The collaborative push : pushing beyond rhetoric and gaining evidence

Collaboration has been enacted as a core strategy by both the government and nongovernment sectors to address many of the intractable issues confronting contemporary society. The cult of collaboration has become so pervasive that it is now an elastic term referring generally to any form of ‘working together’. The lack of specificity about collaboration and its practice means that it risks being reduced to mere rhetoric without sustained practice or action. Drawing on an extensive data set (qualitative, quantitative) of broadly collaborative endeavours gathered over ten years in Queensland, Australia, this paper aims to fill out the black box of collaboration. Specifically it examines the drivers for collaboration, dominant structures and mechanisms adopted, what has worked and unintended consequences. In particular it investigates the skills and competencies required in an embeded collaborative endeavour within and across organisations. Social network analysis is applied to isolate the structural properties of collaborations over other forms of integration as well as highlighting key roles and tasks. Collaboration is found to be a distinctive form of working together, characterised by intense and interdependent relationships and exchanges, higher levels of cohesion (density) and requiring new ways of behaving, working, managing and leading. These elements are configured into a practice framework. Developing an empirical evidence base for collaboration structure, practice and strategy provides a useful foundation for theory extension. The paper concludes that for collaboration, to be successfully employed as a management strategy it must move beyond rhetoric and develop a coherent model for action.

Rational avoidance of accountability

Anthony Downs public choice theory proposes that every rational person would try to meet their own desires in preference to those of others, and that such rational persons would attempt to obtain these desires in the most efficient manner possible. This paper will demonstrate that the application of this theory would mean that public servants and politicians would perform acts of corruption and maladministration in order to efficiently meet their desires. As such action is unavoidable, political parties must appear to meet the public demand for accountability systems, but must not make these systems viable lest they expose the corruption and maladministration that would threaten the government’s chance or re-election. It is therefore logical for governments to display a commitment for accountability whilst simultaneously ensuring the systems would not be able to interfere with government control or expose its flaws.

Strengthening Australia's schools through corporate federalism?

The federal policy document, 'Strengthening Australia's Schools' (SAS), signified a new approach to commonwealth-state relations in schooling policy making--corporate federalism. Corporate federalism extended the application of neocorporatist strategies for managing and responding to crisis (here, in particular, Australia's worsening national and international economic situation) from the private to the public sector. The paper documents and evaluates the rationale for corporate federalism in SAS. Some possible future developments within federalism and schooling policy are also considered.

Performance reporting : assessing the annual reports of Malaysian local authorities

There have been calls for Malaysian local authorities to be more transparent and accountable in the discharge of their functional responsibilities. This study empirically evaluates the extent and quality of current performance reporting by local authorities. The disclosure of relevant information for discharging accountability obligations, as defined by a broad range of stakeholders, falls short of best practice. Therefore, the performance of Malaysian local authorities lacks transparency. The findings could assist in the development of more comprehensive guidelines for local authority reporting and raise awareness of information stakeholders expect to be reported in the context of accountability

Beyond the 'at risk' individual : housing and the eradication of poverty to prevent homelessness

The 2008 White Paper on Homelessness (Australian Government 2008) constitutes a watershed initiative outlining the future for Australian homelessness policy. This contemporary homelessness policy is diverse and it continues to unfold and evolve during implementation. Nevertheless, it is characterised by the explicit intention to move beyond the former crisis based system, and the espousal of achieving measurable outcomes of permanently ending homelessness (Australian Government 2008).

What can grassroots leadership teach us about school leadership

This paper explores grassroots leadership, an under-researched and often side-lined approach to leadership that operates outside of formal bureaucratic structures. The paper’s central purpose is the claim that an understanding of grassroots leadership and tactics used by grassroots leaders provides valuable insights for the study of school leadership. In this paper, we present and discuss an original model of grassroots leadership based on the argument that this under-researched area can further our understanding of school leadership. Drawing upon the limited literature in the field, we present a model consisting of two approaches to change (i.e. conflict and consensus) and two categories of change (i.e. reform and refinement) and then provide illustrations of how the model works in practice. We make the argument that the model has much merit for conceptualizing school leadership, and this is illustrated by applying the model to formal bureaucratic leadership within school contexts. Given the current climate in education where business and management language is pervasive within leadership-preparation programs, we argue that it is timely for university academics, who are responsible for preparing school leaders to consider broadening their approach by exposing school leaders to a variety of change-based strategies and tactics used by grassroots leaders.

The exemplification of governance principles within state asset management laws and policies : the case of Indonesia

Efficient state asset management is crucial for governments as they facilitate the fulfillment of their public functions, which include the provision of essential services and other public administration support. In recent times economies internationally and particularly in South east Asia, have displayed increased recognition of the importance of efficiencies across state asset management law, policies and practice. This has been exemplified by a surge in notable instances of reform in state asset management. A prominent theme in this phenomenon is the consideration of governance principles within the re-conceptualization of state asset management law and related policy, with many countries recognizing variability in the quality of asset governance and opportunities for profit as being critical factors. This issue is very current in Indonesia where a major reform process in this area has been confirmed by the establishment of a new Directorate of State Asset Management. The incumbent Director-General of State Asset Management has confirmed a re-emphasis on adherence to governance principles within applicable state asset management law and policy reform. This paper reviews aspects of the challenge of reviewing and reforming Indonesian practice within state asset management law and policy specifically related to public housing, public buildings, parklands, and vacant land. A critical issue in beginning this review is how Indonesia currently conceptualizes the notion of asset governance and how this meaning is embodied in recent changes in law and policy and importantly in options for future change. This paper discusses the potential complexities uniquely Indonesian characteristics such as decentralisation and regional autonomy regime, political history, and bureaucratic culture.

Enterprise policy and the metagovernance of firm capabilities

The underlying logic of enterprise policy is that there are impediments to change in economic systems that can be traced to the path-dependent behaviors of economic actors that prevent them from exploring new knowledge and new ways of doing things. Enterprise policy involves firm-level interventions delivered by distributed networks of business advisors coordinated by knowledge intermediaries. These metagovernance arrangements are able to disrupt the path-dependent behaviors of organizations. The logic and benefits of enterprise policy are explored through reference to public administration, strategic management and evolutionary theory, and three case studies.

Towards positive organisation austerity : combining austerity measures with Positive Organisational Scholarship (POS)

The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential and value of positive management practices to address the pain and suffering that frequently accompanies periods of large-scale austerity in public sectors. Public managers are increasingly asked to implement severe austerity measures and at the same time to build service delivery capacity; contradictory tasks. We draw on and further develop Cameron’s (2012) model of Positive Leadership to identify seven positive shared leadership practices that, while not eliminating the pain and suffering associated with austerity measures at least offer some scope, compared to traditional public management practices, for managing the austerity-build capacity duality in ways that respond to those affected with compassion and respect. We draw on published reports of a large-scale austerity program to highlight the potential and value of positive shared leadership practices for creating what we refer to as positive organisational austerity. The paper contributes to the literature on public management response to crises in two main ways. First, the paper introduces and develops the concept of shared positive leadership (Cameron, 2012; Carson et al. 2007) as a way of managing in austerity. Second, the paper introduces the concept of positive organisational austerity as a means of highlighting a reorientation in thinking about austerity measures and their implementation.

Welfare surveillance, income management and new paternalism in Australia

This article discusses the situation of income support claimants in Australia, constructed as faulty citizens and flawed welfare subjects. Many are on the receiving end of complex, multi-layered forms of surveillance aimed at securing socially responsible and compliant behaviours. In Australia, as in other Western countries, neoliberal economic regimes with their harsh and often repressive treatment of welfare recipients operate in tandem with a burgeoning and costly arsenal of CCTV and other surveillance and governance assemblages. Through a program of ‘Income Management’, initially targeting (mainly) Indigenous welfare recipients in Australia’s Northern Territory, the BasicsCard (administered by Centrelink, on behalf of the Australian Federal Government’s Department of Human Services) is one example of this welfare surveillance. The scheme operates by ‘quarantining’ a percentage of a claimant’s welfare entitlements to be spent by way of the BasicsCard on ‘approved’ items only. The BasicsCard scheme raises significant questions about whether it is possible to encourage people to take responsibility for themselves if they no longer have real control over the most important aspects of their lives. Some Indigenous communities have resisted the BasicsCard, criticising it because the imposition of income management leads to a loss of trust, dignity, and individual agency. Further, income management of individuals by the welfare state contradicts the purported aim that they become less ‘welfare dependent’ and more ‘self-reliant’. In highlighting issues around compulsory income management this paper makes a contribution to the largely under discussed area of income management and welfare surveillance, with its propensity for function creep, garnering large volumes of data on BasicsCard user’s approved (and declined) purchasing decisions, complete with dates, amounts, times and locations.

Suicide and the therapeutic coroner : inquests, governance and the grieving family

This study of English Coronial practice raises a number of questions about the role played by the Coroner within contemporary governance. Following observations at over 20 inquests into possible suicides and in-depth interviews with six Coroners, three preliminary issue emerged, all of which pointed to a broader and, in many ways, more significant issue. These preliminary issues are concerned with: (1) the existence of considerable slippages between different Coroners over which deaths are likely to be classified as suicide; (2) the high standard of proof required and immense pressure faced by Coroners from family members at inquest to reach any verdict other than suicide, which significantly depresses likely suicide rates, and; (3) Coroners feeling no professional obligation, either individually or collectively, to contribute to the production of consistent and useful social data regarding suicide, arguably rendering comparative suicide statistics relatively worthless. These concerns lead, ultimately, to the second more important question about the role expected of Coroners within social governance and within an effective, contemporary democracy. That is, are Coroners the principal officers in the public administration of death; or are they, first and foremost, a crucial part of the grieving process, one that provides important therapeutic interventions into the mental and emotional health of the community?

On ‘Activation Workers' Perceptions’ : a reply to Dunn (1)

Andrew Dunn challenges us to include the perspectives of other policy actors in the debate about the merits and limits of activation policies that emphasise greater conditionality for those in receipt of benefits. In his provocative article he focuses on the views and experiences of people who work with unemployed people...

Evaluation and social impact measurement amongst small to medium social enterprises : process, purpose and value

In recent years, the imperative to communicate organisational impacts to a variety of stakeholders has gained increasing importance within all sectors. Despite growing external demands for evaluation and social impact measurement, there has been limited critically informed analysis about the presumed importance of these activities to organisational success and the practical challenges faced by organisations in undertaking such assessment. In this paper, we present the findings from an action research study of five Australian small to medium social enterprises’ practices and use of evaluation and social impact analysis. Our findings have implications for social enterprise operators, policy makers and social investors regarding when, why and at what level these activities contribute to organisational performance and the fulfilment of mission.

Quality management in service ecosystems

Service-oriented architectures and Web services mature and have become more widely accepted and used by industry. This growing adoption increased the demands for new ways of using Web service technology. Users start re-combining and mediating other providers’ services in ways that have not been anticipated by their original provider. Within organisations and cross-organisational communities, discoverable services are organised in repositories providing convenient access to adaptable end-to-end business processes. This idea is captured in the term Service Ecosystem. This paper addresses the question of how quality management can be performed in such service ecosystems. Service quality management is a key challenge when services are composed of a dynamic set of heterogeneous sub-services from different service providers. This paper contributes to this important area by developing a reference model of quality management in service ecosystems. We illustrate the application of the reference model in an exploratory case study. With this case study, we show how the reference model helps to derive requirements for the implementation and support of quality management in an exemplary service ecosystem in public administration.

Governance Systems Analysis (GSA) : a framework for reforming governance systems

Most commentators understand that contemporary social, economic and environmental challenges require quality governance from global to local scales. While public scrutiny of governance has increased in recent years, the literature on frameworks and methods for analysis in complex, poly-centric and multi-thematic governance systems remains fragmented; displaying many disciplinary or sectoral biases. This paper establishes a stronger theory-based foundation for the analysis of complex governance systems. It also develops a clear analytical framework applicable across a vast array of differing governance themes, domains and scales (GSA). The key methodological steps and evaluative criteria for the GSA framework are determined and practical guidance for its application in reform is provided.