When development breeds contempt: case examples of community-driven health systems initiatives

This article discusses case examples of community-led initiatives triggered by the introduction of an external development programme in Senegal and Mali. These are community initiatives that learn from projects initiated and funded by an external donor organisation, and transform interventions to better meet their own needs. The circumstances leading to the demand for, and successful establishment of, health infrastructure are examined to understand the triggers. These breakthroughs demonstrate unintended benefits of development, and the need to leverage donor-led initiatives. Therefore, community involvement, participation, and empowerment are key in establishing local ownership in development projects.     

市场经济现代转型中的法治与责任政府

政府在我国市场经济的建立和转型中发挥着重要的作用.然而诺斯"国家悖论"所揭示的两难困境告诫我们在充分利用政府作用的同时,必须对行政权力的不当干预和政府失责的负面影响加以防范.我国已建立了初级市场经济并正在向现代市场经济转型,现代市场经济的基础是法治,现代市场经济转型的关键在于法治的确立.而法治下的政府应该是一个责任政府,我国要顺利实现市场经济的现代转型,建立良好的市场秩序和有效保护产权,就要建立责任政府.法治是责任政府不可或缺的制度保障,责任政府是法治理念在公共行政领域的体现.责任政府作为现代市场经济体系的重要组成部分,是一切向现代市场经济转型国家必须确立的政治基础.责任政府需要一系列制度构架确保政府对人民责任关系的确立.责任政府制度构架的基本方面包括:政府责任规范体制、政府责任履行的评价制度和政府责任的问责制度.     

Environment and climate mainstreaming: challenges and successes

This paper examines mainstreaming environment and climate change into development policy, planning, and budgeting. It looks at why we should integrate environment and climate and outlines challenges and successes. One result is that governments’ progress pro-poor and equitable development. Governance gains are important too: co-benefits include more transparent decision making and better cross-government working. Ultimately, the impact of mainstreaming has increased awareness, changed perceptions, and improved the way inter-sectoral decisions are made, especially in climate adaptation. This supports countries to achieve their sustainable development ambitions – lessons which could be applied to a post-2015 development agenda.     

浅谈我国行政问责的对象

2008年,伴随着一系列重大公共安全事故的发生,风暴般的行政问责再次进入人们的视线,公众一方面因雷厉风行的行政问责而欣慰,同时开始质疑：被问责的领导人是否真正做到了职责相当？问责程序不公开是否存在暗箱操作？为此,正在进行制度化建设的行政问责,必须在明确问责对象的基础上,确立清晰的职责权限范围,完善问责对象的责任认定与追究。     

Data Protection Impact Assessment: A tool for accountability and the unclarified concept of ‘high risk’ in the General Data Protection Regulation

Article 35 of the GDPR introduces the legal obligation to perform DPIAs in cases where the processing operations are likely to present high risks to the rights and freedoms of natural persons. This obligation is part of a change of approach in the GDPR towards a modified compliance scheme in terms of a reinforced principle of accountability. The DPIA is a prominent example of this approach given that it has an inclusive, comprehensive and proactive nature. Its importance lies in the fact that it forces data controllers to identify, assess and ultimately manage the high risks to the rights and freedoms. However, what is first and foremost important for a meaningful performance of DPIAs, is to have a common and objective understanding of what constitutes a risk in the field of data protection and of how to assess its likelihood and severity. The legislature has approached these concepts via the method of denotation, meaning by giving examples of (highly) risky processing operations. This article suggests a complementary approach, the connotation of these concepts and explains the added value of such a method. By way of a case-study the article also demonstrates the importance of performing complete and accurate DPIAs, in terms of contributing to improving the protection of personal data.     

The canary in the data mine

The present article aims at portraying the type of profile best required to fulfil the function of a Data Protection Officer (DPO) within the EU public sector. The article proposes the idiom of the “canary in a coal mine” as best positioned to describe the multidisciplinary role of DPOs. Due to the particularity and sensitivity of their function, Data Protection Officers act as early indicators of data protection incompliance within their respective area of expertise. Only when being functionally independent, Data Protection Officers could master the role of “canaries in the data mine” thus preventing possible data protection breaches and violations.     

Public Administration Dilemmas: An Analysis of Teachers’ Perceptions of the Effects of Performance Evaluation in Post-Colonial South Africa

The adoption of the principles of New Public Management by many governments across the world was invariably accompanied by the implementation of performance evaluation. It is generally accepted that performance evaluation optimizes the performance of workers. As part of a broader investigation which employed a mixed methods approach, the study used data from six interviews with high school principals and 100 survey questionnaires with purposively selected high school teachers in uMgungundlovu District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In the analysis of this data, the paper demonstrates that beyond the obvious benefits of performance evaluation such as improvement in performance, there are also unintended consequences such as a narrow focus on measured output, teacher burnout, and falsification of information in order to maximize credit or to avoid punishment. This study illustrates the understandings of high school educators in uMgungundlovu District of the effects of performance evaluation. The findings have important implications for public administration and scholars alike.     

Transparency and accountability of central banks in their role of financial stability supervisor in OECD countries

We aim to get a better understanding of the accountability of central banks in their role of financial stability supervisors, distinguishing between three crucial elements: (1) the legal basis for the financial stability task, (2) providing of information on financial stability, and (3) the formal relationship between the accountable and the accountee. We conclude that in most OECD countries the law does not provide a clear objective for financial stability supervisors. Many central banks nowadays publish a stand-alone financial stability report. In most countries there are hardly any accountability measures in place regarding the objective of financial stability. JEL classification G28     

比较研究视野下的异体问责展望

同体问责与异体问责各自发挥功能和优势,共同实现对政府及其官员及时有效的问责,才是更值得期待也更完善的行政问责。应当认真借鉴美、英、法等西方国家开展异体问责的成功经验,通过激活问责主体、完善问责制度、优化问责环境、培育问责文化来不断完善异体问责制度,建立起符合社会主义民主政治特点的行政问责体系。