Freie Univ., Diss.--Berlin, 2006.

Dissertação (mestrado) - Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Escola Brasileira de Administração pública e de Empresas, Rio de Janeiro, 2015. / Bibliografia: p. 106-116. / As concessões e as Parcerias Público-Privadas (PPP) são mecanismos cada vez mais utilizados pelo setor público para alavancar os investimentos em infraestrutura no país. Para que haja viabilidade econômica das mesmas, as suas taxas internas de retorno (TIR) apresentam- se como variáveis que precisam refletir os riscos e a realidade do negócio. O presente estudo busca analisar as taxas de retorno utilizadas para a modelagem das tarifas - teto do setor de rodovias federais frente às especificidades do seu mercado. Para tal, são seguidas três frentes: a primeira é analisar a metodologia da taxa de retorno utilizada para a modelagem das concessões mais recentes de rodovias; a segunda é estimar uma taxa de retorno a partir de pesquisa bibliográfica; e a terceira é, por meio de dados de rentabilidade de balanços de concessionárias do setor, observar se as taxas de retorno das primeiras concessões foram devidamente calculadas na época. Na dissertação, concluímos que a atual metodologia da taxa de retorno do Tesouro Nacional pode ser aprimorada, principalmente em relação aos parâmetros de grau de alavancagem e capital de terceiros, e observamos que a taxa de retorno tem se aproximado do custo de oportunidade do setor ao longo das últimas etapas de concessão. O estudo visa contribuir para o debate sobre a rentabilidade dos projetos de infraestrutura rodoviária, em meio a um período de intensos investimentos no setor. / Concessions and Public-Private Partner ships (PPP) are mechanisms increasingly used by the public sector to enhance the investments in infrastructure in Brazil. To achieve economic viability in these projects, their internal rates of return (IRR) are variables which must reflect the risks and reality of the business. The present study seeks to analyse the IRRs used for modeling the price-caps of the federal highways' sector, under the specificities of such market. For this purpose, three approaches are pursued: the first one analyses the methodology of IRR calculation applied for modelling the most recent highway concessions; the second estimates an IRR based on bibliographic research; and the third makes use of data acquired from the balance sheets from the sector's concessionaries, to observe if the IRR for the first concessions of federal highways were propelly calculated at the time. In this dissertation, we concluded that the current National Treasury's methodology of the rate of return can be improved, especially in relation to parameters like leverage and debt, and we observed that the rate of return has come closer to the opportunity cost for the sector throughout the last concession rounds. This study aims to contribute to the debate on the profitability of road infrastructure projects, a midst a period of intense investments in the sector.

The study was undertaken to investigate the effectiveness of the interventions made by the Mogale City Plato mentorship programme to promote growth and sustainability of SMMEs. Though there have been interventions through the Plato mentorship programme to help develop SMMEs, there is still a high failure rate of small businesses in MCLM. The study will therefore evaluate if the Plato mentorship programme achieved its envisaged aim. A structured research instrument (questionnaire) was used to collect data through a self-administered survey. Questionnaires were distributed to the respondents by the researcher, and 100% of the questionnaires were returned for analysis. The results of the study showed that Mogale Plato mentorship programme adds value and advances small businesses and entrepreneurship. The study concluded that owners that took part in the MCLM Plato mentorship programme acknowledged that the programme was effective and increased business performance. The study showed that owners are faced with different challenges in running their businesses, which spoke volumes regarding the effectiveness of the mentorship programme. The findings also revealed that a majority of business owners benefited from the assistance received from MCLM Plato mentorship programme. The study recommends that MCLM sets up an office for mentoring individuals/groups in the municipality. This means that within MCLM, there should be a mentoring office and training twice a month that is aimed at helping business people know how to improve their businesses and manage challenges and take advantage of opportunities around them. The study also recommends that the municipality to create an incubating site for new owners/managers. The new owners/managers could share common services such as secretarial services, bookkeeping, and boardrooms / Business Management / M. Tech. (Business Administration)

The introduction of PPPs in infrastructure provision has changed the way in which governments around the world now view infrastructure provision. However, the introduction of PPPs to deliver the needed infrastructure has benefited only a few companies. Most of these companies are the big construction firms that possess technological know-how and those that have the financial ability to execute large infrastructure projects. Although SMEs are important for employment creation, inequality and poverty reduction, the participation of SMEs in these PPP projects is very low. This is because PPP models in developing countries are based on those used in developed economies, and such models ignore the socio-economic problems facing developing countries. Therefore, this study argues that PPP projects in developing countries present an opportunity for growing the SME sectors in developing countries. It challenges the viewpoint of seeing infrastructure backlogs only as providing opportunities to big private sector companies and argues that infrastructure backlogs can be used by governments to reduce the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality by linking SMEs to PPP projects. The traditional PPP model that is being applied by many developing countries does not fully encourage the participation of SMEs in PPP projects, as most of the projects executed through this model are bundled into big projects that SMEs cannot execute due to a lack of technological know-how and weak balance sheets. The study therefore suggests different ways in which the participation of SMEs in PPP projects could be improved based on the results of the survey conducted for this study. The study then proposes an “innovative conceptual PPP model for sustainable SME development” that takes into account the needs for developing countries to create jobs, reduce poverty and inequality. It also takes into account all challenges for SMEs identified through the review of literature and the study survey. / Economics / D. Litt. et Phil. (Economics)

Malaysia is a transition economic country that aims to be a developed country by 2020. In realising this mission (Vision 2020), the cluster concept has been an interest and adopted by the central authorities. There are few years ahead to reach the targeted year and it interest of this study to investigate the relevant development on its own engineered cluster of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) that was put forward on the success of Silicon Valley in the US. This thesis focuses on the development of the MSC cluster in the Malaysia context. It examines and measures the state of the cluster, the role played by its core actors (from Triple Helix perspective) and their relationship in the MSC. The role of collaboration has been used to measure the relationship among actors with the key determinants of cluster formation. A mixed data collection method was used to answer the research question and objectives involved. A conceptual model for analysing the MSC cluster is proposed, bringing together insights from the literature on clusters, role of actors, collaborative relationship and the complex systems of innovation approach. This conceptual model uncover the weaknesses of social dimension (social infrastructure) in Porter’s diamond model and the general approach of Triple Helix model in the cluster development. The cluster lifecycle model is used to add the depth to the analysis on the condition of cluster development.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / In 2008, grassroots NGOs formed 13 alliances in response to the need for emergency relief and post-disaster recovery after the Sichuan Earthquake that occurred in West China and killed approximately 87,000 people. These alliances served to raise and deliver relief materials, train and supervise volunteers, promote information sharing, and assist victims with mental health and livelihood recovery. However, all alliances were terminated within less than four years. Although plenty of scholarship discusses how corporate alliances evolve or fail, few studies focus on interorganizational collaboration among nonprofits. To explore how NGOs developed collective actions in China’s adverse sociopolitical environment, the author performed three years of observation in four coalitions and interviewed 60 alliance leaders, employees, and volunteers. This paper identifies four types of termination these NGO alliances experienced: three of them failed at their very births, five self-disbanded shortly after the end of emergency aid, three dissolved due to failed institutionalization, and the remaining two evolved into independent organizations. Tracking their life cycles, this study finds four main factors accountable for their terminations: political pressure, funding shortage, short-term orientation, and leadership failure. In particular, the repressive NGO regulation regime and limited funding sources fundamentally restricted all alliances’ capacity and sustainability. Further, the transient nature of disaster relief efforts and the conflict between disaster management and planned work areas contributed to the short-term orientation among alliance members and, thus, led to the closure of some alliances shortly after they provided emergency relief. In addition, though generally exempt from internal rivalry that often undermines inter-firm partnerships, NGO alliances of all types were confronted with leadership challenges—partner misfits concerning resources, strategy, and mission; flawed governing structures, and undesired individual leadership. The four factors interplayed and led to alliance dissolution through different combinations. The paper points out that, in addition to environmental uncertainty, leadership failure has become a major challenge for nonprofit collaborations.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / A sizeable body of research has attempted to examine the interaction between government spending and private giving known as the crowd-out effect. Most researchers reported that increases of government spending cause decreases of philanthropic giving to different types of nonprofits. However, few studies have attempted to indicate the interaction between government welfare expenditures and private giving to human service organizations even though human service organizations are the most sensitive to the changes of government spending. Additionally, the estimated crowd-out effects with a simple crowd-out model have been criticized for potential endogeneity bias. This paper investigates the total effect of federal government welfare spending on state government expenditures and philanthropic giving to human service organizations (known as joint crowd-out). I used the 2005 wave of the Center on Philanthropy Panel Study (COPPS) to estimate the effect of federal human service grants on state government spending on, and donations to human services. From these reduced-form estimates I infer the levels of simple and joint crowd-out. I found that indicate federal spending on public welfare crowds out private giving to human service organizations while holding control variables constant in the donations equation. However, federal government spending on public welfare crowds in state government spending on public welfare.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / During the early Cold War, 1949 through 1963, the federal government, through such agencies as the Federal Civil Defense Administration (FCDA) (1950-1957), the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization (OCDM) (1958-1960), and the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) (1961-1963), regarded children and young adults as essential to American civil defense. Youth-oriented, voluntary organizations, including the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and the Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA), assisted the federal civil defense programs by promoting civil defense messages and agendas. In this thesis, I will explore how the GSUSA and BSA translated federal civil defense policies for their Scouts. What were the civil defense messages transmitted to Scouts during the early Cold War? How were those messages disseminated? Why? What was the social impact of BSA and GSUSA involvement with civil defense on America’s evolving national ideals?

The rise of civil society organisations in South Africa is crucial to development as it contributes to the bridging of the communication gap between civil society and local government organisations and municipalities and promotes access to resources. The contribution of civil society organisations to development has been widely acknowledged as they are involved in service delivery, advocacy, innovation and poverty reduction initiatives. In spite of the development work done by civil society organisations in developing countries, they still face challenges in promoting development as poverty, inequality and unemployment persist. This research focused on the social capital approach as a strategy for the development of local communities in South Africa. The social capital approach involves increasing social stability and enhancement of development issues. Social capital relies on the basic idea that “it is not what you know but who you know”. Social capital refers mostly to social cohesion, which makes a community more committed to better living conditions for all. People in communities have the capacity to improve the quality of their lives with the support of all sectors, civil society, the state and the market by letting the people in communities get involved in all the stages of the programmes because they know better from living in those communities. Civil society organisations can meaningfully add value to economic and social development in any third world country through their work. The government, the market and civil society can complement each other and add value to the development of the country. This study employed a qualitative research design. It used in-depth interviews, direct observation and focus-group interviews to collect data, which was later transcribed and analysed thematically. The main focus of this study was to critically evaluate the roles and strategies of civil society organisations in the development of South African communities, using Planact as a case study. The specific objectives were to: 1) To explore the role Planact plays in development in Johannesburg; 2) To evaluate how Planact uses social capital as a strategy in promoting development if at all; 3) To explore the challenges of civil society organisations, particularly that of Planact in the development process of poor communities and 4) To make possible recommendations in the light of the roles and strategies of civil societies identified in analysing Planact ‘s strategy in development process for the poor. This study found that as a civil society organisation Planact is acting as a voice for the voiceless through its advocacy programme. It contributes to policy making, good governance and accountability. In addition, Planact promotes participation and assists in education and training. Planact uses different strategies to promote development in the community, such as mentoring, promoting integrated human settlement, using technology in networking, encouraging participation, community economic development and social organisation. Furthermore, the organisation uses forums, awareness campaigns and empowerment as strategies to promote development in the community. However, the study found that the organisation faces challenges because of limited funding. The community also encounters certain challenges as they engage with the organisation, for example, lack of accountability, unresponsiveness and inaccessibility. It was noted that civil society organisations should adopt a higher priority in development planning and practice and should allow the participation of poor people in the development process. / Development Studies / M.A. (S.S.)