25 research outputs found
Hands-off or Hands-on Governance for Public Innovation? : A Comparative Case Study in the EU Cohesion Policy Implementation in Finland
Public innovation is increasingly strived for by involving non-state agents in policy implementation. Public governance theory has assumed the public administration better govern the activity hands-off by providing incentives and pressure. The theory-driven research agenda has, however, not sufficiently put the assumption to test. This paper compares two similar public innovation projects in employment management of which one was governed hands-off and the other hands-on. The cases reveal several problems with hands-off governance eventually risking innovation while hands-on governance consistently support innovation. Contrary to previous assumptions hands-off governance through competition in a complex environment confound the objective of the project. Hands-on governance, meanwhile, provide information and support that help the project to experiment and learn. The public governance theory should recognize the innovation potential of hands-on governance in the often complex public sector and be wary of mixing hands-off and hands-on governing techniques.Peer reviewe
The Evaluation of Innovations : How to Evaluate the Transformative Value of the Cohesion Policy for Managing Purposes
Peer reviewe
The tie that binds? : A comparison of ethnicityâbased party ties among emigrated and resident citizens
Recent decades have seen a trend toward enfranchising emigrated citizens in home country elections. Political parties have also become increasingly interested in connecting with emigrant voters. That said, we still know little of what voters think of the parties in the home country and how party preferences may change because of migration. On the one hand, research shows that the experience of migration and the context of the host country have a significant impact on the political behavior of migrants. On the other hand, party ties are known to be resistant to change. In this paper, we study how what is generally assumed to be the strongest of party ties, namely ties to an ethnic party, is affected by migration. Utilizing two highly comparable surveys of resident and non-resident citizens, we study how identifying with an ethnic minority party among Finland-Swedes in Finland, where they constitute a linguistic minority, compares with emigrated Finland-Swedes in Sweden, where they speak the majority language. We find that party ties, even with an ethnic party, tend to be weaker for emigrated citizens. However, the difference is relatively small and only materializes after an extended stay abroad.Peer reviewe
Mapping the post-bureaucratic landscape : project managersâ perception of bureaucracy in European Union Cohesion policy projects
New post-bureaucratic organizational forms, such as projects, are increasingly used in policy implementation. Their assumed benefits in decreasing bureaucracy and increasing flexibility have, however, been questioned. It has been argued that public projects increase red tape (or bureaucracy perceived as a nuisance) because of the formal rules associated with them. Despite the topicality of the subject, we do not know how public project bureaucracy is perceived by the actors involved. This article explores the bureaucracy of public projects by analysing project managers' perceptions of them with data from European Union Cohesion policy projects in Finland. The data consist of project register data and a survey to project managers (N = 728). The study finds that when talking of the perception of bureaucracy, it is relevant to distinguish between a general attitude towards bureaucracy and a specific perception of the task at hand. The general attitude seems more negative than the specific perception of bureaucracy. We also show that project managers' experience, institutional background and share of administrative tasks in the project condition the extent to which bureaucracy is perceived as red tape. To conclude, the findings are discussed in relation to previous research on red tape in public administration. Points for practitioners Project organization connotes flexibility and innovation but involves also bureaucracy, which can be received as red tape, especially for inexperienced managers. In general, managers consider project bureaucracy as red tape, while in their own projects, bureaucracy is seen as less burdensome. Public managers have an advantage over managers from non-public organizations by perceiving public project bureaucracy as less burdensome.Peer reviewe
Vad förklarar variationen i projektens effektivitet? : En granskning av organisatoriska egenskapers inverkan pÄ effektivitet i tillfÀlliga organisationer
Offentliga sektorns verksamhet organiseras allt oftare i form av projekt. Inom regionalpolitiken Àr projekt redan det vanligaste sÀttet att genomföra verksamhet. AnvÀndningen av projekt motiveras med förvÀntningar om effektivitet. Projektens effektivitet antas utgÄende frÄn projektteorin med förankring i företagsvÀrlden grunda sig pÄ deras tidsbegrÀnsning, möjlighet till att föra samman olika aktörer och flexibla organisationer. Kritiker har dock ifrÄgasatt inverkan av dessa egenskaper pÄ projektens effektivitet i en komplex miljö som offentliga sektorn. Oklarhet rÄder dock i frÄgan pÄ grund av bristfÀllig forskning i omrÄdet. Utbredningen av projekt inom offentliga sektorn gör att kunskap om vad som pÄverkar projektens effektivitet Àr av central betydelse för organisering av verksamhet. MÀtning av effektivitet i offentliga sektorn Àr ocksÄ mer komplicerat Àn i företagsvÀrlden. Kunskap om hur projektens effektivitet i offentliga sektorn kan förstÄs Àr viktigt för organisering av verksamhet. Denna avhandling visar om projektens egenskaper, som förklarar projektens effektivitet i företagsvÀrlden, förklarar variationen i projektens effektivitet i offentliga sektorn. I undersökningen diskuteras och operationaliseras ocksÄ olika sÀtt att mÀta projektens effektivitet i offentliga sektorn.
Projektens egenskaper, vars betydelse för effektiviteten i offentliga sektorn utgÄende frÄn projektteorin undersöks, Àr projektets lÀngd, nÀrvaro av tidspress i projektet, fortsÀttningen av projektet efter dess avslutning, grad av samverkan av offentliga aktörer i projektet och projektets storlek. Dessa Àr undersökningens oberoende variabler. Projektens effektivitet mÀts med fyra mÄtt som motsvarar de centrala dimensionerna av effektivitet i offentliga sektorn. EffektivitetsmÄtten Àr undersökningens beroende variabler. Som metod anvÀnds multivariat regressionsanalys.
Resultaten visar att projektens effektivitet i offentliga sektorn pÄverkas delvis av projektens lÀngd, nÀrvaro av tidspress, grad av samverkan och organisationsstorlek. Kortare projekt Àr mer effektiva Àn lÀngre projekt. NÀrvaro av tidspress ökar ocksÄ pÄ projektens effektivitet. Graden av samverkan av offentliga aktörer i projektet ökar inte direkt pÄ projektens effektivitet men uppvisar vissa tecken av inverkan pÄ effektivitet. Mindre projekt Àr dÀremot inte mer effektiva Àn större projekt. TvÀrtom visar sig större projekt vara mer effektiva Àn mindre projekt. Undersökningen klargör att företagsvÀrldens antaganden om vad som förklarar projektens effektivitet endast delvis gÀller för projekt i en komplex miljö som offentliga sektorn. Genom att beakta projektens lÀngd, nÀrvaro av tidspress, möjlighet till samverkan och organisationsstorlek kan projekten bland annat i regionalpolitiken organiseras effektivare. Undersökningen visar ocksÄ att olika mÄtt bör anvÀndas tillsammans i mÀtning av projektens effektivitet i offentliga sektorn. Undersökningens resultat kan gynna organisering av projekt i offentliga sektorn, inverkan av politiken och den framtida samhÀllsutvecklingen
Welfare Services from a Minority Perspective : Explaining Satisfaction with Language-Based Welfare Services among Swedish-Speaking Finns
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Long Hours, Uneasy Feelings : Parliamentary Work in Denmark, Finland and Sweden
A correction has been published: Parliamentary Affairs, Volume 75, Issue 3, July 2022, Page 576, https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsab034Politicians' work pressure is gaining more attention in parliamentary studies. To participate in the discussion about governing under pressure, this article offers an interdisciplinary approach to investigate how representatives navigate within a flexible, limitless work culture. This article presents a new inquiry to re-examine contemporary political agency by combining cultural studies theories with empirical insights in Nordic countries. By analysing 52 semi-structured interviews with MPs in Denmark, Finland and Sweden, the study finds that politics attracts people who want to change the world, but these attributes may initiate a vicious cycle, taking the form of psychological strain.Peer reviewe
Luottamuksen kÀÀntöpuoli : poliittisen epÀluottamuksen typologia ja teoreettinen viitekehys
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