Subnational Collective Action: The Varied Patterns of Mobilisation of Local Government Associations

This article assesses differences in the way local government associations organise to influence EU legislation in different countries. EU policy outcomes have an increasing financial and administrative impact on local government. This has been increasingly recognised by both EU institutions and many national governments, and recent reforms have sought to ensure greater involvement of local authorities in the preparation of EU proposals and domestic pre-negotiations, with an emphasis on the aggregation of local government interests via European and national local government associations. Research suggests that representative organisations need to be well resourced to be able to mobilise at both European and national level to influence EU proposals. This article empirically assesses these claims by examining attempts by local government associations in England, Denmark and Ireland to influence EU environmental directives. The findings suggest that financial, staffing, and informational resources, as well as structural issues, are important factors influencing how local government representative bodies respond to EU legislative proposals.     

Political Failure by Agreement: Learning Liberalism and the Welfare State,by Gerhard Wegner

This article explores the validity of the view that collaboration contributes to public value. The analysis is conceptual and uses graphs to develop a formal statement of public value, collaboration, and government dynamics. The concept of the reason-able person is introduced. The ideal state, the ideal partnership, and conditions for collaboration to contribute to public value are derived. Benefit, support, and acceptability are shown to be necessary conditions for public value to be generated by collaboration. These conditions are shown to link to concepts of management, politics, and public administration.     

Fiscal Capacity Equalisation in Tanzania

Fiscal equalisation aims at enabling decentralised governments to supply similar services at similar tax rates. In order to equalise fiscal disparities, differences in both fiscal capacities and in fiscal needs have to be measured. This paper focuses on the measurement of fiscal capacity in a developing country. The current intergovernmental transfer system in Tanzania does not take differences in fiscal capacity into account. As a result, local governments in rich areas are able to generate considerably more revenue per capita than those in poor areas. Public services in poor areas are hard to finance. We propose a way of measuring fiscal capacities of local governments in Tanzania using poverty data. We use this measure to derive an equalisation grant that would support local governments that have a low fiscal capacity.     

Prospects for Local Collaboration into an Uncertain Future: Learning from Practice within Labour's Partnership Paradigm

Achieving effective local collaboration, a strong theme of the previous Labour government, may actually become more important given Coalition government policies emphasising decentralisation and encouraging alternative providers of public services. Therefore, it remains essential to learn from experiences of collaboration especially as, despite significant research, few studies explicitly identify guidance for improving this practice that is of specific relevance to local policy actors. In order to do so, a decentred and ethnographic approach was adopted to examine collaboration in a case study of a Sport and Physical Activity Alliance in Casetown, a medium-sized city in the south of England. Findings from this case study reinforced those found in other studies that pointed to the constraints of targets imposed by the Labour government, ingrained approaches to public administration and lack of open acknowledgement of power differentials impeding the development of effective collaboration. Drawing on the suggestions of those involved in the alliance, an alternative vision of collaboration is advocated, focused on shared learning and bottom-up implementation within more fluid and open structures in which there would be greater scope for the exercise of agency on behalf of those individuals and organisations involved. As during the period of the Labour government, aspects of current wider policy agendas may impede as well as support the development of this alternative vision of collaboration. Nevertheless, it is argued that reflexive local actors may collectively be able to address the contextual challenges that exist in order to develop more effective forms and practices of collaboration.     

Grass-Root Organisations,Intergovernmental Collaboration,and Emergency Preparedness: An Institutional Collective Action Approach

Abstract

This paper examines the importance of grass-root emergency response groups in emergency preparedness. Consistent with the Institutional Collective Action framework, we highlight key constraints associated with local government strategies of mutual resource exchange and barriers to intergovernmental collaboration. We examine local governments’ emergency preparedness using survey data collected in the North Central Texas region. We employed a simple OLS analysis to determine mutual exchange and Poisson estimations on the likelihood of local governments receiving and providing external assistance. Findings showed that the presence of grass-root organisations in a jurisdiction is associated with emergency preparedness, highlighting the importance of norms of volunteerism. Local political institutions and participation in federally funded programmes also have an effect on local government decisions.     

亚太区域合作的新变化与中日韩合作

始于2007年的国际金融危机,使西方经济模式受到种种质疑和挑战,新兴经济体在全球经济中的地位不断上升,世界经济重心正在加速向亚太地区转移。中国作为正在崛起的新兴经济大国将为世界带来种种机遇。在此背景下,美日两国围绕"跨太平洋战略经济伙伴协定"(TPP)纷纷调整其亚太政策。美国希望调整该地区合作"制度"规范亚太合作进程,日本希望通过呼应美国TPP战略来干预亚太一体化进程。东盟国家希望通过启动"区域全面经济伙伴关系"(RCEP)强化在亚太一体化进程中的主导地位。中日韩FTA谈判不仅有利于三国的经济利益,也将对亚太区域合作进程发挥重要作用。中国在积极参与区域合作的同时,还必须加速本国的经济结构、发展模式的调整。     

Consumers as Collaborators in Research and Action

SUMMARY

This paper discusses the role of consumers as collaborators in disability research conducted in the community. A comprehensive model of participatory action research is described and illustrated with research and training projects conducted in a collaborative arrangement between researchers and a Consumer Empowered Team. The paper describes how adherence to the model could be conducted in actual research and training settings and produce outcomes valued by the consumers at whom the interventions were targeted. The advantages and caveats to using the consumer as collaborator approach are discussed.     

网络赌博犯罪发展新趋势及侦查革新

网络赌博犯罪日渐猖獗,且有新的发展趋势:涉案范围跨区域性,犯罪主体幕后化、专业化,犯罪手段多样化、技术化,犯罪后果严重化、广泛化。公安机关在打击此类犯罪中存在发现难、调查取证难、侦查协作难等诸多困难。针对这类犯罪的新特点,应构建从资金流到案的侦查模式,用活"打击犯罪新机制",并加强与境外的侦查协作。     

Towards a Model for International Collaboration and Partnerships in Teacher Education in Africa: Education for Sustainable Development in South Africa

ABSTRACT

Education for sustainable development allows all to acquire the skills, attitudes, knowledge and values essential for a sustainable future. This article argues that there is an urgent need to include sustainable development aspects in teaching and learning at all levels of education. Implementing Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) poses a new challenge for teachers and teacher educators. The role of international collaboration, partnerships and networking is increasingly becoming important in creating sustainable solutions towards green economies and programmes. The post-2015 global agenda for sustainable development should recognise the need for regional and international collaborations in forging lasting strategies for a sustainable future where education for all is relevant, reliable and accessible.

This article proposes a model for collaboration based on analyses conducted on a project on education for sustainable development programme involving key success factors for collaboration and focussing on the local and global stakeholders and their role in enhancing ESD among teachers. For this purpose, the four partner countries: South Africa, India, Mexico and India were examined to understand how ESD is implemented; how experiences are shared; and best practices incorporated into the programme. Local and global experts (ESD-Expert-net members) who developed an international core curriculum for teachers were involved. From the pilot, four country programmes, a conceptual model of seven levels of collaboration and partnerships for education for sustainable development to enhance teacher development among local and international partners was developed. This model is proposed to serve as a framework for education for sustainable development implementation in multinational collaborations and is discussed in relation to the post-2015 sustainable development perspective.     

El federalismo cooperativo como factor catalizador de un Gobierno Abierto

The paper aims at outlining a framework of analysis that substantiates the significance of collaboration among governments, under the assumption that a rigid system of competition tends to result in the splintering of public affair solutions in government agendas. Cooperative federalism, to the degree that it may produce intergovernmental relations, points towards a support of holistic solutions to demands written into the action plan that serves as a precondition to enrollment in the Open Government Partnership (ogp). The proposal presented by Mexican representatives during the June 2012 meeting in Brasilia, envisioning governmental aperture at the subnational and local levels, would have more possibilities of success if minimal bases for cooperative federalism that may serve to manage public affairs are set forth previously.