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This contributed volume explores the management of intergovernmental relations--policies and networks. The book is a response to the growing need for concrete information on the development and use of different strategies for managing in the intergovernmental system. Such strategies became increasingly important during the Reagan years, especially with that administration's penchant for public-private partnerships. This study assembles some of the most respected experts in the field who outline the strategies and management skills needed to build and maintain intergovernmental networks essential to the implementation of complex public programs.
This contributed volume explores the management of intergovernmental relations--policies and networks. The book is a response to the growing need for concrete information on the development and use of different strategies for managing in the intergovernmental system. Such strategies became increasingly important during the Reagan years, especially with that administration's penchant for public-private partnerships. This study assembles some of the most respected experts in the field, who outline the strategies and management skills needed to build and maintain intergovernmental networks essential to the implementation of complex public programs. From a theoretical vantage point, it introduces several innovative concepts and models that will enhance the reader's ability to understand strategic behavior and management in intergovernmental settings. Public, health, and hospital administrators, public sector management professionals, as well as students and scholars of urban studies, business, and nonprofit studies will find invaluable insight in this detailed study.
Four major themes run through the book, reflecting a new step in the development of the literature relating to strategies and networking: a shift in emphasis from intergovernmental relations to intergovernmental management; the view of networks as a separate and distinct level of analysis requiring revised terminology, concepts, and emphasis; a revised view of strategic management for use in the public sector that moves away from a rational-logical approach; an emphasis on the individual and the importance of behavioral processes. Included here are the ideas of the importance of leadership as a facilitator, and the role of the strategic vision of the leader.
List of contents
Preface
Introduction
Concepts and Models for Understanding Strategic ProcessesStructural Pose as an Approach for Implementing Complex Programs by David O. Porter
Network Management: Strategic Behavior in the Public Sector by Myrna P. Mandell
Approaches to Solving Problems Intergovernmentally: Case StudiesResponding to Human Crises: Intergovernmental Policy Networks by Robert Agranoff
Multiorganizational Implementation: Comparative Analysis for Wastewater Treatment by Laurence J. O'Toole, Jr.
Directions in Intergovernmental Strategy: Retrospective and Prospective ViewsDevolution as an Intergovernmental Reform Strategy by Dale Krane
Key Intergovernmental Issues and Strategies: An Assessment and Prognosis by Robert W. Gage
Conclusion: Federalism, Intergovernmental Relations, and Intergovernmental Management: Conceptual Reflections, Comparisons, and Interpretations by Deil S. Wright
Index
About the author
MYRNA P. MANDELL is Professor of Management at California State University, Northridge. She is recognized as a researcher and consultant in the field of interorganizational networks, network structures, and collaborative efforts in a variety of areas. Most recently, she worked with local communities in Australia and with the Ministry for Social Policy in New Zealand on the management of network structures.
