Provision Of Municipal Services Research Articles

Governing hybrid organisations: Lessons from the provision of local sports facility services in 2020s Finland

AbstractThe Finnish welfare society is based on strong public and civic sectors with an emerging private sector. In the context of sports, the public sector's statutory task has been to provide opportunities and facilities for citizens, whereas the civic sector has been responsible for organising activities. However, since the 1990s, economic recessions, new public management doctrines, and other societal changes have mixed this institutionalised setting and increased hybridity in the provision of public services. This study examines how hybridity is manifested and governed in the provision of local sports facility services in contemporary Finland through a literature review and a multiple case study focusing on three sports facility construction projects. The projects had partners from all societal sectors and, organisationally, assumed different forms: privately owned, sports clubs co‐owned, and municipally owned enterprises. The case data consist of thematic interviews and project documentation and are analysed with theory‐driven content analysis. The study deepens understanding of the mixed ownership structures, various funding arrangements, control mechanisms, and management of goal incongruency found in hybrid facility‐provider organisations. Additionally, it describes changing roles and challenges that municipalities face in hybrid settings and develops recommendations for future research on hybridity and sports policy.Points for practitioners Note that the capacity to steer the operations of hybrids in municipal services provision can be obtained in various ways which do not entail formal ownership. Deepen your understanding of the goals and commitment incentives of the different stakeholders planned to be involved in the hybrid project. Consider jointly written formal contracts as tools for managing goal ambiguity and incongruence and for creating trust in the hybrid arrangement. Examine comprehensively the resourcing of the facility‐provider organisation in the operational phase of the facility when evaluating the funding arrangements and public value creation of hybrid facility projects. Prepare to become a practitioner and the object subjected to more diverse forms of control when committing to hybrid arrangements with various stakeholders.

THE USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES IN MUNICIPAL MANAGEMENT (BASED ON THE MATERIALS OF THE LIPETSK CITY DISTRICT)

Background. At the present stage of the development of municipal government, there is an intensive introduction of digital tools that provide solutions to issues of local importance. It seems relevant to generalize the experience of large cities in informatization of the activities of local governments, the dissemination of best practices, and the search for solutions to the problems of digital modernization of municipalities. Materials and methods. The purpose of this article is to study the current practice of using information technology in municipal education management. The empirical basis of the study is the management activities of local self–government bodies of the Lipetsk city district, the administrative center of the Lipetsk region. Traditional theoretical and empirical methods of studying social processes in municipal management are used. Results. It was established that the Lipetsk city administration was able to both adapt the all-Russian electronic platforms and start developing and implementing its own information resources into municipal management. It is concluded that it is advisable to carry out additional explanatory work with the population in the interests of more effective interaction with local governments in the provision of municipal services and solving issues of local importance. Conclusion. The results of the study can be used in the professional activities of municipal employees.

Governance challenges in the provision of municipal services: in the Vhembe District Municipality

Governance challenges in the provision of municipal services: in the Vhembe District Municipality

Principles of public service provision: system and content.

The principles on which the public sphere is based are of great importance in terms of the legitimacy and effectiveness of government. The article examines the principles underlying public activities in the provision of state and municipal services to citizens and organizations. The purpose of the study is to define a public service, characterize the principles established by law for the provision of public services and analyze their content. The principles of providing public services are an important independent part of government activity and are directly related to the observance of the rights of citizens in relations with the state. The implementation of the principles affects the quality of relations between the state and the individual and, ultimately, trust in government. When highlighting the general and special principles of the type of activity under consideration, the article presents their relationship, interdependence and influence. The article achieved the following results: the concept of public service was formulated; the difference between a public function and a public service is defined; the content of the principles for the provision of public services established by law analyzed; principles have been proposed that can be supplemented with legislation in order to improve the provision of public services; The interaction of the principles of providing public services with the general legal principles of public activity and with each other has been identified. The article establishes measures that promote the efficiency of the provision of public services and respect for the rights of citizens: standardization and regulation of services, the introduction of multifunctional centers operating on the “one-stop” principle, and the use of electronic forms of service provision.

Study of Citizen Satisfaction in Rural Versus Urban Areas in Public Services: Perspective of a Multi-group Analysis

This study proposes a comparative analysis between urban and rural areas concerning the magnitude or intensity with which the constructs are related to expected quality-perceived quality-perceived value as influencing aspects in the level of satisfaction and citizen loyalty in three dimensions: Territorial planning and roads; provision of municipal services and environmental management. This research used the PLS software applying the ACSI model in the 5-hypothesis approach. A questionnaire was delivered to a sample population of 428 citizens in the rural area of Tenguel and 521 citizens in the urban area of Tarqui in the city of Guayaquil. The statistical result shows significant differences in citizen perception between urban and rural populations about the quality of public services, which determines satisfaction and loyalty in choosing the place of residence. Through a multi-group analysis, the main differences in the perception of the quality of services between rural citizens and urban citizens have been identified. These findings are essential for public policy design to improve the territory’s satisfaction, well-being, and people’s sense of belonging.

Digitalization of public administration and its pecularities and prospects in Ukraine

The article analyzes the digitalization of public administration and its peculiarities as an instrument of socio-economic changes in Ukraine in the context of European integration, because digital technologies allow us to change the way territorial communities and regions function, increase the level of labor productivity and well-being of the population, and overcome challenges in the field of public administration.
 It is discovered that digitalization creates a positive effect not only in public administration, but also in the field of economy, education, and culture, providing the saving in human, financial, and material resources, and promoting the solution of socially significant problems.
 It is noted that digitalization, as a process of society's transition to digital technologies in all spheres of public life, forms a more inclusive society and better governance mechanisms and is a tool for achieving Ukraine's strategic goal of increasing GDP by 8 times, up to1 trillion USD in 2030.
 It is determined that effective communication between society and public administration is possible only in the context of e-democracy, which involves the use of information technology by citizens, government, political parties at the local and regional levels, and improvement of procedures for providing and receiving public services. An example of e-democracy is the online platform «VzaiemoDiia»(Interaction), which expands the opportunities for citizens to participate in public administration processes, including vulnerable categories of the population, who currently have less opportunity to influence public decisions. Moreover, users will be able to receive high-quality feedback, since the Ministry of Digital Transformation not only collects all communication channels in a single «window» but also analyzes the imperfections to make each communication channel even more effective.
 It is substantiated that the digitalization of public administration allows us to increase the amount of open data and strengthen the guarantees of access to publicly available information contained in state and municipal information systems. In fact it changes and transforms social relations, changes the process of performing functions by public authorities, expands their capabilities in making management decisions based on data obtained with the help of the information technology, and in particular in the processes of administration, provision of state and municipal services by citizens in electronic form, the establishment of digital communication channels, artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of things, big data analytics, and cloud technologies.
 In further research, it is proposed to pay attention to the study of digitalization and digitalization processes in the executive and administrative activities of public administration entities.

Storage conditions, microbial quality, and transport costs of drinking water from alternative sources in a South African municipality.

Makana Local Municipality is located in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The area is water-scarce and has been undergoing aridification in recent years, ie, there has been a 7-year long drought. At the same time, there has been a breakdown in provision of municipal services, such as drinking water, to the population since at least 2008. Mi-crobial water quality has been a result of this, and monitoring has been a challenge. Given the drought and the prob-lems with drinking water delivery, it was necessary to conduct this study to investigate the microbial quality of alterna-tive water resources that the Makana population can use during the municipal water outage. The microbial water quality of alternative sources of drinking water in the Makana Local Municipality was examined using the H2S test kit and enumeration of the fecal coliforms. Storage of the collected water was examined for potential factors influencing the microbial water quality of the alternative sources of drinking water. The costs of the water provision from the most suitable alternative sources of potable water were calculated. There was a general correlation between the H2S test kit results and the fecal coliform concentrations, with the latter values ranging from <0 to 23 ± 7 colony-forming units/100 mL. The bottled water from two retail outlets was provided the best alternative source of potable/drinking water, which is microbially safe, for the Makana population. If the consumption of the drinking water from an alternative source takes place within 24 hours of collection, then the Fairview spring could also be used as a source of drinking water for Maka-na residents. The total cost per 1 L of drinking water from alternative sources was estimated to be from 1.51 to 5.81 ZAR. Therefore, the maximum cost of daily provision of drinking water from alternative sources would account for a maximum of 0.88 percent of the monthly household expenditure in the middle-to-high-income household. However, the daily costs of such provision of drinking water would account for a maximum of 8.11 percent of the monthly household expenditure in the low-income household. Provision of the drinking water from the alternative sources would have a minor impact of the monthly ex-penditure in the middle-to-high-income households. However, it is likely that the low-income households would not be able to sustain their water supply from alternative sources for longer than 24 hours, during a municipal outage in the drinking water supply.

Human-Sizedness as a Principle of Development of State and Municipal Services in the Context of Digitalization of Public Administration

The relevance of this study is determined by a significant increase in the share of state and municipal services provided in electronic form, which entails the need to comprehend a new format of interaction between citizens and authorities. It should be recognized that today the basic principles of such integration require revision, since they do not meet the digital realities of Russian society. The use of digital technologies should be aimed not only at improving the quality of services provided to the population, digitalization should become a tool for solving a key task – improving the quality of life of the region's population, which, in the opinion of the authors, can be achieved through the gradual introduction of the principle of human-sizedness.The purpose of this publication is to define the principles of interaction between citizens and authorities in when providing state and municipal services in the context of digitalization of public administration.Objectives: determination of the declared goals of digitalization of state and municipal management based on the analysis of regulatory and legal documentation; assessment of expert reflection on the main trends of digitalization of state and municipal management.Metodology. The research methodology is based on the analysis of regulatory and legal sources regulating the process of transferring state and municipal services to digital format, in order to determine the state vision of the prospects for digitalization of the management system, as well as focus group surveys that allowed experts to assess the vision of these processes.The results of this study led to the conclusion that the main direction in the federal agenda of digital transformation is a comprehensive, proactive solution of living situations of citizens and business through the quality provision of state and municipal services in an electronic format.Conclusions. Analysis leads to the conclusion that in the context of digitalization of public administration, the principle of human-sizedness should become the main principle of improving the quality of the provision of state and municipal services.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN MUNICIPAL MANAGEMENT: INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE AND APPLICATION OPPORTUNITIES IN RUSSIA

Taking into account the current trends of digital transformation, artificial intelligence is becoming one of the most relevant and in-demand digital technologies, which is used to solve a wide range of tasks related to the practice of municipal management and the provision of municipal services. Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more in demand both in public administration and in the practice of organizing the work of local governments, in the development and implementation of plans for the effective use of municipal resources. The purpose of the study is to determine the main vectors of the introduction of artificial intelligence into the practice of municipal government bodies based on the analysis of existing experience of digital transformations. Research methods. A comparative analysis was used to study the experience of introducing digital artificial intelligence technology into municipal management. The structural and functional method is applied to determine the main vectors of the use of artificial intelligence in municipal management. The results of the study demonstrated practical examples of the use of artificial intelligence in the field of municipal administration and presented new opportunities for the introduction of artificial intelligence into the practice of local self-government in Russia. Conclusions. The implementation of the digital transformation of municipal government based on artificial intelligence will require serious efforts and financial investments. However, in the future, it is possible to achieve significant improvements in the work of municipal authorities and, ultimately, improve the quality of life of citizens.

Interpreting digital governance at the municipal level: Evidence from smart city projects in Belgium

This article adopts an interpretive approach to investigate how local policy-makers portray and justify their own visions of digital governance initiatives at the municipal level. Our investigation focuses on smart city projects submitted by various Belgian municipalities in the framework of the ‘Intelligent Territory’ call for proposals initiated in 2019 by the Walloon Region. We use Boltanski and Thévenot’s theory of orders of worth and combine quantitative and qualitative content analysis to categorize the different justifications elaborated by municipal governments. The empirical results point to the polysemic nature of the smart city concept and highlight the diversity of opportunities offered by smart city policies according to municipal policy-makers. Overall, our study contributes to the understanding of the varieties of interpretations underpinning the construction of digital governance initiatives. It therefore supports the argument according to which there is no one-size-fits-all approach to smart city policies as local policy-makers may attribute different meanings to them and may formulate place-based ICTs solutions to what they perceive as the most pressing problems of their territories.Points for practitionersSmart city projects can be used by governing authorities as instruments to achieve a variety of policy goals Examples of policy goals are to boost local economic development, to improve the effectiveness of municipal service provision, to strengthen social bonds across local community members, to promote the ecological preservation of urban environments and to improve the collaboration between citizens and public administrations Local governments can adaptively use smart technologies as instruments to overcome multiple place-based environmental, social and economic problems Local governments should frame smart urban technologies as means to solve different societal problems and achieve different policy goals – rather than an end per se

СОВЕРШЕНСТВОВАНИЕ МЕХАНИЗМА ПРОЦЕССА ПРЕДОСТАВЛЕНИЯ ЕДИНЫХ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫХ УСЛУГ

As a result of the scientific research, the author's development of a generalized scheme of the mechanism for providing unified public services is presented, while the electronic system of unified public services is presented in the form of three main blocks: a pre-order processing block; block of the main order processing; block of the organization of the provision of services. An enlarged scheme of the mechanism for processing an order for a public service has been developed. The main areas of activity of the provision of state and municipal services in electronic form are the optimization of procedures for the provision of state and municipal services, as well as services provided by budget organizations (budget services) using information technology, and the improvement of the information technology infrastructure of e-government. As a result of the use of certain software designed to process the established type of order, the type of service is identified, followed by its registration and execution of the order. It is noted that in case of disagreement with the reasons for not providing the service, or providing a low-quality service, the client has the right to file a complaint. The complaint is considered by the system in a semi-automatic mode with the involvement of expert experts in the affected area. The author's development of a mechanism for processing customer complaints about not providing a service, or providing a low-quality service, is presented.

The main directions of the digital economy in the context of administration and public administration

The article outlines the main directions of development of the digital economy in the context of public administration. The author reveals the essential directions of the digital economy in public administration, based on digitalization and digital transformation of management both in the legislation of the Russian Federation and administrative law. Particular attention is paid in the article to the administrative reform based on improving the efficiency of public authorities and minimizing managerial actions, taking into account digitalization and digital transformation. Further, the author reveals the directions of the digital economy devoted to administration, as the activities of the governing bodies and their officials, related to the implementation of management decisions and the introduction of digital technologies and new products into this activity. One of the well-known directions is the provision of state and municipal services by multifunctional centers, which is a convenient, effective and well-established way of consuming services and communication between the state and the citizen. However, the author notes that this leaves the question open for further study, and also draws attention to the need to ensure a high level of information and technical security and other measures in this area. Summing up, the importance and necessity of implementing the national program "Digital Economy of the Russian Federation", which will allow building an information and digital society in Russia, is emphasized.

Роль информационных технологий в публичном управлении

The article presented by the author allows you to examine the possibilities of using information technologies in public administration. As an example, the process of introducing information technologies into the daily activities of the Russian Ministry of Finance, as well as in the provision of municipal and public services at the current stage of development, is studied. In the current period of development of society, there are certain difficulties in the active use of modern advances in information and telecommunications at the level of public administration.

ПРАВОВЫЕ ВОПРОСЫ ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТИ ОРГАНОВ МЕСТНОГО САМОУПРАВЛЕНИЯ РЕСПУБЛИКИ КРЫМ ПО ОКАЗАНИЮ УСЛУГ НАСЕЛЕНИЮ: ОЦЕНКА ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТИ И ПУТИ СОВЕРШЕНСТВОВАНИЯ

This study examines and analyzes the concept and essence of the provision of municipal services, both on the territory of the Russian Federation as a whole, and, in relation to certain issues, in the Republic of Crimea. An acquaintance is carried out and a statistical analysis of the data contained on the Internet resource «Your Control» is carried out, according to information provided by the residents of Crimea, as a result of which three problematic aspects were identified in the provision of services to the population. The first of them concerns the issues of providing municipal services in order to implement the principle of «one window». A normative definition of this principle is given, as well as an assessment of the effectiveness of its short existence is carried out. The second problematic issue is the provision of municipal services in digital (electronic) format. In addition to the banal shortcomings of the appropriate level of technical support, attention is drawn to general legal shortcomings. And the third problem is the procedure for obtaining information regarding the official publication of newly adopted municipal legal acts. As a result of the study, possible options for improving the current legislation in the selected area were proposed.

Legal Procedures in Regulation of the Provision of Land for Burial

The purpose of the article is to analyze the content of the legal procedure for providing land plots for burial. The article considers the law enforcement aspects of the implementation of this legal procedure based on the analysis of the norms of the current Russian legislation on the funeral business. The subject of the article is the norms of Russian legislation on burial and funeral business. Based on the analysis of the stages of the provision of municipal services for the provision of land plots for burial, the procedural-declarative nature of the implementation of the right to burial is substantiated. The participants of the relevant legal procedure are identified and the sequence of actions in the provision of this service is determined. In the course of writing the article, modern methods of scientific knowledge, both general scientific and private, were used. The author used methods of analysis, synthesis, inductive-deductive method; the analysis of the Russian legislation on burial and the funeral business was carried out using the formal legal method. As a result, the main directions for improving the legal regulation of the legal procedure for the provision of land plots for burial are proposed; the place of legal procedures in the matter of meeting the socially significant need in organizing the burial place of a deceased person is determined. The author concludes that the procedure for the provision of land plots provided for by law is of an administrative nature, since it is carried out as part of the procedure for the execution of state or municipal services. The specific nature of the limited rights to the burial place allows us to consider the regime for using the land plot provided for burial as a unique land-legal regime that requires proper legislative registration.

Analysis and financial sustainability of municipal solid waste management in Belo Horizonte (Brazil)

In a Brazilian context of poor municipal solid waste (MSW) management and lack of information, this paper intends to study the MSW management in Belo Horizonte (Brazil) through the analysis of the 15 'diagnosis of the management of urban solid waste', from 2002 to 2016, as well as interviews with professionals who work in the provision of municipal services. As a result, it was observed that since 2002, there has been a real gradual increase in per capita expenditure and income of 58% and 68%, respectively. The financial self-sufficiency showed variations, however, with an increase of three percentage points, while there was a decrease of two percentage points in the incidence of MSW expenses in the city. Furthermore, Brazilian legal limitations impede total financial self-sufficiency with public cleansing, so the municipality must seek alternatives to improve its management of MSW, such as a more elaborate charging system.

Inter-organizational network case study in the environmental goods and services sector

Problems related to the balance of relations between human activities and the natural environment are particularly visible in the environmental goods and services sector. There are inter-organizational networks in this sector based on recycling, treatment, reclamation processes and the provision of municipal services. These networks can be operational or supervisory-control. The paper presents a case study of a network dedicated to recycling, processing and management of post-consumer waste, such as tires. The work has the character of theoretical assumptions and operationalization of concepts for empirical research, which will be a continuation of the ongoing project of relationships analysis in a selected sector.

Historical and organizational aspects of the provision of state and municipal services by multifunctional centers

Historical and organizational aspects of the provision of state and municipal services by multifunctional centers

On the provision of state and municipal services in multifunctional centers

On the provision of state and municipal services in multifunctional centers

Digitalization and e-services in the Russian Federation: problems and ways to improve

The digitalization of the public administration system includes many elements, including the construction of convenient and popular channels for interaction between public authorities and the population. One of these is the provision of state and municipal services in electronic form. At the same time, the analysis of scientific literature indicates that one of the key issues is the willingness of citizens (especially certain categories) to use digital technologies. In this regard, within the framework of this work, the issues of providing citizens of Russia with state and municipal services in electronic form were considered. Particular attention was paid to the level of satisfaction of citizens with this format of interaction. Problems causing difficulties in using or abandoning digital cooperation in favor of the traditional channel of direct personal communication with public authorities were also considered. As part of the study, a comparative analysis of individual indicators of the use of electronic state and municipal services in dynamics for 2017-2021 is carried out in Russia as a whole, as well as in its individual regions. In addition, Russia was compared with the countries of Europe on a number of indicators. This technique allowed us to describe and evaluate the development of electronic state and municipal services in the Russian Federation and its individual territories in more detail. The results obtained led to the conclusion that the electronic format of interaction between the population and public authorities in the Russian Federation is becoming increasingly relevant.