No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Administrative Reform in Western Democracies
... At the same time, students evaluate training subjectively, through the prism of their "current" professional and service tasks, including elements of functional literacy. A different method of assessment is needed, correlating with the strategic goals of reforming public administration, which has not yet been developed [16]. ...
... At the same time, the main problem is the problem of finding ways, forms, and methods of more effective and efficient management of the state and society based on the formation of social responsibility and a model of ethical business behavior. This implies an objective need to focus on the applied aspects of training MPA personnel as the main direction of such training, so that specialists are able to independently and promptly make optimal management decisions, situationally adequate and taking into account, in addition the short-term and long-term perspective [14,16,25]. We are talking about the implemented competence-based approach, in which, in the chain of "knowledge -skills and abilities -professional competence", the emphasis is objectively placed on the last component. ...
it is shown in the article that currently the effectiveness of public administration is associated with the development and implamentation of mechanisms to ensure the effectivness of the professional activities of civil servants.
... L a noción actual de innovación social surge en un entorno de una fuerte recesión en Europa y Estados Unidos, tras años de crisis del Estado de Bienestar y después de unas décadas en las que conceptos como democracia participativa, eficiencia, competitividad, calidad, gobierno multinivel, gobernanza, sostenibilidad, redes de actores o de políticas han tratado de orientar la acción pública y social (Börzel, 1997: 2; Pollitt y Bouckaert, 2004;Prats, 2005;Peters, 2007;Christensen y Laegreid, 2012). ...
... Esto propició la participación de las organizaciones sin fines de lucro y las empresas privadas en la satisfacción de las necesidades ciudadanas de una manera novedosa. Sin embargo, la orientación de las actividades desarrolladas bajo esas formas de gestión a la reducción de costes y la escasa capacidad de respuesta a las crecientes y diversas demandas ciudadanas limitaron el impacto social de este tipo de innovación, lo que abrió paso a otros enfoques como la gobernanza, las redes de políticas, el neo weberianismo o el nuevo servicio público, entre otros (North, 1990;Meneguzzo, 1997;Christensen y Laegreid, 2012). ...
La actual crisis económica y financiera ha hecho que los países más
desarrollados vayan abandonando la vieja creencia en un Estado omnipotente
y en un nivel de bienestar ilimitado, a la vez que cuestiona en Latinoamérica
la extensión y consolidación de los servicios públicos básicos. Hoy se pone en
duda la capacidad de los Estados para atender la diversidad de las demandas
y necesidades ciudadanas, integrar en la acción pública a toda la población y
combatir la pobreza. A esto se añade la pérdida de confianza de los ciudadanos
en las instituciones públicas y en sus integrantes y dirigentes.
Se viven profundos cambios en la sociedad y en el mercado, que muestran
que están asumiendo un creciente protagonismo en la satisfacción de
las necesidades de la comunidad. Aparece así una realidad ampliada
de lo público, que ya no puede remitirse a lo administrativo o estatal.
Simultáneamente, el Estado amplía su papel a habilitador, garante y
activador de la sociedad y se le requiere que se oriente a la inclusión, la
participación y la representación y a la realización de alianzas eficaces.
En este contexto surge la aproximación de la innovación social que se nutre
de la evolución de las ideas y de la gobernanza de las décadas anteriores y
de los principios de la sociedad del conocimiento, como la colaboración y
la conexión del talento; y que se está construyendo primordialmente desde
los organismos internacionales y los Gobiernos. Uno de sus principales
significados es la coproducción de servicios públicos con el fin de impulsar
la renovación del sector público y de cubrir sus insuficiencias.
Se va a mantener que los rasgos del desarrollo institucional condicionan
las iniciativas de innovación social, en concreto las características
que conforman la capacidad institucional, al igual que se ha podido
constatar, en la mayoría de los países latinoamericanos en la última
década, con la garantía y extensión de los servicios públicos. Las
carencias existentes en la cobertura de estos y en el resto de necesidades
insatisfechas muestran un vasto campo de actuación de la innovación
social en Latinoamérica.
Palabras clave: Innovación Administrativa; Gestión Pública; Desarrollo
Institucional; Capacidad Administrativa; Servicios Públicos; Contexto
Social; América Latina
Social Innovation and Institutional Capacity in Latin America
The current economic and financial crisis has caused that the more
developed countries are giving up the old belief in an omnipotent State
and an unlimited level of wellbeing, while in Latin America is questioning the extension and consolidation of basic public services. Today, the ability of States to deal with the diversity of citizen demands and needs, to bring
public action to the whole population and to combat poverty is questioned.
To this is added the loss of public confidence in public institutions and their
members and leaders.
We are experiencing profound changes in the society and the market
that show that they are assuming a growing role in the satisfaction of the
needs of the community. Thus appears an enlarged reality of the public
service, which can no longer be referred to the administrative or state.
Simultaneously, the State expands its role as an enabler, guarantor and
activator of society and is required to be oriented towards inclusion,
participation, representation and effective partnerships.
In this context rises up the approach of social innovation that feeds
on the evolution of ideas and governance of previous decades and
the principles of the knowledge society, such as collaboration and
the connection of talent, and which is being built primarily from
international organizations and governments. One of its main objectives
is the coproduction of public services in order to promote the renewal of
the public sector and to cover its insufficiencies.
It will be maintained that the characteristics of institutional development
condition social innovation initiatives, specifically the characteristics that
define institutional capacity, as it has been observed in most Latin American
countries in the last decade with the guarantee and extension of public
services. The shortcomings in the coverage of these and the rest of unsatisfied
needs show a wide field of action of social innovation in Latin America.
Key words: Administrative Innovation; Public Administration;
Institutional Development; Administrative Capability: Public Services;
Social Context; Latin America
... Como contrapunto a la visión demasiado orientada al beneficio empresarial de la NGP, se plantea la corriente de la nueva gobernanza pública (public governance) (Meneguzzo, 1997;Arenilla, 2011b: 72 y ss.; Robinson, 2015). Esta y otras corrientes de reflexión y reforma del sector público (gobierno holístico [whole-of-government approach], Estado neoweberiano, redes de actores, innovación social) han sustituido parcialmente y matizado las recetas de la NGP, aunque no la han eliminado de la práctica (Arenilla, 2011b: 24;Christensen y Laegreid, 2012). La nueva gobernanza pública no plantea un modelo de Administración pública opuesto al de la NGP. ...
... Como respuesta a la descentralización y fragmentación de la gestión pública que da lugar al desarrollo de las agencias y otros órganos similares propuesta por la NGP, el gobierno holístico propone recuperar parcialmente la centralización de la gestión pública en las macroorganizaciones a fin de recuperar el control y la influencia política sobre la gestión pública y compensar la mencionada fragmentación. En esta línea, también se han desarrollado instrumentos de coordinación entre ministerios y organismos públicos para revertir la fragmentación horizontal y la descoordinación y recuperar la coherencia de las actuaciones públicas (Christensen y Laegreid, 2012;Arenilla, 2014: 125 y ss.; Robinson, 2015). Este enfoque se centra en la dimensión interna de la Administración pública, y trata de que su actuación esté dotada de coherencia. ...
El libro aborda los fundamentos teóricos que han dado lugar a la Agenda 2030, desde una perspectiva de gestión pública. Es una revisión de los avances en la implementación de los ODS de diferentes informes de organismos internacionales, prestando especial atención a América Latina. Incluye las mejores prácticas en el privado, empresarial y social campo en América Latina. La segunda parte se refiere al nuevo rol del Centro Latinoamericano para el desarrollo y la administración pública (CLAD) en la aplicación de la Subdirección de generación. Incluye las posibles acciones de la CLAD en el marco de los ODS, la hoja de ruta para la aplicación y posibles socios estratégicos. También contiene los principales aportes de los encuentros de la CLAD a los ODS en los últimos dos años.
The book addresses the theoretical foundations which have given rise to the 2030 Agenda, from a public Administrationl perspective. Is a review of the progress in the implementation of the SDGs from various reports from international agencies, paying special attention to Latin America. It includes the best practices in the private, business and social field in Latin America. The second part is referred to the new role of the Latin American Centre for Development and Public Administration (CLAD) in the implementation of the SDG. It includes the possible actions of the CLAD in the framework of the SDGs, the roadmap for the implementation and possible strategic partners. Also contains the main contributions of the encounters of the CLAD to the SDGs were summarized from two years ago.
... The literature on reforms, however, says more about form and processes than about effects and impacts, which are often patchy and contested (christensen & Laegreid, 2012). results are promised or expected but systematic evaluations of major structural changes are rare (christensen et al., 2020;Laegreid & Verhoest, 2010). ...
... In order to solve the complex problems in public administration, several remedies and strategies were suggested, with different terminologies and conceptions. When some side effects of NPM became visible, post-NPM models emerged with several counteractive prescriptions that included whole-ofgovernment, joined-up government, quality of government, networks, partnerships, etc. (Christensen and Laegreid, 2012). Such a diverse conceptualisation and theorisation of public governance creates even more confusion in the study of public administration. ...
The paper aims to review public administration education in the higher education institutions in Bangladesh, and their role in ensuring modern public services. Most universities in the country offer public administration degrees; however, minimal contributions to nationbuilding have been observed. The study asks: what are the pitfalls behind this? How to address the limitations? This is a qualitative study with gleaned data, using inductive content analysis to investigate the phenomenon with three case universities indicating the link between curriculum and learning delivery at the universities in Bangladesh. The research finds that poor development-oriented public administration education has little correlation to national development. The education system is traditional, where typical cultural features are nonchalance and indifference towards domestic demands. The discipline cannot create a distinctive identity and position in academia, which has consequences for the advancement of the administrative system in a developing country like Bangladesh. A research-informed curriculum with innovative pedagogical approach might be an alternative. The paper enlightens both academics and practitioners, as literature on public administration education in Bangladesh has been scarce. It calls for higher education institutions to reassess public administration education, teaching methods and research for national development.
... Por citar los relacionados con la Administración, hay que señalar su alineación, de acuerdo con la nueva gestión pública, con la eficiencia y la eficacia para alcanzar los objetivos y las metas y medir su consecución; con una gestión flexible y adaptativa; o con las alianzas público-privadas y sociales (García, 2007;Meneguzzo, 1997). También encontramos contribuciones de la nueva gobernanza pública y de la innovación social en la concepción holística del gobierno o en la importancia de las redes de actores, en la creación de estructuras formales de interacción y en la necesidad de un enfoque interrelacional, holístico, indivisible e integral de los ODS (Börzel, 1997: 2;Christensen y Laegreid, 2012;Robinson, 2015;Arenilla, 2017). ...
La Administración española mantiene una cultura que ha sobrevivido a las diversas crisis mediante el despliegue de estrategias y medidas consistentes en hacer más o menos de lo mismo, dependiendo de las circunstancias. La crisis sin precedentes de la COVID-19 debería hacer el milagro de rediseñar las instituciones y servicios públicos en España, a lo que podría contribuir la Agenda 2030.
La localización de la Agenda 2030 refuerza la vinculación de los objetivos globales con las comunidades locales y los ciudadanos y potencia las interrelaciones existentes entre todos los ODS. El balance de la localización en el mundo muestra que los gobiernos locales y regionales han tenido un escaso papel en los informes nacionales voluntarios o en los mecanismos nacionales de coordinación.
Resulta ya evidente que se necesitan aceleradores para alcanzar a tiempo las metas establecidas en los ODS para 2030, destacando las tecnologías y herramientas digitales. La digitalización en el mundo debe facilitar el avance del desarrollo humano para que disminuya la desigualdad, aumente la paz y la seguridad, promueva la sostenibilidad, fomente los derechos humanos y satisfaga las necesidades humanas, ya que no se está haciendo debidamente.
Palabras Clave: Localización, Administración local, España, Agenda 2030, ODS, digitalización.
... Goals and management tools introduced by means of one or by a fusion of more reform models undoubtedly have significant impact on the service-delivery arrangements that the management reform can result in. Nevertheless, the choice of a particular model and its materialization into service-delivery practice are also determined by numerous forces that can be at work in driving, guiding and restraining management change (Christensen and Laegreid 2012). After analysing public management reforms in twelve Western democracies, Pollitt and Bouckaert (2011) offered the conceptualization of public management reform in which they apply a top-down approach to the reform process, and they attribute executive politicians and/or senior civil servants a key role in conceiving and executing the change of public management. ...
... Junto a esta visión, encontramos que el resultado de la acción pública se debe a la interacción entre el Gobierno y la sociedad civil, a la consideración del comportamiento y las emociones, al esfuerzo de una multiplicidad de actores comprometidos con el bien común que desempeñan distintos papeles dependiendo de la red y de los intereses en juego, incluidos el Estado y sus Administraciones públicas. Esta orientación se la debemos a corrientes como la nueva gobernanza pública, el gobierno holístico, integral o interrelacional, las redes de actores o la innovación social; esta última, por ejemplo, aboga por la creación de estructuras formales de interacción y colaboración entre actores públicos y privados (Börzel, 1997: 2;Christensen y Laegreid, 2012;Robinson, 2015;Arenilla, 2017c). La Agenda 2030 toma de estos enfoques una visión integral, indivisible e interrelacional de los ODS. ...
Este estudio contempla como base de la fortaleza institucional la combinación entre factores o medios y las funciones administrativas. A partir de aquí y del análisis de los estudios académicos, de la documentación de numerosos organismos y de los Exámenes Voluntarios Nacionales (EVN) de los países iberoamericanos surgen las siguientes variables a considerar en el diseño de una adecuada arquitectura institucional: liderazgo efectivo, mecanismos institucionales, capacidad institucional, relaciones intergubernamentales y participación/comunicación, que se han desglosado en varias dimensiones. La investigación realiza una serie de propuestas de mejora de la arquitectura institucional para el cumplimiento de la Agenda 2030 en Iberoamérica.
This research contemplates as the basis for the institutional strength the combination between factors or resources and administrative functions. From here and the analysis of academic studies, documentation of numerous agencies and Iberoamerican countries Voluntary National Reviews arise the following variables to be considered in designing an appropriate institutional architecture: effective leadership, institutional mechanisms, institutional capacity, intergovernmental relations and participation, which have broken down in several dimensions. The research makes a series of proposals for the improvement of the institutional architecture for the fulfilment of the 2030 Agenda in Iberoamerica.
... PA research has addressed institutional logics and hybridity as a result of reform processes in the past decades. Instead of superseding past institutional logics, studies showed that logics are layering on top of each other, which leads to an increasing number of rationales and core values available as a basis of administrative action (Christensen & Laegreid, 2012;Polzer, Meyer, Höllerer, & Seiwald, 2016). Hybridity between the ideal of traditional bureaucratic administration (state logic) and New Public Management (NPM; based in a market logic) reforms has been analyzed to some extent. ...
Local public administrations around the world are facing the challenge of introducing e-participation, but the cultural and institutional aspects of the e-participation innovation process have not been researched extensively. This dearth in research can inhibit our understanding of how and why e-participation succeeds, fails or develops in certain contexts. Thus, we apply two concepts from organizational institutionalism to determine how e-participation in local public administrations is influenced by and influences the organizational and institutional context. Institutional logics help us to describe and analyze the complex institutional context, and institutional work assists in focusing agency aimed at but also embedded in this institutional context. The research, which includes results of a multiple case study of three local German public administrations, finds that three role identities in regard to e-participation can be distinguished: entrepreneurs, pragmatists, and skeptics. These identities develop in relation to administrators' positions in e-participation processes and evolve as actors engage strategically in the innovation process through institutional work on e-participation practices at the individual, project, and organizational level. We thereby generate insights into the specific perspective of central actors in the e-participation innovation process (i.e. administrators).
... The first group of factors involves diverse socioeconomic forces such as the economic crisis or the aging populations, which over the past decades induced many governments to seek reform strategies so as enable them to ease the strains on the state apparatus. The scope, actual content and the fate of these strategies, nevertheless, are to a large extent shaped by the interplay between second and third cluster of influential factors: features of political and administrative systems (Christensen & Laegreid, 2012;Pollitt & Bouckaert, 2011). ...
This article seeks to explain the differences in outcomes of social services reform in Croatia during the previous two decades. While the service management reform was based on the principles of effectiveness, efficiency and participation in one segment of social services, in the other segment, reform was used for the development of partisan patronage networks. Using the comparable case strategy, the article focuses on six social services and relies on interviews with policy actors and official documents to map and explain different reform outcomes. The article identifies two factors that led to differences in provision of reformed social services and affected the capacity of the patronage-driven political executive to use reform as an instrument of politicized allocation of public jobs. A sufficiently institutionalized setting in which services were provided prior to the reform reduces the ability of political parties to integrate political patronage into service management. In the case of minimal or non-existent institutional setting, the presence of empowered or represented beneficiaries acts as the bulwark against political capture.
... Although different countries present their reforms in similar terms and support some of the same general administrative doctrines, closer scrutiny reveals considerable variation (Christensen & Laegreid, 2012A). Pollitt and Bouckaert (2011) distinguish between two main models. ...
New Public Management (NPM) reforms have been around in many countries for over the past 30 years. NPM is an ambiguous, multifaceted, and expanded concept. There is not a single driving force behind it, but rather a mixture of structural and polity features, national historical-institutional contexts, external pressures, and deliberate choices from political and administrative executives. NPM is not the only show in town, and contextual features matter. There is no convergence toward one common NPM model, but significant variations exist between countries, government levels, policy areas, tasks, and over time. Its effects have been found to be ambiguous, inconclusive, and contested. Generally, there is a lack of reliable data on results and implications, and there is some way to go before one can claim evidence-based policymaking in this field. There is more knowledge regarding NPM’s effects on processes and activities than on outcome, and reliable comparative data on variations over time and across countries are missing. NPM has enhanced managerial accountability and accountability to users and customers, but has this success been at the expense of political accountability? New trends in reforms, such as whole-of-government, have been added to NPM, thereby making public administration more complex and hybrid.
... Furthermore, over the past decade, from higher education and schooling to healthcare, regional development, budgetary retrenchments and austerity policies have supported centralized standards for administrative goals and achievement (Marra, 2013). According to some, post-NPM features (Hajnal & Rosta, 2015;Lodge & Hood, 2012) with increasing centralization and top-down coordination have modified and supplemented NPM original tenets (see Christensen & Laegreid, 2007;Christensen & Laegreid, 2012;142) and the proliferation of performance-based governance mechanisms has originated not only by governmental concerns about public agencies' accountability and efficiency but also by concerns over the direction of administrative activities actually undertaken (Lewis, 2015;Woelert, 2015). Performance measures have become increasingly fashionable because, in theory, they provide the opportunity for government to retain firm control over departments by using a hands-off strategy (Lewis, 2015;Van Dooren et al., 2010). ...
Over the past two decades, Italy's administrative reforms have institutionalized evaluation to improve program effectiveness, staff productivity, and results-driven accountability against waste and corruption. Across ministries, regional governments, universities, schools and environmental protection agencies, seemingly unexpected consequences have emerged out of the implementation of performance measurement and evaluation regimes within public organizations. Formal compliance to legally binding evaluation procedures, judicially-sanctioned managerial accountability and lack of cross-agency coordination coupled with long-standing cultural separations among evaluators are some of the ambiguities associated with a performance-based governance system within Italian public administration. Building upon the 'new governane theory,' and qualitative fieldwork, I explore the political consequences of evaluation and performance measurement for possible improvements. From a normative perspective, greater integration between program evaluation and performance measurement can support organizational learning and democratic accountability both at the central and local level.
... Osborne ( 2009 ) describes a new era of post-NPM reforms characterised by more centralised control, stronger political infl uence and a re-emphasis on coordination and 'joined up' government. Such reforms have poten- tially accelerated under austerity where the state has taken the opportunity to rationalise and retrench what is cast as an overly fragmented network of public service organisations or 'quangos' (Christensen and Laegreid 2012 ). Shifts in governance are also intertwined with technical advances in information technology and use of data analytics to inform the delivery, scope and objectives of contemporary welfare states. ...
In this chapter, Fiona Dukelow and Mary Murphy sketch the landscape of research on welfare state change and set out some of the ways the impact of the economic crisis and the prospect structural change need to be informed by the lessons of previous research on how welfare states change and why. The chapter then proceeds to discuss a set of core structural drivers of welfare state change and their bearing on Irish welfare state change, including neo-liberalisation, internationalisation and the politics of welfare. The final section develops a framework for understanding and tracking the variety of ways structural change may be occurring, outlining four key questions: What is welfare for? Who delivers welfare? Who pays for welfare? Who receives welfare?
... On the one hand, a movement towards state structure decentralization implied in the transfer of political and administrative competences and responsibilities to subnational governmental; on the other, reinforced fiscal control on the part of central governments has forced local authorities o adopt fiscal austerity measures, as well as to adopt new administrative strategies inspired by the theories and receipts of New Public Management (NPM). Albeit occurring in different velocities and degrees, these changes occurred in Western democracies (Christensen & Laegreid, 2012;John 2001), as well as in Latin America (Nef, 2012) and other parts of the world. Especially in the developing world imposed under the political requirement of cutting costs (Bevir, 2009, p.10), the private sector has become a decisive actor in public service and infrastructure provision (Meier & Hill, 2007, p.55s). ...
This paper aims at verifying the potential of Social Network Analysis (SNA) for the study of public governance and policies, focusing on the understanding of ongoing changes related to institutional arrangements and political dynamics. The paper will be divided into five sections. In the introduction, the importance of the network concept for the governance of public policies is discussed, taking into consideration recent transformation in the public sector and the current context of the network society. In the second part, the development of the network concept in different knowledge areas is briefly discussed, focusing on its relevance in social science, and specifically, in policy analysis. In the third part, some theoretical fundaments of policy analysis will be addressed, highlighting the different approaches of new institutionalism. In the fourth part, some methodological and conceptual fundaments of SNA are presented, in order to discuss its applicability for policy analysis. The main objective is to fundament conceptually a methodological approach for the analysis of governance and public policy practices. As result, the central relevance of the integration of qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches is stressed, as well as the importance of the policy cycle as an analytical tool to decompose public policy processes in its different stages, being analysed separately or concerning its interrelations. Even in the context of enhanced dissemination of network structures, it is argued, the policy cycle does not loose its heuristic potential, although these stages used to become less clear and more difficult to be distinguished in the analytical process. Thus, it’s just the integration of qualitative and quantitative approaches, the consideration of the institutional, societal and cultural dimensions of governance and policy practices, as well as the application of SNA in a temporal perspective, considering the different stages of the policy cycle, that all together might favour the production of significant findings on governance of public policies based on SNA. SNA therefore allows us to come to a better understanding of what really happens in organisations, in inter-organizational relations within governance systems, and in public policy processes. The theoretical and methodological considerations will be elucidated, by drawing on the political context of Brazil.
Traditionally, professorial recruitment has been controlled by scholars themselves selecting the best qualified candidates as new member of the academic community according to scientific criteria. Recent studies have, however, documented that recruitment has become increasingly influenced by managers and HR personnel who approach professorial recruitment as a strategic opportunity to satisfy organizational needs following a strategic organizational logic. Thus, today professorial recruitment is shaped by both an academic and an organisational logic. However, the complex interplay between these logics and how this complexity is handled remains unclear. Drawing on interviews and semi-confidential reports from professorial recruitment processes at Norwegian universities, we show that recruitment is a sequential decision-making process and that different logics dominate different phases of the process. Sequential decision-making eases tension, meaning that multiple logics can operate harmoniously if appropriately separated. However, we also document that the sequential problem-solving has altered the power balance between the logics, leading to a moderately increased reliance on organisational logic.
The type of government, whether the cabinet is a single-party majority, multiparty coalition, or minority, is often claimed to be one important factor affecting the shape of bureaucratic reform. Masashi’s research investigates empirically whether this statement can be applied to the case of New Zealand, where government type has shifted from majoritarian to consensual since the introduction of the MMP electoral system in the mid-1990s. Through the investigation of impacts of differences in cabinet type on government organisational restructuring, Masashi’s research has shown that New Zealand did not follow the commonly stated pattern in the relationship.
Drawing on the extensive ethnographic research I conducted on Italy’s performance evaluation system, this article highlights the cognitive biases associated with evidence use in decision making and institution working. Framing effects, status quo bias, motivated reasoning, and tacit conflicts between personal and organizational interests were only some of the behavioral phenomena policy makers, managers, and evaluators showed to limit their exposure to performance information. Integrating behavioral findings with theories of governance, evaluation utilization, and critical evidence–informed policymaking, this article discusses behavioral reform strategies to overcome (i) tacit conflicts of interests among evaluators, (ii) the compliance mentality with performance assessment among managers, and (iii) adversarial relationships between courts and administrative agencies as well as polarized politics with respect to evidence use and experts’ behavior. A behavioral design is relevant to reform evaluation policies, especially in countries where performance regimes have been criticized, contested, resisted, and/or perceived as red tape and surveillance mechanisms.
This paper seeks to provide an overview of the literature regarding contemporary public management and administration. For this purpose, New Public Management and New Public Governance principles and methods are explored, since they remain the dominant approaches to public management and governance regime. A systematic examination of the relevant discourse was carried out. Data analysis revealed that the theoretical schemes continue to emphasize the priority of management over public service. As a result, the New Public Service approach is revisited focusing primarily on the reinterpretation and reorientation of public service provision. This study enriches our theoretical and practical understanding by providing important reflections and insights about the organizational conditions of public sector reform that is proceeding nowadays.
Le Nouveau Management Public (NMP) tend à persister malgré les critiques. Les initiatives post-NMP demeurent assez théoriques et tardent à s’implanter au cœur de l’appareil gouvernemental. L’évaluation d’impact intégrée (EII), un outil d’aide à la prise de décision au niveau national, semble apporter des réponses nouvelles. L’EII s’est développé à partir des initiatives d’allègement règlementaire du NMP, mais ses objectifs et effets concordent davantage avec les principes post-NMP. Cet article vise à situer le concept de l’EII, son développement et les implications de son institutionnalisation. Une analyse comparative de la pratique de l’EII est effectuée pour quatre approches : trois au niveau national (France, Royaume-Uni et Suisse) et une au niveau supranational (Commission européenne). L’EII apparait comme un outil hybride NMP et post-NMP, dont l’utilisation permet la mise en pratique de certains principes post-NMP. L’article conclu sur des pistes de recherche futures.
Remarques à l’intention des praticiens
Les administrations doivent souvent composer avec les problématiques liées à la prise de décision basée sur des données probantes, la transparence et la multiplication des évaluations d’impact sectorielles statutaires. Dans un contexte de ressources limitées, l’évaluation d’impact intégrée (EII) peut représenter une réponse attrayante. Or, une meilleure compréhension de son développement permet de mieux saisir les enjeux de son institutionnalisation. La pratique de l’EII permet de systématiser la consultation des parties prenantes, mais varie en fonction des méthodes utilisées et des structures administratives en place. L’EII pourrait s’avérer un outil d’aide à la prise de décision permettant d’ajouter une composante d’intérêt public et de refléter davantage les valeurs publiques d’une situation décisionnelle.
This chapter addresses the main changes in the governance of public sector organizations by focusing on administrative reforms. The main finding is that there is a loose coupling between administrative doctrines and actual changes. There is no convergence to one European reform trend. A special focus is on contribution of EGPA-related research on the governance of public sector organizations. A core argument is that the reform process has been a combination of robustness and flexibility producing hybrid organizational forms that combine Old Public Administration, New Public Management (NPM), and post-NPM reforms. A major future challenge is to get more reliable comparative data over time and across countries about the effects of different administrative reforms.
The combined challenges of growing inequality, crisis of the political parties system and globalization are generating problems of legitimacy for our democracies. The answer cannot be less democracy but better democracy. What could be the role of Public Administration (PA) in improving the quality of our democracies? This is the question we are trying to answer in this article. To do that, we have to begin defining and operationalizing the concept of democratic quality. Here too, it will be necessary to justify the legitimacy of PA to pursue the constitutional and legal values defined for it. Finally, once defined the values that PA must pursue and implement in a democracy (fairness, transparency, accountability, effectiveness, participation and equity), we will proceed to specify the instruments to work with. We will conclude linking such tools and values with the key variables of democratic quality, verifying their coherence and compatibility.
The chapter examines perceptions of reform processes, reform trends and reform content, comparing the Nordic countries to other European countries as well as looking at variations within the Nordic group. In general, management reforms in the Nordic countries were emphasized more than marketization, although NPM reforms were less important than post-NPM reforms. Reform processes were less driven by politicians, more planned, less contested, and characterized by more public involvement. On the whole, the reform trends were supplementary rather than alternative. The analysis shows that there were significant differences between the Nordic group and other groups of European countries, but also that there were considerable differences within the group of Nordic countries, giving evidence for the importance of administrative traditions and situational factors.
The combined challenges of growing inequality, crisis of the political parties system and globalization are generating problems of legitimacy for our democracies. The answer cannot be less democracy but better democracy. What could be the role of Public Administration (PA) in improving the quality of our democracies? This is the question we are trying to answer in this article. To do that, we have to begin defining and operationalizing the concept of democratic quality. Here too, it will be necessary to justify the legitimacy of PA to pursue the constitutional and legal values defined for it. Finally, once defined the values that PA must pursue and implement in a democracy (fairness, transparency, accountability, effectiveness, participation and equity), we will proceed to specify the instruments to work with. We will conclude linking such tools and values with the key variables of democratic quality, verifying their coherence and compatibility.
In the administrative state of the 20th century, career civil servants have come to occupy a role that far surpasses that of their predecessors and that has resulted in increased attention for the relation between political and administrative actors at institutional (i.e. political-administrative system) and actor levels (i.e. political-administrative relations). In its design the project on Civil Service Systems in Comparative Perspective (CSSCP) included attention for the role and position of politics and of politicians in relation to administrative reform. Given the primacy of politics and the practice of administrative authority (Raadschelders and Stillman, 2007), we must consider the extent to which administrative and civil service reforms require attention for reform of (elements of) the political system.
The subject of this study is the waves of reform having happened to the middle, territorial level of Hungarian state administration since the transition.
The ambitions of this study are the following:
1) Firstly, I wish to fill an important gap in available Hungarian as well as English language literature by giving a descriptive account of developments of the Hungarian middle/territorial level of administration in the post-1990 period from a coordination perspective.
2) My second ambition is to explore the roots of the controversial relationship between reform goals and their results, thereby adding an important element to the peculiar mosaic picture of how the problems of governmental coordination are understood and managed in Hungary, and the important ways in which this understanding differs from, and possibly defies being fully grasped by, the mainstream concepts of coordination and coordination instruments.
3) The third ambition focuses on the influence of political and normative ambiguity and informational uncertainty on the means of coordination and the viability of different coordination mechanism. Many researchers have already investigated the relationship between the uncertainty surrounds around the organizations and in relation the use of various type of coordination mechanism. This study attempts to capture the ambiguity and uncertainty influences on public administration in terms of problems and solutions of coordination and viability of different coordination mechanisms.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.