Regional Development Actors Research Articles

Empirical analysis of social impacts of a rural social enterprise: insights for local and regional development

ABSTRACT In developing countries the most marginalised and disadvantaged people are in rural, remote and regional areas and social enterprises in these areas – rural social enterprises (RSEs) – have been identified as key development actors in this context. However, their impacts are rarely rigorously measured. Our study fills this gap by measuring an RSE’s social impact in a developing country. A smallholder farmers’ survey (n = 1021) is utilised in a propensity score-based method which allowed us to generate counterfactual and estimate outcomes between members and non-members of an RSE. This method was complemented by a stakeholder focus group discussion. Predictors of participation and social impacts of the RSE are identified besides an evaluation of its interventions. Results generate implications for social enterprise practitioners, supporters and policymakers interested in applying RSEs as local and regional development actors as well as researchers involved in social impact measurement.

Disentangling the ‘capacity to act': variegated resources of individuals exerting change agency

ABSTRACT In recent decades, attention to the role of actors in regional development has shifted from the role of ‘formal and collective’ actors to the role of individuals in change agency. In doing so, individuals mobilize their capacity to act, which comprises the total volume of resources accumulated over the course of their life. However, there is a lack of studies focusing on how such capacity is then mobilized for change agency. Therefore, this study seeks to reveal the patterns of how selected agents have used their capacity for change agency and how this is implemented in the specific spatio-temporal setting of an old industrial region. Based on the results of 64 semi-structured interviews conducted with agents of change and local informants in four old industrial towns in Czechia, we identified five basic types of how resources are combined and used during the implementation of change agency – change agencies driven by embodied cultural capital, by bonding social capital, by economic capital, with support from public institutions and those accelerated by symbolic capital.

Multiple meanings and boundaries of growth in shrinking regions in East and North Finland

Growth stands out as a key development object in contemporary green economy policies. It is particularly interesting in the Nordic context such as in East and North Finland, where many regions are rich in natural resources, but also shrinking and lagging. Therefore, their regional development is simultaneously framed by an expected sustainability transition that alternates between green growth and degrowth agendas, and the socio-economic phenomenon of shrinkage. This article examines how growth is understood and framed among regional development actors, with special interest placed on different meanings, possible critics, and the boundaries of growth. The interviewed actors are positioned as intermediaries who possess special knowledge regarding regional development. The interviews show that the understanding of growth in this context requires various framings that combine global, regional, and local perspectives on sustainable development, as well as the burdens of shrinking and lagging regions balanced against cohesive and inclusive promises of green growth. The hegemonic frame is approached through a lens of green growth, yet the shrinking population remains in the background. Growth appears as a favoured means to tackle societal problems, which reflects a mission-oriented goal setting. Critical statements are directed at growth policies and funding instruments that do not seem to promote cohesive and inclusive growth. The clearest boundary for growth relates to nature, but it is far too early to make interpretations on an intentional degrowth agenda. From the regional actors’ perspective, setting boundaries for growth in a context of long-term shrinkage, sparse population, and extensive natural surroundings seems trivial. Handling the peripheries’ societal problems related to shrinkage and their struggle for resources appears as the more relevant mission that also requires growth in various forms.

“What do we want and how do we get there”: A comparative content analysis of First Nations Comprehensive Community Plans in British Columbia

AbstractFirst Nations are important regional development actors, and yet their development ambitions and goals have often been ignored or poorly understood by settler governments. Since 2004, the Canadian federal government has supported First Nations governments and Tribal Councils to develop Comprehensive Community Plans (CCPs)—community planning documents that are meant to set priorities and guide development in the medium to long term. This study employs a quantitative content analysis of all publicly available CCPs and related strategic planning documents in British Columbia in order to understand development priorities and in doing so, reveals a mismatch between the interests of First Nations and settler governments.

Regional sustainability transition through forest-based bioeconomy? Development actors' perspectives on related policies, power, and justice

Forests and forest-based bioeconomy have central roles in the contemporary sustainability transition. However, the transition towards a bioeconomy is loaded with tensions regarding economic growth, ecological integrity, and social justice. These tensions reproduce varying transition discourses. Political actors at the level of the European Union (EU) and nation states take part in the processes creating the discourses and aim to govern the forest bioeconomy-based transition in certain directions viewed as favourable.The transition tensions are strongly felt in regions that are rich with forest resources but poor in terms of economic and political power, called ‘forest peripheries’. In this study, we explored how the forest bioeconomy discourses are downscaled in the development of the forest peripheries in East and North Finland. We examined the ways in which the regional development actors interpret prevailing forest-related policies and reproduce or challenge associated forest discourse(s). The focus was on the linkages between the macro-policies and the regional development, uncertainties that relate to the practical implementation and realisation of the policies, and the conflicts and power relations between the policies, practices, and the actors behind them. As a research strategy, we used embedded triangulation, where the interviews of development actors as initial data were contrasted with policy documents as the supportive data.For the analysis, we used the critical discourse analysis.From the policy documents, we identified the ‘You can have it all (if you close your eyes)’ discourse as the most hegemonic discourse, which aims to merge all the sides under the sustainable forest bioeconomy that favours the biomass regime. From the interviews, we identified three interlinked regional forest bioeconomy discourses: 1) ‘You can have it all is possible’, 2) ‘You can have it all is dependent on many ifs’, and 3) ‘You can have it all runs into conflicts’. The first discourse reproduced the hegemonic discourse, power relations appeared to be vertically unproblematic, and relatively manifested just transition for the forest peripheries. The second discourse produced an alternative discourse, which displayed more dependencies on the qualities of economic actors under the biotech regime. Power relations appeared to be more horizontal and complex, with a random just transition. The third discourse manifested tensions between the ideological aspirations of the policies and the practical reality in the forest peripheries. Conflicts arise from disharmonies between policy implementation and regional needs, cultural clashes, and misrecognition of the regional perspectives. The discourse reflected skewed power relations in vertical and horizontal manners. The transition appeared to be unjust in many ways because the external benefits seemed to be regarded over the regional ones.

ФІНАНСОВІ ІНСТРУМЕНТИ У ДЕРЖАВНОМУ СТРАТЕГІЧНОМУ РОЗВИТКУ РЕГІОНІВ I МІСТ УКРАЇНИ

Анотація. Досліджено особливості державної регіональної політики України та фінансово-кредитні механізми її реалізації за 2016—2019 роки. Мета статті — визначити можливості використання різних фінансових інструментів у державному стратегічному розвитку регіонів i міст в умовах реалізації інтеграційної стратегії управління регіональним розвитком України. Методологічною базою дослідження є проєкти міжнародної технічної допомоги, статистична інформація Міністерства розвитку громад та територій України, проєктів регіонального розвитку, Державного комітету статистики України, стратегії та стратегічні плани розвитку міст. Досліджено нормативно-правову основу реалізації державної регіональної політики в Україні. Виділено моделі фінансування регіонального політики залежно від провідної ролі суб’єктів регіонального розвитку та переважання зовнішніх чи місцевих ресурсів для нових ініціатив (модель «розвиток зверху», «розвиток ззовні», «розвиток зсередини»). Досліджено фінансові інструменти, які застосовують для реалізації стратегічного плану розвитку регіону і міста (бюджетні, інвестиційні, кредитні, грантові). Узагальнено проєкти і програми, що реалізуються в Україні у сфері децентралізації та регіональної політики. Досліджено практику використання фінансових інструментів державного стратегічного розвитку на прикладі міст Центральної та Східної України (м. Дніпро, м. Запоріжжя, м. Харків, м. Кривий Ріг, м. Полтава). Доведено, що ресурси державного бюджету є головним джерелом фінансування інфраструктурних інвестицій регіону і міста. Виділено проблеми реалізації регіональних стратегій: недієвість наявних механізмів та інструментів реалізації стратегії, відсутність чіткого взаємозв’язку між бюджетним і стратегічним плануванням, недостатній обсяг фінансування та його непрогнозованість, незабезпеченість регіональних стратегій розвитку відповідними фінансовими ресурсами. Визначено напрями вдосконалення державного регіонального розвитку: розширення міжнародних і регіональних відносин, інтенсифікація надходжень у місто (зовнішні і внутрішні інвестиції), формування інвестиційного позитивного іміджу, розвиток державно-приватного партнерства, поширення політики корпоративної соціальної відповідальності. Ключові слова: фінансові інструменти, державна регіональна політика, стратегія розвитку регіону, проекти. Формул: 0; рис.: 1; табл.: 3; бібл.: 14.

Blessing or curse for regions and firms? Narratives of the sharing economy as an innovative practice in a rural region in Norway

ABSTRACT The sharing economy (SE) literature has grown rapidly in recent years. The literature has focused on the diffusion of SE in metropolitan regions, while rural regions have been almost entirely overlooked. To fill this gap, the article examines the SE in a rural region in Norway to explore how it is framed by key actors in regional development at different spatial scales. The article treats the SE as a mechanism through which new knowledge, practices, and routines are developed. The analytical framework reveals how pro-SE and con-SE narratives co-evolve through both endogenous and exogenous factors within the region. The narratives are heterogenic. The pro-SE narrative articulates a viable source of economic growth in regions, whereas the con-SE narrative highlights a fear of undermining rural tourism and liberalization of labour. The article extends the SE literature by providing insights into how innovation paths relate to discursive processes in a rural context. The authors conclude that the SE can both increase positive development paths and obstruct regional development processes, depending on the strength of influence from contextual factors, namely policy regulations.

Trade unions and industrial regeneration in North West Tasmania: Moving beyond lock-in?

As the North West coast of Tasmania, Australia, has deindustrialised, the region’s unions have lost membership, power and relevance. This process of deindustrialisation opens up possibilities for the unions to become involved in regeneration as regional development actors and, by moving outside the workplace and engaging with the community, renew and revitalise themselves. But many unions have found it difficult to move beyond their traditional forms of action and relationships. This article uses the concept of lock-in, and draws on semi-structured interviews, two forums and a workshop, to detail the way the North West coast unions attempted to break from the confines of the workplace and out into the community. Their attempts to do this were uneven and contested. They were, to varying degrees, locked-in and constrained by their traditional relationships with politicians and their own members. At another level they were locked-out from participating in regeneration decisions by long standing relationships between governments and business and their antagonism towards the unions. Although the unions attempted to reimagine themselves, there remained a pattern of regional lock-in where long-standing relationships continued and limited and hindered the unions’ ability to participate in regeneration debates and activities.

Rural destination development contributions by outdoor tourism actors: A Bornholm case study

Outdoor tourism is on the growth agenda of public strategies and public-private development partnerships in many peripheral areas of the world, raising high expectations for job creation and rural development. Based on participant observation in an outdoor tourism cluster project and qualitative interviews with other tourism and regional development actors on the Baltic island of Bornholm, Denmark, this research asks how the micro-entrepreneurs and volunteer event organizers contribute to rural destination development, and how their contributions can best be supported by regional development actors. Drawing on the concepts of placial engagement and translocal connections, the research shows that micro-entrepreneurs’ and volunteer event organizers’ mobility and multi-local place engagement, combined with their orientation towards goals other than profit maximation, represent a strong rural place-development potential – a potential that tends to be undervalued by established tourism and regional development actors. The small-scale outdoor tourism actors show strong collaborative and networking behaviour regarding business, product, and place development. In addition to (modest) tourism-generated income and (often part-time) employment, they contribute by providing new residents, business diversity and flexibility, translocal resources and knowledge, as well as actively engage in place-making and branding. These diverse qualities can be argued to strengthen innovation, attractiveness and community resilience in economically challenged rural areas. The relevance of using a translocal perspective on tourism entrepreneurship and rural destination development is exemplified by the article in its presentation of the wider development contributions of the micro outdoor tourism actors which are important to acknowledge for regional development actors to build on them strategically.

Determining the local community indicators on corporate social responsibilitiy activities (case study in Indonesia)

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in business activities is now a fairly popular trend. This is done as a form of compensation for business activities that affect the activities of the community and the surrounding environment. It is well known that CSR contributes quite significantly to environmental preservation and inhibits climate change. CSR activities use the community development concept, hence local community involvement would determine the performance of the design and implementation of CSR programs. This study aims to analyze the local factors that play a role in providing an impact on the performance of CSR activities. In this paper, two methods were used sequentially, namely in-depth interviews to openly explore prospective factors, and the Delphi method for agreeing the intended factors. CSR officers and Community Development consultants were the object of research. The results show that the strength of values/cultural factors, the strength of actors, the attention of actors in regional development, the strength of actor networks, the participation of community components and local government are factors considered as factors that have an impact on CSR performance.

Najmenej rozvinuté okresy v Slovenskej republike – problémy a riešenia

Regional development is currently becoming one of the key determinants contributing to the activation of local actors of regional development with a view to contributing to national economic development. For this reason, it is not desirable for the overall favourable development of the Slovak economy to exist or to deepen the differences in the economic performance of regions. The starting point for establishing a targeted set of support and development instruments is an active state approach to identifying problem regions and identifying key areas where targeted financial or non-financial support can be directed. The aim of this paper is to assess their impact on mitigating the negative economic and social impacts, which have been typical for these regions for several decades.

Фінансове регулювання розвитку територіальних утворень: методи та інструменти

Досліджено проблему фінансового забезпечення соціального, економічного та екологічного розвитку територіальних громад України в умовах децентралізації влади; запропоновано нові підходи до визначення взаємовідносин державного бюджету з місцевими бюджетами; визначено джерела фінансових ресурсів території та проаналізовано можливості їх залучення; здійснено огляд наукових підходів українських вчених-економістів щодо класифікації джерел фінансового забезпечення територіальних громад; доведено що вирішальна роль у забезпеченні розвитку територіальних утворень належить державі та її соціально-економічній політиці щодо збалансованого розвитку економічно відсталих та слаборозвинених територій. Досліджено сучасний інструментарій фінансового регулювання розвитку територіальних утворень в умовах децентралізації; проведено класифікацію інструментів фінансового забезпечення розвитку територій на бюджетні та позабюджетні; обґрунтовано необхідність залучення додаткових джерел фінансових ресурсів у територіальні утворення; розроблено механізми залучення потенціалу фінансово-кредитних установ території, фондового та страхового ринків для фінансування програм регіонального розвитку; розроблено механізм залучення інвестиційних ресурсів для фінансування програм регіонального розвитку; запропоновано ефективні методи формування, розподілу і перерозподілу фінансової бази регіону; систематизовано кількісні та якісні параметри фінансового забезпечення збалансованого розвитку.

Development and Piloting of Sustainability Assessment Metrics for Arctic Process Industry in Finland—The Biorefinery Investment and Slag Processing Service Cases

Regionally, there has been a lot of focus on the advancement of sustainable arctic industry and circular economy activities within process industry in the Finnish Lapland. In this study, collaboration between university and industry was established facilitated by regional development actors to develop and pilot test a sustainability assessment approach taking into account previous work in this field. The industry partners in this study were a biorefinery investment in the first case and a slag processing service in the second case. As a result of the joint efforts, novel sets of environmental and economic sustainability assessment indicators and associated sub-indicators were developed and the existing set of social indicators was updated. Moreover, environmental and social sustainability assessments were implemented in the biorefinery case accompanied by a separate evaluation of regional economic impacts. In the slag processing case, environmental, economic and social sustainability were assessed. The results of the sustainability assessments indicated very good level of overall performance in both cases. However, specific elements that contributed to lower level of performance included lack of specific sustainability management and reporting approaches and need for better performance in supply chain sustainability, monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions, life cycle thinking and circular economy training. The expected effects of the planned investment on the regional economy were very positive based on the results of the evaluation.

Constructing advantage in the Cradle Coast region, Tasmania: knowledge partnering as a regional development platform approach

AbstractThe literature on regional innovation systems (RIS) highlights that the localized social and institutional contexts of knowledge production matter for economic success. For less‐advantaged regions, this raises a practical methodological challenge: how to construct platforms for regional innovation from the ground up? This paper discusses how a university working in a geographically and economically peripheralAustralian region, theCradleCoast region ofTasmania, has addressed this challenge, using insights from regional development platform method (RDPM). This work has demonstrated the difficulties of applyingRDPMin a context where regional development actors lack strong structural, relational and cognitive ties. An approach called knowledge partnering has been used to overcome ‘connectivity deficits’ and bring regional actors together around issues of common concern. The local university has played a key role in this process. For policy‐makers, this process illustrates how universities can work with regions to catalyse regional development outcomes.

Types and Systems of Actors in Regional Development: Their Function and Regulatory Potential

The evaluation of the actors in regional development is only one component/level within the regional research. However, it is a level which increases its significance and has or could have the key role in the sphere of regional development and at the same time reflects the problems on other levels. It is in fact the proportionality and balance of the whole system that determines the resulting effects of activities and regulatory competence of actors. If there is an imbalance - even an asymmetry - in this system, advocacy of only certain interests becomes understandably imminent, as well as a reduction of interactions (not only) in the organisation of regional society. Differentiation of actors derives primarily from the distribution of power and wealth in a society, and thus it has always played an exceptionally significant role. However, as a consequence of the hierarchical organisation of the society this differentiation was noticeably asymmetrical. The non-equivalence of partial subjects/actors of regional development has led to the understandable domination of ‘deterministic’ relations and the plurality of interests and then to the dominance of ‘competitive’ relations. Only gradually do interactions of a cooperative kind successively break through the growth of mutual interconnections, linkages and necessity of social elements and partial systems, and thus the increasing of organic nature of (geo)societal systems. This will be finally illustrated through the difference between ‘symmetric’ systems of actors in developed countries and the ‘asymmetric’ global system.

Single-Player Universities in the South: The Role of University Actors in Development in Vietnam's North Central Coast Region

Ramachandran L. and Scott S. Single-player universities in the south: the role of university actors in development in Vietnam's North Central Coast region, Regional Studies. Despite significant poverty reduction since the late 1980s, Vietnam has seen a growing imbalance in regional development patterns. Recent research from Northern countries suggests that ‘single universities in peripheral regions’ (Boucher et al., 2003) can be key actors in regional development. This perspective is applied to the role of Vinh University within a rural region of Vietnam. The long-term, localized presence of universities in Southern countries represents an alternative to short-term, foreign development projects. University-based centres can fill ‘missing links’ between academia, government, civil society, and the private sector on a regional level. This role is essential in Vietnam, where national civil society groups are nascent. Ramachandran L. et Scott S. Les universités à rôle unique dans le Sud: le rôle des acteurs universitaires dans le développement de la région côtière centrale du nord du Vietnam, Regional Studies. Malgré une réduction importante de la pauvreté depuis la fin des années 1980, le Vietnam est le témoin d'un déséquilibre croissant de ses modèles de développement régional. De récentes recherches menées par des pays du Nord suggèrent que « des universités uniques dans les régions périphériques » (Boucher et al., 2003) peuvent être des acteurs majeurs du développement régional. Cette perspective est appliquée au rôle de l'Université de Vinh dans une région rurale du Vietnam. La présence localisée, de longue date, d'universités dans les pays du Sud représente une alternative aux projets de développement étrangers à court terme. Des centres basés sur des universités peuvent constituer le chaînon manquant entre le monde académique, le gouvernement, la société civile et le secteur privé au niveau régional. Ce rôle est essentiel au Vietnam où des groupes nationaux de société civile voient le jour. Développement régional Universités Vietnam Développement rural Développement communautaire Ramachandran L. und Scott S. Einzeluniversitäten im Süden: die Rolle von Universitäten in der Entwicklung der mittleren Nordküstenregion von Vietnam, Regional Studies. Trotz einer signifikanten Senkung der Armut seit Ende der achtziger Jahre ist die Regionalentwicklung in Vietnam von wachsendem Ungleichgewicht gekennzeichnet. Aus der aktuellen Forschung in den Industrieländern geht hervor, dass ‘einzelne Universitäten in Peripherieregionen’ (Boucher et al., 2003) in der Regionalentwicklung eine zentrale Rolle spielen können. Diese Perspektive wird auf die Rolle der Universität Vinh innerhalb einer ländlichen Region von Vietnam angewandt. Die langfristige und lokalisierte Präsenz von Universitäten in südlichen Staaten stellt eine Alternative zu kurzfristigen ausländischen Entwicklungsprojekten dar. Universitäre Zentren können auf regionaler Ebene die ‘fehlenden Verknüpfungen’ zwischen Akademikern, Behörden, Zivilgesellschaft und Privatsektor bieten. Diese Rolle ist in Vietnam, wo nationale Zivilgesellschaftsgruppen im Entstehen begriffen sind, von größter Bedeutung. Regionalentwicklung Universitäten Vietnam Ländliche Entwicklung Gemeinschaftsentwicklung Ramachandran L. y Scott S. Universidades únicas en el sur: el papel de las universidades en el desarrollo de la región de la costa norte central de Vietnam, Regional Studies. Pese a una importante disminución de la pobreza a finales de los ochenta, Vietnam ha desarrollado un creciente desequilibrio en los modelos del desarrollo regional. Recientes estudios de países del norte indican que las ‘universidades únicas en regiones periféricas’ (Boucher et al., 2003) pueden desempeñar una función primordial en el desarrollo regional. Esta perspectiva se aplica al rol de la Universidad de Vinh en una región rural de Vietnam. La presencia localizada y continua de universidades en los países del sur representa una alternativa a los proyectos de desarrollo extranjero a corto plazo. Los centros universitarios pueden cubrir los vínculos ausentes a nivel regional entre el sector académico, gubernamental, la sociedad civil y el sector privado. Este rol es fundamental en Vietnam, un país donde están surgiendo grupos nacionales de la sociedad civil. Desarrollo regional Universidades Vietnam Desarrollo rural Desarrollo de la comunidad

Common Language Development and a Shared Conceptual Frame about Competitiveness between Regional Development Actors in Risaralda Department

As a result of the research process developed in the group of sustainability of the Faculty of Administration at the University of Rosario, were obtained several methodologies and tools for the realization of strategic studies. Among them, one can count the Structural Analysis of Strategic Industries, supplemented with the prospective analysis, which are applicable among other subjects, regional competitiveness. The implementation of these methodologies and tools in the Colombian has been doing so successfully and has served to improve them while contributing to advances through research in the academy. In this paper, we present the case for the application in the department of Risaralda, vibrant region located in central western Colombia, nunder the auspices of the regional council on competitiveness, helped generate a common language and a shared conceptual framework on competition among players regional development and reflect on the strategic positioning of the region in search of an identity competitive.

A szlovákiai regionális fejlesztéspolitika s annak középtávú dél-szlovákiai határ menti vetülete az uniós támogatáspolitika tükrében

A tanulmány a regionális fejlesztéspolitika szlovákiai feltételrendszerét vizsgálja, kiemelve a magyar kisebbség által lakott dél-szlovákiai határ menti sajátosságokat, mely régiót a többségi nemzet fejlesztéspolitikai döntéshozói sokszor hátrányosan diszkriminálnak, elsősorban a többségében szlovák nemzetiségű lakosság által lakott régiók fejlesztését kezelik prioritásként. Az elemzés az uniós csatlakozást megelőző és az azt követő 4 év idősíkjában mozogva áttekintést ad a politikai környezettől a regionális intézményrendszeren át a térségfejlesztési stratégiákig, kiemelve a szlovák–magyar határ stratégiai megjelenését az érintett határ menti önkormányzati kerületek gazdasági és szociális fejlesztési programjaiban. A tanulmány továbbá felvázolja az uniós támogatáspolitika szlovákiai megjelenését, számba veszi az előző, valamint a jelenlegi programozási időszak alapfeltételrendszerét.

When regional development becomes an institutional responsibility for universities: The need for a discussion about knowledge construction in relation to universities’ third role

The paper considers the role of universities as actors in regional development, and the implications for approaches to knowledge, including knowledge construction. The new role for universities requires the production of knowledge, which relates to the needs of the region. Particular attention was given to the Agder region of Norway, and Agder University College.

Neoliberalism and the Institutions for Regional Development in Australia

This paper examines some effects of the pursuit of neoliberalism on regional development policy and practice in Australia, and in particular on the activities and effectiveness of regional development organisations. The paper interprets data from a survey of 505 regional development organisations across Australia through the framework of Jessop's contribution to state theory and his identification of four key trends in economic management under neoliberalism. Regional development policies are seen as a response of governments to electoral pressure from regions, but a response that is constrained by the dominance of neoliberal ideology. The objectives of regional development are predominantly economic, but are often limited to the role of facilitation and the provision of information. Some responsibility for regional development has been shifted downwards to regions, but the effectiveness of the organisations given this responsibility is reduced by the short-term and competitive nature of much of their funding, the lack of coordination between regional development actors at the local level, the proliferation of agencies and the competition between them. The paper concludes that regional development agencies in Australia are in many ways a product of neoliberalism, since they represent one way in which governments can be seen to be responding to regional pressure for assistance but they can do so without incurring significant costs. Yet regional development bodies are also a victim of neoliberalist thinking, since it denies them the resources and the powers they need to be more successful in their work.