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This study presents a large-scale study of public library services to older adults in the United States. A random sampling method was used to identify public libraries (n=226) for the study. Results suggest that libraries serve their aging communities in multiple ways. Some libraries provide a plethora of specialized programs focused on the specific needs of older adults. Others extend core library services to ensure they are accessible to older adults. Others invest in infrastructure and staff development to prepare for an aging society. Some do not provide any specialized programs or services for older adults. There is great unevenness in terms of library services for older adults across the nation. The discussion suggests additional work needed to better understand this unevenness, and to address it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates how employers value recommendations from the public employment service (PES) compared to recommendations from a social contact for their hiring decision. The importance of social contacts in the labour market creates inequality by putting those with a weak social network at a disadvantage. It is therefore important to know if public agencies acting as labour market intermediaries (LMI) can compensate for this disadvantage. This question is investigated by means of a factorial survey experiment conducted among Swiss human resources professionals. The results demonstrate that employers value recommendations from social contacts as well as the PES. However, the latter is not able to fully substitute for the effect of social networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is based on original data from a qualitative study on the impact of the Right to Rent part of the Immigration Act 2016 in Scotland. Our findings show that in addition to being an integral part of the government's project of creating a 'hostile environment for immigrants', the process of extending the state's 'law and order' functions to organisations responsible for providing welfare services and distributing public goods is of wider political importance. Here, we argue that this process, what Bourdieu calls the rightward tilting of the bureaucratic field, results in widespread discrimination as it entails a shift in focus of its criminalising gaze from 'conduct' to 'status'. The effects of this rightward shift altered the categories through which welfare services were both conceived and delivered more widely. We found that the almost universal opposition of the housing sector to the unwanted imposition of duties previously confined to border control agencies shows the extent to which the state is not a unitary monolith but is, rather, a site of perpetual struggle and contestation. By locating the perspective of housing professionals in relation to the government's attempts to redraw the boundaries of the state's own responsibility, we can gain a valuable insight into the processes of state crafting, which have wider implications beyond merely the creation of a hostile environment for immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to compete in increasingly tight quasi-markets generated by government cutbacks and contracting-out, management in nonprofit agencies have argued that wages and benefits must be reduced or jobs and services will be cut. These arguments have motivated some of the female-majority workers to join and/or organize unions and undertake strike action. Focusing on two case studies exploring restructuring in the highly gendered nonprofit social services in two liberal welfare states (Scotland and Canada), this article explores shifts in industrial relations at the agency level, as well as workforce resistance and union activism. Through the analysis of gendered unpaid work and gendered forms of social and union solidarity, this article extends feminist political economy and mobilization theory. It also suggests convergences at several layers of practice and policy, including private and nonprofit industrial relations cultures, managerialism and the underfunding of contracted-out government services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What can large datasets tell us about the propensity of workers to disclose their disability? By comparing two large employee-based datasets from the same underlying population, this study aims to identify patterns of disability disclosure across age, gender, education, and public service classification levels. Data are obtained from the Australian Public Service Employment Database (150,000+ employees), a collection of information of every federal Australian public employee, and the APS State of the Service Employee Census (100,000+ respondents), an anonymous, non-compulsory survey of the same population. People with a disability who have not disclosed to their agency may be captured in the anonymous survey. The two datasets are compared regarding how many individuals have a disability at each variable (i.e. male/female, etc.). The data show that patterns of disclosure do differ across job classification levels and age, but not by gender or education levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research develops a normative understanding of Rhodes' (1994) theory of hollowing out of public services and the extent to which this process has happened to children's library services between 2010 and 2016 in England. The objectives were to gain knowledge of the phenomenon, seek to assess emerging trends, and create a working definition of hollowing out as it applies in the public library domain. To achieve these objectives, Freedom of Information requests were made to local authorities across England to gather data on library input since 2010. It was found that there has been a significant downward trend in staff, spending and opening hours across children's public library services in England between 2010 and 2016. The research found that there has indeed been hollowing out of children's library services. On average, specialist staff have been cut by 40%, children's book budgets by 23% and opening hours by 11%. The literature suggests that this is coupled with a rise in closures, community run and outsourced libraries, and volunteering. The data produced for this research describes a process which is consistent with the definition of hollowing out proposed by Rhodes (1994). This definition encompasses the economic and political factors that shape the phenomenon of hollowing out. This research is the first in the world to consider the concept of hollowing out in relation to public libraries. The definition and methods used will be beneficial for future research in the domain, and the findings from the study can help to inform debates about the condition of public library services in England in the modern era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents new findings regarding the public response to public spending cuts as part of the UK Government fiscal consolidation programme, specifically to the perceived effects of reduced library opening hours on the public library user in a city in the North of England. An inductive approach was taken to the mixed methods study, using a self-completion, cross-sectional survey distributed to adults visiting one of three libraries in the city during a six-day period. Qualitative and quantitative data analyses indicate a shared level of dissatisfaction with the service reductions across the respondents, and a shared perception of having been adversely affected. Statistical analyses revealed a strong level of agreement that the changes had a significantly negative impact on different aspects of respondents' lives. The research evidences the direct effects of service reductions on library users, as well as the wider social and economic implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of restructuring that has swept across Europe in recent years, this article discusses the conditions of workplace unionism resilience in a small, predominantly female UK public service occupation – probation. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, the article offers comprehensive insights into members' expectations towards their union branches and provides evidence of even more accountable and responsive relationships between local reps and their members following restructuring. Factors that contributed to the resilience of the union included the influence of a shared occupational identity, the legacy of large and confident branches and the (gender) democratic tradition of the union. However, the research also highlights some limitations for the permanence of effective workplace unionism in a context of socio-demographic changes as well as organizational difficulties linked to the restructuring and outsourcing process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employing a framework of commercial nationalism, this article analyses how a post-Celtic Tiger Irish government aligned with elite interests has doubled down on its commitment to corporate citizenship. Despite the depredations of this era being directly attributable to the irrational exuberance of the Celtic Tiger period and lapses in financial regulation, Ireland post-2008 is marked by a radical forgetfulness and defined by 'Shock Doctrine' regulatory policies that have installed corporatism at the heart of everyday life. Key features of this landscape include ongoing governmental facilitation of tax avoidance by multinational corporations, the hollowing out of public services, the normalization of under-employment and a burgeoning housing crisis. We show here how the popular images and narratives of the period index a shift toward corporate impregnability and a public culture in which individuals absorb greater risk and take up positions of heightened precarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article utilizes a multi-method case study of the probation service of England and Wales to explore the perspectives of practitioners and their union on how restructuring/privatization affected the probation profession. Professionals perceived restructuring/privatization as ideologically and politically motivated, rather than evidence-based in relation to service goals. Against this context, the article outlines the probation union's organized resistance, but ultimately its inability to halt the reform. The findings highlight practitioners' concept of 'the death of probation' created by philosophical opposition to privatization, but also by the splitting of their profession and the resultant assault on professionalism. The study underlines the unique aspects of restructuring/privatization in the specific service domain, in particular those linked to working with a socially stigmatized client group, but it also has resonance for other public service professions facing the actuality or prospect of restructuring/privatization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article asks to what extent public service broadcasting's online news service resembles that of commercial media. The context of this inquiry is claims of 'out-crowding' facing public service broadcasters across Europe. In Norway, commercial players in this debate accuse the public service broadcaster, NRK, of being too similar to competitors in the private sector for commercial operators to attain sustainable revenues in the online realm. To ascertain the extent to what these claims are warranted, this article compares NRK's online content with that of nine commercial competitors in national and local markets, using a hybrid methodological approach combining quantitative content analysis with Latent Dirichlet allocation, analysing in excess of 115,000 documents. Findings show that commercial operators resemble each other more than they do NRK, indicating closer competition in the commercial segment than between the public service broadcaster and market players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kazakhstan has ambitious plans to become one of the top 30 developed countries in the world by 2050. Its most recent route map to achieve this is the Plan for the Nation : 100 Concrete Steps, announced by the president in May 2015. A key pillar in this reform agenda is the development of a professional civil service. This article considers whether civil service reforms to date and those envisaged under the new plan offer a trajectory to the 2050 stated goal. It finds that despite significant political endorsement at the highest level, reforms have focused on institutional, structural and legal changes without the necessary attention to how these will impact on the quality of public services provision. The article highlights the interdependence between civil service reforms and an outcomes-based approach and adapts the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Better Life framework for Kazakhstan as a way of making this connection. Points for practitioners: Moving to an outcomes-based approach in a developing country challenges practitioners to focus on the impact of their work and to be judicious and context-specific in the selection of results indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooperative competition – coopetition – is a phenomenon whose influence extends to the sphere of territorial public management. Based on an initial questionnaire conducted among 252 territorial authority managers, an exploratory case study on inter-municipal cooperation in France's Rhône-Alpes region, and an in-depth follow-up survey among 10 leaders, we analyse why and how cooperation between territorial authorities is advisable, despite the potential political rivalry between local elected representatives and the specific challenges of each territory, provided that they respect the principles of equity in governance and avoid conflicts of interest when managing their teams. Points for practitioners: Our research shows the benefits of cooperation between competing territorial authorities, provided that they respect the principles of equitable management. This implies the need to distribute power equally among partners of all sizes, to take decisions collectively by a majority, or even unanimously when it comes to a change of governance, and not to infringe on the prerogatives of each partner, unless added value can be gained from pooling the efforts of territorial authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of the 2019 announcement by the then Secretary of State for Justice, David Gauke, that the probation service is to be re-nationalised, this paper reflects on what forms a more radical restoration might take. In essence, the paper makes a case for probation to be re-constituted as a moral enterprise; an independent agency based in the community, staffed by skilled and idealistic but pragmatic practitioners and managers, and informed by evidence of what is most likely to help people lead offence-free lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a short epistemological and methodological reflection on the challenges of doing ethnographical research on public services ('bureaucracies') from the inside. We start from the recognition of the double face of bureaucracy, as a form of domination and oppression as well as of protection and liberation, and all the ambivalences this dialectic entails. We argue that, in classical Malinowskian fashion, the anthropology of bureaucracy should take bureaucrat as the 'natives', and acknowledge their agency. This means adopting basic anthropological postures: the natives (i.e. the bureaucrats) must have good reasons for their seemingly 'absurd' (or arbitrary) practices, once you understand the context in which they act. Based on intensive fieldwork and understanding ethnography as a form of grounded-theory production, to explore this 'rationality in context' of bureaucrats should be a major research objective. As in day-to-day intra-organisational practice and in internal interactions between bureaucrats, state bureaucracies function largely as any other modern organisation, the anthropology of bureaucracy does not differ that much from the anthropology of organisations. One of the major achievements of the latter has been to focus on the dialectics of formal organisation and real practices, official regulations and informal norms in organisations 'at work'. This focus on informal practices, pragmatic rules and practical norms provides the main justification for the utilisation of ethnographic methods. In fact, it is difficult to see how informal norms and practices could be studied otherwise, as ethnography is the only methodology to deal with the informal and the unexpected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies in public administration have modeled employees' person–organization fit perceptions as a function of public service motivation, but previous work has not adequately addressed the causal relationship between these concepts. This article represents the first attempt to explain the "black box" that links public service motivation to person–organization fit. Given the various positive benefits associated with person–organization fit in the literature, an understanding of the mechanisms that underpin its relationship with public service motivation has important managerial implications for leaders regarding their interactions with individual employees. Extending the work-based affect model designed by Yu, we explore how PSM increases person–organization fit perceptions through employee followership and leader support as a potential causal chain. The results from a survey of 692 faculty members at a public university are consistent with the predicted three-path mediation model. Among these respondents, higher levels of public service motivation were associated with greater followership behavior, which, in turn, increased positive perceptions of person–organization fit through greater leader support. Points for practitioners This study suggests that having high levels of motivation to serve the public (i.e. public service motivation) does not directly influence how one perceives his or her fit with the organization. Instead, high public service motivation was associated with person–organization fit indirectly through its influence on active followership behaviors. Managerial actors are thus encouraged to pursue open communications with their subordinates to maintain high levels of public service motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Spanish local system is characterised by strong fragmentation and a large number of local territorial entities. One of the possible ways of compensating for this small size is through associations of municipalities, which may empower their members to provide better services and may increase their ability to solve problems. However, the size of the municipalities may not be the only important factor. Indeed, other dimensions of size, such as the number of members or the size of the institution as an indicator of the degree of institutionalisation, can be taken into account. In this article, we explore the inter-municipal associations in an area of Spain (Catalonia) in order to identify and analyse the key factors and explanatory variables, and to explore different dimensions of the concept of size. Points for practitioners The size of the organisation is an important aspect of inter-municipal associations and it can be influenced by the number of municipalities and the area of cooperation. Upper-level-driven reforms may have a direct impact on the creation of these kinds of entities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, an investigation is made into the relationship between competitive tendering and contracting and satisfaction with health and care services in Norwegian municipalities. There is an ongoing public debate concerning privatization and contracting as a way of providing municipal services. Several studies suggest improved productivity, as well as service quality, as a result. Based on public choice and property rights theories, public organizations are argued to be inefficient. Thus far, we have little knowledge about the effects of competitive tendering and contracting on citizens’ evaluations of the services exposed to competitive tendering and contracting. To explore this, data from the Norwegian Citizen Study, covering over 35,000 individuals, are employed. The findings show that citizens and users are more satisfied with health and care services that are subject to competitive tendering and contracting compared to those provided solely by the public sector. Points for practitioners The findings of this article encourage the competitive tendering and contracting of health and care services. A positive relationship is found between competitive tendering and contracting and satisfaction with these services. Findings provide support for arguments made in Scandinavian evaluations; the introduction of competition and contracting is argued to increase municipal focus on service quality and increase service-oriented care, and is suggested as representing an improvement in attention to the ‘secondary needs’ of residents. This is especially important for public managers in social-democratic countries where the use of competitive tendering and contracting is still a controversial topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Politicians are challenged to increase economic opportunities for citizens with disabilities. Today, the employment of persons with disabilities within the Australian Government is being supported through a RecruitAbility Scheme. With full implementation of the Scheme underway, it is a timely research exercise to critically explore early progress. Enabling such exploration, this study has applied qualitative content analysis to 12 publicly available texts that collectively assess early (i.e. pilot and first year full implementation) program performance. Findings of this critical analysis should be of particular interest to policymakers, practitioners, and persons with disabilities. The findings reveal that despite policy rhetoric, the Scheme is making only modest achievements. This exploratory study supports a biopsychosocial model inspired approach, which aims to improve the recruitment, retainment, and career development of individuals with disabilities across the Australian Public Service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents and discusses empirical research into citizen satisfaction, conducted to measure the performance and management of local public policies. The object of the research is to evaluate the public safety policy of a Spanish city through a survey measuring citizen satisfaction with the local public services. Regression and ‘importance-performance analysis’ (IPA) were applied to the views expressed by a sample of citizens. One objective of the study reported is to use different derived importance values, from correlation and regression analysis, to compare the results of two ‘importance-performance analyses’. The concept of variant and invariant weights and the three-factor theory of customer satisfaction were also considered for the research. Results confirm that the ‘fire service’ is seen as a ‘dissatisfier’, a basic or flat attribute; they suggest that negative coefficient values could be associated with ‘dissatisfiers’ and that inherent discontinuity is only partly resolved in the partition importance-performance grid. The findings show that the results of the two IPAs differ using the traditional IPA grid but are similar with diagonal models of the partition IPA grid. Points for practitioners One of the main problems for political decision-makers in recent years has been the reconfiguration of the budget for the entity managed, such as a municipality, in the current situation of economic crisis. This article contributes to improving decision-making on the reallocation of money and resources in the face of restrictions and financial cuts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article addresses the difficult conditions of interorganisational collaboration for the implementation of integrated electronic service delivery from three theoretical perspectives: institutional, political and managerial. These perspectives are used to conceptually define the main obstacles to interorganisational collaboration and the leverage available to public managers to facilitate the integration of electronic services. Based on a multiple case study in Quebec, the authors examine, more specifically, the institutional, political and managerial conditions that have delayed the integration of electronic services in this Canadian province. They show how the persistency of administrative practices, the desire for autonomy of public organisations and cumbersome governance structures have contributed to the diversification of the supply of online services in Quebec at the expense of an integrated service. Drawing on theoretical considerations and the study results, the authors propose that public managers do not stick only to horizontal governance mechanisms, but also make use of vertical governance mechanisms, to mitigate the effects of certain constraints on interorganisational collaboration and to accelerate the implementation of integrated electronic service delivery. Points for practitioners Several countries have made integrated public service delivery a priority of e-government. To effectively coordinate these projects with their multiple partners, public managers need to apply a hybrid governance to benefit from the stability of the hierarchy and the flexibility of the network. More specifically, the study shows vertical governance to be an effective tool to coordinate the activities of a network of organisations involved in the implementation of integrated service delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there is universal recognition of their important role in the functioning of administrations and for the motivation of public officials, the values that serve as a reference for the public service are witnessing a change in the way they are understood and implemented in practice, particularly with regard to the new requirements of public management. The analysis developed in this article centres on the interplay between various dimensions relating to the perception and use of the key values of the French civil service and highlights the tensions that prevail despite the apparent preservation of the axiological reference universe of those concerned. It raises the question of the role of schools in the training of values management. It draws on the results of a survey conducted in France by the network of civil service schools (Réseau des écoles de service public; RESP) among managers undergoing training and their teachers and supervisory staff. Points for practitioners The study shows that organizations that are responsible for the initial or continuing training of civil servants offer a breeding ground for the (re)production of public service values. However, for civil service managers to be able to deal with the potential tensions between values (no clear hierarchy, apparent contradictions) it is necessary to develop their capacities for reflective analysis and practical application that will allow a critical distance and promote a contextualized ethical approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a contribution to the debate raised in the special issue of the International Review of the International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS) (Volume 79(3)) devoted to the World Bank’s approach to public sector management for 2011–2020. We offer a methodological framework for action that builds on the definitions we have chosen of three key concepts used by several authors: ‘administrative reform’, the ‘real world’ and the ‘performance’ of administrations. The proposed model suggests an inductive-style methodological approach, taking into account the challenges that the World Bank has set itself to secure the successful implementation of its strategy. Points for practitioners The success of administrative reforms very much depends on the consideration given to the different mechanisms that regulate the actual workflow in public services. The article shows how this flow is characterised by multiple methods of regulation whose nature and configuration vary from one administration to another, and offers a way of managing reforms that duly takes this into account. The focus is on the professionalism of the practitioners in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Countries in transition face numerous political and economic challenges often exacerbated by persistent corruption and internecine religious conflict. In Lebanon, existing local governments have proven ineffective at providing many public services, especially those with spillover effects and externalities. This article proposes a structural change: the introduction of special-purpose local authorities to provide a single service transcending the boundaries of individual local governments. This proposal promises an innovative and practical solution to some existing problems; moreover, it will disentangle some of the complexities in the social and political milieus of a country typified by intense conflict. Points for practitioners This article proposes a policy recommendation to address one of the many challenges facing decentralization in Lebanon. Existing local governments have proven ineffective at providing many public services, especially those with spillover effects and externalities. Special-purpose local authorities are introduced as an innovative and practical solution to some existing problems; an approach that will disentangle some of the complexities in the social and political milieus of a country typified by intense conflict. The article provides certain decision points that are useful for policy makers and practitioners as they consider possible resolutions to existing challenges, potential implementation obstacles, and mitigating factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the second of two papers reporting the results of a major study considering ‘operator models’ for municipal solid waste management (MSWM) in emerging and developing countries. Part A documents the evidence base, while Part B presents a four-step decision support system for selecting an appropriate operator model in a particular local situation. Step 1 focuses on understanding local problems and framework conditions; Step 2 on formulating and prioritising local objectives; and Step 3 on assessing capacities and conditions, and thus identifying strengths and weaknesses, which underpin selection of the operator model. Step 4A addresses three generic questions, including public versus private operation, inter-municipal co-operation and integration of services. For steps 1–4A, checklists have been developed as decision support tools. Step 4B helps choose locally appropriate models from an evidence-based set of 42 common operator models (coms); decision support tools here are a detailed catalogue of the coms, setting out advantages and disadvantages of each, and a decision-making flowchart. The decision-making process is iterative, repeating steps 2–4 as required. The advantages of a more formal process include avoiding pre-selection of a particular com known to and favoured by one decision maker, and also its assistance in identifying the possible weaknesses and aspects to consider in the selection and design of operator models. To make the best of whichever operator models are selected, key issues which need to be addressed include the capacity of the public authority as ‘client’, management in general and financial management in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the initial ‘public service motivation’ concept and measures were developed, various studies have raised concerns with regard to cultural differences. According to previous research trying to supplement the four original dimensions of the original construct with a fifth dimension, this study follows this same strategy, taking into account three aspects of the Napoleonic administrative tradition. The analysis captures one new dimension with political loyalty values, which slightly improves the measurement of public service motivation in that specific context. Points for practitioners Previous research has showed that ‘public service motivation’ has consequences in terms of individual and collective behaviour and, thus, it may contribute to improve organizations. Public service motivation has been related to performance, organizational commitment and job satisfaction, among other attitudes and behaviours. It has also been used by public administrations in job selection processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We find that per capita municipal spending on public services is strongly and non-linearly correlated to urban population density. Optimal expenditure levels for municipal services are achieved with densities close to 9000 residents per square kilometre. In our study of about 8600 municipalities of Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Mexico, 85% of all municipalities are below this ideal density level. This result provides strong policy support for densification, particularly in medium-sized cities of developing countries, which are currently absorbing most of the world’s urban population growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a fundamental concept in peace research, trust, or the lack of it, has shown to be associated with the onset of violent conflict, the instability of negotiated settlement, and the sustainability of peace. Despite its proven importance, the question of how political trust can be built after civil conflicts has only received limited attention and remains unanswered. While previous studies demonstrated that improved provision of public services plays a significant role in a trust-building process, the present article shows a more nuanced picture, namely that service enhancement only works if it reflects the needs of people. Projects that do not properly mirror the needs of people, however, have no direct effect on building political trust. Using micro-level data from Sierra Leone, the article finds that people are more likely to trust governments that are willing to listen and respond to their needs and demands. Though government performance carries the previously hypothesized effect, its explanatory power reduces substantively once responsiveness is introduced into the analysis. This finding also holds when potential biases due to endogeneity and sample selection are considered. Results from a mediation analysis also indicate that if government performance has any effect, it is transmitted through the responsiveness mechanism. Overall, this article contributes to the literature by clarifying the mechanism of trust-building in post-conflict societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our study focuses on the relationship between elected officials and managers in the context of local services management. We analyse the political–administrative interface using Weick’s theory of sensemaking. Our research, based on the case of water services management in Montreal, shows that the loss of expertise in the public sector, coupled with a lack of political vision, leads to a mismatch between the actions envisaged by the managers and the resources available. The organizational purpose needs to be politically defined in order to achieve a reciprocal influence in policy making. This collaboration, or complementarity of politics and administration, allows shared sensemaking that is essential both to a management diagnosis in line with the organizational mission and to strategic decision-making which takes into account the civil servants’ recommendations. Points for practitioners Some urban infrastructures, such as water infrastructure, are neither easily visible nor accessible. Thus, there is sometimes a wide gap between managers’ interpretation of the situation and that of the citizens and elected officials. This is a challenge for the development of common sensemaking. Elected officials must be able to count on a competent civil service that provides them with reliable information, enabling them to make trade-offs with all the relevant facts at hand. It is also in the public interest that elected officials maintain strategic control of the water activity in order for public action to efficiently contribute to the political vision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The selection of the most feasible strategy for implementation of landfills is a challenging step. Potential implementation options of landfills cover a wide range, from conventional construction contracts to the concessions. Montenegro, seeking to improve the efficiency of the public services while maintaining affordability, was considering privatisation as a way to reduce public spending on service provision. In this study, to determine the most feasible model for construction and operation of a regional landfill, a quantitative risk analysis was implemented with four steps: (i) development of a global risk matrix; (ii) assignment of qualitative probabilities of occurrences and magnitude of impacts; (iii) determination of the risks to be mitigated, monitored, controlled or ignored; (iv) reduction of the main risk elements; and (v) incorporation of quantitative estimates of probability of occurrence and expected impact for each risk element in the reduced risk matrix. The evaluated scenarios were: (i) construction and operation of the regional landfill by the public sector; (ii) construction and operation of the landfill by private sector and transfer of the ownership to the public sector after a pre-defined period; and (iii) operation of the landfill by the private sector, without ownership. The quantitative risk assessment concluded that introduction of a public private partnership is not the most feasible option, unlike the common belief in several public institutions in developing countries. A management contract for the first years of operation was advised to be implemented, after which, a long term operating contract may follow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After some 30 years of using probation as an object of neoliberal economic and ideological thinking in order to redesign the delivery of what was a long established locally accountable public service, a radically new delivery landscape has been fashioned within the criminal justice system of England and Wales. Whilst much of the ideological and practical leg work had been undertaken by New Labour during their three terms in office (1997−2010), further conceptualization and meaning to what a Rehabilitation Revolution might look like was quickly taken forward by the incoming Coalition Government from May 2010 in the guise of the Transforming Rehabilitation project. Offender rehabilitation and public protection now face some severe challenges in the form of fragmentation, local accountability, communication, staff morale and occupational status and culture. As Transforming Rehabilitation receives a further injection of momentum from the Prime Minister, David Cameron, in his February 2016 vision for the future operation and role of prisons, we are left to ponder where this leaves probation in the context of reducing resources and increasingly scarce social provision and welfare benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co-production establishes an interactive relationship between citizens and public service providers. Successful co-production hence requires the engagement of citizens. Typically, individual characteristics such as age, gender, and income are used to explain why citizens co-produce. In contrast, neighbourhood-level variables receive less attention. Nevertheless, the co-production literature, as well as social capital and urban planning theory, provides good arguments why neighbourhood variables may be relevant. In this study, we examine the administrative records of citizen-initiated contacts in a reporting programme for problems in the public domain. This co-production programme is located in the district of Deurne in the city of Antwerp, Belgium. A multilevel analysis is used to simultaneously assess the impact of neighbourhood characteristics and individual variables. While the individual variables usually found to explain co-production are present in our case, we also find that neighbourhood characteristics significantly explain co-production. Thus, our findings suggest that participation in co-production activities is determined not only by who you are, but also by where you live. Points for practitioners In order to facilitate co-production and participation, the neighbourhood should be the first place to look. Co-production benefits may disproportionaly accrue to strong citizens, but also to strong neighbourhoods. Social corrections should take both into account. More broadly, a good understanding of the neighbourhoods in the city is needed to grasp citizen behaviour. Place-based policies in the city should focus on the neighbourhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has suggested that citizen co-production of public services is more likely when the actions involved are easy and can be carried out individually rather than in groups. This article explores whether this holds in local areas of England and Wales. It asks which people are most likely to engage in individual and collective co-production and how people can be influenced to extend their co-production efforts by participating in more collective activities. Data were collected in five areas, using citizen panels organized by local authorities. The findings demonstrate that individual and collective co-production have rather different characteristics and correlates and highlight the importance of distinguishing between them for policy purposes. In particular, collective co-production is likely to be high in relation to any given issue when citizens have a strong sense that people can make a difference (‘political self-efficacy’). ‘Nudges’ to encourage increased co-production had only a weak effect. Points for practitioners Much of the potential pay-off from co-production is likely to arise from group-based activities, so activating citizens to move from individual to collective co-production may be an important issue for policy. This article shows that there is major scope for activating more collective co-production, since the level of collective co-production in which people engage is not strongly predicted by their background and can be influenced by public policy variables. ‘Nudges’ may help to encourage more collective co-production but they may need to be quite strong to succeed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mixing of roles between professionals, volunteers and service users creates a new, complex environment in which to produce and deliver public services. In this kind of environment, the issues of accountability become ever more important. This article presents a qualitative case study of co-production between volunteers and professionals in the legally regulated restorative justice services in Finland. Theoretically, we draw together the concept of citizen co-production with the literature on street-level bureaucracy and accountability. As a result of the study, we can say that co-production between volunteers and professionals increases accountability ties. In particular, the meaning of process-centred accountability is salient in horizontal accountability relations. Thus, co-production as a governance arrangement changes the working culture of public service professionals. In the new partnerships, although not entirely horizontal, we can recognize a seed for cultural change for professionalized public service organizations. Points for practitioners In this article we have researched co-production between professionals and volunteers in a legally regulated public service, the conciliation service, examining the perceptions of accountability in the frontline practices. The results show that the process-centred nature of the co-produced services leaves less room for discretion and the application of rules by individual street-level workers. Furthermore, as the service users do not consider volunteers to be part of the authority, co-production might be smoother. This is significant especially in the social services, where the clients per se are not necessarily motivated to co-produce, but where co-production would be essential for achieving effective service outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through processes of co-production, citizens collaborate with public service agents in the provision of public services. Despite the research attention given to co-production, some major gaps in our knowledge remain. One of these concerns the question why citizens engage in processes of co-production of public services. In this article, a theoretical model is built that brings the human factor into the study of co-production. The model explains citizens’ engagement in co-production referring to citizens’ perceptions of the co-production task and of their competency to contribute to the public service delivery process, citizens’ individual characteristics, and their self-interested and community-focused motivations. Empirical evidence from four co-production cases in the Netherlands and Belgium is used to demonstrate the model’s usefulness. The academic and practical relevance of the findings and suggestions for further research are discussed. Points for practitioners Governments seek ways to engage a broad range of citizens, especially as only a limited number of citizens respond to government’s initiatives to involve citizens. Insights about citizens’ engagement are tested in four cases: Client councils in health care organizations for elderly persons and in organizations for disabled people, representative advisory councils at primary schools, and neighborhood watches. Practitioners can learn more about what drives citizens to engage in co-production. This enables them to improve their methods of participant recruitment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on knowledge sharing motivation has addressed the importance of both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation to sharing knowledge. However, a theory of knowledge sharing motivation in the public sector requires particular consideration since government’s main concern is in public service, not profits. Therefore, the present study introduces the concept of public service motivation (PSM) to the study of knowledge sharing among civil servants. Based on the PSM theory, this study postulates that civil servants’ interest in policy making, commitment to the public interest, compassion, and willingness for self-sacrifice can drive them to share knowledge for a sacred reason – serving the public interest. By using the data collected from middle-level public managers in Taiwan, the authors empirically tested whether PSM predicts knowledge sharing, and our hypotheses received strong support. Thus, PSM opens a new window for researchers interested in the study of knowledge sharing in the public sector. Points for practitioners With the introduction of PSM, the present study connects knowledge sharing with public administration. Public service as a calling leads civil servants to share knowledge in order to create more advanced organizational knowledge and accordingly improve public service performance. Compared to situational factors (e.g. the use of information technology and rewards), PSM plays an even more pivotal role in promoting knowledge sharing, according to the results of our empirical research. Thus, altruistic motivation should be addressed and emphasized if knowledge sharing in the public sector is to be encouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to review papers on municipal solid waste management (SWM) systems, especially on performance indicators (PIs), and suggest practical methods to manage the same by administrators. Worldwide, about 4 billion metric tons of solid waste (SW) is generated annually; the management of SW across cities is increasingly getting more complex and the funds available for providing service to citizens are shrinking. Analysis of the non-technical research papers shows that focus areas on SW can be grouped into 18 types, one being PIs. Historically, PIs for municipal SWM (PIMS) commenced with the publication of guidelines by various government agencies, starting in 1969. This was followed by a few benchmarking studies, commencing in 1998, by various international institutions. Many published comparative studies also disseminated good practices across the cities. From the 1990s onwards, research work started defining PIMS. These initiatives by various researchers took multiple dimensions and are reviewed in this paper. In almost all studies, the PIMS is measured in terms of investment decisions, public acceptance levels, social participation and environmental needs. The multiple indicators are complex, however, and managers of cities need simple tools to use. To make it simple, five-factor PIs are arrived at, considering simplicity and covering all the factors. A research agenda is outlined for future directions in the areas of cost reduction, citizens’ services, citizen involvement and environmental impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the fact that Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are considered to be an important state modernization tool, resistance to change can sometimes be observed. The question is why? On the basis of intervention research mobilizing five different corpuses of material over eight years in the family branch of the French social security system, we have established that values can be an (accelerating or blocking) structuring element of an ambiguous e-administration development dynamic. In other words, in the process of enacting or activating technologies intended to modernize public services, sensemaking by managers faced with the conflicts of values generated or exacerbated by the introduction of these new management tools is fundamental to understanding the process of change. Based on this research result, recommendations for action have been drawn up for the managers, the aim being to elucidate these value conflicts within discussion forums, even if this implies a certain cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes the fiscal status of the city of Detroit leading up to its filing for bankruptcy on 18 July 2013. Then the economic history of metropolitan Detroit and the city of Detroit from 1950 to the present is examined in an effort to answer these questions: Why did Detroit file for bankruptcy – not some other major city? And why now and not earlier? The paper concludes that, while Detroit and several other cities in the northeastern region suffered major population and employment losses and went through a long period of urban crisis between roughly 1970 and 1990, the severity of Detroit’s problems compared with other cities did not emerge fully until the most recent decade. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper argues that understanding the ways in which criminals interact with state and non-state actors is crucial to construct a more accurate picture of how local governance arrangements are unfolding in urban policy-making in Latin America. Based on the experience of Medellin, Colombia, it is discussed that alongside decades of violence, rapid urbanisation and economic liberal reforms, the local state has built capacity for service provision and new governance arrangements. But this capacity has not weakened criminal actors’ operations and interactions with society and state actors. By focusing on the neighbourhood level, the paper demonstrates the existence of different strategies that have allowed criminals to benefit from governance arrangements, originally created to promote participatory democracy and urban development. The paper calls for studies to incorporate the role of criminals in contexts where boundaries between illegal and legal spheres of action, and formal and informal arrangements are continuously blurred. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article demonstrates that by contracting-out government services, the employment relationship has changed: workers’ labour standards are now regulated through the combination of traditional labour law mechanisms and lesser understood contract law mechanisms. This has changed the regime of regulation and enforcement of labour standards for employees performing services that have been contracted out, in ways that deserve more attention. Evidence is drawn from a case study of New South Wales (NSW) government school cleaners, conducted between October 2010 and April 2011, which finds that cleaners’ labour standards are regulated predominantly through commercial contracts for services. This is concerning because contracts are designed to facilitate commercial objectives such as competition and efficiency, and are poorly designed to protect labour standards. When used as a mechanism to enforce labour standards, contracts fail to meet the requirements of responsive regulation; contracts have limited enforcement tools and a weak credible threat of a ‘big stick’ style of punishment for infringements. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Municipal corporate centres not only perform multiple administrative functions, including supervision, monitoring and budgeting of the overall operation of local government, but also absorb significant resources. From a public policy perspective, it is thus important to determine whether administrative scale economies exist. Adopting an econometric approach, this paper investigates administrative scale effects and the determinants of administrative intensity at the corporate level for 22 local authorities in the Malaysian state of Sabah from 2000 to 2009. Our results indicate that there is an inverted U-shaped scale effect for staff size on administrative intensity in the small urban sample, while own-source revenue is the most important factor in determining administrative intensity in all local authorities and big urban samples. Several policy recommendations are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Policy responses to the global financial crisis can be divided into pro- and counter-cyclical approaches. The former advocates reducing public spending in times of financial constraints. The latter approach advocates public spending to boost the economy. Using public opinion (N = 23,652) data from 27 EU member countries, we empirically test a model for citizen preferences for reducing spending in public services versus government investment in measures to boost the economy as a response to the financial crisis. We look at individual- and country-level determinants of attitudes to savings in public services, and concentrate on four groups of explanations: political disaffection, ideology, self-interest, and macro-economic conditions. It was found that political disaffection and the respondent’s ideological orientation both have effects on preferences, as well as whether one experiences economic strain or receives welfare services. Macro-economic conditions, such as a country’s government deficit level, public debt or public expenditure have, surprisingly, no effect on citizens’ financial policy preferences. We discuss the implications of our results for public administration theory and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, empirical research on performance information use has gained momentum, but quantitative studies, which include different actor groups, are less widespread. Building on prior research within this field, our study offers insights into various antecedents for performance information use – including individual, performance-measurement-specific, and organizational context factors. By applying a quantitative survey of different actor groups at the local government level in Austria, we draw a picture of different user profiles for mayors with administrative authority, chief officials and chief financial officials. Hence, we are able to confirm findings from former studies with other national backgrounds and contribute to a better understanding regarding some new individual aspects influencing discretionary performance information use in a strategy formulation context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article answers the question of why interlocal partnerships are seen as a viable route to effective governance among local elites in Norway. Co-operation between local governments is often seen as a way of overcoming transaction costs, increasing the quantity and quality of public service delivery—even if it comes at the price of less transparent local democratic processes. The analysis presented here shows that the legitimacy of interlocal partnerships is not only based on a perception of increased effectiveness in terms of direct policy outputs. Such partnerships are also based on a more general perception of increased decision-making power, specifically in relation to forces exogenous to the regional context in which such co-operation is forged. Nevertheless, the local elites’ perceptions are conditioned by regional and local contexts. The article argues that demography, perceptions of local governance and ideology matter when elites assess the importance of interlocal partnerships. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

With the introduction into public organizations of management methods borrowed from the private sector, ‘new public management’ often comes across as a factor that weakens professional autonomy. Cultural industry is no exception to this phenomenon, as demonstrated by the case of the facilitators or interpreters in France (médiateurs culturels). However, a careful study of the development of this occupation does reveal that, rather than a strict opposition between a professional logic and managerial logic, hybridization is possible. Indeed, professional groups can benefit from the establishment of methods that structure their activity and that take on board the dynamics of knowledge and career pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At a time when, in France, the central government is placing new hope in the principle of governance of its utilities by means of performance indicators, this article argues that governance through performance measurement and management tools alone, however sophisticated, is not enough to meet the current challenges facing public water governance. However, the debate triggered on the objectives of the performance measurement tools raises substantive issues relating to public water governance. These substantive issues touch as much on the (strategic and organizational) components of the model of governance as on its control system. This is demonstrated by the action research experiment conducted in conjunction with the water utility of Nantes Métropole (Urban Community of Nantes), where the introduction of a new performance measurement tool leads the actors within the system to focus on the question of the values ​​that the public water governance model must carry. These values, which relate to the very ‘public’ and multidimensional component of water, appear in the local governance system under construction as a cornerstone of the model of governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research into public service motivation (PSM) is currently witnessing exponential growth. However, the universal application of the concept to all categories of public employees raises questions. Indeed, the origins of the concept, which can be traced back to political science studies in the United States, may suggest that the concept applies mainly to senior management but much less to other types of employee, whose motivations seem more instrumental. Research into the antecedents of PSM has thus shown that high hierarchical levels were associated with employee profiles with a high level of PSM (Bright, 2005; Camilleri, 2007). Some authors go as far as to consider that the concept does not apply at all to blue-collar jobs (Gabris and Simo, 1995). The purpose of this article is therefore to analyse the differences between the public service motivation of operatives and that of other categories of employees. To do so, we draw on two empirical studies, one quantitative (n = 2868), conducted among the public employees of cities in 12 countries, and the other qualitative, conducted among public employees working in the technical service of a French town. Our results show that the level of PSM is not lower among blue-collar workers but that, on the other hand, it is different in nature and dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Functional decentralization is aimed at increasing the efficiency, effectiveness and quality of public services, among other advantages, by simplifying the organizational structure and by achieving greater proximity to the end user. Nonetheless, the creation of these entities has been criticized because of the potential to make political use of them to avoid the debt limits imposed on sub-national administrations, as debt would then be transferred to the accounting statements of these agencies. The empirical evidence found in the current study shows that the use of these companies as a mechanism for obtaining external financing is determined by the accounting regulations applicable in relation to the consolidation of accounts. Decentralization processes oriented toward increasing debt are more common among left-wing local governments and are strongly linked to fiscal pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]