This book presents the lessons learned from the most recent experiences in seven countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy and the United States. This book proposes a strategy that governments can implement to improve governance through partnerships.

This book presents the lessons learned from the most recent experiences in seven countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy and the United States. This book proposes a strategy that governments can implement to improve governance through partnerships.

Innovation, skills, entrepreneurship and social cohesion are key drivers of growth. Each has a strong governance component, which is analysed in this OECD book.

Four new cities have been created in Georgia in the past three years. The author was responsible for the implementation of Sandy Springs, the first new city to be incorporated in Georgia in fifty years. His previous book, Creating the New City of Sandy Springs, was published to serve as a guide for other communities considering incorporation. The book introduced the concept of a broadly based Public/Private partnership. Subsequently, the author served in an advisory role to the other three new cities, all of which adopted the Public/private partnership model. A fifth new city that the author is advising is expected to be formed late in 2008. It too, is moving toward the adoption of the model. The record of success in these cities is outlined in this new book. Success is defined as the provision of more efficient government services and providing the maximum level of responsiveness to the citizens. Based on the experience of these new cities, this book strongly urges that existing cities which have followed the traditional organizational structure, for too long, give strong consideration to converting their services to the Public/Private partnership model. The Public/Private partnership model is gaining interest on a national level and recently has attracted international interest. The author was invited to participate in a number of large symposia and meetings in Japan with government, business and academic leaders, to explain the model, and its benefits. Traditional methods of providing local government services have in many cases resulted in levels of bureaucracy and waste that are unacceptable. It is time that elected officials consider new and better methods. The Public/Private partnership model as described in this, and the author s first book, provides a roadmap for introducing improved government services that should be studied by all local officials.

The quality of local governance matters more than ever before. To many citizens, their local government is the most tangible form of government, and it is also the layer of government with which they have most contact in their everyday life. The power of the local administration is that it represents ordinary citizens. People eat, drink, work, play and socialise with others in towns and cities. To be fully effective, local government management and service delivery capacity needs to be strong, and resources need to be adequate. Civil society and businesses are essential actors in ensuring local governments have the capacity to meet the needs of its citizens. There are a host of challenges that confront local government in the 21st century: delivering quality services; lack of finance and local fiscal autonomy; engaging citizens and communities in meaningful and authentic ways; forming effective partnerships which incentivize local actors to find solutions to the many complex and intractable issues facing communities; generating inclusive and sustainable development; implementing strategies for disaster risk reduction; managing transparent communications; and, rapidly evolving technologies and socio-economic demographics. The Governance of Local Communities: Global Perspectives and Challenges is about the role that ideas, institutions, and actors play in structuring how people govern local communities and, more specifically, the types of adaptations necessary in local government roles and responsibilities, structures, and processes to effectively respond to a changing local government environment. Global changes require that we rethink local governance. A wide net of international experts on local governance was assembled for this volume to stimulate frank conversations around the many contemporary challenges facing local government.