Awards recognizing best practices in local governance in Montenegro’s municipalities over the course of this year were presented at a ceremony organized on 28 December 2015 in Podgorica by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro in co-operation with the Union of Municipalities and the Ministry of Interior.

The annual Awards, now in their eighth year, are open to all local government units and allow them to showcase successful and innovative solutions and initiatives in providing services to their citizens.

Opening the award ceremony, Chairperson of the Executive Board of the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro and Mayor of Cetinje, Aleksandar Bogdanović, said the Awards were the product of the excellent co-operation of national authorities, local government and international organizations with the aim of supporting sustainable development at the local level.

Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission Dan Redford said: “The OSCE Mission to Montenegro has always and will continue to support each and every effort of local governance units in Montenegro to enhance principles of good governance in their communities. These are of fundamental importance because local government is closest to citizens and provides them with essential services. Our goal has always been to mobilize and stimulate action by local stakeholders so that the citizens may benefit from good democratic governance at the local level, through the continuously improving quality of local public services.”

General Director of Directorate for State and Local Authorities in the Ministry of Interior Dragana Ranitović said this programme is of great importance for local governance units as it enables the sharing of best practices among municipalities and that it could be expanded further to facilitate bilateral cross-border co-operation.

The winners of this year’s Awards are:

• Žabljak Municipality for its economical financial practices;
• Budva Municipality for its effective human resources management through an electronic personnel recording system;
• Petnjica Municipality for establishing institutional models to enhance co-operation with citizens and the diaspora;
• Bijelo Polje Municipality for its work in economically empowering women;
• Berane Municipality for establishing a Secretariat for Sports, Culture, Youth and Co-operation with NGOs, and a Youth Council.

Berane Municipality also received a special award for introducing a more efficient accounting management system for budget spending, and for establishing the post of an Internal controller.

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With less than three weeks to go until the November 5 presidential election, a new analysis warns that declining democratic accountability in the US means the power of American people's voice will be diminished.

(Telecompaper) The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Smart Africa to enhance internet governance capacity development across Africa...

Whether or not you support the leaking of 250,000 embassy cables to the now infamous Wikileaks website, it certainly makes you think. Whatever business you are in there always emails or data that would be embarrassing or more likely harmful to our business if they were made widely available. So what is the lesson to be learnt from the Cablegate affair.

The blame for the issue seems to be landing on a certain US private Bradley Manning. But I place the blame directly on a lack of Governance and poor IT systems. And the measures that have so far been announced - things like removing CD drives from classified systems - are simply the wrong approach. The real problem is why any one person - whatever level of clearance they had - should have access to all 250,000 cables.

Without going into the details of XACML and policy-based entitlement models, suffice it to say that the right approach is to base access not only on the person, but the reason they have for accessing the data. Using policy-based entitlement, it is possible to have a well-defined Governance model where a person is given access to just the right data at just the right time for just the right purpose, and that this can be managed in a process-driven, auditable and controlled manner.

If you live in a crime area and you leave your door open, you will be burgled. If you don't put in place good security and data governance, then it is you that will be blamed, not just the guy who steals your data.

And if you want the technical low-down on XACML, start here, here and here.

This paper offers an overview of the emerging domain of mobile governance as an offspring of the broader landscape of e-governance. Mobile governance initiatives have been deployed everywhere in parallel to the development of crowdsourced, open source software applications that facilitate the collection, aggregation, and dissemination of both information and data coming from different sources: citizens, organizations, public bodies, etc. Ultimately, mobile governance can be seen as a tool to promote the rule of law from a decentralized, distributed, and bottom-up perspective.

Elections hold immense significance in shaping the leadership of a nation or organisation, serving as a pivotal moment that influences the trajectory of the entity involved. Despite their centrality to modern democratic systems, elections face a significant hurdle: widespread mistrust in the electoral process. This pervasive lack of confidence poses a substantial threat to the democratic framework, even in the case of prominent democracies such as India and US, where inherent flaws persist in the electoral system. Issues such as vote rigging, electronic voting machine (EVM) hacking, election manipulation, and polling booth capturing remain prominent concerns within the current voting paradigm. Leveraging blockchain for electronic voting systems offers an effective solution to alleviate the prevailing apprehensions associated with e-voting. By incorporating blockchain into the electoral process, the integrity and security of the system could be significantly strengthened, addressing the current vulnerabilities and fostering trust in democratic elections.

The aim of the study is to examine the determinants of digitalisation in public sector. This research is particularly relevant as digital transformation has become a crucial factor in modernising public sector and enhancing service delivery to citizens. The method of the systematic literature review (SLR) was implemented by searching documents on the Scopus database. The initial research reached the 7902 documents and after specifying the keywords the authors found 207 relevant documents. Finally; after the careful read of their abstracts and the use of inclusion and exclusion criteria; the most cited and relevant 32 papers constituted the final sample. Findings highlighted the focus of the literature on technological factors such as the sense of trust and safety as well as the ease of use in the adoption of digital governance; emphasising the need for effective; trustworthy and user-friendly digital services. The most discussed internal factors were leadership and organisational culture. The study offers a deeper understanding of the factors that shape the successful implementation of digital governance initiatives.

The study aims to unveil the various determinants that drive the adoption of e-governance services (EGS). Using the UTAUT 3 model, the research investigated these factors within the Indian context. A purposive sampling technique was utilised to collect the samples from 680 respondents through the online survey method. Furthermore, the study employs structural equation modelling (SEM) to examine the structural relationships between the UTAUT3 model's dimensions in the context of e-governance. Findings revealed that the UTAUT3 model adequately predicts the intention to adopt EGS. The present study addressed a significant gap in the literature on EGS and technology adoption by establishing a relationship between different dimensions of the UTAUT3 model and actual usage of EGS. The findings have implications for practitioners and policymakers as they throw light on the effective implementation of e-governance programs, which are essential for providing the citizens with high-quality services.

Aim/Purpose: Board of Directors seek to use their big data as a competitive advantage. Still, scholars note the complexities of corporate governance in practice related to information security risk management (ISRM) effectiveness. Background: While the interest in ISRM and its relationship to organizational success has grown, the scholarly literature is unclear about the effects of Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) leadership styles, the alignment of the governance of big data, and ISRM effectiveness in organizations in the West-ern United States. Methodology: The research method selected for this study was a quantitative, correlational research design. Data from 139 participant survey responses from Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) in the Western United States were analyzed using 3 regression models to test for mediation following Baron and Kenny’s methodology. Contribution: Previous scholarship has established the importance of leadership styles, big data governance, and ISRM effectiveness, but not in a combined understanding of the relationship between all three variables. The researchers’ primary objective was to contribute valuable knowledge to the practical field of computer science by empirically validating the relationships between the CTOs leadership styles, the alignment of the governance of big data, and ISRM effectiveness. Findings: The results of the first regression model between CTOs leadership styles and ISRM effectiveness were statistically significant. The second regression model results between CTOs leadership styles and the alignment of the governance of big data were not statistically significant. The results of the third regression model between CTOs leadership styles, the alignment of the governance of big data, and ISRM effectiveness were statistically significant. The alignment of the governance of big data was a significant predictor in the model. At the same time, the predictive strength of all 3 CTOs leadership styles was diminished between the first regression model and the third regression model. The regression models indicated that the alignment of the governance of big data was a partial mediator of the relationship between CTOs leadership styles and ISRM effectiveness. Recommendations for Practitioners: With big data growing at an exponential rate, this research may be useful in helping other practitioners think about how to test mediation with other interconnected variables related to the alignment of the governance of big data. Overall, the alignment of governance of big data being a partial mediator of the relationship between CTOs leadership styles and ISRM effectiveness suggests the significant role that the alignment of the governance of big data plays within an organization. Recommendations for Researchers: While this exact study has not been previously conducted with these three variables with CTOs in the Western United States, overall, these results are in agreement with the literature that information security governance does not significantly mediate the relationship between IT leadership styles and ISRM. However, some of the overall findings did vary from the literature, including the predictive relationship between transactional leadership and ISRM effectiveness. With the finding of partial mediation indicated in this study, this also suggests that the alignment of the governance of big data provides a partial intervention between CTOs leadership styles and ISRM effectiveness. Impact on Society: Big data breaches are increasing year after year, exposing sensitive information that can lead to harm to citizens. This study supports the broader scholarly consensus that to achieve ISRM effectiveness, better alignment of governance policies is essential. This research highlights the importance of higher-level governance as it relates to ISRM effectiveness, implying that ineffective governance could negatively impact both leadership and ISRM effectiveness, which could potentially cause reputational harm. Future Research: This study raised questions about CTO leadership styles, the specific governance structures involved related to the alignment of big data and ISRM effectiveness. While the research around these variables independently is mature, there is an overall lack of mediation studies as it relates to the impact of the alignment of the governance of big data. With the lack of alignment around a universal framework, evolving frameworks could be tested in future research to see if similar results are obtained.

Aim/Purpose: This study is carried out to determine the factors influencing the implementation of IT governance in public sector. Background: IT governance in organizations plays strategic roles in deciding whether IT strategies and investments of both private and public organizations could be efficient, consistent, and transparent. IT governance has the potential to be the best practice that could improve organizational performance and competency. Methodology: The study involves qualitative and quantitative approaches, where data were collected through questionnaire, observation, interview, and document study through a sample of 367 respondents. The collected data were analyzed using Structured Equation Modeling (SEM) for validating the model and testing the hypotheses. Besides, semi-structured interview, observation, and document study were also carried out to obtain the management’s feedback on the implementation of IT governance and its activities. Contribution: The results of this study contribute to knowledge regarding good IT governance. Practically, this study can be used as a guideline for the future development and good IT governance. Findings: The findings reveal that policy has a significant direct influence on system planning, the management of IT investment, system realization, operation and maintenance, and organizational culture. The existence of IT governance policies, the success of the IT process can work well. Monitoring and evaluation processes also significantly affect system plan-ning, management of IT investment, system realization, operation and maintenance, and organizational culture. It indicates the process of monitoring and evaluation required for indications of financial efficiency, infrastructure, resources, risk and organizational success. Recommendations for Practitioners: It is important for organizational management to pay more attention to the organization’s internal controls in order to create good IT governance. Recommendation for Researchers: A comparative study between Indonesia and developing countries on the implementation of IT governance is needed to capture the differences be-tween those countries. Impact on Society: Knowledge of the factors influencing the implementation of IT governance as an effort to implement and improve the quality of IT governance. Future Research: Future studies should look further at the policy and IT governance models, specifically in public organizations, besides other influencing factors. Moreover, the outcome of this study could be generated as a guideline for the advanced development of IT governance and as a point of improvement as a way to generate a better good IT governance. It is essential because such evidence is lacking in current literature.

Aim/Purpose: The paper’s objective is to examine the challenges of using the mobile phone to mine location data for effective contact tracing of symptomatic, pre-symptomatic, and asymptomatic individuals and the implications of this technology for public health governance. Background: The COVID-19 crisis has created an unprecedented need for contact tracing across South Africa, requiring thousands of people to be traced and their details captured in government health databases as part of public health efforts aimed at breaking the chains of transmission. Contact tracing for COVID-19 requires the identification of persons who may have been exposed to the virus and following them up daily for 14 days from the last point of exposure. Mining mobile phone location data can play a critical role in locating people from the time they were identified as contacts to the time they access medical assistance. In this case, it aids data flow to various databases designated for COVID-19 work. Methodology: The researchers conducted a review of the available literature on this subject drawing from academic articles published in peer-reviewed journals, research reports, and other relevant national and international government documents reporting on public health and COVID-19. Document analysis was used as the primary research method, drawing on the case studies. Contribution: Contact tracing remains a critical strategy in curbing the deadly COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa and elsewhere in the world. However, given increasing concern regarding its invasive nature and possible infringement of individual liberties, it is imperative to interrogate the challenges related to its implementation to ensure a balance with public governance. The research findings can thus be used to inform policies and practices associated with contact tracing in South Africa. Findings: The study found that contact tracing using mobile phone location data mining can be used to enforce quarantine measures such as lockdowns aimed at mitigating a public health emergency such as COVID-19. However, the use of technology can expose the public to criminal activities by exposing their locations. From a public governance point of view, any exposure of the public to social ills is highly undesirable. Recommendations for Practitioners: In using contact tracing apps to provide pertinent data location caution needs to be exercised to ensure that sensitive private information is not made public to the extent that it compromises citizens’ safety and security. The study recommends the development and implementation of data use protocols to support the use of this technology, in order to mitigate against infringement of individual privacy and other civil liberties. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers should explore ways of improving digital applications in order to improve the acceptability of the use of contact tracing technology to manage pandemics such as COVID-19, paying attention to ethical considerations. Impact on Society: Since contact tracing has implications for privacy and confidentiality it must be conducted with caution. This research highlights the challenges that the authorities must address to ensure that the right to privacy and confidentiality is upheld. Future Research: Future research could focus on collecting primary data to provide insight on contact tracing through mining mobile phone location data. Research could also be conducted on how app-based technology can enhance the effectiveness of contact tracing in order to optimize testing and tracing coverage. This has the potential to minimize transmission whilst also minimizing tracing delays. Moreover, it is important to develop contact tracing apps that are universally inter-operable and privacy-preserving.

This paper investigates how "dual directors" enable firms that undertake corporate spinoffs to manage their post-spinoff relationships with the firms they divest, as well as the performance implications of dual directors serving simultaneously on these companies' boards. While the presence of dual directors is positively associated with the average stock market returns of parent and spinoff firms, their presence is increasingly positively associated with parent firm performance but increasingly negatively associated with spinoff firm performance as the share of sales a spinoff firm makes to its parent firm rises. These findings show that while dual directors give a parent firm power over its spinoff firm, dual directors only exercise that power at the spinoff firm's expense when that company is highly dependent on its parent firm.

The EU BON project which is coordinated by the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin/Germany has started on 1 December and will continue for 4.5 years. The EU BON Kickoff Meeting will be held in Berlin from 13 to 15 February 2013.

With respect to EU BON’s objectives the International Symposium "Nature and Governance – Biodiversity Data, Science, and the Policy Interface" will be held prior to the EU BON Kickoff Meeting from 11 to 12 February in Berlin with high-ranking speakers. You are most welcome to attend the Symposium.

The Museum für Naturkunde Berlin is pleased to host this international symposium and will bring together high-ranking speakers and guests from worldwide to talk and discuss about these

Major Topics:

• What (data) policy needs
• The future of biodiversity information: new ways for generating, managing, and integrating biodiversity data
• How new approaches / models can link scales and disciplines
• Broadening the base and opening up: new ways to engage the public and stakeholders in biodiversity monitoring and assessments
• Résumé / conclusions

For more details, please have a look at the programme page.

The 1st day of the Symposium and the reception will be held "under the dinosaurs" in the central exhibition hall of the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin.

The 2nd day will be held in the Seminaris Conference Center in the quiet south-west of Berlin. The closing of the Symposium will be celebrated as "Come together & Ice-Breaker for EU BON Kickoff Meeting" in the nearby beautiful Large Green House of the Botanic Garden Berlin.

If you want to take part, please register at the registration page.

A new paper "Combining internal and external motivations in multi-actor governance arrangements for biodiversity and ecosystem services" published in the journal Environmental Science & Policy looks at ways to motivate actions for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services provision. The paper is a result of the EU FP7 funded project BIOMOT.

Abstract: 

This paper analyses the possibility of building a mutually supportive dynamics between internally and externally motivated behaviour for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services provision. To this purpose a face to face survey amongst 169 key actors of 34 highly successful and prominent biodiversity arrangements in seven EU countries was conducted. The main finding of the paper is the feasibility of combining inherently intrinsically motivated behaviours (providing enjoyment, pleasure from experimentation and learning, aesthetic satisfaction) and internalized extrinsic motivations (related to the identification with the collective goals of conservation policy) through a common set of governance features. Successful initiatives that combine internal and external motivations share the following features: inclusive decision making processes, a broad monitoring by "peers" beyond the core staff of the initiatives, and a context that is supportive for the building of autonomous actor competences. These findings are in line with the psycho-sociological theory of motivation, which shows the importance of a psycho-social context leading to a subjective perception of autonomy and a sense of competence of the actors.

Original Source: 

Tom Dedeurwaerdere, Jeroen Admiraal, Almut Beringer, Flavia Bonaiuto, Lavinia Cicero, Paula Fernandez-Wulff, Janneke Hagens, Juha Hiedanpää, Paul Knights, Erica Molinario, Paolo Melindi-Ghidi, Florin Popa, Urban Šilc, Nathalie Soethe, Tiina Soininen, Jose Luis Vivero, Combining internal and external motivations in multi-actor governance arrangements for biodiversity and ecosystem services, Environmental Science & Policy, Volume 58, April 2016, Pages 1-10, ISSN 1462-9011, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2015.12.003

The EU BON project which is coordinated by the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin/Germany has started on 1 December and will continue for 4.5 years. The EU BON Kickoff Meeting will be held in Berlin from 13 to 15 February 2013.
With respect to EU BON’s objectives the International Symposium "Nature and Governance – Biodiversity Data, Science, and the Policy Interface" will be held prior to the EU BON Kickoff Meeting from 11 to 12 February in Berlin with high-ranking speakers. You are most welcome to attend the Symposium.
The Museum für Naturkunde Berlin is pleased to host this international symposium and will bring together high-ranking speakers and guests from worldwide to talk and discuss about these
Major Topics:
- What (data) policy needs
- The future of biodiversity information: new ways for generating, managing, and integrating biodiversity data
- How new approaches / models can link scales and disciplines
- Broadening the base and opening up: new ways to engage the public and stakeholders in biodiversity monitoring and assessments
- Résumé / conclusions
For more details, please have a look at the programme page.
The 1^st day of the Symposium and the reception will be held "under the dinosaurs" in the central exhibition hall of the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin.
The 2^nd day will be held in the Seminaris Conference Center in the quiet south-west of Berlin. The closing of the Symposium will be celebrated as "Come together & Ice-Breaker for EU BON Kickoff Meeting" in the nearby beautiful Large Green House of the Botanic Garden Berlin.
If you want to take part, please register at the registration page.

Lucinda and Emily are joined by the outgoing chief of the RSPCA

Lucinda and Emily are joined by the outgoing chief of the RSPCA

Research by the Directory of Social Change analyses governance reviews carried out by more than 1,100 users of its app

With the rapid spread of AI products and services, i-PRO said there has been a worldwide demand for companies to utilize AI responsibly.

Children's Geographies; 10/01/2022
(AN 159948776); ISSN: 14733285
Academic Search Premier

A commentary published in Nature calls for a moratorium on clinical uses of heritable human genome editing and the establishment of an international governance framework.

Two new companion reports from a World Health Organization expert panel provide recommendations to the scientific community on the use of human genome editing. The panel’s work was informed by a 2020 report written by an international commission under the auspices of NAS, NAM, and the U.K.’s Royal Society.

“To ensure the sustainability of the CoE, robust collaboration with the Industry, and the creation of commercially viable outputs, the MeitY will not own any IP generated by the CoE. The IP generated can be retained by the idea generator or by the CoE.”

Let us explore the limitations of traditional AD and PIM solutions, and why identity governance is essential.

Pär Edin is a seasoned strategy and artificial intelligence leader at KPMG LLP

Deal reaffirms Zain's commitment and regional leadership in transparency, accountability, and ESG innovation. The centralized data platform will empower Zain to seamlessly manage ESG data in adherence to complex regulatory requirements.

Natalie S. Greenwood channels years of expertise into her work with Informatica

FFTV Tokens Revolutionize Short Drama Creation with Decentralized Governance Model

A strong AI governance program is essential to ensuring compliance and reducing risk. An equally important benefit is that by developing the governance program at the same time the AI application is being developed, issues can be identified early, thus avoiding system redesign or rework on the tail end.

KnowledgeLake's solutions are designed to improve data accuracy, reduce operational costs, and enable faster decision-making, particularly within industries that handle large volumes of content, such as financial services, government, and healthcare.

Using a representative sample of irrigation schemes, the study documents the physical, knowledge, and governance infrastructures of irrigation schemes in Ethiopia’s most intensively used river basin, the Awash. The findings show that about 20 percent of the equipped area of irrigation schemes in the basin is not being irrigated, while the number of actual beneficiaries […] Source: IFPRI Ethiopia: Ethiopia Strategy Support Program

Global Food Policy Report 2024: Improving governance to create supportive environments for diet and nutrition policies

Key steps to strengthen institutions and relationships

The post Global Food Policy Report 2024: Improving governance to create supportive environments for diet and nutrition policies appeared first on IFPRI.

Steven Were Omamo joins IFPRI as the new Director of the Development Strategies and Governance Unit

IFPRI is pleased to announce that Steven Were Omamo joins IFPRI as the new Director of the DSG Unit.

The post Steven Were Omamo joins IFPRI as the new Director of the Development Strategies and Governance Unit appeared first on IFPRI.

World Health Organization Launches Collaborating Centre for Governance, Accountability and Transparency in the Pharmaceutical Sector at University of TorontoToronto, ON – The University of Toronto and the World Health Organization are proud to launch the WHO Collaborating Centre for Governance, Accountability and Transparency for the Pharmaceutical Sector with a policy workshop and celebration at the Leslie […]

Toronto, ON – Family businesses, arguably the most important contributors to Canada’s economy, recognize the need for strong governance, but approach board oversight in a variety of ways depending on their size and stage of maturity. A survey conducted by the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) and the Clarkson Centre for Board Effectiveness (CCBE) at […]

Toronto, ON –Seven of Canada’s most active and influential organizations dedicated to advancing good governance and gender equality in the workplace, including the Clarkson Centre for Board Effectiveness at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, have come together to form the Canadian Gender and Good Governance Alliance (CGGGA). The new group aims to […]

Since more companies are putting a focus on ESG principles, the HVAC industry is positioned to turn those goals, into a reality.

Jessi Ashdown and Uri Gilad, authors of the book "Data Governance: The Definitive Guide," discuss what data governance entails, why it's important, and how it can be implemented. Host Akshay Manchale speaks with them about why data governance...

Jeroen Mulder, author of Multi-Cloud Strategy for Cloud Architects, joins host Robert Blumen for a discussion of public cloud, private cloud, and multi-cloud computing architectures and trends. They start by considering what defines cloud computing and what differentiates the major cloud providers, including whether they are more alike or different in the services they offer.  Jeroen discusses governance, regulatory compliance, and data locality as drivers of where enterprises want to run their workload. They explore use cases for multi-cloud, and discuss architectural challenges in migrating to kubernetes, as well as issues with networking, security, and identity management with multi-cloud architectures. Finally, they discuss running public cloud compute on on-prem resources with Anthos, Outback, and related technologies.

Even for organizations that are banking on SOA, SOA governance remains a largely informal process. Bad idea, say experts Cathy Lippert, Mark Dutra, and Bruce Bailey.

Wikis and spreadsheets are great tools - but not for SOA governance. Experts Cathy Lippert, Mark Dutra, and Bruce Bailey talk about the importance of maintaining and carefully managing an inventory of SOA assets.

What's the connection between a well-managed inventory of SOA assets, project delivery, and high-level architecture? Experts Cathy Lippert, Mark Dutra, and Bruce Bailey explain.

Experts Eric Stephens and Tim Hall discussion why it's important to revived the dormant conversation about IT governance.

Balancing functional, technical, operational requirements to meet the challenge of defining appropriate governance "guardrails."

Bringing IT architecture out of the ivory tower to make governance a less intimidating, more collaborative process.

What are we talking about when we talk about SOA Governance? Why does is matter?