A participatory local governance approach to social innovation: A case study of Seongbuk-gu, South Korea

2021 ◽  
pp. 239965442110057
Author(s):  
Sangmin Kim

As the concept of social innovation gains increasing credence in the public consciousness, a number of questions have become increasingly prominent in the relevant discourse: what does social innovation mean at the local level? How can social innovation be promoted? In particular, what kinds of social and institutional arrangements are needed to facilitate socially innovative activities and practices in neighborhoods and communities? To address these questions, this paper first outlines the related theories and literature as an overview of the notion of social innovation. Next, to provide an example of a promising approach to social innovation at the local level, the paper develops a theoretical discussion on the interface between local social innovation and participatory local governance arrangements, and proposes a process model of local social innovation as an analytical framework for a case study of a district-level initiative in Seongbuk-gu in Seoul, South Korea. By examining the governance structure and socially innovative strategies utilized in this locality, the case study demonstrates how the local participatory governance system can furnish an enabling environment for socially innovative ideas and strategies. Lastly, along with a look at some of the unique aspects of the case, the paper discusses contributions of this study to the theory and practice of social innovation, along with implications for other cases that may consider the governance approach to social innovation.

Author(s):  
David Anaafo

There is currently a global quest to decentralise government functions, which has resonated well with many developing countries. Ghana has over the last few decades embraced decentralisation in principle, as a way of promoting inclusive, efficient, accountable and bottom-up local-level governance. However, it is unclear how successfully this vision is being achieved.  Using a heuristic continuum as an analytical framework, this study conducted a literature- and statute-based politico-administrative review of the local governance system of Ghana to ascertain the extent of decentralisation. The study concludes that the legislative, political and administrative arrangements in place make it easy for the centre to usurp the powers of local authorities. KeywordsGhana, decentralisation, recentralisation, politico-administrative


Author(s):  
Zamira Dzhusupova

This chapter presents a case study on rural e-municipalities in Kyrgyzstan as an enabling tool for facilitating and supporting democratic local governance. The authors examine the case based on their action research and discuss key findings in terms of challenges of implementing and sustaining ICT-enabled local governance observed throughout the life cycle of the real life project. The case presentation is guided by the conceptual framework built on an extensive literature review. Key findings and lessons drawn from this case study can guide policy makers and practitioners in other developing countries in designing and implementing similar initiatives with careful consideration of national development context, enabling political, administrative, and legal environment, governance structure and decentralization policies, institutional framework, and strength of rural municipalities and local communities. This chapter’s possible contribution to research includes improving understanding of the implementation and sustainability issues of rural e-municipality as one of the critical e-governance initiatives at the grassroots level.


Author(s):  
Yan Wang ◽  
Ruixue Li

This chapter introduces and discusses changes with respect to the university governance system in China which is in the process of creating a world-class university by taking Tongji University as an example. It presents an analytical framework on the basis of four powers: (1) the internal democratic nature of the governance structure, (2) the external involvement in university governance, (3) the level of centralization of the decision-making authority in the university, and (4) the concentration of authority in an individual leadership position versus authority in a collective body or spread over various collective bodies. It analyzes and summarizes the reforms of three colleges at Tongji University in these four aspects and puts forward some reasonable suggestions for other universities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 443
Author(s):  
John Mary Kanyamurwa ◽  
Joseph Okeyo Obosi

Citizen competence in a democratic society is perceived as an essential mechanism for promoting political accountability in local governance. This paper, thus, qualitatively investigates the relationship between citizen competence and political accountability in Uganda’s local governance system across two discrete political regimes, during the post-independence period. Using an in-depth explorative design, it was established that citizens in both regimes were largely inarticulate, disengaged and uninvolved in determining local preferences, suggesting minimal link between citizen competence and the propensity to promote political accountability at district level. The data suggested that citizen competence was less influential in district politics for the greater part of the post-colonial period. Nonetheless, there were also episodes where citizens actively participated in enforcing political accountability at the grassroots under multiparty politics in both the Obote II and NRM regimes, with slight variations in the intensity and pattern between the two periods. Thus, the level of citizen competence and nature of local governance in Uganda mirror the political accountability practices at the local level, mainly shaped by civic challenges and the character of politics in Uganda during the periods studied regardless of differences and longevity. The paper recommended deliberate state intervention for mobilization of citizens and the establishment of state-engineered dynamic social networks to generate capacity for holding local leaders accountable and more empowered civil society to construct robust citizen competence programmes to foster political accountability.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-277
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Madej

AbstractThe paper refers to the social innovation of participatory budgeting which has become a very popular tool for stimulating citizen participation at the local level in Poland. It focuses on the major cities, defined as capitals of the voivodeships or regions. Based on the data concerning 2018 participatory budgeting editions in the eighteen cities, it describes the funding, organisation of the process, forms of voting and voter participation as well as the nature of projects selected and implemented. According to the amended Act on the Local Self-Government, organisation of participatory budgeting will only be obligatory for Polish cities from 2019. Despite that fact, it has already become quite popular and broadly applied in local communities. However, citizens’ participation and involvement in the process seems quite low, suggesting a need for experience sharing and improvement of the initiative. Also, project selection reflects the influence of various social groups within urban communities, rather than assisting groups which are at risk of marginalisation.


Healthcare ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 288
Author(s):  
Jinrui Zhang ◽  
Ruilian Zhang

Public health crises are the “touchstone” to test the ability of national public health crisis governance. The public health crisis in the new era presents new characteristics: systematic, cross-border and uncertainty. The governance dilemma of a public health crisis generally emphasizes the joint participation and communication of different subjects, which is suspected of overlapping and redundancy, and lacks the auxiliary support of major public health crisis events. It dispels the significance of government-level cooperation. The essence of the public health crisis governance system is the chain law of stimulus–response. In combination with COVID-19 development in China, we track down the main reasons for the temporary disruption and the government’s response to this major public health crisis. We mainly examine the tension between the centralization of power in China’s governance structure and the effectiveness of local governance, and the control of local governments in information disclosure. The response to a public health crisis and the optimization of a decision-making mechanism should build tension between the centralization of power and effectiveness of local governance. It is suggested that government should disclose and share information to the public timely and pay more attention to the core value of order in crisis management.


2015 ◽  
pp. 1009-1033
Author(s):  
Zamira Dzhusupova

This chapter presents a case study on rural e-municipalities in Kyrgyzstan as an enabling tool for facilitating and supporting democratic local governance. The authors examine the case based on their action research and discuss key findings in terms of challenges of implementing and sustaining ICT-enabled local governance observed throughout the life cycle of the real life project. The case presentation is guided by the conceptual framework built on an extensive literature review. Key findings and lessons drawn from this case study can guide policy makers and practitioners in other developing countries in designing and implementing similar initiatives with careful consideration of national development context, enabling political, administrative, and legal environment, governance structure and decentralization policies, institutional framework, and strength of rural municipalities and local communities. This chapter's possible contribution to research includes improving understanding of the implementation and sustainability issues of rural e-municipality as one of the critical e-governance initiatives at the grassroots level.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 288-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sakchai Jarernsiripornkul ◽  
I.M. Pandey

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the governance system of autonomous universities in an emerging economy, i.e., Thailand. The authors examine the degree of freedom that Thai autonomous universities enjoy and the process that they follow in instituting their governance system. Design/methodology/approach The authors use case study method of research where units of analysis are 16 public autonomous universities. Data are collected directly from the Universities and available documents and through interviews with ten informants from five universities. Data are analysed using the triangulation method before presenting findings. Findings The authors find that Thai autonomous universities had different degree of readiness when they were granted autonomy status by the government. According to their Acts, the universities can specify their own governance pattern, leadership recruitment, revenue management, budgeting and personnel management. With the strengthening role and accountability, the university councils have enjoyed wider space of actions in institutional governance. Size and composition of the councils differ. Big and more mature universities tend to have more members and their councils comprise more outside experts than the small ones. Thai autonomous universities’ governance structure is in the pattern of corporate-like structure. Participatory process is applied in the university decision making. Big universities are strategically directed towards being research universities, while small and newly established universities are striving to expand to health science education. In academic governance, there is an academic board which helps the council to handle academic standards and give academic related recommendations. The launch of Education Criteria for Performance Excellence Framework to standardise the country’s higher education system has become controversial and is said to lessen the universities’ degree of academic freedom. In financial autonomy, the study finds that most universities are still dependent on government budget. Originality/value This case study depicts the governance system of autonomous universities in Thailand, which is one of the emerging countries. Taken into account that existing literature regarding university governance, especially in the emerging countries is limited, the study, which eventually proposes recommendations for lifting these universities’ governance performance, should be able to contribute fruitful knowledge in the area.


2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 363-380
Author(s):  
Giuliana Costa

Abstract The State is responsible for hosting and protecting asylum-seekers and refugees, while policies and programmes are, instead, implemented at the local level. Local governance of forced migration can either reinforce exclusionist drivers imposed by national laws or effectively shape them through innovative practices, at times overcoming what is perceived as inadequate legislation, to manage the issue inclusively. This article describes Milan’s asylum-seekers and migrants in transit hosting system in 2014–2016 and discusses the extent to which the experience constituted an opportunity for social innovation in local welfare policies. Giving asylum-seekers sanctuary and dealing with the high and rapid inflow of people in transit created a unique approach (for Italy) that is still under-researched, unlike that of cities such as Amsterdam and Barcelona. The components of the “Milan Model” are identified, contextualised, and scrutinised by 46 interviews with key informants, including executives of Milan Municipality, managers of the city’s hosting facilities, social workers, journalists, Italian scholars, national and local social movement leaders, and volunteers and representatives of nationally coordinated associations.


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