faced by current studies. It pays particular attention to the definitions used and how these definitions are operationalized. The challenges and future opportunities are examined, and recommendations are made for policy makers commissioning studies.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws on a range of different approaches, namely literature reviews, interviews with key informants, focus group type discussions with social enterprise support providers and researchers in different UK regions (in 2004), and focus group type discussions with policy makers in 2008.FindingsThere has been a variety of approaches with different definitions and politically‐driven interpretations of definitions, which limits the ability to compare results. A particular challenge has been in interpreting what is meant by “trading income” or “social” aims. This presents interesting political dilemmas with many studies avoiding clarity in order to be inclusive thereby reducing the rigour of their data collection and analysis.Practical implicationsResearch at a national and regional scale is being carried out to identify the scale of the sector so public sector support resources can be justified, support can be targeted, and public sector spending can be evaluated. These approaches will need to be explicit about how they are carrying out the research, recognise the political nature of definitions and to address the challenges identified.Originality/valueThis paper will be used by researchers examining the impact and extent of social enterprises and policy makers commissioning such studies.

Partnering To Advance Public Health: A Foundation Supports Public Programs

The New York Community Trust (NYCT), as part of its grant-making strategy, seeks to strengthen health services for the poorest residents of New York City. The NYCT worked closely with the Fund for Public Health in New York, a nonprofit agency affiliated with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, to test new approaches to health screening for vulnerable populations. Grants jump-started innovative programs, leveraging public-sector support and program expansion beyond the scope of the grant-funded projects.

The Public Role in Promoting Child Health Information Technology

The public sector plays an important role in promoting child health information technology. Public sector support is essential in 5 main aspects of child health information technology, namely, data standards, pediatric functions in health information systems, privacy policies, research and implementation funding, and incentives for technology adoption. Some innovations in health information technology for adult populations can be transferred to or adapted for children, but there also are unique needs in the pediatric population. Development of health information technology that addresses children's needs and effective adoption of that technology are critical for US children to receive care of the highest possible quality in the future.

Measuring the Specificity of Human Capital: a Skill-based Approach

This article will construct a skill-based measure for human capital specificity. The measure is based on the possibilities of making use of skills on the labour market, which depends on the number of jobs where any particular skill is required. The assumption is that the specificity of human capital depends on the specificity of skills. In order to calculate the levels of specificity of different skills empirically, data from the skill requirements of vacant jobs are used. The validity of this measure is tested by using it as an estimator of the probability that on-the-job training is offered to employees. This article also investigates differences in the specificity of required human capital between different industries and occupations. The proposed job specificity measure can be used for planning public sector support to on-the-job training as companies’ decisions to pay for training depend on the specificity of human capital required.

AN ALTERNATIVE DEAL FOR POTATO GROWERS IN A CONTRACT FARMING SYSTEM

At the present time there is much controversy over the equity of small-scale producers in the supply chain, especially in developing countries. It is widely believed that farmers in the Third World have difficulty in gaining market access. While contract farming is attributed as a direct mechanism to integrate small growers into the supply chain, the system has often been blamed as lacking advantages for growers. In particular, growers have a concern regarding fairness of the contracts they sign with food processors and their economic security after the termination of the contract. This paper aims to illustrate the significant change in farmers’ practice from being contracted farmers, to being non-contracted. This encourages potato growers to negotiate a better deal in order to participate in the potato supply chain, as well as creating access to public sector support by small scale farmers. Furthermore, the positive outcome of the contract farming system is also presented. Potato growers in the San Sai District of Chiang Mai Province in the northern region of Thailand, have cultivated table potatoes since the 1960s. When processing potatoes were first introduced into San Sai District in 1987, potato growers had been acquainted with the contract system. At the initial stage, the firms made contracts with the farmers’ group and provided financial support and knowledge on potato production, which benefited growers directly. However, in 2001 the contracts were terminated due to various changes. Driving forces behind these changes were: the rapid increase in demand for potato chips, technical innovations, and continuous support from various government agencies in terms of research and development. The key consequences of the changes impacted on the functioning and performance of the market and better farm gate prices, lower production costs, and higher income from rotation cropping systems for farmers, as well as better soil conservation practices.

Child obesity: what can be done and who will do it?

Among the measures recommended by the WHO to reduce the risk of obesity and non-communicable disease, the consumption of a diet rich in micronutrients but with a relatively-low energy density features prominently. However, only a small percentage of the UK population (<1) appears to be consuming the recommended diet. Dietary behaviour is strongly influenced by the dietary environment, shaped by food supplies, investment policies and advertising, to create an obesogenic food market. Substantial resources have been invested in food production of a sort that does not promote better health; agriculture and food supply sectors have benefited from decades of public-sector support, but this practice has encouraged the production of meat, dairy, oils and sugar and the withdrawal from sale of fruit, vegetables and fish. The result is an 'obesogenic economy', i.e. a market economy that encourages weight gain, in which children are a prime target. Interventions in the obesogenic market need to be considered and several opportunities are described in the present paper. Recent moves to strengthen national and international food policies aimed to promote healthier behaviour have been undertaken, but they will need political support if they are to be fully implemented. Alliances of public health interests can help to create that political support and promote health-enhancing environments.

Towards collective business action and cross-sector collaboration in responsible competitiveness clusters in southern Africa

Responsible competitiveness clusters are cross-sector collaboration initiatives focused on identifying and acting upon synergies between sustainable development and economic competitiveness objectives. By means of three case studies in southern Africa this paper investigates the incentives, opportunities and challenges encountered in the emergence of such clusters. The first case study focuses on a regional response to the development challenges encountered in a South African mining area, the second describes efforts to make the Malawian agriculture sector more inclusive and competitive and the third discusses options for enhancing the competitiveness of the Lesotho textile sector. The paper concludes with a discussion of the role of international trade networks, the institutional framework, public sector support and internal governance processes as key factors influencing the initial level of success of these initiatives. 1Senior Researcher, Environmental Evaluation Unit, University of Cape Town;Programme Manager Malawi, African Institute of Corporate Citizenship;Director, African Institute of Corporate Citizenship; and Programme Manager, African Institute of Corporate Citizenship.

Sectoral innovation systems in agriculture: The case of rice in Thailand

Summary Rice is a strategically important cereal in many developing countries. It is the staple food for nearly half of the world's population. Against this backdrop, Thailand has consistently sustained its position as the world's biggest rice exporter. However, most of the exported rice from Thailand is milled rice, thus forgoing the opportunity to add additional economic value. In the face of rising production costs and fiercely global commodity price competition, Thailand is now attempting to generate additional added value through the development of innovative downstream products derived from rice. This paper reviews the literature on innovative technologies on rice, and explores interaction and activities within the rice sector that may help in opening up communication channels and fostering collaboration between agencies. The article illustrates the innovation being done within a large private sector in the rice milling enterprise from both historical, as well as corporate innovation strategy perspectives. This is accomplished by highlighting the evolution of public sector support for innovation in the rice sector, and illustrating partnerships and collaboration between key agents as the basis of a nascent rice innovation system. Current constraints to sectoral growth are identified. Finally, key recommendations for strengthening the rice innovation system are proposed.

HIV/AIDS, income loss and economic survival in Botswana

In countries facing severe HIV/AIDS epidemics, the overwhelming majority of those who are infected and affected by HIV are already living in poverty. Further income loss can threaten the ability to meet basic needs such as food, education and access to healthcare. Due to this, understanding the impact of HIV infection and caregiving on household income is essential to improving the health and welfare of HIV-affected individuals and families. This qualitative study examines how HIV infection and HIV caregiving affect household income in a population located within Botswana, a country with high HIV prevalence. We find that extended unpaid leave from work or job loss are common consequences and are associated with failure to meet basic needs in the short and long-term. We make recommendations for policy and programme support, including workplace adaptations and public sector support for meeting health and basic needs of HIV-affected families.

Cestode vaccines: origins, current status and future prospects

Recombinant vaccines have been developed which are highly effective in preventing infection with Taenia ovis in sheep, Taenia saginata in cattle, Taenia solium in pigs and Echinococcus granulosus in livestock animals. T. ovis and T. saginata are economically significant parasites and the commercial success or otherwise of vaccines against them will rely on their economic value. E. granulosus and T. solium are zoonotic parasites that cause cystic hydatid disease and neurocysticercosis, respectively, in humans. Vaccines against these parasites have been developed to assist with the control of transmission of the human diseases rather than for prevention of infections in livestock per se. Regions of high prevalence for cystic hydatid disease and neurocysticercosis occur primarily in the developing world. As a consequence, vaccines against them are of little or no commercially interest - they are Orphan Vaccines. Lack of commercial interest in these vaccines has made public sector support for their development necessary well beyond the research phase trough into completion of commercial scale-up and other more commercially-related assessments. Practical use of the vaccines will require commercial-scale production according to international manufacturing standards. Identifying partners and support in this endeavour is now of prime importance in efforts to achieve the potential of these vaccines as new tools for the control of cystic hydatid disease and neurocysticercosis.

Return on Investment in Innovation: Implications for Institutions and National Agencies*

Commercial success in universities in the USA and Canada has resulted in many other countries taking steps to emulate this performance and major technology transfer and commercialisation support programmes have been launched in UK, Europe, Australia, Japan and many other countries—including South Africa. Unrealistic expectations have, however, been generated by the spectacular successes of a relatively few institutions and it is not always realised that the success from commercialisation is proportional to the magnitude of the investment in research. Without a well funded, high quality research system, it is not possible for technology transfer to make any significant contribution to economic development. The possible economic returns to higher education institutions from commercialisation of research can be estimated using international benchmarks. This forecast uses a combination of an institutional return on investment model and a simple economic projection. The model is generic and can be adapted for use in any institution. As more data becomes available from local (and international) sources, the model will be refined to give better estimates. The model is dynamic and shows, quantitatively, why it can take up to 10 years for an institution, and 20 years nationally, to attain a positive rate of return from an investment in research and technology transfer. The model enables the long-term impact of policy decisions, in an institution and nationally, to be examined and alternative scenarios explored. The performance of individual institutions is, however, highly variable and unpredictable. This is even for those institutions that are comparable in size and maturity. A large portfolio of patents and licences is required to give a reasonable probability of positive returns. This may be possible at a national level, but is problematic in smaller institutions—and smaller countries. Because the benefits of the innovation system are captured largely at national level, with institutions having a high uncertainty, public sector support to reduce the institutional risk is necessary to assist institutions to make the necessary investments. Technology transfer is of course only one element of the overall research and innovation value chain. All elements must be functioning effectively to derive the economic and social benefits from research. In addition to a strong research system, adequate incentives must exist to encourage academics to participate, particularly with regard to the crucial initial step of invention disclosure. After disclosure, sufficient institutional capacity must be in place to take an idea, evaluate it, protect the intellectual property appropriately and then seek a path to commercialisation through either licensing or start-up company formation.

Economics of Groundwater Irrigation in Nepal: Some Farm-Level Evidences

This article examines the economics of groundwater irrigation and shallow tubewell (STW) ownership decision making, using farm-level data collected from 324 households in Nepal. STW irrigation generated a significant positive effect on rice yield and farmers' incomes. Based on a probit model, the farm size, land fragmentation, access to electricity, and access to credit were found to significantly influence farmers' decisions to own STWs. Although the water market benefited poor farmers, it is too small and monopolistic. Policy reforms needed to make groundwater accessible to the poor majority include effective credit programs, investments in rural electrification, and public sector support for promoting suitable pumping technologies.

Really changing the course: the limitations of environmental management systems for innovation

AbstractThe paper broadens the scope of environmental management system (EMS) research by describing how EMSs can contribute to inertia in present production systems. In conjunction with other factors this inertia can inhibit dramatic shifts toward more sustainable technologies and systems. Our approach builds upon technological lock‐in theory, which focuses on market coordination and technological interdependencies as generators of inertia in technological systems. Building on this framework, we call attention to previously under appreciated non‐market social forces and institutional structures that can further reinforce lock‐in. We argue that the co‐evolutionary mechanisms that generate increasing returns for physical technologies may also be applied to social technologies, such as management systems. The paper describes the emergence of ‘EMS lock‐in’ as a path dependent evolution occurring within the context of the larger quality management paradigm. While EMS may initially produce improvements in environmental performance, EMS may also constrain organizational focus to the exploitation of present production systems, rather than exploring for superior innovations that are discontinuous. The paper questions the enthusiastic private and public sector support for EMS implementation and instead recommends an ambidextrous management approach that integrates foresight and broader stakeholder collaboration. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Optimal Public Sector Support for the High Technology Sector in the Presence of Dynamic Venture Capital Funding

We derive a diffusive stochastic differential equation that describes the dynamics of the venture capital (VC) industry and use it to study two related issues that are concerned with the evolution of the venture capital and the high technology sectors over time. First, the short-term cyclical behavior of the venture capital industry is discussed. Then, we deal with the optimal funding of the public sector for supporting the high technology sector. We address the first issue via a differential equation. For the latter issue, we construct a decision-making model that yields the optimal funding of the public sector for the high technology sector. Our findings indicate that the VC industry is highly correlated with the US capital markets. Hence, the NASDAQ composite stock index can be used for the estimation of the evolution of the venture capital industry with respect to the relevant industry-related variables such as fundraising, the average deal size, the total number of investments and the like. In general, the optimal funding policy of the public sector is shown to be anti-cyclical with the VC funding. Namely, it should be a dynamic funding policy that is conditioned on VC investments and on the specific industrial sector that is supported. For example, the public sector's support for fast maturing sectors like software and information technology should be different than that of slow maturing sectors like pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.

Do university based biotechnology centres impact regional biotechnology related (commercial) employment?

This paper evaluates the commercial spillover impact of university biotechnology research centres in the eastern USA. Using a quasi-experimental technique to select a panel, we test data on a sample of 21 cities with university biotechnology research centres and 40 cities that do not have these centres. We find a strong positive correlation between regional commercial biotechnology employment and the centres. This supports research performed by Zucker et al. (1998) and Zucker (2001) in identifying regional spillovers emanating from biotechnology research at universities. These studies focus on institutional factors related to spillovers of university-based biotechnology centres. This work is differentiated from these studies in that it focuses on institutional and public sector support for the biotechnology centres.

The Advisor-SMF Client Relationship: Impact, Satisfaction and Commitment

This paper investigates the relationship between the type of business advisors used by SMEs and the level of impact and satisfaction a SME receives. The role of other influences, such as the intensity and cost of the service, and the level of commitment to an advisor by the client are also investigated. A structural equation path model is estimated from survey information for SMEs in Britain. The analysis shows that customer impact, satisfaction and re-use intentions are related to the character of the firm (particularly its size), the intensity and cost of services, but is only marginally influenced by the geographical distance between advisor and client. Affective commitment, measured by the level of the ‘trust’ of the advisor by the client, is shown not to be significant, except for public sector and business association suppliers. The importance of trust to these suppliers, despite the low satisfaction levels they achieve, is argued to be incompatible with attempts to charge fees, as has been sought for the government network of Business Link. Both business associations and public sector support bodies therefore have severe limitations in combining their broader roles with a commercially- based fee-based income strategy.