scholarly journals Cash versus in-kind transfer programs in humanitarian operations: An optimization program and a case study

2022 ◽  
pp. 101224
Author(s):  
Rezvan Rafiei ◽  
Kai Huang ◽  
Manish Verma
Keyword(s):  
Optimization Program ◽  
Transfer Programs ◽  
Humanitarian Operations

The four spheres of value co-creation in humanitarian professional services

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Pillitteri ◽  
Erica Mazzola ◽  
Manfredi Bruccoleri
Keyword(s):  
Service Design ◽  
Life Cycle Management ◽  
Professional Services ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Enabling Factors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Humanitarian Operations ◽  
Theory Of Value

PurposeThe study focuses on the value co-creation processes in humanitarian professional services provision, analysing the key enabling factors of beneficiaries' participation, involved in long-term integration programmes (L-TIPs).Design/methodology/approachThrough an in-depth case study, the research looks at the practices of value co-creation in humanitarian professional services, considering both the perspectives of the professional service provider and beneficiary.FindingsIn professional services beneficiary's participation affects the success of the L-TIPs outcomes. Participation's enablers can be classified into four different spheres, each belonging to different elements of professional service: the beneficiary, the professionals, the service design and the external environment.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper contributes to the literature on humanitarian operations & supply chain management. By focussing on an understudied phase of the disaster life-cycle management, it contributes to the theory of value co-creation by exploring new issues and drivers of beneficiary's participation.Practical implicationsThis research has interesting implications for policymakers and humanitarian practitioners. First, guidelines for professionals' behaviours and interventions should be designed as well as new practices and strategies should be adopted. Second, governments should avoid concentrating L-TIPs in few big humanitarian centres.Originality/valueThe study focuses on an understudied stage of humanitarian operations, namely the L-TIPs, and uses this setting to build on the theory of value co-creation in professional services by identifying its enabling factors, clustered into four spheres, namely beneficiary, professional, service design and environmental.

Digitizing the field: designing ERP systems for Triple-A humanitarian supply chains

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-260
Author(s):  
Ioanna Falagara Sigala ◽  
William J. Kettinger ◽  
Tina Wakolbinger
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Level Structure ◽  
Resource Planning ◽  
Design Principles ◽  
Erp Systems ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Humanitarian Operations ◽  
Humanitarian Organizations ◽  
Embedded Case Study

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore what design principles need to be considered in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems for humanitarian organizations (HOs) to enable agile, adaptive and aligned (Triple-A) humanitarian supply chain capabilities and digitize humanitarian operations.Design/methodology/approachThis study follows an embedded case study approach with a humanitarian medical relief organization, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which engaged in a multiyear ERP design at its humanitarian field missions.FindingsThis research shows that ERP systems for humanitarian organizations should be designed as unique systems addressing humanitarian organizations' challenges and unique missions, their value generation processes, and resource base in an effort to improve organizational performance. This study presents 12 general design principles that are unique for humanitarian organizations. These design principles provide a high-level structure of guidance under which specific requirements can be further defined and engineered to achieve success.Research limitations/implicationsThe results of this study are based on a single case study limiting generalizability. However, the case study was analyzed and presented as an embedded case study with five autonomous subunits using different business processes and following different adoption and implementation approaches. Therefore, the findings are derived based on considerable variance reflective of humanitarian organizations beyond MSF.Practical implicationsThis study recognizes that HOs have unique routines that standard commercial ERP packages do not address easily at the field level. The primary contribution of this research is a set of design principles that consider these unique routines and guide ERP development in practice. National and international HOs that are planning to implement information systems, private companies that are trading partners of HOs as well as vendors of ERP systems that are looking for new opportunities would all benefit from this research.Originality/valueThis study fills the gap in the humanitarian literature regarding the design of ERP systems for humanitarian organizations that enable Triple–A supply chain capabilities and it advances the knowledge of the challenges of ERP design by HOs in the context of humanitarian operations.

Measuring humanitarian supply chain performance in a multi-goal context

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 300-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ira Haavisto ◽  
Jarrod Goentzel
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Humanitarian Assistance ◽  
Supply Chain Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Humanitarian Supply Chains ◽  
Humanitarian Operations ◽  
Setting Theory ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Humanitarian Supply Chain

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to deepen the understanding of supply chain performance objectives in the humanitarian context by striving to understand the underlying goals and conceptual variables behind the measurement of performance, such as efficiency. Design/methodology/approach – The research is an in-depth case study with one humanitarian organization. The data are gathered with mixed methods over a two-year period. Interviews were conducted in August 2010 and April 2012, and a survey conducted in October 2012. Findings – Misalignments are detected among different groups in humanitarian operations and between their goals and processes. These misalignments could possibly be corrected through long-term thinking in short-term operations by considering sustainability aspects throughout humanitarian assistance, for example. In addition, efficiency was a commonly identified objective in the case organization, although the definition varied widely and extended beyond the traditional definition of productivity to include planning, accountability and quality. Practical implications – Better communication and definition of terms is necessary to align goals and the power hierarchy in humanitarian supply chains, where operations seem to be structured more according to donor requirements then beneficiary needs. Originality/value – This is an in-depth case study, applying goal-setting theory to study supply chain performance. The study further responds to the public “aid efficiency” discussion by striving to recognize how efficiency is understood and how it can be measured in a humanitarian supply chain.

Developing organisational capabilities to support agility in humanitarian logistics

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cécile L'Hermitte ◽  
Peter Tatham ◽  
Marcus Bowles ◽  
Ben Brooks
Keyword(s):  
Humanitarian Logistics ◽  
Strategic Decision ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Leadership And Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Humanitarian Operations ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Strategic Approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the underlying strategic mechanisms of agility in a humanitarian logistics context. Based on the research conducted in business disciplines, the paper empirically examines a set of four strategic dimensions (being purposeful, being action-focused, being collaborative, and being learning-oriented) and identifies an emergent relationship between these capabilities and agile humanitarian logistics operations. Design/methodology/approach – Leadership and management actions perceived to support the four capabilities were identified and used as a basis to complete the exploratory research. Specifically, a case study with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) was undertaken and, in this context, a qualitative analysis of 29 face-to-face interviews with humanitarian logistics experts working for WFP was conducted. Findings – The research corroborates the relevance of the four strategic-level capabilities to the humanitarian logistics context and confirms that these capabilities play a role in the development of agility in humanitarian operations. The work also identifies a set of key strategic decision-making areas that relate to the building of agility. Research limitations/implications – Additional research is needed to further investigate and measure the strategic-level capabilities and to quantify their impact on operational agility. Further research should also be undertaken to extend this study to a wider range of humanitarian organisations. Originality/value – This paper is the first empirical research that takes a strategic approach to the concept of agility in humanitarian logistics. It highlights that the leaders and managers of humanitarian organisations have a significant role to play in the building of an agile system.

scholarly journals The use of Airpower on Humanitarian Operations: a case study in Brazil

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 490-500
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Antônio Silveira Santos
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disaster ◽  
Air Force ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Real Data ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Data Coding ◽  
Humanitarian Operations

Goal: The main purpose of this research is to present the benefits reached with the use of airpower resources during humanitarian operations, in order to verify how the main airpower’s characteristics influenced the response stage of a natural disaster in Brazil. Design / Methodology / Approach: A qualitative case study was conducted to evaluate benefits reached with the use of airpower during humanitarian operations. Primary and secondary data were gathered from operational reports provided by the Brazilian Air Force, from media coverage about the flood and waterlogging events happened in November 2008, in Itajai Valley, Santa Catarina State, Brazil. Interviews with three informants involved in crisis response were also conducted. Data analysis processes were conducted to search codes about airpower engagement during humanitarian operations. Data coding followed an inductive approach and the codes emerged from data. Results: The research concludes that the use of airpower can leverage crisis response capabilities during humanitarian operations, as airpower’s characteristics of speed, mobility, flexibility, penetration, range, and readiness meet the needs of humanitarian operations to respond to a natural disaster. The case study demonstrates an increase of operational capabilities after airpower engagement. Limitations of the investigation: Only one crisis situation was studied, because the access to operational data provided by the Brazilian Air Force is restricted. Besides, it was not possible to analyze values and budgetary costs derived from airpower engagement. Practical implications: The results of this research demonstrate that it is highly important to involve airpower during humanitarian operations, as it can leverage crisis response capabilities. In this way, humanitarian organizations can stablish new forms of relationship to national and local governments in order to quickly engage airpower resources on the response phase of natural disasters. Originality/Value: This research presents an original contribution to the field of humanitarian operations as it presents real data in terms of the engagement of airpower resources during humanitarian operations.

scholarly journals Exploring environment as cross-cutting issue among Humanitarian-Development Nexus Actors

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 40-68
Author(s):  
Arpan Gelal ◽  
Maria Sassi
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Humanitarian Operations ◽  
Development Organizations ◽  
Environmental Consideration ◽  
Climate Analysis

Environment mainstreaming across the humanitarian operations and long-term development programs is imperative to the new way of working agreed in the World Humanitarian Summit (2016). Mainstreaming environment in Humanitarian-Development nexus is crucial to minimize the environmental impacts of humanitarian projects and to build long term resilience against environmental and climatic risks and vulnerabilities of communities. This study explores the current environmental mainstreaming strategies of humanitarian and development organizations at the institutional and operational level based on specific attributes. This study conducts the case study of leading humanitarian and development organizations, namely, WFP, IFRC, UNDP, and USAID, based on the conceptual framework on mainstreaming strategies derived from various literature. Multiple case study approach was employed based on information collected through various secondary sources and personal consultation with the organizations. The finding of this study signifies the presence of varying environmental mainstreaming practices within the studied organizations, and comparative analysis among them is also presented. Finally, this study suggests that joint contextual environmental (and climate) analysis by humanitarian and development actors and inclusion of environmental consideration in collaborative multi-year programming to minimize environmental damage in protracted crises.

Impacts of Cash Transfer Programs on Rural Livelihoods: a Case Study in the Brazilian Amazon Estuary

Human Ecology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 697-710 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yue Dou ◽  
Peter Deadman ◽  
Derek Robinson ◽  
Oriana Almeida ◽  
Sergio Rivero ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Livelihoods ◽  
Brazilian Amazon ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Transfer Programs ◽  
Amazon Estuary

scholarly journals Votes, Clientelism, and Conditional Cash Transfer Programs

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 159-176
Author(s):  
Fábio Mariano Espíndola da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Conditional Cash Transfer ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Economic Resources ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Local Behavior ◽  
Transfer Programs ◽  
Conditional Cash Transfer Programs ◽  
Bolsa Familia ◽  
The Government

Studies in the field of clientelism show that this specific social phenomenon can influence the voting patterns and local behavior in developing countries, maintaining in power a political elite that detains the vast majority of the local economic resources. Conditional Cash Transfer Programs – such as Bolsa Familia in Brazil – are designed to provide direct cash transfers from the government to the poor, in return for some conditions. Those programs represent an unexpected variable in the equation of clientelism – they provide an escape for clients from their patrons, with resources that no longer depend on the patron’s approval. This paper pursues a hypothesis that the presence of Bolsa Familia changes the vote-seeking strategies of clientelistic patrons. Despite the theoretical evidences that this should be the observed, data analysis in a case study shows that empirical evidence is inconsistent and that further research on the matter should be pursued and improved.

MEM Calculations on Apatites Containing Peroxide Using BAYMEM and TOPAS

2010 ◽  
Vol 651 ◽  
pp. 105-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Samy ◽  
Robert E. Dinnebier ◽  
Pavel E. Kazin ◽  
Sander van Smaalen ◽  
Martin Jansen
Keyword(s):  
Global Optimization ◽  
Least Squares ◽  
Maximum Entropy ◽  
Crystal Structures ◽  
Maximum Entropy Method ◽  
Entropy Method ◽  
Optimization Program ◽  
User Friendly ◽  
Hydroxyl Apatite

A set of macros for the powerful least squares and global optimization program TOPAS has been written in order to create a user friendly interface to the maximum entropy method (MEM) program BayMem. As a case study, the crystal structures of pure strontium hydroxyl apatite and strontium hydroxyl apatite with approximately 10% of the hydroxyl anions substituted by peroxide anions were analyzed by TOPAS and BayMem. Although the concentration of peroxide is relatively small, distinct differences in the two crystal structures could be made visible by the MEM.

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