The capacity building programme for english local government: Evaluating mechanisms for delivering improvement support to local authorities

The Capacity Building Programme for local government in England has employed a variety of different mechanisms to support local authority improvement. Like other central government initiatives to improve local government performance, the CBP has been the subject of evaluation of its progress. This article draws on the findings from the evaluation, to compare Direct Support and a series of National Programmes. It concludes by suggesting that the CBP's most recent changes herald an exciting new era for the CBP in which it might better develop the capacity of the ‘whole system’ of local governance and public service delivery to meet locally determined objectives.     

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.     

Searching for the best structure for American local government

Citizens, practitioners and academicians involved in local government have for decades debated the best structure for local public organizations; at the polar ends of this debate are those advocating rational administration and those advocating political responsiveness. The conventional wisdom equates rational administration with reformed structures like the council-manager plan and political responsiveness with structures which have an elected chief executive officer. The debate is unresolvable within this value-driven framework, and these ideological positions do not seem to be helping in the design of governmental structures which “work” in a practical and meaningful way. The paper argues for a “functional” model of local government structure based on how much citizens and administrators can know and oversee with competence. The analysis leads to a significant rethinking of the role of governing bodies, administrators, and the general management position in American local government.     

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.     

Professional leadership in local government

Local public service professionals are experts who temper their use of expertise with public service ethics. Public service ethics differ from the ethical codes of most professions in that they stress external accountability. Ethical codes of private sector professions create a sense of responsibility to the profession and help undergird professional autonomy. Public service ethics emphasize public responsibility and help create public accountability. City and county managers show how public service ethics can help make experts accountable to the public.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

The wheel turns for policing and local government

The article examines the impact of two main forces, localism and centralism, together with their interaction within a common law legal system, which have influenced professional policing since its inception after 1829. In particular, it assesses the ways these forces have conflicted and in doing so created a police service which although closely related to local government subsequently drifted apart. Now, through the ‘partnership approach’, developed within the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, local government and policing appear to be re‐establishing a closer relationship. In this context, the article examines the significance of the concept of community safety and the partnership approach on the relationships between local government, police authorities and the force itself.