Nigeria is a decentralised federation with a three-tier system of federal, state and local governments. Arising from this decentralisation, local governments are empowered to exercise certain powers and responsibilities in areas relating to grassroots development, local democracy and service delivery. Hence, local government plays a pivotal role in local governance. This paper synthesises studies on local government in Nigeria within the broader context of decentralisation and local governance. It takes a careful look at the emergence of local government in Nigeria as well as the debate on local government autonomy. The paper reveals that Nigeria’s decentralisation policy has largely failed to deliver autonomy to local governments, whose funds, functions and activities are controlled by state governments. Key challenges to the effective performance of local government include inadequate funding, constitutional ambivalence, abuse of state control, political instability and corruption. The paper ends with recommendations for improving the functioning of local government to enhance local governance.
{"title":"Decentralisation and local governance in Nigeria: issues, challenges and prospects","authors":"Olanrewaju O Ogunnubi","doi":"10.5130/cjlg.vi27.7935","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5130/cjlg.vi27.7935","url":null,"abstract":"Nigeria is a decentralised federation with a three-tier system of federal, state and local governments. Arising from this decentralisation, local governments are empowered to exercise certain powers and responsibilities in areas relating to grassroots development, local democracy and service delivery. Hence, local government plays a pivotal role in local governance. This paper synthesises studies on local government in Nigeria within the broader context of decentralisation and local governance. It takes a careful look at the emergence of local government in Nigeria as well as the debate on local government autonomy. The paper reveals that Nigeria’s decentralisation policy has largely failed to deliver autonomy to local governments, whose funds, functions and activities are controlled by state governments. Key challenges to the effective performance of local government include inadequate funding, constitutional ambivalence, abuse of state control, political instability and corruption. The paper ends with recommendations for improving the functioning of local government to enhance local governance.","PeriodicalId":43511,"journal":{"name":"Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49260923","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This issue of ReCALL was not intended to focus on a particular theme, but the fact that three of the articles focus on authoring tools reflects the level of interest currently shown by many language teachers. The benefits of CALL are becoming more widely acknowledged, the technical barriers are diminishing, yet teachers still prefer to retain 'ownership' of the materials they use with their students. In many cases, the use of a suitable authoring tool or shell can be the solution. The example of CALScribe from Bristol illustrates the advantages of inter-disciplinary collaboration, whereby a shell developed originally for preparing materials for veterinary and medical students is exploited for language learners. Colleagues from Dundee with considerable experience in the use of authoring tools provide a comparative study of the use of WinCalis and Speaker, very closely related to specific pedagogic needs. Jean-Jacques Hochart from Reims ChampagneArdenne University looks closely at how particular aspects of listening and speaking, surh as stress patterns, may be improved through the creation of dedicated software. The UMIST team behind 'CALL meets Software Engineering: towards a multimedia conceptual dictionary' again demonstrate the value of collaboration, this time between computer scientists and language engineers. And Elizabeth Matthews' account of the ReLaTe project shows how videoconferencing can enable small-group tuition at one university to be taught by a tutor at another; this article takes up some of the considerations relating to videoconferencing and language learning that have been aired in previous issues of ReCALL. Thanks are due to all those who have worked hard on conference reports and reviews, which are an important element of ReCALL. The preponderance of contributions from UK-based academics in this issue is not deliberate: all articles are refereed and a fair number are rejected, but only a small proportion are received from outside the UK. We would like more, and we do consider papers written in French or German.
{"title":"Editorial","authors":"G. Sansom","doi":"10.5130/cjlg.vi26.8206","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5130/cjlg.vi26.8206","url":null,"abstract":"This issue of ReCALL was not intended to focus on a particular theme, but the fact that three of the articles focus on authoring tools reflects the level of interest currently shown by many language teachers. The benefits of CALL are becoming more widely acknowledged, the technical barriers are diminishing, yet teachers still prefer to retain 'ownership' of the materials they use with their students. In many cases, the use of a suitable authoring tool or shell can be the solution. The example of CALScribe from Bristol illustrates the advantages of inter-disciplinary collaboration, whereby a shell developed originally for preparing materials for veterinary and medical students is exploited for language learners. Colleagues from Dundee with considerable experience in the use of authoring tools provide a comparative study of the use of WinCalis and Speaker, very closely related to specific pedagogic needs. Jean-Jacques Hochart from Reims ChampagneArdenne University looks closely at how particular aspects of listening and speaking, surh as stress patterns, may be improved through the creation of dedicated software. The UMIST team behind 'CALL meets Software Engineering: towards a multimedia conceptual dictionary' again demonstrate the value of collaboration, this time between computer scientists and language engineers. And Elizabeth Matthews' account of the ReLaTe project shows how videoconferencing can enable small-group tuition at one university to be taught by a tutor at another; this article takes up some of the considerations relating to videoconferencing and language learning that have been aired in previous issues of ReCALL. Thanks are due to all those who have worked hard on conference reports and reviews, which are an important element of ReCALL. The preponderance of contributions from UK-based academics in this issue is not deliberate: all articles are refereed and a fair number are rejected, but only a small proportion are received from outside the UK. We would like more, and we do consider papers written in French or German.","PeriodicalId":43511,"journal":{"name":"Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46362611","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alex Gooding, A. Harding, P. McKinlay, M. Pieterse
To complement Zack Taylor’s paper on Regionalism from Above: Metro Governance in Canada, the journal commissioned four short ‘perspectives’ from Commonwealth countries grappling with similar issues – Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa. The purpose was not in any way to ‘review’ Taylor’s work, but rather to establish a broader picture of issues and trends in metropolitan governance, and to identify common threads. The perspectives from Australia, England and South Africa focus on recent developments and governance issues in particular metropolitan areas. These are respectively the fast-growing outer metropolitan sub-region of Western Sydney; the long-established conurbation of Greater Manchester; and the vast, emerging ‘multi-nodal sprawl’ of South Africa’s Gauteng City Region, centred on Johannesburg. The New Zealand perspective takes a different approach, exploring the implications of shifts in national policy towards a focus on wellbeing and the quality of life in communities, with significant implications for the future of local government and the way metropolitan areas are governed. Nevertheless, all four perspectives reveal similar underlying concerns that metropolitan governance frameworks and practices often struggle to keep pace with global trends, urban growth, community needs and national priorities. Effective inter-government relations are crucial, but local governments may not be at the table, or their views may be largely ignored. The governance of metropolitan regions becomes increasingly fraught, a battleground between the forces of devolution and centralisation. How can meaningful and effective collaborative governance be realised? Who should take the lead and do we have the right tools and skills? In such a complex and fluid environment, can we realistically expect anything more than brief periods of clarity and consensus that at least enable agreement on the next few steps?
{"title":"Perspectives on metropolitan governance","authors":"Alex Gooding, A. Harding, P. McKinlay, M. Pieterse","doi":"10.5130/cjlg.vi26.8202","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5130/cjlg.vi26.8202","url":null,"abstract":"To complement Zack Taylor’s paper on Regionalism from Above: Metro Governance in Canada, the journal commissioned four short ‘perspectives’ from Commonwealth countries grappling with similar issues – Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa. The purpose was not in any way to ‘review’ Taylor’s work, but rather to establish a broader picture of issues and trends in metropolitan governance, and to identify common threads. The perspectives from Australia, England and South Africa focus on recent developments and governance issues in particular metropolitan areas. These are respectively the fast-growing outer metropolitan sub-region of Western Sydney; the long-established conurbation of Greater Manchester; and the vast, emerging ‘multi-nodal sprawl’ of South Africa’s Gauteng City Region, centred on Johannesburg. The New Zealand perspective takes a different approach, exploring the implications of shifts in national policy towards a focus on wellbeing and the quality of life in communities, with significant implications for the future of local government and the way metropolitan areas are governed. Nevertheless, all four perspectives reveal similar underlying concerns that metropolitan governance frameworks and practices often struggle to keep pace with global trends, urban growth, community needs and national priorities. Effective inter-government relations are crucial, but local governments may not be at the table, or their views may be largely ignored. The governance of metropolitan regions becomes increasingly fraught, a battleground between the forces of devolution and centralisation. How can meaningful and effective collaborative governance be realised? Who should take the lead and do we have the right tools and skills? In such a complex and fluid environment, can we realistically expect anything more than brief periods of clarity and consensus that at least enable agreement on the next few steps?","PeriodicalId":43511,"journal":{"name":"Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47202989","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The 2021 local government elections in New South Wales (NSW), Australia delivered a record 39.5% female representation, up from 31.2% in the previous election. The increased number of women elected to councils can be read as evidence of the success of a diversity strategy centred on encouraging and equipping women, and other under-represented groups, to stand for election. However, without detracting from the value of these initiatives, their capacity to achieve a councillor body reflective of the general population is limited. People of non-European ancestry, particularly women of ‘colour’ remain grossly underrepresented, while the gains in women’s representation will fail to reach gender parity unless the practices that sustain male overrepresentation, particularly by Anglo and other ‘white’ European men, are challenged. This article draws upon qualitative interviews with councillors to offer fresh readings of conventional explanations for a lack of diversity in Australian local government, while also underscoring the importance of addressing issues that are currently neglected in ‘technical’ approaches.
{"title":"Roadblocks to diversity in Local Government in New South Wales, Australia: changing narratives and confronting absences in diversity strategies","authors":"Tanya Jakimow","doi":"10.5130/cjlg.vi26.8054","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5130/cjlg.vi26.8054","url":null,"abstract":"The 2021 local government elections in New South Wales (NSW), Australia delivered a record 39.5% female representation, up from 31.2% in the previous election. The increased number of women elected to councils can be read as evidence of the success of a diversity strategy centred on encouraging and equipping women, and other under-represented groups, to stand for election. However, without detracting from the value of these initiatives, their capacity to achieve a councillor body reflective of the general population is limited. People of non-European ancestry, particularly women of ‘colour’ remain grossly underrepresented, while the gains in women’s representation will fail to reach gender parity unless the practices that sustain male overrepresentation, particularly by Anglo and other ‘white’ European men, are challenged. This article draws upon qualitative interviews with councillors to offer fresh readings of conventional explanations for a lack of diversity in Australian local government, while also underscoring the importance of addressing issues that are currently neglected in ‘technical’ approaches. ","PeriodicalId":43511,"journal":{"name":"Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44570313","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper presents a critical assessment of the much-discussed tension between bureaucratic accountability and the contextual discretion of ‘street-level bureaucrats’ (i.e. front-line public sector workers). Based on an extensive literature review, the paper outlines the implications of the exercise of agency by street-level bureaucrats in everyday settings. It also looks at the challenges this agency engenders: loss of accountability and divergence from stated policy goals. The paper underlines the need for future research on institutional structures and organisational cultures around street-level bureaucracy. It suggests possible lines of enquiry to steer the debate in new, and hopefully productive, directions.
{"title":"Betwixt agency and accountability: re-visioning street-level bureaucrats","authors":"Priyanshu Gupta, M. Thakur, Bhaskar Chakrabarti","doi":"10.5130/cjlg.vi26.8173","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5130/cjlg.vi26.8173","url":null,"abstract":"This paper presents a critical assessment of the much-discussed tension between bureaucratic accountability and the contextual discretion of ‘street-level bureaucrats’ (i.e. front-line public sector workers). Based on an extensive literature review, the paper outlines the implications of the exercise of agency by street-level bureaucrats in everyday settings. It also looks at the challenges this agency engenders: loss of accountability and divergence from stated policy goals. The paper underlines the need for future research on institutional structures and organisational cultures around street-level bureaucracy. It suggests possible lines of enquiry to steer the debate in new, and hopefully productive, directions.","PeriodicalId":43511,"journal":{"name":"Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47786620","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article examines the lack of participation of chiefs in Ghana’s decentralised local governance. After analysing data from interviews with 280 respondents, personal observations and relevant literature, the study found that chiefs are core members of neither Ghana’s district assemblies (DAs) nor their subsidiary structures, and have no formal role in local development. Chiefs’ formal exclusion from the current local government system has been attributed to the idea that the chieftaincy institution is at variance with democratic decentralisation. Also, the protracted communal conflicts that have devastated many communities, and the disputes, accusations of fraud and litigation which have characterised land sales and acquisitions in the country, have their roots in chieftaincy rivalries. Nevertheless, given that chieftaincy is entrenched in Ghanaian society, chiefs’ closeness and familiarity with rural people in their area, and their cooperation with DA members to aid the performance of the DAs (albeit with some challenges), the study concludes there is a need to re-examine the current decentralisation policy to enable chiefs’ participation. Options proposed include reserving for chiefs the 30% of DA seats currently nominated by the president; appointing paramount chiefs as ceremonial heads of the DAs with the right of address; or ceding some of the non-representation functions of elected DA members to chiefs in order to support local democracy and development.
{"title":"Participation of chiefs in decentralised local governance in Ghana","authors":"E. Debrah","doi":"10.5130/cjlg.vi26.8150","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5130/cjlg.vi26.8150","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines the lack of participation of chiefs in Ghana’s decentralised local governance. After analysing data from interviews with 280 respondents, personal observations and relevant literature, the study found that chiefs are core members of neither Ghana’s district assemblies (DAs) nor their subsidiary structures, and have no formal role in local development. Chiefs’ formal exclusion from the current local government system has been attributed to the idea that the chieftaincy institution is at variance with democratic decentralisation. Also, the protracted communal conflicts that have devastated many communities, and the disputes, accusations of fraud and litigation which have characterised land sales and acquisitions in the country, have their roots in chieftaincy rivalries. Nevertheless, given that chieftaincy is entrenched in Ghanaian society, chiefs’ closeness and familiarity with rural people in their area, and their cooperation with DA members to aid the performance of the DAs (albeit with some challenges), the study concludes there is a need to re-examine the current decentralisation policy to enable chiefs’ participation. Options proposed include reserving for chiefs the 30% of DA seats currently nominated by the president; appointing paramount chiefs as ceremonial heads of the DAs with the right of address; or ceding some of the non-representation functions of elected DA members to chiefs in order to support local democracy and development.","PeriodicalId":43511,"journal":{"name":"Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47251204","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Over the past decade there has been increasing research on how sporting mega-events such as the Olympic and Commonwealth Games are developing strategies, norms and rules to govern how they impact the host nation, city and communities, and in particular their impacts on economic, social, physical, human and cultural capital. This paper addresses a gap within these interconnected fields by examining how the strategies, norms and rules used to govern a mega-event may impact the social and physical capitals of communities in the host city during and following a mega-event. These associations are revealed through a novel methodology that combines the Institutional Grammar Tool developed by Crawford and Ostrom and the Community Capitals Framework devised by Flora and Flora, to analyse policy documentation, complemented by 11 in-depth interviews on the refurbishment of the Broadbeach Lawn Bowls Club as a venue for the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the City of Gold Coast, Australia.
{"title":"Assessing the impact of sporting mega-events on the social and physical capital of communities in host cities: the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games experience","authors":"Michael Falla, J. Prior, B. Jacobs","doi":"10.5130/cjlg.vi26.7683","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5130/cjlg.vi26.7683","url":null,"abstract":"Over the past decade there has been increasing research on how sporting mega-events such as the Olympic and Commonwealth Games are developing strategies, norms and rules to govern how they impact the host nation, city and communities, and in particular their impacts on economic, social, physical, human and cultural capital. This paper addresses a gap within these interconnected fields by examining how the strategies, norms and rules used to govern a mega-event may impact the social and physical capitals of communities in the host city during and following a mega-event. These associations are revealed through a novel methodology that combines the Institutional Grammar Tool developed by Crawford and Ostrom and the Community Capitals Framework devised by Flora and Flora, to analyse policy documentation, complemented by 11 in-depth interviews on the refurbishment of the Broadbeach Lawn Bowls Club as a venue for the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the City of Gold Coast, Australia.","PeriodicalId":43511,"journal":{"name":"Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47954907","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
R. McNaught, Kalara McGregor, M. Kensen, Rob Hales, J. Nalau
The Pacific Islands region has made strong progress on the integration of climate change, disaster management and development frameworks, particularly via the Pacific Urban Agenda and the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific. These frameworks highlight the need for local- level collaboration in achieving ambitious pathways for climate- and disaster-resilient development. However, to date little research has investigated the role that local-level collaboration plays in implementation. Additionally, there is a lack of guidance on how to design and implement local-level collaboration that is informed by in-country practitioner experiences. This study addresses those gaps. Its findings indicate that in the Pacific collaborative attributes span individuals, institutions, collaborative arrangements, and broader governance systems. They also suggest that the skills needed to undertake collaboration well at the local level are, in part, already manifest in Pacific cultures as invisible skill sets. More can be done to make the invisible visible by documenting and developing the ‘soft skills’ that are necessary to achieve climate- and disaster-resilient development. This action could contribute to bridging the gap between ambition and reality.
{"title":"Visualising the invisible: collaborative approaches to local-level resilient development in the Pacific Islands region","authors":"R. McNaught, Kalara McGregor, M. Kensen, Rob Hales, J. Nalau","doi":"10.5130/cjlg.vi26.8189","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5130/cjlg.vi26.8189","url":null,"abstract":"The Pacific Islands region has made strong progress on the integration of climate change, disaster management and development frameworks, particularly via the Pacific Urban Agenda and the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific. These frameworks highlight the need for local- level collaboration in achieving ambitious pathways for climate- and disaster-resilient development. However, to date little research has investigated the role that local-level collaboration plays in implementation. Additionally, there is a lack of guidance on how to design and implement local-level collaboration that is informed by in-country practitioner experiences. This study addresses those gaps. Its findings indicate that in the Pacific collaborative attributes span individuals, institutions, collaborative arrangements, and broader governance systems. They also suggest that the skills needed to undertake collaboration well at the local level are, in part, already manifest in Pacific cultures as invisible skill sets. More can be done to make the invisible visible by documenting and developing the ‘soft skills’ that are necessary to achieve climate- and disaster-resilient development. This action could contribute to bridging the gap between ambition and reality.","PeriodicalId":43511,"journal":{"name":"Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43141923","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Town and parish councils are the English government bodies closest to local people. Hierarchically, they are subordinate to both national and higher tier local governments (unitary, county and borough/district councils). Town councillors represent approximately 11,000,000 people; one-fifth of the population of England. Their mainly small towns will be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union (‘Brexit’). To what extent is not known, but councillors will have roles to play in determining how their towns respond. This paper presents and discusses the views of 156 respondents to an online survey, some of whom were also interviewed. Councillors, town clerks, academics, and interested individuals with policy and practical experience of the sector contributed. Although respondents’ views differ (eg, as to whether town councils should have more powers), most believe they will have to do more. Indeed, they want to do more, especially in relation to planning, housing and transport. They are, however, uncertain about how to achieve their aims, given the constraints of time and resources on a mainly volunteer body, their partial dependence on higher-tier authorities, and the need for, as some strongly believe, effective monitoring of standards, performance, transparency, and accountability.
{"title":"The implications of COVID-19 and Brexit for England’s town councils: views from the town hall, and beyond","authors":"Gordon Morris","doi":"10.5130/cjlg.vi26.7755","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5130/cjlg.vi26.7755","url":null,"abstract":"Town and parish councils are the English government bodies closest to local people. Hierarchically, they are subordinate to both national and higher tier local governments (unitary, county and borough/district councils). Town councillors represent approximately 11,000,000 people; one-fifth of the population of England. Their mainly small towns will be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union (‘Brexit’). To what extent is not known, but councillors will have roles to play in determining how their towns respond. This paper presents and discusses the views of 156 respondents to an online survey, some of whom were also interviewed. Councillors, town clerks, academics, and interested individuals with policy and practical experience of the sector contributed. Although respondents’ views differ (eg, as to whether town councils should have more powers), most believe they will have to do more. Indeed, they want to do more, especially in relation to planning, housing and transport. They are, however, uncertain about how to achieve their aims, given the constraints of time and resources on a mainly volunteer body, their partial dependence on higher-tier authorities, and the need for, as some strongly believe, effective monitoring of standards, performance, transparency, and accountability. \u0000 ","PeriodicalId":43511,"journal":{"name":"Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance","volume":"10 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41306974","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fact Sheets on Decentralisation in Africa provide clear and accessible materials to assist policymakers, practitioners, students and the public at large to better understand the various concepts and mechanisms associated with decentralisation. They focus primarily on local government and unpack the ‘toolbox’ of instruments and concepts that make up the broader framework for decentralisation. These concepts are often difficult, multifaceted and located in complex theory. The aim of the Fact Sheets is to present them in such a way that they can be understood by a wide range of audiences, and which identifies, explains and distinguishes key concepts relevant to the African context.
{"title":"Fact Sheets on decentralisation in Africa","authors":"Jaap De Visser, T. Chigwata","doi":"10.5130/cjlg.vi26.8178","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5130/cjlg.vi26.8178","url":null,"abstract":"Fact Sheets on Decentralisation in Africa provide clear and accessible materials to assist policymakers, practitioners, students and the public at large to better understand the various concepts and mechanisms associated with decentralisation. They focus primarily on local government and unpack the ‘toolbox’ of instruments and concepts that make up the broader framework for decentralisation. These concepts are often difficult, multifaceted and located in complex theory. The aim of the Fact Sheets is to present them in such a way that they can be understood by a wide range of audiences, and which identifies, explains and distinguishes key concepts relevant to the African context.","PeriodicalId":43511,"journal":{"name":"Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44046707","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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