Administrative Resurgence and Policy Innovation
Rainey Glenn W.; Kline Robert L.
Журнал:
Administration & Society
Дата:
1979-11-01
Аннотация:
In the continuing controversy over the appropriate role and institutional settings for
professional urban management, a renewed emphasis on political initiative is appear
ing—manifested in more activist conceptions of the role of the urban manager, in
calls for "convergence" of planning and administration, and in rejection of federal
aid programs as a "weakening" influence. This article argues that receptivity in the political environment is the primary determinant of effectiveness for the professionally oriented local manager. To illustrate this point, the interaction of administrators
and political leaders is examined in small units of local government, where the scope
and diversity of political interests and institutional structures are limited and the
functions of professional administration are necessarily consolidated and thrown into
close proximity with elected leadership. A series of miniature case histories are
presented, concerning general administrative resurgence in local governments in
Kentucky during the period of implementation of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1974. The case histories suggest that the receptivity of local
political leaders to policy innovations and the availability of managerial elites who are
both technically competent and politically effective are the basic prerequisites for
major thrusts toward general local development. Institutional arrangements and
federal funding programs act as catalysts to trigger or encourage changes already forthcoming.
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