Electronic information sharing in local government authorities: Factors influencing the decision-making process

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in International Journal of Information Management. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2013 Elsevier B.V.Local Government Authorities (LGAs) are mainly characterised as information-intensive organisations. To satisfy their information requirements, effective information sharing within and among LGAs is necessary. Nevertheless, the dilemma of Inter-Organisational Information Sharing (IOIS) has been regarded as an inevitable issue for the public sector. Despite a decade of active research and practice, the field lacks a comprehensive framework to examine the factors influencing Electronic Information Sharing (EIS) among LGAs. The research presented in this paper contributes towards resolving this problem by developing a conceptual framework of factors influencing EIS in Government-to-Government (G2G) collaboration. By presenting this model, we attempt to clarify that EIS in LGAs is affected by a combination of environmental, organisational, business process, and technological factors and that it should not be scrutinised merely from a technical perspective. To validate the conceptual rationale, multiple case study based research strategy was selected. From an analysis of the empirical data from two case organisations, this paper exemplifies the importance (i.e. prioritisation) of these factors in influencing EIS by utilising the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique. The intent herein is to offer LGA decision-makers with a systematic decision-making process in realising the importance (i.e. from most important to least important) of EIS influential factors. This systematic process will also assist LGA decision-makers in better interpreting EIS and its underlying problems. The research reported herein should be of interest to both academics and practitioners who are involved in IOIS, in general, and collaborative e-Government, in particular

An exploratory analysis of best practices for community resource coordination groups of Texas

During the 70th Legislative Session in 1987, the Texas Legislature mandated the establishment of local county-based Community Resource Coordination Groups (CRCGs) to collaborate on the development of individualized service plans and the service provision for children and youth with complex, multi-agency needs. While this was an unfunded mandate for localities, the State’s budget for the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) provided training and technical assistance to local CRCGs from the State CRCG Office. However, the 82nd Texas Legislature reduced HHSC’s budget, which resulted in the defunding of the CRCG program at the state level. During fiscal years 2012 and 2013, county CRCG leaders across Texas were left to sustain local operations, if possible, without state-level support. Although some CRCGs did not remain active, the majority of CRCGs did in the absence of the State Office’s support. Local CRCG leaders across the state of Texas experience difficulty maintaining adequate representation from CRCG partners from the 11 mandated state agencies, as well as limited funding and resources to meet the needs of individuals served by CRCGs. In light of the unfunded mandate and in an effort to identify strategies to enhance the quality of CRCG agency collaboration and service delivery, the purpose of this report is to explore various models for multi-agency collaboration, identify relevant best practices, and discuss potential funding mechanisms for Texas CRCGs. The report presents program and policy recommendations to increase the capacity that the State CRCG Office and local CRCGs have to serve individuals with complex, multi-agency needs.Public AffairsSocial Wor

A National Veterans Strategy: The Economic, Social and Security Imperative

This publication details the foundational logic supporting a call to action, related to a broad-based effort to articulate and institutionalize a National Veterans Strategy. We argue that coordinated, "whole-of-government" action toward this end is essential to meet the nation's most important economic, social, and security obligations. Furthermore, we contend that the second Obama administration, working in close collaboration with executive agencies, Congress, and the private sector, is well-positioned to act on what we perceive to be a historic opportunity -- capitalizing on both the foundations of veteran-focused policy and progress enacted over the past decade and the overwhelming public support for returning veterans and military families -- to craft and institutionalize a National Veterans Strategy.Our purpose is to provide a researched and logically-developed case for action that is grounded in this nation's social and cultural traditions and attuned to the practical realities of our contemporary economic and political climate

A Collaborative Approach for Reducing Wildland Fire Risks to Communities and the Environment

The Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior joined the Western Governors' Association, National Association of State Foresters, National Association of Counties, and the Intertribal Timber Council to endorse this 10-Year Comprehensive Strategy to deal with the wildland fire and hazardous fuels situation, as well as the needs for habitat restoration and rehabilitation in the Nation. Its goals were to improve fire prevention and suppression, reduce hazardous fuels, restore fire-adapted ecosystems, and promote community assistance. Educational levels: Graduate or professional

The State of Adaptation in the United States: An Overview

Over the past two decades the adaptation landscape has changed dramatically. From its early days as a vague theoretical concept, which was often viewed as a threat to advocating for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, it has developed into a widely, albeit not universally, recognized governmental mandate to reduce societal vulnerability to climate change. While it is important to appreciate the progress that we are making on this issue, it is impossible to ignore the urgent need to do more. Smart investment can be made by reflecting on what is already underway in order to determine where to build on existing efforts and where to innovate new approaches to fill the gaps in the path forward. In this report we provide illustrative examples of the variety of work on climate change adaptation that is underway in the United States. This is by no means an exhaustive survey of the field; however it does provide insight into the dominant focus of work to date, the resultant gaps, and the opportunities available for advancing this essential aspect of sustainability. We focus on four areas of activity -- agriculture, natural resources, human communities, and policy. The general trends relevant to these sectors can be applied more broadly to other sectors and countries. Adaptation can be thought of as a cycle of activities that ultimately -- if successful -- reduces vulnerability to climate change. This process starts with identifying the impacts of climate change to determine the types of problems climate change might pose. This includes all of the research on the causes and the global, regional, and local manifestations of climate change, often referred to as impacts assessments

Trafficking in Women and Children: The U.S. and International Response - Updated March 26, 2004

CRSdoc3traffickingupdateRL30545.pdf: 1142 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

Toward a transformed system to address child abuse and family violence in New Zealand

Executive Summary Introduction The Glenn Inquiry (TGI) has contracted Institute of Environmental Science and Research Limited (ESR) to bring together the relevant experience and expertise to collaboratively model a transformed system to address child abuse and neglect (CAN) and family violence (FV) in New Zealand. Our approach We have treated the task of reducing FV and CAN as a ‘wicked problem’1; that is, reducing FV and CAN is a problem that cannot be solved once and for all, and is not a matter of simply applying expert knowledge. The methods used in this project have been chosen because they are appropriate for working with wicked problems: stakeholder engagement, systems thinking and inter-disciplinary analysis. In this report, we refer to both CAN and FV. We recognise that, for some purposes, dealing with CAN requires particular strategies and treatment; however, the purpose of this report is to develop a transformed system that will reduce both CAN and other forms of FV. While the underlying causes of CAN and other FV may be considered independently, and some responses to each form of abuse will need to be particular, this report proposes a wider system of responses that will enable targeted interventions for each form of abuse. We use the term ‘family violence’ in this report in the sense it has come to be understood in Aotearoa, and is used in Te Rito: New Zealand Family Violence Prevention Strategy. In this use, FV includes intimate partner violence, child abuse and neglect, elder abuse, inter-sibling abuse and parental abuse. The project consisted of four work-streams: A review of the international and national literature on what would constitute a high performing system to address CAN and FV, including a review of New Zealand’s current approach with a focus on government legalisation, policies and initiatives; Qualitative modelling of the system dynamics associated with the existing way in which New Zealand has responded to CAN and FV; A secondary (sociological) analysis of suggestions for system improvement from the People’s Report; and, Developing a systemic model of a transformed system through collaborative workshops with sector experts

Catalyzing Collaboration: The Developing Infrastructure for Federal Public Private Partnerships

There is growing interest on the part of government, philanthropy and business to work together to achieve greater impact. Partnerships that span the sectors have the potential to achieve more than any sector can achieve on its own by leveraging the strengths of each. However, such partnerships also give rise to added costs and entail greater risks. To address these challenges, offices of strategic partnerships are emerging at the federal level to provide an infrastructure to catalyze cross-sectoral partnerships. This report examines 21 such offices in federal departments and agencies whose purpose is to facilitate and accelerate partnerships with philanthropy and business -- ranging from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Education, to the Department of State and the Agency for International Development, to the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The formation of these offices has been driven by champions within government -- many with prior experience in philanthropy or business -- that have witnessed the power of working collaboratively with other sectors. Their actions have often been reinforced by executive orders and other directives conducive to their growth. In the case of those offices that have been created in the last few years, they have also been encouraged by the examples of their more established counterparts

Trafficking in Women and Children: The U.S. and International Response - Updated July 10, 2003

CRSdoc2TraffickWomenChildren10July03.pdf: 399 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

Resource Management at the Watershed Level: An Assessment of the Changing Federal Role in the Emerging Era of Community-Based Watershed Management

66, A-41, 16 p. ; 28 cmhttps://scholar.law.colorado.edu/books_reports_studies/1041/thumbnail.jp