Learning Local Governance: Reimagining Sustainable Communities Monday June 28, 2010 1.

Learning Local Governance:

Reimagining Sustainable Communities

Monday June 28, 2010

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1. Key Objectives of Presentation2. Goal of Research Project3. Objectives of Research Project4. Key Research Project Questions5. Key Features of Contemporary Governance6. Key Concepts for Project

6.1 Governance6.2 Local Governance6.3 Multi-Level Governance6.4 Multi-Sectoral Governance6.5 Local Community Based Governance6.6 Place Based Governance6.7 Joined Up Governance6.8 Networked Community Governance6.9 Networked Federalism6.10 Deep Federalism

7. Formal and Informal Government and Governance Systems8. Other Key Aspects of Governance 9. Questions for Discussion

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1. Review Key Objective of Research

2. Review Key Research Questions

3. Identify & Explain Several Key Concepts for Analyzing Governance in Saskatoon City Region

4. Raise Some Questions for Discussion

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• The objective is to investigate the best ways to do the following:

• empower communities to develop local community governance models to

In order to• respond to the complex and cross-

cutting needs facing citizens and communities.

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Objective #1: Identify and explain key elements,

strengths and weaknesses of existing & emerging systems of local governance.

Objective #2: Identify and explain key elements of

patterns/models of local governance that must be sustained or improved for the future.

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QUESTION #1: To what extent are existing and

emerging local community governance systems... comprehensive, representative, responsive, culturally appropriate, and sustainable?

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QUESTION #2 How do we (re)create local

community governance systems so that they are... comprehensive, representative, responsive, culturally appropriate, and sustainable?

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Governance is becoming increasingly complex and multi-faceted.

It involves many governmental and non-governmental agencies and agents, interests, relationships (e.g., partnerships), roles and responsibilities, capacities, etc. etc.

It involves extenstive intersectorality (e.g., immigration, employment, housing, health, etc) ,

It also involves extensive intersectionality (e.g., gender, race, religion, language, etc.)

Analyses and explanation of the complex and multi-faceted elements, features and dynamics of community governance require the use of many concepts and models.

What follows are the key elements of a preliminary conceptual framework that may help with the analysis of various aspects of local governance.

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In pursuing the research objectives and addressing the research questions, the project will be informed by the following cluster of concepts related to governance:

6.1 Governance6.2 Formal vs. Informal Governance

Systems6.3 Local Governance

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Government vs. GovernanceGOVERNMENT: Refers the INSTITUTIONS consisting of

state agencies and agents that have the power to exercise governmental authority.

GOVERNANCE: Refers to the FUNCTION of governing

and recognizes that an array of governmental and non-governmental agencies and agents are involved in performing that function.

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Local Governance should not be conceptualized as corresponding either to a single municipality or to a any other governance boundary (e.g., health districts, education districts, First Nations Reserves, Métis communities/locals, etc).

“In a globalized world, the geographic or spatial aspect of ‘Local’ can range from:1. A single municipality or other form of governance

district, 2. To two or more municipalities and/or forms of

governance within a ‘city region’ (Saskatoon City-Region) or a ‘rural region,’

3. To an entire region within a province, or even two or more regions involving neighbouring provinces or even provinces and states or territories (e.g., the Athabasca tar sands region, or the Swift Current/Medicine Hat or Cascadia (B.C/Washington Sate).

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Multi-Level Governance is a concept that reminds us that there is a multiplicity of levels of governance,

This refers to the hierarchical configuration or structures of governments and governance frameworks.

Each level of governance has a cluster of governmental and non-governmental agencies and agents that interface with each other and also with those at other levels of governance.

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Multi-sectoral governance refers to a situation in which governance frameworks must be established and operated across policy sectors.

These require the establishment and

operation of governance systems across the sectors that have some key interests in policies and programs that fall within those sectors.

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Community based governance refers to a system in which governance institutions, functions, authority are rooted in the community.

Important features of local community governance include the following:1. Degree of Local authority2. Degree of Local Autonomy3. Degree of Local Self-Government

The degree of authority, autonomy or self-government among community based governance systems is highly variable. 14

“Place-based governance” refers to a system of governance that is tailored to meet the needs and preferences of a population in a particular geographic locality.

Similarly, “place-based policy” refers to a situation in which the policy is designed to meet the needs and preferences of a population in a particular geographic locality.

‘Place-based governance and ‘place based policy” are important elements and guide posts for producing governance and policy that contribute to sound and sustainable governance.

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According to Andrea Di Maio: Joined-Up Governance is "borderless" government which requires governments

to "join up" processes and systems within and across government tiers, process hierarchies and the public sector.

The focus of joining-up is the provision of services. In this respect it alludes to processes of policy delivery such as the shift from

“multiple windows” to ‘single window” in service delivery.

To some extent, however, the focus is on joining up or agencies and agents who are involved in the provision of services. Thus, to some extent it also refers to the resulting partnerships or working relationships.

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Join up services’ and processes to make people's interaction with government seamless sounds simple. However, it can be a complicated process that “...involves a cat's cradle of ties between government units, tiers, processes and the private sector.”

There here is no single path to joined-up government. Countries, states and cities, as well as individual agencies and departments, must focus

on how they intend to — and how they actually do — progress in each area. At least four areas where integration must occur:

1. Within a government tier — for example, between the social security and revenue organizations, or between the revenue and customs organizations

2. Across different tiers — that is, between processes and systems that are under the responsibility of different levels of government (federal, state, provincial or local) but within a homogeneous policy portfolio, such as integration between criminal-justice-related agencies at various levels.

3. Across process hierarchies — that is, between processes at the operational, management and leadership levels to increase their ability and timeliness in responding to events, as well as the ability to sense changes before they occur to achieve agility

4. Between the public and private sectors — such as engaging the latter as a service provider and an integrator, intermediary or value-adding provider in constituent service delivery

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Networked Community Governance (Gerry Stoker) Governance is a multi-level and multi-stakeholder system Municipal/local govts/authorities have key role in MLG Alignment of roles and responsibilities of levels of government

vis-à-vis each other and also vis-a-vis other governmental and non-governmental stakeholders involved in various policy sectors is very important.

Models of Networked Community Governance (Gerry Stoker)

1. “Community Leadership Model “*(Municipal/local govt/authority provide leadership in policy sector)

2. “Constrained Discretion Model”*(National/provincial govt/authority provide leadership in policy sector)

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According to (Stein)

– Canadian federal system of governance entails complex systems of Vertical & Horizontal Networks and Networking involving a complex array of governmental and non-governmental actors who shape public policy.

– This is different than the conventional conceptualization of policy making within the Canadian federal system which depicts it as “stove piped’ and “linear process” which focuses largely on the intergovernmental sectors.

– The networked governance system includes city/municipal govts (not just federal and provincial govts)

– The networked governance system is highly “polycentric” (i.e., multiple policy and decision making forums)

– The networked governance system entails series of extensive interconnectivity and interdependence

– The networked governance system includes a multiplicity of partnerships among governmental and non-governmental actors.

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According to Christopher Leo:Deep Federalism” is :a useful concept that helps us to capture the relationship between the

national government and local governments as well as other governmental and non-governmental agencies and agentes.

He notes that rigid enforcement of national standards is not necessarily the best way to do it “because the differences among communities ensure that what works in one may not work in another.”

Thus, he advocates what he describes as a flexibility that allows national standards to be met differently in different communities and that draws on local knowledge to determine what these differ

The concept of “Deep Federalism” embodies notion of :• flexible and responsive “place-based policy”• vs. Inflexible and unresponsive nationally standardized policy

• The concepts of Thick and Thin Federalism are:• potentially useful concepts to capture and explain some

structural/functional/behavioural characteristics in a given policy sector.

• The degree of thickness or thinness is a function of the extent to which federalism and the governments of federalism are instrumental in policy making and implementation. 20

In analyzing government and governance systems, it is imperative to examine the formal and informal dimensions of both.

Formal Dimensions of Systems These are official or formal elements

(rules, structures, operations, activities, etc,) of the system.

Informal Dimensions of Systems These are unofficial or informal

elements (rules, structures, operations, activities, etc,) of the system.

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We will examine the following aspects of governmental and non-governmental agencies: Their interests Their relations Their roles and responsibilities Their resources Their capacities

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Question 1: What other concepts related to governance should

be considered because they capture some important aspect of governance systems?

Question 2: What other aspects of existing and emerging

governance systems should be examined?

Question 3: Which systems or sub-systems of local community

governance should be studied?

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