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on Project, Program and Portfolio Management |
| By: | Rubin, Deborah |
| Abstract: | This paper reports on approaches for strengthening women’s empowerment that were implemented by project partners involved in the International Food Policy Research (IFPRI)-led Applying New Evidence for Women’s Empowerment (ANEW) project funded by the Walmart Foundation. The study explores the partner organizations’ websites and publications, project materials, and selected staff interviews to better understand how each envisions women’s empowerment and the pathways for supporting it. The four implementing project partners are Grameen Foundation, Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN) in India, Root Capital in Mexico, and TechnoServe in Guatemala. Their programs and their organizational approaches vary in whether they primarily focus on women rather than more broadly targeting both women and men and their gender relationships. Some organizations are more “organic” in integrating attention to gender and empowerment into their programs, designing and implementing an approach on a case by case basis. Others are more intentional in establishing organization-wide policies, strategies, and monitoring systems. The organizations also differ in their positions on supporting “economic empowerment” and clear economic benefits such as prioritizing increased income or assets in contrast to those that also seek to actively change social norms and achieve other social dimensions of empowerment that encompass behaviors around decision-making, mobility, and self-confidence. Another variation is in the organizations’ attention to enterprise development and, consequently to entrepreneurship and upgrading, and what aspects of women's empowerment are most critical for achieving those goals. This paper offers implementers and their funders insight into organizational differences in approaches to women’s empowerment. The review demonstrates that both funders and implementers continue to focus on strengthening women’s economic empowerment by increasing women’s incomes and assets, often with good results. However, they often lack clear theories of change or explicit strategies to strengthen other dimensions of women’s empowerment. More nuanced, evidence-based theories of change and targeted actions could strengthen program design to expand and support women’s achievement of empowerment across all its dimensions. |
| Keywords: | agriculture; gender; policies; women; women’s empowerment |
| Date: | 2024–10–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:155195 |
| By: | Daelen, Anna L. M. |
| Abstract: | This paper provides evidence of costly perseverance in the field. In a setting where consultants select and pursue projects autonomously, I show that perseverance is related with fewer successfully completed projects as well as lower sales and commissions. Using rich firm data on individual job activity, I shed light on the task-specific behavioral mechanisms. Overall, perseverant consultants start fewer projects. In fast markets, the lower number of projects started is the main channel of costly perseverance; in slower markets, costs primarily arise from pursuing projects in a more isolated and uninformed way, as shown by an inefficient allocation of effort between stakeholders. The survey questions driving costly perseverance point to the consultants’ failure to incorporate negative signals and opportunity costs into their effort allocation. Using heterogeneity within and between consultants’ task assignment, I show that perseverance is more costly in exploration tasks as opposed to well-defined tasks characterized by mere exploitation. |
| Keywords: | grit, job performance, productivity, tenacity, motivation |
| JEL: | M51 J24 J63 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc25:325451.2 |
| By: | Abdul Khabir Rahmat (Malaysia Institute of Transport, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450, Shah Alam, Malaysia Author-2-Name: Muhammad Firdaus Abdul Rashid Author-2-Workplace-Name: "Jabatan Perdagangan, Politeknik Haji Ahmad Shah, 25350, Kuantan, Malaysia " Author-3-Name: Adi Aizat Yajid Author-3-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, 16100, Kota Bharu, Malaysia Author-4-Name: Author-4-Workplace-Name: Author-5-Name: Author-5-Workplace-Name: Author-6-Name: Author-6-Workplace-Name: Author-7-Name: Author-7-Workplace-Name: Author-8-Name: Author-8-Workplace-Name:) |
| Abstract: | " Objective - Problem-Based Learning (PBL) has been recognized as an effective pedagogical approach that enhances students' critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills. Methodology - A qualitative study involving 73 students who played LogistiQuest highlights the game's effectiveness in fostering active learning, teamwork, and the application of logistics theories to practice. Findings - This paper explores how LogistiQuest, a board game designed for logistics education, aligns with PBL principles by immersing players in real-world logistics challenges. Through gameplay, students engage in strategic decision-making, crisis management, and resource allocation, simulating the complexities of supply chain and logistics operations. Novelty - The findings indicate that LogistiQuest serves as a valuable educational tool for logistics management, bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and real-world problem-solving. Type of Paper - Review" |
| Keywords: | Gamification; Project Cargo Management; Logistics Education; Sustainability; Risk Mitigation; Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) |
| JEL: | I20 I23 |
| Date: | 2025–09–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gtr:gatrjs:jber258 |
| By: | Mockshell, Jonathan; Asante-Addo, Collins; Nwagboso, Chibuzo; Ritter, Thea; Amare, Mulubrhan; Andam, Kwaw S. |
| Abstract: | This process evaluation (PE) is part of a five-year (2021–2026) impact evaluation (IE) of the use of a new pod-borer-resistant (PBR) cowpea variety in Nigeria, a project led by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). While the IE draws from a representative sample of 1, 399 farmers to determine the causal impacts of the use of PBR cowpea, the PE complements the IE by exploring in detail the potential adoption of the PBR cowpea variety and the reasons for adoption or non adoption, including its potential impacts on actors throughout the value chain. A program impact pathway (PIP) is the basis of this PE. The PIP identifies how impacts emerge from program inputs, processes, outputs, and outcomes to highlight barriers and facilitators of adoption. Given that this PE was conducted before the rollout of PBR cowpea in the IE, the analysis focuses on the potential of this innovative seed to achieve positive outputs and outcomes based on the PIP. Qualitative data were gathered from eight focus group discussions with farmers and 180 semi-structured interviews conducted with farmers, extension agents, seed dealers, and cowpea traders from eight local government areas (LGAs) in the states of Adamawa and Kwara. Given that the data are qualitative, the data are not representative. However, important insights were found that can help guide the IE. |
| Keywords: | impact assessment; cowpeas; farmers; agriculture; value chains; stakeholders; Nigeria; Western Africa; Africa |
| Date: | 2024–06–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:nsspwp:145073 |
| By: | Germeshausen, Robert; Heim, Sven; Wagner, Ulrich J. |
| Abstract: | The rise of societal goals like climate change mitigation and energy security calls for rapid capacity growth in renewable electricity sources, yet citizens' support is put to a test when such technologies emit negative local externalities. We estimate the impact of wind turbine deployment on granular measures of revealed preferences for renewable electricity in product and political markets. We address potentially endogenous siting of turbines with an IV design that exploits quasi-experimental variation in profitability induced by subsidies. We find that wind turbines significantly reduce citizens' support locally, but this effect quickly fades with distance from the site. We assess policy instruments for enhancing citizens' support for renewable energy in light of our results. |
| Keywords: | renewable energy, wind power, public support, elections, externalities |
| JEL: | D12 D72 Q42 Q48 Q50 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:327111 |
| By: | Asante, Felix A.; Asante, Seth |
| Abstract: | This report is produced from the proceedings of the Inception workshop on “Strengthening National Capacities and Policies for Food Systems analysis and Transformation in Ghana” project held on Wednesday, 2nd August 2023 at Alisa Hotel, Accra. The workshop aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of the project and outlined its objectives, and timeline, alongside a review of the current landscape of the Ghana’s Food Systems Transformation. It brought together various stakeholders and institutions in the Ghanaian food systems. The workshop facilitated valuable discussions among participants to gather insights and inputs for the project's advancement (see attached list of participants). Three distinct presentations – project overview, project deliverables and timelines, and food systems diagnostics and tools as well as trade-offs and opportunities – were made at the workshop. |
| Keywords: | food systems; capacity development; sustainable development; food security; nutrition; Ghana; Western Africa; Africa |
| Date: | 2024–03–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:resrep:140482 |