Gordon Kingsley

Technology transfer and absorption: an ‘R & D value-mapping’ approach to evaluation☆

Abstract Evaluating technology transfer outcomes from governmet supported research, development and demonstration (RD & D) projects is complicated by the variety of paths through which technology can move from producer(s) to user(s). Using a set of 31 cases studies of RD&D projects the processes of technology transfer and ‘technology absorption’ are examined. Technology transfer is the use by a party external to the project of the technology or technical information outputs. Technology absorption is defined as the use by contractors, sub-contractors or co-sponsors participating in the RD&D project. This is a rarely studied phenomenon but one especially important for technology policies. The case analysis confirmed the value of viewing transfer and absorption as separate processes with separate determinants. Absorption is a more robust process stimulated by a variety of factors. Transfer is more delicate, thwarted not only by market barriers, but also coordination problems, conflicts, and resource constrains among project members. Using models of the transfer and absorption processes a typology of transfer outcomes is created. ‘On-the-shelf’ projects (12 cases) were those in which no transfer or absorption impacts occurred. These projects involved large numbers of actors assisting a small private producer/contractor who was dependent upon outside resources for completing the project. While a surprising amount effort was made to transfer these outcomes the efforts failed. ‘Absorption’ projects (eight cases) were those in which technology was absorbed but not transferred. Absorption occurred both by design and by default. ‘Market-induced’ projects (four cases) were those were technology was transferred but not absorbed. These cases also involved small private producers but they experienced less project interdependence and were marketing to niches created

A Systematic Approach to Institutional Analysis: Applying Crawford and Ostrom’s Grammar:

In 1995, Crawford and Ostrom proposed a grammatical syntax for examining institutional statements (i.e., rules, norms, and strategies) as part of the institutional analysis and development framework. This article constitutes the first attempt at applying the grammatical syntax to code institutional statements using two pieces of U.S. legislation. The authors illustrate how the grammatical syntax can serve as a basis for collecting, presenting, and analyzing data in a way that is reliable and conveys valid and substantive meaning for the researcher. The article concludes by describing some implementation challenges and ideas for future theoretical and field research.

R&D value mapping: A new approach to case study-based evaluation

This study presents an approach to harnessing the power of case studies for research evaluation calledR&D value mapping (RVM). While this method uses case studies in the traditional manner to provide in-depth insights, it also structures case studies through an analytical framework that yields quantitative data and less subjective “lessons learned”. When properly applied, RVM can yield an inventory of outcomes and empirical generalizations regarding the determining variables. A particular advantage of the approach is that it not only provides an indication of the type and amount (though not a single numerical index) of outcome, but also gives insight into the reasons outcomes are achieved. Thus, RVM is useful for policy management strategies seeking to replicate success. The specific steps associated with the RVM method are illustrated through studies that have applied the technique.

Manufacturing Partnerships: Evaluation in the Context of Government Reform.

Abstract Current efforts to reform government have promoted the development of inter-governmental and inter-sectoral partnerships to implement public policies and more effectively deliver services. This paper probes the additional complexities posed for program evaluation by the development of partnerships, drawing on a study of the U.S. Manufacturing Extension Partnership. The high-lighted challenges include diverse partner objectives, information deficiencies, variances in partner contributions and outcome effects, and difficulties in tracking a full set of benefits and costs, including learing benefits, intitutional improvements, and transaction costs. Contrasting evaluation strategies to address the challenges of evaluating partnerships are considered.

Interfirm collaboration as a modernization strategy: A survey of case studies

Interfirm collaboration (IFC) has been explored by organizations seeking a vehicle for the industrial modernization of small and medium-sized manufacturers. This paper offers five models of the impacts of IFC networks based on a survey of 123 case studies. The models examine the association between impacts of IFC with variables describing the origins, activities, and structures of networks. Impacts are measured through aggregate assessments of business expansion, bottom line savings, increases in projects, increases in membership, and increases in other benefits. We find that business expansion is associated most strongly with factors related to the origins of projects. Increases in membership and other benefits are most strongly associated with structural factors. Finally, bottom line savings and increases in projects are most closely associated with both origin and structural factors.

Effects of Contracting Out Engineering Services Over Time in a State Department of Transportation

Perhaps the most prevalent form of privatization, in terms of incidents of its use, is contracting out for services. This is especially true in state departments of transportation (DOTs), which have seen a rapidly growing reliance on contracted professional services in recent years. With this growth has come a variety of managerial issues that speak to the efficacy of this mode of service production. In this article we identify and analyze these issues by first reviewing the literature on managing contracted professional services, with a focus on the experiences of DOTs. We complement the review with an in-depth, multicase examination of the experiences of one state DOT over the span of a decade, to better understand their changing conditions, motives, and impacts of large-scale contracting out. We conclude that problems associated with contracting out could be avoided with planned changes in procedures, organizational structures, and human resource demands.

Managerial Perceptions of Privatization: Evidence from a State Department of Transportation

ARGUMENTS IN favor of privatization pose what are referred to here as Rainey’s conundrum (2003). Rainey notes that one of the key rationales offered for privatization is that the public sector is poorly managed. Ironically, however, successful privatization requires outstanding publicsector management. In particular, the move from a centralized command-and-control style bureaucratic structure to contract-based program delivery demands a sophisticated set of managerial skills and structural changes that would challenge the most effi cient and effective organization regardless of sector affi liation (Cooper 2003). The managerial requirements of privatization for midlevel managers—the focus of this article—are particularly signifi cant. With respect to contracting out, managers can be involved in preparing requests for proposals, reviewing submitted proposals, providing input into contracting decisions, crafting contract language, and ushering contracts through internal approval processes (Seidenstat 1999, 240; Rusten 1999, 190). Once contracts have been signed, midlevel managers may be the primary overseers of contractors, providing direction, monitoring contractual tasks, and ensuring compliance with contract terms (Seidenstat 1999, 240). While not a technical step in contracting out, building relationships with contractors is a necessary step toward facilitating effective alternative service delivery (Cooper 2003, 101). Despite their signifi cant contribution to privatization processes, midlevel managers have largely been ignored in studies of privatization’s stakeholders. Rather, more attention has been devoted to the privatization responses of citizens, political leaders, city managers, and state agency directors. Studies examining citizen attitudes toward privatization have argued the importance of public opinion to political support for privatization and the strategic value of such information (Durant and Legge 2002; Thompson and Elling 2000). The attitudes of state legislators toward contracting out have been justifi ed by the importance of legislative support to administrators in designing alternative service-delivery systems (Becker and Mackelprang 1990). Studies of city managers have focused on the relationship between their government reform values and the level of reform activity in their cities (Moon and deLeon 2001), as well as the number of reform recommendations they make to city councils (Kearney, Feldman, and Scavo 2000; Kearney and Scavo 2001). Finally, state-level reinvention efforts have been studied as a function of Managerial Perceptions of Privatization: Evidence from a State Department of Transportation

The Rebirth of Patronage: Have We Come Full Circle?

Current trends in the U.S. political system threaten an increase in patronage and a return to the political problems of the 1800s. Modern-day patronage is strongly related to two popular efforts to reform government: the rollback of the civil service system and the privatization of government services. These reforms, aimed at reducing the negative outcomes of bureaucracy, have had the unfortunate outcome of eliminating policies designed to protect civil servants from patronage politics and thus of ultimately reducing democratic accountability. Whether the main cause is forgetfulness about the past or simply the application of misguided principles, the dismantling of the civil service and increasing reliance on private contractors can endanger public values and the ability to engage in a thoughtful debate about public values. Professionalism in government—including civil service, open competition for jobs and contracts, and merit systems—remains the most effective and just means for combating patronage and identifying talented, dedicated public servants and contractors.

The Impact of Relational Factors on Contracting Management in Public Organizations

This study examines how public managers perceive the value of contractors who hire former agency employees. We find that contractors strategically hire former agency employees to ensure the accomplishment of contract work, potential renewal, and extension of the current project. Although it is unclear whether agency managers prefer contractors who are the agency’s former employees to contractors who have no prior connection with the agency, it is clear that they tend to hire contractors who are more familiar with the agency rules, policies, and inside practices rather than those who are not. However, frequency of interaction with current contractors and contract management experience in the private sector do not have any significant effect on the favorable perception of the agency managers toward increasing contracting out. The findings have important implications for human resource managers, particularly when agencies expand and diversify sources of human resources to increase the overall capacity of agencies.

Best Practices in Consultant Management at State Departments of Transportation

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has been experiencing a significant increase in the number of consultants that it is using, and there is an attendant need to manage these consultants better. Best practices in consultant management within state departments of transportation (DOTs) were examined, and the consultant program at GDOT was examined in detail. DOTs with innovative programs and with similarities to GDOT were identified, and site visits and interviews with relevant DOT personnel were conducted at the Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania DOTs. The results of the review of consultant programs and the detailed on-site interviews revealed that successful consultant management programs shared the characteristics of transparency, regularity, independence, and consistency. This finding will help GDOT reform its consultant management program to cope with the increased use of consultants and improve delivery of services to the citizens of Georgia.