0000000000420723
AUTHOR
Harald Baldersheim
Professional autonomy or political loyalty? How Norwegian Chief Municipality Officers handles the balance between profession and politics
Den nye kommuneloven fra 2020 har som en eksplisitt intensjon å klargjøre skillet mellom politikk og administrasjon, i praksis skillet mellom øverste administrative leder – Kommunedirektør – og ordfører. Denne studien tar for seg hvordan skillet mellom politikk og administrasjon i kommunene faktisk fortoner seg for norske kommunedirektører. Den empiriske studien er en survey sendt samtlige kommunedirektører i Norge høsten 2020 (354) med en svarprosent på 58 (n=206). Spørreskjemaet besto av fire vignetter med beskrivelser av reelle valgsituasjoner, standardiserte valgalternativer, samt åpne kommentarer til vignettene. Resultatene indikerer at forholdet mellom politikk og administrasjon i enk…
Do networks matter? Network involvement and policy learning in Nordic regions
ABSTRACTThe capacities of regions to form networks are an important feature of regional cooperation. This article assesses why Nordic regions engage in network activities and what new organizational patterns of collaboration emerge. It draws on historical data from a 2006–2008 survey of elected regional politicians from the Nordic countries. The article argues that through this process, participation in cross-border networks matters for regional learning as measured by the policy-choices of regions.
Innovation in E-government: Analysis of municipal web pages in the Nordic countries
The article seeks to test propositions about innovation in e-government inspired by innovation theory. The tests are carried out on data from a survey of municipal web pages in the four Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The research question is concerned with explaining variations among Nordic municipalities as to the features of their respective web pages. A model of innovation is developed, aiming at capturing typical features of local government as a setting for innovations in e-governance. Web pages were analyzed according to their information and communication features. Sources of innovation investigated include motivating, enabling and predisposing factors. All …