Local Government Professionals Research Articles

CITY MANAGER VERSUS PUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR IN MODERN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT: THE CASE OF ROMANIA

Modernizing public administration is a key goal of Governments that have said they have succeeded in recent years. An example is the CUPAR project to promote the function of a public administrator, institutionalized by Law 286/2006 in Romania. Inspired by the American model of the city manager (this is the original name of this function), it is aimed at increasing professionalism in local government and ensuring the separation of political and administrative troops. A city manager is a professional administration and the leader of this team. The personality and his professional interests have a great influence on the area. The role of city managers of all Americans is to help local authorities improve the services provided to citizens. The success or failure of a city manager depends on the development of a close working relationship with the mayor and members of the city council. Often their problems are of priority importance, and the city manager must constantly inform on all issues of interest. The American equivalent of a city manager, so to speak, in the Romanian administrative system is a public administrator.

Experienced incivility undermines the positive effects of job autonomy on mental and physical health

Integrating insights from conservation of resources theory related to both the positive effects of resources and the detrimental effects of resource loss, this paper examines the effect of job autonomy (an organizational-level resource) on subjective physical pain as mediated by mental health, with experienced workplace incivility (a social stressor) included as a boundary condition. Drawing from the results of a state-wide survey of local government professionals (N = 289), we test a moderated mediation model that estimates the relationships amongst job autonomy, mental health, and physical pain, at differing levels of experienced incivility. Mental health is found to fully mediate the negative relationship between job autonomy and physical pain. When the moderating effect of workplace incivility is incorporated into the model, higher levels of uncivil behavior weaken the otherwise positive and significant effect of job autonomy on mental health. However, the relationship between mental health and physical pain does not depend on levels of workplace incivility. This research has important implications for the management of physical and mental health at work. In particular, the results point to a need to develop human resource policies and practices that both promote job autonomy and tackle experiences of workplace incivility, particularly in local governments.

Examining Contemporary Australian Local Government Sustainable Procurement Practices: A National Study

ABSTRACT World population growth and urban sprawl have exacerbated global cities’ demand for public infrastructure and allied services. Local governments must therefore continuously procure vast volumes of tangible resources entailing significant public expenditure. As a result, however, local governments also become major waste generators, making it critical to examine local government sustainable procurement practices. Sustainable procurement is a purchasing framework integrating social and environmental criteria within any resource acquisition decision-making process, meaning that its adoption can contribute to reducing local government waste output. Despite the risk of not capitalizing on sustainable procurement guidelines, little is known about the impact of local government procurement practices. Addressing this gap, this paper examines the implementation status of sustainable procurement principles in contemporary Australian local governments. With a nation-wide survey (n = 196 from 160 local governments), we find that poor financial standing, insufficient environmental training, and a lack of e-procurement systems represent major barriers to sustainable procurement adoption, while top management, employees’ attitudes, and environmental regulations stand out sustainable procurement practice enablers. Furthermore, there has been a partial implementation of sustainable procurement principles in Australian local governments due to several financial, administrative, and structural limitations identified. This exploratory study assists local government professionals, city planners, and policymakers in dealing with population growth and its attendant waste generation and environmental pollution challenges.

Diffusion of Data-Driven Practices: How the Opinion Leading U.S. Cities are Advancing the use of Data in Local Government

Understanding why cities are leaders in data-driven local government can help diffuse best practices to support better decision-making and improve government services. This study surveyed US local government professionals and generated a new practitioner-led definition of data-driven local government and it identified the opinion leader cities viewed as exemplars in their use of data. To our knowledge, this study is the first practitioner-generated definition of data-driven local government and the first depiction of a local government network of data-driven efforts.

‘They will listen to women who speak but it ends there’: examining empowerment in the context of water and sanitation interventions in Ghana

Abstract Gender plays a vital role in shaping access to and governance of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services in many contexts. Notably, women and men have different WASH-associated roles as well as varying access to resources and power. This study explores the meanings of women's empowerment in the WASH sector from the perspective of local stakeholders in the Asutifi North District, Ghana. A qualitative approach was employed, which involved 15 key informant interviews with community leaders, local government professionals, and WASH practitioners. Participants conceptualized empowerment in terms of four major themes: (1) availability of resources, (2) WASH information, (3) social and cultural structures, and (4) agency. Participants defined empowerment as a multifaceted process shaped by their physical, social, cultural, and political environments. The study provides researchers and practitioners with a greater understanding of the dimensions of empowerment that are relevant to strengthening WASH interventions and practices.

Designing Human Rights for Duty Bearers: Making the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation Part of Everyday Practice at the Local Government Level

In most countries, local governments bear primary responsibility for ensuring everyone has access to water and sanitation services. For the human rights to water and sanitation to move from recognition to realisation, they need to become part of the everyday practice of local authorities. Yet the potential for the human rights to water and sanitation to practically inform local efforts towards inclusive, sustainable service delivery has received limited attention to date, with human rights discourse more typically focusing on national and international levels or on building the capacity of rights holders to claim their rights from government. There is considerable opportunity to consider how human rights can constructively inform local government efforts to expand and improve services. This Communication article presents a novel approach to making human rights relevant and actionable for local authorities. Developed by a consortium of WASH-focused organisations and informed by design thinking, the Making Rights Real approach combines user-centred materials showing how human rights can inform local action, with a process of constructive engagement between civil society and local government professionals. The Making Rights Real approach has been applied in 12 countries by 37 civil society organisations to date. In this paper, we describe the development and features of the Making Rights Real approach, share initial results from its implementation, and reflect on the potential for the approach to catalyse transformational change towards local realisation of the human rights to water and sanitation.

Career and Non-Career Bridge Employment Intentions of Local Government Professionals

The purpose of this study was to explore possible predictors of career and non-career bridge employment intentions among local government employees. The effects of eight professional characteristics, life satisfaction, family-work balance, work philosophy, and perceived role support at work were assessed on bridge employment intentions. Two hundred and twenty-six professionals completed a survey and results indicated career bridge employment intentions were influenced by professionals’ age, life satisfaction, work-family balance, serious work philosophy, and work role support while non-career bridge employment was influenced by age, work-family balance, and serious work.

Improving professionalism in South African local government

It is assumed that public sector organisations will act in a professional way in the execution of their daily tasks. However, the contrary is experienced when assessing the performance of local government in South Africa. Municipal service delivery is often plagued by alleged financial irregularities, maladministration, corruption, mismanagement, service delivery protests and lack of trust by citizens. To improve this situation, it is proposed that particular competencies and capabilities be acquired by employees to promote more professional conduct; that an environment of more responsiveness, high performance and clear accountability be created; a culture of really putting people first be inculcated; financial sustainability and management be ensured; and that institutional capacity be improved through direct and indirect support interventions.

Sustainability management, strategy and reform in local government

ABSTRACTAs discussions about sustainability management in local government evolve, public managers lack clear frameworks prescribing how sustainability should be integrated into the practice of management. Studies in public administration tend to emphasize the policy tools managers use for sustainable outcomes, rather than the management processes that can enhance sustainability through organizational change. Drawing on Laszlo and Zhexembayeva’s definition of ‘embedded sustainability,’ this essay suggests local government managers should focus on integrating sustainability into strategic planning processes in order to advance sustainability as a reform in local government. Public management scholars and local government professionals are urged to develop partnerships to support evidence-based decision-making in local government in order to investigate propositions about sustainability management.

Leave Programs/Time Off and Work-Stress Family Employee Benefits Programs, Organizational Commitment, and Self-Efficacy Among Municipal Employees

The purpose of this study was to examine the role between family-friendly employee benefits programs (FFEBPs) and organizational commitment and employee motivation (self-efficacy) among a sector of municipal employees. In particular, the effects of two FFEBPs (leave programs/time off programs and work-stress family programs) were assessed on organizational commitment and job self-efficacy outcomes. Three hundred forty-seven local government professionals completed an online survey that was used to measure the variables of interest. Results found significant mean differences of employees’ job self-efficacy and organizational commitment levels between agencies with work–family stress management FFEBPs and agencies without these programs. However, the effects of leave programs/time off FFEBPs were not significant predictors of an employee’s job self-efficacy.

Examining quality function deployment in safety promotion in Sweden

The first-hand needs and demands of laypersons are not always considered when safety promotion programmes are being developed. We compared focal areas for interventions identified from residents' statements of safety needs with focal areas for interventions identified by local government professionals in a Swedish urban community certified by the international Safe Community movement supported by the World Health Organization. Quantitative and qualitative data on self-expressed safety needs from 787 housing residents were transformed into an intervention design, using the quality function deployment (QFD) technique and compared with the safety intervention programme developed by professionals at the municipality administrative office. The outcome of the comparison was investigated with regard to implications for the Safe Community movement. The QFD analysis identified the initiation and maintenance of social integrative processes in housing areas as the most highly prioritized interventions among the residents, but failed to highlight the safety needs of several vulnerable groups (the elderly, infants and persons with disabilities). The intervention programme designed by the public health professionals did not address the social integrative processes, but it did highlight the vulnerable groups. This study indicates that the QFD technique is suitable for providing residential safety promotion efforts with a quality orientation from the layperson's perspective. Views of public health professionals have to be included to ascertain that the needs of socially deprived residents are adequately taken into account. QFD can augment the methodological toolbox for safety promotion programmes, including interventions in residential areas.

Considering and Applying Driveway Design for All Users

NCHRP Project 15-35, Geometric Design of Driveways, was initiated to help address the lack of comprehensive research and national design guidance for the design of driveway connections to roadways. The research initiated with this project included an extensive literature review, a survey of state agencies and contacts with interest groups, and fieldwork to measure traffic attributes. The project produced two publications: a research report on the NCHRP website and NCHRP Report 659: Guide for the Geometric Design of Driveways. This paper considers the following topics: (a) What design issues were identified? Current design practices may not adequately consider the range of all driveway users: bicyclists, motorists, and pedestrians. The paper discusses the vulnerability of various users on the basis of historical crash data. (b) What user attributes were found? The research produced information about the driveway grades at which the undersides of vehicles may drag and the speeds at which vehicles on urban arterials entered commercial driveways having radii ranging from 13 to 20 ft. (c) What design practices were recommended? The guide presents a number of design practices to better meet the needs of all users. This paper provides useful information for design consultants and local government professionals.

Climate change adaptation in coastal Australia: An audit of planning practice

This study examines the state of local practice in planning for climate change adaptation in coastal Australia, in the context of rapidly evolving policy frameworks, using grounded theory to examine the process communities follow as they undertake adaptation planning. Australia's coastal cities and towns, with over 85 per cent of the nation's population, are at the frontline of physical risks associated with sea level rise and changed weather patterns; exacerbated by ongoing concentration of public and private assets in potentially vulnerable locations. This is particularly so for coastal councils beyond the major capital cities, where settlement patterns and lifestyle oriented economies based on tourism and leisure focus on the coastal strip, and local government resources are highly constrained. To assess progress in climate change adaptation planning, this study involved local government professionals, experts and elected officials through a survey and focus groups (n = 49) held between February and July 2011. The audit indicates some areas are well underway towards holistic adaptation strategies but, others have neither engaged, nor anticipate, adaptation planning activities; of the strategies that have commenced, few are yet completed; and, despite ongoing development pressure, few councils have yet changed their planning controls for climate risk. Of those areas that have commenced adaptation planning, most strategies and commitments will require additional resourcing and external expertise to implement; while others face community skepticism and “pushback” which may undermine future progress. The results reveal a ladder of adaptation action, whereby communities tend to have to accomplish early steps before they move on to more complex, expensive, or political policies. We connect this ladder to community perceptions of what is supported in state and national frameworks and legislation. Communities in the future may be able to use this ladder to suggest where to start their processes, and directions to undertake as they accomplish their first tasks.

A Profile of Villanova University’s Partnership with Local Government Managers

In this case study, we describe and assess how the Villanova University Master of Public Administration (MPA) program involves practitioners in local government management education. We present student and faculty views on the effectiveness and quality of the university’s one-credit courses on different topics taught by local government managers and the three-credit course on effective city management team-taught by three township managers. We also review the contributions of municipal internships to Villanova MPA students’ education and career trajectories. Finally, we explain the curriculum featured in the university’s Graduate Certificate in City Management program and stress the advantage of offering the certificate to pre-master’s and post-master’s students, as well as to MPA students choosing to specialize in city management. Data from a 2009 survey of program directors from National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) member schools indicate that the combination of Villanova’s practices is unique. Because the students and faculty believe this approach is an effective one, we offer the university’s model as one way for full-time faculty to partner with local government professionals to help recruit and educate the next generation of city and county managers.

Does the perceived neighborhood reputation contribute to neighborhood differences in social trust and residential wellbeing?

AbstractThe authors used a mixed methods approach to examine if the reputation of a housing area has bearing on residential wellbeing and social trust in three pairs of socioeconomically contrasting neighborhoods in a Swedish urban municipality. Multilevel logistic regression analyses were performed to examine associations between area reputation and residential wellbeing and social trust, controlling for the random effect of neighborhood and individual level sociodemographic factors. Qualitative data were analyzed to identify mechanisms of how neighborhood reputations were established. The housing area reputation was found to be strongly associated with wellbeing and social trust. The area reputation also seemed to be a determinant of position in the local social structure; residents were found to position themselves in a rank order. The results suggest that area reputation is an important and probably underestimated dimension in the development of residential wellbeing and social trust in housing. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Urban Government Innovation: Identifying Current Innovations and Factors that Contribute to Their Adoption

AbstractThis article presents two new sets of information regarding local government innovation. Using survey techniques, the research establishes a list of 22 modern local government innovations and identifies what are considered by local government professionals to be the top three mainstream local government innovations and cities leading in their usage. The research uses statistical techniques and previous research on the topic to test what effect factors related to the 100 most populated U.S. cities have on innovation usage. Among other variables, consistency, the population size, size of the advantaged population, and number of Democratic voters are found to be positively related to innovation on usage by cities.

Book review: Jason Corburn, Street Science: Community Knowledge and Environmental Health Justice (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005), 217 pp. ISBN 0262532727, $24.00/£15.95

The four case studies are engaging, and are well framed by supporting chapters outlining not only the need and importance of local knowledge but also its juxtaposition with professional science. This book is refreshingly accessible and is an excellent supportive text for researchers, students, community members and local government professionals who are embarking on, or are currently engaged in, local knowledge gathering or community participation projects.

Building the capacity of local government and industry professionals in sustainable urban water management

In 2005, Clearwater (the Victorian capacity building program) led two major initiatives to identify the current issues, barriers and trends influencing the implementation of sustainable urban water management (SUWM) practices in Victoria. Outcomes of these two initiatives provided insights into the impediments to adoption and the varying levels of commitment to SUWM by various stakeholder groups in the water sector. Results are now informing state and local decision makers of the organisational and individual capacity issues impacting on widespread implementation.Now in its fourth year, Clearwater has been building the capacity of local government and industry professionals across Victoria to deliver SUWM and has grown to be recognised as a significant knowledge broker and leader in the design and delivery ofbest practice professional development for SUWM. Clearwater has established itself as a key agent in the transfer and delivery of resources, programs and policy at the state level through to local government and industry professionals. The program is now a model for capacity building, which has informed similar programs internationally and is being replicated by organisations across Australia

Professionals and the Conflicting Forces of Administrative Modernization and Civic Engagement

Local government professionals find themselves in the middle of two dynamic forces: administrative modernization and citizen engagement. Attention to one without recognition of the other renders governance ineffective. The key to effective professionalism in local governance is bridging the gaps in governance that these two trends create.

Expectations and Job Satisfaction of Local-Government Professionals

Based on theories of job satisfaction and the motivating potential of professional work, we would expect public-sector professionals to express a level of satisfaction higher than that of other workers, yet this is not clearly the case. While some previous research has found that professionals have higher levels of job satisfaction than lower-level workers, other studies indicate that publicsector professionals are less satisfied than their private-sector counterparts and are no more satisfied than blue-collar workers. This study surveys local-government professionals (N = 125) in Colorado to determine their job satisfaction and their expectations of intrinsic satisfaction from work. They rated their work much higher in motivating potential than comparable groups of professionals and expressed significantly higher job satisfaction. Although most said their expectations for interesting work were more than met on the job, a major fraction expressed unmet expectations for power and authority and for recognition. The findings confirm previous research showing the importance of social relations and intrinsic factors in predicting job satisfaction but fail to support the generalization that public-sector professionals experience problematically low job satisfaction or that they find their jobs relatively low in motivating potential.