How does Norwegian national higher education policy affect stakeholder influence in practice? Two selected higher education institutions, the University of Oslo and Telemark University College, are scrutinized here with regard to how they have interpreted and adapted to national policy reforms.Both institutions have undergone an evolvement of stakeholder influence in three phases where the two first phases paved the way for the ultimately dominant characteristics of the entrepreneurial regime. However, my analysis shows that the initial institutional legacies of the University of Oslo and Telemark University College differed. The University of Oslo had an established institutional legacy with professorial dominance – only to be challenged by other internal stakeholder groups in the 1970's. In contrast, Telemark University College invited external cooperation already from the start and therefore differs from the University of Oslo.The book is relevant to scholars and students of public policy and administration as well as higher education.
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This dissertation deals with how national higher education policy affects stakeholder influence in practice, i.e. how two selected higher education institutions, the University of Oslo and Telemark University College, have interpreted and adapted to national policy reforms. The aim of this dissertation is threefold. First, four stakeholder regimes: the expert, welfare, bargaining and entrepreneurial regimes, are developed. Second, these stakeholder regimes are used to investigate the evolvement of norms and structures for stakeholder influence over time, i.e. approximately 40 years, at the University of Oslo and Telemark University College, respectively. Third, historical institutionalism is used at an organisational level in order to reveal the evolvement of continuity and change in stakeholder influence at these two institutions. This dissertation argues that the two higher education institutions have both undergone an evolvement of stakeholder influence in three phases where the two first phases have paved the way for the ultimately dominant characteristics of the entrepreneurial regime. At the same time, the analysis shows that the initial institutional legacies of the University of Oslo and Telemark University College differed. The University of Oslo had an established institutional legacy where the professors had the most influence, whereas the participation of other internal stakeholder groups became part of the legacy during the 1970s. Recently, ideas of strong leadership have been added to the legacy. In contrast, the institutional legacy of Telemark University College was based on cooperation with external stakeholders already from the outset of the period studied here. On a general level, this dissertation argues that policy is more likely to change practice if the changes are incremental and introduced as layering modes of change on the structural aspects of the regime models. Along with these incremental changes – where the University of Oslo and Telemark University College become more alike in several aspects – both higher education institutions display a number of continuous practices; cooperation with external stakeholders is one example which can be traced back to the early stage of this study. However, Telemark University College initially opened up more to the outside world than the University of Oslo.
The services for people with addiction and mental health problems and have received increasing attention, both in the public debate, among users and professionals and not least from political authorities. There is political agreement on the importance of prioritizing the field, when at the same time there is disagreement on whether the services will actually be better by present-day reforms.
In National Policies and Local Challenges, the authors explore the organization of services for people with addiction and mental health illness, from initiatives to improve the services at the level of national government to implementing changes in local service provision by municipalities. We discuss one of the most challenging questions in the modern welfare state: How should services be organized so that both users and service providers experience them as coordinated and integrated? The authors address these issues by referring to key features of national policy and change processes that can be observed in a selection of municipalities. The book also refers to analyses of experiences with various measures and services related to work, housing and prison care and correctional services.
The anthology is based on a research project that studies the coordination and integration of services for people with complex addiction and mental disorders. The book is based on political science and organizational theoretical perspectives, and aims to provide insight into the usefulness of such perspectives in the analysis of welfare state's challenges when complex needs are addressed. The target group for the book is researchers, students and employees in local government – as well as practitioners who work with users with complex and complex needs.
The book is edited by Catharina Bjørkquist, professor at Østfold University College, and Helge Ramsdal, professor emeritus at Østfold University College. - Tjenestene til personer med psykiske lidelser og ruslidelser har fått stadig større oppmerksomhet, både i den offentlige debatten, blant brukere og fagfolk og ikke minst fra politiske myndigheter. Det er stor politisk enighet om betydningen av å prioritere feltet, samtidig som det er uenighet om hvorvidt tjenestene faktisk blir bedre.
I Statlig politikk og lokale utfordringer ser forfatterne på organisering av tjenestene til mennesker med samtidige ruslidelser og psykiske lidelser, fra de politiske føringene sentralt til kommunale tjenester lokalt. Spørsmålet som stilles er et av de mest utfordrende i den moderne velferdsstaten: Hvordan skal en organisere tiltak og tjenester slik at både brukere og tjenesteytere opplever dem som samordnet og integrerte? Forfatterne diskuterer dette gjennom å vise til sentrale trekk ved den nasjonale politikken, de endringsprosessene en kan observere i et utvalg kommuner og erfaringer med ulike tiltak og tjenester knyttet til arbeid, bolig og kriminalomsorg.
Antologien har sitt utgangspunkt i et forskningsprosjekt som studerer samordning og integrering av tjenester til mennesker med sammensatte rus- og psykiske lidelser. Boka bygger på statsvitenskapelige og organisasjonsteoretiske perspektiver, og har som mål å gi innsikt i nytten av slike perspektiver i analysen av velferdsstatens utfordringer. Målgruppa for boka er forskere, studenter og ansatte i lokal forvaltning – samt tjenesteutøvere som jobber med brukere med sammensatte og komplekse behov.
"The book discusses various challenges and solutions related to the coordination of health and welfare services. Coordination is central to creating integrated services for users with complex needs. In order to understand the challenges and opportunities associated with creating such services, one needs knowledge related to organizations and the organizational context. The book's chapters takes on an organizational perspective where patterns and explanations are sought in formal and informal structures, processes and culture.
The users' need for services often cross established boundaries, both organizational and professional. The authors highlight the possibilities and limitations of some selected solutions that will help to cut across or break down such boundaries. Examples of such solutions are user involvement, interdisciplinary collaboration, team organizations, coordinators, standardization and patient pathways, digitization and decision-making tools for employees who work in the services. One chapter summarizes three different theoretical research approaches for analyzing coordination and collaboration.
The target group is researchers, university and college employees and students of the health and welfare sector. The book also will be of interest for user organizations as well as administrative and professional decision-makers in public and private businesses." - I denne boka drøfter forfatterne ulike utfordringer og løsninger knyttet til samordning av helse- og velferdstjenestene. Samordning er sentralt for å skape et helhetlig helse- og velferdstilbud til både eldre og yngre brukere med komplekse behov. For å forstå hvilke utfordringer og muligheter som finnes, trenger man kunnskap om organisasjon og organisatorisk kontekst. Boken inntar et organisasjonsperspektiv hvor mønstre og forklaringer søkes i formelle og uformelle strukturer, prosesser og organisasjonskulturer.
Brukernes behov for tjenester går ofte på tvers av organisasjoners og profesjoners etablerte grenser. Forfatterne belyser muligheter og begrensninger ved noen utvalgte løsninger som skal bidra til å overskride eller bryte ned slike grenser. Eksempler på slike løsninger er brukermedvirkning, tverrfaglig samarbeid, teamorganisering, koordinator, standardisering og behandlingslinjer, digitalisering samt beslutningsverktøy for tidlig innsats blant barn og unge (BTI). Et bidrag sammenfatter ulike forskningstilnærminger for å analysere samordning og samarbeid.
Målgruppen for boken er forskere, universitets- og høyskoleansatte, studenter og ansatte, særlig innenfor helse- og velferdssektoren. Den kan også være interessant og nyttig for brukerorganisasjoner og faglige og administrative beslutningstakere i offentlig og privat virksomhet.
This article aims to study how Norwegian county governors (CGs) performed their coordination tasks shortly after the lockdown in March by emphasizing the use of the County Emergency Council (CEC) as a meeting arena for coordination in times of crisis management more generally and the challenges the CGs had to face in this particular situation. We ask (1) what kind of meeting arena is the CEC and (2) how does the CEC as a meeting arena facilitate coordination at this level of government? In order to analyze the dynamics of the CEC meetings, we will refer to two theoretical approaches, i.e., meetings science and coordination. The present study is based upon an exploratory research strategy to analyze how the CGs responded to the challenges and performed coordination through the CEC. We found that the CEC meetings could be seen as hybrids of organization, institution and network, and even a network of networks, where several CG offices established thematic networks. These smaller networks have the advantage of establishing personal relationships more easily than the larger networks; however, they may lack the comprehensive overview that is necessary in a crisis that cuts across sectors.
