"Scientific research" Almanac

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  INNOVATION IN THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR

  The sustainable development of the European agricultural sector aims to continuously improve the quality of life and well-being of the present and future generations. It is intended to establish a relationship between economic development, environmental protection and social justice. The purpose of this paper is to study innovation in the economy ... The sustainable development of the European agricultural sector aims to continuously improve the quality of life and well-being of the present and future generations. It is intended to establish a relationship between economic development, environmental protection and social justice. The purpose of this paper is to study innovation in the economy as a whole and particularly in the agricultural sector in the context of the Europe 2020 Strategy for Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth. It focuses on the following tasks: studying the theory and practice to clarify the specifics and concepts regarding innovation in the economy (including in the agricultural sector); identifying the factors necessitating the introduction of innovation (including in the agricultural sector); covering the European policy in the field of innovation (including in the agricultural sector); proposals and conclusions on the introduction of innovation in the agricultural sector for achieving smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. The object of the study is innovation in the economy and in particular innovation in the agricultural sector (subject of study). The research thesis stems from the need to achieve smart, sustainable and inclusive growth by applying innovation in the context of the Europe 2020 Strategy. This makes it necessary to stimulate the development of competitive and sustainable agriculture and forestry, which ‘achieves more with less’ in harmony with the environment.

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  THE PRACTICE OF MUNICIPALITIES IN DEVELOPING PLANNING DOCUMENTS FOR THE PROGRAMMING PERIOD 2014–2020

  The purpose of this study is to present the results of a survey conducted on the planning practices of municipalities in Bulgaria in the development of planning documents for the new programming period 2014-2020. The object of the study are the municipal development plans (MDPs) for 2014-2020 of all 264 municipalities within the country and the ... The purpose of this study is to present the results of a survey conducted on the planning practices of municipalities in Bulgaria in the development of planning documents for the new programming period 2014-2020. The object of the study are the municipal development plans (MDPs) for 2014-2020 of all 264 municipalities within the country and the subject is the quality of the MDPs and the implementation of the fundamental planning principles in the preparation of strategic documents for local and regional development. The study is based on a set of criteria developed by the team of authors, which provides an opportunity for objective assessment of the quality of the MDPs. The results obtained are a basis for presenting some best practices and making recommendations for future actions, aimed at improving the strategic planning process at municipal level, increasing both the coordination and cohesion between the planning documents of different hierarchical levels and establishing a national body with prerogatives in the field of strategic planning of the regional development. The main research thesis is that the municipal administrations in our country have a significant potential for improvement and standardization of their planning processes, which in the long term influences regional development and the opportunities for generating municipal competitive advantages.

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  CUSTOMER RESPONSE PREDICTIVE ANALYSIS USING UPLIFT MODELLING

  Traditional customer response models are based on the understanding that marketing campaign effectiveness could be measured by predicting response probabilities of each customer. Such approach seems to be very reasonable and in most cases it gives better results than random targeting. A fundamental problem of response modelling is that it does not ... Traditional customer response models are based on the understanding that marketing campaign effectiveness could be measured by predicting response probabilities of each customer. Such approach seems to be very reasonable and in most cases it gives better results than random targeting. A fundamental problem of response modelling is that it does not separate the impact of a campaign from other stimuli and spontaneous responses because response models predict the wrong thing. They model and predict response probabilities, not the change in those probabilities as a result of the given marketing intervention. Following the understanding that traditional response models do not give optimal marketing decisions, the goal of this study is to define, estimate and apply on a real data base uplift model for predicting the change in customer behaviour resulting from marketing action. The specific tasks relate to studying the opportunities of a relatively new and less familiar methodology for identifying hesitant and persuadable customers. The study illustrates the application of the direct approach for uplift modeling and demonstrates its significant advantages over targeting based on uplift models over traditional response models.