This study aims at developing and demonstrating in a real case study a methodology for supporting Occupational Health and Safety Services in the design and assessment of preventive measures to reduce the risks of COVID-19 outbreaks within their entities. The proposed methodology applies the concepts from Social Network Analysis (SNA) to the current challenge of preventing risks of contagion of viruses like SARS-COV-2 among employees. For this purpose, the authors consider a network of employees whose interaction is caused by triggers, which are defined as common circumstances between two workers that may result in contagion, like sharing an office or participating in the same management board. The network cohesion is then evaluated, and those core nodes, which are the most significant contributors to its integration, are identified to be addressed in the design of the preventive measures. The impact of the designed preventive measures on the networks’ cohesion is assessed for its prioritization and further deployment. The methodology has been demonstrated in a real case, a Spanish Research Center, providing promising results in a quick and easy manner. The objective insights provided by its application were demonstrated as very valuable for the Occupational Health and Safety Services in the design and evaluation of the set of preventing measures to be implemented before the return of the employees to the facilities after the Spanish confinement period. The current COVID-19 outbreak brings the need to develop tools and methods to support businesses and institutions in the use of SNA for preventing outbreaks among their employees. Although some literature does exist in the field of SNA application in epidemiology, its adaptation for extensive use by the Occupational and Health Services is still a challenge.

No abstract

This work aims to assess how regional innovation systems support research and innovation smart specialization strategies (RIS3) in coal intensive regions. Although many authors have analyzed energy transition paths for the European coal regions, no study has assessed how the network properties of their innovation systems are aligned with the priorities identified in their RIS3. This work fills this gap, relying on social network analysis (SNA) to assess innovation systems’ underlying networks, considering the active role of their nodes, thus, contributing to the innovation systems literature in the areas of modelling, simulation and performance evaluation. Within this work, regional innovation systems are modelled as research networks. These networks are promoted by the consortia funded by the European H2020 program. The assessment of the topology and properties of these networks enables the evaluation of the functioning of the innovation system, its technological strengths, as well as the key players involved. Based on these results, the characteristics of the innovation systems are compared to the priorities established by the RIS3. Three Spanish coal intensive regions (Aragón, Asturias and Castilla y León) are considered as use cases in this study. The obtained results indicate that, in some cases, the technological strengths of the regional innovation systems are not considered in the identification of the RIS3 priorities, while some RIS3 priorities are not supported by the innovation system. Considering these results, this paper proposes recommendations for regional and European policymakers, as well as for participants in the European research programs.