scholarly journals Can Top Down Participatory Budgeting Work? The Case of Polish Community Fund

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawid Sześciło ◽  
Bartosz Wilk
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Collaborative Management ◽  
Participatory Budgeting ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Polish Experience ◽  
Legislative Framework ◽  
Local Initiatives ◽  
Legislative Model

The article addresses the participatory budgeting (PB), which is one of the most recognised governance innovations of recent decades. This global phenomenon represents in practice a shift towards participatory and collaborative management of public resources at the local level. The purpose of this article is to determine when top down approach to PB might be welcomed, taking into account the characteristics of PB schemes all around the world that they emerged as local initiatives, instigated either by civil society groups or local governments. The analysis is based on the description of the PB example as introduced via country-wide legislation, exhaustively regulating PB procedure. The article examines Polish experience in the field of functioning top down approach to PB. It demonstrates that top down PB can effectively work, if it is accompanied with significant incentives and grants, as well as the extensive autonomy and flexibility of local communities. Polish experience suggests that such an initiative might be relatively successful, yet there is a number of conditions that has to be met in order to ensure the dissemination of legislative model of participatory budgeting. The results have practical implications to central government institutions that consider introduction of some legislative framework for participatory budgeting at the local level. The originality of the research is in the analysis of one of successful stories of the PB introduced via country-wide legislation, and determining when this approach can work, also in other countries.

scholarly journals The institutional background of local sustainability strategies

2008 ◽  
pp. 7-13
Author(s):  
Imre Baják
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Government Organization ◽  
Sustainability Strategies ◽  
Local Sustainability ◽  
Local Initiatives ◽  
Governmental Institutions ◽  
Sustainability Policy

The system of local sustainability strategies is shaped by the intentions of the central government and local initiatives together. From the aspect of the hierarchy of government organization in Hungary it means that there are institutions on the central government’s side – different ministries or other governmental institutions – the role of which is mainly coordination; and local governments (regional and local as well) also form their institutions at the municipality.It is important to examine the institutional background, as in Hungary the formation of sustainability policy is still in its infancy, so it is well worth taking the institutional background of countries the circumstances of which are similar to ours and have successful sustainability policies as a basis. In this presentation I will examine whether the top-down or the bottom-up approach is chosen, which institution is in charge of the process, what the legal background is like, and what sources are available for use in these countries.

scholarly journals Seducing for Truth and Justice: Civil Society Initiatives for the 1965 Mass Violence in Indonesia

2013 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 115-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sri Lestari Wahyuningroem
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
National Level ◽  
Policy Reforms ◽  
Mass Violence ◽  
The World

The article examines both civil society initiatives that seek to address the mass violence of 1965 and 1966 and the state's responses to them. Unlike other political-transition contexts in the world, a transitional justice approach is apparently a formula that state authorities have found difficult to implement nationally for this particular case. The central government has, through its institutions, sporadically responded to some of the calls from civil society groups and has even initiated policy reforms to support such initiatives. Nevertheless, these responses were not sustained and any suggested programmes have always failed to be completed or implemented. Simultaneously, however, NGOs and victims are also voicing their demands at the local level. Many of their initiatives involve not only communities but also local authorities, including in some cases the local governments. In some aspects, these “bottom-up” approaches are more successful than attempts to create change at the national level. Such approaches challenge what Kieran McEvoy refers to as an innate “seductive” quality of transitional justice, but at the same time these approaches do, in fact, aim to “seduce” the state to adopt measures for truth and justice.

Policy-making at local level: an analysis of Turkish municipalities

2018 ◽  
pp. 105-120
Author(s):  
Ulaş Bayraktar
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Service Provider ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Policy Cycle ◽  
Legal Reforms ◽  
General Overview ◽  
Radical Transformation

Turkish local governments have undergone a radical transformation since the 1980s. Accompanied by a rhetoric of decentralising and democratising reforms, related legal changes have been criticised in the light of either nationalist or democratic, participatory concerns. At the heart of such important waves of legal reforms lay the municipalities as the main service provider in urban settings. This chapter presents a general overview of the state of policy analysis in Turkish municipalities. It argues that municipalities governed by very strong executives, prioritise populist services delivered through subcontracts and controlled weakly by political and civil actors and arbitrarily by the central government. The classical public policy cycle approach will inform the discussion.

scholarly journals National-Local Networks and Immigration Governance

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-376
Author(s):  
Jill L. Tao
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Local Autonomy ◽  
Local Networks ◽  
Local Officials ◽  
The Impact

The ability to regulate the flow of goods, capital and people across borders is one of the defining characteristics of nation-state political power. But there is not always agreement between the central government and local officials as to the desirability of immigration, where local governments may desire greater, or fewer, numbers of immigrants, depending on the local economy and labor needs. In South Korea, a unitary form of government offers an opportunity to examine the policy distance between the national government’s stance on immigration based on the politics of the ruling party, and the attitudes of local officials who work for metropolitan-level governments (those with a population of one million or more). I look at the impact of local economic market needs on local attitudes towards national immigration policy through the lens of intergovernmental relations and Lipsky’s concept of bureaucratic discretion. Comparing two cases drawn from local governments in South Korea with dissimilar economic bases but similar levels of local autonomy, I find that economic needs at the local level are addressed by local approaches to immigration policy. Contrary to expectations, the cases illustrate the relative importance of fiscal autonomy and a new understanding for political autonomy. These cases illustrate the need for caution when applying political and institutional theory within new contexts and offer new variables for future investigations of local autonomy.

scholarly journals Introducing Municipal Bond Markets in Malaysia : An Assessment of Present Market Characteristics

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mukaramah Harun ◽  
Ting Ding Hooi ◽  
Hussin Abdullah
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
International Markets ◽  
Municipal Bonds ◽  
Municipal Bond ◽  
Alternative Source ◽  
Capital Financing ◽  
Basic Infrastructure

In developed countries, urban growth has multiplied the demand for investment in basic infrastructure services such as water supply, waste removal, roads and mass transportation. At the same time, decentralization strategies have shifted the responsibility for much of these investments to the local governments. This decentralized investment requires the development of decentralized capital financing. No longer can a central government pay for local investment by raising national taxes or borrowings on international markets and using the funds simply to construct projects at the local level. The introduction of municipal bonds is one of the alternative source of funds to finance the escalating costs of financing local governments. This paper discusses the conditions underlying the development of municipal credit markets, which Malaysia can use to provide a vehicle to narrow the local government’s resource gap through debt funding.  

Joined-Up Government for Local and Regional Institutions

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerry Stoker
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Community Leadership ◽  
Regional Governance ◽  
New Labour ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Regional Institutions ◽  
Policy Style ◽  
The Government

Joined-up government seems to be able to present itself in various forms of being understood in several ways. It is therefore subject to various interpretations and divergent views. Some contend that joined-up government is inherently centralizing hence it is disadvantageous for the devolved units of the government, some on the other hand argue that joined-up government is not essentially centralizing. This chapter evaluates New Labour's initial efforts at stimulating joining-up at the local level by detailing the rise of the multitude partnership bodies since New Labour rose into power. The chapter also discusses the top-down-driven policy style that New Labour adopted in their efforts for partnerships. This style caused chaotic repercussions in the local and regional governance. Discussed as well in the chapter are the ways in which New Labour tried to localize joined-up government. The first method was the premise of adopting autonomy for the local government to pursue community leadership at the local level while the second method proposed earned autonomy or constrained discretion wherein the local government can lead and yet be under the guidance of the central government. Both of these models of governance are considered here to determine whether they can be institutionalized. The last section of the chapter presents a discussion on the seemingly centralizing nature of joined-up government.

Policy Diffusion at the Local Level: Participatory Budgeting in Estonia

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 419-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelizaveta Krenjova ◽  
Ringa Raudla
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Diffusion Process ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Policy Diffusion ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Participatory Budgeting ◽  
Predominant Role ◽  
Diffusion Mechanisms ◽  
Scholarly Discussion

The existing studies on participatory budgeting (PB) have paid very limited attention to how this participatory tool has spread across local governments (LGs), what kind of diffusion mechanisms have played a predominant role, and which actors and factors have influenced its adoption. Our article seeks to address this gap in the scholarly discussion by exploring the diffusion of PB across LGs in Estonia, where it is a rather new phenomenon. Our qualitative study demonstrates that the diffusion of PB in Estonia has so far been driven by the interaction of two mechanisms: learning and imitation. We also find that an epistemic go-between, information-technological solutions, and the characteristics of the initial adopter played a significant role in shaping the diffusion process.

scholarly journals Housing for Refugees in Sweden: Top-Down Governance and its Local Reactions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrik Emilsson ◽  
Klara Öberg
Keyword(s):  
Central Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Economic Incentives ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Governance Framework ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Local Reactions ◽  
To Receive ◽  
Specific Number

AbstractIn this article, we investigate local level reactions to the top-down state steering for the housing of refugees in Sweden. We especially reflect on events after the increased refugee reception in Sweden in 2015 and the introduction of a Settlement Act in 2016 which made it mandatory for municipalities to receive a specific number of refugees and organise accommodation. This has resulted in a wide array of housing situations for refugees concerning standard, costs and temporary solutions. A multi-level governance framework from on central government steering perspective is applied. We argue that the modified legislation can be understood as a change in governance throughout the years — from persuasion to economic incentives and, finally, to coercive methods. Sweden is a country that has distinguished itself as one refraining from particularity and continuing to work towards equality between newcomers and citizens. In relation to recent legal and political developments, we identify a change — a paradoxical change, as governance for the more-equal reception of refugees in Sweden seems to lead to increased inequalities for refugees on the local level.

scholarly journals Rethinking Performance Management Practices in Local Administrations? An Evaluation of BV, CPA, And WPI Practices in the United Kingdom

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Demokaan Demirel
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Performance Management ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Local Area ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Local Actors

AbstractPerformance is a fundamental tool that improves results oriented on public administration. Performance management applications have become very popular in public institutions over the past 20 years. Direct accountability to the political institutions and the public is ensured by defining the performance of public administrations according to their organizational goals and objectives. Local governments are using performance management practices to assess the quality of public services offered. In the United Kingdom, performance management practices at the local level were promoted under the leadership of the central government. However, there cannot be a certain standardization or stability in performance management applications. The Best Value (BV) regime was applied primarily in England and Wales. The system was later applied in Scotland in 2003. In 2002, Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) Programme was introduced. Wales preferred to stay outside of this program. The Wales Programme for Improvement (WPI) has adopted self-assessment and holistic assessment. After 2009, the cost-effectiveness of local services was evaluated through comprehensive area assessments. This practice was abolished after 2010, adopting a governance approach based on the common negotiations of local actors. This study aims to evaluate the performance measurement systems applied in the local area in the United Kingdom.

scholarly journals Sustainability and the Canadian forest sector

2001 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sten Nilsson ◽  
Michael Gluck
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Current System ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Forest Sector ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Criteria And Indicators ◽  
The People ◽  
Legislative Framework

The present paper examines the efficiency of the current established criteria and indicators for sustainable development of the forest sector. The current system of criteria and indicators concentrates on the management aspects instead of objective setting. The current system is too complicated to be implemented and neglects the fact that sustainability cannot be achieved by a top-down approach but only by the people working on the ground at the local level. This paper presents a number of guidelines on the necessary steps to be taken in order to move towards what we call "a forest sector for sustainable development." Key words: sustainable forest management, criteria and indicators, institutional/legislative framework, planning, data availability

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