Long-term effects of amalgamating of upper secondary schools. A contribution to evaluation methodology

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Institutional Change and System Support – Reforming the Executive in Norwegian Cities and Regions

By studying the change from the alderman model to parliamentary rule in Norwegian cities and regions, this article analyses how and why reorganisation of political institutions influences support for the institutions reformed. We adopt a mixed methods approach consisting of a survey of politicians in all seven reformed Norwegian local governments, combined with a case study of reorganised governments with high and low levels of support for parliamentary rule. We find that support for the institutional model in the reformed local governments depends on the reform’s effect on different political positions. Politicians in power are more positive towards parliamentary rule than members in opposition are, and politicians from the big parties are more positive compared to representatives from smaller ones. Institutional change affects the interests of these groups in different ways. In turn, the effects that reform has on different interests influence their support for the reformed institutions. System support is also affected by how the change process is implemented. An inclusive political leadership that builds oversized coalitions and allocates positions such as committee chairs to the opposition results in stronger support for parliamentary rule. The overall finding is that both “pure” institutional effects and contextual factors influence support for parliamentary rule. Support increases when there is a high level of readiness and capacity for change. The reform must also include relevant actors in a way meeting demands for procedural fairness. The practical implication for reformers is that they must communicate why the organisation needs reform, arrange for sufficient implementation capacity and include relevant participants in decision-making and change processes.publishedVersio

Systemoppslutning i byene med parlamentarisme

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Parlamentarisme i norske fylkeskommuner bedre styring og demokrati?

Parlamentarism in Norwegian counties better management and democracy? Since the establishment of the modern county in Norway in 1976, county government has been managed according to the alderman principle, which is characterized by proportional election of parties to the executive board. However, in 1999 the county of Nordland introduced the parliamentary principle, and three other counties, Hedmark, Nord-Trøndelag and Troms, followed suit in 2003. A core element in parliamentarian government is that the cabinet is elected by a majoritarian vote. The effects of parliamentarism at the county level have been majority rule. A majority of the county representatives states that the goals for the reform are realised and there is an increase in support for parliamentarism as a management model. Furthermore, many opposition politicians experience it as being less meaningful and useful to participate in county politics after the introduction of parliamentarism. This is due to the parties in power being given greater resources and capacity, and that politics have taken on a more closed form. There are not any measurable external effects of the new parliamentarian system, like turnouts and the citizens knowledge and trust on the counties. All in all, introduction of parliamentarism at the county level has resulted in management improvements, but not in a better democracy

Fra konsensus til majoritetsstyre? : fylkesparlamentarisme i Nordland i komparativt perspektiv

Saxi har undersøkt hvordan overgang fra formannskapsprinsipp til det parlamentariske prinsipp har påvirket politikkutforming, maktfordeling og den offentlige debatten i kommunesektoren. Avhandlingen består av fire artikler, der effekter av det parlamentariske styringssystemet i fylkeskommunene i Nordland, Hedmark, Nord-Trøndelag og Troms, samt byene Oslo og Bergen sammenlignes. Avhandlingen viser at det ikke er blitt mer majoritetsstyre i storbyene, slik man forventet. Derimot viser analysen av fylkene med parlamentarisme at politikkutformingen har fått et majoritetspreg. Her er da også opposisjonen frustrert over sin manglende innflytelse. En studie av avisenes presentasjon av Nordland fylkeskommune viser at det ikke ble skrevet mer om fylkeskommunen eller om fylkespolitikk etter overgangen til parlamentarisme

Systemoppslutning i byene med parlamentarisme

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Jakten på den gode styringsmodellen

Evalueringen viser at det er svært delte meninger om hvor vellykket innføring av parlamentarisme i Hedmark fylkeskommune har vært. Posisjonen er positiv, mens opposisjonen og særlig de ansatte i fagavdelingene i sentraladministrasjonen er negative. Forklaringen er antakelig at det er et svært sterkt, majoritetspreget fylkesråd i Hedmark og at parlamentarisme som styringsform er gjennomført med stor konsekvens i fylkeskommunen. Tilknyttet prosjekt Parlamentarisme som styringsform i Hedmark fylkeskommun