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Common measures facilitate the standardization of assessment practices. These types of measures are needed to develop instruments that can be used to assess the overall effectiveness of the U54 Comprehensive Partnerships to Advance Cancer Health Equity (CPACHE) funding mechanism. Developing common measures requires a multi-phase process. Stakeholders used the nominal group technique, a consensus development process, and the Grid-Enabled Measures (GEM) platform to identify evaluation constructs and measures of those constructs. Use of these instruments will ensure the implementation of standardized data elements, facilitate data integration, enhance the quality of evaluation reporting to the National Cancer Institute, foster comparative analyses across centers, and support the national assessment of the CPACHE program.

BACKGROUND Despite Group B streptococcus being a leading cause of maternal and infant morbidity and mortality, no vaccine is currently available to prevent this disease. To inform vaccine developers, countries, and funders, we analyse in this paper the key factors likely to influence the demand for a GBS vaccine and the long-term financial sustainability for a commercial entity considering the development of such a vaccine. METHODS By using population-based forecasting, we estimated the demand for a GBS vaccine based on the burden of disease, the strength of the maternal immunisation systems, the fiscal space, and the track record in introducing new vaccines. Furthermore, we estimated the financial viability for a vaccine developer by estimating the Net Present Value of the vaccine development project using a Discounted Cash Flow model. RESULTS Demand for this vaccine can be significant if policy recommendations for use are adopted by countries, in particular the largest ones, most of which have a burden that justifies the use of the vaccine and if financing for the vaccine will be made available either by countries themselves or by funding mechanisms such as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Different administration schedules may result in even larger demand. With a widespread policy recommendation, the commercial viability of this vaccine can be achieved. The cost of clinical development - particularly the type of pivotal trial required - and the number of competitors are the factors that can strongly influence the long-term financial sustainability and hence the interest of vaccine developers. CONCLUSIONS This analysis suggests the potential for full financial and commercial viability for a manufacturer pursuing the development and commercialization of a GBS vaccine. Risks exists in relation to the clinical trial design and costs, the level of competition, countries' ability to pay, the administration schedule and the availability of policies that encourage use of the vaccine. To reduce those risks and ensure equitable access to a GBS vaccine, the role of donors or financers can prove very important; as can a coordinated operational research agenda that aims at clarifying those areas of uncertainty.

Background Decision making process for Official Development Assistance (ODA) for healthcare sector in low-income and middle-income countries involves multiple agencies, each with their unique power, priorities and funding mechanisms. This process at country level has not been well studied. Methods This paper developed and applied a new framework to analyze decision-making process for priority setting in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Tanzania, and collected primary data to validate and refine the model. The framework was developed following a scoping review of published literature. Interviews were then conducted using a pre-determined interview guide developed by the research team. Transcripts were reviewed and coded based on the framework to identify what principles, players, processes, and products were considered during priority setting. Those elements were further used to identify where the potential capacity of local decision-makers could be harnessed. Results A framework was developed based on 40 articles selected from 6860 distinct search records. Twenty-one interviews were conducted in three case countries from 12 institutions. Transcripts or meeting notes were analyzed to identify common practices and specific challenges faced by each country. We found that multiple stakeholders working around one national plan was the preferred approach used for priority setting in the countries studied. Conclusions Priority setting process can be further strengthened through better use of analytical tools, such as the one described in our study, to enhance local ownership of priority setting for ODA and improve aid effectiveness.

Cultural policy guarantees freedom of expression, creates conditions for equal participation in the cultural life of the country, preserves and promotes the culture of different ethnic groups and religions, supports education, intercultural exchange and expands intercultural communication. In this context, the influence of European cultural policies on national ones is of particular importance for the development of art and the preservation of cultural values. The choice of priorities, goals andtasks, a good set of measures, funding mechanisms, accessibility to citizens, their recognition by society areof particular importance and favors the development of culture. In the context of the social isolation caused by COVID-19, cultural policies need to be updated. This report is based on an analysis of statistics relating to the expenditure on culture and the arts attheEuropean and national level, a comparative analysis of European cultural policies and their impact on national ones. The obtained results outline guidelines for the development of cultural policies at the regional level and can be a basis for practical application and further research in this direction

The EAEU, as one of the key integration associations of our time, is at the initial stage of its life cycle. This fact objectively presupposes, along with undoubted successes, the need for the EAEU to function in a problematic field, in the face of certain challenges, threats and risks. The main challenge to Eurasian integration is the “zero carbon footprint” and the EU’s intention to introduce a cross-border carbon tax as a tool for climate regulation. For a Eurasian response to the global challenge of zero carbon footprint, it is advisable to create an exchange of absorbing emissions within the EAEU. Experimental approaches, such as the introduction of an export duty on the carbon footprint, should to be used to create a funding mechanism for scientific and technical cooperation.

Purpose: To identify and rank opportunities and challenges around adapting supported employment interventions for people with chronic low back pain (LBP).Methods: Delegates from an international back and neck research forum were invited to join an expert panel. A modified nominal group technique (NGT) was used with four stages: silent generation, round robin, clarification, and ranking. Ranked items were reported back and ratified by the panel.Results: Nine experienced researchers working in the fields related to LBP and disability joined the panel. Forty-eight items were generated and grouped into 12 categories of opportunities/challenges. Categories ranked most important related respectively to policy and legislation, ensuring operational integration across different systems, funding interventions, and managing attitudes towards work and health, workplace flexibility, availability of "good" work for this client group, dissonance between client and system aims, timing of interventions, and intervention development.Conclusions: An expert panel believes the most important opportunities/challenges around adapting supporting employment interventions for people with chronic LBP are facilitating integration/communication between systems and institutions providing intervention components, optimising research outputs for informing policy needs, and encouraging discussion around funding mechanisms for research and interventions. Addressing these factors may help improve the quality and impact of future interventions.Implications for rehabilitationInteraction pathways between health, employment, and social systems need to be improved to effectively deliver intervention components that necessarily span these systems.Research-policy communication needs to be improved by researchers and policy makers, so that research outputs can be consumed by policy makers, and so that researchers recognise the gaps in knowledge needed to underpin policy.Improvements in research-policy communication and coordination would facilitate the delivery of research output at a time when it is likely to make the most impact on policy-making.Discussion and clarification surrounding funding mechanisms for research and interventions may facilitate innovation generally.

The tradition of memorialising people and events through physical constructions such as statues and monuments like in many countries, has shaped the public space of a modern South Africa. Considering the colonial and apartheid history of South Africa, these physical markers, often uncontextualized, continue to maintain positions of prominence within the modern streetscape.Since the turn of the democratic era in South Africa, a pressing need has existed to assess the impact of the markers on the heritage landscape of the country. An endeavour made more difficult by a lack of a comprehensive inventory of these resources across the country.The National Audit of Monuments and Memorials (NAMM) was designed to address this gap through a full national survey of monuments and memorials, conducted under the auspices of a job creation stimulus package designed to create short term employment in the wake of the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. Undertaking this project under this funding mechanism required that all phases of the project be undertaken within a six-month period.The compressed timeframes associated with this project required an approach that could support a level of fluidity to address the challenges of undertaking a project of this nature, whilst ensuring that the data collected by field surveyors can be monitored and included in the inventory of the national estate in an effective manner.The aim of this paper is to discuss and showcase the tools and workflows used to roll out and manage the large-scale national audit of monuments and memorials across South Africa.

In the US, recent efforts have focused on professionalizing the field of early childhood. One way to indicate professionalism is through the terms used to describe both the field and the workers. However, few have examined how practitioners or researchers describe early childhood professionals’ work. Using multiple data sources and analytic strategies, we examined the ways that those working with young children described their role and setting, as well as how these were described in research and practitioner journals. “Teacher” was the preferred term for both journals and professionals, and terms for setting reflected traditional K-12 school structures. Professionals linked these terms to the idea that early childhood education was teaching and preparing children for formal schooling. Many contrasted their work with daycare and babysitting, noting that planning, curriculum use, expertise, program quality, funding mechanisms, professionalism, and early childhood as an important developmental period all contributed to their roles as teachers in preschool settings. Implications are discussed.

This article brings a research whose method is based on historical materialism and dialectic and aims to exhaust the determinations of the object of analysis revealing its pseudo-concreticity until reaching its essence. The proposal of the New Fundeb, promulgated in the National Congress (EC 108/20), presents itself as a panacea for the ills of financing basic education in the country. However, the problems of Fundeb created by EC 53/06 are accentuated with the new EC 108/20. The capitalization of public basic education has found fertile ground in the new permanent funding mechanism. Among the most questionable elements are: the mercantile logic in the distribution of the ICMS (municipal tax) and the complementation of Fundeb (2.5%); the centrality in the elevation of the learning indexes – that can generate unfair dispute between networks with greater availability of resources and those with less; the consolidation of the meritocracy and of possible frauds in the indicators; the impracticability of the CAQ in face of the not generous complementation of the entity that collects more taxes in the country. Although filled with progressive terms, from a practical point of view, the New Fundeb will probably not universalize with quality the Brazilian basic education, as it happened with its predecessor.

Herein, we describe the unique interplay among biomedical ethics, principles of distributive justice, and economic theory to highlight the role of health technology assessments to compare therapeutic options for aortic valve replacement. From the perspective of the Canadian health care system, transcatheter aortic-valve implantation is associated with higher costs but also higher incremental health benefits compared with surgical aortic-valve replacement. At current willingness to pay thresholds, transcatheter aortic-valve replacement is likely cost effective across the spectrum of risk, from inoperable patients to those at low surgical risk. However, we highlight the nuances within each subgroup of surgical risk that merit careful consideration by the heart team. Moreover, incorporation of patients and their preferences in decision-making is key. In particular, in young, low-risk patients, there remains uncertainty regarding the optimal treatment, with unique concerns around valve durability, selection of valve prosthesis, and consideration for special procedures such as the Ross procedure. Nonetheless, current research suggests that, universally, patients prefer a less invasive approach compared with a more invasive approach. Finally, we highlight that there remain critical issues around timeliness of access to care and unacceptable geographic inequities across Canada. Further research into alternative funding mechanisms and integrated cross-sector care pathways is necessary to address these issues.

The research employs WLS Regression for examining the main determinants of the ICO profitability in the crowdfunding stage. The variables are divided into three main categories: financial and technological aspects, and the ICO characteristics, with the aim of verifying which parts most influence the funds raised. The results imply that financial and technological aspects might indeed have an impact on the ICO profitability. The key factors covered are the open source code availability and the preset hard cap. Overall, the econometric analysis discloses that the amount raised during the ICO is not affected by the availability of a white paper and pre-sales, even though some researchers argue differently.

Pandemi COVID-19 berdampak tidak hanya terkait implementasi kebijakan pemerintah pusat, tetapi juga pemerintah daerah. Mekanisme pendanaan transfer khusus seperti DAK fisik yang merupakan dana pemerintah pusat yang dilaksanakan oleh pemerintah daerah sesuai prioritas nasional bukan tanpa kendala. Sejak awal COVID-19 masuk ke Indonesia, tidak optimalnya proses pembangunan yang didanai DAK Fisik diantisipasi pemerintah pusat dengan mengeluarkan berbagai paket kebijakan, baik refocusing maupun relaksasi pencairan anggaran. Dari sisi pemerintah daerah, implementasi di tingkat lapangan harus tetap dituntut optimal meskipun dalam perjalanannya harus berhadapan dengan aturan-aturan terkait COVID-19 yang seringkali menghambat pencapaian target. Adaptasi pemerintah daerah dalam proses pembangunan selama pamdemi COVID-19 menjadi hal yang menarik untuk dikupas lebih jauh. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini dilakukan dengan pendekatan mixed method melalui analisis berbasis survei online, literature review dan diskusi virtual. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menyajikan informasi kendala adaptasi pemerintah daerah dalam implementasi DAK Fisik saat pandemi COVID-19 sebagai masukan perencanaan DAK yang lebih baik dari sudut pandang pelaksana lapangan. Hasil analisis merekomendasikan upaya pentingnya pertimbangan dan keterlibatan pemerintah daerah dan karakteristik wilayah pada perencanaan DAK, dengan harapan pembangunan dapat dilaksanakan lebih baik, terkini dan adaptif termasuk saat kondisi darurat. Kata Kunci: Survei Online, DAK, COVID-19, Pemerintah Daerah

Background Finding new therapeutic uses for existing medicines could lead to safe, affordable and timely new treatment options for patients with high medical needs. However, due to a lack of economic incentives, pharmaceutical developers are rarely interested to invest in research with approved medicines, especially when they are out of basic patent or regulatory protection. Consequently, potential new uses for these medicines are mainly studied in independent clinical trials initiated and led by researchers from academia, research institutes, or collaborative groups. Yet, additional financial support is needed to conduct expensive phase III clinical trials to confirm the results from exploratory research. Methods In this study, scientific and grey literature was searched to identify and evaluate new mechanisms for funding clinical trials with repurposed medicines. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 European stakeholders with expertise in clinical research, funding mechanisms and/or drug repurposing between November 2018 and February 2019 to consider the future perspectives of applying new funding mechanisms. Results Traditional grant funding awarded by government and philanthropic organisations or companies is well known and widely implemented in all research fields. In contrast, only little research has focused on the application potential of newer mechanisms to fund independent clinical research, such as social impact bonds, crowdfunding or public-private partnerships. Interviewees stated that there is a substantial need for additional financial support in health research, especially in areas where there is limited commercial interest. However, the implementation of new funding mechanisms is facing several practical and financial challenges, such as a lack of expertise and guidelines, high transaction costs and difficulties to measure health outcomes. Furthermore, interviewees highlighted the need for increased collaboration and centralisation at a European and international level to make clinical research more efficient and reduce the need for additional funding. Conclusions New funding mechanisms to support clinical research may become more important in the future but the unresolved issues identified in the current study warrant further exploration.

Ten states have created natural-resource-based Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF) to allow a fraction of the wealth derived from the extraction of non-renewable resources to be available for future use. Minnesota does not have a SWF, even though companies have been mining in the state for over 100 years. Herein, we present backward and forward-looking scenarios to estimate the potential magnitude of a “what-if” extraction-based fund. A 1.5% of value tax is suggested as an SWF funding mechanism. Based on historical extraction, prices, and investment returns, a large SWF could already exist. In the forward-looking section, we begin by econometrically estimating the supply and demand of US iron ore production to better understand how an increase in mining taxes would likely effect mining output (i.e., the production effect). After accounting for an estimated 4% production loss, results suggest enough minerals could still be extracted to create a permanent fund with between $930 million (US) and $1.6 billion dollars (US) in direct contributions by 2050 (depending on price). Using reasonable assumptions of a 2% inflation rate and a 5% annual investment return, the fund size could range from $3 billion to $5 billion by 2050.

Purpose\ud Health policy in England has advocated the use of primary care clinicians at emergency departments to address pressures from rising attendances. This study explored senior managers’ perspective son funding mechanisms used to implement the policy and experiences of success or challenges in introducing GPs in or alongside emergency departments.\ud \ud Methods\ud The perspectives of senior clinical, business and finance managers with responsibility for emergency department services and on-site primary care service implementation were investigated in semi-structured interviews with 31 managers at 12 type-1 emergency departments in England and Wales (February 2018 - September 2019). Emergency departments operated one of three GP models or had prior experience of implementing a GP model. Interviews were thematically analysed.\ud \ud Results\ud Perceived successful GPs models in emergency departments were reliant on well-organised and unified funding mechanisms, appropriate staffing and governance, and consideration of population demands and needs. Funding mechanisms and the flow of funds were reported as complex, especially in Inside-parallel GP models. The most efficient mechanisms were described at departments where funding was unified, in collaboration with health and community care services. Staffing with local, experienced GPs was important. There were cautions from experiences with private locum providers.\ud \ud Conclusion\ud Our findings contribute to debates about implementing policy on how primary care clinicians are effectively and safely deployed in emergency departments and how local context should be considered.

While many state-level finance equity studies examine the effectiveness of state funding mechanisms overall, fewer examine specific components that make up these mechanisms. This research uses state-level longitudinal administrative data to examine levels of horizontal and vertical equity in the distribution of teacher salary dollars via the position allotment element of the North Carolina state funding mechanism. Using OLS regression with districts and year fixed effects, we find inequities in the allocation of teacher salary dollars related to concentrations of racial and language minority groups at the district level. Specifically, we find inequities linked to African-American and English-learning students. We hypothesize that these inequities are linked to the use of prior-year district salaries to calculate current-year allocations, resulting in a cycle of inequity that builds over time.

The mining sector has been the cornerstone of economic growth in Zimbabwe hence funding becomes very crucial to resuscitate the economy. The study aimed to assess the funding mechanisms for the mining sector of Zimbabwe and the effect of these on the performance of the sector. A quantitative study was carried out in the mining sector. The research findings showed that respondents pointed out that the funding mechanisms used in the mining sector of Zimbabwe are project finance, finance by private equity, public bonds and loans from banks and other financial institutions. It was also revealed that over and above available mechanisms, investment in the mining sector is being influenced by Interest rate, Business economic empowerment policies, bank lending criteria and Technical information, simultaneously. Furthermore, the study established that the mining sector needs skilled and technical staff, Technical information, banks’ lending criteria and Capital markets to get funding from investors. It was derived that, investment in the mining sector will increase production, product quality and profitability which in turn lead to infrastructural development. In addition, it is envisaged that funding will result in mining exports increase at the same time that new technologies are being introduced and the GDP is rising. Owing to the focus being exclusively on the funding of the mining sector, the study also recommended further studies on other factors, besides funding, that are affecting the performance of the sector.

The field of data science has great potential to address critical questions relevant for academic medical centers. Data science initiatives are consequently being established within academic medicine. At the cornerstone of such initiatives are scientists who practice data science. These scientists include biostatisticians, clinical informaticians, database and software developers, computational scientists, and computational biologists. Too often, however, those involved in the practice of data science are viewed by academic leadership as providing a noncomplex service to facilitate research and further the careers of other academic faculty. The authors contend that the success of data science initiatives relies heavily on the understanding that the practice of data science is a critical intellectual contribution to the overall science conducted at an academic medical center. Further, careful thought by academic leadership is needed for allocation of resources devoted to the practice of data science. At the Stanford University School of Medicine, the authors have developed an innovative model for a data science collaboratory based on 4 fundamental elements: an emphasis on collaboration over consultation; a subscription-based funding mechanism that reflects commitment by key partners; an investment in the career development of faculty who practice data science; and a strong educational component for data science members in team science and for clinical and translational investigators in data science. As data science becomes increasingly essential to learning health systems, centers that specialize in the practice of data science are a critical component of the research infrastructure and intellectual environment of academic medical centers.

This paper explores the organizational and economic response of higher education to the coronavirus pandemic and the emergency transition to distance learning. We analyze the situation across different categories of universities as well as how they respond to campus closures and to the urgent transition to remote student-faculty interactions in learning. We also assess the education system’s need for additional public funding to promote digital learning environments, foster professional development of faculty members, and create job opportunities for students who have lost their jobs that paid their education and/or accommodation. Improvement scenarios are proposed for the funding mechanisms underlying the fulfillment of government contract for education and science, which have been applied since 2013.

Policy Points\ud Equitable access to a COVID‐19 vaccine in all countries remains a key policy objective, but experience of previous pandemics suggests access will be limited in developing countries, despite the rapid development of three successful vaccine candidates.\ud The COVAX Facility seeks to address this important issue, but the prevalence of vaccine nationalism threatens to limit the ability of the facility to meet both its funding targets and its ambitious goals for vaccine procurement.\ud A failure to adequately address the underlying lack of infrastructure in developing countries threatens to further limit the success of the COVAX Facility.\ud Context\ud Significant effort has been directed toward developing a COVID‐19 vaccine, which is viewed as the route out of the pandemic. Much of this effort has coalesced around COVAX, the multilateral initiative aimed at accelerating the development of COVID‐19 vaccines, and ensuring they are equitably available in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs). This paper represents the first significant analysis of COVAX, and the extent to which it can be said to have successfully met these aims.\ud \ud Methods\ud This paper draws on the publicly available policy documents made available by the COVAX initiatives, as well as position papers and public statements from governments around the world with respect to COVID‐19 vaccines and equitable access. We analyze the academic literature regarding access to vaccines during the H1N1 pandemic. Finally, we consider the WHO Global Allocation System, and its principles, which are intended to guide COVAX vaccine deployment.\ud \ud Findings\ud We argue that the funding mechanism deployed by the COVAX Pillar appears to be effective at fostering at‐risk investments in research and development and the production of doses in advance of confirmation of clinical efficacy, but caution that this represents a win‐win situation for vaccine manufacturers, providing them with opportunity to benefit regardless of whether their vaccine candidate ever goes on to gain regulatory approval. We also argue that the success of the COVAX Facility with respect to equitable access to vaccine is likely to be limited, primarily as a result of the prevalence of vaccine nationalism, whereby countries adopt policies which heavily prioritize their own public health needs at the expense of others.\ud \ud Conclusions\ud Current efforts through COVAX have greatly accelerated the development of vaccines against COVID‐19, but these benefits are unlikely to flow to LMICs, largely due to the threat of vaccine nationalism.

Traditional training and funding mechanisms in academic health centers often do not support its faculty, staff, and trainees in evaluating and implementing innovative ideas, necessitating supplemental innovation programming. The University of Michigan (U-M) Frankel Cardiovascular Center partnered with U-M Fast Forward Medical Innovation (FMMI), a biomedical innovation and commercialization unit funded in part by the Clinical and Translational Science Award awarded to the Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research, to provide training and resources to advance ideas toward impacting patients. The program recruited faculty, trainees, staff, patients, and family members from multidisciplinary backgrounds. Engaging patients and family members expanded the ideas generated and furthered clinical relevance. Over two years, 11 project teams completed an 11-week, 16-session course on innovation and entrepreneurship concepts that incorporated workshops to progress ideas and develop a pitch for development funding. An increase in knowledge was reported in key innovation topics, such as customer discovery, assessing markets, and intellectual property. Participants reported an increase in project preparation, including obtaining stakeholder support, preparation of a development plan, readiness to apply for funding, and filing invention disclosures. This program can serve as a model for implementing training and funding mechanisms to advance innovative ideas.

Strengthening evidence base and earmarked federal funding has spurred implementation of Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) for people experiencing early psychosis. However, existing funding mechanisms are insufficient and unsustainable to support population deployment of CSC. This paper describes the design framework of an innovative payment model for CSC that includes a bundled case rate payment and an optional outcome-based payment. To assist CSC payer and provider organizations in designing payment systems tailored to local preferences and circumstances, the research team is developing a decision-support tool that allows users to define design choices and provide inputs. This paper documents the analytical algorithms underlying the tool and discusses ways by which the tool could be further developed or expanded for CSC and other behavioral health interventions that feature an interdisciplinary team of clinicians and non-clinical professionals, public education and outreach, patient-centeredness, and a recovery orientation.

Aim. The presented study aims to examine project initiatives and proposals for improving funding mechanisms for infrastructure projects based on public-private partnership in the Russian Federation.Tasks. The authors consider approaches and project initiatives of the G20 countries pertaining to the implementation of public-private partnership projects in the context of the adaptation of infrastructure projects to the Russian market (for the purpose of improving the quality and efficiency of the implementation of infrastructure projects in the Russian market).Methods. The methodological basis of this study includes works of Russian and foreign researchers in the field of public-private partnership and project financing. The authors use methods of scientific research (expert and comparative analysis, grouping and generalization) selected in accordance with the goals and objectives of the study as well as information publicly available on the official websites of the ROSINFRA platform and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation.Results. Comparative analysis of foreign and national practices in the public-private partnership market makes it possible to identify a number of potential initiatives, including a new approach to the examination of infrastructure projects and proposals for attracting additional investment resources to the public-private partnership market. Adaptation of foreign competencies to the Russian public private partnership market will drive the transformation of the current PPP project model in Russia.Conclusions. Analysis of methods used by the G20 to assess and implement infrastructure projects based on public-private partnership makes it possible to formulate potential initiatives and proposals for improving approaches to the implementation of infrastructure projects based on public-private partnership in the Russian market and to determine the development vector for the national infrastructure project model.

The City of Bulawayo urgently needs to rebuild its dilapidated infrastructure and stimulate its economic activities. A Public-Private Partnership funding mechanism could enable the implementation of Trackless Trams on its corridors bringing mobility, a new solar power system and other multiple economic and social benefits, especially demonstrating the intention of Bulawayo to leapfrog into a 21st century future. This study designs a PPP model referred to as a Three Multifaceted PPP Model (TMPM) that will enable the implementation of the Trackless Tram project in Bulawayo. The TMPM model is composed of three layers of players each required to structure a separate PPP arrangement. The city council would lead the first layer responsible for road construction. The real estate developers would lead the second layer and be responsible for constructing station precincts especially the construction of a solar-based Transit Mall. The Trackless Tram consortium and public transport agency will manage the third layer that provides and operates the trams. The split of the project into three layers should enable its quicker delivery by lowering capital risk through spreading it over a number of players. Climate finance could be tapped. This model should be replicable to other developing cities.

Problem definition: We consider an entrepreneur designing a fixed funding rewards-based crowdfunding campaign for an innovative product. Product quality is known to the entrepreneur but unknown to some backers. We study how the entrepreneur can signal quality to backers via the design of the crowdfunding campaign, including the price of the reward and the funding target. Academic/practical relevance: Crowdfunding is a new and popular way of funding innovative products. Despite numerous advantages, there are challenges to this model, one of the most significant being credibly signaling information about product quality to a pool of small, uninformed investors. We explore how an entrepreneur might accomplish this and overcome a key obstacle to crowdfunding. Methodology: We employ a game theoretic model of signaling between an entrepreneur and campaign backers. Results: We find that the entrepreneur should signal high quality by setting a high target that is distorted above the full information optimal level. While a separating equilibrium always exists, a pooling equilibrium can only occur under very specific circumstances. We show that the high target affects the quality choice of entrepreneurs and may deter unique, high-quality projects. In addition, we discuss how the entrepreneur should modify the signaling strategy when a high target potentially deters backers from pledging because of the cost of participating in a failed campaign. Managerial implications: We show how entrepreneurs can effectively design their crowdfunding campaign to signal high quality, thus providing guidance to creators listing products on crowdfunding websites. We also show information asymmetry and signaling affect product quality decisions by creators, which in turn is of interest to platform designers seeking to solicit high-quality products for their platforms.

Cybersecurity has rapidly emerged as a grand societal challenge of the 21st century. Innovative solutions to proactively tackle emerging cybersecurity challenges are essential to ensuring a safe and secure society. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rapidly emerged as a viable approach for sifting through terabytes of heterogeneous cybersecurity data to execute fundamental cybersecurity tasks, such as asset prioritization, control allocation, vulnerability management, and threat detection, with unprecedented efficiency and effectiveness. Despite its initial promise, AI and cybersecurity have been traditionally siloed disciplines that relied on disparate knowledge and methodologies. Consequently, the AI for Cybersecurity discipline is in its nascency. In this article, we aim to provide an important step to progress the AI for Cybersecurity discipline. We first provide an overview of prevailing cybersecurity data, summarize extant AI for Cybersecurity application areas, and identify key limitations in the prevailing landscape. Based on these key issues, we offer a multi-disciplinary AI for Cybersecurity roadmap that centers on major themes such as cybersecurity applications and data, advanced AI methodologies for cybersecurity, and AI-enabled decision making. To help scholars and practitioners make significant headway in tackling these grand AI for Cybersecurity issues, we summarize promising funding mechanisms from the National Science Foundation (NSF) that can support long-term, systematic research programs. We conclude this article with an introduction of the articles included in this special issue.

Despite growing attention to gender disparities in higher education, women in academia still receive less research funding and recognition. Previous research on this gender gap has focused on biomedical, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the West—relatively silent on social sciences and Asia. This study examined how well staff gender, submission rate, success rate, and amount per award could predict annual changes in the number and amount of grant funding for academic years 2015/2016–2020/2021 in the Faculty of Social Science at the University of Hong Kong, a leading institution in social sciences in Asia. Decomposition analysis revealed that, compared to men, women had higher submission rates, which significantly contributed to an increase in the number of awards for the University in recent years in two major funding mechanisms (namely, General Research Fund and Early Career Scheme), especially from 2019/2020 to 2020/2021. Women also outperformed men in the success rate in the Early Career Scheme (i.e., within the first three years of faculty appointment). Both submission rate and success rate contributed to changes in award number and the total amount for the University over time. Overall, women had a higher submission rate, successful rate, and amount per award than their male counterparts. We have identified good practices and distinctive contextual factors in Hong Kong that likely contribute to the lack of gender bias for research grant application results in Social Sciences.