scholarly journals The Varieties of Consolidation Experience: A Synthesis and Extension of Local Government Consolidation Models

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 326-353
Author(s):  
Charles D. Taylor ◽  
Dagney Faulk ◽  
Pamela Schaal
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Institutional Context ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Constitutional Change ◽  
Extended Model ◽  
Consolidation Model ◽  
Development Processes ◽  
Full Consideration

This article revises and extends Leland and Thurmaier’s (2004a, 2004b) City—County Consolidation (C3) model by synthesizing it with Johnson’s (2004) Theory of Local Constitutional Change (LCC) and Hughes and Lee’s (2002) Evolutionary Consolidation Model (ECM). The result, we find, is a more general model of local government consolidation. Our model is applicable to a wider variety of consolidation types and incorporates a full consideration of varied charter development processes. Ultimately, this allows for acknowledgment of the possibility that consolidation attempts may be halted prior to a referendum campaign and that those attempts may reflect either conflicts of interest or consensual efforts at problem-solving. We focus specifically on Indiana after enactment of the 2006 Government Modernization Act. After enactment of the act, Indiana experienced seven consolidation efforts from 2008 to 2012. Examination of these efforts provides a robust comparative case study of consolidation efforts occurring during a narrow timeframe and under a common institutional context. The study not only illustrates the suitability of our revised and extended model, but it also confirms a number of Leland and Thurmaier’s (2005) findings from their reassessment of the C3 model.

scholarly journals Replicating Elite Dominance in Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding: The Role of Local Government–Scholar Networks in China

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Maags ◽  
Heike Holbig
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
National Level ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Intangible Cultural Heritage ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Heritage Discourse

Abstract:Since “intangible cultural heritage” (ICH) became the new focal point in the global heritage discourse, governments and scholars in many countries have begun to promote this new form of “immaterial” culture. The People’s Republic of China has been one of the most active state parties implementing the new scheme and adapting it to domestic discourses and practices. Policies formulated at the national level have become increasingly malleable to the interests of local government-scholar networks. By conducting a comparative case study of two provinces, this article aims to identify the role of local elite networks in the domestic implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, focusing on the incentives of scholars and officials to participate in ICH policy networks. It finds that the implementation of the Convention has not removed the power asymmetry between elite and popular actors but, instead, has fostered an elite-driven policy approach shaped by symbiotic, mutually legitimizing government–scholar networks.

scholarly journals Crisis and Organisational Innovation: Icelandic Local Government Responses

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Cregård ◽  
Rolf Solli ◽  
Patrik Zapata
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Institutional Context ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
Organisational Innovation ◽  
Exploratory Case Study ◽  
The Relationship

This article examines the relationship between radical change in an institutional context and organisational innovation. It is based on an exploratory case study of three Icelandic local governments conducted in autumn 2010 and summer 2011. While many crises, when scrutinised closely, appear to be more like threats of crisis, Iceland’s economic crisis is a genuine crisis with real and immediate effects. The three local governments studied responded to the crisis with actions that promote cooperation, reorganisation, acquiescence and involvement. The study demonstrates that most of these actions were reactive and somewhat non-innovative, though some were innovative – at least in this particular context.

scholarly journals ‘Learning by talking?’ – The role of local line leadership in organisational learning

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-27
Author(s):  
Anne Grethe Sønsthagen ◽  
Øyvind Glosvik
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Organisational Learning ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Learning Organisation ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Development Processes ◽  
Practice Development

Organisational learning is the topic addressed in this qualitative comparative case study. The purpose is to investigate the role of local line leadership in professional development processes. Two kindergartens participating in the Norwegian national in-service programme Competence for Diversity were studied. A combination of inductive and deductive analyses led us to introduce two dimensions: leading contextual interplay, with proactive and reactive values, and practice development, with fragmented and integrated values. One of the kindergartens appeared to have organised the professional development process more productively than the other, and the findings point to a combination of integrating dialogues on practice, and proactive managers as possible keys to understanding kindergartens as learning organisations. The model seems to capture, to some extent, the holistic view of the learning organisation as a structured relationship between individual and collective learning. The managerial role as local line leader stands out as important for understanding learning in this type of organisation.

scholarly journals Remaking Local Government: Success and Failure Under Indiana’s Government Modernization Act

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 155
Author(s):  
Charles D. Taylor ◽  
Dagney Faulk ◽  
Pamela Schaal
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
The Other ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Demographic Diversity ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Fiscal Impacts ◽  
The City ◽  
The Town

During the period of 2008 to 2012, four consolidation attempts occurred under Indiana’s Government Modernization Act: two proposing city–county consolidation and two proposing town–township consolidation. The town–township mergers received overwhelming support, with more than 70% of voters approving consolidation in each case. The city–county mergers, on the other hand, were each defeated by a margin of approximately two to one. In this paper, we conduct a comparative case study of the four consolidation proposals using Leland and Thurmaier’s (2004) C3 model as an analytical framework. The results of our study indicate that greater demographic diversity and the potential for large cost shifts from urban to rural customers stimulated opposition to the city–county consolidations. The successful town–township consolidations were characterized by more homogeneous populations and modest and predictable fiscal impacts. We find no evidence that pre-existing functional consolidation or strong elite advocacy on behalf of consolidation leads to greater support for the referendum.

Governing Urban Finance: Changing Budgetary Strategies in British Local Government

1995 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 965-983 ◽  
Author(s):  
P L Pinch
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Authority ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Welfare Provision ◽  
New Developments ◽  
Case Study Analysis ◽  
Local Government Finance ◽  
Fiscal Austerity

The restructuring of local government finance in Britain is increasingly being viewed as part and parcel of a broader transformation in the capacity for local welfare provision and scope of local governance. The ways in which local authority budgetary processes and strategies have been affected by these changes are examined. It is suggested that, despite strong elements of continuity, significant new developments in local budgeting behaviour are emerging. However, such changes are not universal. The paper incorporates a comparative case study analysis of two local authorities in central southern England in order to illustrate the geographically uneven way in which local circumstances have mediated the experiences of and reactions to increasing fiscal austerity.

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