scholarly journals Explaining use and non-use of policy evaluations in a mature evaluation setting

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Valérie Pattyn ◽  
Marjolein Bouterse
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
Evaluation Design ◽  
Research Setting ◽  
Evaluation Use ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Mature Organizations ◽  
Fine Tune ◽  
Causal Complexity

Abstract Governments worldwide have intensified their efforts to institutionalize policy evaluation. Still, also in organizations with high evaluation maturity, the use of evaluations is not self-evident. As mature organizations already meet many of the factors that are commonly seen to foster evaluation use, they constitute an interesting research setting to identify (combinations of) factors that can make a key difference in minimizing research waste. In this article, we present an analysis of the use of evaluations conducted between 2013 and 2016 by the Policy and Operations Evaluation Department (IOB) of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a typical case of relatively high evaluation maturity. Methodologically, we rely on Qualitative Comparative Analysis as an approach that is excellently suited to capture the causal complexity characterizing evaluation use. The analysis provides useful insights on the link between knowledge production and use. We highlight the relevance of engaging policy makers in developing the evaluation design, and fine-tune available evidence as to what is perceived a good timing to organize evaluations. Contrary to existing research, we show that the political salience of an evaluation does not matter much.

The dynamics of innovation: on the multiplicity of the new

1995 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helga Nowotny
Keyword(s):  
Science Policy ◽  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Driving Force ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Individual Life ◽  
Relative Loss ◽  
The Individual

Innovation has become a leading slogan for world economies, politicians and science policy-makers alike. It is the driving force of Western consumer societies, which have come to expect the new to be replaced by the newest. However, in contrast to mere fads and fashions, the consequences of relentless innovation are real. They manifest themselves in changes in lifestyle, in the ways societies function and in profound changes in outlook and perception. This paper will ask how innovation became so central and which mechanisms sustain it in science and technology, art and individual life. One consequence to be further explored is the relative loss in importance of the individual creative act, with implications on how we view creativity, knowledge production and even the concept of the individual. Another question to be raised is that of the multiplicity of the new: despite the seeming diversity and multiplicity of option, is there also convergence or a process of synchronization at work?

scholarly journals Environmental Conditions, Entrepreneur Alertness and Social Capital on Performance

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Li Lin ◽  
Hsiu-Wen Liu ◽  
Fengzeng Xu ◽  
Hao Wang
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Business Performance ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Causal Factors ◽  
Entrepreneurial Alertness ◽  
Antecedent Conditions ◽  
Causal Complexity

<p>This study addresses the important question of causal complexity as it relates to the influence of social capital, entrepreneurial alertness and the entrepreneurship environment on business performance. Using a relatively new methodological approach, namely fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), this paper aims to investigate alternative complex antecedent conditions (or causal recipes) that lead to high performance. Based on a survey of 194 entrepreneurs in China, this paper shows that business performance is likely to be the result of a combination of causal factors. This study finds that: (1) four different configurations of social capital, entrepreneurial alertness and entrepreneurship environment were “equifinal” causes of high performance, and (2) market openness should fit other environmental conditions to achieve high performance. This study contributes to research on entrepreneurship by applying the ideas of “equifinality” and “fit” to entrepreneurial characteristics and environment theory.</p>

Knowledge-production in journalism: Translation, mediation and authorship in Brazil

2017 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomás Undurraga
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Interactional Expertise ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Investigative Reporting ◽  
Disciplinary Boundaries ◽  
The Public ◽  
Knowledge Claims ◽  
Multiple Obstacles ◽  
Lay Public

Based on a multi-site ethnography of two influential newspapers in Brazil, this article examines how Brazilian journalists mediate knowledge claims made by experts, policy makers and the lay public. It asks whether and how these journalists experience themselves as knowledge-makers. More specifically, it argues that Brazilian journalists index their production of knowledge in reference to four main characteristics: depth, authorship, influence, and expertise. Journalists tend to consider newsmaking a contribution to knowledge when: (1) they have the resources to do proper investigative reporting (depth); (2) they are able to help define the public agenda through their reporting and to express their opinion (authorship); (3) they have impact on the polity, the economy or other fields they cover (influence) and (4) their journalistic knowledge is recognized by readers and by specialists (expertise). In practice, however, there are multiple obstacles that make Brazilian journalists hesitant about their contribution to knowledge, including intensified working conditions, the lack of plurality within the mainstream presses, and their informal methods for dealing with knowledge claims from other fields. This research reveals that Brazilian journalists have different understandings of the nature of knowledge in journalism. These understandings cluster around two distinct poles: an expert notion of knowledge associated with disciplinary boundaries, and a distinct conception associated with journalists’ capacity to mediate between jurisdictions. When journalists’ production is assessed from the former point of view, the informality of their methods is seen as undermining their knowledge credentials. By contrast, when journalists’ contribution is assessed from the latter point of view, their ‘interactional expertise’ comes to the fore.

Cultural configurations and entrepreneurial realisation

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Torres ◽  
Mário Augusto
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Entrepreneurial Intentions ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activity ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Antecedent Conditions ◽  
Entrepreneurial Behaviour

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to better understand the connection between culture and entrepreneurship in proposing and testing complex configurations of culturally endorsed implicit leadership theories (CLTs) and cultural practices that lead to entrepreneurial behaviour by studying entrepreneurial intentions (EI) and early-stage entrepreneurial activity (TEA) separately. Design/methodology/approach Using data from Globe Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) and Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) studies, a sample of 44 countries, and a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis, several models for EI and TEA were developed. Findings The main findings provide a way of distinguishing between complex antecedent conditions that are required for each stage of the entrepreneurial realisation. The results empirically show that there is no ideal context – the path to stimulate entrepreneurship that works best for one country does not necessarily works the same for other countries. There are multiple paths to achieve the desired outcome. Research limitations/implications The data from the GLOBE study were not completely up to date, the effect of which was minimised by considering data from GEM that respects temporal ordering. Nevertheless, data from GEM suggest that there is a degree of stability in the data over time. Future research could replicate this study with a larger selection of countries and with new data, collected in a different way. Additionally, the inclusion of CLTs proposed in this study opens new opportunities for future research, by providing a new angle to look at the entrepreneurial realisation process. Practical implications This study advances research into the association of culture and entrepreneurship, and develops testable models using a configurational approach, thus confirming the suitability of asymmetric configuration analysis for entrepreneurial research. The results expand an understanding of the entrepreneurial process by showcasing the different complex antecedent conditions for EI and TEA. Depending on a country’s cultural profile, policy-makers should invest in the dimensions that enable their society to align with the model that best suits their own culture. The obtained models offer a framework for evaluating new interventions that aim to develop entrepreneurial behaviour in a specific country. Originality/value Different configurations showcase that there are alternative paths to achieving high levels of EI and TEA. The differences among the possible configurations for each stage of the entrepreneurial realisation are uncovered. Country profiles are identified, quantified, and then compared providing guidance for policy-makers.

scholarly journals “Nothing About Us Without Us”: Reading Protests against Oppressive Knowledge Production as Guidelines for Solidarity Research

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dilara Yarbrough
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Relevant Research ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Sex Worker ◽  
Marginalized Communities ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
Ethical Policy ◽  
Production Practice ◽  
Academic Researchers

Drawing from my analysis of sex worker and homeless protests as well as my experience doing ethnographic research with people experiencing homelessness and people in the sex trade, I put forth recommendations for ethical, policy-relevant research with groups of people who experience routine, normalized violence, and who are frequently silenced and misrepresented by academics and policy makers. This article analyzes protests against what activists identify as oppressive knowledge production by “outsiders” who are not sex workers or homeless. Protest events against research “about us without us” occurred between 2012 and 2015, and targeted academic researchers and policymakers. I draw lessons from marginalized groups’ protests against knowledge production by outsider “experts” to present three problems with traditional poverty research: pathologization, paternalism, and extractive exotification. I use my observations of protests and service provision to develop guidelines for solidarity research, a knowledge production practice that prioritizes the needs and perspectives of marginalized communities.

Still hold aloft the banner of social change? Nonprofit advocacy in the wave of commercialization

2020 ◽  
pp. 002085231987997
Author(s):  
Zhibin Zhang ◽  
Chao Guo
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Nonprofit Organizations ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Theory Building ◽  
Policy Advocacy ◽  
Configurational Theory ◽  
High Level ◽  
Causal Complexity ◽  
Nonprofit Advocacy

Nonprofit organizations worldwide are increasingly seeking commercial means of financing. Would commercialization compromise the civic functions of nonprofit organizations, especially their policy advocacy efforts for social change? In this article, we address this profound concern by examining policy advocacy by commercialized nonprofits in Singapore. Applying a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis approach in theory building, this study identifies multiple causal configurations of organizational and environmental conditions under which nonprofit organizations can still maintain a high level of advocacy activities in the wave of commercialization. The configurational theory that this study develops sheds new light on our understanding of the causal complexity underlying nonprofit advocacy and informs decision-making on how to uphold nonprofit civic functions in the commercializing context.

scholarly journals Standardizing and disseminating knowledge: the role of the OECD in global governance

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rianne Mahon ◽  
Stephen McBride
Keyword(s):  
Global Governance ◽  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Governance System ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Useful Knowledge ◽  
Policy Ideas ◽  
Policy Fields ◽  
Social Scientific ◽  
The Impact

If ‘knowledge is power’, it is unsurprising that the production, legitimation, and application of social scientific knowledge, not least that which was designed to harness social organization to economic growth, is a potentially contentious process. Coping with, adapting to, or attempting to shape globalization has emerged as a central concern of policy-makers who are, therefore, interested in knowledge to assist their managerial activities. Thus, an organization that can create, synthesize, legitimate, and disseminate useful knowledge can play a significant role in the emerging global governance system. The OECD operates as one important site for the construction, standardization, and dissemination of transnational policy ideas. OECD staff conducts research and produces a range of background studies and reports, drawing on disciplinary knowledge (typically economics) supplemented by their ‘organizational discourses’. This paper probes the contested nature of knowledge production and attempts to evaluate the impact of the OECD’s efforts to produce globally applicable policy advice. Particular attention is paid to important initiatives in the labour market and social policy fields – the Jobs Study and Babies and Bosses.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document