Current Governance Structures Research Articles

Local Governments’ Roles as Connectors of Healthy Communities and Governance of Place ( breakout presentation )

Background With opportunities to walk having been significantly diminished in many cities over the last fifty-plus years, developed societies in particular are leading increasingly sedentary lifestyles and witnessing firsthand the consequential health impacts. Therefore, a strong case exists for urban planning initiatives that address community health concerns and reduce non-communicable diseases. Aims This paper’s aims are twofold: To examine current governance structures in terms of provision of walkable (healthy) communities in Australia and elsewhere as a response to the above community health considerations; and secondly to further delve into how this role can be fostered as the centrepiece or meeting point of “grassroots and government” to create more walkable localities and healthier communities. This is likely to be of interest to health and built environment professionals, and also to community members interested in advocacy roles. Method The current state of play in Australia regarding walkability and health is examined, and using a socio-ecological framework examines the Australian urban governance model against a global context, briefly comparing it to some North American and European cases. Data from surveys and interviews undertaken with built environment practitioners and healthy urban design and planning advocates are then presented through a multiple streams lens, focusing on local scale governance and initiatives, and community health and walkability. Results This paper identifies Australian local governments as being at a critical crossroads between “grassroots and government” where considerations of walkability and community health are concerned. While higher levels of governance act as important enablers to community health promotion, local governments remain significant ‘place shapers’ and stakeholders of built environments. However the current Australian situation can be seen to create disparities in walkable areas (and health) spatially. Nevertheless, the identification of this presents opportunities for a true connection of grassroots and governance, with place-based, walkable solutions the ultimate (and achievable) target. Conclusion Local government currently plays a significant role in community health in Australia. However, this paper argues that as the intersection between community and government, the role of local government can provide even greater community health benefits, including through improved planning and provision of walkable places.

The AAPM should significantly revise its current governance structure.

For the past twenty years the AAPM has been actively considering ways to reduce the size of its Board of Directors, which now has reached a grand total of 49 members. Reduction in Board size is about to be put to members this Fall as part of a vote to “modernize” AAPM's organizational structure. Some believe that these changes are unnecessary and will do more harm than good, and this is the claim debated in this month's Point/Counterpoint. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Policy, practice, and partnerships for climate change adaptation on US national forests

Climate change presents a challenge to land management agencies tasked with managing landscapes to protect natural resources and provide key goods and services in the face of ecological change, complexity, and uncertainty. Land management agencies, like the U.S. Forest Service, have developed multi-faceted strategies that utilize concepts like resilience and ecological integrity to guide adaptation. To address an extant research need, we conducted a qualitative case study, consisting of interviews with Forest Service staff in the Rocky Mountain Region, to explore how local federal land managers approach adaptation. Our goals were to understand what impacts managers are finding salient, perceptions of current agency strategies, and aspects of policy and practice that support effective adaptation planning. Interview participants anticipate impacts to disturbance regimes, wildlife species, and human uses. Participants intend to draw on agency policies, like its climate change scorecard and its land management planning regulations. However, the participants note that ambiguous concepts, uncertainty, and institutional variables make adaptation planning challenging in practice. A major theme apparent in the interviews was the use of partnerships with a range of other entities to address climate change. Ambiguity associated with concepts like resilience and ecological integrity allow them to function as boundary concepts; however, this ambiguity makes it challenging for managers to operationalize these concepts. These findings revealed that climate change adaptation is leading to and revealing the need for broader governance change. Moving forward, it will be crucial to adjust current governance structures to support long-term partnerships adept at translating scientific knowledge into actions and implementing complex boundary concepts.

Big Law, Big Data

The adoption of European norms has led to a high degree of legal and policy convergence. However, national laws remain divergent in many ways, and the assessment of discrepancies is becoming increasingly problematic because of the growing volumes of legislation. So far, comparative law has been the go-to solution for investigating similarities and differences between Member States as a result of harmonization policies. However, the vast complexity of current multilevel governance structures and their policies challenges the usefulness of classical comparative law as a method of investigation for such meta-issues. This article holds that comparative law can be considered Big Data and investigated as such. In other words, more complex and voluminous law and legal interpretations can be either coded into more quantitative observations on the basis of the premises of numerical comparative law, or, alternatively, they can be analysed with the help of new research technologies.

Transformational Change and Regime Shifts in the Circumpolar Arctic

The Arctic is changing rapidly, and there are many indications that the region is in the midst of transformational change. While some of the focus relates to impacts of climate change, rapid economic development and the potential for shifts in political and social structures in the region have also been in the limelight. This article looks at the circumpolar Arctic as a potential case of aregime shift in a large-scale social–ecological system that includes reinforcing feedbacks. A special focus is placed on governance structures, as these play an important role in social negotiations on the relationship between societies and the environment. While climate change is often portrayed as a driver of social change in the Arctic, it does not appear that the ongoing changes in the biophysical features of the Arctic region have rocked current circumpolar governance structures out of kilter. On the contrary, the ongoing climate-related changes, in particular sea ice decline, appear to have reinforced political commitment to existing legal structures. Major past social regime shifts have mainly been related to access to resources and national identity ideology, withpolitical dynamics reinforced at times by military security considerations.(Published: November 2016)Citation: A.E. Nilsson and T. Koivurova. ‘‘Transformational Change and Regime Shifts in the Circumpolar Arctic.’’ Arctic Review on Law and Politics, Vol. 7, No. 2, 2016, pp. 179–195. http://dx.doi.org/10.17585/arctic.v7.532

Human centred science and technology—transdisciplinary foresight and co-creation as tools for active needs-based innovation governance

Current governance structures are increasingly showing inability to address complex issues such as the Grand Challenges. Dealing with these highly interrelated, cross cutting, extensive and potentially open ended issues requires research, development and innovation to be oriented towards societal needs and demands. Here, developing and applying sustainable long term strategies for socio-technical change on the basis of socially robust knowledge seems inevitable and using the tools of anticipatory governance—forward looking and participation—is essential in order to govern innovation actively and responsibly. Yet, expert-based forward looking has its limits, especially when considering long term perspectives, and may fail to include all necessary opinions. Thus, stakeholder engagement has become a norm over the last decades, but including laypeople into forward looking science, technology and innovation (STI) governance is underexplored. Here, strategy and policy programme development may be well suited to function as early entry point for public needs and values into the innovation process. This paper will briefly review the theoretical basis for transdisciplinary forward looking and provide first insights into an ongoing highly deliberative and reflexive foresight and co-creation process engaging science, society and policy makers, CIMULACT—Citizen and Multi-Actor Consultation on Horizon2020. We will especially focus on the role of technology within a collective visioning exercise that allowed for shared explorations of desirable futures, thereby collecting tacit knowledge as well as social needs and values. Integrating these with stakeholders’ and experts’ knowledge serves for co-creating socially robust knowledge for orienting policy and strategy programming towards needs based science, technology and innovation.

Leadership and governance in higher education 2025: can Malaysian universities meet the challenge?

Purpose The purpose of this report is to present the findings of a five-day course for AKEPT – the Malaysian Leadership Academy in the Ministry of Higher Education. The course was held from March 24-28th, 2014, for over 50 lecturers, professors, deputy deans and deans from Malaysian universities. Design/methodology/approach Senior lecturers and professors deliberated for the first three days on the futures of higher education in Malaysia. They presented their scenarios and recommendations to the deans. The deans used these findings to articulate their own preferred futures in the last two days. The future-oriented discussions were framed by the “six pillars” futures approach (Inayatullah, 2008; Inayatullah, 2015; Inayatullah and Milojevic, 2015). Findings The core of their recommendation consisted of a move by 2025 from the current fragmented university governance structure to a streamlined consortium model. Instead of the factory, a collection of linked longhouses or “rumah panjang” was offered as a way forward. This new model would have two immediate benefits: considerable cost savings and enhanced mobility for students and professors. Research limitations/implications This case study presents scenarios and strategies. Limitations include the willingness of the Ministry to act on these recommendations. However, as this course was part of a number of foresight processes in Malaysia, even if these particular recommendations do not realize, they are steps in creating an ecology of foresight and of possible university transformation. Practical implications This study links causal layered analysis, scenarios and visions to recommendations in the context of a multi-year foresight process. Social implications The study includes valuable discussions by leading Malaysian thinkers and administrators on the futures of the university. Originality/value This was one of the few workshop-oriented interventions used the anticipatory action learning “six pillars framework”. It is especially valuable as it is the third year of futures intervention in higher education. The study contrasts with traditional expert-based forecasting in Asia.

Tetty Havinga, Frans van Waarden, Donal Casey (Eds.): The changing landscape of food governance: Public and private encounters

The Changing Landscape of Food Governance: Public and Private Encounters is an interdisciplinary book, edited by three scholars with expertise in law examining the recent transformation of food governance. Food and agricultural policy and regulation were traditionally dominated by the state. Although in recent decades, private corporate actors and civil society organizations have become involved, creating private and hybrid public–private food governance arrangements. This volume is a good survey of the current food governance landscape. Editors Havinga, van Waarden, and Casey have divided the book into four sections examining broad issues in regulatory governance. Section 1 introduces current changes in food governance and regulation, setting the stage for the remainder of the volume. The first chapter identifies reasons for the transition from traditional food governance to transnational, global governance involving both private and hybrid structures. In Chapter 2, Havinga argues that scholars must acknowledge the complexity of current governance structures, or risk oversimplifying and overlooking relationships between state and non-state actors and new patterns in power. The state continues to be an active player in food regulation despite the rise in private actor involvement. Thus, the second part of the book explores public responses to food safety challenges. In Chapter 3, Abels and Kobusch examine institutional food safety differences among Austria, Sweden, and Hungary. These differences are based on the integration of risk assessment and risk management within a country’s policy institutions, influenced by the European Union (EU) and national historical traditions. Enticott and Lee proceed with exploring diseased animal compensation policies in the UK, finding inconsistently applied frameworks that continue to create confusion, and undermine policy goals for a safer food system. The next two chapters discuss China’s new food safety regime by looking at state actors. Collins and Gottwald examine the transition of the regime in recent years, finding contention between national and local authorities in charge of food safety, which is problematic due to reliance on local authorities for enforcement. As such in Chapter 6, Burns, Li, and Wang focus on local quality control officers. The authors find that under current policies, local authorities are incentivized to encourage high economic growth for a reward of promotion, opposing their task of ensuring compliance with safety standards often seen as slowing economic growth. Part 3 examines new forms of private food governance. Oosterveer begins by discussing changes in legitimacy and authority as a result of private food governance. Using two theories, Sassen’s assemblages and Rosenau’s bifurcation, he shows how authority and legitimacy are changing from shifts in food governance under two global standards (GlobalGAP and the Marine Stewardship Council). In order to achieve legitimacy and authority, governance must be effective as discussed by Kalfagianni and Fuchs in Chapter 9. In the area of sustainability, private standards must be stringent in order to be effective. This depends on many internal factors such as the structure of the group designing standards as well as external pressures like NGOs. The next two chapters discuss specific private standards. Casarosa and Gobbato analyze different networks of wine producers and the development of food quality standards in the wine industry. The dynamics of & Margaret Bancerz mbancerz@ryerson.ca

Who is Governing the Commons: Studying Swedish Housing Cooperatives

This study examines current governance structures related to multifamily buildings designed by single actors (developers) and operated in cooperative forms. The study analyses the long-term sustainability of the resource regime of study (multifamily buildings) and inked governance structures by applying Ostrom’s eight design principles for long-term survival of self-organized resource regimes (Common-pool resources or CPR’s). The study also searches for signs of movement towards social innovation and collective action in current governance structures. We argue that the structures governing planning, production and operation of housing cooperatives in Sweden do not fulfil the eight design principles for the long-term survival of the resource regime of study, nor do they encourage movement towards social innovation or collective action. In order to ensure the long-term survival of the resource regime of study and to increase innovation in governance structures, five adjustments are proposed; changes in the structures governing risk/profit distribution, communication, collaboration and information between actors in the Swedish cooperative housing sector.

Institutional challenges for policy-making and fisheries advice to move to a full EAFM approach within the current governance structures for marine policies

The European Union is aiming to implement an Ecosystem Approach for the management of all human activities in the marine environment, hereunder the fisheries sector. Since the last reform of the Common Fisheries Policy in 2013, several analyses have highlighted the barriers and challenges to this aim. Despite the claim that much of the framework to support the implementation of an EAFM in Europe is in place, the findings point out to deterrent features within the governance system. Beyond the overall policy framework, this paper explores the implementation of the multiannual multispecies management plans as one of the real moves towards Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management. This is carried out on the basis of two case studies that address the design of multiannual multispecies management plans for the Baltic Sea and for the Atlantic Pelagic fisheries. The analyses strengthen with empirical evidences our understanding of the challenges ahead including, among others, an institutional gap between fisheries and environmental policy frameworks resulting in a limited integration of broader environmental concerns in one of the proposed plan and the standoff between decision-makers that delays the adoption and use of proposed management plans and creates frustration for the involved agencies.

Comment: Towards a Viable Local Government Structure in Nigeria: Overview of US and German Local Government Systems

Local governments are principally established for development at the grassroots and they must be structured in a manner that makes them viable and capable of achieving this purpose. The objective of this comment is to appraise the current local government structure under the Nigerian constitutional framework with a view to evolving a more viable structure that will lead to better service delivery at the local level. Comparative reference is made to the local government systems in the United States of America (USA) and Germany so that good practices can be compared with the Nigerian System. The comment suggests a system that will be in tune with the Nigerian local milieu.Key terms: Local government, local administration, one-tier model, two-tier model, hybrid structure, Nigeria

Whereto with institutions and governance challenges in African wildlife conservation?

African wildlife conservation has been transformed, shifting from a traditional, state-managed government approach to a broader governance approach with a wide range of actors designing and implementing wildlife policy. The most widely popularized approach has been that of community-managed nature conservancies. The knowledge of how institutions function in relation to humans and their use of the environment is critical to the design and implementation of effective conservation. This paper seeks to review the institutional and governance challenges faced in wildlife conservation in southern and eastern Africa. We discuss two different sets of challenges related to the shift in conservation practices: the practical implementation of wildlife governance, and the capacity of current governance structures to capture and distribute economic benefits from wildlife. To some extent, the issues raised by the new policies must be resolved through theoretical and empirical research addressed at wildlife conservation per se. However, many of these issues apply more broadly to a wide range of policy arenas and countries where similar policy shifts have taken place.

Designing for public sector innovation in the UK: design strategies for paradigm shifts

Purpose – The aim of this work is to provide an initial picture of how some design agencies are contributing toward a paradigm shift and how they are developing in the future to better inform design policies and interdisciplinary work. There is a general agreement that the current government and public sector structure and modes of operation need radical transformation. In this scenario, a shift from New Public Management towards New Public Governance paradigm has been auspicated. Design has attracted attention as a potential approach to support this transformation, but research into Service Design, as well as discussions on its future development, for public sector innovation is limited. This paper is an exploratory study into the individual work of seven representative UK design agencies operating for and within the public sector. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews literature on public sector reform and innovation to inform comparative studies of contemporary design agencies working for public sector reform. Interviews with seven designers from NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement, Participle, Innovation Unit, Uscreates, Collaborative Change, Futuregov and Snook are conducted to review their perceived role for public sector reform, their design approaches, exemplar projects and main challenges. Findings – Emerging design strategies for Public Sector reform are: a collaborative design approach that considers all stakeholders as equal co-creators of public value; operating at different complementary levels to aim at systemic change; designing from the inside out (innovation culture) and outside in (market change). These different strategies imply the development of possible different business models. Existing creative tensions appear between embedding and outsourcing strategies, acting as facilitators vs designers, developing both designing and service delivery roles. Research limitations/implications – This paper is based on a limited sample of design agencies, and it is not a systematic study into the impact of their design work, which should be the object of a following study. Practical implications – This paper brings Service Design practice into public sector innovation debate to inform future interdisciplinary research and innovation policies. It positions existing design innovation strategies within the wider picture of public sector reform to support a more informed design practice. Originality/value – Few studies have looked at the UK design agencies for public sector innovation and discussed their possible future developments. This paper provides an original and holistic description of design for public sector innovation with considerations on how it should be interpreted when developing supporting innovation and design policies.

Effective mussel-farming governance in Greece: Testing the guidelines through models, to evaluate sustainable management alternatives

The last twenty five years multiple management issues concerning the suspended farming of filter feeding bivalves in Greece have emerged from the deficient implementation of different legislation regimes, that, on their own account, have been proven insufficient. Specifically, regarding the planning and management of cultivation areas, multiple alternatives have been proposed through the years, with some still being under consideration. Yet most of them were selected based on purely spatial criteria and none has been thoroughly investigated, regarding the system's carrying capacity. As the current governance structure, in combination with the previous and current legal framework, seems unable to solve the existing problems, a question arises: are the “legal” solutions the optimum –or even among the best-regarding the environmental and socio-economic sustainability of the coastal aquaculture in the areas under consideration? In this paper we attempt a discussion between science and management, regarding the 3 main mussel-farming areas of Thermaikos gulf, Greece: Chalastra, Imathia and Pieria. The tools that were designed in the context of integration between science and policy are used in order to investigate the appropriate structure and flexibility of the legal framework controlling the activity and the governance level in which this control should take place. Previous and ongoing research results from combined management models, implemented or developed, for the mussel-farming areas of Thermaikos gulf are the starting point of this discussion. The goal is to detect “weak spots” of the current legal framework and to investigate if and how scientific management tools can assist in the development of more flexible, yet more effective environmental legislation.

Governance strategies for responding to alarming studies on the safety of GM crops

Alarming studies about the safety of genetically modified organisms have been appearing since the first genetically modified (GM) crops were authorised for market release. The debates about these studies have a recurring pattern with similar players, arguments and strategies. More importantly, they are open-ended because those involved cannot agree on the significance and value of these studies or the consequences that should be attached to them. The roots of these disagreements lie deeper and connect to different views on science, society, nature and food production. Usually, governments respond in a procedural manner by referring the study to their scientific advisory bodies. Thus far, they conclude that there is no reason to revoke or postpone GM crops authorisations. However, the debate continues with undiminished vigour. The current response strategies to alarming studies seem to actually worsen the status quo in the GM debate because the underlying disagreements are not addressed. Starting from the current governance structure, we investigate how European governments responded to alarming studies in the past and look into the consequences of these strategies on the course of the debate in order to identify lessons and pointers for the future.

Evolving hunting practices in Gabon: lessons for community-based conservation interventions

Walters, G., J. Schleicher, O. Hymas, and L. Coad. 2015. Evolving hunting practices in Gabon: lessons for community-based conservation interventions. Ecology and Society 20(4):31.http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-08047-200431

Restructuring First Nations Health Governance: A Multilevel Solution to a Multifaceted Problem

This paper investigates current health governance structures as a contributing factor to the disproportionate burden of ill-health and inequitable health service delivery experienced by First Nations communities. A review of the contemporary and historical context sets the stage for the analysis, outlining health status, social determinants of health and the policy framework within which health inequities are situated. The paper proceeds with a critical analysis of power imbalances perpetuated within Canada’s health care system in the form of barriers such as inadequate health services, fragmented governance, jurisdictional gaps and lack of government accountability. The discussion explores selfdetermination as a means of empowering First Nations communities to take control of the design, delivery and evaluation of health care services and ultimately, reclaim control of their health and wellbeing. Four models of self-government are evaluated to highlight several key features of a sustainable framework, including: recognition of autonomy, a voluntary process, an opt-in/opt-out provision, protection by legislation and the support of a fiduciary relationship with the State. Finally, a multilevel mosaic model of self-government is proposed as a pragmatic framework that is adaptable to the varying needs and capacities of First Nations communities.

A ‘healthy’ future? Supporters’ perceptions of the current state of English football

Over the last few years, clear public policy support in favour of fan engagement in the governance of football has developed. This is based on the assumption that supporters are dissatisfied with the current governance structures within the sport. There is, however, no robust academic evidence of whether this is indeed the case. This article aims to contribute to the debate by presenting data from qualitative fieldwork with 21 football supporters during March–May 2013. Each participant created a photograph album over an eight-week period, and was then interviewed individually to elicit the meaning of their photographs and diaries. This group of fans used their photographs to express dissatisfaction with several aspects of current football governance, highlighting issues with the financial, physical and social health of the sport. We suggest a number of implications of this, both for the fans and for the future state of the game.

Corporate governance of Islamic banks

Purpose – This paper aims to understand the current governance practices and governance structure of Islamic banks (IBs) in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Southeast Asia countries with the purpose of providing relevant information in guiding the future development of the governance system for IBs. As well, the paper discusses and compares the state of the governance system in GCC countries (Kuwait, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia) and Southeast Asia countries (Malaysia and Indonesia). Design/methodology/approach – The study utilizes descriptive analysis approach in extracting and analyzing data collected for 83 IBs observed for the period 2002-2011. The authors test for differences in means and medians of corporate governance attributes between a sample of IBs in GCC countries and another one for Southeast Asia countries. They use selected variables of corporate governance of different governance structures, namely, the ownership structure, the board of directors, the Shariah board and the CEO attributes. Findings – The paper findings argue that there are significant differences and divergence of corporate governance structure of IBs in GCC countries and those in Southeast Asia countries. This position acknowledges that there are shortcomings to the existing governance framework for IBs which needs further improvement and standardization. Practical implications – The paper is a very useful source of information that may provide relevant guidelines in guiding the future development of corporate governance of IBs. As well, the paper provides relevant guidelines for improving regulations and laws covering the governance of IBs. Originality/value – This paper provides fresh data and recent information on the actual corporate governance system in IBs in GCC and Southeast Asia countries. As well, the paper discusses a significant shortage in corporate governance literature of Islamic finance.

Scales of Disconnection: Mismatches Shaping the Geographies of Emerging Energy Landscapes

Abstract The networked nature of energy systems produces geographies of connection, but the focus of this paper is on geographies of disconnection, exploring the multi-scalar processes which shape the context in which energy landscapes emerge. It does so, first, by presenting a case study of farmers' attitudes to perennial energy crops in south-west Scotland. Their strong antipathy to converting farmland to short-rotation coppice, and the reasons for their negative attitudes, exemplify some of the wider mismatches and disconnects which the paper goes on to discuss. These include socio-political and socio-cultural mismatches, and a range of essentially geographical disconnects which are scalar in nature, such as the familiar local-global tension and the mismatch between the scales (both temporal and spatial) at which environmental and human systems organise and function. The discussion shows how these disjunctions not only affect energy geographies but also raise far-reaching questions about the ability of current governance structures and liberal democratic systems to respond swiftly and effectively to global challenges. The way that these mismatches are negotiated will mould both the character of future energy landscapes and the speed at which they take shape.