The second Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis: European Conference 2021 (SBCAEC2021) will be held digitally, on 19-20 October 2021. The conference is hosted by the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, VTI.
Submissions for extended abstracts and panel proposals are open until 15 June 2021. The SBCA welcomes submissions on multiple methods used to support the enhanced use of such analysis to promote evidence-based decision making, including cost-benefit analysis, cost analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, risk-benefit analysis, and damage assessment. The conference encourages submissions on topics closely related to CBA such as non-market valuation, discounting, equity, social policy, regulation, implementation of BCA, etc., and applications to any public policy area, such as environment, transport, health, energy.
Read more and submit the abstract online.
CSIL is looking for a full-time intern to join the Market Research Unit. He/she will work in the international furniture sector.
CSIL welcomes applications of all qualified candidates irrespective of their nationality. Should you have interest in the position offered, please send your CV and presentation letter to careers@csilmilano.com or submit them online. We will not consider any CV that does not comply with the minimum criteria specified in this announcement.
CSIL – Centre for Industrial Studies, in partnership with Prognos and Technopolis Group, is carrying out an “Evaluation of investments in Research and Technological Development (RTD) infrastructures and activities supported by the European Regional Development Funds (ERDF) in the period 2007-2013”, on behalf of the European Commission, DG REGIO. On 7 May 2021, the project team has organised a webinar to present, discuss and validate the emerging findings of the study.
Over 150 RTD stakeholders and experts from Member States, pan-European institutions, and Commission officials joined the webinar and actively participated in the discussion. One of the key results of the study is a dashboard of funded projects and beneficiaries now available here for public consultation. This pilot exercise based on the collection, aggregation and classification of monitoring data provided for the first time information on the projects supported under specific categories of expenditure. Additional results of the study concerned national strategies and policy mix analysed through seven country case studies and the theory-based evaluation of selected policy instruments.
The study team will use insights from the webinar to reflect upon possible recommendations and improvements of future RTD support under ERDF post-2020, which will be published in a final report later this year.
Interzum, the trade fair for the furniture production and interior construction industry took place from 4 to 7 May 2021 as a purely digital event. On this occasion, CSIL experts present the latest data concerning the global furniture industry and mattress market.
CSIL Partner Alessandra Tracogna illustrated the most recent and expected trends in the furniture sector through a comparative analysis by geographical area and countries, focusing on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on furniture production and consumption.
CSIL Partner Giulia Taveggia presented the latest data about the world mattress industry. She illustrated a global view of the sector through a comparative analysis by geographical area and countries and CSIL research results on e-commerce for the global mattress industry, showing a fast-increasing trend among the major mattress markets.
CSIL's market research unit has just issued a report on the world market for safety syringes, which provides comprehensive market intelligence on the global level of safety syringes.
The research aims at better understanding the global market for safety syringes, its international competitive landscape, and the new opportunities arising from the evolution of its regulatory frameworks and the COVID-19 outbreaks.
The report presents an analysis of the leading players selling safety syringes, their sales data, market shares and short profiles. It also includes an appendix on the Covid-19 vaccine pre-purchases worldwide and the total number of COVID-19 vaccinations administered in 2020.
The research also features:
Contact us for further information about the report.
World furniture consumption during 2020 has been inevitably affected by the spread of the pandemic, which forced well over 100 countries worldwide to institute either a full or a partial lockdown in different periods of the year, affecting billions of people, who had to change in part their consumption habits.
Firstly, lockdowns provided people with the opportunity to focus on home and comfort and, above all, adapt their spaces to working from home. Secondly, in recent years, the online channel eroded offline shares among the global furniture retail markets, partially compensating the sharp decrease of brick and mortar stores' sales.
According to CSIL estimates, world furniture consumption in 2020 recorded an unprecedented decrease of 10% to a value of around US$ 400 billion at factory prices, meaning about US$ 700 billion at end-user prices. Under those circumstances, the e-commerce channel showed an opposite trend with the global value of furniture sold online reaching a double-digit increase, now representing 10% of furniture consumption at end-user prices on a world scale.
The most significant growths of e-commerce furniture sales have been registered in the United States and Europe, followed by China. Following this performance, North America currently represents the largest market, followed by China and Europe. The mentioned regions represent over 90% of the worldwide e-commerce sales of furniture.
When looking at single product categories, the higher incidence has been registered for the upholstery segment where online sales cover about 15% of global demand. A fast-growing category is outdoor furniture, followed by office furniture, whose online sales have been positively influenced by the pandemic (reaching a 4% share on total segment consumption in 2020). Among the fast-growing product categories, there are tables, coffee tables, chairs and beds.
The market for online home goods and furniture is highly competitive and rapidly changing.
E-tailers including global e-commerce platforms (like Amazon), large regional marketplace (like TMall), and specialist furniture web stores (like Wayfair, Home24, or Dunelm) accounted for more than one-half of the market in 2020. Specialist furniture dealers/distributors operating through physical stores and e-commerce also called "brick & click", represented another fast-growing category. Non- Specialist/Lifestyle/DIY chains are large multichannel dealers selling furniture, homewares, accessories, home improvement products. They made less than 20% of total sales in 2020.
Before the spread of Covid-19, only a few manufacturers operated their webshop and almost exclusively in North America with residential brands like Ashley, Ethan Allen, or La- Z-Boy or office furniture brands who acquired retailers like Herman Miller (DWR) or Knoll (Fully). Direct website is an issue for manufacturers as it often represents an obstacle in managing a good relationship with dealers. The majority of furniture manufacturers have web stores aimed at displaying portfolios and showing detailed product features.
However, according to furniture manufacturers continuing to develop their direct-to-consumer channel, an increasing trend is observed. Furniture manufacturers are investing in having their presence in the online world to strengthen brand awareness and increase their customer interaction. This trend includes mergers between furniture manufacturers and internet players and the expansion of own retail stores and online sales. This is the case, for example, of Italian high-end furniture players as Poltrona Frau, Molteni/Dada, Calligaris, and Kartell which launched their own websites.
In November-December 2020 CSIL surveyed a sample of furniture manufacturers, collecting the opinion of about 100 respondents from all over the world.
In a nutshell: E-commerce was used by 62% of respondents in 2020, with a relevant difference among regions. Over 85% of manufacturers located in Asia-Pacific used e-commerce in the year 2020, while this percentage reduced to 75% for those based in North America and 52% for those in EMEA countries (Europe, Middle East, Africa).
It has to be pointed out that for most companies (36%), the web channel still represents less than 5% of revenues. Also, this channel's presence strongly depends on the company dimension, with over 80% of large manufacturers already selling online. Only 44% of medium-small furniture companies are active through some form of web sales.
Almost 80% of companies currently not using e-commerce declared an intention to enter this channel within 2022. 39% of them will launch an owned platform, 33% will use e-tailers or "brick & click" dealers, while 28% expect to use both possibilities.
Among the most demanded product categories, there are: Chairs (14%), Home Office solutions (13%), and Beds (13%), Other Living Furniture and Tables (12% each) achieved the highest portion.
SOURCE: CSIL Report: E-commerce for the Furniture Industry, edition December 2020.
The report analyses the status and prospects of e-commerce for the furniture industry and consists of two parts.
PART I. E-COMMERCE FOR THE FURNITURE INDUSTRY deals with the incidence of the online channel in the furniture market focusing on key geographical areas (Europe, North America, Asia) and analysing different e-commerce business models and leading players’ performances. Current furniture consumption data and 2021 furniture market forecasts by region are included. Furniture e-commerce sales are provided by segment (upholstered furniture, outdoor furniture, office furniture, kitchen furniture, other furniture), by region and by distributor (E-tailers, Furniture distributors, Non-specialists/Lifestyle/DIY).
PART II. E-COMMERCE FOR THE FURNITURE INDUSTRY: SURVEY RESULTS. This part presents CSIL survey results to leading furniture manufacturers worldwide, aiming to understand their approach to the web channel, their strategies, future expectations, and the most demanded products.
Malta Government's Department for Contracts rated CSIL proposal for two evaluations of the Funding Support Made Available to the Private Sector in Malta as best for quality among the bids received by various international consulting firms.
As a result, over the next twelve months, we will provide, in partnership with Equinox Consulting, an evaluation of the SME Initiative (SMEi) 2014-2020 Operational Programme and the update of an existing ex-ante assessment report for a Financial Instrument on SME Access to Finance: Market Assessment for Malta in preparation of the 2021-2027 Programming Period (Lot 1), and the provision of an evaluation of state aid schemes implemented under the 2014-2020 Programming Period and an ex-ante assessment for the provision of nonrepayable grants in preparation of the 2021-2027 Programming Period, to increase SME competitiveness in Malta (Lot 2).
The European Commission, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, has published a new study on the effectiveness of public innovation support for SMEs in Europe. The final report, available online, is the result of a project involving CSIL experts and partners at CSES, PROGNOS, and KMUForschung over the last year.
The research aimed to gather evidence to determine whether the situation regarding the effectiveness of the delivery of public innovation support in Europe has improved since the consultation of 2009. To this end, the study investigated the main factors hampering innovation in SMEs, particularly in light of the recent technology and market developments in certain sectors and countries; the forms of innovation support received by SMEs; the level of satisfaction of SMEs regarding the support received; gaps in existing SME innovation support; and, the effectiveness and impact of the INNOSUP actions funded under H2020. The study considered the wide range of instruments (direct and indirect) supporting innovation in SMEs at European, national and regional levels.
CSIL researchers recently authored a new international paper on socio-economic impact assessment of research infrastructure published on Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics.
The paper builds on the evidence collected through two surveys to direct and indirect users of ALBA (overall 384 questionnaires collected), in‐depth interviews as well as an analysis of patents’ citations. It draws from a pilot exercise carried out in the framework of the Horizon 2020 Ri‐Paths project (Charting Impact Pathways of Investment in Research Infrastructures). It contributes to the broader discussion on the socio‐economic impact assessment of Research Infrastructures and relevant methodologies and metrics.
From scientific experiments to innovation: Impact pathways of a Synchrotron Light Facility
CSIL has concluded the 30-month long Horizon 2020 project RI-PATHS: Research Infrastructure ImPact Assessment PaTHwayS. The RI-PATHS project aimed to develop a comprehensive framework describing the socioeconomic impact of Research Infrastructures and their related financial investments. The framework was developed in a modular manner, adapting it to a broad range of scientific domains and types of Research Infrastructures.
Among other activities, CSIL’s role included a comprehensive stocktaking exercise and mapping of data gathering needs of the key stakeholder groups, including a survey of RI managers and funders and interviews with policymakers, funding agencies and independent experts. CSIL’s team has also piloted the IA model with the ALBA synchrotron, in Barcelona. We assessed innovation pathways arising from experiments carried out at ALBA through a bibliometric analysis of publications and patents documents.
The final results of the project are available online and include a Research Infrastructures’ Impact Assessment Toolkit site. The Toolkit features descriptions of the identified impact pathways leading to key socioeconomic impacts. It also provides guidance on the most common impact areas and presents examples of suitable monitoring and reporting tools, as well as methodologies for impact measurement. There is an option to browse, search and retrieve all frequently used indicators per main impact areas and types of indicators. A Guidebook is available to accompany the Toolkit users. It gives a glimpse into the topic of impact assessment, presents useful examples and helps RI managers, policymakers and funders make important strategic choices.