Private fund performance

The publicly-funded fuel cell research program started in 1985, with the main activities performed at the Energy research Centre ofthe Netherlands (ECN). Between 1985 and 2001, about 100 million was invested by mixed public-private funds in the development of fuel cell and hydrogen energy. The objectives ofthe Dutch fuel cell programs were initially oriented to the application of coal gas in MCFC based systems. The MCFC activities were terminated in 2001, after an evaluation failed to indicate its commercial viability with natural gas. Afterwards, the activities shifted to SOFC and PEM technology for high efficient conversion of natural gas in small-scale decentralised units. 

The strongly re search-oriented dentifrice market is dominated by a few primary companies. The industry funds efforts to develop products with superior cosmetic and therapeutic performance. The four principal manufacturers of toothpaste worldwide are Procter Gamble, Unilever, Colgate-Palmohve, and Beecham. Numerous smaller companies and private-label houses also exist. 

More than 18 separate federal agencies funded chemical engineering research in FY 1985, the most recent fiscal year for which actual expenditure data are available for all government agencies (Table A.l). Their support to all performers of chemical engineering research—academic, private, and federal—exceeded 254 million. Much of this funding, though, was for research in federal and private laboratories. 

Much, though not all, of the scientific knowledge produced around the globe has traditionally been handled in this fashion. One thinks here of the scientific research performed by government research facilities or of academic research funded either by government or by private donors who wish the product of that research to be shared, free of charges as widely as possible, on a global basis. One occasionally sees proposals to apply this approach also to pharmaceutical research. Various models could be used to that end. 

The World Development Report 2004 reviews traditional approaches to public service delivery and discusses how they have often failed the poor. Whether in health, education, or infrastructure, supply-side subsidy strategies to fund inputs—such as staff costs, equipment, and buildings used in delivery—have not improved the access to quality services among the poor. An important question remains for developing countries and the international development community on how to deliver and target public subsidies in ways that promote efficiency and innovation, increase accountability for performance, and leverage public resources with private participation and financing. 

There is considered to be another area, consisting of somewhat higher risk or lower ROI programs suitable for Federal funding. This is shown in Figure 1 as the "public sector." The thrust of the Federal progrcim is to perform sufficient RDSD on these programs to lower risk and increase ROI such that they become suitable candidate projects for private-sector sponsorship. 

This work was performed in High-Tech. Resezirch Center (HRC) of Ryukoku University. One of the authors, M.Ohyanagi thanks for partial supports by Grand- in Aid for Scientific Research on Priority Area Physics and Chemistry of Functionally Graded Materi2ds, The Ministry and Education, Science and Sports and Culture, and also by the Science Research Promotion Fund from Japan Private School Promotion Foundation. 

Where are the new opportunities to improve portfolio performance by creatively expanding the investable asset domain There are several assets that are now increasingly accepted and utilized in portfolios. The most important are hedge funds, private equity, and venture capital. Other new assets have shown the ability to improve portfolio performance but for various reasons have not yet made the leap to widespread recognition. These include inflation-protected securities and insurance-linked products. 

As in the case of hedge funds, managers are increasingly investing in private equity to improve portfolio efficiency. Although there is much less conclusive research on private equity and investing, the recent performance record of such investments is strong. 

Privatization of Municipal Inspection, pp. 294 and 295. Also interesting to note Negligent inspection problems arise because municipalihes are unable to perform their responsibility. Municipalities claim that insufhcient funding and staffing cause negligence. ... 

DoD laboratories have limited capabilities to develop or refine environmental agent dispersion or infection outbreak models. DTRA has recently funded significant R D activity to develop and test improved atmospheric dispersion models, including inverse models that predict agent release point and size from downwind concentration data. Most groundbreaking environmental dispersion research is currently performed in other US Government laboratories (e.g. National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), LLNL, Sandia National Laboratory (SNL), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)) or in academic or private sector laboratories. 

Vice-President Gore s National Performance Review of Government proposed that employers either hire inspectors from private inspection firms or have employees trained and certified to conduct inspections (Salwin 1993). OSH A would set private inspection standards and conduct random reviews of the private inspections. The suggestion for self inspection is in response to the Gore committee s conclusion that OSHA is unable to inspect and enforce standards adequately without impossibly high increases in funding (Occupational Hazards 1993a). 

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