scholarly journals Success Factors for the Foundation of Municipal Utilities in Germany

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 981
Author(s):  
Oliver Wagner ◽  
Kurt Berlo ◽  
Christian Herr ◽  
Michael Companie
Keyword(s):  
Success Factors ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Energy Politics ◽  
Local Decision ◽  
High Level ◽  
Level Of Importance ◽  
Local Decision Makers ◽  
Suitable Measure

More than 150 municipal utilities (so-called Stadtwerke) were established in Germany from the beginning of the millennium, bringing the total number of Stadtwerke currently established within the country to approximately 900. With responsibility for more than half of the supply of electricity, gas and heat in Germany, these Stadtwerke play a central role in the transformation of the energy sector, or Energiewende. In addition, due to their local and regional ties, Stadtwerke have a particular role to play in energy politics, the economy and across society. This article focuses on the motives behind, and grounds for, the current wave of newly established Stadtwerke. Further, it discusses the factors that were critical to the successful formation of new Stadtwerke in recent years. The results of our survey indicate that the establishment of municipal Stadtwerke is a suitable measure to implement the energy transition at the local level, whereby the concept of public value has a high level of importance for the local decision-makers. Collaboration and cooperation, as well as a resilience-oriented strategy, are important success factors for new Stadtwerke.

scholarly journals Leader as a European Policy for Rural Development in a Multilevel Governance Framework: A Comparison of the Implementation in France, Germany and Italy

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-178
Author(s):  
Kim Pollermann ◽  
Francis Aubert ◽  
Marielle Berriet-Solliec ◽  
Catherine Laidin ◽  
Denis Lépicier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Development ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Multilevel Governance ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Development Policies ◽  
Local Decision ◽  
Institutional Differences ◽  
Local Decision Makers ◽  
Different Levels

AbstractParts of European rural development policies are meant to empower local decision makers. These policies are implemented in very different multilevel governance contexts in the member states. We question the extent to which the institutional differences at the different levels affect the implementation of LEADER (an approach for Community-led Local Development). This contributes to a better understanding of the causes and consequences of different types of LEADER implementation. The research is based on ten case studies in France, Germany and Italy. First, there is an examination of the three different administration systems and the variations of Rural Development Programmes. Based on analyses of documents and interviews with stakeholders, we analysed institutional differences in the LEADER implementation at local level.

scholarly journals Polish Local Government’s Perspective on Revitalisation: A Framework for Future Socially Sustainable Solutions

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (16) ◽  
pp. 4888
Author(s):  
Justyna Przywojska
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Sustainable Solutions ◽  
The Social ◽  
Local Decision ◽  
Local Decision Makers

The principal goal of this paper is to investigate the views of local government officials on revitalisation priorities in Polish municipalities. To accomplish this, the perception of revitalisation objectives by local government representatives (who, according to Polish regulations, are responsible for revitalisation planning and carrying it out) was examined. A catalogue of revitalisation objectives, which were assessed by the respondents, was drawn up on the basis of a review of research on the conceptualisation and measurement of sustainable revitalisation and social sustainability at the local level. Exploratory factor analysis was the method used in the study. In total, the list of the examined revitalisation objectives includes 26 objectives related to the following revitalisation dimensions: infrastructure, community, economy, environment, space, co-governance, and inclusion. A survey of the executive bodies of 573 municipalities in Poland revealed a discrepancy between the sustainable approach to revitalisation advocated by the researchers and the perception of revitalisation objectives by the local decision makers. The study demonstrated that decision makers ranked objectives related to the physical dimension of revitalisation and selected objectives related to the social dimension of revitalisation and oriented at counteracting social exclusion by far the highest. The proactive objectives, related to the engagement, mobilisation and integration of the inhabitants, improvement of human capital, stimulation of the local economy and residential satisfaction, were viewed as definitely less important. The challenges facing revitalisation in Poland still fail to be perceived holistically by decision makers, which may hinder the building of strong and sustainable communities.

scholarly journals International and regional variation in the prevalence of common mental disorders: do we need more surveys?

2004 ◽  
Vol 184 (4) ◽  
pp. 289-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Weich ◽  
Ricardo Araya
Keyword(s):  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Regional Variation ◽  
Common Mental Disorders ◽  
Psychiatric Morbidity ◽  
Epidemiological Survey ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Local Decision ◽  
Local Decision Makers ◽  
Geographical Locations

Vicente and his colleagues present admirably concise findings from a large epidemiological survey of non-psychotic psychiatric morbidity in four different geographical locations in Chile (Vicente et al, 2004, this issue). Without gainsaying the importance of psychiatric morbidity in that country, many readers, including local decision-makers, may find it difficult to assimilate these results.

scholarly journals Coroners' records on suicide mortality in Montréal: limitations and implications in suicide prevention strategies

2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Houle ◽  
C Guillou-Ouellette
Keyword(s):  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Suicide Attempts ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
The Other ◽  
Suicide Mortality ◽  
Prevention Strategies ◽  
The People ◽  
Local Decision ◽  
Local Decision Makers ◽  
Very High

Introduction In Montréal, the characteristics of suicide cases may vary between different areas. The information collected by coroners during their investigations of suicides could be used to support local suicide-prevention planning actions. Methods This study analyzes all coroners' records on suicide in Montréal from 2007 to 2009 to 1. determine the usefulness of the data available; 2. develop a profile of cases; 3. examine local differences by comparing two areas, one with the highest suicide rate and the other with the lowest. Results The data collected revealed the lack of a systematic, standardized procedure for recording information about deaths by suicide. The rates of missing data varied, but were very high for antecedents of suicide attempts and recent events that could have precipitated the suicide. We observed differences in the characteristics of suicide cases according to area of residence. Conclusion By adopting a standardized procedure for collecting information on cases of suicide, coroners could provide local decision makers with a more accurate portrait of the people who die by suicide in their area. Local adjustments may improve suicide-prevention strategies.

Entrepreneurial ecosystems: a systematic review

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 545-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Parisa Maroufkhani ◽  
Ralf Wagner ◽  
Wan Khairuzzaman Wan Ismail
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Entrepreneurial Ecosystems ◽  
Science Index ◽  
Local Decision ◽  
State Of Research ◽  
Local Decision Makers ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe literature on entrepreneurial ecosystems is fragmented, and yet, no studies have paid attention to integrating the available studies. The purpose of this study is to provide a systematic review of contributions related to entrepreneurial ecosystems.Design/methodology/approachThis literature review evaluates studies that are covered in the Web of Science index.FindingsIn addition to the recent state of research (covering industries, geographical scopes, methodologies, etc.), this study provides an extension of Isenberg’s (2011) model of entrepreneurial ecosystems.Research limitations/implicationsA new avenue arises for both conceptual and empirical research by emphasizing crowdsourcing as a contributing element for the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Future studies can evaluate the effectiveness of different types of crowdsourcing profoundly to make sure whether creating a promising ecosystem all types of crowdsourcing have a similar value or impact.Practical implicationsFor public policy and local decision-makers, both collaboration opportunities and interaction interfaces between the stakeholders of the entrepreneurial need to be reconsidered in the design of entrepreneurial ecosystems.Social implicationsHigher degrees of collaboration, information exchange and innovation are likely to yield favorable entrepreneurship environments.Originality/valueNovelty of this study arises from integrating crowdsourcing theory in the systematic review of entrepreneurial ecosystems.

scholarly journals Assessing subsoil void hazards along a road system using H/V measurements, ERTs and IPTs to support local decision makers

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 282-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronica Pazzi ◽  
Mattia Ceccatelli ◽  
Teresa Gracchi ◽  
Elena Benedetta Masi ◽  
Riccardo Fanti
Keyword(s):  
Decision Makers ◽  
Local Decision ◽  
Local Decision Makers ◽  
Road System

scholarly journals Urban resilience in the making? The governance of critical infrastructures in German cities

Urban Studies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (11) ◽  
pp. 2353-2371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jochen Monstadt ◽  
Martin Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Cyber Attacks ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Critical Infrastructures ◽  
Urban Resilience ◽  
Considerable Uncertainty ◽  
Utility Companies ◽  
Local Decision ◽  
German Cities ◽  
Local Decision Makers

Over the last decade, the protection of urban infrastructures has become a focus in German security policies. These point not solely to the multiple external infrastructural threats (e.g. natural disasters, terrorist and cyber-attacks), but also to the endogenous risks of cascading failures across geographical and functional borders that arise from interlocking and often mutually dependent infrastructures. As geographical nodes in infrastructurally mediated flows, cities are considered to be particularly vulnerable to infrastructure breakdowns. Their capability to prevent and to prepare for infrastructural failures, and thus to manage infrastructural interdependencies, is seen as a major prerequisite for resilient societies. However, as our article demonstrates, the institutional capacity of the local authorities and utility companies for risk mitigation and preparedness is limited. Drawing on qualitative research in selected German cities, we argue that the governance of critical infrastructures involves considerable challenges: it overarches different, often fragmented, policy domains and territories and institutionally unbundled utility (sub-) domains. Moreover, risk mitigation and preparedness are usually not based on experience from past events, but on destructive scenarios. They involve considerable uncertainty and contestations among local decision-makers. Interviews with local experts indicate that effective governance of critical infrastructures requires more regulatory efforts by national policies. At the same time, they point to the need for identifying and assessing place-based vulnerabilities, for defining locally differentiated mitigation and preparedness strategies and for the training of local utility companies as well as crisis management.

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