What are the challenges of multilevel governance for urban sustainability? Evidence from Ottawa and Canada's national capital region

Urban sustainability is a priority for cities, challenging public administrators to coordinate action on environmental policy, economic development and social policy. Multilevel governance is now a popular theoretical framework but research must illuminate the constraints on local administrators. This case study reviews efforts of public administrators in the City of Ottawa and Canada's national capital region to implement sustainability policies with collaborative governance, but new governance relationships are constrained by traditional intergovernmental relations. Case study research illuminates the challenges of multilevel governance for local governments and provides insights on the pursuit of sustainability with environmental programs, land use, and urban and development by Crown corporations.     

Multilevel policy from the municipal perspective: A pan‐Canadian survey

Building on in‐depth case studies and extensive theory‐building by Canadian multilevel governance scholars, this article identifies and describes multilevel policy involvement by federal, provincial, municipal, private, and NGO actors in three policy phases and eighteen policy domains that specifically involve local governments in Canada. Drawing from an original pan‐Canadian survey of municipal mayors and councillors, we show that municipal politicians see multilevel policy involvement as remarkably prevalent across many policy domains. Using an original measure of multilevel policy involvement, we identify the policy domains in which policy involvement is most concentrated or fragmented and then describe the correlates of this measure. Multilevel policy involvement, we argue, is more clearly associated with policy phase and policy domain than with municipal population or region. We conclude with a discussion of implications for future research.     

Decentralized decision‐making and urban planning: A case study of density for benefit agreements in Toronto and Vancouver

This article compares the design and implementation of density for benefit agreements (DBAs), a form of density “bonusing” in Toronto and Vancouver. The cities identify many of the same priorities for benefits secured from developers, but in practice they prioritize widely different benefits. By comparing practice in Toronto and Vancouver, this article demonstrates how institutional differences and the decentralization of policy decision‐making in major cities can affect urban planning decision‐making.     

Building metropolitan governance capacity: The case of the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal

Abstract: This article is about building metropolitan governance capacity. Based on the case study of the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (the Montreal Metropolitan Community), the authors seek to understand how this new metropolitan institution develops its capacity to manage metropolitan issues. What factors influence metropolitan governance capacity? What are the impacts of actor behaviour, incentive structures, and political leadership on that capacity? Specifically, results focus on two of the CMM's areas of responsibility: land‐use planning, and social and affordable housing. Based on the analysis of official documents of the CMM (its act of incorporation, activity reports, budget, etc.) and thirteen interviews with elected municipal officials and public servants, the authors show that the building of metropolitan governance capacity is influenced by the interactions between those three factors, as well as by other elements specific to each context.     

Multilevel governance through a strategic lens: Innovation policy delivery in Ontario

The multilevel governance literature has matured into a widely used analytical framework for investigating policy processes that span multiple tiers of jurisdiction. However, there are still gaps in this literature. The main objective of this article is to address some of these gaps by proposing a strategic construct of multilevel governance that focuses on informal but longer-time horizons of interjurisdictional cooperation. This strategic approach expands the frame of analysis from prevalent emphasis in the extant literature on limited instances of interjurisdictional coordination to a greater emphasis on sustainable strategic multiscalar partnerships facilitated by municipal-level authorities and non-state actors. The article uses this strategic construct of multilevel governance to analyze the key institutional features of Canada’s innovation policy delivery in southern Ontario. This study illustrates how a strategic construct provides a richer understanding of the highly adaptive and fluid processes of multilevel governance in federal systems.     

Local governance and the local political career in Canada: A sample dataset

This research note introduces and describes a new dataset of political actors from the city of Kitchener, Ontario. The dataset is comprised of 348 complete political careers, across four local institutions, from 1912 to the present. This research note aims to show that large‐scale databases of local political actors can contribute to our understanding of (a) local political careers, (b) the dynamics of formal and informal local institutions, and (c) the nature and boundaries of local multilevel governance. This note concludes with some practical advice for those who wish to build similar datasets in other Canadian cities.     

Parent child coalitions: Innovative public‐sector management and early childhood development in Manitoba

Abstract: This article considers a coalition model of governance as an innovative approach to public management. In general, the coalition governance model adopts key principles of new public management and inherits criticisms similar to those levelled against the new managerialism. Looking at a case study of parent child coalitions in Manitoba, this article explores some benefits and consequences of implementing and utilizing coalition governance as a model for social policy. It finds that the attempt to increase child‐centred programming across the province required innovative adjustments to the management of this social policy issue, as well as a restructuring of the overarching policy structure. Innovative public management and the implementation of a coalition governance approach helped transform early childhood development in Manitoba from a private and personal family concern to a public policy issue. It has increased citizen engagement and has also increased government access to a previously inaccessible segment of society. Although these innovations resolved some key concerns, additional criticisms remain as yet unaddressed.     

Comparing accountability relationships between governments and non‐state actors in Canadian and European international development policy

This article examines the alignment of different governance arrangements and alternative accountability mechanisms in international development policy making in Canada and the European Union (EU), with a particular focus on relationships between governments and non‐governmental organizations. The Canadian case illustrates an entrepreneurial mode of governance that aligns with fiscal auditing and performance management mechanisms, while the networked governance model of the EU relies more heavily on accountability instruments of public reporting and deliberation. The article concludes that the European accountability regime likely provides policy makers with more opportunities for social policy learning but would be difficult to implement in Canada given the underlying action logic of the federal government.     

Shifting scales of governance and civil society participation in Canada and the European Union

This article compares how the role and place of civil society groups in multilevel governance have evolved in Canada and the European Union (EU). It argues that, while the scope for engagement of organizations in the EU has broadened, it has been increasingly narrowed in Canada, to the extent that the policy process may be undermined. The article concludes with some insights from the EU experience in order to revive policy coordination in Canada as a governance technique.     

Commissions of inquiry and policy change: Comparative analysis and future research frontiers

Canadian governments have spawned hundreds of federal and provincial commissions of inquiry (COIs). Many scholars have completed in‐depth analysis of particular COIs but less attention has been paid to policy impact and comparisons across COIs. This study addresses the following questions. What role do COIs play in policy change? Would policy change likely have occurred without the COI? Why do some COIs result in policy change and others do not? This analysis reports on findings from in‐depth case studies of ten COIs. It uses a theoretical framework focusing on ideas, institutions, actors and relations to examine whether and how COIs lead to policy and administrative change.     

Strengthening the ties that bind? An analysis of aboriginal–municipal inter‐governmental agreements in British Columbia

Abstract: Despite a rich and well‐developed literature on Canadian federalism, multilevel governance, and aboriginal–settler relations, scholars have tended to ignore the variety of inter‐governmental agreements that have emerged between aboriginal and municipal governments in Canada. This article examines ninety‐three such agreements to construct a typology of aboriginal–municipal inter‐governmental partnerships in British Columbia. It finds that over time there has been a shift from mundane, service‐provision agreements towards more collaborative, cooperative and sometimes decolonizing, horizontal and multilevel governance partnerships. As a result, the authors suggest that scholars study these agreements to further explain and understand the evolution of aboriginal–settler relations and multilevel governance in Canada.     

A new model for making Aboriginal policy? Evaluating the Kelowna Accord and the promise of multilevel governance in Canada

Government policy‐making affecting Indigenous communities in Canada has often been met with stiff resistance from Indigenous leadership. We examine multilevel governance as an alternate model for Aboriginal policy‐making by examining a particular case study: the process leading up to the 2005 Kelowna Accord. We find that although multilevel governance may have the potential to produce highly desirable outcomes, its emergence seems to depend heavily on political agency. Meaningful and enduring change to Aboriginal policy‐making will therefore likely require significant institutional adjustments to the Canadian federation.     

当前中国经济结构性分化的重大现象、突出症结与破解思路

当前中国经济表现出南北区域板块、制造业部门和服务业以及不同所有制企业部门之间的结构性分化现象。对中国仍然处于特定的“投资增长驱动发展模式”的基础性作用认识不够,对制造业部门的高质量投资对提升中国未来潜在增长率的决定性作用认知不够;政府一味依赖的土地财政以及诱发的高房价、高房租和房地产泡沫,既对以制造业为主的旧动能国际竞争力造成了挤出效应,也对新动能的发展壮大产生了难以忽略的阻碍效应甚至抑制效应;针对困扰中小微企业发展的融资难融资贵困局推出的各种金融政策举措,非但没有有效缓解中小微企业的制度扭曲性融资约束难题,反而导致中小微企业和创新型企业的贷款难度提升,这已成为影响和阻碍中国新动能发展壮大的重要因素。需要深入剖析这些问题形成动因以及机制体制障碍的基础上,提出相应的改革突破口和具体政策建议。     

The governance of children with disabilities and their families: Charting the public‐sector regime in Canada

Abstract: This article discusses governance and accountability structures that relate to the contemporary agenda of inclusion for children with disabilities in Canada. Who are the major public‐sector actors in policies for children with disabilities and their families? What governance roles does the sector perform? What are the defining trends that characterize the sector in the present age? The scope of the analysis is a broad scan of structures and roles rather than a detailed inventory of programs. Three clusters of governing activities are addressed: policy planning, consultation and coordination; creating structures, allocating resources and delivering services; and accountability roles and processes. Each of the clusters is examined in relation to public‐sector organizations general to government and to organizations specific to child and family and to disability issues. The education, health‐care and social‐service sectors are profiled to identify important trends and issues in the governance of Canadian disability policy. A concern of the public sector's governance regime for children with disabilities and their families is the absence of clear, consistent and central accountability mechanisms. There is a déjà vu discourse on disability reform, a strong sense that we have been here before. Among other factors, this frustrating pace of reform is due to bureaucratic factors and weak accountability mechanisms. To overcome this déjà vu, the author calls for the adoption of a more inclusive and integrated governance regime for the disability policy domain. Sommaire: Le prdéjàsent article porte sur les structures de gouvernance et de reddition de comptes concernant le programme aduel d'inclusion des enfants handicapés au Canada. Qui sont les principaux acteurs du secteur public responsables des politiques pour les enfants handicapés et leurs familles ? Quels rôles de gouvemance estce que le secteur joue? Quelles sont les tendances spécifiques qui caractérisent ce secteur à I'heure actuelle? L'analyse porte sur un vaste ensemble de structures et de rôles, plutôt que sur un inventaire détaillé de programmes. Trois groupes d'activités gouvernementales sont étudiés:la planification, la consultation et la coordination de politiques; la création de structures, l'affectation de ressources et la prestation de services; et les rôles et processus de la responsabilisation. Chacun de ces groupes est examiné par rapport aux organismes du secteur public dépendant du gouvemement et aux organismes relatifs à l'enfance et à la famille et aux questions d'invalidité. Les secteurs de l'éducation, des soins de santé et des services sociaux sont présentés pour identifier les tendances et questions importantes dans la gouvemance de la politique canadienne sur l'invalidité. Une précupation du régime de gouvernance du secteur public concemant les enfants handicapés et leurs familles est I'absence de mécanismes centraux de responsabilisation qui soient clairs, consistants et centralisés. Ce discours sur la réforme de l'invalidité a déjàété tenu. La lenteur frustrante de cette réforme est attribuable entre autres à des facteurs bureaucratiques et à de faibles mécanismes de reddition de comptes. Pour aller au‐dellà de ce déjà vu, I'auteur sumère l'adoption d'un régime de gouvemance plus inclusif et plus intégré pour le domaine des politiques en matière d'invalidité.     

The Governance System Reason of Informal Financing Risk and Governance Mode Choice——Based on the Case Study of Wenzhou Area

Informal financing risk not only affects the development of the real economy, but also endangers the stability of the society. It is urgent to study the causes and risk management mode of informal financing. In Williamson's discriminating alignment hypothesis, this paper constructed an informal financing discriminating alignment model to assess Chinese informal financing governance reason and mode. We perform a Wenzhou case study and conclude that the governance model and transaction characteristics do not match, which is the governance reason for financing risk. Establish the third-party governance is the best solvency for this problem. Conclusion of this article provided a policy reference for controlling the risk of informal financing so as to provide financial support for entity and achieve steady economic development.     

Comparing innovation strategies: Canada's Ocean Supercluster and Europe's Smart Specialisation initiatives

The Global Innovation Clusters’ Initiative (GIC) is an innovation program launched in Canada. This article aims to describe the policy, in particular its key similarities and differences with the Europe's Smart Specialisation (S3) policy initiative, and critically explore the logic behind its inception. The article reveals that although policy implementation practices are bespoke and context-specific, the need to increase coordination between different levels and sectors of policy making is acknowledged to be important for achieving both innovation and local economic development objectives.     

跨域治理中的政策执行困境——以我国流域水资源保护为例

在中国公共政策研究的领域,对跨层级和跨部门的政策执行现象关注不足。多数文献从“自上而下”的角度出发,过于强调事权的划分,而忽略了中央与地方、地方与地方、各职能部门之间的复杂策略互动与权力分享,从而得出“进一步加大中央控制”的政策建议,使政府治理陷入“收权放权”的怪圈。本文以水资源保护为例,首先讨论我国流域水资源保护的制度基础与政策执行困境;其次从纵向跨层级的视角分析地方政府政策执行偏差;再次从横向跨部门的视角分析权力冲突和信息阻隔对政策执行产生的负面影响。本文认为。集权式的治理机制无法应对跨层级、跨部门的复杂政策议题,有效的政策执行还需要进行更深层的政治结构调整,形成良性沟通协作的机制。     

地方党组织全面引领治理现象的发生机制——以S市动拆迁实践为例

中国共产党是中国特色社会主义事业的领导核心。从公共政策层面看,地方党组织的领导既表现在宏观的政策决策上,如制定方针路线;也可体现在中微观的政策执行中,如全面引领治理过程。在制定方针路线与全面引领治理之间的行为选择中,地方党组织采取后一种行为方式的发生机制是什么?除受党的先进性、上级要求等因素影响外,通过对地方动迁政策实践的个案研究发现,由于复杂政策的"网络性"要求有效的协调制度,制度建构和运作需投入大量资源,而市场或行政机制下的执行方式存在资源投入不足和协调制度匮乏,导致地方治理陷入集体行动困境,进而催生地方党组织全面引领地方治理。基于党章党纪等初始制度,地方党组织得以动员大量资源,进而成功建构和运作内部协调制度和外部协调制度,并分别实现对政策执行主体、主客体之间和客体内部的关系协调,推动了地方善治。     

Cooperation,coordination and competition: Why do municipalities participate in economic development alliances?

Economic development is a policy area typically seen by municipalities as competitive in nature. Cooperation with neighbouring municipalities is rare, as the benefits are often selective. This paper examines the formation and governance of economic development alliances in Canada, specifically exploring the motivations of municipalities entering into these cooperative relationships. Four main factors influenced a municipality's decision to cooperate on economic development: reducing duplication, increasing international visibility, filling service gaps, and allowing for greater access to federal and provincial grants. Economic conditions dictated the course of partnership. Dividing mutual gains is the major challenge to overcome in order to keep economic development alliances together.     

干部教育培训改革创新过程中若干重要问题辨析

对按需施教之“需”的理解和落实问题、干部教育培训的目标定位问题、干部教育培训方式方法的选择问题是干部教育培训改革创新过程中的重要问题，干部教育培训工作的组织者和实施者需要对这些问题进行认真反思、深入研究，并贯彻到培训工作中去。