Commonwealth Local Government Forum

Local democracy

This section contains information relating to all aspects of lcoal democracy and good governance at the local level. The Commonwealth principles on good practice for local democracy and good governance - known as the Aberdeen Agenda - which have been adopted by all CLGF members and are incorporated in the Commonwealth Charter, set the framework for the promotion of local democracy in the Commonwealth. The materials in this section relate to the constitutional and legal provisions for local government and include a range of studies, policy and training materials on local elections, leadership, community participation, representative local government, local government management and partnerships between local government and other key stakeholders such as traditional authorities.

Sub-topics:

  • The Aberdeen Agenda
  • Community participation
  • Constitutional/legislative provisions
  • Decentralisation policy and practice
  • Local government elections
  • Local leadership
  • Local government management
  • Partnerships in governance
  • Decentralisation in post-conflict environments
  • Local government associations
  • Transparency and anti-corruption
  • Traditional leadership and local governance

Featured

Cabinet governance and political stability in English urban councils

Policy-makers have long been concerned with the quality of local political leadership and have often resorted to institutional reform to try to improve political leadership. This paper looks at a specific and neglected facet of the political management reforms that have been implemented in English local government over the last decade: the tenure and turnover of cabinet members. The tenure of top politicians may be an important influence on the performance of local government particularly when political management is designed to favour individualised leadership. On the one hand, excessively short tenures for top politicians may damage the ability of governments to develop strategic plans and ensure they are implemented while on the other hand the risk of loss of office is central to political accountability and excessively long tenures may be indicative of an insulated and unresponsive elite. While some research attention has been paid to the tenures of leaders of councils in England there is little systematic information about the tenure of cabinet members. This paper discusses the relevance of cabinet stability and provides an overview of recent experience in England.

Author: Stephen Greasley Publisher: University of Technology Sydney Press Publication year: 2016


Review of the commonwealth local government good practice scheme

The final (third) phase of the Commonwealth Local Government three year capacity building programme, the Good Practice Scheme, funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) came to an end in late 2011. The programme partnered councils and local government associations from six targeted Commonwealth countries - Jamaica, India, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Pakistan and Ghana - with their counterparts in South Africa, India and the UK with the objective to exchange good practice and generate innovative solutions to challenges faced by local governments. A total of 34 projects were active during the Scheme’s lifetime and contributed successfully to having a positive impact on the ground for local communities. The dissemination of the project activities through national workshops in partnership with national local government associations meant that the successes and lessons were shared with local governments throughout the countries concerned. A new focus of the third phase of the GPS was to promote south-south partnerships: six of these partnerships were set up, three of them being tripartite, two having a northern hemisphere partner, with the remainder, both dual and tripartite, being south-south. Despite partners’ diverse cultural, socio-economic circumstances and administrative practices, this methodology of technical support and exchange of ideas allows partners to share and compare their challenges and reflect on own approaches. The south-south partners, with varying cultural beliefs, learnt that cultural practices should not be ignored in advancing new initiatives: traditional norms and practices are a way of life for the majority of communities especially those in the agricultural, small scale farming sector.

Author: Rachael Duchnowski Publisher: University of Technology Sydney Press Publication year: 2012


Regional transition groups and regional collaborative groups - a voluntary approach to structural reform in Western Australia

The Western Australian Minister for Local Government, the Hon John Castrilli MLA announced on 4 February 2009 strategies for local government reform based on a voluntary reduction in the number of individual councils. Western Australia has a professional and well managed local government sector that is characterised by diversity in size, revenue and remoteness.2 However, Western Australia is effectively the last state in Australia to experience major structural reform in the sector. Local government reform in WA is currently being implemented as a voluntary, industry led process.

Author: Chris Berry Publisher: University of Technology Sydney Press Publication year: 2012


A cyclist’s eye view of rural sustainability and governance in Canada - Blog Review

A blog review of "Local Governance and Sustainable Rural Community Development: A Comparative Study of Canadian and Australian Experiences" by John martin and Alistair Walker

Author: John Martin Publisher: University of Technology Sydney Press Publication year: 2012


Place-based leadership in a global era

This article examines the major challenges now facing local governments across the world and advocates the development of a new focus on place-based leadership for local government scholarship and practice. The challenges facing local authorities are many, but they can be summarised in two words: globalisation and urbanisation. In response to these we have witnessed, in many countries, a shift from ‘local government’ to ‘local governance’. This shift is discussed, and it is suggested that new models of partnership working could, if handled in the wrong way, undermine local democracy. To combat this danger it is essential to give civic leadership far more attention – in the worlds of both academe and practice. A new way of conceptualising place-based leadership – one that identifies three ‘realms of civic leadership’ – is put forward. This model emphasises the role of civic leadership in shaping emotions and supporting public service innovation. To illustrate the argument an example of highly respected place-based leadership is presented. Freiburg, Germany is recognised as a very successful eco-city and the leadership model is used to help explain why. The article concludes with some reflections and pointers for research and policy. It is suggested that new forms of ‘engaged scholarship’ – approaches that bring together academics and practitioners to co-produce new knowledge about place-based leadership in an international, comparative perspective – should be encouraged.

Author: Robin Hambleton Publisher: University of Technology Sydney Press Publication year: 2011


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