Abstract
Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the European Union (EU) through heavy pressure on health services, business activity and people's life. To mitigate these effects, government agencies, civil society and the private sector are working together in proposing innovative initiatives. In this sense, this study aims to characterize and explore the relevance of these projects to mitigate the effects of COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach The Observatory of Public Sector Innovation provided by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development was considered to enable the identification and exploration of innovative projects to combat COVID-19. A methodology based on mixed methods is adopted to initially identify quantitatively the distribution of these projects, followed by a qualitative approach based on thematic analysis that allows exploring their relevance. Findings A total of 206 initiatives in the EU have been identified. The distribution of these projects is quite asymmetric, with Portugal and Austria totaling 33.52% of these projects. Most of these projects focus on the areas of public health, infection detection and control, virtual education, local commerce, digital services literacy, volunteering and solidarity and hackathons. Originality/value This work is relevant to identifying and understanding the various areas in which COVID-19 initiatives have been developed. This information is of great relevance for the actors involved in this process to be able to replicate these initiatives in their national, regional and local contexts.

Abstract
Big data offers great potential to improve organizational performance and generate competitive advantages. In this sense, knowing this phenomenon is relevant and this study aims to explore the role of big data on firm performance through a process of synthesis of several studies that have been published in recent years in different organizational contexts. This study adopts a mixed-methods approach. Initially, a systematic literature review is performed to characterize the studies that adopt structural equation modeling to determine the relationship between big data and firm performance. Additionally, a meta-analysis method is used to quantify the association between these two phenomena. The findings reveal a moderate positive relationship between the adoption of big data in the firm performance. This ratio is estimated at 0.38 with a confidence interval between 0.32 and 0.44 for a significance level of 0.05. The results of this study also allow us to conclude that the performance of organizations is also determined by other factors such as human capital, the data-driven organizational culture, or the learning capacity of the organization. This study offers mainly implications for companies that intend to invest in big data to know the potential value of this technology in organizational performance.

Abstract
Higher education institutions are looking for new educational models that encourage actions that contribute to the transformation of society. In the development of these competencies, the active methodologies assume a relevant role. This study addresses this challenge and explores the adoption of a serious game as an active methodology in the development of competencies for the labor market in the tourism sector. The study uses a mixed-methods methodology in which student performance is measured according to 18 indicators and the perception of the development of these competencies is complemented by the adoption of semi-structured interviews.

Abstract
Finding effective ways to evaluate the process and a team in software engineering is not a trivial task. Therefore, it is pertinent to study metrics that can be used in Scrum environments to monitor and evaluate the team's progress and support the implementation of improvements. This study explores the relevance of 12 specific metrics applied in a Scrum environment and explores their importance considering multiple dimensions through the adoption of a quantitative methodology based on a survey that received 137 valid answers from Portuguese Scrum professionals. The results allowed us to conclude that the metrics related to the business value delivered and sprint goal success are the most relevant. Furthermore, factors like the number of years of experience of individuals, their role in the Scrum team, and the size of the organisation are factors that influence the perception of the importance of these metrics.

Abstract
Purpose: This study aims to explore the role open data assumes in social innovation initiatives that combat the effects of Covid-19, in which quantitative information about these projects is complemented with the analysis of open data innovation capabilities. Methodology: A mixed methods approach is adopted. Initially, quantitative data regarding the number of innovative projects is extracted from the OPSI framework. Then, in a second phase, qualitative data from each project is explored to explore the open data innovation capabilities offered by each initiative. Results: The results reveal that most social innovation initiatives focus on the area of data visualization dashboards and open datasets. However, some projects address other areas, e.g. hackathons, service availability, and tourism information. Implications: Covid-19 profoundly affects the lives of people and businesses, and open data can assume a determinant role in mitigating these effects and improve information transparency and collaboration between public and private entities. Originality/Value: This study is relevant for the establishment of supportive public policies that promote the emergence of open-data-driven initiatives to mitigate the effects of Covid-19 in several areas such as the economy, education, and leisure.

Abstract
This study intends to characterise and analyse the role that university spin-offs play in the employability of recent graduates and their function in opposing youth unemployment. For that purpose, this study uses empirical data from Portugal to analyse the evolution of the population with higher education levels, the evolution of the unemployment rate and the geographical distribution of university spin-offs. Additionally, a survey was adopted to collect data from 117 Portuguese university spin-offs to identify the main advantages and difficulties in hiring young graduates. The results indicate that the number of young graduates in these companies is small, representing only 11.8% of their total employees. The main advantages of hiring young graduates include their learning ability and new knowledge brought from abroad. By contrast, the main difficulties are their low capacity in dealing with pressure, low autonomy, and difficulties in taking responsibilities.