The cost of community outreach HIV interventions: a case study in Thailand

Background There was an estimated 440,000 people living with HIV in Thailand in 2018. New cases are declining rapidly thanks to successful prevention programs and scaling up of anti-retroviral therapy (ART). Thailand aims to achieve its commitment to end the HIV epidemic by 2030 and implemented a cascade of HIV interventions through the Reach-Recruit-Test-Treat-Retain (RRTTR) program. Methods This study focused on community outreach HIV interventions implemented by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) under the RRTTR program in 27 provinces. We calculated unit cost per person reached for HIV interventions targeted at key-affected populations (KAPs) including men who have sex with men/ transgender (MSM/TG), male sex workers (MSW), female sex workers (FSW), people who inject drugs (PWID) and migrants (MW). We studied program key outputs, costs, and unit costs in variations across different HIV interventions and geographic locations in Thailand. We used these estimates to determine costs of HIV interventions and evaluate economies of scale. Results The interventions for migrants in Samut Sakhon was the least costly with a unit cost of 21.6 USD per person to receive services, followed by interventions for migrants in Samut Prakan 23.2 USD per person reached, MSM/TG in Pratum Thani 26.5USD per person reached, MSM/TG in Nonthaburi 26.6 USD per person reached and, MSM/TG in Chon Buri with 26.7 USD per person. The interventions yielded higher efficiency in large metropolitan and surrounding provinces. Harm reduction programs were the costliest compare with other interventions. There was association between unit cost and scale of among interventions indicating the presence of economies scale. Implementing HIV and TB interventions jointly increased efficiency for both cases. Conclusion This study suggested that unit cost of community outreach HIV and TB interventions led by CSOs will decrease as they are scaled up. Further studies are suggested to follow up with these ongoing interventions for identifying potential contextual factors to improve efficiency of HIV prevention services in Thailand.

Evaluating Agricultural Value Chains on CISS-F Framework

Technology, institutions and markets together drive agricultural value chains in becoming more competitive, inclusive, sustainable and scalable, and in improving access to finance. Institutions that focused on aggregating marginal and smallholders, empowering farmers with better bargaining power, inducing economies of scale and creating market linkages have been pivotal in the successful transformation of these sectors.

Significance of Strategic Outsourcing in IT Project Management

Outsourcing refers to the concept of delegating certain tasks to an external team. It can be a differentiating factor that can aid an organization gain a competitive advantage. Consultants can bring valuable experience on domain knowledge, interdisciplinary applications, and benefits from economies of scale. From ensuring effective use of resources to venturing into uncharted sectors, outsourcing can have a myriad of benefits for a project team. Similar to most business processes, there is an inherent trade-off that needs to be made when outsourcing. Risk management protocols are required when outsourcing, to balance execution control and collaborate effectively. Within the scope of IT projects, this research aims to survey the various methods of strategic outsourcing and the contexts in which they operate. Further sections attempt to analyze case studies based on the aforementioned aspects. Based on the available literature, the research consolidates best practices in outsourcing and presents recommendations on aligning them with project goals. Finally, the potential concerns that need to be addressed when trying to outsource activities are presented. Therefore, the research to be done within this analysis will look to dissect existing literature to assess current outsourcing practices. Additionally, the research will look for reasons why outsourcing was/is not as successful as it could be, as well as evaluate how outsourcing in IT has changed with the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Significance of Strategic Outsourcing in IT Project Management

Outsourcing refers to the concept of delegating certain tasks to an external team. It can be a differentiating factor that can aid an organization gain a competitive advantage. Consultants can bring valuable experience on domain knowledge, interdisciplinary applications, and benefits from economies of scale. From ensuring effective use of resources to venturing into uncharted sectors, outsourcing can have a myriad of benefits for a project team. Similar to most business processes, there is an inherent trade-off that needs to be made when outsourcing. Risk management protocols are required when outsourcing, to balance execution control and collaborate effectively. Within the scope of IT projects, this research aims to survey the various methods of strategic outsourcing and the contexts in which they operate. Further sections attempt to analyze case studies based on the aforementioned aspects. Based on the available literature, the research consolidates best practices in outsourcing and presents recommendations on aligning them with project goals. Finally, the potential concerns that need to be addressed when trying to outsource activities are presented. Therefore, the research to be done within this analysis will look to dissect existing literature to assess current outsourcing practices. Additionally, the research will look for reasons why outsourcing was/is not as successful as it could be, as well as evaluate how outsourcing in IT has changed with the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Controversial Results of the Reform of the Russian Electric Power Industry in 1986–2008

The article discusses the ambiguous results of the reform of the Russian electric power industry. Some of the intended goals of the reform have been achieved, while others have not yet been achieved, and the reform should be continued. Although more than 13 years have passed since the final stage of the reform, there is no agreement in the literature on many key issues characterizing the reform: an explanation of the reasons and factors that influenced the decision to reform the Russian electric power industry, the goals of the reform, the type of the reform model, the validity of its adaptation to the real Russian conditions and institutions that had developed by the beginning of the reform, the results of the reform and their value for society. It was found that contradictory results of the reform are caused by both objective and subjective factors. Along with obvious successes (e.g., denationalization of the industry) and obvious failures (including failure to create retail electricity markets) many results (elimination of vertical integration, level of competition on wholesale electricity markets, etc.) are not observable and have not received a clear and unambiguous assessment of their usefulness to society. Studies using modern economic theory and economic-mathematical modeling were required. No statistically significant economies of scale in electricity generation have been found in large companies generating electricity. Thus, the use of competition as a mechanism to coordinate the interests of society, producers and consumers of electricity and the creation of a wholesale electricity market is scientifically justified. Unification of small producers for their withdrawal to the wholesale electricity market should be accompanied by an economic analysis of the cost function of the united company. It is shown that in the short term the wholesale electricity market created in the first and second price zones is close to competitive, but in the long term there is a threat: this market may become uncompetitive.