This report is a deliverable of the ESTRAC “Case Studies Regional Energy Transition” project, commissioned and funded by the research institute Energy Systems Transition Centre (ESTRAC). ESTRAC is a joint initiative of knowledge and research institutes in the Netherlands – including TNO, ECN (since April 2018 part of TNO), University of Groningen, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, the New Energy Coalition (NEC) and, more recently, PBL – as well as associated partners including Gasunie, Gasterra, EBN and NAM. In addition to funding from the ESTRAC partners, the Case Studies Regional Energy Transition project has benefitted from funding by the Green Deal program of the Dutch government.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.14261/postit/EF4989E2-2F5F-4E6B-B91D7CFEBE91755DIn 2015 and 2016, Saxion University of Applied Sciences organized the 2nd and 3rd edition of the Regional Innovation and Entrepreneurship Conference (RIEC).This paper is debating the regional implications of Corporate Social Responsibility in three important global economic regions. After an introduction of the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility, some characteristic of each region is presented. Also some good examples are given. In the conclusion it is emphasized that the application of Corporate Social Responsibility can advance both, the international position of Russian Businesses and the attractiveness for high talented experts.
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Both connectivity and accessibility are important for regional development. Places and communities need to be connected in order to be part of the wider economy, and people need to have access to places, other communities and labour markets to fully participate in society. In contemporary society, not only physical connectivity and accessibility but also digital connectivity plays an important role in the economic and social potential of regions. The relationship between them is also an important issue. This report discusses and assesses the role of physical and digital connectivity in the socioeconomic development of rural regions. In particular, we discuss issues concerning digital connectivity and rural development in remote rural areas within the North Sea Region.
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Recent challenges such like climate, demographic, political, economy and market changes are the foundation for the establishment of the Regional Cooperative Westerkwartier (RCW) in the Northern Netherlands. This RCW is managing a vast range of regional programs and projects developed by multi-stakeholder groups within the region. These stakeholders are representatives of market, public administration, education, research and civil society. All the activities of the cooperative focus on strengthening the regional economy. One of the major programs is the development of a regional food chain (RFC) based on cooperation between small and medium sized enterprises and corporate purchasers. The cooperative is identifying its role within this RFC to develop this chain in an effective way. This article reflects the results of a literature study in the fields of green supply chain management and industrial symbiosis to understand the most important factors of chain development and enterprise symbiosis. Based on these results multiple in-depth interviews and a survey have been conducted. This results in a list of factors, ranked according to their importance for small and medium-sized enterprises. In the role of a RFC-agent the cooperative should focus on creating trust, achieving one overall goal and ensuring clear agreements within the RFC. Surprisingly, the factor “achieving a fair distribution of costs and benefits” throughout the chain is not as important as was expected to be. Based on these ranked factors the role of the RFC-agent has been clarified and an additional circular chain business model can be developed.
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Part I consists of an inventory of the current and upcoming policy, where we zoom in from European to national and from regional to local level. Additionally, we look at a number of quantitative accomplishments of the Hanze University of Applied Sciences. This preparatory research is performed as part of the European collaborative project Interreg Europe TraCS3.
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This publication follows and analysis the proces in the region Westerkwartier in the Netherlands in their effort to built a whole new regionale food chain. In this report there is a remarkeble role for the knowledge instutions on vocational and applied level.
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Data is widely recognized as a potent catalyst for advancing healthcare effectiveness, increasing worker satisfaction, and mitigating healthcare costs. The ongoing digital transformation within the healthcare sector promises to usher in a new era of flexible patient care, seamless inter-provider communication, and data-informed healthcare practices through the application of data science. However, more often than not data lacks interoperability across different healthcare institutions and are not readily available for analysis. This inability to share data leads to a higher administrative burden for healthcare providers and introduces risks when data is missing or when delays occur. Moreover, medical researchers face similar challenges in accessing medical data due to thedifficulty of extracting data from applications, a lack of standardization, and the required data transformations before it can be used for analysis. To address these complexities, a paradigm shift towards a data-centric application landscape is essential, where data serves as the bedrock of the healthcare infrastructure and is application agnostic. In short, a modern way to think about data in general is to go from an application driven landscape to a data driven landscape, which will allow for better interoperability and innovative healthcare solutions.In the current project the research group Digital Transformation at Hanze University of Applied Sciences works together with industry partners to build an openEHR implementation for a Groningen-based mental healthcare provider.
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In 2013 the Centre of Applied Labour Market Research (Kenniscentrum Arbeid, KCA) has developed a method for data collection to get an insight in employer’s future demand for staff. The method is developed to contribute to solve an action problem in the Eemsdelta region. Despite indications of a threat of shortage of technicians in that region, none of the regional actors undertakes action. They miss detailed information about the employers’ future demand for staff. To be able to take tailor-made measures, the actors must have a proper idea of the labour market problems which can be traced back to company level. For each job opening must be clear to which profession it is related and to which educational specialism and educational level. These information appears to be not available. For employers it is, understandable, difficult to estimate their future demand for staff, because a lot of uncertain factors influence that need. Especially SME’s who often don’t have a HR-officer are missing the knowledge and time or money to invest in making a future picture of their need for staff. And data from existing labour market information sources can’t be translated well at regional or local level, never mind at company level. Without detailed information about the future employer’s demand for staff, possible problems stay latent. There is no sense of urgency for the employers to take action and the regional policy makers are missing information to develop specific educational and labour market policy. To get the needed detailed information, it has to be obtained from the employers themselves, at company level. During a research pilot in 2013 KCA has designed a method for data collection and practiced it with nine companies in the Eemsdelta region. The results indicate that the method works. In a relatively labour-extensive way the needed information can be obtained. At company level it gives the employer insight in his actual and future staff requirements and makes him aware of possible problems. As regards to the policy makers, the pilot was too small for a complete regional picture, but it demonstrates that the anonymised data of the individual companies can be merged to one umbrella data-file. From that file analyses can be made to find trends and possible problems at the labour market, both at regional and sectoral level and to obtain input for developing effective policy. The successful results of the pilot offers good reasons for a follow-up study with much more companies and to develop the method into a complete labour market monitor, by broadening the method with data about the labour supply and data of new employers.
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Background Variations in childbirth interventions may indicate inappropriate use. Most variation studies are limited by the lack of adjustments for maternal characteristics and do not investigate variations in adverse outcomes. This study aims to explore regional variations in the Netherlands and their correlations with referral rates, birthplace, interventions, and adverse outcomes, adjusted for maternal characteristics. Methods In this nationwide retrospective cohort study, using a national data register, intervention rates were analysed between twelve regions among single childbirths after 37 weeks’ gestation in 2010–2013 (n = 614,730). These were adjusted for maternal characteristics using multivariable logistic regression. Primary outcomes were intrapartum referral, birthplace, and interventions used in midwife- and obstetrician-led care. Correlations both between primary outcomes and between adverse outcomes were calculated with Spearman’s rank correlations. Findings Intrapartum referral rates varied between 55–68% (nulliparous) and 20–32% (multiparous women), with a negative correlation with receiving midwife-led care at the onset of labour in two-thirds of the regions. Regions with higher referral rates had higher rates of severe postpartum haemorrhages. Rates of home birth varied between 6–16% (nulliparous) and 16–31% (multiparous), and was negatively correlated with episiotomy and postpartum oxytocin rates. Among midwife-led births, episiotomy rates varied between 14–42% (nulliparous) and 3–13% (multiparous) and in obstetrician-led births from 46–67% and 14–28% respectively. Rates of postpartum oxytocin varied between 59–88% (nulliparous) and 50–85% (multiparous) and artificial rupture of membranes between 43–52% and 54–61% respectively. A north-south gradient was visible with regard to birthplace, episiotomy, and oxytocin. Conclusions Our study suggests that attitudes towards interventions vary, independent of maternal characteristics. Care providers and policy makers need to be aware of reducing unwarranted variation in birthplace, episiotomy and the postpartum use of oxytocin. Further research is needed to identify explanations and explore ways to reduce unwarranted intervention rates.
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Marine spatial planning (MSP) was developed as a place-based, integrated marine governance approach to address sectoral and fragmented management issues and has seen significant evolvement over the past two decades. MSP has rapidly become the most commonly endorsed management regime for sustainable development in the marine environment, with initiatives being implemented across multiple regions of the globe. Despite its broad and growing acceptance and use, there are several key challenges that remain, both conceptual and practical, that are negatively impacting the realization of MSP’s potential. These include institutional shortcomings, the exclusion of stakeholders, a failure to account for the human and social dimensions of marine regions, the marginalization of different types of knowledge, and the growing need to adapt to global environmental change. Although studies have examined the emergence of MSP in different geographical and institutional contexts, there is a lack of comparative analysis of how initiatives are progressing and if the foundational aims of MSP are being achieved. There is a need to analyze the degree to which MSP initiatives are responding to the environmental challenges that they have been set up to tackle and, as marine plans are setting out long-term visions for marine management, to understand if current initiatives are fit for purpose. This article responds to these concerns and reviews the evolution of MSP within 12 regional ocean areas. We utilize the term regional ocean areas to illustrate the geographical spread of MSP, with examinations conducted of the approach to MSP that specific nations within each of the 12 chosen clusters have followed. By critically assessing how MSP is progressing, it is possible to shed light on the opportunities and challenges that are facing current initiatives. This can help to reveal learning lessons that can inform future MSP systems and guide initiatives along more sustainable pathways.
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