Local government reform as a process, 23/2012

Institutional leadership in municipal change

Summary

The purpose of the research is to produce theoretically structured empirical analysis on local government reform as a process. Examined through the framework of institutional leadership, the subject of interest of the research has been to explore the nature of the common goals and endogenous characteristics lying behind implemented municipal amalgamations and active areas of cooperation. In the research, issues have been approached by examining both the kind of forums in which endogenous understanding has been generated within those municipal amalgamation areas and cooperation areas that have succeeded in the amalgamation process and how, for example, conflicts relating to service structures and land-use matters have been handled. Behind everything lies the question of how institutional leadership has manifested itself in different stages of the process as well as the nature of the channels through which it has been implemented.

In the research, the change process is divided into four stages, in which various dynamics and forums of institutional leadership were perceived. The subject of our research consisted of municipal reform processes arising on a voluntary basis. There were many similarities in the municipal fusion processes, but the benefits and advantages perceived in the processes, like the problems and challenges, are highly dependent on the type of municipality and on the cultural and operational variations evident within the various types of municipality.

In a local government context, institutional change is challenging partly due to the grey area, through which change is channelled in the form of the participants’ – i.e. generally the senior office holders and elected officials – interpretations of the need for change as well as its direction and scheduling. Interpretations, on the other hand, are coloured by the world view and circumstances of the interpreters, creating many possible parallel dimensions for change and the desired outcome.

Language versions

• Kuntauudistus prosessina, 23/2012
  20.06.2012
• Kommunreformen som process, 23/2012
  20.06.2012

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