Redesigning collaborative governance for refugee settlement services

ABSTRACT

Processes of collaborative governance, also known as network structures or joined-up approaches, have been embraced increasingly by policy makers responding to complex and intractable problems. In 2015, a collaborative governance approach was applied in New South Wales to facilitate settlement of 12,000 additional refugees from Syria and Iraq, under the leadership of the Coordinator General for Refugee Resettlement, Peter Shergold. This article examines the success of the initiative, using criteria drawn from collaborative governance and meta-governance literature and evidence from interviews with people working in the refugee sector who were involved in the project. The article concludes that initiative has improved the experience of newly arrived refugees, and identifies some reasons for success, including the existence of a facilitative or collaborative leader. It argues that greater emphasis in collaborative theory be placed on individual capacity, given such a leader’s ability to influence both interpersonal and structural determinants of policy success.     

Place leadership and the challenge of transformation: policy platforms and innovation ecosystems in promotion of green growth

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we explore how place leadership aims at producing transformational changes in the context of green growth. We ask what the main leadership strategies are that key actors pursue to gain leverage in their efforts to boost green growth. We use the well-known categories of transactional and transformational leadership. The following are the main research questions: (a) What do place leaders do to boost green institutional paths? (b) How do they aim to amplify their limited power base? and (c) How do they amplify their ability to influence both place-based and placeless agents? We scrutinize these questions in the context of green path development in two Finnish regions. The empirical study follows a two parallel single case study design. The cases in this paper deal with the cleantech-related path development in the Tampere city-region and bioeconomy-related path development in Central Finland. The two case studies were carefully chosen to illustrate the two main green growth-related industries in two different Finnish regions. The empirical data was based on 30 interviews of the national and local/regional development agencies as well as from firms and research/educational organizations. Additionally, the written material from the Internet, relevant journals, related newspaper articles and respective policy documents were analysed.     

‘Which Way?’ Big Man,Road Man,Chief: Bernard Narokobi's Multifaceted Leadership Career

ABSTRACT

Among the topics that Bernard Narokobi addresses in his numerous writings is the place of traditional Melanesian leadership styles in a modern Papua New Guinea. This article explores Narokobi's leadership status to show how far-reaching and multifaceted his leadership career was: he was at once a traditional Melanesian bigman, a chief, and a modern public figure. The actions he took in these roles were for him a matter of the highest principle, something that at times had severe political consequences. Because in Melanesia the scope of the ritual that takes place upon an individual's death is an index of their status, an analysis of the mortuary rituals undertaken upon Narokobi's death provides insight into the significance of his leadership at every level from his clan up to the national level of Papua New Guinean society.     

The Afghanistan Task Force and Prime Ministerial Leadership: Tactical Retreat or a New Direction in Managing Canadian Foreign Policy?

It has been assumed that since inheriting Martin’s decision to send 2000 soldiers to Kandahar, Stephen Harper has maintained control over all aspects of the Afghanistan mission. Donald Savoie and others have made the argument that the Prime Minister and his advisors have dominated and centralized the policymaking process while relegating other institutional players to a secondary role. This article challenges this image and suggests a more nuanced picture of the relationship between Harper and the bureaucracy. With the foundering of the Afghan mission, the government created the Afghanistan Task Force (ATF) and bent the rules of engagement to break down the barriers of “departmentalism.” For Harper it was a matter of political survival; for the Privy Council Office (PCO) it was an opportunity to maximize its influence. By 2008 a new generation of mandarins in the ATF were sharing the foreign policymaking platform with key players in the executive branch of government. In the process Harper’s command over foreign policy has been challenged as new approaches to rapid civilian–military responses are sought.     

Why is it so difficult to reduce gender inequality in male-dominated higher educational organizations? A feminist institutional perspective

ABSTRACT

Using a Feminist Institutional perspective, and drawing on a wide range of evidence in different institutions and countries, this article identifies the specific aspects of the structure and culture of male-dominated higher educational organizations that perpetuate gender inequality. Gender inequality refers to the differential evaluation of women and men, and of areas of predominantly female and predominantly male employment. It is reflected at a structural level in the under-representation of women in senior positions and at a cultural level in the legitimacy of a wide range of practices to value men and to facilitate their access to such positions and to undervalue women and to inhibit their access. It shows that even potentially transformative institutional interventions such as Athena SWAN have had little success in reducing gender inequality. It highlights the need to recognize the part played by the ‘normal’ structures and culture in perpetuating gender inequality.