scholarly journals Academic policy advice in consensus-seeking countries: the cases of Belgium and Germany

2019 ◽  
pp. 002085231987878 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valérie Pattyn ◽  
Sonja Blum ◽  
Ellen Fobé ◽  
Mirjam Pekar-Milicevic ◽  
Marleen Brans
Keyword(s):  
Academic Research ◽  
Policy Advice ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Common Trends ◽  
Policy Advisory Systems ◽  
Academic Policy ◽  
Advisory Systems ◽  
The Government ◽  
Special Case

Research on policy-advisory systems worldwide has shown that historically dominant sources of advice traditionally located in-house to the government have been increasingly supplemented by other actors and outside knowledge. However, the vast majority of research has concentrated on the anglophone context. Yet, countries with a consensus-seeking, neo-corporatist tradition provide a special case in terms of policy advice and merit more scholarly attention. What counts as evidence in these countries is the expert rationality of institutional representatives. The position and role of academic research in consensus-based systems is unclear, and is the focus of this article. Can we observe commonalities across consensus-style countries, or do differences prevail? We investigate two typical consensus-seeking countries: Belgium and Germany. To examine the supply side of policy advice, the article reviews current evidence regarding their policy-advisory systems. For the demand side, we present insights from a survey among federal ministerial officials. We find common trends between the two cases but their nature and extent are idiosyncratic. In Belgium, the supply of and demand for academic policy advice is comparatively lower, while the German case exhibits more change in the advisory landscape and institutionalisation of the supply of and demand for academic research. Points for practitioners   • Countries with a consensus-seeking, neo-corporatist tradition provide a special case in terms of policy advice.   • The findings suggest that there are common trends but their nature and extent are idiosyncratic.   • In Belgium, the supply of and demand for academic advice is comparatively lower.   • Germany’s policy-advisory landscape exhibits more change and institutionalisation of the supply of and demand for academic research.

Comparison of Energy-Saving Driving Style Strategies

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yigit Fidansoy ◽  
Sohejl Wanjani ◽  
Sebastian Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Saving ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Driving Style ◽  
Advisory Systems ◽  
Train Dynamics ◽  
Input Variables ◽  
And Training

Due to the increasing scarcity of fossil fuels and the climate change, the importance of energy efficiency is increasing. This importance is major especially in areas where the energy consumption is high. Rail transport depicts such an area. The highest proportion of energy consumed in the railway is the so called traction energy. This energy is required for the train run. In the timetable, allowances leave a margin for the driving style of train run. By the selective use of strategies that change the driving style, it is possible to exploit these allowances and reduce the traction energy consumption. The first objective of this study deals with the development of algorithms for energy-saving driving style. First, the necessary input variables of the algorithms based on the literature research and the formulas of train dynamics were determined. Then the algorithms were developed to create different energy-saving driving styles, resulting choose the best result which should be shown as a driving recommendation. The developed algorithms were used in an application example in order to calculate the potential of energy-savings. The example should represent the influence of the input variables for a comparison of different situations. At last the acceptance of the determined driving strategies in practice was investigated. By implementing the design thinking method it was identified that driver advisory systems and training programs are necessary to facilitate energy-saving driving in practice.

Adaptive Advisory Systems for Oil and Gas Operations

2013 ◽  
pp. 262-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Al-Kinani ◽  
Nihal Cakir ◽  
Theresa Baumgartner ◽  
Michael Stundner
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Oil And Gas Operations ◽  
Advisory Systems

This chapter describes a framework that captures knowledge in an organization and applies it in daily operations. Knowledge capturing is one of the biggest upcoming challenges to oil and gas organizations as operations become more remote, more challenging, and many experts are leaving the oil and gas industry. A methodology is described to capture the knowledge of experts centrally and apply it throughout all operations in the organization. Due to the fact that an asset team is facing different constraints and challenges throughout the lifetime of a field, the system needs to gather experience from decisions and learn together with the asset team. Technologies that are flexible enough to process uncertainties are discussed as well as the effect on people, processes, and organization.

scholarly journals Polycentric governance and policy advice: lessons from Whitehall policy advisory systems

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 563-581
Author(s):  
Patrick Diamond
Keyword(s):  
Policy Process ◽  
Policy Advice ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Polycentric Governance ◽  
Advisory System ◽  
Policy Advisory Systems ◽  
Government Bureaucracy ◽  
Advisory Systems ◽  
Policy Advisory System ◽  
The Impact

In countries worldwide, the provision of policy advice to central governments has been transformed by the deinstitutionalisation of policymaking, which has engaged a diverse range of actors in the policy process. Scholarship should therefore address the impact of deinstitutionalisation in terms of the scope and scale of policy advisory systems, as well as in terms of the influence of policy advisors. This article addresses this gap, presenting a programme of research on policy advice in Whitehall. Building on Craft and Halligan’s conceptualisation of a ‘policy advisory system’, it argues that in an era of polycentric governance, policy advice is shaped by ‘interlocking actors’ beyond government bureaucracy, and that the pluralisation of advisory bodies marginalises the civil service. The implications of such alterations are considered against the backdrop of governance changes, particularly the hybridisation of institutions, which has made policymaking processes complex, prone to unpredictability and at risk of policy blunders.

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