Conference Agenda

It is a common assumption that small municipalities will benefit greatly from establishing collaborative arrangements to realize economies of scale and scope. However, studies of intermunicipal collaboration indicate that large municipalities participate in such arrangements just as often as small ones. Applying a rational decision starting point (the institutional collective action framwork - ICA) this is puzzling all the time large municipalities probably have exhausted existing scale benefits and may even incur extra costs associated with collaborative entities. This study focuses on how benefits and cost are distributed among municipalities in collaboration over child protection services (CPS) in Norway. Using a unique panel dataset covering 13 years (2003-2019), we study how service costs, quality and capacity are distributed between municipalities of different population sizes entering an intermunicipal cooperation (IMC). Results indicate that the distribution of benefits of collaboration are skewed in the sense that smaller municipalities reap advantages connected to capacity and quality, while they also are induced higher costs. Larger municipalities experience no significant increase in either costs or capacity. Results are discussed in the light of institutionalized environments and “the zone of indifference”.

Transparent and objective criteria for the distribution of resources from central government to local government are essential to mitigate territorial inequality. On the contrary, discretionary power can deepen inequalities and promote corruption. This study examines the influence of political factors on the distribution of government resources to municipalities in Chile during 2009 and 2023. Using panel models with fixed effects, robust standard errors and interactive terms, the analysis reveals that municipalities governed by mayors from the same political party as the president received on average significantly higher transfers during that period from central government. These findings also underline the role of electoral strategy, highlighting how central government resources were distributed to reinforce political alliances during local government elections.

The onset of democratic transformation in South Africa in 1994 had a profound influence on local government which progressed from being a third tier of government to an equal, autonomous sphere of government. However, a combination of financial pressures, public service reforms, demographic shifts and increasing citizen expectations are driving a fundamental re-appraisal of what – and how – local government delivers services. The challenges also offer an opportunity to re-think the shape of those organizations that deliver these services. From working with new providers to collaborating with other organizations and finding new ways to interact with customers and citizen, local government must search for new ways to drive improvement in a tighter fiscal environment. These pressures bring a huge range of challenges to local government which, if positively experienced, can culminate in ensuring sustainability of local government and governance for future generations.

The performance of local government in South Africa to deliver quality services is, however, often questioned against alleged financial irregularities, maladministration and corruption and mismanagement. Although the South African government inter alia approved a comprehensive local government turnaround strategy (LGTAS) as well as the National Development Plan: Vision for 2030, the latter to address the country’s socioeconomic challenges by 2030 through growing an inclusive economy to address joblessness, poverty and inequality, it is clear judging by inter alia the recent local government public service delivery protests that these efforts had little effect to turn local authorities around and to ensure that local authorities can deliver satisfactory services to improve the quality of life of citizens.

The National Planning Commission (NPC), as the custodian of the National Development Plan (NDP) highlighted in its 10-year review that economic growth had been stagnant during the period since 2012, while poverty, unemployment and inequality had been on the rise and service delivery had worsened. This goes together with collapsing state-owned entities and failing municipalities.

To address the abovementioned necessitates a shared effort by government, the private sector and relevant social partners, together with transforming mindsets at the individual, institutional and organizational levels. The question can be posed as to what skills and competencies are needed to ensure that the abovementioned situation can be sufficiently addressed. In this paper, attention will be focused on governance and governance structures in South Africa, realities of local government service delivery in South Africa, the difference between a skill and a competency, how mindsets can play a role in these endeavours and competencies required by local leadership to ensure the future of governance.

Regarding the research method, a literature study of appropriate sources containing authoritative publications, books, journals, the internet and official documents such as departmental policies will be conducted to gather information, while the field operations included interviews with practitioners and academics in the field of public administration and management.

The integration of intelligent technologies has enhanced governance efficiency and facilitated the formation of a social governance community in which everyone bears responsibility, fulfills their duties, and shares in the benefits. Grounded in the theory of technological mediation, the pathways through which artificial intelligence enables the realization of such a community are threefold:At the cognitive mediation level, AI performs information processing tasks that were previously reliant on human effort, shifting collective cognition from dependence on social rules to technological rules. This transition promotes a shift from experience-driven to algorithm-driven social governance, enhancing co-construction capabilities.In terms of behavioral mediation, AI facilitates the transition from a multi-sector division of labor to cross-domain collaboration through data integration, process optimization, and intelligent decision-making, thereby generating synergistic co-governance.On the moral mediation level, the incorporation of ethical constraints into algorithmic design establishes an endogenous ethical mechanism. This technologizes institutional advantages, unifies instrumental and value rationality, and adds impetus for shared benefits in social governance.