scholarly journals Rethinking 'Progress': an Evaluation of the Wellington Region Genuine Progress Index

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Aaron Geoffrey Packard
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Economic Valuation ◽  
Institutional Commitment ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Practice Approach ◽  
Community Outcomes ◽  
Alternative Measures

<p>There is widespread and long-running discontent with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a measure of progress for society. A number of alternative measures have been proposed, including the Genuine Progress Index (GPI). A GPI has been developed by local government in the Wellington region (New Zealand) to facilitate a rethinking of conventional notions of 'progress'. The Wellington Region GPI (WRGPI) is modelled upon the Nova Scotia GPI, which is a pluralistic index consisting of environmental, social, economic and cultural indicators with either physical or monetary values. The study explores a 'good practice' approach to public participation in the development of the GPI, and provides an overview of the context within which it fits. A synergistic link was found between the Nova Scotia GPI framework and the framework provided by the Local Government Act community outcomes process. Despite this synergy, and the commitment to the GPI on the part of local authorities, a number of challenges emerged from the context. These include the poor integration of the existing community outcomes into institutional decision-making, a weak institutional commitment to the economic valuation procedure of the GPI, and the desire on the part of the present local government minister to reduce the scope of local government. In light of these challenges, a 'good practice' approach has been developed with a normative component: deliberation, influence & inclusion, and a methodological component: purpose, process & context. Deliberation was stressed as a particularly important tool to facilitate institutional and social learning around the WRGPI and to build the value case and a constituency for the WRGPI across the local authorities and community, and therefore increasing the likelihood that conventional notions of 'progress' will be replaced with more holistic ones. While this case study provides insights into the challenge of integrating a GPI into local governance, it is still too early to judge whether the initiative will emerge as a viable alternative to the GDP for the Wellington region.</p>

scholarly journals Rethinking 'Progress': an Evaluation of the Wellington Region Genuine Progress Index

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Aaron Geoffrey Packard
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Economic Valuation ◽  
Institutional Commitment ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Practice Approach ◽  
Community Outcomes ◽  
Alternative Measures

<p>There is widespread and long-running discontent with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a measure of progress for society. A number of alternative measures have been proposed, including the Genuine Progress Index (GPI). A GPI has been developed by local government in the Wellington region (New Zealand) to facilitate a rethinking of conventional notions of 'progress'. The Wellington Region GPI (WRGPI) is modelled upon the Nova Scotia GPI, which is a pluralistic index consisting of environmental, social, economic and cultural indicators with either physical or monetary values. The study explores a 'good practice' approach to public participation in the development of the GPI, and provides an overview of the context within which it fits. A synergistic link was found between the Nova Scotia GPI framework and the framework provided by the Local Government Act community outcomes process. Despite this synergy, and the commitment to the GPI on the part of local authorities, a number of challenges emerged from the context. These include the poor integration of the existing community outcomes into institutional decision-making, a weak institutional commitment to the economic valuation procedure of the GPI, and the desire on the part of the present local government minister to reduce the scope of local government. In light of these challenges, a 'good practice' approach has been developed with a normative component: deliberation, influence & inclusion, and a methodological component: purpose, process & context. Deliberation was stressed as a particularly important tool to facilitate institutional and social learning around the WRGPI and to build the value case and a constituency for the WRGPI across the local authorities and community, and therefore increasing the likelihood that conventional notions of 'progress' will be replaced with more holistic ones. While this case study provides insights into the challenge of integrating a GPI into local governance, it is still too early to judge whether the initiative will emerge as a viable alternative to the GDP for the Wellington region.</p>

scholarly journals Performance Management as an Alternative Tool for Local Governance: Evidence from Ghanaian Local Government Sector

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliana Abagsonema Abane ◽  
Boon-Anan Phinaitrup
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Performance Management ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Performance Culture ◽  
Government Sector ◽  
Improvement Programs ◽  
Secondary Data Sources

The benefit of performance management is to have value for money and make local authorities more responsive to the needs of the grassroots. Therefore, the study addresses the perceived challenges which have been taken-for-granted in institutionalising performance culture at the local level in the context of sub-Sharan Africa. The purpose of this research is to investigate the progress and challenges affecting the institutionalisation of performance management in local government authorities to understand how these impediments impacts on performance culture in local governance. Using two major secondary data sources from Local Government Service, the study analyzes the contents of four key performance areas and the performance rating of local government authorities in Ghana . The study finds evidence to support that performance management may be an alternative tool to enhance the performance of local authorities. However , insufficient resource allocation, the absence of performance improvement programs and involvement of employees remains a challenge.

scholarly journals Comparative Local Governance: Lessons from New Zealand for Japan

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Harufumi Shiba
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Financial Economic ◽  
Policy Transfer ◽  
Power Balance ◽  
Local Authorities

<p><b>This study concerns local governance in Japan and whether lessons can be derived from New Zealand and other countries. There are significant differences in the constitutional arrangements of Japan and New Zealand and the history and cultural influences that shape local governance in each country. The case studies, which compare three different policy areas in both countries, confirm, however, the usefulness of the comparative analysis.</b></p> <p>This is not a parallel comparison; the focus is more on lesson learning from different systems and styles of local administrations. The Japanese local government sector is more subject to control and guidance from the centre. A premise of this study is that that a greater degree of autonomy for local government in Japan will be beneficial.</p> <p> ‘Governance’ is a term used in different ways in many contexts. In this study emphasis is placed on the ‘means for achieving direction, control and coordination of individual or organizational units on behalf of their common interests’ (Hill and Lynn Jr, 2004, p. 6). It is associated with the notion of ‘steering’ rather than ‘rowing (Osborne and Gaebler, 1993). Governance is not synonymous with government. In a decentralised environment, local governance concerns the way different interests are settled among, broadly, central government, local authorities and communities.</p> <p> The power balance among central government, local authorities and communities is at the centre of analysis in this study. Six case studies in roading administration, environmental management and emergency management identify characteristics of the so-called ‘strong’ Japanese state while revealing both positives and potential pitfalls of autonomous local governance in New Zealand. Each of the cases is assessed against five criteria ― local capability, responsiveness, coordination, sustainability and financial/economic viability ― and classified as one of eight hypothetical governance ‘types’. Imposed relationships are often observed in Japan, which is contrasted with more consensual multilateral interactions in New Zealand. Constituents of the Japanese power balance include constant administrative guidance (gyosei shido), human resource management (including amakudari) and other ‘informal enforcement’, whereas devolution, contracts and strategic guidance are more conspicuous in New Zealand.</p> <p>Breaking the inertia of age-old practices in Japan would not be an easy task as unsuccessful attempts to reform local government in the past indicate. Political and administrative interests at both agent and institutional levels are inevitably involved. The power balance results not only from strict hierarchy and longstanding institutional influences from the centre, but also from the passiveness of local authorities and communities. Altering the power balance and the nature of local governance can be triggered and sustained in various ways: New Zealand experiences through policy transfer examined in this study can provide useful insights.</p>

Local Government and Politics in China. Challenges from Below. By Yang Zhong. [Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 2003. 229 pp. $25.95. ISBN: 0-7656-118-X.]

2004 ◽  
Vol 177 ◽  
pp. 219-220
Author(s):  
Flemming Christiansen
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Actual Practice ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Contemporary China ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Many

Yang Zhong's excellent book about Local Government and Politics in China gives a succinct and convincing account of the frameworks for local governance in the PRC today. The organization, functioning, powers and evolution of local government in China are notoriously difficult to grasp due to the many intersecting layers and lines of authority, the diversity of local conditions, and the shorthand language used by administrators to refer to local government. Although there is a growing literature on local government in contemporary China, we have, until now, lacked a comprehensive overview in English.For almost a decade Yang Zhong has observed the behaviour of local government in a small number of places in China, and is thus able to base his account on actual practice. The style is refreshingly simple and easy to follow, the administrative jargon is well explained, and the structure of the presentation is lucid. The core aspects of local governance are covered, with a sound focus on counties, townships and towns, and a separate chapter dealing with village politics. Local authorities in cities are not covered; this omission is unfortunate, but understandable from the point of view of keeping the book within manageable limits.

scholarly journals Legal and Institutional Framework: The “Achilles Heel” Of Local Authorities and Raison D’etre of Ministerial Intervention in Zimbabwe

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alois Madhekeni ◽  
Gideon Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Local Authority ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Institutional Framework ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Independent Media

Centre-local relations have been an area of controversy in Zimbabwean local governance both as a discipline and as a practice. Local authorities have traded blows with central government particularly accusing the responsible Ministry of reducing them to spectators in their own field through excessive ministerial intervention. Meanwhile the ministry of local government has cracked the whip on local authorities accusing them of mismanagement and compromised service delivery. The independent media has described the scenario as a “Bloodbath” in local authorities. What appears to be misconstrued by many however is the fact that the governing legal and institutional framework of local governance in Zimbabwe provides room for the responsible Minister to legally enable or disable local authority administration. This governing framework has been and is still the “Achilles heel” of local authorities and the raison d’être of ministerial intervention in Zimbabwe.

scholarly journals Duch przedsiębiorczości w proinwestycyjnych działaniach władz lokalnych

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 72-80
Author(s):  
Wojciech Jarczewski
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Real Estate ◽  
Labor Force ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Leadership Quality ◽  
High Investment

The acquisition of new investors in a municipality is not a direct obligation of local govern-ments but rather one of the indications of the change in the philosophy of municipal manage-ment – from administration (local government) to management (local governance). Time andcost consuming comprehensive proinvestment activities can be implemented only in thosemunicipalities where among the local authorities the spirit of entrepreneurship is alive. G. Gorzelak (1998) indicated that on the local level the leadership quality is the most endogenic factor oflocal success, including luring new investors.To examine the significance and diversity of local authorities’ attitudes in their pro-investment activities in the local governments, in fourteen selected municipalities in Poland a compa-rative analysis was conducted. Pro-investment activities, implemented since 1990, and theireffects, in the form of arrival of new investors, were studied. Our research covered the municipa-lities distinguished by potentially high investment attractiveness which is hardly dependent onthe local authorities’ activities: good transportation availability, considerable real-estate resour-ces that are suitable for potential investors and good availability of qualified labor force. Conse-quently, we excluded the municipalities in which even very intense works of their local authoritiesfailed to develop new opportunities to attract many new businesses

scholarly journals Comparative Local Governance: Lessons from New Zealand for Japan

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Harufumi Shiba
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Financial Economic ◽  
Policy Transfer ◽  
Power Balance ◽  
Local Authorities

<p><b>This study concerns local governance in Japan and whether lessons can be derived from New Zealand and other countries. There are significant differences in the constitutional arrangements of Japan and New Zealand and the history and cultural influences that shape local governance in each country. The case studies, which compare three different policy areas in both countries, confirm, however, the usefulness of the comparative analysis.</b></p> <p>This is not a parallel comparison; the focus is more on lesson learning from different systems and styles of local administrations. The Japanese local government sector is more subject to control and guidance from the centre. A premise of this study is that that a greater degree of autonomy for local government in Japan will be beneficial.</p> <p> ‘Governance’ is a term used in different ways in many contexts. In this study emphasis is placed on the ‘means for achieving direction, control and coordination of individual or organizational units on behalf of their common interests’ (Hill and Lynn Jr, 2004, p. 6). It is associated with the notion of ‘steering’ rather than ‘rowing (Osborne and Gaebler, 1993). Governance is not synonymous with government. In a decentralised environment, local governance concerns the way different interests are settled among, broadly, central government, local authorities and communities.</p> <p> The power balance among central government, local authorities and communities is at the centre of analysis in this study. Six case studies in roading administration, environmental management and emergency management identify characteristics of the so-called ‘strong’ Japanese state while revealing both positives and potential pitfalls of autonomous local governance in New Zealand. Each of the cases is assessed against five criteria ― local capability, responsiveness, coordination, sustainability and financial/economic viability ― and classified as one of eight hypothetical governance ‘types’. Imposed relationships are often observed in Japan, which is contrasted with more consensual multilateral interactions in New Zealand. Constituents of the Japanese power balance include constant administrative guidance (gyosei shido), human resource management (including amakudari) and other ‘informal enforcement’, whereas devolution, contracts and strategic guidance are more conspicuous in New Zealand.</p> <p>Breaking the inertia of age-old practices in Japan would not be an easy task as unsuccessful attempts to reform local government in the past indicate. Political and administrative interests at both agent and institutional levels are inevitably involved. The power balance results not only from strict hierarchy and longstanding institutional influences from the centre, but also from the passiveness of local authorities and communities. Altering the power balance and the nature of local governance can be triggered and sustained in various ways: New Zealand experiences through policy transfer examined in this study can provide useful insights.</p>

PERIMBANGAN KEUANGAN ANTARA PEMERINTAH PUSAT DENGAN PEMERINTAH DAERAH DALAM PENGELOLAAN KEUANGAN DAERAH

2016 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Edward Hutagalung
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Fiscal Capacity ◽  
Regional Autonomy ◽  
The Public ◽  
Delegation Of Authority ◽  
Regional Authority ◽  
Local Sources ◽  
Tax Sharing

The fi nancial relationship between central and local government can be defi ned as a system that regulates how some funds were divided among various levels of government as well as how to fi ndsources of local empowerment to support the activities of the public sector.Fiscal decentralization is the delegation of authority granted by the central government to theregions to make policy in the area of   fi nancial management.One of the main pillars of regional autonomy is a regional authority to independently manage thefi nancial area. State of Indonesia as a unitary state of Indonesia adheres to a combination of elementsof recognition for local authorities to independently manage fi nances combined with the element oftransferring fi scal authority and supervision of the fi scal policy area.General Allocation Fund an area allocated on the basis of the fi scal gap and basic allocation whilethe fi scal gap is reduced by the fi scal needs of local fi scal capacity. Fiscal capacity of local sources offunding that comes from the area of   regional revenue and Tax Sharing Funds outside the ReforestationFund.The results showed that the strengthening of local fi scal capacity is in line with regional autonomy.

Tinjauan Aspek Budaya pada Pembelajaran IPA: Pentingnya Pengembangan Kurikulum IPA

1970 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fajar Hardoyono
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Human Resources ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Cultural Background ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Indonesian Government ◽  
Learning Attitude ◽  
Do So

: Education deals with enlightening people and developing human resources. The reasecher concluded that cultural background of students influences their learning attitude in the school. Therefore, the developing learning process of Natural Sciences insist student to elaborate principles of Natural Sciences without ignoring cultural valuesof local community. The policy of decentralization of Indonesian Government had authorized and legitimated local authorities to develop curriculum based on the local cultures. To do so, each local government through the officers of Education has to create a curiculum by involving some curriculum experts, instructures, natural sciences theachers, and the lectures of universities who adequately understand learning model of Natural Sciences.

Spatial and Institutional Analysis of the Voivodships Expenditure on Culture in the Years 2003 – 2015

e-Finanse ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 67-75
Author(s):  
Adam Mateusz Suchecki
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Institutional Analysis ◽  
The State ◽  
Cultural Institutions ◽  
Location Quotient ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
National Heritage

AbstractFollowing the completion of the process of decentralisation of public administration in Poland in 2003, a number of tasks implemented previously by the state authorities were transferred to the local level. One of the most significant changes to the financing and management methods of the local authorities was the transfer of tasks related to culture and national heritage to the set of tasks implemented by local governments. As a result of the decentralisation process, the local government units in Poland were given significant autonomy in determining the purposes of their budgetary expenditures on culture. At the same time, they were obliged to cover these expenses from their own revenues.This paper focuses on the analysis of expenditures on culture covered by the voivodship budgets, taking into consideration the structure of cultural institutions by their types, between 2003-2015. The location quotient (LQ) was applied to two selected years (2006 and 2015) to illustrate the diversity of expenditures on culture in individual voivodships.

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