Reforming Local Government Policymaking and Management Through Organizational Learning and Experimentation |
| |
| Authors: | Harold Baldersheim Per Stava |
| |
| Affiliation: | Harald Baldersheim;is professor of public administration at the University of Bergen, Norway. He is currently affiliated with the Norwegian Research Center in Organization and Management, and coordinated research on the Norwegian "free commune" experiments and the Norwegian Fiscal Authority and Urban Innovation Project. He has published several books and articles on urban policy. Per Stava;is currently with the Norwegian Association of Local Authorities. He is project leader for a research and development project on municipal organization. He has formerly held positions at the University of Bergen and the Institute for Urban and Regional Research. |
| |
| Abstract: | This article presents two ongoing programs of local government reform in Norway, the Free Commune Program and the Pilot Commune Program. These programs are fairly typical of thinking on local government development in the Nordic countries at the moment. On the one hand, the welfare states are seen as being in danger of becoming overloaded. On the other hand, local government is seen as being in need of developing a capacity to respond better to local communities; consequently, national regulations have to become less standardized in order to allow for greater local adaptability and more variation. The emergent municipal organizational models reflect a more community-oriented approach to local government and a deemphasis on local governments as distributive channels for central ministries. A New Nordic Welfare Model is emerging with more emphasis on local initiatives. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
|
|
