Territorial Boundaries as Limits: A Foucauldian Analysis of the Agglomeration of Municipalities

Public management theories have focused scholars' attention on agglomeration processes between public administrations. Such processes are relevant at a local level to increase efficiency and effectiveness in the provision of public services. Scholars and practitioners have pointed out economies of scale and efficiency in the production of public services as the most important incentives for adopting agglomeration policies.

All kinds of related discourse, such as that relating to economics for example, need to be coordinated in order to change the behaviour of citizens and make the agglomeration process acceptable. The present article adopts a Foucauldian approach in highlighting an additional variable/discourse in addition to all the others used to foster agglomeration processes: the identity and culture of the communities involved in this kind of process.     

TEACHING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PRINCIPLES TO NON-TECHNOLOGISTS — LESSONS LEARNED

ABSTRACT

Much has been written over the past several decades on the “inevitability” that the technological revolution will transform international, interpersonal, and business relations. But are the effects of technological change as far reaching as the literature suggests and where it does reach does it penetrate very deeply into the general culture, its organizations, or into the psyche of its citizens? The linkage of science and technology education to industrial trends, and its prominence in pubic policy debates makes it all the more important to ensure that the educated public have as complete a grounding in S&T issues as possible. Perhaps it is a unique twenty-first century paradox that it is more important for “progress” and public policy formulation to focus the attention of our educational system upon the inter-relationships, consequences, and implications of current and previous technological developments rather than mindlessly joining the “bandwagon of progress.” Students must be exposed to the theories, language, culture, engineering difficulties, societal implications, and public policy problems posed by the inevitable advance of technology. The primary target of such efforts should be the non-technologists who tend to enter government service, run for public office, enter the teaching profession, are more politically active and where the greatest multiplier effect can be achieved.     

Why Does Citizens' Knowledge of New Policy Vary Between Municipalities? The Case of the Social Support Act

Providing information to citizens is an important first step in the implementation of new policy. In this study we explain differences in the knowledge of citizens between municipalities of a newly introduced law in the Netherlands, the Social Support Act, 10 months after it became into force. This law is especially important for older people that need support in their daily functioning and participation. We focused on two aspects of knowledge related to the act, i.e. having heard of the new act, and knowing how voice with regard to policy on support is organised in the place of residence. Given that socialist local governments focus more on social topics than liberal local governments, we expected citizens of municipalities with socialist councils to have more knowledge about the new Social Support Act. Contrary to our expectations, citizens from municipalities where a liberal party or a collaboration of liberal/socialist parties is the largest, have a better understanding of how voice is organised. On the other hand, citizens in municipalities with an alderman from a combination of liberal/socialist parties have a lower chance of having heard of the Social Support Act. We argue that in view of the Social Support Act, the ideology of a local government related to citizens' responsibilities (liberal view) may have more influence on citizens' knowledge than being a government that pays attention to social issues (socialist view). As far as individual differences between citizens are concerned, as expected, older people that are more educated but in poorer health status have more knowledge about the new act. A higher educational level and an excellent mental health status are related to more knowledge about voice. Educational level is the most powerful predictor for knowledge about the act.     

Politicians,organisations and the public ‐ the provision of gypsy sites

Under the Best Value regime, the government requires local authorities to involve the public in determining the provision of services. Indeed, the Best Value legislation provides a legal basis for consulting citizens and the local community in relation to better management of local government functions. The guidance on Best Value also encourages local authorities to place performance management within a community strategy framework. These combined actions will, it is hoped, result in more innovative, effective and efficient provision. Arguably, however, the success of increased participation will be influenced by how and why the public are involved. This study draws on case study research to ask whether involving the public does result in innovative changes and to what extent those involved are empowered through the process, concluding that success for both the authority and service users is influenced by factors such as cost structures and whether the original intent includes careful consideration of how those involved might benefit from the process.     

Local Government Public Servants Performance and Citizens Participation in Governance in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper examines the performance of public administrators at the local government level in Nigeria. It traces the development of local governments in Nigeria from 1945 to present times. It argues that the shift in the critical decision‐making powers and functions of local government requires its public administrators to be better‐trained professionals. However, without citizens' participation in governance, public servants' accountability will be low. The study addresses the following questions: How do public sector performance and development of actions by citizens affect accountability in the local governments? How much training do public administrators in Nigeria's local governments have in public management? What is the relationship between performance and citizenship participation in local governments' development process? The question of interests in this study is how public administration at the local government level can better serve Nigeria's communities and in so doing develop authentic relationship with citizen groups, and equitably enhance public trust, legitimacy, and performance of the public sector in the nation.     

Political Parties in the UK

The modernisation of English local government has created new forms of executive leadership. These aim to deliver better management and greater public engagement. Drawing from a recent study of the views of elected councillors in a sample of contrasting councils, this paper considers how far the new political management has succeeded in enhancing public interest and involvement in local government. It is suggested that executive and non-executive councillors differ in their perceptions of the new arrangements and that public interest is still largely perceived as relating to issues of immediate and personal concern. Backbench councillors may feel relatively powerless in taking up issues. Stepping down from elected office could even provide greater opportunities to be involved in public and political affairs. Equally, there are many examples of positive initiatives to involve the public, including area-based organisation and the effective use of scrutiny. Elected mayors were more optimistic than councillors in their perception of public involvement, tending to see themselves as having a direct line to the public and serving to 'reconnect' council and public. Overall, however, public engagement remains the great unfinished business of local government modernisation.     

Revitalizing Local Government Performance Management: Further Dissecting the Role of Socioeconomic Status and Social Mobilization Policy

ABSTRACT

This article examines how socio-economic status and social mobilisation are linked to local government performance management in Nepal. As part of local government reform, Nepal adopted a social mobilisation policy in selected local governments to empower communities for their effective participation. Our results show that socio-economic status and social mobilisation have a significant relationship with performance management. Female literacy, for example, is strongly and significantly associated with performance management, while area has a significant positive relationship but population has only a weak positive relationship. In contrast, poverty has a significant negative correlation. More importantly, mobilisation has a significant, though modest, positive association with performance management particularly in participatory planning and budgeting, fiscal discipline, and administrative management. This indicates that improving the socio-economic status of citizens and their mobilisation for empowered collective action can be one important strategy to improve the performance capacity of local government.     

Making Decentralization Work: A Cross-national Examination of Local Governments and Natural Resource Governance in Latin America

There has been increased emphasis in the last three decades on the decentralization of natural resource governance decisions to local government in developing countries as a means of improving environmental quality, public service delivery, and the accountability of local officials. We examine the performance of decentralization of natural resource management services in a large sample of municipal governments in four Latin American countries. Our analysis includes a variety of factors discussed in the literature as important in influencing the responsiveness of government officials to local needs. We provide a nested institutional model in which local officials respond to incentives created by the structure of formal political institutions at both the local and national level. The results provide support for the importance of considering local and national institutional arrangements as these co-determine the political incentives within decentralized systems.

Enhancing Participation in Disadvantaged Urban Neighbourhoods

Participation in neighbourhoods is a highly valued phenomenon. Participation is the basis of a shared social life, but it also makes everyday life, and the lived experience of people participating in it, political. From a public administration perspective, governance and formal policy-making are increasingly reaching out to citizens, instead of drawing solely on representative mechanisms of local government. This paper investigates how practitioners working in disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Dutch cities enhance participation. Using empirical data from research in disadvantaged neighbourhoods in The Netherlands, the paper shows that these practitioners either start projects that connect people in their own life world or connect policy-makers and policy to initiatives on the ground. As a result, they create the opportunity for many to develop their citizenship and become a more active participant in their local communities.     

Efficacy of Think Tanks in Influencing Public Policies: The Case of Bangladesh

Abstract

This article analyzes contextual and organizational challenges and constraints faced by think tanks in Bangladesh. It argues that while think tanks have been visible in the policy discourse through fostering policy debates and advocating policy proposals, their direct impact on policy outcomes remains limited. Think tanks’ research findings are often interpreted through the prism of politics. A number of think tanks are institutionally weak and face challenges in funding, attracting researchers, and retaining research focus. Think tanks can potentially focus attention to the wider policy community, and emphasize intermediate influences, such as, building capacity, wider networking and interacting with a broader base of policy-makers, in order to be effective and relevant in the policy discussions.     

Local government’s disaster management capacity and disaster resilience

ABSTRACT

The questions in this research are as follows: How does the disaster management capacity of local governments affect the disaster resilience of local communities? The research distinguished local communities by type according to their level of exposure to natural disaster hazards and the analysis compared the impact of the disaster management capabilities on disaster resilience by the type of natural disaster exposure. The analysis results are as follows: While the frequency of disasters local communities experience is low, the magnitude of disasters experienced is large; external network and manual had a positive effect on disaster resilience. When disaster frequency experienced by local communities is high, the magnitude of disasters experienced is small, and internal network and public relation contribute to increased disaster resilience. In conclusion, this research will help expand the externalities of disaster management discussed in the fields of public administration and policy.     

In participatory budgeting we trust? Fairness,tactics and (in)accessibility in participatory governance

ABSTRACT

Participatory budgeting (PB) is a significant innovation in democracy and local development. PB provides the opportunity for citizens to engage in processes of deliberation and decision-making upon the allocation of public funds. As new critical discourse emerges surrounding this model of local government spending, a significant area warranting investigation concerns how trust, and indeed mistrust, factor into PB. Through an analysis of interviews with residents and Council staff engaged in PB processes in a county in the north of England, we highlight the ways in which issues of trust can impact on participation in these initiatives, and also strengthen relationships between voting delegates, project teams and local government. This paper argues that increasing the perceived accessibility, and reconsidering the inclusion of mass membership groups in PB, might help to create progressive, effective and trustful participation.     

Analysing Local Policy Agendas: How Dutch Municipal Executive Coalitions Allocate Attention

Abstract

This article provides an analysis of the allocation of attention to policy problems on the local level, focusing on the executive agenda of six municipalities in the Netherlands over a 25-year period. It reveals that there is specifically a local politics of attention, showing differences between national and local policy agendas in specific policy areas. We did not find evidence that the political composition of the local executive coalitions leads to agenda differences, revealing the more problem-oriented and pragmatic nature of local politics. We did find evidence of an effect of institutional arrangements between national and local government on shifting patterns of attention, such as due to decentralisation. This shows that the local politics of attention is limited in scope and conditioned by the functions of local government and the institutional arrangements of policy making in the Dutch decentralised unitary state and that rearrangements affect these patterns of attention.     

Public Smart Service Provision in Smart Cities: A Case-Study-Based Approach

ABSTRACT

In view of the multitude of challenges urban public administration is struggling with, more and more cities are turning towards smart solutions using information and communication technology. Such Smart City approaches revert to data provided in the urban space by sensors, by citizens or by the archives of the authorities aiming at providing public services that increase the quality of life for citizens, optimize mobility within the city or enhance flexibility and responsiveness of public authorities. This article identifies such SC approaches as well as their basic technical requirements for the cities of Vienna, Singapore, and San Francisco and, by compiling the public service portfolios of these cities, creates an integrative, strategic overview of a SC’s range of services. This approach thus helps to create a scientific basis for the evaluation of SC services and to provide a strategic modular toolkit for public managers to plan and design SCs.     

Public administrators in interactive democracy: a multi-paradigmatic approach

ABSTRACT

Currently, interactive forms of democracy that bring local politicians into dialogue and collaboration with relevant and affected citizens are mushrooming. While some research has investigated how interactive democracy affects citizens and politicians, we know little about what interactive democracy means for public administrators. This article presents the results of a case study of role perceptions and coping strategies among public administrators assisting a new type of interactive political committee in two Nordic municipalities. Guided by a multi-paradigmatic conceptual framework featuring public administrators’ roles and coping strategies in interactive governance, the study shows that individual public administrators identify with different administrative roles, and that political and administrative leadership sentiments condition their choice of coping strategies. Moreover, the coping strategy that public administrators select to handle intra- and inter-paradigmatic role dilemmas can have dire consequences for the interplay between interactive democracy and local representative government.     

Reinventing Governance for Performance in South Asia: Impacts on Citizenship Rights

Abstract

In line with the global trend of “reinventing governance” based on market‐driven policies and structures, South Asian countries have adopted some major reforms in governance during the recent two decades. While this market‐led shift in governance is largely intended to enhance its performance in terms of greater efficiency and quality, there is a tendency to overlook its implications for the rights and entitlements of citizens in these countries. The article examines the basic tenets or features of this transition in governance, encompassing the replacement of public sector by private sector and the transformation of public management based on business principles. The main objective, however, is to examine the critical impacts of this new mode of governance on the political and social rights of citizens in South Asia. The article concludes by stressing the need for paying adequate attention to citizenship rights in pursuing such reforms in governance.     

Hands-off or Hands-on Governance for Public Innovation? A Comparative Case Study in the EU Cohesion Policy Implementation in Finland

ABSTRACT

Public innovation is increasingly strived for by involving non-state agents in policy implementation. Public governance theory has assumed the public administration better govern the activity hands-off by providing incentives and pressure. The theory-driven research agenda has, however, not sufficiently put the assumption to test. This paper compares two similar public innovation projects in employment management of which one was governed hands-off and the other hands-on. The cases reveal several problems with hands-off governance eventually risking innovation while hands-on governance consistently support innovation. Contrary to previous assumptions hands-off governance through competition in a complex environment confound the objective of the project. Hands-on governance, meanwhile, provide information and support that help the project to experiment and learn. The public governance theory should recognize the innovation potential of hands-on governance in the often complex public sector and be wary of mixing hands-off and hands-on governing techniques.     

Impacts of Institutional Rules and Spatial Context on Public Management

Abstract

Public management occurs within institutional and spatial contexts that define constraints and shape opportunities for public action. Importantly, the creation, adaptation, and nurture of institutions are socially valuable results of governmental action. Similarly, all human action occurs in and has effects in spatial contexts. The quality of life available to humans is dramatically affected by location and making places more valuable is an important goal of much public policy. Analyses at the nation state level find government creation and maintenance of institutional rules supporting democratic polities and market‐based economies are the most important factors in the long‐term economic performance of nations. When considering institutional context at the regional and local levels, or in specific policy arenas, at least three measures—(1) existing capacity for collective action; (2) complexity; and (3) volatility—need to be considered. Spatial contexts can be usefully analyzed along several dimensions, including structure of the economy, distribution of assets/liabilities and public, business, nonprofit and household activities, geography and population dynamics, among others. Estimating transaction costs of collective action can be a common entry point into analyses of institutional and spatial contexts. Both analysis and practice of public management will be advantaged by systematic attention to institutional and spatial context.     

Devolution and individual choice in local government services

Abstract

The Labour government in England is pressing for further individual consumer choice in local authority services and, in the name of localism, exploring possibilities for devolution of powers to councils. Little work has been done on how the two agendas might interact. Are they in inevitable tension, because choice promotes exit and devolution promotes voice? Might devolution be offered as a reward for good performance in choice? What might be the consequences for equity? This article argues that the more significant interaction issues are likely to arise from the dynamics created by their combined effects on incentives on households at the margin to relocate. The article offers conceptual and deductive analysis, because before we know the design of devolution and choice schemes we cannot measure the size of the interaction effects. Although major policy tension is not inevitable, the article concludes that policy makers may have to decide how much gains in voice and from choice are worth the possible losses in equity.