New Public Publicness and Local Governance in the Era of Decentralization The Example of Germany ___

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New Public (Publicness) and Local Governance in
the Era of Decentralization The Example of
Germany____________________________

• Professor Dr. Rainer Pitschas, MPA
• German University of Administrative
• Sciences Speyer

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1. Local (Self-)Administration Looking for
Authorization and Efficiency

• 1.1 Structural Challenges to Local
  Administrations
• - Economic, demographic and ecological problems
• - Deepening conflicts of public interests
• Deficits of the current system of representing
  interests and of resolving conflicts on the
  local level
• Increasing requests from local citizens to
  participate in the necessary restructuring
  process

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1. Local (Self-)Administration Looking for
Authorization and Efficiency

• 1.2 Especially How Can Cities Stay Governable?
• - Demographic perspective local extension
  under discussion
• Ecological challenge ecological urban
  reconstruction
• Social disintegration new policy of The Social
  City
• Restructuring local administration New Public
  Management and political development
• Thesis It is setting to create a new model of
  local distribution of responsibility for
  governing cities and communes search
  processes are on the way.

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2. Search Processes in the Era of Political
Decentralization

• 2.1 Understanding the Conceptual Scope of
  Decentralization for Prestructuring Local
• Government
• - De-Concentration, delegation and devolution
• Administrative decentralization
• Functional connection between democracy,
  government and decentralization

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2. Search Processes in the Era of Political
Decentralization

• 2.2 Political Decentralization as the Leading
  Idea of Change
• Characteristical elements
• Connected to corporate citizenship and process
  of participation
• Intending local institutionalization of
  autonomous political processes
• Including cooperative intergovernmental
  relations between central and local levels

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2. Search Processes in the Era of Political
Decentralization

• 2.3 From Local Government to Local
  Governance
• - Political decentralization needs citizenships
  co- responsibility in civil self-organization
  with own structures and proceedings
• Local government changes to local governance /
  urban governance but how? And how do local
  administrations react?

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3. New Publicness at the Local Level and
Human Ressources Development

• 3.1 Actual Strategies and Models of Activity
  within Local Governance (1)
• Strengthening of the citizens involvement in
  local and regional affairs the citizen
  commune
• Structural-cooperative activity and
  decision-making in the sense of a partnership
  of responsibility
• The model of corporate citizenship intends
  involvement in various areas of activity by
  citizens as a whole

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3. New Publicness at the Local Level and
Human Ressources Development

• 3.1 Actual Strategies and Models of Activity
  within Local Governance (2)
• Creating an institutional basic structure of
  Corporate citizenship at communal level
• Coming to a specific partnership-governance
• Forming of a new publicness

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3. New Publicness at the Local Level and
Human Ressources Development

• 3.2 Local Human Ressources Development as a
  Precondition of Partnership-governance (1)
• The transition from local government to local
  governance requires to accept some basic
  conditions
• One of them is the personnels orientation
  towards the willingness to service and the
  de-central responsibility for ressources
• Not alone public servants but also the citizens
  are co-managers and co-producers of the
  services desired
• There is a special role of mediation (dispute
  settlement in conflicts
• It needs professional training as a condition
  for partnership- governance

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3. New Publicness at the Local Level and
Human Ressources Development

• 3.2 Local Human Ressources Development as a
  Precondition of Partnership-governance (2)
• Professional training imparts abilities and
  skills of public local servants - in
  reference to communication and social competence
• - on internal securing of quality
• - about organizational development
• - on basics in business management
• - Service orientation means more than mere
  customer satisfaction

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3. New Publicness at the Local Level and
Human Ressources Development

• 3.3 Issues and Problems of Local Human
  Ressources Development
• Stagnation of the idea of offering services
• Willingness to accept the involvement of
  citizens is going through a crisis
• A practised (and legally interpreted)
  co-responsibility of citizens for service is
  widely missing
• The professional development of civil service
  deepens problems of process-performance in
  partnership- governance

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4. Transfer of Experiences What Lessons can
Japan Learn?

• Some comparative remarks about decentralization
  policy in Japan
• Particular deficits in the personnel field in
  local administrations
• Does Japan accept a partnership-governance?