Decentralized Planning System Research Articles

Journalism Education and Sustainable Journalism in Ghana

ABSTRACT Despite a decentralised planning system for a multi-stakeholder approach in implementing the SDGs and numerous efforts towards attaining Agenda 2030, Ghana's progress is not at the rate required to achieve the SDGs targets by 2030. One of the reasons for slow progress is because less consideration is given to the role of professional journalism in sustainable development. This study is on the premise that education in sustainable journalism is central to attaining Agenda 2030. As a result, it seeks to investigate how journalism education in Ghana equips students with education for sustainable journalism. Using a qualitative approach and case study design, multiple methods (document analysis, FGD and interviews) are used to gather data to establish how sustainable journalism is integrated into the Ghanaian journalism curriculum. Thematic analysis of data through the lens of the curriculum framework for SDGs established that, to an extent, sustainable journalism is part of the curriculum even though it is not expressly taught as a stand-alone course. Therefore, there was unanimous support for the modification and inclusion of sustainable journalism into the existing curriculum.

Institutionalising local economic development practice in Ghana

In recent times, the term ‘local economic development’ has been conceptualised and introduced as a bottom-up participatory development strategy in Ghana. It is intended to be implemented at the district level to facilitate the revitalisation of the local economy and create jobs for local residents. Using in-depth interviews and the analysis of relevant policy documents, this paper evaluates efforts aimed at institutionalising the practice in local institutional frameworks and development planning practice in the country. The paper found out that processes aimed at institutionalising contemporary local economic development practice in Ghana are not making any meaningful impact. Institutional frameworks such as the structuring of development policymaking and planning in the country are still rigid and promote bureaucratic top-down development decision-making processes. Similarly, the promotion of a meaningful bottom-up decentralised planning system is only a well-packaged talk by policymakers in the country. Evidence shows that there is a clear lack of political will to implement reforms, particularly the new decentralisation policy that seeks to make District Assemblies in Ghana responsive to local economic development promotion. There is the need for a conscious effort towards making local economic development practice matter in national and local development endeavour in Ghana.

Bringing Institutional Economics to Bear in Understanding Ghana’s Performance on Multi-Stakeholder Interventions

Existing literature on Ghana’s performance on the decentralized planning system hardly explores the role of individual rationality and organizational rationality in explaining performance on development efforts. This article examines whether the proposition of the New Institutional Economics (NIE) that decisions that individuals make constitute trans-actions in which costs and debts are incurred has a bearing on the performance of institutions involved in endogenous development processes at the local level. The case study methodology was employed using two purposively selected water supply schemes in Ghana. In-depth interviews and questionnaires were used to collect primary data. Secondary data was obtained from project reports. The findings indicated that even during the pursuit of an endogenous development strategy at the local level, the performance of the local stakeholders was determined by the state of intra-stakeholder structures. This in turn, was a sum of the decisions and actions of the individual members of the entities that were the main actors (i.e. the stakeholders). The NIE’s proposition that trans-action cost is key basis for individuals’ decisions and action was clearly evident in the decisions and actions of individuals (i.e. staff of the main actors), but it also was evident in the decisions and actions of the main actors (the entities that were the stakeholders). The study recommends that key development actors and the Ministry of Water Resources Works and Housing devote more attention to researching into how internal organizational conditions affect and shape the performance of stakeholders on the systems and how the existing intra and inter-stakeholder mechanisms can be improved to foster the success of development efforts at the local level.

Land Governance and Decentralised Physical Planning in mid-Sized Cities in Ghana: a Case Study of the Nkoranza South Municipality

Physical planning is influenced by a number of variables. The key among these in the Ghanaian context is the system of land governance. This paper attempts to examine the extent to which the decentralised planning system of Ghana is capable of addressing the challenges facing mid-sized cities, particularly under the reformed land governance system. This is important because physical planning in Ghana is organised under a system whereby land is governed and/or owned by authorities other than the state apparatus. Two key questions are the basis for this enquiry–how is physical planning in Ghana conceived and actually executed? What are the characteristics of the reformed land governance system of Ghana and how have these affected decentralised physical planning and spatial governance? A case study approach which enables a detailed and holistic analysis of the phenomenon was used to investigate physical planning practice in a selected mid-sized city in Ghana. The study establishes that physical planning in Ghana is not driven by long-term sustainable development visions; there is the absence of planning concepts, principles and norms; and there is no clear land use regulator. The study recommends that the local government bodies in Ghana take up their responsibility as land use regulators by improving the capacity of their physical planning departments to deliver on their mandate. It is also recommended that physical planning be conducted in a participatory manner within the framework of the National Development Planning (Systems) Act 1994 (Act 480). It is argued that this will imply a move away from “zoning and rezoning” to strategic spatial planning.

Innovative approach to decentralized planning for backward area development in India

The allocation of appropriate funds for any development sector is a major issue in which the three levels of rural development are involved, namely the Panchayats, its block and district. There is a huge disparity between the funds proposed under a bottom-up decentralized planning system from the Panchayat and block levels and the top-down release of funds from the district. The targeted beneficiaries are totally unaware of the development goals and their priorities for fund utilization. Besides, there is a major gap in the sector-wise planning for funds and the scheme-wise release of funds due to a lack of clarity on sector-wise allocation of funds involving various schemes. Further, there are various government agencies to actuate the development mostly under the influence of vested interest groups. India as a country is largely rural, out of which a significant area is still backward. For India to improve its development indices of health, education and livelihood, there have to be some innovative approaches that can provide effective objective functions based decentralized planning model for backward area development. The five-year plans of India henceforth have to be more meaningful in terms of priority based backward areas development. Key words: Decentralized planning, objective functions and planning model.

English

The allocation of appropriate funds for any development sector is a major issue in which the three levels of rural development are involved, namely the Panchayats, its block and district. There is a huge disparity between the funds proposed under a bottom-up decentralized planning system from the Panchayat and block levels and the top-down release of funds from the district. The targeted beneficiaries are totally unaware of the development goals and their priorities for fund utilization. Besides, there is a major gap in the sector-wise planning for funds and the scheme-wise release of funds due to a lack of clarity on sector-wise allocation of funds involving various schemes. Further, there are various government agencies to actuate the development mostly under the influence of vested interest groups. India as a country is largely rural, out of which a significant area is still backward. For India to improve its development indices of health, education and livelihood, there have to be some innovative approaches that can provide effective objective functions based decentralized planning model for backward area development. The five-year plans of India henceforth have to be more meaningful in terms of priority based backward areas development.   Key words: Decentralized planning, objective functions and planning model.

Housing production under less-regulated market conditions in Turkey

In recent years, the numbers of annual housing starts in Turkey have greatly exceeded the increases in the number of households. Such high levels of housing output occur under less-regulated and highly competitive market conditions, and when conventional housing policies associated with a welfare state are not introduced. In addition, the decentralized planning system and the potential for profit through housing investments when compared to most other sectors appear to have been instrumental in the high levels of supply. However, in addition to the affordability problem for moderate-to-lower income households, an important outcome of increasing dependence on the less-regulated market is the great variation in housing starts among the provinces of Turkey. In this paper, the results of a research that was undertaken in eight provinces to investigate this phenomenon are also presented, from which it can be understood that the level of housing starts is related positively to the number of plots with planning permission that are supplied in urban areas, and the way in which they are brought to the market.

Managing Plan Implementation in the Asante Akyem South District Assembly: Capacity Issues and Challenges

After years of implementation of the new decentralised planning system in Ghana, problems of plan implementation still persist. This paper uses a case study approach to appraise the capacity of the Asante Akyem South District Assembly (AASDA) in managing the implementation of its development plans. Using questionnaires and Organisational Capacity Assessment Tool (OCAT), the paper examines the capacity of the district assembly to implement its plans in six areas. The extent of implementation of a medium term development plan (2002-2005) was also reviewed. Finally the paper draws on the capacity situation of the district assembly and concludes that the assembly requires capacity upgrading to leverage its full potential in grassroots development. Keywords: Capacity, Plan Implementation, Management, District Assemblies

The Network Approach: Dutch Spatial Planning between Substratum and Infrastructure Networks

This paper investigates the substratum and infrastructure networks as relevant components of spatial planning. Since 2001, in Dutch government documents on spatial planning the Layers Approach has been presented, with three layers: substratum; networks; occupation patterns. The Layers Approach assumes that the characteristics of the substratum provide conditions for infrastructure networks and that these infrastructure networks then condition the occupation patterns, including the locations for housing, business activities and related services. These more or less hierarchical relationships are supposed to produce clear ground rules for the spatial planner. The Layers Approach seems to offer a robust methodology for spatial planning. This contribution presents the background of the Layers Approach, adds some critical notes and proposes an amendment: the Network Approach, connecting different spatial scales. After the presentation of a typology of networks a preliminary overview of the dynamics of transport networks is given. The spatial relevance of information and communication technology (ICT) networks, that support transport networks, is discussed. Nodes are presented as links between infrastructure networks and occupation patterns. The paper concludes that actors, dealing with regional spatial plans in a decentralized planning system, have to acquire an in-depth knowledge of the technology, economy and governance of current networks and the qualities of the substratum, which form a conditioning and stimulating framework for the spatial planning of urban and regional areas.

Regional planning reform in Indonesia

The government of Indonesia is once again attempting to create a more decentralised regional development planning system. There have been many reform efforts over the last decade, but all have been compromised by patrimonial tendencies. In the post-Soeharto decentralisation reforms, begun in 1999, the building blocks of functional assignment and finance are finally being put in place, and upon these a truly decentralised planning system could conceivably be fashioned. This decentralisation framework has some flaws, but it is a significant departure from past centralised arrangements. However, the planning component is still conceptually weak and in disarray, caught in the same interagency wrangles that marked the New Order period. Ultimately, the persistently patrimonial bureaucracy may see the planning system as a tool that may be used to regain some of the control given away in the overall decentralisation framework. Progress on a decentralised planning system is also threatened by the possible misuse o...

Epidemiological measures in planning: observations from Sweden.

This article reviews how epidemiological measures can be used in health planning. Theoretical considerations are discussed together with empirical data from Sweden. Formulation of targets, priority settings, resource allocation and monitoring systems are some ways in which epidemiological data can improve health planning. One important lesson for planning is that problems related to health, inequalities in health, and access to care, must be made visible to politicians, health personnel and the public. Further, there is a need to complement a national health policy with a decentralized planning system that takes local conditions and needs into consideration.

Small-scale growth centres in remote rural regions: the case of Alpine Switzerland

Concern over the continuing interregional disparity in levels of development within Switzerland, where the relative growth of the larger urban settlements contrasts sharply with the backwardness of the rural periphery, has prompted the creation of a new investment fund to aid the mountain region. The fund is intended to operate through a new and highly decentralized planning system. A network of small-scale growth centres has been chosen as the major spatial component in development planning for the uplands. Analysis of socioeconomic change within an Alpine planning region for the period 1970–1980 indicates that, although the fund is important in terms of social welfare provision, it has not led to a relative improvement in the economic structure of the most remote areas. The reasons for these observations are discussed.