International Research Project
Project: PROTECTING AND RESTORING BIODIVERSITY USING MAINSTREAM FINANCE (BIOFIN)
Type: International project
Objective: BIOFIN will use a multi-actor approach to create impact through a science-led dashboard for naturepositive
financial decision support. Built with and for six key groups: ecologists, data scientists, financial and
accounting experts, citizens, providers of nature-based solutions (NBS) as well as investors (financial
institutions, non-financial companies (NFCs), State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), the Dashboard will help actors
navigate large-scale financing challenges and to develop, replicate, scale out and strengthen NBS-investment,
creating a more sustainable, vibrant, resilient and healthy planet and supporting the EU’s biodiversity restoration
ambitions.
Coordinator: University of Limerick
Institutions: University of Limerick; University of Gothenburg; Queen’s University Belfast; University of Maastricht; Lusófona University; Sarajevo Economic Regional Development Agency; University of Padova
UL team: R. C. Marques; F. S. Pinto
Duration: 3 years (beginning in 2024)
Project: Is Bigger Better? An Empirical Evaluation of Local Government Amalgamation in Australia
Type: International project
Objective: Research and develop performance methods to evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of local government amalgamation in Australia. In particular, they will be applied non-parametric and parametric methods to estimate economies of scale and economies of scope of local councils in different States in Australia.
Coordinator: Brian Dollery (University of New England)
Institutions: University of New England, University of Cardiff, University of South Cross and IST
IST team: R. C. Marques
Duration: 2 years (beginning in 2014)
Project: BRAsis: Systems of Information and Sanitation of Brazil
Type: International project
Objective: Analysis and evaluation of information systems on sanitation (water supply and wastewater sanitation) of Brazil, namely SNIS system (National Sanitation Information System of the Ministry of the Cities) and PNSB (National Survey of Basic Sanitation) under the responsibility of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
Coordinator: Clarice Melamed (Fiocruz)
Institutions: Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública (Fiocruz) e Universidade de Toulouse
IST team: R. C. Marques
Duration: 1 year (2012/2013)
Project: Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS) Productivity Project Academic Advisory Panel
Type: European Project
Objective: Research and develop performance methods to evaluate the productivity of the single Scottish water company (Scottish Water) by means of parametric and non-parametric techniques of benchmarking. Design the incentive based regulation method to be applied by the Scottish water regulator (WICS).
Coordinator: David Saal (Aston University)
Institutions: Aston University; Loughborough University, University of Pamplona and Queensland University
IST team: R. C. Marques
Duration: 1 year (2012)
Project: TRUST - Transitions to the Urban Water Services of Tomorrow
Type: European project (Grant FP7-265122)
Objective: To deliver coproduced knowledge to support TRansitions for the Urban Water Cycle Services of Tomorrow, enabling communities to achieve a sustainable, low-carbon water future without compromising service to users. To deliver this ambition through innovations in governance, modelling concepts, technologies, processes, and novel approaches to integrated water, energy, and infrastructure asset management. To demonstrate these innovations through the development programmes of the cities involved in the project. It comprises 8 Working Areas (WA).
Coordinator: David Schwesig (IWW, Germany)
Institutions: 31 institutions - IWW, KWR, LNEC, NTNU, FHNW, ITA, UBHAM, UCRAN, UNEXE, SINTEF, UNIBO, IST, NTUA, ANJOU, IWA, IPS, BIT, RW, YDRE, ADD, STEP, CWT, SW, SNBV, ENIA, ANB, OW, AdP, HWW e WATNL
IST team (DEG): R. C. Marques (Coordinator of WA1); N. Cruz; C. Cruz, P. Simões; P. Carvalho (team members) and CEHIDRO team
Duration: 48 months (2011-2014)
Project: EIMPack - Economic Impact of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive
Type: European Project (Grant: EIBURS-EIMPACK project)Objective: The objectives of the EIMPack project include (1) the investigation of how the distribution of costs has been managed among the multiple stakeholders, and (2) the determination of the Economic Rate of Return of enhanced environmental protection (by means of a cost/benefit analysis). These two topics encompass several other sub-topics that deserve our attention. In the first branch, after understanding who have been internalising the extra-costs of recycling of packaging waste, the research team will try to find out to what extent the new rules implied an increase in waste management tariffs, taxes and prices of packaged goods. In the second branch of the EIMPack project, it is crucial to perform applied research on the methodologies for environmental valuation; furthermore, after the Economic Rate of Return is computed, we will be able to know if the economic benefits that resulted from the implementation of the Directive are satisfactory when compared to alternative strategies.
Coordinator: R. C. Marques (IST)
Institutions: IST, APA, ERSAR, SPV, ECOROM, Univeristy of Ghent, Politecnico di Milano and Southampton University
IST team: R. C. Marques; P. Simões; N. Cruz; S. Ferreira; M. Pereira; A. Raminhos, P. Carvalho
Duration: 36 months (2011-2013)
Project: Regulation of Water and Wastewater Services. An International Comparison
Type: International Project Objective: This research seeks to gather experiences from the five continents, bringing forward the diversity observed on the provision of water supply and sanitation services, often reflected in the regulatory models adopted in different countries. Relying on the valuable collaboration of various entities, regulators and others, a set of information on about 60 countries was required to all stakeholders, allowing for comparisons and identification of interesting case studies and potential best practices. This study intended to aggregate, in a single publication, systematic and comparable information of each country’s institutional and legal frameworks, the structure of their markets, the identification of the key players and figures for the sector, including tariff structures, regulation models adopted, and the various mechanisms used in assessing the quality of service and the fulfillment of public service obligations.
Coordinator: R. C. Marques (IST) Institutions: IST, IRAR and about 60 regulators spread by the five continents, among other entities
IST team : R. C. Marques; P. Simões; A. Catana; P. Carvalho
Duration:12 months (2008)
National Research Projects
Project: Information about the Water Sector in Portugal
Type: National Project Objective: This project analyses and comprehensively collects information about the organisational context of the water and waste sector; It evaluates statistically the degree of implementation of the ERSAR Tariff Recommendation for all the water and waste of management entities of mainland Portugal; defines the model of application of the study on user satisfaction of the water and services to the entire territory of mainland Portugal; collects and analyses information for the "Annual Report of Water and waste Services in Portugal".
Coordinator: R. C. Marques (IST)
Institutions: IST; ERSAR
IST team: R. C. Marques; J. Rosa; G. Robalo
Project: Evaluation of the Portuguese Ports
Type: National Project Objective: This project intended to assess the performance of the Portuguese ports in the context of European ports. More than 30 ports in Europe participated in this project, including the five Portuguese ports, 11 countries were involves and two non-parametric methodologies were applied, particularly the performance indicators and the data envelopment analysis (DEA) technique.
Coordinator: R. C. Marques (IST)
Institutions: IST and several European ports
IST team: R. C. Marques; M. Carvalho
Duration: 12 months (2008)
Research Projects