The multi-actor approach in thematic networks for agriculture and forestry innovation

The co-creation and sharing of knowledge among different types of actors with complementary expertise is known as the Multi-Actor Approach (MAA). This paper presents how Horizon2020 Thematic-Networks (TNs) deal with the MAA and put forward best practices during the different project phases, based on the results of a desktop study, interviews, surveys and expert workshops. The study shows that not all types of actors are equally involved in TN consortia and participatory activities, meaning TNs might be not sufficiently demand-driven and the uptake of the results is not optimal. Facilitators are key to contributing to the relationships and the mutual understanding between different actors. Moreover, a user-friendly digital knowledge platform linked to demonstration activities and peer-to-peer exchange can improve the sharing of knowledge, enhancing impact in agricultural and forestry innovation in the longer term.

Bring recovery to young people: the development of a “discovery college” in Ireland

Purpose Discovery Colleges are new, exciting innovations. The purpose of this paper is to describe the process of developing and implementing the first pilot of a Discovery College for young people in Ireland. This paper aims to assist in providing direction for future comparable projects. Design/methodology/approach The author takes a narrative approach to highlight the rationale for introducing the Discovery College model into an Irish context and to outline the project phases and participant feedback. Findings The pilot project is outlined and the key learnings are explained. Originality/value Recovery Education is a growing model both nationally and internationally, and this pilot was an innovative project, the first of its kind to bring Recovery Education to a younger audience in Ireland. This paper aims to assist in providing direction for future comparable projects.

Assessing the Duration of the Lead Appointed Party Coordination Tasks and Evaluating the Appropriate Team Composition on BIM Projects

This paper addresses critical success factors for the delivery of BIM projects. The lack of experience with BIM projects on both the demand and supply side often leads to insufficient project teams, unsatisfied clients, schedule, and cost overruns. In order to better structure and control the information delivery in BIM projects requirements, planning and delivery must be standardized. The latter was achieved by EIR (Exchange Information Requirements), new BIM roles, BEP (BIM Execution Plan), and specified digital handover, which must be supported by a common data environment (CDE). This paper provides an analysis of the characteristics of BIM project delivery and duration in Architectural and Engineering companies in Slovakia. The analysis is based on the web survey of BIM managers and coordinators, which reveals that a significant amount of BIM project efforts must be executed by BIM specialists. The results also graphically depict the scope of critical BIM activities across project phases. The presented study is relevant for various project stakeholders and allows for a deeper understanding of the resources needed for the successful delivery of BIM projects in terms of adequate project team capacity, capability, organization, and planning.

The Hungarian Atlas of Historic Towns

This article surveys the work carried out in the past two decades on the Hungarian Atlas of Historic Towns in a Central European context. With its more than 550 atlases published in nineteen European countries in the last fifty years, the European Atlas of Historic Towns is one of the most comprehensive collaborative projects in the field of humanities. The countries of East Central Europe could join the project only after the fall of the Iron Curtain, and Hungary published its first atlas as late as 2010. In four subsequent project phases, the Hungarian atlas team has been working on nineteen atlases of eighteen towns, out of which eight have been published so far. The editors follow the standards set by the International Commission for the History of Towns and have adopted best practices represented by the Austrian, Polish and Irish atlas series. In addition to describing the source basis and the main methodological concerns, the article highlights examples of comparative urban research for which the atlases offer an unparalleled potential. The article also advocates a more extensive use of this exceptional resource.

Uncertainty in Wastewater Treatment Design and Operation

Uncertainty in Wastewater Treatment Design and Operation aims to facilitate the transition of the wastewater profession to the probabilistic use of simulators with the associated benefits of being better able to take advantage of opportunities and manage risk. There is a paradigm shift taking place in the design and operation of treatment plants in the water industry. The market is currently in transition to use modelling and simulation while still using conventional heuristic guidelines (safety factors). Key reasons for transition include: wastewater treatment simulation software advancements; stricter effluent requirements that cannot be designed for using traditional approaches, and increased pressure for more efficient designs (including energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emission control). There is increasing consensus among wastewater professionals that the performance of plants and the predictive power of their models (degree of uncertainty) is a critical component of plant design and operation. However, models and simulators used by designers and operators do not incorporate methods for the evaluation of uncertainty associated with each design. Thus, engineers often combine safety factors with simulation results in an arbitrary way based on designer ‘experience’. Furthermore, there is not an accepted methodology (outside modelling) that translates uncertainty to assumed opportunity or risk and how it is distributed among consultants/contractors and owners. Uncertainty in Wastewater Treatment Design and Operation documents how uncertainty, opportunity and risk are currently handled in the wastewater treatment practice by consultants, utilities and regulators. The book provides a useful set of terms and definitions relating to uncertainty and promotes an understanding of the issues and terms involved. It identifies the sources of uncertainty in different project phases and presents a critical review of the available methods. Real-world examples are selected to illustrate where and when sources of uncertainty are introduced and how models are implemented and used in design projects and in operational optimisation. Uncertainty in Wastewater Treatment Design and Operation defines the developments required to provide improved procedures and tools to implement uncertainty and risk evaluations in projects. It is a vital reference for utilities, regulators, consultants, and trained management dealing with certainty, opportunity and risk in wastewater treatment. ISBN: 9781780401027 (Paperback) ISBN: 9781780401034 (eBook) ISBN: 9781789062601 (ePub)

Phases and workup order of pre-investment stage of projects in metallurgy by the example of OJSC “BMZ - managing company of holding “BMK”

Preparation, organization and managing by investment projects are efficient mechanism of increasing efficiency of investment activity of an enterprise. OJSC “BMZ - managing company of holding “BMK” accumulated practical experience on preinvestment workup in the sphere of implementation of investment projects in the industry. It was noted that before the industrial production of a new for an enterprise products, it is necessary to pass a unique way from the project idea to the implementation of equipment, division, shop or creation of a new plant at all, using definite knowledge, methodology and instruments of managing by the projects. Theoretical fundamentals were presented to accomplish a pre-investment workup on a project, as well as requirements of legislation of Republic of Belarus' to the content and order of work on pre-investment stage of a project, phases and order of development of the pre-project (pre-investment) documentation for projects in the industry by the example of OJSC “BMZ - managing company of holding “BMK”.

Company Cost Accuracy Benchmark toward Industry Practice and International Guidelines at Project Phases Gate

Research in the last decade is confirming that Oil & Gas Company consistently executes the project with an optimist cost estimate and an aggressive schedule. Cost accuracy of an Oil and Gas Company is benchmarked toward Industry Practices of Independent Project Analysis (IPA) research result and International Guideline of Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE) & Guild of Project Control (GPC). Relationship of cost accuracy versus project definition deliverables, spent in % of Facility Installed Cost and End Usage are graph presented and assessed. Company authorizes the project with minimum project definition deliverables within International Guideline with an average of 30% less cost than Industry Practices. Company cost accuracy is on average 30% wider than Industry Practice and within International Guideline. Company cost accuracy remains strongly supports Company business performance in current oil & gas business environment.

Managing Inter-Organizational Knowledge Sharing: Integrating Macro, Meso and Micro Level Analysis

Numerous studies focus on the increasing role that cooperation plays on knowledge creation and the importance of knowledge diversity. However, in dealing with different background, culture, process, and knowledge throughout collaborative project, organizations must improve their practices to access, share and create knowledge. This paper aims at highlighting the complexity of interfirm collaborative projects while analyzing how different factors bolster knowledge sharing between partners depend on project phases. This work supports literature on interactionist approaches and project management to analyze these concepts of collaboration and knowledge sharing. Based on case study of an aerospace cluster, the findings highlight the factors that may enhances the effectiveness of knowledge sharing depend on project phases. We conclude by identifying further conceptual research and implication for research and practice.

Defining a Successful Project in Sustainable Project Management through Simulation—A Case Study

Modern approaches to project management link project success both to sustainability and with the value delivered to project stakeholders. In the final analysis, it is the satisfaction of the identified stakeholders based on the sustainability principle which decides whether a project is successful or not. The value delivered to appropriate stakeholders has to be incorporated in the earliest phases of the project defining process. Otherwise, it may be too late to introduce changes which would allow the right value to be delivered to the right stakeholders. In this paper, we propose that a simulation is used in the phase of project definition to choose such implementation forms for individual project phases or tasks which would facilitate the delivery of the value expected by the stakeholders. Our approach also supports the process of agreeing (among the stakeholders) on the value expected from the project. We show, using a post-factum real-world project case, that the application of a simulation in the predictive project stage may considerably increase the probability of the project’s success.

DYNAMIC SUPPLY CHAIN CAPABILITY ANALYSIS OF HONG KONG-ZHUHAI-MACAO BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION: A TOPIC MODELING APPROACH

Prefabricated construction as a preferred construction approach instigated significant technological advancements in construction supply chains in Hong Kong (HK). The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) was a milestone prefabricated construction project which was successfully constructed using these industrial advancements. However, the project itself was a great challenge as it was highly vulnerable to disruptions due to complex supply chain processes. In this regard, increased resilience could be the key to boosting project performance through enhanced Supply Chain Capabilities (SCCs), where identifying SCC dynamics becomes essential. Therefore, this study employed the Topic Over Time Modeling approach to detect critical SCCs using 1,748 unstructured official documents on the HZMB from 2003 to 2018, which spans the period from project design to handover. The popularity trend analysis of texts enabled identifying the six most critical capabilities associated with each construction phase of planning, construction and handover. Thereafter, an ex-post capability evaluation map was developed by considering the popularity trend of capabilities and their relevance to different project phases. Industry practitioners would benefit from prior knowledge of SCCs and their dynamic impact on each project phase to prioritize initiating them adequately and appropriately, targeting value-enhanced-resilient supply chains in ex-ante decision-making of future prefabricated infrastructure development projects. Further, the text-mining research approach unveils to academia, an effective and novel mechanism to extract dynamic empirical clues from a large unstructured set of documents in construction SCC analysis research.