Mayors’ leadership roles in direct participation processes – the case of community-owned wind farms

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 617-637 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franziska Wallmeier ◽  
Julia Thaler

Purpose The design of participation processes influences their effectiveness. In light of processes which include both mandated and non-mandated direct participation and take place in collaboration with other actors, adequate leadership roles are an indispensable but challenging process element. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how mayors exercise leadership roles in such processes and how this relates to effective participation processes. Design/methodology/approach Applying a qualitative comparative case study design (n=7), this study investigates mayors’ leadership roles relative to other actors’ roles in the process of establishing a community-owned wind farm. Data collection relied on 21 semi-structured interviews, triangulated with documentary analyses and nine field-level expert interviews. Findings Findings reveal mayors’ exclusive roles of guarantor, formal convener, facilitator, and sponsor based on authority. Mayors’ various shared roles relate primarily to non-mandated participation. Mayors face tensions in their role exercise due to citizens’ expectations and their personal involvement. They experience a positive impact of shared leadership on the effectiveness of the participation process. Practical implications Mayors need to exercise specific leadership roles relative to other actors to effectively manage participation processes. Adequate role exercise relates to sensitization and mobilization for the issue, weakened opposition, and project adjustment to citizen demands. A strategic approach to process design can support mayors in their leadership efforts. Originality/value This paper adds to the knowledge on mayors’ leadership roles in participation processes and concretizes tensions and effectiveness of collaborative leadership. The paper reflects on the inference of findings for administrators as compared to mayors.

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 126-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abeda Mulla ◽  
Alistair Hewison ◽  
Jonathan Shapiro

Purpose – The way change occurred at a strategic level and in four clinical services in three hospitals was examined. The purpose of this paper is to report how the hospitals designed and delivered change at organisational and clinical service level to improve services for patients, and the role of clinical leadership in this process. Design/methodology/approach – A comparative case study involving semi-structured interviews was undertaken. These involved a range of senior managers in 2009 (n=77), 2011 (n=21) and 2012 (n=29). Interviews with staff involved directly in service delivery were also carried out in 2011 (n=92). The interviews were recorded digitally, transcribed verbatim, and analysed thematically using the Framework Method. Findings – The value of, and approach taken to clinical leadership varied across the hospitals and over time. This was affected by the culture and priorities of the organisation. Some strategies for developing clinical leadership were developed, however they were limited. It was expected that capable clinical leaders would emerge, and be supported. Effective clinical leadership during organisational and service change required direct executive or managerial support and relied on clinical “champions”. Originality/value – The paper demonstrates that despite the importance of clinical leadership being widely recognized in policy and research, there were no established programmes in place at the hospitals that were studied to support it. Rather there was a reliance on clinical staff coming forward to take on leadership roles as part of organizational efforts to bring about change.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly Thompson ◽  
Laura Simonds ◽  
Sylvie Barr ◽  
Sara Meddings

Purpose Recovery Colleges are an innovative approach which adopt an educational paradigm and use clinician and lived experience to support students with their personal recovery. They demonstrate recovery-orientated practice and their transformative role has been evidenced within mental health services. The purpose of this study is to explore how past students understand the influence of the Recovery College on their on-going recovery journey. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory, qualitative design was used and semi-structured interviews took place with 15 participants. Data was analysed using the “framework method” and inductive processes. Findings All participants discussed gains made following Recovery College attendance that were sustained at one year follow-up. Three themes emerged from the data: Ethos of recovery and equality; Springboard to opportunities; and Intrapersonal changes. Originality/value This research explores students’ experiences a year after attendance. This contrasts to most research which is completed immediately post course. This study contributes to the emergent evidence base highlighting the longitudinal positive impact of Recovery Colleges. This study is of value to those interested in recovery-oriented models within mental health. Recovery Colleges are gaining traction nationally and internationally and this research highlights processes underlying this intervention which is of importance to those developing new Recovery Colleges.


2019 ◽  
Vol 119 (3) ◽  
pp. 521-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lingcheng Kong ◽  
Ling Liang ◽  
Jianhong Xu ◽  
Weisi Zhang ◽  
Weijun Zhu

Purpose Although the wind power industry has been booming in China during the last decade, the development of wind turbine aftermarket service is still lagging behind, which seriously affects the operational efficiency of wind farms. If wind turbine manufacturers get involved in the aftermarket, the service pricing policy will impact the profits of both the manufacturer and the wind farm. Therefore, it is necessary to discuss an optimal service pricing strategy in the wind turbine aftermarket and design a method to improve electricity generation efficiency through service contract design. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach In order to decide the maintenance quantity and channel effort level, the authors design a normal Stackelberg game and an efficiency value-added revenue-sharing contract and discuss two kinds of revenue increment sharing models under situations, in which the supply chain’s leaders are the wind farm and the wind turbine manufacturer, respectively. Findings The results show that in either case, there exist optimal power generation revenue-sharing ratios that can maximize profit. At the same time, the authors outline an optimal service pricing policy, maintenance demand policy and channel service effort-level policy. The results summarize the influences of wind aftermarket services on wind farms’ and wind turbine manufacturers’ profit, which provides managerial insights into the process of manufacturing servitization. Practical implications The manufacturer’s channel effort level will influence the power generation increments very much, so the authors have developed a mechanism to stimulate the manufacturer improving the efficiency of aftermarket services. Originality/value Taking the power generation increment revenue as the profit increment function, the authors discuss the influence of service price on the profit increment of the wind farm and the wind turbine manufacturer and also consider the influence of service price on the wind farms maintenance quantity and wind turbine manufacturers channel effort level.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 248-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luís Silva ◽  
Ana Delicado

Abstract Residents’ and visitors’ perceptions of and attitudes towards existing wind farms, as well as the perceived impact of wind farms on tourism, are examined in this article with reference to a built heritage site in the Portuguese countryside. Based on a set of semi-structured interviews, the paper sheds light on the positive impact that the community’s or local actors’ involvement in the constitution, management and decision-making processes has on the residents’ perceptions and attitudes regarding wind farms, and also on the trade-off with the perceived effect of wind farms on local tourism. Moreover, it shows that although most visitors criticised the proximity of wind turbines to medieval architecture, a clear majority of them accepted their presence and virtually all of them stated that these facilities had no impact on their choice of destination.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debra Parkinson ◽  
Alyssa Duncan ◽  
Frank Archer

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand what (if any) actual and perceived barriers exist for women to take on fire and emergency management leadership roles within the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Victoria, Australia. Design/methodology/approach An anonymous quantitative online survey was used to collect data about opinions and thoughts of staff. This informed the qualitative component of the research – in-depth, semi-structured interviews and a focus group. The combination of these techniques provides deeper insight into the nature of the barriers for women. Findings Respondents identified real barriers for women accessing leadership roles in fire and emergency. Reflecting the wider literature on barriers to women in executive roles, those identified related to sexism, career penalties not faced by men for family responsibilities, and assumptions of women helping other women’s careers. There were more men in senior roles, leaving senior women isolated and often overlooked. Women had fewer role models and sponsors than men and less developed networks, finding it harder to access training and deployments. The context was described by most as “a boys’ club”, where men were seen to dominate meetings and stereotype the abilities of women. Originality/value This paper analyses the barriers to women in fire and emergency leadership roles within a masculine workplace and is rare in including a qualitative aspect to the issue in the Australian context.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob Torfing ◽  
Eva Sørensen ◽  
Tina Ollgaard Bentzen

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study and assess the content, functioning and impact of institutional reforms aiming to enhance collective and holistic political leadership at the level of local government. Design/methodology/approach The authors conduct a comparative case study of two Danish frontrunner municipalities drawing on relevant documents and qualitative interviews with both elected politicians and public administrators. Findings The authors found that institutional design is effective in promoting collective and holistic political leadership at the local level, even if no formal design options are available and the municipalities have to invent their own designs. Support both from both councilors and administrators is paramount for successful implementation of local political leadership reforms. Research limitations/implications Due to the purposive selection of a limited number of cases, the findings cannot be generalized to the population from which the cases are drawn. However, other municipalities may learn from and become inspired by the positive impact of the new institutional designs on collective and holistic political leadership. Practical implications Whereas some institutional political leadership reforms aim to enhance the power of the mayor and other reforms aim to create a cabinet or a committee system, the reforms the authors are studying aim to create a space for local councilors to work together across party and sector lines in creating collective and holistic policy solutions. The study shows that it is crucial that local councilors are involved in cross-boundary agenda setting before developing policies in standing committees and endorsing them in the council assembly. Social implications There is a large amount of more or less wicked problems that require the formulation and implementation of innovative policy solutions, which, in turn, call for a clear and determined political leadership. However, local politicians typically suffer from decoupling and tunnel vision. The results show that these problems can be solved through new institutional designs that promote a more collective and holistic political leadership that can take the local community forward. Originality/value Few studies have hitherto addressed the need for institutional reforms enabling collective and holistic political leadership through both theoretical and empirical analyses, but that is exactly what the authors try to accomplish.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 240-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita Jensen ◽  
Wenche Torrissen

Purpose Evidence shows that participating in arts activities can increase wellbeing. The purpose of this paper is to explore connections between aesthetic engagement and the wellbeing of participants on a ten weeks Arts on Prescription programme (AoP). Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven participants (with mild to moderate depression, stress or anxiety). A thematic analysis was used to identify themes in the data. Findings The findings illustrate that the participants in the AoP programme showed increased levels of motivation, and it opened up new worlds for connection with sensory experiences such as: relief, joy and peace of mind. The themes identified were: engagement and pleasure, deep emotional experiences and expanding worlds. Originality/value Aesthetic engagement through an AoP programme has the potential to stimulate the senses, motivate personal involvement and connect individuals with parts of themselves that has been neglected through illness. The participants experienced new possibilities through aesthetic engagement; offering connections to sensory, cognitive and emotional tools that can boost wellbeing. In this way, facilitated programmes such as AoP can contribute positively to public health. However, further studies are necessary in order to explore and establish the complex connections between aesthetic engagement and wellbeing.


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo Paquin ◽  
Ilana Bank ◽  
Meredith Young ◽  
Lily H.P. Nguyen ◽  
Rachel Fisher ◽  
...  

Purpose Complex clinical situations, involving multiple medical specialists, create potential for tension or lack of clarity over leadership roles and may result in miscommunication, errors and poor patient outcomes. Even though copresence has been shown to overcome some differences among team members, the coordination literature provides little guidance on the relationship between coordination and leadership in highly specialized health settings. The purpose of this paper is to determine how different specialties involved in critical medical situations perceive the role of a leader and its contribution to effective crisis management, to better define leadership and improve interdisciplinary leadership and education. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative study was conducted featuring purposively sampled, semi-structured interviews with 27 physicians, from three different specialties involved in crisis resource management in pediatric centers across Canada: Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Otolaryngology and Anesthesia. A total of three researchers independently organized participant responses into categories. The categories were further refined into conceptual themes through iterative negotiation among the researchers. Findings Relatively “structured” (predictable) cases were amenable to concrete distributed leadership – the performance by micro-teams of specialized tasks with relative independence from each other. In contrast, relatively “unstructured” (unpredictable) cases required higher-level coordinative leadership – the overall management of the context and allocations of priorities by a designated individual. Originality/value Crisis medicine relies on designated leadership over highly differentiated personnel and unpredictable events. This challenges the notion of organic coordination and upholds the validity of a concept of leadership for crisis medicine that is not reducible to simple coordination. The intersection of predictability of cases with types of leadership can be incorporated into medical simulation training to develop non-technical skills crisis management and adaptive leaderships skills.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ademola A. Adenle

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the President Obama Youth African Leadership Initiative (YALI) program with evidence from experts and other relevant stakeholders. This study examines YALI program with a focus on entrepreneurship and public management. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative semi-structured interviews used in this study explore the understanding and diverse views of various stakeholder experts on training of young leaders in entrepreneurship and public management in Africa regarding the YALI program. Findings The study provides insight into the importance of the YALI program, but questions whether it can make a positive impact and be effectively implemented in Africa. The findings suggest that there is lack of clarity in the objectives of the program, particularly with regards to the role of the key stakeholders including academics, government institutions, policymakers and the private sector. The results underscore the need for sound and clear-cut government policies toward entrepreneurship development that will foster a better relationship between the African governments and the United States Agency for International Development program. Research limitations/implications The study focused on academic experts and a number of policymakers and may not have been representative of all stakeholders. Originality/value The study specifically emphasizes policies that target entrepreneurship training and education for women and youth, using a participatory approach and multi-stakeholder partnership to promote innovative entrepreneurship and social development in the continent.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ludi Price ◽  
Lyn Robinson

PurposeThis article describes the third part of a three-stage study investigating the information behaviour of fans and fan communities, the first stage of which is described in the study by Price and Robinson (2017).Design/methodology/approachUsing tag analysis as a method, a comparative case study was undertaken to explore three aspects of fan information behaviour: information gatekeeping; classifying and tagging and entrepreneurship and economic activity. The case studies took place on three sites used by fans–Tumblr, Archive of Our Own (AO3) and Etsy. Supplementary semi-structured interviews with site users were used to augment the findings with qualitative data.FindingsThese showed that fans used tags in a variety of ways quite apart from classification purposes. These included tags being used on Tumblr as meta-commentary and a means of dialogue between users, as well as expressors of emotion and affect towards posts. On AO3 in particular, fans had developed a practice called “tag wrangling” to mitigate the inherent “messiness” of tagging. Evidence was also found of a “hybrid market economy” on Etsy fan stores. From the study findings, a taxonomy of fan-related tags was developed.Research limitations/implicationsFindings are limited to the tagging practices on only three sites used by fans during Spring 2016, and further research on other similar sites are recommended. Longitudinal studies of these sites would be beneficial in understanding how or whether tagging practices change over time. Testing of the fan-tag taxonomy developed in this paper is also recommended.Originality/valueThis research develops a method for using tag analysis to describe information behaviour. It also develops a fan-tag taxonomy, which may be used in future research on the tagging practices of fans, which heretofore have been a little-studied section of serious leisure information users.


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