Blog 3

RAI - SCARCITY project Developing KPI Metrics 

The last two and a half weeks have been focused on analysis and writing. In my previous blog, I mentioned that I had reached the stage where the themes were beginning to emerge from the literature and that I was preparing to start writing. What I quickly realised was that writing the paper was a completely different challenge from collecting and analysing the data.

Until then, my work existed across multiple spaces: the core cascading literature, indicator literature, coding sheets, notes, and Excel files. While I had already synthesised almost 40 articles, the insights were still scattered. Writing forced me to bring everything together into one coherent argument.

I also experienced my first real writing block during the drafting process. I had the data, the analysis and the findings, but translating them into a structured academic narrative was much harder than expected. The analysis existed in my head and in spreadsheets, but not yet on paper. Surprisingly the background was the hardest part to write. Once I got over the block, things got a bit more manageable.

A large part of this phase involved working with the cross-analysis table developed from the literature review. Interestingly, some of the strongest findings emerged from what was missing rather than what was present. Existing frameworks provided extensive ways of measuring recycling and resource efficiency, yet offered little guidance on evaluating quality-based allocation or movement across multiple cascade loops.

These insights eventually informed the development of the KPI framework, which went through several iterations before reaching its final form. As I reach the end of this phase, I am proud of the work that has been accomplished. What started as scattered notes, articles and coding sheets gradually evolved into a coherent analysis and framework. It was particularly rewarding to see the depth of the cross-analysis appreciated, especially considering how much of the process involved questioning and refining my own interpretations.

Sangavi