Suchergebnisse

Focuses on the introduction of strategic management into a UK local authority, based on several years of empirical research. Aims primarily to explore conceptual and practical links between strategic management and scientific management. Demonstrates that clear parallels exist between the two models and thereby lends support to those who argue that scientific management remains an important influence on modern management thinking and practice. However, despite their shared origins, strategic management has developed into a more sophisticated and potentially more powerful management tool. In particular, through the distinction drawn between strategic and operational decision making it appears to extend the principle of separating conception from execution into the heart of senior management. A realistic account of the political process of change within the local authority is also provided and subsequent performance following the introduction of strategic management is assessed.

In spite of the growing incidence of mass death incidents due to factors such as climate change, technology, terrorism and globalization there are relatively few rules and procedures in place to deal with the dead and where rules do exist they are often ignored or broken. Furthermore, because of the very different cultural, legal, financial, and religious nature of states and victims international agreements, conventions and best practices are difficult to establish. This paper highlights the often political and ad hoc nature of the decisions that have to be made by responders and the challenges this presents for policy‐makers as well as the families of the victims. While accepting the need for flexibility in emergency situations, the paper identifies some of the areas where public policy reforms and frameworks are most needed in order to establish clearer rules and procedures for dealing with the dead. Finally, the paper calls for the policies and procedures that do exist to be informed by and subject to the same principles of public administration, such as accountability and transparency, that govern other areas public policy.

ABSTRACTPublic private partnerships (PPPs) are increasingly advocated as beneficial for the delivery of public services, facilities, and infrastructure for municipal governments. However, such partnerships often raise serious concerns about transparency and accountability. While municipal governments across Canada have tried to increase public participation in local affairs, PPPs can impede such efforts. This article presents a case study of the Lansdowne Park PPP redevelopment in the City of Ottawa. We focus on how transparency and citizen engagement have been compromised and circumvented and link to broader issues of how to balance the privileged status of business and the demands for commercial confidentiality with the public interest, transparency, and citizen engagement in projects that use PPPs. The article concludes by arguing that some projects and some conditions can render the use of PPPs inappropriate and counterproductive in terms of both effectiveness and the basic principles of good governance.RÉSUMÉLes partenariats public-privé (PPP) sont de plus en plus préconisés par les municipalités comme étant une solution avantageuse pour la prestation de services publics ainsi que la réalisation de projets d'installations et d'infrastructures publiques. Toutefois, de tels partenariats soulèvent souvent d'importantes préoccupations quant à la transparence et la reddition de compte en lien avec ce processus. Plusieurs municipalités canadiennes ont fait de grands progrès pour accroître la participation des citoyens aux affaires municipales, mais les PPP peuvent représenter un obstacle important à de tels efforts. Cet article présente une étude de cas sur le réaménagement du parc Lansdowne dans le cadre d'un PPP à la Ville d'Ottawa. L'article se concentre sur la façon dont la transparence et l'engagement des citoyens ont été compromis et contournés dans ce processus. Cette analyse est liée à des considérations sur la façon d'atteindre un équilibre entre le statut privilégié de l'entreprise et les exigences de confidentialité des informations commerciales avec l'intérêt public, la transparence et l'engagement des citoyens dans des projets qui utilisent des PPP. L'article conclut en affirmant que certains projets et certaines conditions peuvent rendre certains PPP inappropriés et contre productifs en ce qui a trait à l'efficacité et aux principes fondamentaux de bonne gouvernance.

Although it is now over two decades since the Brundtland Commission report (1987) put sustainable development on the political map, concern continues in Canada that the federal government is failing to adequately implement its own commitments to tackling the ecological challenges posed by rapid urban expansion. Our analysis identifies a number of road blocks, missed opportunities and mistakes that have limited progress and many of these are traced back to the failure of national government to empower local municipal governments, as advocated by Brundtland and subsequent international initiatives, in particular 'Agenda 21' which we revisit in some detail as a basis for analysis. As well as reviewing the federal government's role in Canada, the paper explores the potential for more sustainable urban growth in the context of broader reforms.

Although it is now over two decades since the Brundtland Commission report (1987) put sustainable development on the political map, concern continues in Canada that the federal government is failing to adequately implement its own commitments to tackling the ecological challenges posed by rapid urban expansion. Our analysis identifies a number of road blocks, missed opportunities and mistakes that have limited progress and many of these are traced back to the failure of national government to empower local municipal governments, as advocated by Brundtland and subsequent international initiatives, in particular 'Agenda 21' which we revisit in some detail as a basis for analysis. As well as reviewing the federal government's role in Canada, the paper explores the potential for more sustainable urban growth in the context of broader reforms.

Continuing its tradition of timely and exemplary scholarship, the 2011-2012 edition of How Ottawa Spends examines national politics, priorities, and policies, with an emphasis on the austerity measures and budget cutting strategy of the Harper Conservative government; it also includes an analysis of the outcome of the federal election in May 2011.

The 2013-14 edition of How Ottawa Spends critically examines national politics, priorities, and policies with a close lens on Stephen Harper's Conservative party during the middle of their first term as a majority. Contributors from across Canada examine the federal government and its not uncommon mid-term problems but also its considerable agenda of long term plans, both set in the midst of national economic fragility and a global fiscal and debt crisis. Individual chapters examine several related political, policy, and spending realms including the Budget Action Plan, the ten year Canada Health Transfer Plan, the Canada Pension Plan, and Old Age Security reforms. The contributors also consider austerity related public sector downsizing and strategic spending reviews, national energy, and related environmental strategies, and the growing Harper practice of "one-off" federalism

"Anchored in the core literature on natural resources, energy production, and environmental analysis, Green-lite is a critical examination of Canadian environmental policy, governance, and politics drawing out key policy and governance patterns to show that the Canadian story is one of complexity and often weak performance. Making a compelling argument for deeper historical analysis of environmental policy and situating environmental concerns within political and fiscal agendas, the authors provide extended discussions on three relatively new features of environmental policy: the federal-cities and urban sustainability regime, the federal-municipal infrastructure regime, and the regime of agreements with NGO and businesses that often relegate governments to observing participants rather than being policy leaders. They probe the Harper era's muzzling of environmental science and scientists, Canada's oil sands energy and resource economy, and the government's core Alberta and Western Canadian political base. The first book to provide an integrated, historical, and conceptual examination of Canadian environmental policy over many decades, Green-lite captures complex notions of what environmental policy and green agendas seek to achieve in a business-dominated economy, of diverse energy producing technologies, and pollution harms and risks."--