Governments around the world, including Canada, continue to look for new ways to structure themselves and deliver services to accommodate the growing challenges of governing in an increasingly complex global environment. One strategy is to hive off functions to arms-length entities. This continues to be a popular option for service delivery, consuming significant amounts of public resources with little understood about the implications on accountability, performance, transparency and cost. Distributing public governance by moving functions further out from the institutional centre of government has tended to make the public sector less visible. In Canada, there has been negligible critical analysis about the trend and its impacts, in particular, at the provincial level. This study addresses that gap by analyzing the use of arms-length entities over time in two provinces, British Columbia and Ontario. It empirically determines trends in agencification, explores the rationale for creation and use of arms-length entities, and contributes to a better understanding of the implications, impacts and challenges that continue to arise in distributing public governance. The study uses a mixed methods approach relying on a quantitative analysis of jurisdictional data to describe changes in the agency landscape in British Columbia and Ontario over a 65 -year period from 1951 to 2016. The qualitative strategy uses 32 interviews of current and past government and agency executives to provide insights into the rationale for agency creation, relationships between government and its arms-length entities, the impacts on public sector governance, and the future of agencification. Document and literature reviews were conducted to support the analysis of both the quantitative and qualitative data. Results show there has been a continued and statistically significant increase in the overall number of arms-length entities in both jurisdictions over time. Creation, though, ebbs and flows, and is not necessarily a reflection of political ideology or economic climate. However, political influence has not been eliminated with the establishment of governance frameworks for arms-length entities. Recognizing this, agencies have become more adept at reading political signals and building relationships with government that earn them trust and autonomy. The key findings of this study suggest that: 1. The governance structures in Canada continue, increasingly, to illustrate a broad range of arms-length entities to deliver a breadth of services and functions, with little consistency in the rationale and structure for their creation. 2. New governance controls and mechanisms are being implemented to address issues of performance, accountability and political brand as the shape of the public sector continues to evolve. 3. The independence of arms-length agencies is more myth than reality. Ultimately governments are accountable for their delegation of authority and this reality has and will continue to influence the relationship between government and its arms-length entities. 4. Individual personalities matter. Despite governance frameworks and mechanisms intended to prescribe the accountability relationship between government and arms-length entities, individuals on both sides of the relationship can have a significant impact on agency performance and viability. All indications suggest that governments will continue to use arms-length agencies to deliver a variety of services using various organizational forms and inconsistent governance frameworks. In addition to agency creation, the reshaping of agencies through merger, re-categorization, mandate shifts, renaming, etc., will continue, as will the changing landscape of distributed public governance. The ability to design a governance framework that addresses the ongoing reshaping of government structure will need to evolve in order to address challenges with coordination, fragmentation, service delivery and accountability. To this end, governments have been rationalizing their governance systems, increasing their ability to control arms-length entities through a variety of mechanisms, including the creation of new “super agencies”. As the use of agencies continues, the governance environment becomes more complex with a greater number of actors, changes in government capacity and resourcing, and global, multi-level government systems in meeting public needs. Governance rationalization supports the need for increased focus on why and how governments re-shape themselves and how this impacts accountability and performance, providing new opportunities for further research as the shape of the public sector continues to evolve. / Graduate

面對治理環境複雜，如何提升公共服務的效率與效能成為政府主要課題。本文以從事家庭暴力防治業務的公部門、非營利組織、社工師事務所為研究對象，比較不同組織的社工在公共服務動機、激勵因素、人力招募重點、組織管理方式上的不同，並檢視成員的工作滿足與服務產出，來對新公共管理主張的市場模式與新公共服務提倡的協力觀點進行驗證。 研究過程中，發現社工師事務所的存在是一複合概念，是新公共管理之下代理化（agencification）觀點的體現，也是新公共服務組織人本主義的管理概念。本文並未對其明確定義，只關注於「良好組織管理」的特徵。社工師事務由於其具備彈性、目標單一的結構特質，再加上推行的授能式管理讓成員在工作上有較正面的情緒，更可凝聚成員向心力。相較於政府天生結構缺陷帶來的層級節制溝通不易，本文以為：代理化組織的鬆綁、彈性，或許不是一蹴可及，但在組織管理方式上使用Y理論授能式的激勵觀點，強調以人為本的管理技術，由內而外漸進式實施，是政府可以學習的方向。 / When the government faces governance crisis, new public management (NPM) and new public service (NPS) try to use two different ways to cure government failure. NPM emphasizes market-oriented to cure bureaucracy, while NPS prefers inter-sector cooperation. This study compares three different kinds of organizations: government agency non-profit organization and social service agency and all of them offers services of domestic violence protection. By comparing these three organization staff members, this study not only helps us to assess whether NPM or NPS is better but also gives government some advice on human resource management . The study finds that the social service agency is practicing one of NPM’s concepts: agencification, which is a flexible way to provide public service and NPS’s concept “organizational humanism” as its management skill. This study will not simply define whether the social service agency belongs to the public sector or the private sector. It just tries to suggest something helpful to employees and organization’s efficiency. The study finds out social workers in the social service agency are more positive in their work attitude and have high commitment to their organization due to its empowerment management while other organizations’ staff members have more complaints. Thus, the study concludes that joining NPM’s concepts- deregulation, flexibility and theory Y would make a win-win game between staff and organization.

Trinidad and Tobago is one of 15 small developing states that comprise the regional integration grouping known as the Caribbean Community. Several agencies were recently created outside of the government using a strategy known as agencification to support the implementation of public policy in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. However, there is little available information explaining the rationale for the choice of the strategy, no evidence-based scholarly evaluation found on the effectiveness of these types of agencies, and therefore limited information on whether this strategy results in effective public policy. The purpose of this case study was to gain an in-depth understanding of these semi-autonomous agencies in the implementation of public policy in Trinidad and Tobago as part of the Caribbean Community. The central research question sought to explore the successes, failures, and experiences with executive agencies created through agencification. Principal-agent theory provided the theoretical framework for this qualitative case study. Using a purposive sampling strategy, data were acquired through interviews with 10 individuals representing public servants, agency officials, and academics and a review of public documents. The data were inductively coded and then organized across themes. The findings indicated that while the agencification strategy is being utilized with varying levels of success, several barriers and constraints hamper successful policy implementation. Positive social change implications of this study include direct recommendations for greater autonomy for the directorate of all agencies in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. These recommendations would serve to facilitate the implementation of the policies that they were created to support.

Agencification-the creation of autonomous agencies within the public service-has been occurring in many jurisdictions. It has usually had a rationale of improving the way in which government works. Generally, agencies are expected to provide more flexible, performance-oriented, responsive public services. The purpose of this work is to examine a particular example of agencification in the Australian Public Service (APS) and to compare it analytically with similar occurrences elsewhere. Specifically, it will examine the splitting of the former Department of Social Security (DSS) into two separate organisations, a policy department and a service delivery agency operating under a purchaser-provider arrangement, Centrelink. It will do this in the context of theories of agencification and of practical experience of agencification elsewhere. It will analyse why agencification has happened in this case and what the experience has shown, focusing on the role, governance, accountability and prospects for the new arrangements. This, the most prominent and substantial case of agencification in the Australian government, will be compared with the agencification experience reported in other jurisdictions-the United Kingdom and New Zealand. It will address why Centrelink came about, what the outcome has been of the change in institutional arrangements, and what the likely future is of the Centrelink arrangements. It will show that, when examined closely, the mechanisms bringing about agencification have been diverse. However, there are parallels in the experience. This leads to a conclusion that the current Centrelink arrangements are not stable in the long term, and some aspects-such as the purchaser-provider arrangement - should be set aside.

Submitted by Michelle Holperin (mimoretz@gmail.com) on 2013-04-22T19:01:20Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao MMHolperin.pdf: 1654744 bytes, checksum: 30c0f19cd154cbf351882372c75696c6 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by ÁUREA CORRÊA DA FONSECA CORRÊA DA FONSECA (aurea.fonseca@fgv.br) on 2013-04-24T15:59:24Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao MMHolperin.pdf: 1654744 bytes, checksum: 30c0f19cd154cbf351882372c75696c6 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marcia Bacha (marcia.bacha@fgv.br) on 2013-04-25T20:56:55Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao MMHolperin.pdf: 1654744 bytes, checksum: 30c0f19cd154cbf351882372c75696c6 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-04-25T20:57:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao MMHolperin.pdf: 1654744 bytes, checksum: 30c0f19cd154cbf351882372c75696c6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-09-21 / The present study analyses the diffusion of independent regulatory agencies in Brazil, also known as agencification process, in order to verify whether this process was convergent or divergent according to two competing theoretical perspectives. To this end, three mechanisms of diffusion are investigated – political nature, top-down and horizontal – and relevant contextual variables are identified – such as the apparent turmoil between management flexibility and regulation, regulatory federalism, the presence of strongly articulated societal actors and the importance of trade-worthy coalition goods in Brazil‟s multi-party presidentialism that took place in the Brazilian process of agencification. The peculiarities of the Brazilian case, such as the creation of an independent agency for the film industry and the state-level changes that took place indicate the existence of a 'diffusion without convergence', or 'divergent convergence' since, while Brazil has experienced a regulatory agency 'boom', agencies were modeled according to local needs and the specificities of the national context. / O presente trabalho tem como objetivo analisar o processo de difusão das agências reguladoras independentes no Brasil, ou agencificação, com o intuito de verificar se este processo foi convergente ou divergente, de acordo com duas perspectivas teóricas concorrentes que buscam compreender os processos de difusão. Para isso, foram verificados os mecanismos de difusão – natureza política, verticais e horizontais – e identificadas variáveis contextuais relevantes – como a aparente confusão feita entre flexibilidade de gestão e regulação, o federalismo regulatório, a presença de atores setoriais fortemente articulados, e a importância das moedas de troca no presidencialismo multipartidário brasileiro – que atuaram no processo brasileiro de agencificação. As peculiaridades do caso brasileiro, como a criação de uma agência independente para o cinema e as mudanças ocorridas em âmbito estadual, indicam tratar-se de uma 'difusão sem convergência' ou 'convergência divergente', uma vez que, embora o Brasil tenha experimentado uma 'explosão' de agências reguladoras, estas foram modeladas de acordo com as necessidades locais e especificidades do contexto nacional.

Magister Educationis - MEd / The purpose of the study is to understand the roles, functions and perceived performance of the Tertiary Education Council (TEC) in higher education governance in Botswana. The study describes the relationship between the government, the TEC and higher education institutions in Botswana. The main objectives of the study are to: a) Examine the roles and functions of the TEC in Botswana’s higher education regarding policy formulation, quality assurance and coordination in the planning and development of tertiary education. b) Explore potential tensions between the roles and functions of the TEC and those of some of its stakeholders. c) Establish the performance of the TEC in relation to the three functions of policy formulation, quality assurance and coordination in the planning and development of tertiary education. The study is located within the broader framework of higher education governance. It examines the different models of higher education governance (such as state control, state interference and state supervision models) and the relationship involved between different stakeholders in governance of higher education. Furthermore, the framework focuses on the implications of the dynamics of higher education governance on the roles and functions of buffer bodies. The study adopted a single case study approach and it was designed to allow for the use of multiple sources of evidence. Data was collected through a review of both institutional and policy documents, semi-structured interviews with eight informants from the TEC and the Ministry of Education and Skills Development, as well as a survey targeting institutional heads of higher education institutions in Botswana. The use of qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection provided useful and in-depth data and allowed for triangulation. The data was analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The findings of the study reveal that there are differing conceptions of the TEC’s role in higher education in Botswana. Whereas the TEC sees itself as ‘middleman’ between the government and higher education institutions, the higher education institutions conceptualise the role of the TEC as an extension of government. The differing views on the TEC’s role, as either buffer or agent, result in different expectations of the roles and functions of the TEC. In addition, the study revealed that Botswana’s higher education system is characterised by fragmentation and duplication of roles, which limit the mandate of the TEC, thereby creating tensions between the TEC and other constituencies in the Botswana higher education system. The study thus contributes to the understanding of the roles and functions of the TEC in the governance of higher education in Botswana. It also contributes to the understanding of the relationship between the different stakeholders involved in the governance of higher education and the implications of this relationship on the roles and functions of buffer bodies. Overall, the study shows the complexities involved in the governance of higher education in a young and evolving system of higher education, and in a context in which the roles and functions of the key players are contested and inconsistently understood.

Il contributo si propone – attraverso anche l'individuazione di punti di forza e di debolezza, di opportunità e di sfide (c.d. “SWOT Analysis”) – l'esame di una delle principali Agenzie pubbliche (esecutive) italiane, l' “Agenzia delle Entrate”: l'analisi dell'internazionale processo di c.d. “Agencification”, unitamente alla più sensibile dottrina versata nell'argomento, ne costituisce il presupposto teorico e comparato. La considerazione dell'adattamento al contesto italiano della modellistica internazionale (sub specie esecutiva: “structural disaggregation”; “reregulation”; “performance contracting”) e l'esame degli antecedenti storico-istituzionali e giuridici (interni) si palesano importanti linee di ricerca percorse. Lo specifico approfondimento dei profili storici, funzionali, strutturali e comparati – utilizzando lo strumentario euristico della contemporanea Scienza dell'Amministrazione – della recente esperienza istituzionale “Agenzia delle Entrate” mostra una sensibile, ma ancora parziale (specie sotto il profilo della c.d. “reregulation”), attuazione della ricordata modellistica agenziale esecutiva, ed al contempo evidenzia interessanti ipotesi di sviluppo istituzionale, già avvenute od in corso di manifestazione, per un passaggio – nella gestione del fenomeno tributario italiano – da un sistema a “Government” (ovvero verticistico e centralistico-ministeriale) ad un modello a “Governance” (cioè partecipato e qualificato dal principio di “sussidiarietà” istituzionale, verticale ed orizzontale), prima monolivello e stellare (la situazione attuale) e, quindi, multilivello e plurinodale (con l'avvento del c.d. “federalismo fiscale”). / The paper proposes - through the identification of strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats (so-called “SWOT Analysis”) – the examination of one of the major public (executive) Italian Agencies, the “Agenzia delle Entrate”: the analysis of international process so-called “Agencification”, together with the more sensitive doctrine well-versed in the argument, constitutes the theoretical and compared assumption. The adaptation to the Italian context of international modelling (sub executive specie: “structural disaggregation”, “reregulation” and “performance contracting”) and the exam of the historical-institutional and legal antecedents reveal important covered lines of search. The specific deepening of historical, functional, structural and comparative profiles - using the heuristic tools of contemporary “Science of Administration” – of the recent institutional experience “Agenzia delle Entrate” shows a sensitive, but still partial (especially in terms of s.c. “reregulation”), implementation of the mentioned agencial-executive modeling, and, at the same time, highlights interesting hypothesis of institutional development, already happened or in course of show, toward a transition – managing Italian fiscal phenomenon - from a “Government” system (top - down and centralist - ministerial) to a “Governance” model (participated and qualified by institutional, vertical and horizontal “subsidiarity”), first monolevel and stellar (current situation), therefore, multilevel and networked (with the advent of s.c. “fiscal federalism”).

This research focuses on agencification and quangocratisation (AQ) through a comparison of the experiences of South Korea and the UK. Although a number of studies of AQ have been produced recently, these reforms remain inadequately understood. Since AQ involves the structural disaggregation of administrative units from existing departments, executive agencies and quangos have distinct characteristics which are quite different from ordinary core departments. There are a number of factors which influence these changes; and this thesis explores nine existing theories which are available to explain these phenomena. Case studies are presented of Tate Modern in the UK and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), which are carefully analysed to examine the validity of those nine arguments. Although cultural agencies, which show some unique features, have become increasingly an essential part of the national economy, they have scarcely been researched from the viewpoint of public policy. This thesis endeavours to explore distinctive characteristics of this policy area; and moreover, it examines the diverse variables which have an impact on policy formation and its results through the process of comparison of arguments. The major tasks of this thesis are to investigate the applicability of the nine arguments and to weigh their merits. As a corollary of this comprehensiveness, it examines the whole public sectors of both countries, in order to show the broader picture and to understand the processes of changes and their backgrounds. More profoundly, similarities and differences between both countries are compared from both macro and micro perspectives. At the same time, the results of AQ are analysed through the comparison of outputs or outcomes before and after these changes, with a view to exploring whether their rationales are appropriate. Furthermore, it also examines the institutional constraints which influence not only the change of agencies but also their performances. Besides which, it seeks to find strategies for overcoming these constraints. This thesis adopts systematic and comprehensive approaches regarding basic concepts and data. It draws on theories of comparative research, the scope of the public sector, the classification and analysis of agencies and quangos, and theories underlying the detailed components of each argument and epistemological assumptions. Therefore, it suggests various aspects which enable us to broaden our understanding of the changes within the public sector; and to generate practical understanding to inform real world reform.