Representative bureaucracy: linguistic/ethnic aspects in Canadian public policy

Abstract. This paper explores the historical background, logical contours and policy implications of recent attempts by the Government of Canada to achieve the ‘effectively balanced participation’ of francophones in the federal public service. Historically, various crucial events concerning French Canadian participation in the federal bureaucracy are recounted with an eye to understanding both the roots of present policies and the distinctive inherited elements which shape them. Logically, the generic concept ‘representative bureaucracy’ is employed as a prism for shedding light on its Canadian variant, ‘balanced participation’: the logic of representative bureaucracy and the arguments for and against it are explicated, with concern for how these pertain to the Canadian case. Finally, the foregoing historical and logical elements are brought to bear on the question of sociological proportionality in the federal public service, especially as it might involve the use of quotas. It is maintained that sociological heterogeneity in the federal bureaucracy is a positive value, and that recruitment and promotion procedures should strive to attract people with manifold backgrounds, perspectives and talents. The use of legislated quotas, however, is viewed as an inefficacious and potentially destructive means for addressing this task. With respect to the issue of francophone participation specifically, the adoption of legislated quotas would be superficial and anachronistic.     

The work of Canadian political staffers in parliamentary caucus research offices

Since 1970, recognized political parties in the Canadian House of Commons have received funding for caucus research offices. Staffed by political partisans, research offices provide policy, communications, research and administrative support to party leaders and their parliamentary caucuses. This research note examines the evolving organization, work and function of these offices. It demonstrates, first, that the tendency towards centralization, evident in Canadian politics for decades, is clearly reflected in research offices’ primary support for leaders rather than individual caucus members. Second, research offices are integral to parties’ strategic communications and marketing efforts, and this, especially in government, often eclipses their policy contribution. Third, while the government party views caucus researchers as a useful supplement to public service and ministerial office resources, opposition parties rely heavily on their caucus research offices as their dominant source of staff capacity.     

The public service of Canada: the case for political neutrality

Abstract: Change is in the wind. There is an expectation that when the present leadership of the governing Liberal party passes from the scene and a transition to a Progressive Conservative or newly led Liberal government follows, sweeping changes at the top of the public service dl be the order of the day. The author welcomes a healthy dose of change — but change that is carefully thought through and orderly. He defends the concept of a permanent, professional, non-partisan public service and points out how the doctrine of political neutrality has been eroded. He argues for a return to a stricter adherence to the anonymity principle and to a reaffirmation of merit as the benchmark of appointments. In seeking to strengthen the accountability of the public service to the executive, the author rejects partisan appointments to the public service in favour of appointed senior policy advisors. He proposes buttressing the role of individual advisors with a partisan research and policy analysis unit of some ten to fifteen people reporting directly to the Prime Minister and the cabinet as a whole. He suggests the upgrading of the research apparatuses of political parties themselves. Finally, he underscores the vital role that Parliament could play in exacting public service accountability. The author concludes that the federal public service in its central characteristics should be preserved, and that changes should be aimed inure in the direction of the restoration of the basic principles that have guided it in the past.     

Neither public nor private: The efficacy of mixed model public service delivery in two Canadian municipalities

The New Public Management emerged in the 1980s, and with it, alternative service delivery (ASD) mechanisms, which removed service delivery from the public bureaucracy and separated policy making from policy implementation. Most western governments implemented measures including privatization or contracting out of service delivery to the private sector. By the mid‐1990s, many governments started reversing ASD policies and sought new ways to deliver services, leading to a mixed model approach to service delivery, which combines the benefits of the public and private sectors. We examine the adoption of the model in the Canadian municipalities of Hamilton and Ottawa to determine if and how it enhances competition, cost‐savings, efficiency, effectiveness, and good governance in the delivery of public services, during an era of fiscal constraint. Our findings indicate the model is better in enhancing the five variables when compared to solely public or private services delivery.     

新公共服务理论视角下的家政服务业立法研究——以云南省昆明市为例

新公共服务是关于公共行政在将公共服务、民主治理和公民参与置于中心地位的治理系统中所扮演角色的一系列思想和理论,借助此理论中的公共价值、公共责任、公民参与等理念,解释昆明市家庭服务业立法政策议题从产生形成、反复论证到被暂缓实施这一过程的原因,凸显政府公共服务精神与战略决策能力在发展民生工程、体现民主与公民权、促进公共利益实现中的重要作用。     

政府的治安行政与公共安全服务

政府的社会治安职能具有政治性和公共性双重属性。中国的社会治安行政管理涵盖了政府的社会治安职能。在政府改革的背景下，社会治安的治理正在由管理式治理转变为公共服务式治理。治安行政发展变化的十几年中，其阶级统治的属性逐渐下降，公共性逐步上升，并在理论上完成了社会治安行政与公共服务的统一。在具体内容上，公共安全服务不断丰富和深化，出现了一些新的发展趋势。公共安全服务成为社会治安行政的工作重心。     

西方官僚经济理论综述

官僚经济理论是西方公共选择学派的一个重要组成部分,它对公共物品的供给与需求给予同等的重视,使公共选择理论更为完整。官僚经济理论有其自身的发展阶段,是个不断修正与完善的过程,对官僚机构长期存在的无效率及机构不断膨胀等内在问题进行了新的理论视角分析。     

论公共政策过程中政府公关的重要性

随着市场经济的发展,公共关系引起了社会的广泛关注。把公共关系引入政治领域,人们越来越多地认识到它与公共政策有着十分密切的联系。同时,作为分支体系的政府公关则与公共政策联系更为密切。政府公关在公共政策过程中起着十分重要的作用,甚至决定着公共政策的全过程。     

关注“被时代”现象对青年的影响

随着自媒体交流、维权、动员、参政、监督等功能的进一步深化,"被时代"现象对青少年社会化进程带来的影响在日益强化。其正面影响是利用网路表达诉求;关注社会关心民情;网络监督推进政改。负面影响是语境负面,以偏盖全;不易查实,极易扩散;随意夸大,诋毁政府。直面"被时代"现象,应该使青年充分认识到:"被时代"现象体现了政府开始更加关注民意、关注民生;说明了中国越来越民主,老百姓可以发表自己的看法,政府有关部门在接受老百姓的意见;折射出人们权利诉求在觉醒,也正在督促政府有关部门改进官僚主义作风。剖析"被时代"现象,在深层次上,应该进一步引导青年:理性看待事物,认清事物主流;善意利用网路,关注青年成长;防止愤青语感,化解消极情绪。     

社会管理法治化中的社区警务——基于衢州市“公安群众工作综合体”的实证研究

公安机关社会管理是政府社会管理的重要组成部分,其管理成效直接影响到群众生活和社会稳定。一直以来,公安作为国家的专政工具,围绕着高度集权的政府行使专政与社会管理,在政治、经济、社会领域承担着管控的职能。随着服务型政府的转型,公安行政也面临着服务转型,尤其是社区警务,必须以服务社区为导向,寓管理于服务之中。“公安群众工作综合体”将社区警务嵌入社区生活,为社区警务的转型提供了有效的载体,推动了社会管理的创新。     

印共(马)大选败北:反思与未来

在印度第15届人民院选举中,印共(马)惨败。面对选举失利,印共(马)深刻反省,土地与工业化政策失误、官僚主义与疏离人民、遭遇强有力政治对手是其失败的主要因素。全党将从大选失败中吸取教训,重塑党与人民之间的紧密联系,致力于左翼的团结,有效监督国大党领导的中央政府,继续捍卫世俗主义与独立的外交政策。     

关于政治体制改革的几点思考

当前我国社会进入各类矛盾多发期,其中尤以劳资矛盾、官民矛盾最为突出,加快推进政治体制改革迫在眉睫。政治体制改革的主要目标是实行民主政治。加快推进政治体制改革,应主要从以下几方面着手:一是进一步落实、完善选举制度,真正实现权为民所授,首先在县乡两级推行直接选举,并逐步扩大直选范围。二是进一步落实和完善人民代表大会制度,减少代表人数,延长会期,优化代表结构,实行代表职业化,并落实人大的财政预算权,实现人大对政府的有力制约监督。三是深化司法体制改革,真正实现司法独立。     

转型期我国行政组织模式的塑造——对企业化政府的冷思考

理性官僚制在今天受到了前所未有的挑战,许多学者推崇企业化政府理论。借鉴新公共管理的经验,超越传统官僚制,建构现代官僚制,才是转型期我国行政组织模式塑造的理性选择。     

Beyond COVID-19: Five commentaries on expert knowledge,executive action,and accountability in governance and public administration

Several Canadian and international scholars offer commentaries on the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for governments and public service institutions, and fruitful directions for public administration research and practice. This first suite of commentaries focuses on the executive branch, variously considering: the challenge for governments to balance demands for accountability and learning while rethinking policy mixes as social solidarity and expert knowledge increasingly get challenged; how the policy-advisory systems of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and United Kingdom were structured and performed in response to the COVID-19 crisis; whether there are better ways to suspend the accountability repertoires of Parliamentary systems than the multiparty agreement struck by the minority Liberal government with several opposition parties; comparing the Canadian government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Global Financial Crisis and how each has brought the challenge of inequality to the fore; and whether the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated or disrupted digital government initiatives, reinforced traditional public administration values or more open government.     

服务型政府:本质及其理论基础

服务型政府作为一种新型的政府模式 ,建立在对传统政府模式全面革新的基础上。它在政民关系、公民权利、政府职能、制度框架等诸多方面有着特定的要求。为澄清人们认识服务型政府的种种误区 ,本文在讨论服务型政府本质规定性的基础上 ,从政府的公共性、民主政治理论、马克思主义的代表制思想、公共行政学的当代发展、法治理论诸方面 ,讨论了服务型政府的理论基础。     

GitHub use in public administration in Canada: Early experience with a new collaboration tool

GitHub is a web‐based digital project hosting service that facilitates collaboration. We introduce how GitHub works and assess how it has been used in the public sector in Canada based on interviews with federal government leaders and a survey of Canadian public service GitHub users. With little research to date on public sector use of GitHub, and none on its use in Canadian governments, we explore the early experience with this collaboration tool and consider the possible implications for collaboration in government.     

La capacité d'analyse des politiques au gouvernement du Québec : Résultats du sondage auprès de fonctionnaires québécois

Abstract: This research note complements the work of Howlett et al. on the capacity of Canadian governments for public policy‐making. The new public management wave was driven by the notion of a need for improved service delivery to the population. A number of authors, including Metcalfe, pointed out that the government was then neglecting management in favour of “policy advice.” It was fashionable to show interest in policy but not in management. After decades spent seeking greater efficiency, have we gone too far in the other direction? Do governments have the capacity to develop public policy? Have those responsible for developing public policy received the training they require? This research note addresses the Quebec portion of the Canada‐wide survey on the capacity for public policy‐making. It complements the analysis by presenting the results of the survey conducted among public servants in Quebec. We placed particular emphasis on university education and the retraining of the public servants who work on developing and formulating public policy.     

公共就业政策的变革与驱动机制

就业是最大的民生,深化公共就业政策改革是推动我国公共就业发展的必经之路。本文在注意力配置理论的基础上,以中央政府工作报告为主要研究材料,通过文本分析和扎根理论的研究方法,探究了改革开放以来我国公共就业政策的变革过程与驱动机制。研究发现,改革开放以来国家在顶层设计上越来越重视公共就业问题;公共就业政策变革中经历了双轨制就业政策、市场化就业政策、积极的就业政策以及就业优先战略政策阶段,不同阶段政策措施发生了较大变化;其中经济发展形势、劳动力供给状况和党的执政理念是驱动公共就业政策变革的关键因素。未来中央政府应赋予地方政府更多的公共就业政策创新空间,各级政府在政策改革中应充分考虑党的执政理念、注重经济增长的就业弹性和人口质量红利的开发。     

我国公务员绩效评估的实践困境与出路——基于新公共服务视角

“新公共服务”理论是基于对“新公共管理”理论的反恩和批判而建立的一种新的公共行政理论。该理论的核心价值在于：重视公民权利、公民意识、公民价值;追求公共利益,提高政府服务职能;建立民主对话基础上的政府与社区、民众的合作信任和互动共治。这一理论为我国摆脱公务员绩效评估体系的实践困境提供了指南针。“新公共服务”理论对我国公务员绩效评估体系提出的新挑战,并为我国公务员绩效评估改革提供了新的思路。     

论公民参与地方政府政策评估制度建设——以政策网络理论为视角

政策网络理论为分析政策运行过程提供了重要理论工具.从政策网络理论视角研究公民参与地方政府政策评估制度,有利于完善公民参与政策评估的制度环境,积极推进公民参与政策评估,促进地方政府政策评估工作顺利开展,提高地方政府政策评估的能力.