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on Project, Program and Portfolio Management |
| By: | Massimo Florio (DEAS, Universita' di Milano); Silvia Vignetti (CSIL Centre for Industrial Studies) |
| Abstract: | This paper draws and expands from a recent ex-post evaluation carried out for the European Commission aimed at assessing the long term effects produced by a sample of ten major infrastructures in the Transport and Environment sectors and interpreting the key determinants of the observed performance. This evaluation study offered a unique opportunity to draw conclusions on the value of performing ex-post evaluations and to test an innovative evaluation design combining cost-benefit analysis (CBA) with qualitative assessment and adopting a long-run perspective (30 years), which extends into both the past and the future, and requires a mix of retrospective and prospective analysis. This paper presents the potential of ex-post CBA to assess long term impacts of major infrastructure projects and discusses some methodological and institutional implications related to its use. |
| Keywords: | Cost-benefit analysis, Ex-post evaluation, Infrastructures |
| JEL: | D61 H54 R58 |
| Date: | 2013–05–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mst:wpaper:201302&r=ppm |
| By: | Stefan Friedhoff; Christian Meier zu Verl; Christian Pietsch; Christian Meyer; Johanna Vompras; Stefan Liebig |
| Abstract: | This paper is a contribution to the methodological and technical discussion of social research infrastructure. The main question is how to store and manage data in a way that meets the increasing demand for secondary data analysis in both quantitative and qualitative social science research. The first two sections focus mainly on aspects of data documentation, in particular on the unification of various documentation requirements that have arisen across ongoing projects of the SFB 882. While the aim of documenting quantitative research processes is to ensure replicability, the aim of documenting qualitative projects is to maintain the understandability and informative value of research data. In the third section a virtual research environment (VRE) is presented that provides both a generic work platform and a project-specific research platform. The work platform bundles IT resources by bringing together various tools for administration, project management, and time- and location-independent collaboration in a single environment adapted to researchers’ specific work processes. The research component combines data management with further developments in social science methodologies. It provides services for the archiving and reuse of data and enables the infrastructural and methodological coordination of data documentation. We also introduce a documentation scheme for qualitative and quantitative social research within the SFB 882. This scheme considers the specific requirements of research projects within the SFB, such as different methods (e.g. panel analysis, experimental approaches, ethnography, and interview research), project work, and requirements of long-term research. |
| Keywords: | ratswd, ratswd working paper, data sharing, data management, germany, data availability, open access, research infrastructure, data, replication, data privacy, metadata, research data centre, infrastructure, reflexivity, replication, data documentation, informative value, documentation practices, quantitative research, qualitative research, datamanagement, reproducible research |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rsw:rswwps:rswwps219&r=ppm |
| By: | Dasgupta, Susmita; Hammer, Dan; Kraft, Robin; Wheeler, David |
| Abstract: | Habitat conservation is critical to the survival of endangered tigers. This paper develops a resource-allocation model for the protection of tiger habitats, using information on threats to particular tiger subspecies, the quality of remaining habitat areas, the observed effectiveness of habitat protection by country, and the potential costs of protection projects in74 habitats in Asia. This model will be implemented in two stages. The first stage involves using user-specified weights to combine numerous sub-indices into composite indices, covering threats to species, habitat quality, potential project costs and the effectiveness of protections. At the second stage, additional user-specified weights are used to combine the composite indices into priority scores and potential project budget shares for all 74 habitat areas. Results suggest that changes in user-specified weights can have very a significant impact on habitat priority scores. Illustrative scenarios indicate that the model can make a useful contribution by identifying priority orderings that are consistent with different sets of preferences. It will also provide feedback to decision makers regarding the implicit preferences associated with their resource allocation decisions. |
| Keywords: | Wildlife Resources,Biodiversity,Ecosystems and Natural Habitats,Environmental Management,Development Economics&Aid Effectiveness |
| Date: | 2013–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6495&r=ppm |
| By: | Géraldine Ang; Virginie Marchal |
| Abstract: | Transport infrastructure is a pillar of economic development and a key contributor to climate change. Globally, transport-related greenhouse gas emissions are expected to double by 2050 in the absence of new policies. There is an urgent need to scale-up and shift transport infrastructure investments towards lowcarbon, climate-resilient transport options and help achieving the environmental, social and economic benefits associated with sustainable transport infrastructure. Given the extent of investment required to meet escalating global transportation infrastructure needs, and the growing strains on public finances, mobilising private investment at pace and at scale will be necessary to facilitate the transition to a greener growth. Investment barriers, however, often limit private investment in sustainable transport infrastructure projects, due to the relatively less attractive risk-return profile of such projects compared to fossil fuelbased alternatives. In part, this can be attributed to market failures and government policies that fall short of accounting for the full costs of carbon-intensive road transport and the benefits of sustainable transport modes. |
| Keywords: | development, transport, infrastructure, climate change, urban planning, transport policies, private investment, climate finance |
| JEL: | G18 L92 O18 Q01 Q50 R40 |
| Date: | 2013–05–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:envaaa:56-en&r=ppm |
| By: | Iimi, Atsushi |
| Abstract: | Competitive bidding is an important policy tool to procure goods and services from the market at the lowest possible cost. Under traditional public procurement systems, however, it may be difficult to purchase highly customized objects, such as energy efficiency services. This is because not only prices but also other nonmonetary aspects need to be taken into account. Multidimensional auctions are often used to evaluate multidimensional bids. This paper examines the bidding strategy in multidimensional auctions, using data from public energy service company projects in Japan. It shows that multidimensional auctions work well, as theory predicts. The competition effect is significant. In addition, strategic information disclosure, including walk-through and preannouncement of reserve prices, can also promote energy savings and investment. Risk sharing arrangements are critical in the energy service company market. In particular, the public sector should take regulatory risk. |
| Keywords: | Energy Production and Transportation,Climate Change Economics,Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases,Debt Markets,Energy Demand |
| Date: | 2013–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6485&r=ppm |
| By: | Song, Yanqin; Berrah, Noureddine |
| Abstract: | With rapid development of wind power in China, the following three issues have become barriers for further scale-up: 1) concentration of wind farms in the Three-North region, which became significantly underutilized because of a limited capability of local power grids to off-take and consume wind-generated electricity and because of a lack of coordinated development of long-distance transmission lines to deliver electricity to load centers in the South and East regions; 2) increasing subsidies and, thus, a burden on final consumers; and 3) resistance of local authorities to develop new projects because the new value added tax policy reform. How to deal with these issues will have significant impact on the future development of wind in China. This note proposes a methodology to enhance a comprehensive approach by taking both generation and transmission into account in crafting the development plan and formulating the incentive policies, which may be useful in addressing these issues. |
| Keywords: | Energy Production and Transportation,Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases,Carbon Policy and Trading,Windpower,Science of Climate Change |
| Date: | 2013–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6486&r=ppm |
| By: | de Brauw, Alan; Gilligan, Dan; Kumar, Neha; Eozenou, Patrick |
| Abstract: | Biofortification, breeding staple food crops to be dense sources of essential micronutrients, is fast emerging as a strategy to fight micronutrient malnutrition. Large scale biofortification investments are being made in several developing countries, but until recently little rigorous evidence about the impact of these investments has been available. In this paper, we report findings from randomized impact evaluations conducted in both Mozambique and Uganda to study the impact of large-scale pilot projects conducted between 2006 and 2009 to introduce provitamin-A-rich orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) as a strategy to reduce vitamin A deficiency. In both countries, projects randomly assigned interventions of different cost and intensity to distribute OFSP vines, train households to grow OFSP, and disseminate the health benefits of vitamin A. We compare the impact of the interventions within and across the two countries on OFSP adoption, knowledge about vitamin A, and dietary intake of vitamin A by children, and use causal mediation analysis (Imai et al. 2011) to examine the impact pathways on vitamin A consumption. After two years of intervention, in both countries the project led to OFSP adoption rates of 61-68 percent among project households, improved household knowledge about vitamin A, and nearly doubled average dietary intake of vitamin A, with no difference between the more and less intense intervention models. Evidence suggests that vine access played the most important role in explaining the impact on vitamin A consumption in both countries. Consequently, future programs can be designed to have similar impacts at even lower costs |
| Keywords: | Biofortification, Impact Evaluation, Randomized Control Trial, Technology Adoption, Program Evaluation, Program Design, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Health Economics and Policy, International Development, Productivity Analysis, O1, Q1, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea13:150514&r=ppm |