Municipal Capacity: A Greenbelt Focus

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elise Geschiere ◽  
Regan Zink ◽  
Emily Sousa
Keyword(s):  
Local Level ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Food Sector ◽  
Municipal Governments ◽  
Federal Policies ◽  
Municipal Planning ◽  
Agricultural Planning ◽  
Governance Systems ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Structure Knowledge

This session will reflect on the importance of rural and agri-food communities and provide key insights on the capacity of municipal governments to support the agriculture and agri-food sector and respond to rural issues. In Ontario, where the most agriculturally-viable land in Canada is located, municipalities are the most local level of government and are responsible for implementing provincial and federal policies and directives. However, little is known about the structure, knowledge base, and capacity of municipal governments to respond to agricultural and agri-food priorities and issues. A review of existing literature and municipal websites reveals that municipal planning departments are extremely varied and inconsistently staffed. This appears to be the surface of a much larger inconsistency related to financial resources, staff expertise, and council’s knowledge about agriculture and agri-food. Our team has completed the research related to this project and the findings of this study are informed by data collected via survey and semi-structured interviews from 66 municipalities in the Greenbelt. Findings indicate that there is an increasing knowledge gap related to agricultural planning and agri-food issues, and that fewer elected officials/planners have agricultural backgrounds, expertise, or training. This presents a threat to rural and agri-food communities as their livelihoods depend on the ability of council (and staff) to understand critical issues, protect farmland, and make agriculturally-supportive decisions. Agri-food communities are important and it is critical that our governance systems not only recognise that but also have the capacity to support, protect, and respond to the agri-food sector. 

scholarly journals Drought and Water Shortages: South Carolina’s Response Mechanisms, Vulnerabilities, and Needs

2017 ◽  
pp. 57-62
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Altman ◽  
Kirsten Lackstrom ◽  
Hope Mizzell
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
Nonprofit Organizations ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Water Shortage ◽  
Drought Response ◽  
The South ◽  
Water Shortages ◽  
Municipal Governments ◽  
Emergency Operations ◽  
Emergency Operations Center

The South Carolina Drought and Water Shortage Tabletop Exercise took place on September 27, 2017, at the South Carolina Emergency Operations Center in West Columbia, SC. The exercise gathered 80 participants, representing federal and state agencies, public water suppliers, county and municipal governments, industry, consulting companies, and nonprofit organizations. The purpose of the exercise was to review plans and procedures that govern state-, basin-, and local-level responses to drought and water shortages. Many of South Carolina’s drought response mechanisms were updated by the 2000 Drought Response Act and Regulations, but a systematic effort has not been made to review or assess their effectiveness. Attendees walked through a series of exercise responses to gradually worsening drought scenarios and an activation of the Emergency Operations Plan. The event helped to identify strengths and weak points of the state’s drought response and opportunities to proactively prepare for future droughts. The key needs discussed by participants included updated drought response plans and procedures to ensure a coordinated and timely response to droughts; greater educational opportunities to enhance agencies’ familiarity with the Drought Response Program and their role in drought response and mitigation; more effective communications before, during, and after drought events, across agencies and with the public; and enhanced data and information products that can be used to build common understanding of drought risks, impacts, and vulnerabilities.

scholarly journals The Mechanisation and Automation of the IBS Construction Approach in Malaysia

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (10) ◽  
pp. 167-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siti Syariazulfa Kamaruddin ◽  
Mohammad Fadhil Mohammad ◽  
Rohana Mahbub ◽  
Khairani Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Publishing House ◽  
Modern Method ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Current State ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
International Publishing ◽  
Building System ◽  
Open Access Article

The objective of the main research is to investigate the current state of implementation of mechanisation and automation in the Industrialised Building System (IBS). The aim of this paper however, is to provide an overview on the implementation of mechanisation and automation in the IBS construction approach. Questionnaire survey and semi structured interviews were conducted to collect the viewpoints among contractors and manufacturers of IBS to ensure the richness of the data collected. The results illustrated that although most respondents have agreed on most critical issues in the implementation of mechanisation and automation, they were not ready to move forward. These responses were quite consistent across the professions. Keywords: Modern method of construction (MMC); industrialised building system (IBS); mechanisation and automation; environment. eISSN 2514-751X © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/aje-bs.v3i10.324

scholarly journals Governing Transactions and Interdependences between Linked Value Chains in a Circular Economy: The Case of Wastewater Reuse in Braunschweig (Germany)

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 1125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Maaß ◽  
Philipp Grundmann
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Wastewater Reuse ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Governance Structures ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Agriculture Sector ◽  
Agricultural Wastewater

Reusing wastewater in agriculture has attracted increasing attention as a strategy to support the transition towards the circular economy in the water and agriculture sector. As a consequence, there is great interest in solutions for governing the transactions and interdependences between the associated value chains. This paper explores the institutions and governance structures for coordinating transactions and interdependences between actors in linked value chains of wastewater treatment and crop production. It aims to analyze how transactions and interdependences shape the governance structures for reusing wastewater at the local level. A transaction costs analysis based on data from semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire is applied to the agricultural wastewater reuse scheme of the Wastewater Association Braunschweig (Germany). The results show that different governance structures are needed to match with the different properties and requirements of the transactions and activities between linked value chains of wastewater treatment and crop production. Interdependences resulting from transactions between wastewater providers and farmers increase the need for hybrid and hierarchical elements in the governance structures for wastewater reuse. The authors conclude that aligning governance structures with transactions and interdependences is key to efficiently governing transactions and interdependences between linked value chains in a circular economy.

PP215 An Evaluation Of The Scottish Medicine Consortium Detailed Advice Document

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (S1) ◽  
pp. 27-27
Author(s):  
Solveiga Zibaite ◽  
Pamela Andrews ◽  
Fiona McTaggart ◽  
Pauline McGuire ◽  
Scott Hill
Keyword(s):  
Action Plan ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Health Technology ◽  
Health Board ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Early Health Technology Assessment ◽  
Early Health ◽  
Primary Output ◽  
Initial Interviews ◽  
Purposive Sample

IntroductionThe Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) conducts early health technology assessment (HTA) of new medicines. The advice is implemented at the local level by 14 Health Board Area Drug and Therapeutics Committees (ADTCs). The primary output is a published document, the Detailed Advice Document (DAD), which aims to describe the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence considered and the rationale for the decision. We examined how the DAD is being used to determine areas for improvement.MethodsWe conducted semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of SMC and ADTC members and formulary pharmacists, who are one of the key audiences. Interviews were recorded and transcribed using Microsoft Teams and coded in NVivo. The results were assessed via thematic analysis, which included major themes such as the structure and content of the DAD and its usefulness in supporting implementation of the advice from an ADTC perspective.ResultsFollowing initial interviews (n = 7), some early themes have emerged. The DAD is a valued tool describing the assessment of a medicine's clinical and cost effectiveness. The current length of the DADs and the technical language used can limit the accessibility of information, and there have been suggestions on how to improve the structure and content. Additional interviews are still being completed and full interview results (available early 2021) will be analyzed to identify key themes.ConclusionsThe DAD is the primary output of SMC's HTA process, which includes decisions on whether a medicine can be routinely prescribed in the National Health Service Scotland. DADs have increased in length over the years, reflecting the increasing complexity of new medicines and a corresponding increase in the size of pharmaceutical company submissions. The interviews conducted to date suggest that the DADs are highly regarded and support implementation of new medicines advice by the ADTC. The findings of this evaluation will lead to an action plan for improvement.

E-Government's Role in Shifting the Paradigm of Performance in the Public Sector

2020 ◽  
pp. 497-514
Author(s):  
Lidia Noto
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Simulation ◽  
Public Management ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Public ◽  
Government Services ◽  
The World ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Government Project ◽  
Feedback Structure

The emergence of e-government changed the world of the Public Administration (PA) and the discipline of Public Management dramatically. Through the presentation of a case- study of the municipality of Palermo, this article attempts to discuss the renewed need for assessing performance of e-government services in a local government and to disclose the main critical issues in accomplishing this evaluation. Palermo is experiencing the implementation of a second- generation e-government project that is embodied in the realization of a web portal. The conceptualization of a framework to assess the performance of the digital services appears to be crucial in order to improve the system and to avoid the errors of the first project. This work relies on a survey to the citizens and semi-structured interviews to managers in charge of the development of the project. System Dynamics, a particular kind of dynamic simulation, is used to provide the necessary feedback structure for identifying the determinants of the success of the portal.

Boosting E-Participation

2018 ◽  
pp. 103-125
Author(s):  
David Valle-Cruz ◽  
Rodrigo Sandoval-Almazan
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
The State ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Public Servants ◽  
Municipal Governments ◽  
Government Services ◽  
Significant Growth ◽  
Use Of Social Media

In this chapter, the authors show two case studies of the use of social media in municipal governments: Lerma, a small municipality with a significant growth, and Metepec, an important municipality of the State of México. The purpose of this chapter is to provide empirical evidence of how social media improves government to citizen relationship and promotes e-participation in municipal governments. The results are based on semi-structured interviews applied to public servants and a survey to evaluate e-government services by citizens. So, the citizen perception is contrasted with public servants' interviews. Citizens consider that electronic procedures and services implemented by their municipalities do not generate value. The efforts of governments should focus on avoiding corruption, making governments transparent, opening data, and properly managing the privacy of information.

Addressing Energy Poverty Through Ecological Governance of Solar Home Systems in South Africa

2022 ◽  
pp. 253-276
Author(s):  
Edzisani Ellen Netshiozwi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Poverty Eradication ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Energy Poverty ◽  
Environmental Preservation ◽  
Governance Systems ◽  
The Future ◽  
Ecological Governance ◽  
Home Systems

South Africa has long recognised the need to eliminate energy poverty, and significant progress has been made since 1996. With the recent global outcry about the use of sustainable and clean energy sources for human and ecological development, it has become essential for countries to upscale the use of non-grid electrification in order to effectively and sustainably eradicate energy poverty. South Africa implements different non-grid electrification programmes which focuses on ensuring universal access to clean energy by all, with one of these initiatives being the Solar Home Systems Programme. This study aims to contribute to academic discussion and knowledge about the role that solar home systems can play in bringing change on the current status of the energy poverty eradication initiatives which negatively affect the environment and the people. The study used a qualitative approach in assessing how the Solar Home Systems Programme contributes to energy poverty eradication and environmental preservation if managed in line with ecological governance principles. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a total of 40 households in Limpopo and officials from government departments in the province as well as a service provider responsible for the roll-out and maintenance of solar home systems in Limpopo. Framed within the ecological economics theory which advocates for ecological and environmental solutions that take into consideration the future generation, the study established that the solar home systems can eradicate energy poverty and contribute to the protection of the environment if managed in line with ecological governance principles. The study further revealed that the Solar Home Systems Programme in South Africa failed due to lack of proper governance systems that provide solutions for the future as the programme was short-term focused and lacked proper ecological governance systems. In order for the solar home systems to contribute to energy poverty eradication and environmental protection, the study recommends a total overhaul of the programme which includes ensuring that the provision of SHSs is not viewed as a temporary measure that is only meant for poor rural households but a long-term and sustainable initiative.

scholarly journals Exploring the Inclusive Praxis of Outward Bound Instructors

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert P. Warner ◽  
Bruce Martin ◽  
Andrew M. Szolosi
Keyword(s):  
Adventure Education ◽  
Outward Bound ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Outdoor Adventure ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Outdoor Adventure Education ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Equity And Inclusion

Equity and inclusion are critical issues that need to be addressed in outdoor adventure education. Although some literature identifies inclusive practices for enhancing equity in outdoor adventure education, most research does not situate these practices within the contexts in which they were created and used. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore outdoor adventure education instructors’ inclusive praxis, and the conditions that influenced their praxis on their courses and in their instructing experiences. To this end, we conducted semi-structured interviews with ten instructors from four Outward Bound schools in the USA. The instructors varied in their gender, school, types of programs facilitated, and duration of employment with Outward Bound. Our inductive analysis of the interview data focused on the identification of themes illustrating the characteristics of instructors’ inclusive praxis, as well as the conditions that influenced their praxis. Themes emerged from our analysis that highlighted the macro and micro conditions that set the stage for instructors’ inclusive praxis, which focused on creating spaces that fostered inclusive group cultures on their courses. The findings from this study may be a useful starting point for enhancing the instructors’ role in fostering equity and inclusion on outdoor adventure education courses. We conclude with suggestions for future research.

E-Government's Role in Shifting the Paradigm of Performance in the Public Sector

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 29-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lidia Noto
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Public Management ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Public ◽  
Digital Services ◽  
The World ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Government Project ◽  
Feedback Structure

The emergence of e-government changed the world of the Public Administration (PA) and the discipline of Public Management dramatically. Through the presentation of a case- study of the municipality of Palermo, this article attempts to discuss the renewed need for assessing performance of e-government services in a local government and to disclose the main critical issues in accomplishing this evaluation. Palermo is experiencing the implementation of a second- generation e-government project that is embodied in the realization of a web portal. The conceptualization of a framework to assess the performance of the digital services appears to be crucial in order to improve the system and to avoid the errors of the first project. This work relies on a survey to the citizens and semi-structured interviews to managers in charge of the development of the project. System Dynamics, a particular kind of dynamic simulation, is used to provide the necessary feedback structure for identifying the determinants of the success of the portal.

scholarly journals Information brokerage in Caribbean coral reef governance networks

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 284-294
Author(s):  
Rachel A Turner ◽  
Johanna Forster ◽  
Angelie M Peterson ◽  
Robin Mahon ◽  
Clare Fitzsimmons
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Reef Management ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Governance Networks ◽  
Caribbean Coral Reef

SummaryPoor connectivity between diverse resource users and complex wider governance networks is a challenge in environmental governance. Organizations that ‘broker’ interactions among these relationships are expected to improve governance outcomes. Here, we used semi-structured interviews and social network analysis to identify actors in positions to broker coral reef-related information to and from resource users and to assess the performance of these brokers. Representatives (n = 262) of actor groups were interviewed, including local and national government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community organizations and resource user groups from 12 communities across four Caribbean countries, to map information-sharing networks and to identify brokers. Broker performance was assessed through separate interviews with coral reef resource users (n = 545). The findings show that marine NGOs were the highest-functioning brokers. Where such local-level organizations were absent, government agencies in reef management roles acted as brokers, but their performance was lower. Actors in brokerage positions did not always effectively share information, with broker performance being positively correlated with network brokerage scores. The results further our understanding of the roles of brokers in different governance contexts. Identifying those in brokerage positions and supporting their roles in connecting local resource users to wider governance networks could encourage functional brokerage and enhance reef management outcomes.

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