Decentralisation: does the New Zealand local government system measure up?

Decentralisation continues to be well received as a strategy for improving the governance of countries and delivering more responsive and efficient services. Cheerleaders include multilateral agencies like the World Bank and developed countries, like England, which seek to reverse years of centralisation. Evaluating the effectiveness of decentralised models raises the question of what it means to be ‘decentralised’, and how decentralisation itself is measured. This article describes the World Bank’s diagnostic framework for assessing decentralisation and applies the framework to the New Zealand local government system.&nbsp

Examining the Case for Decentralisation

This article examines international evidence for the benefits of decentralisation based on new information published recently by the OECD. It finds benefits from decentralisation, but notes that whether these are realised or not is influenced by the nature of the multi-level governance framework. The applicability of decentralisation to New Zealand is also considered

Local authority turnout: what’s the story?

While the recent local authority elections attracted their fair share of media headlines, the dominant narrative, as in previous elections, was one of declining turnout and whether or not local government has a future. Little was heard about the nature of the role councils play in their towns, cities and regions, or about the future challenges facing communities and how candidates were planning to deal with them.&nbsp

Collaboration in a Time of Covid-19: will it reset the local– central relationship?

The social and economic impact of a pandemic like Covid-19 was always going to require a multi-government response, and so it was in New Zealand. Despite the complexity that has historically characterised intergovernmental relationships, the impact of Covid-19 saw institutional arrangements quickly put in place that enabled a joined-up response from both local and central government. This article looks at how these arrangements worked and how they contributed to the provision of essential services through all levels of the lockdown

The Auckland debate: is big city governance always this difficult?

Governing fast-growing metropolitan areas is always difficult, and the history of Auckland governance is no exception. This is so for no other reason than the fact that they keep growing: as population increases the alignment of urban and jurisdictional boundaries breaks down, creating problems of coordination and fragmenting decision making. In addition, the increasingly complex pattern of councils results in tax exporting and what economists describe as spill overs, where peri-urban councils benefit from the expenditure of their larger neighbours while areas further out question the local benefits of centrally-based facilities. Consider, for example, the debate over the Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Act 2008

Gatekeeper influence on food acquisition, food preparation and family diet

The problems associated with overweight and obesity has focused attention on obesogenic, or obesity promoting environments. The home environment, in particular the role of the main food gatekeeper, has come under particular scrutiny for its impact on the family diet (Campbell et al, 2007; Coveney, 2004; Crawford et al, 2007). 326 US and 323 Australian gatekeepers are studied to understand relationships between healthy eating capability, food acquisition and food preparation behaviours, and satisfaction with the household diet. The results suggest that gatekeeper attitudes and perceived control over family diet play a significant role in shaping food-related behaviours and diet satisfaction. Impulsiveness, focusing on freshness, meal planning, and vegetable prominence in meals are also important behavioural factors for satisfaction with diet.<br /

Strategic planning under the Local Government Act 2002: towards collaboration or compliance?

By July 2006 all 85 local authorities expect to have their 10-year Long Term Council Community Plans (LTCCPs) signed and sealed, and passing muster with an unqualified audit report. The new Local Government Act 2002 (LGA 2002) has provided councils with general empowerment and introduced a new purpose (section 3) for local government: to ‘promote the social, economic, cultural and environmental well-being of communities now and for the future’

Big Data, Lifelong Learning and Learning Cities: Promoting City-Discourse on Social Inequalities in Learning

The Key Features of Learning Cities, published by UNESCO (2013), laid out possible indicators through which learning communities, cities, and regions could support and evaluate learning engagement and urban success, within a context of international collaboration. This briefing paper presents an overview of Learning Cities from the perspective of operationalising a range of indicators, illustrating the role of ‘Big Data’ in in this pursuit. We also argue for public engagement opportunities to be embedded within social science research. Such discourse and debate regarding individual motivations, decisions and ambitions, may highlight where lifelong learning opportunities are needed, and for the wider value of active citizenship. The present work, of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)-funded Urban Big Data Centre (UBDC) at the University of Glasgow, is a key investment for researchers to more easily access the potential of big data for addressing city challenges, such as learning inclusion. UBDC exemplifies how novel, open, big data can be applied to assess learning engagement in an urban context, embedded in place and with considerations of demographic and deprivation changes. The principles of our research relate to Learning City frameworks, and have been inspired by the PASCAL Observatory’s Learning City Network, as well as the existence of a Memorandum of Agreement between PASCAL and the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning. Using Learning City Frameworks and applying innovative Big Data approaches offers educationalists avenues for exploring learning engagement in our own regions, as well as future global comparisons of Learning Cities. More importantly, novel and interdisciplinary approaches can help us use our city data, to open discussions about learning inequalities, specifically promoting lifelong learning and lifewide literacies for more engaged citizenry