Unpacking systemic innovation capacity as strategic ambidexterity: How projects dynamically configure capabilities for agricultural innovation

Problems in agriculture and land use are increasingly recognised as complex, uncertain, operating at multiple levels (field to global value chains) and involving social, economic, institutional, and technological change. This has implications for how projects navigate complexity to achieve impact. However, few studies have systematically evaluated how project actors engage with other actors to configure capabilities and resources across multiple levels in agricultural innovation systems (AIS), from the individual to the network, to mobilise and build systemic innovation capacity. An analytical framework conceptualising the nested configuration of capabilities at multiple levels in the AIS is applied to two projects that successfully tackled agricultural and land management problems of differing complexity: (i) improving lamb survival; and (ii) sustainable land management in New Zealand. Findings indicate that innovation capacity constitutes project actors interacting with other AIS actors to configure capabilities and resources at different levels of the AIS in order to leverage positive project path dependencies and break path dependencies that are created by existing and historical capability configurations. Project actors also balance exploiting existing innovation capabilities, as well as using adaptive capability for exploring and creating new capability configurations to respond to emerging circumstances. This implies that projects should have strategic ambidexterity in terms of how they combine exploiting existing and exploring new networks to access, combine, create, or disconnect certain capabilities to address ‘capability voids’ in AIS. This requires support to projects to constantly scrutinise, through reflexive monitoring by dedicated facilitators, specific agriculture and land use policies connected to major sustainable development models (e.g. climate smart agriculture, urban farming, smart farming). The can help assess whether the AIS provides the right mix of capabilities and whether this is adequately supported by innovation policy, to realize transformative policy objectives.     

Creating financial statements using FRx within Microsoft Dynamics GP: Learning vs. teaching

This project requires you to create financial statements using FRx within Microsoft Dynamics GP, an enterprise system. The project emphasizes the learner-centered paradigm rather than a teacher-centered educational paradigm. Researchers have found great importance in the learner-centered approach in educating students, especially in information systems (Landry, Saulnier, Wagner, & Longenecker, 2008; Saulnier, Landry, & Wagner, 2008). Major differences exist between the two approaches; for example, the professor gives information and evaluates, and emphasizes the right answer in a teacher-centered approach. The professor coaches and facilitates, and emphasizes that students generate good questions and learn from mistakes in a learner-centered approach. This project utilizes the learner-centered approach, an effective approach for you to use in today’s environment.     

Ratio-based design hour determination for airport passenger terminal facilities

To avoid both over-design and under-sizing of airport passenger terminal facilities such as security checkpoints, the infrastructure is designed for a specifically determined design load. As such, the design load is considered for a short period of time, usually an hour of operation, during which peak, though not necessarily maximum, demand occurs. For strategic planning applications, future design loads can be determined by either fictitious flight schedules or ratio-based models which forecast the relationship between design load and annual demand. This study presents two ratio-based methods which allow the direct determination of design hour loads (DHL) for passenger terminal facilities. The unsaturated DHL model considers the relationship between observed passenger flows in the terminal and aggregated annual demand data. The saturated DHL model includes several operational constraints which limit the actual DHL, such as limitations in the runway system or the fleet mix operating at an airport. Both models are applied to two real-world airports, for which the DHL of the security checkpoint facilities is estimated from large datasets covering multiple years. Results are significant at the 5 % level and suggest that the proposed ratio-based methods are appropriate for airport strategic planning applications.     

A SURVEY OF THE ECONOMICS OF PATENT SYSTEMS AND PROCEDURES

The last several decades have seen increases in patenting activity worldwide, as well as growing issues related to patent quality. In response to these quality issues a recent patent literature has emerged, that investigates the behavior and incentives of patent examiners, applicants, and third parties. In this paper, we provide an overview of patent procedures, patent systems and a survey of the new economic literature on patent systems. Both theoretical and empirical papers are considered. Policy implications coming from this literature are presented.     

How to overcome the implementation gap in ecosystem services? A user-friendly and inclusive tool for improved urban management

One of the main issues with the concept of ecosystem services is its absence on the ground in concrete operational decision-making contexts; that is, an implementation gap. In this study, we investigated if this gap could be overcome through the use of open-source data and free tools, and the adoption of a short-term participatory process. We tested these methods in the context of a project in the urban metropolitan area of Bordeaux (Communauté urbaine de Bordeaux: CUB) in France. The ecosystem services were defined using a participatory approach involving local stakeholders, and then selected scenarios were simulated to test the impact of various development or conservation plans. The study addressed three main questions: (1) Is it possible to adopt a simple methodological approach that overcomes the implementation gap through the development of a user-friendly and inclusive method? (2) What is the added value of a participatory approach? (3) With regards to four scenarios in this territory, what are the ES trends in the selected biophysical and monetary indicators, and will knowledge of these trends help planners to shape a sustainable trajectory for the territory?     

The design of light-handed regulation of airports: Lessons from experience in Australia and New Zealand

The difficulties experienced with traditional forms of economic regulation of airports involving direct control of prices have led to an interest in light-handed regulatory frameworks. Experience with light-handed regulation of airports is primarily confined to Australia and New Zealand. The paper examines the design features of light-handed regulation in Australia and New Zealand in relation to the stated objectives associated with the introduction of light-handed regulation. The paper identifies important aspects associated with the design of light-handed regulation including the incorporation of a credible threat of stronger regulation and the characteristics of this, and an apparent trade-off in objectives achieved with different approaches to light-handed regulation.     

Towards a resilience management framework for complex enterprise systems upgrade implementation

The lack of knowledge of how resilience management supports enterprise system (ES) projects accounts for the failure of firms to leverage their investments in costly ES implementations. Using a structured-pragmatic-situational (SPS) case study research approach, this paper reports on an investigation into the resilience management of a large utility company as it implemented an ES upgrade. Drawing on the literature and on the case study findings, we developed a process-based resilience management framework that involves three strategies (developing situation awareness, demystifying threats, and executing restoration plans) and four organisational capabilities that transform resilience management concepts into practices. We identified the crucial phases of ES upgrade implementation and developed indicators for how different strategies and capabilities of resilience management can assist managers at different stages of an ES upgrade. This research advances the state of existing knowledge by providing specific and verifiable propositions for attaining a state of resilience, the knowledge being grounded in the empirical reality of a case study. Moreover, the framework offers ES practitioners a roadmap to better identify appropriate responses and levels of preparedness.     

Characterisation of extensive beef cattle systems: Disparities between opinions,practice and policy

Increasing pressure on extensive farming systems in marginal areas requires them to become more resilient and adaptable to extreme conditions brought about by climate change. Yet these rangeland areas must also be protected as refuges for biodiversity and as important carbon stores. Recent United Kingdom policy initiatives are encouraging the use of traditional or native breeds of livestock to preserve genetic diversity, due to their perceived adaption to harsh environments and their value for managing extensive habitats for conservation. It is not clear however, whether these benefits are based on scientific evidence or perhaps more on current opinion; nor whether farm system practices are likely to change in response to these initiatives. This study offers an approach that can support future empirical studies designed to better inform such policy decisions.A survey was carried out to provide insight into current opinions regarding the impacts of cattle on hill environments and the cattle breeds appropriate for hill environments, before more detailed farm interviews provided data for a characterisation of suckler beef farming systems in Scotland using a typological approach. Survey results indicated that the majority of respondents believed cattle have a positive effect on hill environments when carefully managed, yet there was wide diversity in opinion regarding the type of impacts and most suitable breeds. Interview results highlighted the diversity of management systems, decision making processes and cattle types present and indicated significant variation in farmers’ views regarding breed hardiness, suitability and reasons for their choice of breed. Three system groups: Traditionalists, Improvers and Production optimisers, were clearly defined by the typology, with significant variation observed in their management practices and views. This study suggests that hill beef farmers appear to not only adapt their production systems according to their current bio-physical and financial circumstances, but also from personal experience. Accumulation of this kind of evidence is long overdue and could provide support to the development of any future policies regarding cattle and hill environments.     

Replication and translation of co-innovation: The influence of institutional context in large international participatory research projects

Stakeholder involvement in research processes is widely seen as essential to enhance the applicability of research. A common conclusion in the extensive body of literature on participatory and transdisciplinary research is the importance of the institutional context for understanding the dynamics and effectiveness of participatory projects. The role of institutional context has become increasingly important in view of large international research projects implementing shared participatory methodologies across countries (for example within Horizon 2020 and within CGIAR programmes), which each have different institutional contexts. Despite the generally accepted importance of the institutional context for understanding the unfolding of participatory and transdisciplinary research projects, surprisingly little research has actually looked into its role in greater detail. This paper aims to fill this gap in the literature by studying how a set of participatory principles and methods in a European project on integrated pest management (denoted as co-innovation in the project under study) was applied by researchers and advisers operating in a single international research project under the institutional conditions of four countries. The principal finding of this study is that, although constraints and enablers of participatory research at the personal level (e.g. researcher identity) were similar across the studied countries, research organisation- and community-based constraints and enablers differed, as well as those at the level of the overall innovation system. The institutions at different levels interact and create country-specific histories and path-dependencies, which lead to different degrees of propensity and preparedness, and hence different starting positions for participatory approaches. Consequently, when participatory research methods and approaches are applied in different contexts following a one-size-fits-all approach they may be less effective if not translated to institutional conditions at different levels. The study suggests that large international participatory research projects make provision in their design for careful selection of project team individuals, the composition of teams, and pay attention to the room for manoeuvre that the project, institute and national contexts provide for participatory research. To support the adjustment of participatory approaches to local institutional conditions, large international projects would benefit from fostering learning spaces that enable reflection on translation to local contexts and are capable of connecting to a wider network of decision makers and influencers that can facilitate institutional change in organisations and innovation systems.