Managing Parliaments in the 21st Century: Egpa Yearbook

by Falconer, Peter; Smith, Colin; Webster, C. William R.

• ISBN13: 9781586031541
• ISBN10: 1586031546
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-06-01
• Publisher: Ios Pr Inc

Summary

This book reports on the endeavour, undertaken by EGPA, to make the discipline of public administration fruitful for the management of parliaments. The theme was deemed appropriate, not only because Scotland, the host country, once again after almost 300 years has its own legislative assembly, but also because of the importance of revisiting the role of legislative institutions as we move into the 21st century. If parliaments are to re-assert themselves vis-a-vis the ever growing dominance of 'executive government', their work has to be managed and organised in a systematic way. It also has to be supported and administered appropriately by human and instrumental capacities and facilities. In this respect there are tasks to be fulfilled by managers, albeit though they are not elected. Tasks that are usually the remit of managers, such as, priority setting and allocating time, money and effort are typically the domain of political representatives in parliamentary settings. Whilst politicians are keen to introduce managerial practices into public services they are less enthusiastic about the idea of introducing managers and management styles into parliamentary work. Perhaps this is because they reject the view that legitimate representatives of the public should be managed. So, if public administration has a role to play in supporting parliamentary work it will have to reflect critically on its foundations of efficiency, effectiveness and user (client) friendliness - key features of managing in the public sector but not necessarily political values. The discipline of public administration will therefore have to identify a clear demarcation between political and technical aspects of parliamentary activity. There are two further ways in which parliaments have a stake in a public administration discipline which focuses on parliaments: First, parliaments need an 'insight for oversight'. As the invitation brochure to the EGPA conference indicates: 'the legislative function does not cease with the passage of a bill. Only by monitoring the implementation process, can members of the legislative uncover any statutory defects and act to correct agency misinterpretation or maladministration. In this sense, oversight exists as an essential corollary to the law making function'. For this to be achieved effective parliamentary oversight requires the effective implementation of the techniques and mechanisms of public administration. Second, the contexts in which parliaments are fulfilling their legislative function are changing dramatically. The once hierarchical approach of governments towards society is being replaced by new so-called 'governance' relationships in which networks of not-for-profit organisations and private enterprises are playing a major role. By stimulating outsourcing, autonomization, the creation of agencies, and privatisation, parliaments are increasing the complexity of the environment in which they have to operate. The discipline of public administration has a role to play in orientating parliamentarians in this new environment. It is not only parliamentarians who hesitate in involving public administrators and managers in organising their work. The public administration discipline itself has tended to neglect the administration, organisation and management of parliaments as a valid area of study. This book is an attempt to redress this imbalance. Hopefully it will attract the attention of parliamentarians as well as public administration practitioners and academics.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Ignace Snellen	v
Acknowledgements
Peter Falconer, Colin Smith and William Webster	vii
Introduction
Peter Falconer, Colin Smith and William Webster	1	(8)
Setting the Scene: Keynote Addresses
Imaging Parliaments in the 21st Century: From Policy-Making and Public Management to Governance,
Werner Jann	9	(8)
Scottish Devolution: Perspectives on Adaptation and Innovation
Des McNulty	17	(8)
Specialist Working Group on Managing Parliaments in the 21st Century
Managing Parliaments: A Challenge for Administrative Sciences: Report of the Specialist Working Group on Managing Parliaments in the 21st Century,
Kees Riezebos, Robert Pyper and Wim Voermans	25	(4)
The Transformation of Parliamentary Functions: Are Parliaments Still Legislative Bodies?,
Nicola Lupo	29	(12)
Controle Parlementaire et Démocratique sur les Établissements Publics Intercantonaux en Suisse,
Thierry Tanquerel	41	(10)
The Impact of Electronic Subways on Government Decision-Making Processes,
Robert van Kralingen, Wim Voermans, Luuk Matthissen and Pascal Kolkman	51	(8)
Interactive Policymaking and the Primacy of the Dutch Parliament: In Search of New Roles for its Legislative Function,
Monique Esselbrugge	59	(8)
Informatisation Policies in the Dutch Parliament: Do ICTs Support the Dutch Parliament as a Learning Organisation?,
Bas Nieuwenhuien and Ignace Snellen	67	(8)
Support for the Hungarian Parliament: The Centre for Parliamentary Management,
György Jenei	75	(10)
Selection of Papers of the Permanent Study Groups Related to the Conference Theme
Parliament, Local Government and Contracting for Services: What Happens When an Irresistible Law Meets an Uncontrollable Object?,
Tony Bovaird	85	(12)
Parliamentary Accountability and Next Steps Agencies,
Oonagh Gay	97	(16)
Paving the Way in Parliament: New Agency Arrangements for the Management of Motorways and Trunk Roads in England,
Jacqui Wilkinson	113	(14)
Contractualization, Structural Recoupling and Institutional Characteristics: Reforming the Norwegian Central Government and Parliament,
Paul Roness	127	(16)
The Capacity of Parliament in the Contractualisation Process: The Role of Auditing Organisations in the Reforms of Finnish Public Administration,
Ari Salminen	143	(12)
Contractualisation and Parliament: The Case of Denmark,
Niels Ejersilo and Carsten Greve	155	(18)
Implicit and Explicit Contracts: The US Congress and Administrative Reforms,
B. Guy Peters	173	(8)
Implications of Contract Management for Cantonal Parliaments in Switzerland: Observers Become Players,
Elke Loffler and Albert Hofmeister	181	(18)
Reports of the EGPA Permanent Study Groups
Report of the Study Group on Informatization in Public Administration,
Wim van de Donk and John Taylor	199	(4)
Report of the Study Group on Productivity and Quality in the Public Sector,
Geert Boucleaert and Petri Uusikjla	203	(4)
Report of the Permanent Study Group on Personnel Policies,
Sylvia Horton, David Farnham and Annie Hondeghem	207	(4)
Report of the Study Group on Public Finance and Management,
Mihaly Hogye	211	(10)
Report of the Study Group on East-West Co-operation in Public Administration,
Gyorgy Jenei and Frits van den Berg	221	(2)
Report of the Study Group on the Development of Contractualisation in the Public Sector,
Yvonne Fortin, Gavin Drewry and Hugo van Hassel	223	(6)
Report of the Study Group on Quality and Management of Justice,
Philip Langbroele	229
About EGPA
The European Group of Public Administration	237	(2)
Publications of EGPA	239	(2)
Author Index	241