Collaborative leadership and financial sustainability in local government

This research examines whether collaborative leadership significantly influences the financial sustainability of local government. Unlike other studies on financial sustainability, ours examined collaborative leadership’s effect on both subjective and objective financial sustainability by controlling for socio-demographic and economic factors (i.e., population size, population density, population aged over 65 years, unemployment rate, and gross domestic regional product) that influence the financial sustainability of local government. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis of data collected from local revenue officers as well as secondary data from local governments in South Korea revealed that collaborative leadership has a positive effect on the subjective perception of financial sustainability and a negative effect on the objective financial sustainability (net debt) of local government. These findings underscore the necessity of collaborative leadership for financial sustainability as well as the strategies needed for its development in local government.     

Rethinking local political leadership

The changing nature of local political leadership in Britain over the past 25 years has received scant attention from political scientists. This article argues that changes in the roles and functions of local authorities have had a marked impact on the nature of local political leadership. Three phases (operational, transitional and collaborative) are identified and leadership roles are related to changes in the political context of local government. The fundamental tasks of leadership have not changed but what has changed is the balance or relative emphasis between them and the way they have been interpreted. While elected local authorities cannot ignore the implications of the changed external agenda – notably the advent of new forms of executive leadership – the way they respond still bears the mark of the local political culture.     

Transformation in Philippine local government

This research examined the challenges, enablers and outcomes of organisation transformation in Philippine local governments. We combined a multi-case study research design and backward mapping approach in collecting and analysing narratives from 55 leaders in 9 Filipino local government units (LGUs) that have successfully undergone transformation. Results show that the transformations of the LGUs appear to have been catalysed by three interrelated elements: vision, LGU leadership and citizen engagement. The transformation in the local governments concentrated on multiple foci of reform including structure and systems improvement, culture change, human-resource development as well as policy and programme development. This holistic approach enabled the transformation of bureaucratic and unprofessional government service to transparent, professional and efficient public service that engendered pride, transparency and social equity. Implications of the proposed model for transforming LGUs and in developing LGU leaders for good governance are discussed.     

Europe and local government

The Care in the Community initiative has resulted in a renewed interest in collaboration between local and health authorities. The focus of such collaboration is commonly on the transfer of long‐stay patients from psychiatric and mental handicap hospitals that are due to close, though the extent of local authority involvement in closure programmes varies considerably.

Joint planning typically involves a number of local authority departments: social services, housing, chief executives’ offices and legal services. It sometimes also involves education, recreation and leisure departments. Joint planning can be very time‐consuming and can call for considerable effort. It frequently gives rise to a good deal of conflict between the participating agencies. The pay‐offs, on the other hand, often appear to be small. Such plans as are finally implemented tend to be small‐scale: attempts at broader strategic planning almost invariably come to grief. The question then has to be asked, whether joint planning is worth all the effort. In the end, the primary justification for such planning has to lie in its ability to produce more appropriate services for service‐users.

This paper examines one local authority's experience of joint planning in relation to the closure of a large psychiatric hospital. Despite several setbacks, joint plans were eventually agreed and a number of former long‐stay patients were able to move into the community. The paper considers both the achievements and the shortcomings of the authority's collaboration with the health service.     

Administrators and professionals in local government

This article evaluates the shift to an executive and scrutiny model in local government by assessing the changes at Devon County Council. Interviews were used to evaluate support for the changes and identify the key issues and problems. Most members had little enthusiasm for the reforms, support for the changes was dependent on the loyalty of Liberal Democrat backbenchers towards the leadership and central government's legislative agenda. The analysis revealed substantial problems with the operation of the reformed structure and suggested that the changes might fail to deliver the benefits expected by central government.     

Rethinking organisational learning in local government

The article outlines the results of research undertaken with 146 local authorities in England and Wales. There are two aims to this paper. First, to identify some of the ways in which local government understands and puts into practice the notion of organisational learning. Second, to encourage a broader understanding and practice than exists at present. Our research suggests that local authorities have created a self‐limiting notion of organisational learning particularly based on performance management and management development imperatives orientated towards the individual employee. We suggest various ways in which authorities might shift the focus from individual to organisational learning.     

Innovation in local government homelessness strategies

This study examines innovations in local government homelessness policy, specifically, the use of comprehensive and targeted programs. Traditionally, homelessness efforts have focused on emergency assistance, and have not included efforts in homelessness prevention or long-term care responding to the housing, job training and placement, health and mental health needs of homeless persons. In this article, findings are reported from a national survey of local homelessness efforts in cities over 50,000. It is found that 13 percent of cities have adopted the innovation of comprehensive homelessness efforts. Driving forces of this innovation include a broad range of private and public actions, including the use of community-based action strategies, as well as local conditions such as increased domestic violence and the use of emergency shelters. Popular apathy and a lack of city funding are important barriers to the adoption of this innovation.     

Policy analysis for local government

This paper considers the impact of quality approaches within the personal social services over the last decade. In particular it examines how applicable private sector approaches to quality, such as Total Quality Management, are in the public and personal social services. Both the hard and soft tools of Total Quality Management are critically considered in terms of their relevance and ability to modernise service provision. In the context of the managerial discourse presently dominating the public sector, it is argued that the hard tools of Total Quality Management, such as performance measurement and review, will only add to managerial control; whilst the soft tools of empowerment and cultural change will lose their critical effect. It is the contention of this paper that unless the current Labour government's Modernising Services Policy succeeds in democratising the process of developing quality then it will only add to the managerial agenda at the expense of improving service provision.     

Renewal of local government in Scandinavia: Effects for local politicians

During the last decade, numerous local government reforms influenced by New Public Management (NPM) ideology have taken place throughout Scandinavia. Based on case studies in three Scandinavian municipalities, the article discusses the effects of introducing strategic political management on the role of councillors. We observe a conflict between NPM‐inspired management ideas and a deeply institutionalised, traditional view of councillors as representatives of the citizens, advocating peoples’ interest, defining needs, setting priorities and controlling implementation. Across national and local contexts, councillors find that the reforms challenge their traditional role and have strengthened administrative influence. Historical institutionalism seems to be a fruitful concept to understand resistance towards taking on new role models.