Suchergebnisse

The analysis of regional administration's governance renders it possible to put at the forefront the issue of whether or not setting up an internal audit function would help improve its perception by miscellaneous stakeholders; hopefully contributing as a result to the establishment of a good governance system. The constraints of this function and the resistance to change represented by its implementation represents a certain risk of failure when it comes to achieving good governance objectives set by the regional authority and this is indeed a fear clearly expressed by regional officials. This resistance is not unrelated to the confusion that still persists among actors in the region, officials and managers, as well as between the two functions of audit and inspection. The purpose of this paper is to study to what extent internal audit facilitates the establishment of a good regional governance system, suited for various stakeholders. We illustrate here that, the professionalism of internal auditors, their independence and their impartiality will hopefully enable the decrease of resistance to this system, especially when managers find a common interest in the conclusions of the audit missions in terms of creating added value to their management.

The problems of rural regions include globally uneven power relations and development patterns, and rapid and uncertain exogenous threats. At the same time, economic and social restructuring involving devolved planning responsibilities, privatised resource rights, and networked management approaches have undermined previous scholarly and policy assumptions about the character of rural regions. We already know that local and regional institutions play a critical role in ensuring the resilience and resourcefulness of rural regions in the face of such challenges. We do not yet understand why some rural regions are resourceful while others strain or even paralyse under conditions of inequity, complexity, uncertainty, and unpredictability. This paper seeks to identify the operational elements of effective regional governance, based on the premise that measuring and monitoring the potential for regional governance enables an assessment of the capacity of regional institutions to cope with the diversity of problems that may arise. A regional governance index is proposed. Four indicators of regional governance are identified, enabling measurement of (1) engagement in regional networks; (2) diversity and synergies across the instrument mix; (3) robustness and adaptability in instrument design; and (4) broader fiscal, administrative and democratic support. These indicators are tested using a case analysis of two rural regions in the USA and Australia. The test reveals the higher level of regional institutional potential in one of the regions, and highlights the critical function of regional network engagement and broader enabling fiscal, administrative and democratic preconditions in this region. The role of the state in organizing the conditions for these is shown to be vital. These findings are of use to particular regions concerned with enhancing their institutional performance, and can also assist government agencies and nonprofits to prioritise their investment and intervention in rural regions. Further development ...

In recent years, new regionally based strategy building processes emerged at the interface between public policy and the social coordination of collective action. Foresight as a governance process for stimulating regional innovation and for strengthening the regional economic system against global competition became a popular concept. Based on the experiences of a strategy building process in the Italian autonomous province of Trento, it is the objective of the paper to sketch recent theoretical and political developments regarding multi-actor and multi-level governance and policy concepts at the regional level.

This policy report examines the issue of digital protectionism in Southeast Asia. Digital Protectionism refers to "barriers and impediments to digital trade [including] localization barriers, data privacy and protection, intellectual property-related issues, and online censorship, as well as impediments to digitally enabled trade." The report aims at addressing digital protectionism in ASEAN by offering feasible policy recommendations for Southeast Asian authorities to help them better tackle the problem. It begins by discussing regional architectures governing digital economy and E-Commerce, and demonstrating that certain digital protectionist measures in Southeast Asia are still intact. It then provides some practical policy recommendations that ASEAN rule makers could adopt to further address digital protectionism and advance the region's digital economy and E-Commerce. The report concludes with discussions about political elements that could facilitate the implementation of the proposed recommendations.

The purpose of the research is to determine the impact of EU funding on regional govern-ance of Tauragė and Vilnius. The term "regional governance" is a rather new phenomenon within the governance dis-course, therefore it is significant to analyse and delve into the principles of regional governance in order to ensure the economic and social growth of regions not only within Lithuania, but also within the whole European Union (hereinafter referred to as EU). It has been established that regional gov-ernance is based on the principles of cohesion policy in Lithuania. One of the cohesion policy princi-ples is that EU provides funding to ensure economic growth and competitiveness of regions. In Lithuania, EU funding policy is implemented by the Government and ministries, which act under Regulations of the European Parliament and of the Council. Within regions, the regional governance is implemented through the adoption of regional development plans, which are affected by EU funding. The research is divided in two stages in order to elucidate and consolidate the findings. The decisions made throughout the period from 2016 to 2019 by Tauragė and Vilnius regions are analyzed in the first stage of the research, and it showed that there are challenges regarding the EU requirements for the absorption of funding. EU funding has an impact on the change of decisions made by the Development Council on the adjustment of regional programs for 2014-2020. The in-terview carried out in the second stage consolidates the findings from the first stage. It supports the fact that the regional governance in Tauragė and Vilnius is strictly formed in accordance with EU funding. The agenda and adopted decisions by regional development councils fully depend on EU funding. A drastic conclusion was reached that if EU funding was discontinued, the regional gov-ernance in Tauragė and Vilnius would cease to function.

The purpose of the research is to determine the impact of EU funding on regional govern-ance of Tauragė and Vilnius. The term "regional governance" is a rather new phenomenon within the governance dis-course, therefore it is significant to analyse and delve into the principles of regional governance in order to ensure the economic and social growth of regions not only within Lithuania, but also within the whole European Union (hereinafter referred to as EU). It has been established that regional gov-ernance is based on the principles of cohesion policy in Lithuania. One of the cohesion policy princi-ples is that EU provides funding to ensure economic growth and competitiveness of regions. In Lithuania, EU funding policy is implemented by the Government and ministries, which act under Regulations of the European Parliament and of the Council. Within regions, the regional governance is implemented through the adoption of regional development plans, which are affected by EU funding. The research is divided in two stages in order to elucidate and consolidate the findings. The decisions made throughout the period from 2016 to 2019 by Tauragė and Vilnius regions are analyzed in the first stage of the research, and it showed that there are challenges regarding the EU requirements for the absorption of funding. EU funding has an impact on the change of decisions made by the Development Council on the adjustment of regional programs for 2014-2020. The in-terview carried out in the second stage consolidates the findings from the first stage. It supports the fact that the regional governance in Tauragė and Vilnius is strictly formed in accordance with EU funding. The agenda and adopted decisions by regional development councils fully depend on EU funding. A drastic conclusion was reached that if EU funding was discontinued, the regional gov-ernance in Tauragė and Vilnius would cease to function.

The purpose of the research is to determine the impact of EU funding on regional govern-ance of Tauragė and Vilnius. The term "regional governance" is a rather new phenomenon within the governance dis-course, therefore it is significant to analyse and delve into the principles of regional governance in order to ensure the economic and social growth of regions not only within Lithuania, but also within the whole European Union (hereinafter referred to as EU). It has been established that regional gov-ernance is based on the principles of cohesion policy in Lithuania. One of the cohesion policy princi-ples is that EU provides funding to ensure economic growth and competitiveness of regions. In Lithuania, EU funding policy is implemented by the Government and ministries, which act under Regulations of the European Parliament and of the Council. Within regions, the regional governance is implemented through the adoption of regional development plans, which are affected by EU funding. The research is divided in two stages in order to elucidate and consolidate the findings. The decisions made throughout the period from 2016 to 2019 by Tauragė and Vilnius regions are analyzed in the first stage of the research, and it showed that there are challenges regarding the EU requirements for the absorption of funding. EU funding has an impact on the change of decisions made by the Development Council on the adjustment of regional programs for 2014-2020. The in-terview carried out in the second stage consolidates the findings from the first stage. It supports the fact that the regional governance in Tauragė and Vilnius is strictly formed in accordance with EU funding. The agenda and adopted decisions by regional development councils fully depend on EU funding. A drastic conclusion was reached that if EU funding was discontinued, the regional gov-ernance in Tauragė and Vilnius would cease to function.

The purpose of the research is to determine the impact of EU funding on regional govern-ance of Tauragė and Vilnius. The term "regional governance" is a rather new phenomenon within the governance dis-course, therefore it is significant to analyse and delve into the principles of regional governance in order to ensure the economic and social growth of regions not only within Lithuania, but also within the whole European Union (hereinafter referred to as EU). It has been established that regional gov-ernance is based on the principles of cohesion policy in Lithuania. One of the cohesion policy princi-ples is that EU provides funding to ensure economic growth and competitiveness of regions. In Lithuania, EU funding policy is implemented by the Government and ministries, which act under Regulations of the European Parliament and of the Council. Within regions, the regional governance is implemented through the adoption of regional development plans, which are affected by EU funding. The research is divided in two stages in order to elucidate and consolidate the findings. The decisions made throughout the period from 2016 to 2019 by Tauragė and Vilnius regions are analyzed in the first stage of the research, and it showed that there are challenges regarding the EU requirements for the absorption of funding. EU funding has an impact on the change of decisions made by the Development Council on the adjustment of regional programs for 2014-2020. The in-terview carried out in the second stage consolidates the findings from the first stage. It supports the fact that the regional governance in Tauragė and Vilnius is strictly formed in accordance with EU funding. The agenda and adopted decisions by regional development councils fully depend on EU funding. A drastic conclusion was reached that if EU funding was discontinued, the regional gov-ernance in Tauragė and Vilnius would cease to function.

The Arctic is saturated with nuclear facilities bringing both benefits for regional economic and social development and risks of nuclear and radiological accidents and concerns about radioactive wastes. There is every reason to expect the Arctic will remain a nuclearized region during the foreseeable future. This makes it important to direct attention to issues of nuclear safety and security in the region. We identify several clusters of these issues in the Arctic, including the challenges of potential nuclear accidents, the handling of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste, the cleanup of radiological contaminants, and concerns about nuclear security. An analysis of international conventions and voluntary codes of conduct shows that they are applicable to Arctic nuclear safety and security, but only in general terms. This suggests a need for an Arctic-specific agreement on nuclear and radiological safety, emergency preparedness and response, and cleanup of radiological contaminants. The outbreak of military hostilities in Ukraine in February 2022 has disrupted normal procedures for addressing issues of common concern in the Arctic. But the need for co-operation regarding matters like nuclear safety and security will not go away. Assuming it is possible to devise "necessary modalities" for restarting the work of the Arctic Council following the acute phase of the Ukraine crisis, an Arctic-specific agreement on nuclear safety and security could be developed under the auspices of the Arctic Council, which already has taken an interest in nuclear safety through the activities of its Working Group on Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response. Once such an agreement is in place, it will become important to consider the infrastructure needed to ensure that its provisions are implemented effectively.

Das Forschungsvorhaben befasst sich mit der Frage, ob es möglich ist, über die sozioemotionale Bindung an einen Raum (place) und damit verbundene Prozesse des Place-making neue Formen regionaler Selbststeuerung (Regional Governance) auszulösen, die das Management natürlicher Ressourcen unterstützen. Vor allem die amerikanische Literatur zu Naturschutz und Forstmanagement bestärkt Vermutungen über solche Zusammenhänge. Jedoch könnten dabei sozio-kulturelle Besonderheiten eine Rolle spielen (starke zivilgesellschaftliche Kultur), die auf deutsche Verhältnisse schwierig zu übertragen sind. Untersucht wurden Biosphärenreservate (BR), weil vermutet werden kann, dass hier die Bedingungen für die Entstehung solcher Beziehungen durch den integrierten Ansatz der Biosphärenreservate besonders günstig sind. Sollten diese Beziehungen hier nicht zu finden sein, wird es schwer sein, sie in Deutschland generell als relevant zu betrachten. Zu den untersuchten Biosphärenreservaten gehören die Rhön (bayerischer und hessischer Teil), Süd-Ost-Rügen sowie der Schaalsee. Ergänzt wurde die Untersuchung durch zwei Beispiele aus Großbritannien (Braunton Burrows (England) und Dyfi (Wales)) – der Vergleich sollte vor allem Hinweise für den Einfluss unterschiedlicher politisch-administrativer Rahmenbedingungen geben. Leitende Untersuchungsfragen waren, welche externen Einflussfaktoren die Entstehung von Governance-Arrangements begünstigen, wie die Governance-Arrangements funktionieren und welche Rolle dabei place und Place-making spielen. Methodisch basiert die Untersuchung neben der Auswertung der Literatur auf Dokumentenanalysen, Expertenbefragungen (110 Interviews), einem Workshop zur Kontrolle unserer schlussfolgernden Wertungen (mit 25 Experten), sowie einer Tagung (zusammen mit dem Leibniz-Institut für Regionalentwicklung und Strukturforschung (IRS), Erkner). Die empirische Untersuchung fand in Deutschland in der Zeit vom Oktober 2004 bis Mai 2005, in Großbritannien in der Zeit vom April 2005 bis Oktober 2005 statt. Hinsichtlich der Frage nach Empfehlungen zur Gestaltung von Regional Governance lässt sich keine einfache "Gebrauchsanweisung" geben. Es lassen sich aber Erfolgspotenziale identifizieren, bei deren optimaler Ausgestaltung ein hoher Erfolg wahrscheinlich ist. Zudem ist zu beachten, dass bei der Gestaltung von Governance-Arrangements zum einen strategische Entscheidungen relevant sind, die als aktive Weichenstellungen gelten können ('decision points'). Zum anderen sind bestimmte Kipp- und Wendepunkte in den Prozessen (beispielsweise zum Vertrauensaufbau oder der Akzeptanz des Biosphärenreservates) zu beachten ('tipping points'), die mit darüber entscheiden, ob sich solche Prozesse in positiver (oder negativer) Weise stabilisieren. ; This report is about local/ regional governance and placemaking in bioshere reserves in Germany and Great Britain. Main research questions are related to external factors for the genesis of governance-arrangemens, the functionality of governance arrangements and how this is connected to place.

Brazil's home region has two peculiarities: first, it is essentially fuzzy as its extension and membership have changed overtime; second, regardless of its limits, its inner core has been characterized by a long period of interstate peace. These factors have led to two outcomes: first, high politics has been conducted through diplomatic rather than military means; second, region-building has remained under the strictest control of the governments rather than becoming self-sustaining. Regional public goods have been mostly defined on the negative, especially as the avoidance of negative externalities, and only recently has Brazil started to invest in the creation of a governance framework that keep extra-regional powers away. Yet, structural limitations and instrumental constraints have limited Brazilian efforts and turned South America into a still peaceful but increasingly divergent sub-region. Through an analysis of institutional overlap and policy networks, especially regarding nuclear energy and the environment, this paper shows that Brazil's low, late and soft investment in regional security governance is explained by a combination of low regional risks, scarce domestic resources, a legalistic culture of dispute settlement, and transgovernmental networks that substitute for intense interstate cooperation and deep regional institutions.

The controversial Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) are currently back on the agenda, as several African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states are again faced with a loss of market access if they do not ratify their EPAs by 1 October 2016. To complicate matters, Brexit has introduced an element of uncertainty and is causing some ACP states to reconsider their decision to sign EPAs. EPAs were introduced under the trade pillar of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement (CPA), which governs relations between the European Union (EU) and the ACP. EPAs represent a sea change in trade relations between the EU and the ACP: not only do they introduce reciprocity into trade preferences, they are organized on a regional basis, with the aim of promoting regional integration within the ACP. This Briefing Paper presents an update of the various EPA processes, and investigates the extent to which they have actually met the EU's stated aim of promoting regionalism in the ACP, as well as the EPAs alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the debate on the future of EU-ACP cooperation. EPAs have been only partially effective in facilitating regional integration in the ACP. EPA negotiations have resulted in the conclusion of region-wide deals that align with existing integration initiatives in only three regions: the Caribbean, the East African Community (EAC), and West Africa. EPAs have acted as a 'mid-wife' to deeper integration in these regions, however it is a possibility that the EAC and West African EPAs will not be signed by the October deadline. In the remaining regions – the Pacific, Central Africa, Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA), and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) – EPAs have made future prospects for regional integration more difficult, and in some cases may have contributed to a 'lock-in' of fragmented regionalism. Part of the reason for this mixed record is tension between the CPA's principles of 'regionalization', which recognizes the importance of regional integration for development; and 'differentiation', which advocates treating states differently based on their level of development. EPAs aimed to encourage groups of states to sign the agreements as regional blocs, but the EU's Everything But Arms (EBA) regime undermines regional EPAs by offering Least Developed Countries (LDCs) non-reciprocal trade preferences. This splits ACP regions into LDCs versus non-LDCs, making it difficult to conclude regional EPAs. Given the ongoing struggle to conclude regional EPAs, and the uncertainty of Brexit, the EU should consider extending the 1 October deadline, to allow ACP states more time to consider their positions and work on further harmonising regional relations. As regional integration is key for the economic development of ACP states, future cooperation should be aware of the need for alignment of EPAs, the SDGs, and the goal of regional integration.

In the Scandinavian countries, the regional level of governance is neither the locus of large-scale policy reforms nor a significant provider of welfare to citizens. Nevertheless, it has some important policy tasks in the area of environmental, economic, and social sustainability. These policy areas are rife with wicked and unruly problems that combine cognitive uncertainties with the risk of political conflict and stalemate. Dealing with these problems requires the construction of network arenas in which a range of public and private actors can collaborate in order to find innovative solutions to common problems. The paper analyses the efforts of Norwegian regions to enhance collaborative innovation through the formation of interactive governance arenas. It compares three different policy areas in order to better understand how different forms of interactive governance enhance collaborative innovation for economic, social and environmental sustainability. The ultimate goal is to assess the ability and potential of Norwegian regions to solve wicked and unruly problems through collaborative innovation. ; In the Scandinavian countries, the regional level of governance is neither the locus of large-scale policy reforms nor a significant provider of welfare to citizens. Nevertheless, it has some important policy tasks in the area of environmental, economic, and social sustainability. These policy areas are rife with wicked and unruly problems that combine cognitive uncertainties with the risk of political conflict and stalemate. Dealing with these problems requires the construction of network arenas in which a range of public and private actors can collaborate in order to find innovative solutions to common problems. The paper analyses the efforts of Norwegian regions to enhance collaborative innovation through the formation of interactive governance arenas. It compares three different policy areas in order to better understand how different forms of interactive governance enhance collaborative innovation for economic, social and environmental sustainability. The ultimate goal is to assess the ability and potential of Norwegian regions to solve wicked and unruly problems through collaborative innovation.

Network management is viewed as a way of dealing with uncertainty in complex policy networks, but little is known about the types of network management strategies employed by regional actors to manage vertical and horizontal relations. Two central questions guide this paper. What network management strategies were employed to manage complexity and uncertainty in regional governance networks in England? How can past lessons be harnessed to inform future network strategies for managing territorial networks? The paper concludes that regional network management strategies were effective in securing 'process' outcomes, but that 'content' outcomes, in the form of genuine discretion over policy, were unattainable without the authorization of central government.

The purpose of the research: to determine the content of regional governance concept and its change in Lithuanian strategic documents. Regional governance is a relatively new phenomenon in both academic and practical public administration activities; therefore the use of this concept is not well-established and causes a lot of debate. Foreign authors who have analysed the concept of regional governance have divided it in three dimensions: • Theoretical, where regional governance is turned into object of research; • Empirical, which includes the practice of public administration processes in the region, public and private sector cooperation, in order to improve policy implementation in the region; • Instrumental, when regional governance becomes an instrument for achieving sustainable development goals and developing participatory governance. The study revealed that regional governance in analysed strategic documents is usually understood as an instrument for implementing principles of sustainable development and participatory governance aimed at increasing social and economic cohesion of the regions and the formation of a positive image. In the course of the research it was noticed that in some of the analysed documents regional governance is understood in two ways: both as an instrument and as an empirical phenomenon. The documents emphasize the need for sustainable regional development and the involvement of citizens in the decision-making process, which turns regional governance into an instrument; however, a need to transfer the functions of central government to local authorities also arises, thus regional governance is brought closer to the interpretation of the empirical phenomenon. Creation and development of a network system is typical in regional governance that is understood as an instrument. Based on the data of the research, it can be stated that the content of regional governance remains similar in all analysed documents.