Research Digest: 2006

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Tackling anti-social behaviour in the UK – 8 December 2006

Anti-social behaviour is an increasingly key topic of public concern in the UK. The National Audit Office (NAO), the UK government's official spending watchdog, has begun research on a range of measures used by the Home Office to address the problem. RAND Europe was commissioned by the NAO to conduct a review of international evidence on the effectiveness and cost-benefit of interventions to reduce anti-social behaviour and crime, beyond recent Home Office measures such as Anti-Social Behaviour Orders. The review identifies lessons from existing research on interventions in the UK and elsewhere that could lead to improvements in the government's strategy on anti-social behaviour.

Full Report NAO Report (www.nao.org.uk)

Study examines initiatives to increase social and environmental sustainability – 7 December 2006

RAND Europe was commissioned by the NAO to undertake a study to identify global examples of interesting practice in the field of sustainability accounting to inform NAO's support of the Prince of Wales' Accounting for Sustainability Project. This new initiative is aimed to help public and private sector organisations more effectively measure the wider environmental and social costs of their actions. In Part 3 of the report, RAND Europe shows examples of efforts directed at internalising the external costs of economic activity impacting the environment and how initiatives aim to change the behaviour of decision-makers and consumers.

Project Report (www.accountingforsustainability.org.uk)

Benchmarking of the use of personal advisers in Jobcentre Plus – 29 November 2006

The UK National Audit Office (NAO) commissioned RAND Europe to benchmark the deployment and management of personal advisers in three employment advice providers: Tomorrow's People, a non-governmental organisation in the United Kingdom; WorkDirections, a private sector provider in the United Kingdom; and the Centrum voor Werk en Inkomen (Centre for Work and Income), an independent government agency (Zelfstandig Bestuursorgaan) in the Netherlands. The main purpose of this study was to identify specific, transferable lessons that could lead to process improvements for Jobcentre Plus, the government employment advice office in the UK. Some of the main findings were : other employment advice providers focus more exclusively on employment advice than Jobcentre Plus; the cost per successful outcome (i.e. unemployed clients placed in employment) of Jobcentre Plus programmes is higher than that of other employment advice providers; and the initiatives of other providers to improve efficiency in the time use of advisers could offer valuable lessons for Jobcentre Plus.

Full Report NAO Report (www.nao.org.uk)

Violent Jihad and the UK: Suicide Terrorism in Context – 14 November 2006

On November 3rd 2006 the Royal United Services Institution (RUSI) hosted a Workshop on the theme of "Understanding Suicide Terrorism". It was well attended, with over two hundred and twenty representatives from the police, military, UK and foreign governments, academics, NGOs and the press. Dr. Lindsay Clutterbuck, Research Leader from the Defence and Security team at RAND Europe, contributed to the days events by giving a presentation entitled "Violent Jihad and the UK: Suicide Terrorism in Context". In it he outlined the role individuals from the UK had played in the evolution of suicide terrorism over the last twenty five years and how their justification for doing so may have had a bearing on their subsequent actions.

Download Presentation (Word document) Workshop Description (www.rusi.org)

RAND Europe contributes to report assessing delays in the administration of the 2005 Single Payment Scheme to farmers in England. — 17 October 2006

The UK National Audit Office (NAO) published a 'Value for Money' report today to which RAND Europe contributed research. RAND Europe's study, 'The Introduction of Single Farm Payments (SFP) in Germany' analyses the German experience of implementing the EU's Single Payment Scheme which was done to a similar timescale and on an equivalent basis to the scheme introduced in England earlier this year. The NAO commissioned RAND Europe to undertake a comparative analysis to assess the scheme in England and to learn good practice. The NAO report published today found that the risks and complexities involved in the delivery of SFP in England had been underestimated, causing problems for the farming industry.

Full Report NAO Report PDF (www.nao.org.uk)

Assessing Indirect Impacts of the EC Proposals for Video Regulation – 20 September 2006

RAND Europe advised UK communications regulator, Ofcom, on the indirect impacts of European proposals for Internet video regulation on three multimedia sectors (computer games, mobile and Internet Protocol TV). The report assesses the effect of the proposed regulation on investment and market structure, including net neutrality and Web2.0 type services. RAND Europe concludes that the EC proposals require more definitional certainty to prevent unforeseen adverse consequences.

Full Report Learn More News Release (www.ofcom.org.uk)

RAND Europe Helps Deliver Roadmap for Secure e-Government – 5 September 2006

The European Commission has asked RAND Europe to develop a roadmap for the implementation of new pan-European security measures for e-Government across Europe. Special emphasis shall be given to information security issues relating to the introduction of a pan-European e-Identity management framework. Selected experts representing EU Member State governments, industry and academia will comprise a working group, together with members from the European Commission. RAND Europe will support the working group by providing analysis of secure e-Government issues in Europe.

UK Fares Well in International Benchmark of Fraud and Error in Social Security Systems – 20 July 2006

An international benchmarking study, commissioned by the UK National Audit Office, has found levels of social security fraud and error in the UK to be similar to those in eight comparable countries, including the US, Canada and Ireland. However, the UK government agency responsible for administering social security benefit, the Department for Works and Pensions (DWP), has a better understanding of the fraud and error problem than equivalent agencies in the countries surveyed, and is doing more to monitor and prevent customer and official error, while combating fraud.

Full Report News Release (www.nao.org.uk)

IVF can contribute to increasing fertility rates in Europe — 19 June 2006

Results of a RAND Europe study released today at the European Society for Human Reproduction & Embryology (ESHRE) demonstrate that Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), such as IVF, could help European governments combat the problem of ageing populations if incorporated into population policies. The research is the first step to systematically examine the potential impact of biomedical developments such as fertility treatment on population ageing. The results of this analysis will be of interest to those who are concerned with policy options to reverse low fertility and mitigate the effects of population ageing. Swiss-based Ferring biopharmaceuticals provided the research grant supporting this study.

Full Report News Summary Related Report BBC Interview

Value of Reliability of Travellers on the Paris Suburban Railway Network — 19 May 2006

The development of a robust method to appraise the monetary benefits of different possible ways to improve regularity of the Paris suburban train network required values for its level of reliability. These values-of-reliability were obtained from a large-scale Stated Preference (SP) data set that was collected specifically for this project. This technical report presents the estimation results of models developed using this data set.

Full Report

Use of evidence in illegal drug classification — 1 March 2006

The UK Home Secretary's call for a review of the system for classifying illegal drugs in the UK (January 2006) is shining a spotlight on the use of evidence in making these often controversial policy decisions. The UK House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology had already identified the subject as needing investigation and commissioned RAND Europe to report on the UK Government's use of evidence in drug classification policy making.

RAND Europe Researchers Develop an Online Cyber-crime Tool — 27 February 2006

RAND Europe has developed an easy-to-use online tool that facilitates exchange of information among organisations in European Union (EU) member states, when they need to access national legislation on cyber-crime. The database contains information relating to cyber-crime law in each country and a list of relevant laws and provisions related to a common classification system of incidents.

The project, sponsored by the European Commission's Directorate General (DG) Information Society and Media, allows computer security incident response teams and information security experts to search and view relevant information in cases where security has been breached. For more information contact Neil Robinson (neilr@rand.org)

Read More Full Report 2005 CSIRT Handbook (csirt-handbook.org.uk)

Europe must dare to be smarter: the creation of a European Institute of Technology — 15 February 2006

The pace of debate on the development of a European Institute of Technology (EIT) is quickening. The European Commission (EC) has proposed the creation of an EIT to rival the likes of America's California (Caltech) and Massachusetts (MIT) Institute of Technology. At the end of last year, the EC launched a consultation procedure to explore ways to take the idea forward. The Commission's findings are to be released next month.

Many interested parties have contributed their opinions to the public debate, including RAND Europe. Dr. Titus Galama and Drs Erik Frinking, researchers in the Leiden office of RAND Europe, have examined the essential requirements and features key to the success of the world's top universities. Based on this study the authors assess the options available to establish an EIT. Galama and Frinking have co-authored opinion pieces highlighting RAND Europe's findings and recommendations. They have appeared in the Dutch newspaper, "NRC Handelsblad" on 15 February and the "Financial Times" on 22 February. For more information, contact Dr. T. Galama (Galama@rand.org).

Read More Full Report Financial Times Article (Free subscription required)

European Commission publishes a RAND Europe contribution to revision of audiovisual policy — 1 February 2006

RAND Europe assisted the European Commission with a contribution to the assessment of and extending the existing TV without Frontiers (TVWF) Directive. New technologies require adjustments to allow for more effective enforcement of the rules and to reduce unnecessary regulatory rigidities.

Recently released by the EC, the RAND Europe report analyses the future of broadcast video based on consideration of several regulatory options, ranging from deregulation to a mix of regulatory policies to full regulation of all commercial video offerings. RAND Europe researchers addressed the need to balance the benefits of Internal Market liberalisation with the impact of more stringent regulation on innovation and competition. They also considered the ability of governments to implement, monitor and enforce regulatory actions, and the assessment of associated costs.

The regulation under review covers a sector that is in continuous and rapid change, which introduces a high level of complexity and uncertainty. This dynamic context affects the ability to regulate and also influences the way impacts are assessed. The impact assessment focused in particular on the effects of the different policy options vis-à-vis the Lisbon objectives, and the agenda for Better Regulation. In December 2005, the Commission proposed a Directive to be debated and adopted or amended by the European Parliament and Council of Ministers.

Summary and Report (www.europa.eu.int)

Bertelsmann Foundation publishes study by RAND Europe and Potsdam University — 10 January 2006

This study examined the effectiveness of 'better regulation" policies namely, sunset provisions and related review (or evaluation) clauses. "Sunset" provisions require regulations (or programmes or agencies) to expire after a specified number of years (unless renewed by law); review clauses call for an evaluation rather than the termination of the law or programme.

Read More Full Report (German with English summary)