Archive for the ‘Decentralization’ Category

Supporting Ukraine and democracy – opinion – The Jerusalem Post

Winning the war in deepening democracy is Ukraines choice. Its approach is to accelerate the decentralization of power and develop local-to-local cooperation partnerships with local actors in Europe. Among the immense challenges regarding civilian populations, children are the priority. This vision was clearly endorsed by all levels of Ukrainian authorities during the recent summit of cities and regions in Kyiv.

Faced with a brutal military aggression, some countries would have chosen the path of entrenching the regime. Not Ukraine. The full-scale war unleashed by Russia in February 2022 has not caused the country to deviate from the democratic trajectory to which it has resolutely committed itself since 2014. On the contrary, despite the war, efforts have intensified to make governance more transparent and effective to fight corruption and to strengthen the rule of law.

At the heart of these democratic efforts is the process of decentralization of power. In Ukraine, the participation of the population in the development and implementation of public policies is not wishful thinking, it is a daily reality and a project for the future. The current deepening of decentralization in the midst of the war gives more power to citizens, strengthens local ownership of policies and consolidates social cohesion.

This decentralization movement is fundamental because it allows Ukraine to overcome the greatest challenge a nation can face: brutal military aggression by a cruel, powerful, authoritarian regime determined to destroy its national existence.

While democracy is weakening everywhere, Ukraine thus offers a way forward to renew it and generate support from the people again, as it showed in 2014 with the EuroMaidan civic protest movement. The value of the European project was that it drew wide support despite that such support was waning everywhere across the continent.

The political costs that are at stake as viewed during the war appear with clarity. Two models are in direct confrontation with each other. On one side, sits the democratic, decentralized Ukrainian model, with increasing participation of the population in the exercise of power. While on the other side, sits the centralized, authoritarian, increasingly oppressive Russian model, supported by its authoritarian, theocratic and dictatorial allies. On one side, a project of liberation and projection toward the future; on the other side, a gruesome attempt to go backward and constitute a USSR 2.0.

In order to have liberty and democracy succeed and to make the decentralization process more efficient, cooperative partnerships between local actors from Ukraine and Europe are fundamental.

THIS IS a public call to regions, cities, agglomerations, civil society organizations: we reach out to you to establish institutional and operational partnerships with your Ukrainian counterparts. This is how we will continue to learn from each other, to improve, to deeply anchor Ukraine on the continent and to mutually invent a shared European identity.

Ukraine has a lot to learn from the expertise of its European friends to rebuild itself better. It has many innovations developed during the war in several fields to share.

Among all the challenges concerning the civilian population, children are the priority. They suffer terribly,and they are the future of the country. Traveling to Europe, meeting youth from other cultures, gaining experience and acquiring skills will allow the younger generations to continue the work of liberation and democratization that is underway to carry forward for decades to come.

The abduction of over 16,200 Ukrainian children by Russia is a war crime according to the International Criminal Court, and constitutes a crime of genocide according to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide adopted by the UN in 1948. There is no greater urgency than their immediate release.

Support for the millions of Ukrainian children who are suffering because of the war must be at the heart of the local-to-local cooperation partnerships between actors of Ukraine and Europe. These children need a prykhystok, a shelter, a refuge, to breathe away from the horrors of the war. Such relief will allow them be children again, help them overcome the immeasurable trauma they suffer and continue to live in spite of this, with this.

In particular, we have three specific requests for actors in Europe: welcome these children for respite stays for a few weeks; organize transplanted classes for a month: children who have started their fourth consecutive school year in distance learning come to Europe with their teachers to learn the Ukrainian curriculum in person and thus repair some of the damage in mental health, educational level and socialization; finally, support the development of children and youth empowerment centers in Ukraine, especially in the areas that are the most affected by the war.

Offering youth a prykhystok in Europe also relieves the women who are often responsible for them. The local communities overall are therefore supported.

The establishment of cooperation partnerships between local actors from Ukraine and Europe, with activities for children at their heart, will support the movement of decentralization and the deepening of democracy in Ukraine. It is the victory of liberty and democracy against authoritarianism and oppression that is at stake. Long live democracy, long live Europe, Slava Ukraini!

The governors of 24 regions and the mayors of 117 cities and towns in Ukraine signed this article, along with national leaders. Here is a link to the full list of signatories:

https://www.europe-prykhystok.org/post/list-of-signatories-of-the-opinion-paper.

Benjamin Abtan is cofounder and director of Europe Prykhystok. Oleksandra Matviichuk is head of the nonprofit Centre for Civil Liberties, a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, and a campaigner for democratic reforms in Ukraine.

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Supporting Ukraine and democracy - opinion - The Jerusalem Post

Exploring the Possibilities of Web3: A New Era of Decentralization – Asia Business Outlook

In a conversation with Prisila, Correspondent, Asia Business Outlook, Harry shares his views on the biggest challenges facing the adoption and growth of Web3 now. During the conversation he also discussed how to develop a strategic revenue strategy.

What do you believe will be the biggest use cases for Web3 in the next 5-10 years?

When block chain technology was first introduced, many people were skeptical and did not fully understand its potential. However, as the number of successful block chain projects grew, people began to recognize its value and potential impact. Similarly, Web3 is currently a rising trend, but I believe it will quickly become more widespread in the near future.

In the next 5-10 years, we can expect Web3 to be widely adopted for decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, DeFi social networks, and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). These applications have the potential to transform traditional financial systems, enhance user privacy and security, and provide greater access to financial services. However, as with any emerging technology, we can also expect to see new and innovative Web3 use cases in the near future.

What advice would you give to businesses looking to adopt Web3 technologies?

My advice to businesses looking to adopt Web3 technologies would be to first gain a thorough understanding of the technology and its potential use cases. They should also carefully evaluate their business needs and determine how Web3 technologies can enhance their operations and improve competitive advantages. And the other piece of advice is to start small. Instead of trying to implement Web3 technologies on a large scale, businesses should start with smaller, pilot projects to test the technology and identify any potential challenges or issues.

Building a strong network of peers, mentors, and advisors is crucial. This can keep you informed of new opportunities in the industry, and help you connect with potential partners and customers.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges facing the adoption and growth of Web3 now?

From my perspective, I believe the main challenges hindering the adoption and growth of Web3 are the lack of awareness and understanding among businesses, as well as the complexity of the technology itself. Many businesses may not see the immediate benefits of adopting Web3 technologies and may be hesitant to invest in something they don't fully understand. Additionally, the technology is still in its early stages and requires specialized knowledge and expertise to implement and manage effectively. As such, it is important for businesses to educate themselves on Web3 and work with experienced partners to navigate the complex landscape of this emerging technology.

Do you feel there is an approach or technique to success in this role? What advice do you have for aspiring leaders in this position who are looking to take advantage of new opportunities?

As a Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) of an IT/Blockchain company, I have some advice for leaders and managers in similar positions. Firstly, even if you are not a technical expert, it's important to keep up with tech trends and develop your technical skills. Having a basic understanding of the tools and platforms used in the industry will help you effectively communicate with your team and make informed decisions about technology investments.

Secondly, focus on developing strong leadership skills, such as communication, delegation, and problem-solving. Knowing how to select suitable team members for different positions will help them to develop optimally.

Finally, building a strong network of peers, mentors, and advisors is crucial. This can keep you informed of new opportunities in the industry, and help you connect with potential partners and customers. Networking is vital in the technology industry and can help you to stay ahead of the curve.

"Having a basic understanding of the tools and platforms used in the industry will help you effectively communicate with your team and make informed decisions about technology investments."

Tell me about how you utilize key performance indicators (KPIs) and other metrics to assess and improve performance in your job, as well as how you develop a strategic revenue strategy. Please describe your procedure.

For me, a highly effective way to track and manage a company's growth is through regular market research and setting Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) based on quarterly market growth. For instance, at SotaTek, the marketing department conducts research quarterly to identify potential markets for development such as Asia, the US, Europe, etc. Based on the level of demand and growth of each region, the sales director then sets KPIs such as the number of leads per month for sales and decides which services to prioritize. This enables us to track our progress and make data-driven decisions in developing a strategic revenue strategy.

Additionally, we develop a strategic revenue strategy by aligning our business objectives with market trends & customer needs and regularly reviewing & adjusting our strategy based on performance metrics and feedback from our customers and stakeholders.

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Exploring the Possibilities of Web3: A New Era of Decentralization - Asia Business Outlook

Kerala to hive off KSRTC into three distinct entities in big decentralization push – Onmanorama

Thiruvananthapuram: The Transport Department has decided to divide the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) into three independent corporations in a bid to make the services more efficient, profitable, and reliable.

As per the trifurcation plan to be implemented in June, four or five districts will form the jurisdictional area of each corporation with each of them getting a new name. The state has altogether 14 districts.

The administrative responsibilities of the three corporations will be entrusted to Kerala Administrative Service (KAS) officers who will join the service in June. They will have the liberty to introduce reforms to turn the corporation profitable.

The individual corporations will decide all the matters, including the transfer and salary of the employees. Transfers will be given only within the jurisdictional area of each corporation. Assets like buses and depots will be divided up among the three corporations.

It is not easy to decide the services from the Chief Office in Thiruvananthapuram by taking into account the exact needs of the local areas in each district. People should not be made to wait for getting a response to their grievances from Thiruvananthapuram. The planned decentralisation will help in making the services more efficient and ensure better travel facilities. The process of dividing the KSRTC into three corporations will be completed soon," stated Transport Minister Antony Raju.

Even though the KSRTC was divided into four zones earlier to ensure better operation of the services, they will cease to exist once the corporations are formed.

Long-distance services will not function under the new corporations but will continue to be run by the 2021-founded K-SWIFT transport company.

TN modelThe corporations will be formed on the lines of the model in Tamil Nadu which has eight road transport corporations. A team under the Transport Secretary had visited Chennai twice to study the functioning of the public transport system in Tamil Nadu.

Likely to impact unionsWith the division of the KSRTC, the strength of the employees organisations is expected to weaken. Recognised trade unions will be formed in each of the corporations by conducting a referendum.

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Kerala to hive off KSRTC into three distinct entities in big decentralization push - Onmanorama

How to Navigate Jobs in the Crypto Industry – Tekedia

The crypto industry is one of the most exciting and innovative sectors in the world today. It offers opportunities for people with diverse skills and backgrounds, from developers and designers to marketers and writers. If you are interested in working in the crypto space, here are some tips on how to get started.

Learn the basics of blockchain and cryptocurrencies. You dont need to be an expert, but you should have a general understanding of how they work and why they matter. You can find many online courses, books, podcasts, and blogs that can help you learn the fundamentals. Some of the topics you should familiarize yourself with are:

What is blockchain and how does it enable decentralization and Trust lessness?

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What are the main types of cryptocurrencies and what are their use cases?

What are the advantages and challenges of crypto adoption and regulation?

What are some of the key concepts and terms in the crypto space, such as wallets, exchanges, smart contracts, DeFi, NFTs, etc.?

Identify your strengths and interests. The crypto industry is very diverse and dynamic, so you need to figure out what kind of role suits you best. Do you want to code, design, write, research, market, or manage?

Do you have a specific domain or niche that you are passionate about, such as gaming, art, social media, finance, or education? Do you prefer working for a large company or a small startup? Do you want to work remotely or in an office? These are some of the questions you should ask yourself to narrow down your options and focus your efforts.

Build your portfolio and network. Once you have a clear idea of what kind of job you want, you need to showcase your skills and connect with potential employers. You can do this by:

Creating a portfolio of your work that demonstrates your abilities and achievements. This can include projects, articles, videos, podcasts, or anything else that showcases your talent and passion.

Updating your resume and LinkedIn profile with relevant keywords and achievements. Make sure to highlight your crypto-related skills and experience, as well as any certifications or courses you have completed.

Joining online communities and platforms where you can interact with other crypto enthusiasts and professionals. You can find many groups on Telegram, Discord, Reddit, Twitter, Medium, etc. where you can learn from others, share your insights, and discover opportunities.

Attending events and meetups where you can network with people in the crypto space. You can find many online and offline events on platforms like Eventbrite, Meetup.com, Crypto.com Events, etc. where you can meet potential employers, partners, mentors, or peers.

Apply for jobs and prepare for interviews. Once you have built your portfolio and network, you can start applying for jobs that match your profile and interests. You can find many crypto-related job boards on websites like CryptoJobsList.com, CryptoCareers.com, CryptoJobs.com, etc. where you can browse through hundreds of openings across various categories and locations. You can also reach out to companies or individuals directly via email or social media if you have a specific opportunity in mind.

When applying for jobs, make sure to tailor your resume and cover letter to each position and company. Highlight your relevant skills and experience, explain why you are interested in working for them, and showcase your enthusiasm and knowledge about their project or product.

If you get invited for an interview, make sure to prepare well by researching the company and their goals, reviewing your portfolio and resume, practicing common interview questions and scenarios (such as technical tests or case studies), and preparing some questions of your own to ask the interviewer.

Working in the crypto industry can be rewarding and challenging at the same time. It requires constant learning, adaptation, and innovation. If you are passionate about crypto and willing to work hard and smart, you can find many opportunities to grow your career and make an impact in this exciting field.

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How to Navigate Jobs in the Crypto Industry - Tekedia

Organizing decision-making in pharma: centralized versus decentralized? – Consultancy.eu

As pharmaceutical companies navigate a rapidly changing and challenging landscape, leaders make continuous trade-offs as to what decisions and activities are driven from the headquarters, and what is left to the autonomy of local organisations. Eelco Rustenburg, Florian van Santen and Koen Harbers from BlinkLane Consulting outline how adopting cross-industry best practices can help pharma companies strike the right balance.

Historically, pharma companies provide relatively much autonomy to their organizational units in respective countries. In part, this follows from a strong growth-through-acquisition strategy. But it is also by design: decentralization allows for a better understanding of local markets, including specific rules and regulations for commercial engagement.

However, in recent years the downside of the decentralization model has also received much attention. As the need for innovation in all aspects of business increases from R&D to marketing investments grow substantially. The notion is that smaller markets are less able to keep up with the pace of change without the explicit support from global functions.

This is true for complex drug development naturally, but equally so for digital technology. Digital tech trends include the application of data-driven drug development, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and an increasingly complex marketing tool stack to personalize the message to customers and patients. Against this backdrop, many pharma companies are opting to increasingly centralize their organizations.

Yet as the level of centralization increases, so too does the risk of increasing decision-making latency the time it takes to reach a decision in response to a business change. Which in turn substantially hampers agility.

Therefore, pharma companies need to face the challenge: how to align all the individual stakes and priorities of local and regional affiliates? Or put differently: how to leverage the benefits of scale that central organizations bring whilst avoiding the risk of inertia from being pulled in every direction?

This challenge is not new pharma companies can learn from enterprises in other sectors that have taken on this challenge before. A large part of the answer can be found in three pillars: optimizing development speed, embracing agility across, and creating goal transparency and alignment.

While this might seem like an obvious pillar, in practice we see that organizations typically only give focus to an individual element: IT. True speed requires the whole organization to think and act differently.

A Swiss-based media company realized it had no shortage of ideas, but only a fraction made it to implementation and even these happy few suffered from long lead times. Rethinking the collaboration structure and process led to cross-functional teams, combining profiles from marketing, communication, web development and more.

Within three months of adopting the new way of working, project delivery (a campaign, a promotional article, a landing page) went up significantly.

Market circumstances change. At the same time, pharmaceutical companies serve multiple markets globally, and have to deal with an equal number of regulatory bodies. The result: complex governance and decision-making.

No amount of development capacity operating at maximum conceivable speed will ever be able to satisfy all affiliate needs all the time all at once. Enter the challenge of prioritization for global capabilities. Many multinationals that have grown from a central hub (e.g. airlines), have followed a productization strategy. Product [Management / Marketing / Strategy] has the authority and capabilities to make reasoned decisions in relative isolation.

In pharma companies, due to the nature of their products and market segments they serve, local knowledge is vital for the success of any new product or campaign launch. And that only supports the decentralized nature pharma companies already enjoy due to a history of acquisitions. But the dynamics in large, decentralized conglomerates is very different. As a result, decision making is a far more delicate matter.

Again, pharma can draw lessons from other conglomerates. Take a French-based multinational as an example. With 9 acquisitions in the last 5 years to a total of 20 in its history, it faces similar challenges of product, data and technology-portfolio alignment. They recently realized their project-portfolio governance did little to create a realistic and holistic view of priorities.

Their journey now emphasizes transparency at the global portfolio level and continuous prioritization over smaller pieces Minimum Viable Products of the initiative roadmap. It will allow them to shorten the feedback loop to all regional participants, earn their trust and remain agile.

Amplifying this agile portfolio governance for global capabilities is the emergence of local portfolio governance offshoots. Supported by a central team of experts, local and regional offices are adopting the same decision-making framework. From a local perspective, this strengthens their argumentation to the global team. But it also allows them to safely separate initiatives that do not need global support from the ones that do creating a two-track portfolio at the local or region level.

The role of the global team does not need to stop there. A parallel can be made with B2B tech companies. A European technology provider has a dominant position in travel tech, counting many of the major airlines as their customers. To serve their customers they rely for a large part on central product teams. But from a customers point of view, this is only a part of their total development capacity.

Often, they have their own teams that need to integrate with the companys products. They are not only interested in prioritizing all different customer requests for their own backlog in a manner that is explainable. They also promote and facilitate in-depth knowledge sharing across their customer base on topics that does not directly concern them yet.

They know that such conversations will lead to more uniform airline technology roadmaps which supports the reuse of their capabilities. Providing such a knowledge platform also makes them aware of what is happening, and where future global demand will be. Though different in context, similar principles in dynamics apply to global and regional teams in decentralized organizations.

A well-functioning portfolio management system allows for relatively quick comparison of a set of initiatives against a known set of value indicators. But that presumes we all have the same goal in mind. Which for large organization is rarely the case. To really reap the benefits of a central resource hub unhindered by the inherent increase in decision-making complexity, pillars 1 and 2 need to be accompanied by pillar 3.

A German tech conglomerate builds, markets and sells amongst others energy grid software globally. For all organizational functions and sites to work together and prioritize ideas effectively, they make sure each of them has the same set of objectives in mind. Top-level objectives are shared and form the basis for department goals.

Key results a system of outcome-oriented measurements provide the necessary clarity and focus: without these strategies risk becoming a container for everything, hollow words, or both. Conversations around these OKRs ensure high-level alignment and allow management teams to examine the inherent trade-offs between them. As such they also serve as a cheap litmus test: little acceptance signals the organization hasnt bought into such plans just yet.

Regular review cycles typically the quarter between leadership ensures also these objectives move along with reality. With an outcome-based objectives mechanism in place, global functions can always bring tense conversations back to the impact initiatives have on them. And working from a shared context is also the best guarantee that the discussions you do have, are really the ones in pursuit of selecting the best ideas to fit a shared agenda.

The global functions in pharma companies can benefit a lot from this level of alignment with their affiliates.

In the decentralized organizational setup common among pharma companies, strongly centralized change programs are highly scrutinized. The prevailing thought appears to be that the benefits of decentralization (local accountability, customization to context) also apply to organizational change. We would argue this to be a fallacy in the highly connected areas of technology-supported business functions.

Indeed, adaptation to local context is necessary. But where alignment between organizations is expected, working from common principles, a common heartbeat and a common language is a must.

Second, bottom-up changes in the way of working, however promising, just dont scale to its full potential without strong leadership support. Such support goes beyond sponsorship. In all cases outlined, leaders have actively encouraged their units, aligned with their peers, and convinced their superiors to offer the means as well as the freedom to experiment. They managed to build a coalition and sought the necessary expertise internal and external.

A Dutch public transport organization sought to radically transform their organization, merging Commercial with IT for all related business functions. A complex transformation breaking through silos and hierarchy, the transformation itself is set up as a program. The Director Commercial and IT was directly responsible for the success of the transformation.

The program worked with a smaller dedicated transformation team augmented with part-time change leads and ambassadors spread out over the Commercial and IT organizations functions. In this way, the organization kept track of the success of and lessons learned from the transformation to cross-functional teams in all areas whilst giving them autonomy to fit the changes to purpose as needed.

Over the past years, BlinkLane Consulting has applied the discussed transformation approach at many other clients like Air France KLM, Amadeus IT Group, and high-tech giant ASML.

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Organizing decision-making in pharma: centralized versus decentralized? - Consultancy.eu