Title of  the project: A study of practices and dynamics of knowledge in a strategic consultancy.

Name of the researcher: Elena Bou and Marta Maezo

Brief description of the project, objectives & findings: The objective of this thesis is to analyze the knowledge management process in a strategic consultancy company. This project attempts to find possible answers to the following questions: (i) to understand the practice of a strategic consultancy, (ii) to see what kinds of knowledge could be used in that practice and (iii) to discover what kind of knowledge dynamics are present in a determined practice.

Title of the project: A longitudinal study on the implementation of quality accreditations in universities.

Name of the researcher: Jordi Trullen

Brief description of the project, objectives & findings: The objective of this research is to understand the cognitive and political dynamics involved in the implementation of a new system of quality accreditations in the university system. The research will pay particular attention to evaluation recipients such as faculty, who are both receivers and implementers of these changes. This research wants to contribute to existing theory on organizational change and cognition.

Keywords: Quality assessment, organizational change, cognition

Expected end of the project: The researcher has been awarded with a Marie Curie Fellowship for the duration of the project, which can span from 2 to 4 years

Title of  Ph.D. project: Understanding Knowledge Sharing Processes in the Wine Industry (Cluster) of the Priorat Region.

Name of Researcher: Camilo Cataldo

Expected end of the project:

Title of Ph.D. project: Learning and Managing Citizenship: understanding the cases of participatory budget in Brazilian municipalities.

Name of the Researcher: Evandro Bocatto

Title of the Ph.D. project: The sustainability of Continous Process Improvement in Public Administration. A study in Spanish Municipalities.

Name of the researcher: Manuel Francisco Suárez Barraza

Supervisor: Juan Ramis Pujol

Brief description of the Ph.D. project, objectives & findings: The logic of updating and improving public management by applying Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) and other TQM techniques was acquired by certain Spanish city authorities in the late 80's and early 90's, all in order to enhace their public service and operating processes. The question rise of this is How can local governments sustain CPI? The findings of this thesis present that sustainability of the improvements can be achieved via a series of paths of sustainability. Each path to sustainability consists of a series of evolving phases developed by means of CPI improvement activities. Among other contributions.

Keywords: Sustainability, Continuous Process Improvement, Local Government, Spain

Expected end of the project: 2008