The Role of Research in 'Modern' Local Government

Consultation in Local Government: A Case Study of Practice at Devon County Council

“…Few of the managers interviewed had any training in basic research techniques, while some were proud of their practical focus and, by implication, methodological ignorance. This evidence supported conclusions about CONSULTATION AT DEVON CO UNTY COUNCIL 209 weaknesses in the research capacity of local authorities reached in another recent study (Percy-Smith and Sanderson, 2000;Sanderson et al, 2001). The Devon analysis, however, also emphasised the extent to which such problems could undermine the effectiveness of the consultation agenda.…”

Innovation in public services: The case of Spanish local government

“…Along the same lines, Sanderson, Percy-Smith and Dowson (2001) suggest the need for local governments to build relationships with other partners so that they can become learning and intelligent organizations. For this reason, Feller et al (2011) claim that public authorities that want to transform the way in which they create and offer their services sustainably need to: a) maintain productive relationships with other public authorities and with other external bodies b) easily and safely exchange knowledge, competences and experiences with others so as to improve internal processes and the way of offering services to citizens and c) commit themselves to citizens and to other bodies for the purpose of achieving the joint creation of new services.…”

Collaborative Public Administration—A Dimension of Sustainable Development: Exploratory Study on Local Authorities in Romania

“…This interpretation requires innovative research at all levels of government and in all walks of life. If the idea is to change our behavior and our priorities, we need integrative programs that can help us turn that idea into reality, an aspect that is also supported by Sanderson et al (2001), as previously mentioned.…”

“…The study evaluates the collaborative dimension indirectly by measuring organizational intelligence. This approach is supported by studies by Sanderson et al (2001). Focusing on the pillars that lead to the development of an intelligent organization, the authors identify, on the one hand, the capacity of research to support learning processes, and on the other hand, the capacity to integrate research results obtained also through collaborative activities with other organizations.…”