scholarly journals Local democracy and public accountability in Uganda: The need for organisational learning

2014 ◽  
pp. 86-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stella Kyohairwe
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Organisational Learning ◽  
Local Democracy ◽  
Public Accountability ◽  
Score Card ◽  
Universal Applicability ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Reporting Method ◽  
Card Reporting

The paper examines the impact of public accountability mechanisms in the Uganda's decentralisation local governments. Some of the common tools used for evaluation of local government performance have been presented and discussed including the baraza, village participatory democracy and the score-card reporting method. The orthodox theories of local governance and concept of democracy are bases for assessing the feasibility of public accountability in Uganda. The conclusions of the paper points to inefficiencies are the universal applicability of the concept of local democracy leading to a suggestion of new mechanisms of public accountability that emerge from organisational learning.

scholarly journals Local Government Response to COVID-19: Revitalizing Local Democracy in Bangladesh

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 701-712
Author(s):  
A.N.M. Zakir Hossain
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Local Democracy ◽  
Google Docs

The study aims to identify the role of local government and its transformation in response to the COVID-19. It also shows how local governments extended the scope of accountability and transparency to strengthen democracy. The study followed the social survey method and collected data online through Google Docs form. The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics to generate expected results and test the hypothesis by the Spearman correlation coefficient. The study found local governments were positive during COVID-19 to provide services and offered more public engagement in policy formulation, thus more democratic. The health sector has shown the highest priority, with food and environmental services. Inefficient management capacity of leaders and apathy in public engagement hamper resource mobilization at the local level. During COVID-19, ICT intervention and innovation for digital transformation in local governance increased accountability and transparency through easy and effective participation of mass people to strengthen local democracy to respond effectively against COVID-19.

Integration, Innovation, and Intimidation?

2017 ◽  
pp. 75-95
Author(s):  
Brid C. Quinn
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Third Sector ◽  
Interesting Case ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Third Sector ◽  
Subnational Governance ◽  
The Impact

Local governments find themselves dependent on co-operation, not only with other levels of government but also with a range of non-governmental actors. New actors, drawn from the private sector, civil society, and technocratic élites, have become involved in the governing process and interdependencies have grown. Various approaches have been implemented to link the third sector and government, and various conceptualizations and analyses have emerged. This chapter explores strategies to involve the third sector in local government in Ireland. Ireland makes for an interesting case since it depicts an example of a state-designed system for formally integrating the third sector in the reformed structures of local governance. It provides insights about the theory and practice of subnational governance and generates transferable knowledge about the impact of nationally directed strategies to integrate the third sector with government. It also offers suggestions for further research on such linkages.

The Concept of an ‘Enabling’ Local Authority

10.1068/c9869 ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Smith
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Community Resources ◽  
User Choice ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Innovative Methods ◽  
Not For Profit ◽  
Elected Representatives ◽  
The Impact

Six distinct though related strands of ‘enabling’ as applied to the ability of local governments to engage in innovative methods of service delivery are distinguished. The practice of ‘enabling’ is analysed to identify possible advantages, obstacles, and disadvantages. Contracting can secure economies and strengthen the local economy but can cause problems of accountability. Consumerism may extend service-user choice but can be tokenistic for dependent clients and claimants. Community planning forces elected representatives to consider the impact on the community of the actions of all local decisionmakers but can be negated by central controls. Leadership can mobilise community resources from the commercial and not-for-profit sectors but is incompatible with the proliferation of nonaccountable agencies. Self-help can improve service responsiveness but is not necessarily democratically organised or empowering. Participation can empower but its commonest forms are weak. Concepts of enabling show how conventional local government can create innovative local governance.

scholarly journals The District Assembly Common Fund and Fiscal Decentralisation: What is the Impact on Local Development in Ghana?

2020 ◽  
pp. 15-21
Author(s):  
Harrison Kofi Belley
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Rural Poverty ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Poor People ◽  
Development Fund ◽  
Common Fund ◽  
The People ◽  
The Impact

Local governments have been created as agents of local development in which the people in the local areas are given greater opportunities to influence policies and programs that directly affect their well-being and thereby reducing their poverty levels. But the implementation of the policies and programmes is bedeviled with many problems. Key among them is the issue of financing the local development projects in order to reduce rural poverty. The government of Ghana attempted to reduce this problem when it introduced a development fund in1994 known as the – District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) to encourage local governance and deepen Government’s commitment to decentralization in general and fiscal devolution in particular. The study therefore, seeks to assess the impact of District Assembly Common Fund on Local Government Development in the Adaklu District Assembly in the Volta Region of Ghana. The study mainly adopted qualitative methods of research to obtain information on the experiences of the poor people in the Adaklu communities selected as study areas. Interview guides were used to obtain information from the people in the communities, staff of the Assembly and some heads of the decentralized departments. A major finding of the study is that the assembly did not involve the rural people in the poverty reduction programmes in the district.

scholarly journals Place-based Leadership in a Global Era

1970 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Hambleton
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Democracy ◽  
Engaged Scholarship ◽  
Leadership Model ◽  
Global Era ◽  
International Comparative ◽  
Civic Leadership

This article examines the major challenges now facing local governments across the world and advocates the development of a new focus on place-based leadership for local government scholarship and practice. The challenges facing local authorities are many, but they can be summarised in two words: globalisation and urbanisation. In response to these we have witnessed, in many countries, a shift from ‘local government’ to ‘local governance’. This shift is discussed, and it is suggested that new models of partnership working could, if handled in the wrong way, undermine local democracy. To combat this danger it is essential to give civic leadership far more attention – in the worlds of both academe and practice. A new way of conceptualising place-based leadership – one that identifies three ‘realms of civic leadership’ – is put forward. This model emphasises the role of civic leadership in shaping emotions and supporting public service innovation. To illustrate the argument an example of highly respected place-based leadership is presented. Freiburg, Germany is recognised as a very successful eco-city and the leadership model is used to help explain why. The article concludes with some reflections and pointers for research and policy. It is suggested that new forms of ‘engaged scholarship’ – approaches that bring together academics and practitioners to co-produce new knowledge about place-based leadership in an international, comparative perspective – should be encouraged.

scholarly journals Philanthropic Foundations and Local Policy Making in the Austerity Era: Does Urban Governance Matter?

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 917-935 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefania Ravazzi
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Policy ◽  
Philanthropic Foundations ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Philanthropic Organizations ◽  
Private Actors ◽  
The Impact

Over the last decades, European cities have been facing serious constraints. In particular, decreasing transfers from central governments, the introduction of domestic ‘Stability pacts’ and the economic crisis have significantly challenged the capacity of local governments to address societal issues. Within this context, local governments have tried to find new ways by establishing collaborations with a wide range of private actors, including non-profit organizations and the civil society as a whole. Among these private actors, big philanthropic organizations are gaining prominence, acting as public policy supporters and policy makers. In particular, those philanthropic organizations, which focus the operating activity on single communities, are emerging as potential key actors in local governance, thanks to their capacity to concentrate resourses and efforts in specific and limited territories. For this new emerging role, a recent debate on their impact on local policy making has raised in the last years. This paper aims at presenting the findings of a comparative analysis on the impact that some of the world’s biggest philanthropic organizations have produced in two Italian urban contexts. In particular, the comparative analysis of these two cases had the aim of testing a major thesis: the impact of philanthropic foundations on local policy making varies in relation to the consolidated mode of governance within which they operate.

scholarly journals The Use of PPGIS: Towards Reaching a Meaningful Public Participation in Spatial Planning

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 581
Author(s):  
Edyta Bąkowska-Waldmann ◽  
Tomasz Kaczmarek
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Spatial Planning ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Case Study Analysis ◽  
Online Tools ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
The Impact

Together with technological innovations and the development of a digital society, PPGIS approaches have been rapidly growing popular in the last years, in Poland’s local administration. Local governments take significant interest in online tools; however the principles of public participation, which, in fact, should also be applied to e-consultations, are still missing. One of the assumed roles of PPGIS is to support public participation—not just in terms of the number of stakeholders, but especially in terms of the impact on decision making. The present paper discusses the results of investigations into two decision-making processes, regarding local spatial planning in the Poznań agglomeration, Poland, conducted in 2015–2021. Its aim is to verify the hypothesis that the use of PPGIS facilitates more meaningful involvement of citizens in spatial planning. As a result of the case study analysis, in-depth interviews with local authorities and officials, and analysis of the planning documents and the role of PPGIS in public participation in decision making, was investigated. It was shown that in both processes there was no direct participation of society in decision making. However, the use of PPGIS, according to local authorities, had implications in the context of the wider process of local governance.

scholarly journals Can National Development Thrive Without Local Government’s Constructive Input? Outlook of Nigeria, with Lessons for Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 336-355
Author(s):  
Ikemefuna Taire Paul Okudolo ◽  
◽  
NTSIKELELO BENJAMIN BREAKFAST ◽  
ITUMELENG MEKOA ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Intergovernmental Relations ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
National Development ◽  
Developmental Trajectory ◽  
Local Democracy ◽  
Local Autonomy ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Services Delivery

Satisfactory nationwide development without constructive local governments’ input is mutually exclusive. Meaning that institution of effectual local administrations not to produce deleterious interaction-effect of development is essential. This paper evaluates published articles between 2010 and 2020 on Nigerian context to comprehend what undermines impactful local governments’ participation in national development to pinpoint lessons for African nations. It addresses the question of how abject local government in place do not support its positive involvement in overall national development. The intrinsic purpose of local government according to the classical theory’s logic is the paper’s theoretical foundation. Deriving from a literature review methodology, the paper proffers reform agendas to enhance optimal efficacy of local administrations in the intergovernmental relations schemes for development in Africa from literature insights of the Nigerian situation. The analysis parallel the three thematic codes evolved from the classical theory’s justification of local government: optimization of local governance, enhancement of local democracy, and facilitation of efficient local services delivery. It observes that implementation of ineffectual decentralization policies and lack of local autonomy are critical factors undermining optimum development in Nigeria, viz African countries. Whereas, decentralization and local autonomy accentuates the centrality of local government in the national developmental trajectory.

Asymmetrical Attribution of Performance in China

Asian Survey ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 978-1003
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Chen Chen ◽  
Jun Xiang
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Cultural Theory ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
Mediation Model ◽  
Multilevel Mediation ◽  
Dual Pathway ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
The Impact

Existing studies of the impact of economic development on political trust in China have two major gaps: they fail to explain how economic development contributes to the hierarchical trust pattern, and they do not pay enough attention to the underlying mechanisms. In light of cultural theory and political control theory, we propose adapting performance theory into a theory of “asymmetrical attribution of performance” to better illuminate the case of China. This adapted theory leads to dual pathway theses: expectation fulfillment and local blaming. Using a multilevel mediation model, we show that expectation fulfillment mainly upholds trust in the central government, whereas local blaming undermines trust in local governments. We also uncover a rural–urban distinction in the dual pathway, revealing that both theses are more salient among rural Chinese.

Local Elections and the Politics of Small-Scale Democracy

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Eric Oliver ◽  
Shang E. Ha ◽  
Zachary Callen
Keyword(s):  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Electoral Politics ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Personal Connections ◽  
Community Ties

Local government is the hidden leviathan of American politics: it accounts for nearly a tenth of gross domestic product, it collects nearly as much in taxes as the federal government, and its decisions have an enormous impact on Americans' daily lives. Yet political scientists have few explanations for how people vote in local elections, particularly in the smaller cities, towns, and suburbs where most Americans live. Drawing on a wide variety of data sources and case studies, this book offers the first comprehensive analysis of electoral politics in America's municipalities. Arguing that current explanations of voting behavior are ill suited for most local contests, the book puts forward a new theory that highlights the crucial differences between local, state, and national democracies. Being small in size, limited in power, and largely unbiased in distributing their resources, local governments are “managerial democracies” with a distinct style of electoral politics. Instead of hinging on the partisanship, ideology, and group appeals that define national and state elections, local elections are based on the custodial performance of civic-oriented leaders and on their personal connections to voters with similarly deep community ties. Explaining not only the dynamics of local elections, Oliver's findings also upend many long-held assumptions about community power and local governance, including the importance of voter turnout and the possibilities for grassroots political change.

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