Search results

Setting the stage for a case analysis -- Urban regeneration in Ireland -- Healthcare information systems in Ireland -- Advancing the case for complex adaptive systems in public administration -- The impact of boundaries : identity, community, and place -- The vision thing : the dynamics of involvement -- The role and effect of the private sector -- Core and locale : the tension between the governing intent and the implementing outcome -- In conclusion.

PUBLISHED ; Nature-based solutions (NBS) to address societal challenges have been widely recognised and adopted by governments in climate change and biodiversity strategies. Nevertheless, significant barriers exist for the necessary large-scale implementation of NBS and market development is still in its infancy. This study presents findings from a systematic review of literature and a survey on private sector agents in the planning and implementation of NBS, with the aim to identify them. In this study, we propose a typology for organisations delivering NBS and a categorisation of their economic activities. The most common organisation type found is nature-based enterprise which offers products or services where nature is a core element and used sustainably and engages in economic activity. Moreover, eleven categories of economic activities were identified, ranging from ecosystem restoration, living green roofs, and eco-tourism to smart technologies and community engagement for NBS. Nature-based enterprises contribute to a diverse range of sustainable economic activities, that standard industry classification systems do not adequately account for. The recognition of the value created by these activities is essential for designing effective policy support measures, and for market development of the sector and its potential to facilitate the wider adoption of NBS. ; Nature-based solutions (NBS) to address societal challenges have been widely recognised and adopted by governments in climate change and biodiversity strategies. Nevertheless, significant barriers exist for the necessary large-scale implementation of NBS and market development is still in its infancy. This study presents findings from a systematic review of literature and a survey on private sector agents in the planning and implementation of NBS, with the aim to identify them. In this study, we propose a typology for organisations delivering NBS and a categorisation of their economic activities. The most common organisation type found is nature-based enterprise which offers products or services where nature is a core element and used sustainably and engages in economic activity. Moreover, eleven categories of economic activities were identified, ranging from ecosystem restoration, living green roofs, and eco-tourism to smart technologies and community engagement for NBS. Nature-based enterprises contribute to a diverse range of sustainable economic activities, that standard industry classification systems do not adequately account for. The recognition of the value created by these activities is essential for designing effective policy support measures, and for market development of the sector and its potential to facilitate the wider adoption of NBS.

AbstractThis paper describes how the processes of evaluation interact with the complex processes of policy and implementation, with a view to exploring the implications relating to the nature of evidence, the impact of evaluation on policy and practice and the challenges inherent in evaluation activities. Recent studies of evaluation and evidence-based policy have suggested that there are significant issues and complexities in determining 'what works' specifically with regard to the impact of evaluations and the evidence bases for policy and/or practice. The aim of this paper is to examine a detailed case in which these three activities of policy formulation, implementation and evaluation have evolved and interacted in a particular policy domain over time. To this end we examine homeless policy, implementation, outcomes and evaluation in Ireland between 1988, the year 'homelessness' was defined first in legislation, and 2008, the year of launching the second national homeless strategy.

This article examines the processes and outcomes of community involvement in six Irish urban regeneration case studies, three in Dublin and three in Belfast. The findings are part of a wider study using a Complex Adaptive Systems perspective to analyse public sector decision making. Key points included: (1) the community 'vision' of the regeneration as an emergent property, which converged towards the vision held by the implementing agencies in the four most successful programmes; and (2) the identification of three features that contribute to non-linear (unpredictable) behaviour: a history of community involvement; the availability of resources; and the intervention of key individuals at crisis points.

"The rise and spread of Covid-19 in the beginning of 2020 presents a once-in-a-century challenge and opportunity for decision makers, managers, scholars, and citizens to understand the risks, mitigate its impact and prepare for future crises. Drawing on a global network of scholars, this book presents a comparative analysis of ten nations' response to a global pandemic, while operating nominally under the framework of the World Health Organization. The book introduces the concept of 'collective cognition' as an analytic lens for examining the nations' response to Covid-19 during the first six months of the emerging pandemic (January - June 2020) and draws out insights for improving systems of global risk management. This book addresses four primary audiences: policy-makers and leaders in nations struggling to contain viruses while guiding their societies under threat; academic researchers, students, and educators engaged in preparing the next generation of professionals committed to investigating emerging risk: managers of non-profit and private organizations that operate and maintain the networks of social, technical, and economic services that are essential to functioning communities; and the informed general public interested in understanding this extraordinary sequence of events and in managing the novel risk of COVID-19 in a more informed, responsible way"--

Introduction to the special issue 'Teaching Complexity'

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the applicability of the complexity-based temporary innovation system (TIS) framework to social innovation and examine the extent to which "nature-based solution" (NBS) projects may be understood through a TIS lens. It is proposed that TIS provides a framework to facilitate multi-actor engagement in social innovation responses to the complexity of wicked problems? The goal is to explore if TIS provides a useful framework for understanding the evolution of social innovation projects and enabling more consciously designed and facilitated social innovation with the potential for large-scale, long-term impact.


Design/methodology/approach
The research uses a case study methodology in which 10 NBS projects in 3 European cities are examined and compared to the expected features of a TIS as proposed by anonymised for the review process (2018; 2019)


Findings
Of the 10 NBS projects, only 3 were "TIS-like", each of which was targeting wicked problems in the city/community. As only one of the remaining 7 projects was aimed at a wicked problem, the authors concluded that the TIS framework may be best suited to those social innovations that address one or more wicked problems and that NBS projects may not display this feature.


Research limitations/implications
The authors conclude with a reflection on theoretical insights arising from applying the TIS framework to NBS in particular, and social innovation generally – and proposes the next steps in developing the TIS framework in relation to social innovation.


Originality/value
This paper applies a new complexity framework to empirical data that have not been examined previously. This analysis contributes to the development of a new framework for designing and analysing complex social innovation initiatives and challenges existing theories presenting NBSs as addressing complex "wicked" problems.

The complexity sciences are subject to increasing policy interest from governments and international organisations as a means for fostering both social innovation and social entrepreneurship. However, there remains little conceptual clarity in how theories, concepts and ideas can be used consistently and productively. This article reviews the application of the complexity sciences in social innovation and social entrepreneurship scholarship overall and considers its implications for both fields. We outline how social innovation and social entrepreneurship can be conceptualised as complex processes, set within complex environments, tackling complex goals, and present a suitably revised model of the social innovation lifecycle. Based on this review - and the articles contributed to this special issue of Social Enterprise Journal – we argue that a complexity-informed perspective can contribute to scholarship and practice in three ways: as a rhetorical device, as an analytical framework for empirical analysis, and as a basis for developing new tools and methods for social innovation and social entrepreneurship. In this way academics can play a crucial role in helping policymakers and practitioners interested in the complexity sciences walk a line between fatalism and overstatement.

AbstractComplexity in public sector systems requires leaders to balance the administrative practices necessary to be aligned and efficient in the management of routine challenges and the adaptive practices required to respond to dynamic circumstances. Conventional notions of leadership in the field of public administration do not fully explain the role of leadership in balancing the entanglement of formal, top‐down, administrative functions and informal, emergent, adaptive functions within public sector settings with different levels of complexity. Drawing on and extending existing complexity leadership constructs, this article explores how leadership is enacted over the duration of six urban regeneration projects representing high, medium, and low levels of project complexity. The article suggests that greater attention needs to be paid to the tensions inherent in enabling leadership if actors are to cope with the complex, collaborative, cross‐boundary, adaptive work in which they are increasingly engaged.