Intergovernmental Collaboration Research Articles

Biomass-Solar Energy: A Comprehensive Review of Sustainable Energy Generation

India is the world's most populous country and plays a crucial role in achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. SDG No. 7 (affordable and clean energy) and climate change reduction goals are essential for sustainable development. This review discusses clean energy potential, obstacles and stimulants, and renewable energy policies in India, focusing on solar and biomass resources. With biomass resources, the nation can generate 130 million tonnes of oil equivalent annually, and it can generate 5,000 trillion kWh of solar energy annually. For the production of renewable energy, biomass resources such as Jatropha, sweet sorghum, cassava, rice, coconut, and agricultural leftovers can be employed. The purpose of this review is to highlight the benefits of using bioenergy to achieve a sustainable energy future through financial incentives, enhanced research, public awareness, social amenities, strategic replenishment, and productive intergovernmental collaborations. Solar thermal and photovoltaic systems offer great possibilities for grid-connected, off-grid, and hybrid installations. Site-specific considerations such as incentives, financing, research, public awareness, government regulations, and private investments influence the techno-economic viability and environmental relevance of solar power and bioenergy for India's sustainable development.

Source apportionment of PM2.5 using DN-PMF in three megacities in South Korea

AbstractPM2.5 pollution is problematic in megacities on the western coast in South Korea (Seoul, Incheon, and Gwangju). As these megacities are located downwind of China, their air quality is easily affected by local and long-range transport sources. PM2.5 samples collected in Seoul (n = 222), Incheon (n = 221), and Gwangju (n = 224) from September 2020 to March 2022, were chemically characterized. Dispersion normalized positive matrix factorization was applied to these PM2.5 speciated data to provide source apportionments. Nine common sources (including secondary nitrate, secondary sulfate, biomass burning, mobile, and waste incinerator) were identified at all sites. The conditional bivariate probability function helped to identify each site’s local sources. Joint potential source contribution function analysis identified northeast China and Inner Mongolia as potential source areas of long-range transport pollutants affecting all sites. Forced lifestyle changes due to the pandemic such as limited gatherings while increased recreational activities may have caused different patterns on the biomass burning source. The constraints on old vehicles during the policy implementation periods likely reduced the mobile source contributions in cities that adopted the policy. Secondary nitrate accounted for 40% of the PM2.5 mass at all sites, implying a significant impact from NOX sources. While the current policy focuses primarily on controlling primary emission sources, it should include secondary sources as well which may include precursor emissions control. Healthier air quality would be achieved if the policy effects are not limited to local, but also to foreign sources in regions upwind of Korea by intergovernmental collaboration.

Combatting Relative Sea-Level Rise at a Global Scale: Presenting the International Panel on Land Subsidence (IPLS)

Land subsidence is increasingly recognized as a critical factor exacerbating relative sea-level rise (SLR), particularly affecting coastal cities and delta regions worldwide. Despite its significance, subsidence is often underrepresented in global SLR assessments. This manuscript introduces the formation of the International Panel on Land Subsidence (IPLS), which aims to unify scientific communities and global research efforts, improve monitoring, modeling, projections and mitigation strategies, and integrate subsidence with global SLR projections. We outline a roadmap for the IPLS to become a pivotal resource in global environmental policy, similar in scope to the IPCC. By fostering intergovernmental collaboration and standardizing responses, IPLS seeks to place land subsidence prominently on international agendas, provide mitigation strategies to reduce coastal land subsidence, and thereby relative SLR, and enhance the resilience of vulnerable coastal populations.

Elementary flow mapping across life cycle inventory data systems: A case study for data interoperability under the Global Life Cycle Assessment Data Access (GLAD) initiative

PurposeLimited availability of life cycle assessment (LCA) data poses a significant challenge to its mainstream adoption, rendering it a central issue within the LCA community. The Global LCA Data Access (GLAD) network aims to increase the accessibility and interoperability of LCA data and offers benefits for different use cases. GLAD is an intergovernmental collaboration involving different stakeholders organized into working groups. The GLAD Nomenclature Working Group (NWG) developed a procedure and a set of criteria to map elementary flows among major nomenclature systems and reviewed bidirectional mappings. This paper provides an overview of the methodological approach followed by the NWG to achieve the resulting mapping files.MethodsThe mapping procedure involves several steps of flow and compartment matches and bilateral review. The procedure is supported by an ad hoc software tool called the “GLAD Mapper Tool” developed with the NWG and which is made available for free by the European Commission. The input files for the procedure are the properly formatted source and target flow lists and a file containing the mapping criteria. The four nomenclature systems mapped are those used in ecoinvent, Environmental Footprint, IDEA, and the U.S. Federal LCA Commons. The procedure included representatives from each of these nomenclature systems to ensure a multilateral agreement on the approach to verifying and assessing the quality of the results. The iterative mapping process included different stages of bidirectional reviews to achieve a balance between mapping coverage (i.e., percentage of source flows covered by the target list) and accuracy.Results and discussionThe mapping procedure proved to be an efficient approach for LCA practitioners in mappings between different nomenclature systems. After a relatively low number of iterations, mapping coverages higher than 90% were achieved, which is driven by the availability of unique substances (flow names) and the granularity of environmental compartments. Overall, none of the four flow lists achieved full coverage and the use of approximated matches (proxy matches) for environmental compartments and/or substances was necessary when a perfect matches between flows were not possible.ConclusionsThe NWG’s mapping activities may serve as a starting point towards defining a central hub for mapping impact assessment methods and datasets, improving data accessibility and interoperability for the LCA community as a step towards defining a unified nomenclature system. The GLAD mapping approach is open and transparent. The approach fosters traceability in the mapping process and offers the potential for greater interoperability across the LCA community, underlining the commitment to openness and collaboration.

Utilisation of E-Government Services during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Exploring Efforts by the Government of Tanzania

This article attempts to examine the Tanzanian Government’s utilisation of e-government services during the Covid-19 pandemic. The methodological approach of the article is online content review due to the phenomenological nature of the unfolding pandemic. The review is based on the researcher’s observations and analysis of the e-government platforms leveraged in Covid-19 pandemic. The results indicate that e-government has been embraced significantly through the efforts done by the government to make citizens more informed about the pandemic and to promote use of e-services. E-government is presented as among the key tools for managing the spread of the pandemic. The article also paints government digital transformation as a huge opportunity provided by e-government during the pandemic and beyond. The article contributes to literature by presenting the significance of e-government to developing countries during crises including: government-wide online presence, quality information provision, G2C and G2G e-services, online engagement and social media presence. The review shows that collaboration and coordination among government entities are strategic techniques for an integrated and efficient digital government. Rightly so, the policy makers are recommended to strengthen inter-governmental collaboration and coordination in planning, developing, implementing and maintaining e-government services.

Overcoming intergovernmental data sharing challenges with federated learning

Abstract Intergovernmental collaboration is needed to address global problems. Modern solutions to these problems often include data-driven methods like artificial intelligence (AI), which require large amounts of data to perform well. As AI emerges as a central catalyst in deriving effective solutions for global problems, the infrastructure that supports its data needs becomes crucial. However, data sharing between governments is often constrained due to socio-technical barriers such as concerns over data privacy, data sovereignty issues, and the risks of information misuse. Federated learning (FL) presents a promising solution as a decentralized AI methodology, enabling the use of data from multiple silos without necessitating central aggregation. Instead of sharing raw data, governments can build their own models and just share the model parameters with a central server aggregating all parameters, resulting in a superior overall model. By conducting a structured literature review, we show how major intergovernmental data-sharing challenges listed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development can be overcome by utilizing FL. Furthermore, we provide a tangible resource implementing FL linked to the Ukrainian refugee crisis that can be utilized by researchers and policymakers alike who want to implement FL in cases where data cannot be shared. Enhanced AI while maintaining privacy through FL thus allows governments to collaboratively address global problems, positively impacting governments and citizens.

Waste management intervention to boost circular economy and mitigate climate change in cities of developing countries: The case of Brazil

Innovations in Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) can better connect circular economy (CE) and climate change (CC) since they have many trade-offs, especially in developing countries. Studies report the main barriers to innovation in MSWM that constrain a more circular economy (CE) and climate responses, but little is known about possible paths for innovation. Thus, this article aims to identify the main enablers of innovations in MSWM. Four municipalities in Brazil were selected because they presented highly innovative actions in the MSWM that reduced trade-offs between CE and CC. Based on an analysis of the economic, environmental, and operational performance of the four MSWM, we found reductions in Greenhouse Gases (GHG - CO2eq per inhabitant) of up to 90% and lower waste management costs per inhabitant compared to the national average. Four main enablers made the innovations possible to accelerate the transitions to a more circular and low-carbon economy in municipalities: local capacity, intergovernmental collaboration, MSWM with local partners, and environmental education that promotes social participation. This research contributed to developing a method to identify enablers at various system levels and propose technological approaches and practices that enable innovation in MSW management. Such measures can serve as a subsidy for circular disruption and as a basis for intervention in MSWM, especially in developing countries.

The Role of Subnational Climate Policy Initiatives in Achieving Global Climate Goals

Purpose: The main objective of this study was to investigate the role of subnational climate policy initiatives in achieving global climate goals.
 Methodology: The study adopted a desktop research methodology. Desk research refers to secondary data or that which can be collected without fieldwork. Desk research is basically involved in collecting data from existing resources hence it is often considered a low cost technique as compared to field research, as the main cost is involved in executive’s time, telephone charges and directories. Thus, the study relied on already published studies, reports and statistics. This secondary data was easily accessed through the online journals and library.
 Findings: The findings revealed that there exists a contextual and methodological gap relating to the role of subnational climate policy initiatives in achieving global climate goals. Preliminary empirical review revealed that subnational climate policies have a demonstrable impact on emissions reductions and climate resilience. By adopting innovative approaches to renewable energy deployment, carbon pricing mechanisms, and climate adaptation strategies, subnational governments can serve as laboratories of experimentation, showcasing the feasibility and effectiveness of various climate solutions. These findings emphasize the importance of recognizing subnational entities as pivotal actors in climate policymaking, with the potential to catalyze broader change.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The Diffusion of Innovations theory, Multi-Level Governance theory and the Policy Innovation Diffusion theory may be used to anchor future studies achieving global climate goals. The study recommended for the strengthening of intergovernmental collaborations, sharing best practices and lessons learnt, aligning climate policies with local context, measuring and reporting progress and engaging stakeholders and civil society.

Negotiating international aviation: Analyzing the contribution of politics to the United States' open skies agreements through democratic peace theory

Operation of the civilian global aviation industry is a complex process that relies on intergovernmental collaboration while balancing issues of sovereignty. As such, the factors that drive the development of international air operations are more complicated than simply economics: international regimes must consider a variety of concerns when establishing diplomatic relationships. Bilateral and multilateral international Air Service Agreements (ASAs) have become more liberalized to reduce the extent of government interaction for establishing and maintaining international commercial operations with and between ASA partners, allowing a greater influence of basic market forces over government required mandates and limitations for airline operations. Utilizing Democratic Peace Theory (DPT) as a theoretical basis for driving Open Skies Agreement (OSA) development practices, a logistic regression was used to determine the likelihood of the US reaching an OSA with a partner State based on the democracy strength of the partner State, the ability to access the US through diplomatic international governmental organization (IGO) participation, and the frequency of aviation operations with the US. This study found that the United States was very likely to hold OSAs with more democratic governments compared to less democratic governments. In addition, mutual participation in IGOs moderated the relationship as less democratic governments sharing membership in fewer IGOs with the United States were more likely to sign an OSA than non-democratic governments sharing membership in many IGOs. Finally, total operations between the United States and its international aviation partners were also found to have moderating effects on the likelihood of an OSA. Implications of these effects are discussed.

Do Collaborative Management Actions Lead to Better Organizational Outcomes?

ABSTRACT This study examines the effects of managerial actions that promote inter-governmental collaboration on organizational performance at the sub-national level. Employing measures of organizational performance (i.e., fiscal performance and education in Colombia), I find that managerial actions that promote collaboration between organizations at the territorial level predict higher levels of organizational performance. Actions oriented toward collaboration enable bureaucrats to accomplish organizational goals by creating trust, increasing information exchange, and producing external collaborative structures. The article provides insights into the discussion about the role of managers in organizational dynamics in the public sector by showing new insights about how managers’ intentional efforts can improve public organizations’ outcomes. The research contributes to the literature on collaborative public management in a comparative context that focuses on sub-national governments.

Multi-Level Governance in Addressing Climate Change in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore: Systematic Literature Review

The utilization of multilevel governance (MLG) is a significant factor in effectively addressing the challenges posed by climate change in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. The objective of this study is to examine the significance of MLG in mitigating the effects of climate change and its ramifications for policymaking and proficient governance. The present research has identified the importance of intergovernmental collaboration and coordination, along with the active participation of diverse stakeholders such as civil society organizations and the private sector. The investigation employed a Systematic Literature Review approach. Through an analysis of the experiences and practices of these nations, this study elucidates the pivotal elements that facilitate an efficacious response to climate change. Additionally, this study addressed the obstacles and constraints faced during the implementation of the MLG methodology. The results presented herein enhance the comprehension of the function of MLG in mitigating climate change. They also offer valuable perspectives for policymakers and practitioners to formulate effective strategies and policies that foster sustainable development and resilience in the context of climate change in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.
 Keywords: multi-level governance, climate change, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore

THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON BATAM CITY GOVERNMENT REGIONAL REVENUE OF 2020

This research is motivated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in a decline in both national and regional economic growth rates. It is suspected that this has had repercussions on the revenue of the City Government of Batam. The primary objectives of this study are to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on the city's revenue and to assess the policies implemented by the City Government of Batam to enhance revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research employs a qualitative methodology, involving data collection through interviews, observations, and document analysis. The findings indicate a significant reduction in Batam City's Local Own Source Revenue (PAD) due to the adverse effects of COVID-19, particularly within the tourism sector, which serves as a primary source of regional income. In contrast, the intergovernmental transfer sector remained unaffected and even experienced an increase in revenue. Additionally, other revenue sources witnessed growth due to the stability of the trade and industry sectors during the pandemic. Overall, the impact of COVID-19 on Batam City's revenue in 2020 was not excessively detrimental, as the Regional Budget (APBD) continued to increase from 2019. The City Government of Batam implemented various policy measures, such as aligning development programs with the central government, promoting the region's potential to both the central government and investors, and enhancing the quality of public services. These actions facilitated the allocation of additional funds from the central government. Research recommendations encompass a focus on the development of innovative development programs, the recovery of the tourism sector, the diversification of income sources, and the enhancement of inter-governmental collaboration.

Intergovernmental collaboration, instrument adaptation and embedded synergistic governance: based on 1984–2020 water pollution control policy research

Intergovernmental collaboration, instrument adaptation and embedded synergistic governance: based on 1984–2020 water pollution control policy research

Municipal officials' perspectives on policymaking for addressing obesity and health equity.

Obesity evidence-based policies (EBPs) can make a lasting, positive impact on community health; however, policy development and enactment is complex and dependent on multiple forces. This study investigated key factors affecting municipal officials' policymaking for obesity and related health disparities. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 local officials from a selection of municipalities with high obesity or related health disparities across the United States between December 2020 and April 2021. Policymakers follow a general decision-making process with limited distinction between health and other policy areas. Factors affecting policymaking included: being informed about other local, state, and federal policy, conducting their own research using trustworthy sources, and seeking constituent and stakeholder perspectives. Key facilitators included the need for timely, relevant local data, and seeing or hearing from those impacted. Key local policymaking barriers included constituent opposition, misinformation, controversial issues with contentious solutions, and limited understanding of the connection between issues and obesity/health. Policymakers had a range of understanding about causes of health disparities, including views of individual choices, environmental influences on behaviors, and structural factors impacting health. To address health disparities, municipal officials described: a variety of roles policymakers can take, limitations based on the scope of government, challenges with intergovernmental collaboration or across government levels, ability of policymakers and government employees to understand the problem, and the challenge of framing health disparities given the social-political context. Understanding factors affecting the uptake of EBPs can inform local-level interventions that encourage EBP adoption.

Understanding the Complex Interplay of Governance, Systematic, and Structural Factors Affecting Service Delivery in South African Municipalities

South African municipalities have been plagued by poor service delivery, with many communities experiencing inadequate access to basic services such as clean water, sanitation, electricity, and waste removal. Despite the country’s progressive constitutional and legislative frameworks, the root causes of poor service delivery are complex and multifaceted. This study aims to explore the underlying reasons for service delivery challenges in South African municipalities, specifically focusing on the interplay between poor governance and structural and systematic factors. In other words, the study aims to identify and unpack the complex interplay between governance factors (such as corruption, political interference, and lack of accountability); structural factors (such as resource constraints, inadequate infrastructure, and capacity challenges); and systematic factors (such as historical legacies of apartheid, urban-rural divides, and socio-economic inequalities). The study employs a qualitative research approach, using document analysis to gather data. The data were analysed using thematic content analysis to identify the key themes and patterns that emerged from the data. The study draws on the New Public Management and Public Choice Theories to gain insights into the factors affecting service delivery. The findings highlight poor governance, urbanisation, corruption, political-administrative interference, political instability, and internal conflicts as major contributors to service delivery challenges in South African municipalities. Lastly, the study puts forth several recommendations to address these issues, including strengthening good governance and leadership, enhancing citizen participation, improving financial management, enhancing human resource capacity, fostering intergovernmental collaboration, reducing political-administrative interference, combating corruption, and addressing the impact of rapid urbanisation to promote sustainable service delivery.

China–Africa skills transfer through overseas economic and trade cooperation zones

AbstractThis paper investigates the employment patterns, training activities, and skills development outcomes of China's Overseas Economic and Trade Cooperation Zones (OETCZs) in Africa. Drawing upon ethnographic field research and a workers' opinion survey in Ethiopia's Eastern Industrial Zone (EIZ), it answers two questions: How well has intergovernmental collaboration on OETCZs been translated into training opportunities for local workers? What are local workers' perceptions and evaluations of the potentials and constraints of skills development in Chinese companies? Analyses based on field observations and regression models indicate that workers' demographic backgrounds, employment sector, and the peculiarities of Chinese workplaces are important factors to understand the skills development outcomes in Chinese OETCZs.

Competition and Local Government's Choice Between Informal and Formal Collaborative Mechanisms: Measuring Dyadic Intercity Competition Through the Lens of Business Trade-Offs

Informal and formal collaborative mechanisms are distinctive self-governing strategies that local governments use to mitigate intergovernmental collaboration risks. Studies on local governance have long argued that both mechanisms tend to co-occur and appear mutually complementary. However, extant research drawing on the transaction cost perspective provides a more nuanced and different explanation that as intergovernmental competition increases, local governments lean toward the choice of a formal mechanism over an informal mechanism to effectively address higher collaboration risks. Through a network lens, this study empirically tests the latter view. Using the Orlando metropolitan area as a testbed, Multiple Regression Quadratic Assignment Procedure tests reveal that the use of both collaborative mechanisms is positively associated with the level of intergovernmental competition. However, different from the initial expectation, local governments are more likely to engage in the informal mechanism rather than the formal mechanism as the competition level increases. In doing so, this study developed a new measurement strategy for intergovernmental competition to test the dyadic network-related research hypotheses. The measurement strategy and the research findings should inform future research on intergovernmental relations and local government network management.

Complexity model and Mars colonization

PurposeThis paper aims to discuss the complexities and foresight of Mars colonization. There are many pioneers competing in a space race to Mars, for example, Elon Musk – SpaceX, Jeff Bezos – Blue Origin and Richard Branson – Virgin Orbit. The analyses are focused on the aerospace industry – the process of space adventures to Mars.Design/methodology/approachThis study offers new methodological approaches – the development of a complexity metric and system innovation mode – to analyze how the complexities relate to the systemic nature of innovation. The complexity metric and system innovation model can be applied in various industries. These analysis tools can help gain insights into the strategies for achieving the diffusion of commercial space.FindingsThe analyses of findings have shown that, despite various attempts among the pioneers in a space race to colonize Mars (Elon Musk – SpaceX, Jeff Bezos – Blue Origin and Richard Branson – Virgin Orbit, among others), the aerospace industry has not yet reached a stage of commercialization. The commercial space to Mars is of low systemic nature at present. Many companies compete in a space race to develop technologies on a proprietary basis. However, the highest complexity level suggests a multinational and intergovernmental collaboration to achieve economies of scale and economies of scope as well as accelerate the process of technology diffusion – successful commercial space for the interplanetary settlement.Originality/valueThe main contribution that shows originality and value of this paper is the development of a complexity metric and system innovation model which can be used to explore how the complexities relate to the systemic nature of innovation and how they relate to the strategies in managing technological innovations. The new methodological approaches can be used and applied to various industries.

Aspirations and realities of intergovernmental collaboration in national- level interventions: insights from maternal, neonatal and child health policy processes in Nigeria, 2009–2019

In Nigeria’s federal government system, national policies assign concurrent healthcare responsibilities across constitutionally arranged government levels. Hence, national policies, formulated for adoption by states for implementation, require collaboration. This study...

How governance boundaries affect regional collaboration on atmospheric governance—Evidence from China's Yangtze River Delta

AbstractRegional public affairs will become more complex when contradictions emerge between administrative boundaries and policy issues that require cross‐boundary collaboration. Breaking administrative boundaries has become a prerequisite for facilitating inter‐local government collaboration. This study categorizes governance boundaries into the administrative boundary and the ecology‐based policy boundary and then examines how these two governance boundaries and their interactive relationship contribute to the intergovernmental collaboration network in China's regional atmospheric governance (RAG). Using data on the atmospheric governance collaboration from 30 cities in the Yangtze River Delta region from 2013 to 2018, we employ the MR‐QAP model to find that cities within the same administrative boundary are more likely to collaborate and cities within the ecology‐based policy boundary, compared with those beyond, are more likely to collaborate but with a lagging effect. Ecology‐based policy boundary has a positive but lagging moderating effect on the contribution of the administrative boundary to the formation of intergovernmental collaboration networks.