Contribution analysis

The continued use of digital devices, such as smartphones and tablets, has substantially changed the way we communicate and acquire knowledge. Museums are a key element in our society and a source of culture. Updating the method of transmission of museum culture is needed, so technologies related to the Internet have been integrated into the exposed elements. One of the most widespread methods among innovation trends in museums is the use of Quick Response (QR) codes for the transmission of additional information to the exposed elements. The case of the Alborania Museum, being a museum of environmental education, has live animals in veterinary treatment, so the information on the available animals is constantly changing. Establishing posters would have an environmental impact that is against the museum's ethics, so QRs are the best way to present dynamic content with low environmental impact. This article proposes an evaluation of an educational innovation project in the Alborania Museum of Malaga through the Contribution Analysis, in order to verify the value of QR codes as an improvement in the transmission of environmental education. The results show a very good acceptance and usability in this museistic context. The conclusions of this study are relevant to the optimisation of environmental museum information.

Le Sénégal observe une pression de plus en plus accrue sur les terres ; l'axe entre les grandes villes-Dakar-Thiés-Mbour-est particulièrement touché. Dans cette zone, le phénomène de l'accaparement des terres entraîne la disparition progressive des étendues à vocation agricole et pastorale au profit des activités de multinationales, de l'implantation des projets de l'Etat et de ceux des privés nationaux. Une situation qui complique une gestion durable du foncier pour la plupart des communes de la région. Dans une zone où les populations ne vivent quasiment que de l'agriculture, les exploitations familiales, déjà impactées par la croissance démographique et les changements climatiques, perdent aussi progressivement leur patrimoine foncier. C'est dans ce contexte que, dans 7 communes du triangle-Dakar-Mbour-Thiès-, l'EPER a mis en oeuvre, au cours de la période 2015/mars 2020, le projet « Sécurisation du patrimoine foncier » en collaboration avec les organisations-partenaires Enda-Pronat, ACCES et FAPD.

Facilitated learning approaches are increasingly being used as a means to enhance climate and sustainability collaborations working across disciplines, regions, and scales. With investments into promoting and supporting inter-and transdisciplinary learning in major programs on complex global challenges like climate change on the rise, scholars and practitioners are calling for a more grounded and empirical understanding of learning processes and their outcomes. Yet, methodologies for studying the interplay between learning and change in these initiatives remain scarce, owing to both the "hard to measure" nature of learning and the complexity of large-scale program implementation and evaluation. This paper proposes a new method for studying social learning in the context of large research programs. It aims to analyze the social learning of researchers and practitioners engaged in these programs and assess the contributions of this learning to the resilience of the natural and social systems that these programs seek to influence. We detail the theoretical basis for this new approach and set out six steps for developing multi-layered contribution pathways and contribution stories with stakeholders to document both the process and outcomes of social learning. The proposed method, we argue, can strengthen our analytical capacity to uncover the structural drivers and barriers to social learning that are often masked by the complexity of large-scale programs. An illustrative example, drawn from a large-scale climate adaptation research program, provides evidence on how this method might advance our methodological strategies for studying learning in these programs. We conclude by highlighting two key methodological contributions brought about through this approach, and by reflecting on opportunities for further methodological development. Enriching our understanding of learning and change processes, we argue, is an important avenue for understanding how we can pursue transformations for sustainability.

This research illustrates a pragmatic approach to evaluating the small and medium sized enterprise policy support in small or intermediate N research situations. A public interest perspective is taken. The suggested approach is most appropriate in settings where, for a variety of reasons, a study is unable to meet the requirements of a true experimental design (e.g. random assignment, establishment of counterfactuals, control groups, random samples, etc.). This approach will deliver findings on the contribution of the multiple factors influencing a result and will show whether the implicit theory of change for the policy under evaluation makes the expected contribution to the observed result and in what way. The Contribution Analysis finds that the theory of change for the policy under analysis was not verified in the study period. The outputs and outcomes of the analysis broadly support this conclusion. Moreover, the study finds that the primary limiting factor on profitable small and medium sized enterprise growth was the ‘limited endowments of managerial resources’ (Penrose, 1959) to manage the value-adding growth process and the lack of ‘well thought out, well managed projects’ (Walsh, 1985) and not lack of access to equity finance as surmised by policymakers. Whilst Ireland is used as the case example in the study, there are significant lessons for policy evaluators in other late-developing states and in regions with policy autonomy in the enterprise domain.