Comparison of Turkey and the Netherlands Social Housing Policies

In this study, social housing policies developed for the housing needs of the poor citizens in Turkey and the Netherlands were examined. In this context, the aim of the study is to compare the extent of social housing policies implemented in Turkey and the Netherlands by presenting both countries policies on this subject. Another goal of this study is to develop suggestions based on research results. Most important roles in determining the social housing policies in Turkey belong to central administration. In the Netherlands, the central administration has transferred its authorization to local municipalities and housing associations. The data obtained were analyzed with the Maxqda data analysis program. At the end of the analysis, similar and different aspects of social housing policies have been presented. As a result, although there are similarities found in housing finance, it has been observed that there are different policies in terms of housing supply. In this context, policy transfer is a recommended approach that will contribute to the solution.

Participatory Budgeting Within the Framework of Open Government

Participatory budgeting is a public policy and management instrument as well as a mechanism to help develop citizen participation and transparency. This chapter examines participatory budgeting from its origins, evolution, and the way in which it has contributed to make management transparent at the local government level, appropriately guiding the use of financial resources while contributing to the fight against corruption. This work demonstrates how the Dominican Republic is implementing participatory budgeting policies and their impact on the administration of local municipalities, quality of life improvements, and citizen participation as a core democratic principle of direct open government. This chapter presents a strong case, based on the example of municipal-level governments in the Dominican Republic, that participatory budgeting at the local level is one of the most important direct democratic instruments of Open Governments after the right to vote to create a solid foundation for good governance at the local level.

Talent management: A 'recipe' for public service delivery in the fourth industrial revolution

The article was based on an interpretive paradigm, which adopts a qualitative desktop review approach. Various document sources that inform 4IR and talent management within the local government context in South Africa were employed. The two cities of Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni were used as case studies to examine their talent management strategies in the 4IR. The analysis of documents has shown that the 4IR can enable accelerated delivery of services; increase access to services; improve community participation; and more significant social accountability. Nevertheless, some municipalities in South Africa do not have enough resources and skills capacity to implement ICT/4IR measures to improve services; hence managing talent in key technical jobs has become an impediment. The absence of institutional readiness among local municipalities is a huge deterrent to managing talent needed to drive service delivery in the 4IR. The study concludes that to achieve efficient public service delivery within the 4IR, local municipalities should retain talent to manage the digital technologies that demand skilled expertise. The article recommends the government develop policies that offer guidance to local municipalities on managing specified sets of talents that are deemed crucial to enhancing socio-economic development in the 4IR.

Health and Medical Issues in the Area Affected by Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident

Futaba County was the area most affected by the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident. To understand issues around the re-development of the medical system, we investigated the post-accident changes in medical needs and the system’s transition. We analyzed reports from Fukushima Prefecture and local municipalities, ambulance transport data from the Futaba Fire Department, and patient data from Futaba Medical Center (FMC). After the accident, all medical institutions were closed, and the number of ambulance use dropped sharply. With the lifting of evacuation orders beginning in 2014, the amount of ambulance use increased at an annual rate of about 10%. Early on, the proportion of trauma caused by occupational and traffic accidents increased rapidly to more than 30%. As residents returned, the proportion related to endogenous diseases (most commonly respiratory) increased. Soon after the FMC opened in 2018, the majority of the patients were in their 60s, and by 2019 the proportion of patients in their 80s markedly increased. The return of the residents as well as ongoing decontamination and reconstruction projects were related to changes in the demographics of patients and the types of injuries and illnesses observed.

Cooperative Governance and Local Economic Development in Selected Small Towns: A Case Study of the Western Cape Province, South Africa

This article reports on a study based on cooperative governance and Local Economic Development (LED) in selected small towns in the Western Cape Province. The dearth of an integrative institutional framework to promote collaborative participation negatively influences local municipalities ability to successfully manage LED cooperatively with relevant stakeholders. Promoting such inclusive representation and participation of all relevant stakeholders provides a viable and complementary alternative to the traditional bureaucratic governance mechanism. The study investigated the specific factors involved in designing and implementing cooperative governance for LED in selected, comparable municipalities in the Western Cape. Specifically, the study aims to determine the push and pull factors for the successful functioning of cooperative governance aimed at promoting LED in those municipalities. Data were collected through three data collection instruments, namely, document review, interviews, and focus group discussions. The document review is complemented by data from interviews and focus groups discussion. The study contributes to the body of knowledge on cooperative governance by identifying the specific cooperative governance factors, enabling the efficacy and governance of LED in small towns, aimed at positively influencing municipalities ability to successfully manage LED cooperatively with relevant stakeholders. An in-depth understanding of the relationship and dynamics of these variables helps to offer recommendations as to how to improve the management and responsiveness to socio-economic concerns within the municipalities through improved LED governance.

PUBLIC SERVICE QUALITY AND CITIZEN-CLIENT’S SATISFACTION IN LOCAL MUNICIPALITIES. A CASE STUDY: MUNICIPALITY OF TETOVO

Assessing the effects of compensation for construction permits for residential and economic buildings in the urban part of Tetovo, the establishment of professional teams for the legalization of illegal buildings and the development of electronic services, on local economic development (LED) of the municipality of Tetovo. For analysing the data generated by the questionnaires, SPSS was used, as a method for testing the hypotheses of the study. The reduction ofthe compensation for construction, the creation of professional teams for the legalization of illegal buildings, the development of electronic services contribute to the increase in the satisfaction of the residents of the municipality of Tetovo, stimulate economic activity and increase fiscal revenues.

Implementing Co-Creation as a Policy Norm in Sweden — Steering Strategies for a Robust Municipal Organisation

Building upon findings from a strategically selected case study of a pioneering Swedish municipality, Jönköping, a participant in a Horizon2020 project on co-creating public service innovations in Europe (CoSIE), this paper illustrates how local municipalities may take a systemic approach to creating the necessary conditions for sustainable co-creation and assesses whether this illustrates an ongoing paradigmatic shift in service management and culture. The strategic change management efforts in adapting a public sector organisation to a co-creation culture, are assessed against a normative theoretical framework for such a transformative change (Finansdepartementet 2018; Torfing et al, 2016;). The study employs the concept of co-creation to highlight the paradigmatic shift in the approach to citizens as service end users from passive clients to active citizens with resources and capabilities to exert an impact on service design, delivery, and value creation. Th e article offers new insights into how a robust organisation may be moving towards a new public administration paradigm that accommodates co-creation, and especially how a new approach to management based on trust may be strategically implemented as a key factor in facilitating systemic change (Torfing et al, 2016). Against the background of a significant shortage of studies exploring how conditions for such a transformative change are created at different system levels, the article examines a longitudinal real-time study and illustrates new management approaches, strategies, and tools used. The study also contributes a normative framework to explore a shift to more trust-based steering and a more nuanced explanation of an ongoing managerial shift towards a ‘co-creation’ paradigm. It argues that achieving trust-based steering has major potential to facilitate a co-creation culture but that a paradigmatic shift towards such a culture requires congruence in discourses and actions on different system levels and a major transformation of approaches, roles, and relationship dynamics between senior and first-line management.

Through the Lens of Ubuntu: The Value of Partnerships and Corporate Social Responsibility towards Community Development in the City of uMhlathuze, South Africa

ABSTRACT The paper explores partnerships among the multinational corporations (MNCs), local municipalities and host communities in a bid to establish what informs corporate social responsibility (CSR). MNCs are essential in improving the wellbeing and living standards of host communities. The philanthropic activities have to be ethical, legitimate and guided by the spirit of giving back, informed by the philosophy of ubuntu (humanity). The qualitative approach was adopted to gather in-depth understanding of the existence and nature of partnership among MNCs, local municipalities and host communities. The participants were purposefully selected based on their expert knowledge and engagement in community development initiatives. The findings indicate that CSR operations are characterised by an absence of formal partnership between MNCs and host communities. A pragmatic policy framework needs to be developed to guide the philanthropic activities aimed at enhancing the socio-economic development of host communities.

THE CHALLENGE OF SUSTAINABLE LAND-BASED LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN POOR COMMUNITIES OF SOUTH AFRICA: THE CASE OF GROBLERSHOOP, NORTHERN CAPE

Since the advent of South Africa’s democracy, there have been many pressing questions; one of which has been: ‘to what extent has the newly found political and civil freedoms, which is guaranteed for all South Africans, translated into an a more economically-viable life?’ This research investigates whether local economic development (LED) interventions necessarily improve the livelihoods of poor communities. More specifically, the goal of this thesis is to explore some of the reasons why land-based economic development interventions often struggle to meet their main objective of improving the livelihoods of local poor people. It is hoped that the findings of this research will assist policymakers and local economic development planners in making more informed decisions.Using a qualitative research methodology, a three- pronged approach is adopted to address the key goal of this thesis. First, a review of the literature on LED was conducted: a comparative study into its origins in wealthy, developed countries; and the experiences on the successes and failures of LED as a developmental tool. Secondly, a review was made of the experiences of the application on LED approaches in a South African context, with special reference to the policy and support of LED strategy. Thirdly, a case study of Groblershoop, which is in the Northern Cape, is presented. It focuses on LED that is based on land, and the role that it plays in the livelihood approaches of poor people. In conclusion, it is posited that while the potential of land-based LED is not disputed, the implementation of such strategies are often inconsistent with the overall objective of poverty alleviation and economic development. For this reason, local municipalities will not be able to do this without clear policy guidance; institutional capacity-building; inter-sectoral collaboration of political ‘champions’ to drive the process; and real empowerment of the beneficiaries whom the projects are supposed to assist.

How Extreme Were The Torrential Floods In Smaller Watersheds In Serbia In September 2014

The September torrential floods in 2014 in the Eastern Serbia were a real disaster for local residents in municipalities of Kladovo, Negotin and Majdanpek. Meteorological extreme event caused the hydrological extreme event which led to declaration of the emergency situation in all three municipalities. The combined method of Soil Conservation Service and synthetic unit triangular hydrograph (SCS-SUH) is employed to compute the maximal discharges in small watersheds of Dupljanska reka and Manastiricki potok, in order to assess the extremeness of September 2014 torrential flood events. Since the surface runoff is accompanied by intensive soil erosion on watershed slopes and the maximal discharges by sediment transport in river beds, estimation of mean annual sediment transport is also presented in this work. The September 2014 floods will remain historic given that they took 5 human lives and caused enormous material damage for local municipalities, so presented hydrological analysis should be taken as very important part of flood event documentation along with reports of municipalities’ emergency headquarters.