How a Nonprofitness Orientation Influences Collective Civic Action: The Effects of Civic Engagement and Political Participation

This research addresses the question of how the institutional frame of “nonprofitness” shapes the civic activities pursued by community-based nonprofit organizations (CBOs). Specifically, we study how an organizational commitment and orientation to traditional nonprofit values affect activities that foster collective civic action. We draw on the theoretical frame of institutionalism to examine the role of CBOs as organizational actors that foster civic health through their collective civic action. Our research employs a structural equation model to test associations among several constructs, highlighting the interaction of key variables and activities. Based on our analysis of original survey data, we argue that nonprofits develop a civic capacity through the praxis of nonprofit values, civic health activities, and collective civic action. Our findings extend existing research through new measurement tools that capture the institutional orientation of community-based nonprofits that shapes the nature of their involvement in civil society and collective civic action

Governing towards sustainability - conceptualizing modes of governance

There is a growing scientific debate regarding the suitability of certain modes of governance for promoting sustainable development (SD). However, thus far there is neither agreement on ways to meaningfully distinguish and understand governance modes nor a foundation of the aspects to be chosen for this endeavor. In order to overcome this conceptual vagueness, this paper presents a meta-framework for a sound conceptualization of governance modes. Founded on a reinterpretation of the discourse ´from government to governance´, we argue that only a multi-dimensional approach giving consideration to political processes (politics), institutional structures (polity) and policy content (policy) adequately captures the complexity of governance phenomena. We furthermore highlight possible key features for exploring these dimensions and compare three recently published frameworks for modes of governance. By offering a sound conceptual clarification of governance modes, we facilitate both their meaningful differentiation and a more systematic understanding of their inherent complexity. In so doing, we inform both theoretical and empirical research on governance for SD. We pave the way not only for making more differentiated theoretical statements on the relationship between governance modes and SD but also for empirically exploring this relationship on a profound basis

Shifting from output to outcome measurement in public administration : Arguments revisited

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