Sublocal Decentralisation—The Case of Slovak Big Cities

10.1068/c9872 ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ján Buček

By means of case studies of Slovak cities, the author focuses on decentralisation processes at the local level, paying special attention to the role of local self-government during the transformation period in Central and Eastern Europe. Four main directions of sublocal decentralisation are considered: political decentralisation, managerial decentralisation, decentralisation to the so-called ‘third sector’, and decentralisation to the private or mixed sector. Cities have constituted ‘Councils in City Quarters’ as a tool for the improvement of local democracy and as an aid to more flexible local self-government. The previously state-controlled municipal sector has also been changed to a group of municipal, public – private, and private companies involved in delivery of local services, resulting in enhanced efficiency. A wide range of local functions took over the third sector—from delivery of particular services to the reconciling of many local interests. Sublocal decentralisation processes, although not yet complete, appear very promising and confirm the ability to cope with the transitional situation at the local level. An important feature is that the initial top-down control of the local level transformation has been replaced with an active and more autonomous role of local self-governments following the consolidation period. Slovak transition at the local level also documents the role of local self-government as hard to replace in the facilitation of local civil society building and highlights a need for a local democracy which is more complex in nature.

Author(s):  
Tony Chasteauneuf ◽  
Tony Thornton ◽  
Dean Pallant

This chapter discusses the role of the third sector working with the hard and soft structures of public–private partnerships to promote healthier individuals and communities. It considers how a recommitment to the 'local authority' of citizens and beneficiaries offers the possibility of revitalised and healthier individuals and reinvigorated and healthier communities, which are unachievable through the hard and soft structures of the commissioner/provider statutory approach. The chapter then identifies the pivotal dynamic of one-to-one relationships in these processes and their association with health outcomes (emotional, physical, and spiritual) alongside the opportunities and challenges in agencies engaging/re-engaging with the agency of citizens and beneficiaries. It explores the tension between the 'agency' of citizens and beneficiaries that constitutes bottom-up power and 'agencies' with top-down power. The chapter also looks at the benefits of embracing the expertise and investment of individuals and their communities in their personal and shared lives, how this can be supported and how it can be undermined.


Author(s):  
Giuseppe Acconcia ◽  
Enrica Chiappero-Martinetti ◽  
Paolo R. Graziano

This chapter focuses on third sector associations and the development of capability-promoting policy in Italy. It employs the capability approach as a basic framework to analyse social phenomena in order to elucidate the role of third sector associations at the local level in promoting socially innovative processes to enable the integration of groups formerly excluded from the labour market (such as disadvantaged youths). It considers the extent to which third sector stakeholders enhance policy integration and social innovation by drawing on the results of fieldwork research involving the Libera network, a grassroots association supporting community empowerment projects engaged in managing confiscated lands owned by mafias in Milan and Naples. The chapter highlights the factors driving the differential impact of a capability approach to social innovation and the limits of third sector participation both at the meso and micro levels with respect to policies aimed at contrasting youth unemployment.


Author(s):  
Alison Body

Following a decade of radical change in policy and funding in children’s early intervention services and with the role of the third sector under increased scrutiny, this timely book assesses the shifting interplay between state provision and voluntary organisations delivering interventions for children, young people and their families. Using one-hundred voices from charities and their partners on the frontline, this book provides vivid accounts of the lived experiences of charitable groups, offering key insights into the impact of recent social policy decisions on their work. Telling the story of how the landscape of children’s early intervention services has changed over the last decade, it provides crucial lessons for future policy whilst demonstrating the immeasurable value of voluntary organisations working in this challenging terrain.


2021 ◽  
pp. 196-204
Author(s):  
Wilda Rasaili ◽  
Dafik Dafik ◽  
Rachmat Hidayat ◽  
Hadi Prayitno

SDGs-4, the quality education is one of the factors in achieving the goals of the SDGs. The problem is that the SDGs look ambitious in integrating local level policies that are responsive to political interests. The research used a mixed method of exploration, searching for interview data and questionnaires. The results showed that the implementation of the SDGs was strongly influenced by local democracy. The implementation of the promotion of SDGs requires strengthening local politics and democracy, including; the quality of the Pilkada, the role of the community, political parties, media control, and public meetings. The influence of local democracy on policy implementation is 51.5%. Policy implementation has a positive effect on the implementation of the SDGs with a value of 0.187. The influence of local democracy and policy implementation on the promotion of SDGs-4 is 64.2% and the remaining 35.8% is influenced by other factors.


2013 ◽  
pp. 83-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angel Belzunegui-Eraso ◽  
Amaya Erro-Garcés ◽  
Inmaculada Pastor-Gosálbez

This chapter examines the role of telework as a driving force behind third sector activities and in the creation of networks and links between organizations in that sector. Telework as a tool has generated considerable change in the traditional organization of work. Its effectiveness lies in its ability to respond more quickly to customer requirements and to users and beneficiaries of third sector and social economy organizations. Online connections and services provided by telework have also led to a greater density of contacts between organizations in the third sector, which promotes the transmission of information and collaborative practices in providing services to the public.


2017 ◽  
pp. 570-584
Author(s):  
Ángel Belzunegui ◽  
Amaya Erro-Garcés ◽  
Inma Pastor

This article discusses the role of the telework as an organizational innovation incorporated to the activities of the third sector as well as in the creation of networks and links between these entities. The telework has become a tool that has produced important changes in the traditional organization of the work, and has improved the inter- and intra-organizational communication, in addition to promoting the creation of extensive networks of collaboration in the third sector. The online connection and the provision made in telework mode have also served for the creation of a higher density of contacts between the entities that are grouped in the third sector, done so that it benefits the transmission of information and collaborative practices in providing services to the citizens. Its effectiveness consists in the speed that prints the response capacity of the social economy entities.


Author(s):  
Ilyas Saliba ◽  
Wolfgang Merkel

The theory of the dilemma of simultaneity is empirically based on the transformations of post-socialist states in Central and Eastern Europe. The transformations after the collapse of the socialist bloc were without precedent with regards to breadth and depth. The dilemma of simultaneity consists of three parallel transition processes on three dimensions. The first part of this chapter explores the three dimensions of the transitions: nation building, political transformation, and economic transformation. The second part discusses the three levels of transformation: (1) ethno-national identity and territory, (2) polity, and (3) socio-economic distribution. The third part highlights the complexity and challenges of multidimensional simultaneous transformation processes. The fourth and fifth parts discuss the role of international actors and socio-economic structures on the transitions in Central and Eastern Europe. The chapter concludes with an account of Elster’s and Offe’s critics and their response.


Author(s):  
Claire Frost

Basic Services for All in an Urbanizing World is the third instalment in United Cities and Local Government’s (UCLG) flagship series of global reports on local democracy and decentralisation (GOLD III). In the context of rapid urbanisation, climate change and economic uncertainty the report is an impressive attempt to analyse local government’s role in the provision of basic services, the challenges they are facing, and make recommendations to improve local government’s ability to ensure access for all. Published in 2014, the report is well positioned to feed into the current debate on what will follow the UN Millennium Development Goals, and examines the role of local government in the provision of basic services across the world regions.


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