My dissertation investigates the effects of citizen participation and subnational fiscal arrangements on the success of fiscal decentralization efforts in Vietnam. Using cluster analysis and regression analysis, I find that the success of decentralization efforts, explains not only by the degree of decentralized fiscal responsibilities and the proximity of local government, but also by the involvement of citizens in service delivery. I further identify that the sheer existence of participatory mechanisms in local service delivery does not promise better service provision. In some cases, participation may hurt such provision. My dissertation provides a unique glimpse into the effects of citizen participation in a highly centralized political system. The results of this dissertation contribute to the study of public governance in Asia and the broader comparative literature on decentralization.

This study focuses on records management in support of service delivery in the public health sector of Limpopo Province, South Africa. The study sought to investigate whether the current records-keeping practices support or undermine service delivery and the e-health readiness level. Mixed methods were used for the survey. Questionnaires, observation and interviews were used to collect data. Purposive sampling method was used to identify interview participants and stratified random sampling for questionnaire participants. The total population of the study was 324 from which 210 participants were sampled. The response rate was 77% (162). The study discovered that records management negatively affected timely and effective health care services. This resulted in long patient waiting times and patients being treated without their medical history records. The study recommended the introduction of an electronic records management system capable of capturing and providing access to a full patient record and tracking paper record movement. / Information Science

Magister Legum - LLM (Public Law and Jurisprudence) / Since gaining independence in 1964, Zambia has embarked on a number of reforms, including legislative, aimed at improving the effectiveness of its decentralised system of government. Local government received constitutional recognition in 1996. In 2002, the national government adopted the National Decentralisation Policy (NDP) which was reviewed in 2013. The NDP established Ward Development Committees (WDCs) as the lowest tier of government. It also defined the roles and responsibilities of local authorities, provinces, and national government. The NDP aimed to address, among other things, the problem of poor service delivery in Zambia that was partially attributed to a high concentration of power at the centre. Despite these various legislative and policy reforms, service delivery remained largely poor in many parts of Zambia. Local government still failed to supply potable water, maintain roads, provide proper sanitation and collect refuse on time, among other service delivery failures.

Thesis (MTech (Business))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2009 / The dissertation examines the levels of service delivery in Philippi through Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) and it suggests this model as a model that can be used to confront the challenges of underdevelopment, the mobilisation and sustaining of local economic development. The research investigates theoretical and practical approaches to address the developmental problems embedded in dependency theory utilised by government and non governmental organisations (NGOs) in the Philippi community. The research clarifies the important role of developmental stakeholders in depoliticising development processes and its endeavours to address issues of development ownership in Philippi. It suggests the employment of the Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) approach which will focus on building Philippi from the inside out, utilising the available human capital, people’s expertise, formal and informal talents. The research employed both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. These methodologies rely on literature search, questionnaires, interviews, and observation as methods of data collection. At the end of the study, workable recommendations will be made informed by the research findings.

Thesis (MTech (Quality))-- Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2010 / During the past decade, project management skills have become increasingly recognised as highly desirable for managers at all levels of organisations. Most people can benefit from the application of project management skills to some parts of their daily operations. The rapid growth of global markets and the introduction of total quality management, continuous improvement programmes and more recently, the drive to redesign business processes, all require some form of project management skills. In spite of the obvious benefits from project management, research has shown that more often than not, the traditional practice of project management does exist within organisations. This then may lead to service failure; thus impacting adversely on the efficiency and image of the organisation. This dispensation also applies to projects undertaken by the Eskom, which will serve as objective of this research study. The primary research objectives of this study are the following: To improve the quality of goods and services through the application of project management. To emphasise the importance of project management within an organisation. To demonstrate that project management, if used in conjunction with a quality management system, can improve service delivery. It is anticipated that the research will lead to an improvement of the control of processes and the overall service or product quality delivered by Eskom.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Since the advent of South Africa's democracy in 1994 there have been several changes in the policy and legislative arena specifically promoting public-private-partnerships in the health sector. These initiatives have given rise to opportunities for inter-sectoral policy transfer under the rubric of ―best practices‖. This exploratory study examines the character, obstacles and contested nature of a selection of policy transfers between private and public health institutions in a single province of South Africa. The study looks at the dynamics at play around envisaged, current and past transfers of policies and organisational practices in relation to administrative systems and technologies used in four different hospital settings – two public and two private hospitals in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. This thesis explores the views of managers and labour organisations about policy transfer focusing on local contexts, and how various parties construct policy transfer, hence providing a perspective of policy at the ―plant‖ level. In this research, special focus is placed on different agents' role and understandings of their contexts and how and why policies move and contradictions of these developments. In-depth interviews were conducted at four major Eastern Cape hospitals. The thesis argues that in practice, policy transfer is messy, politicized and traversed by power and vested interests and that organised labour plays a key role in policy transfer process. The thesis focuses on the different philosophical/ideological underpinnings, socio-political values and operational environments in each sector. This study is designed to contribute to existing knowledge on practices particularly between the public and private sectors in order to widen the understanding of the complexity of transferability.

Magister Artium (Human Ecology) - MA(HE) / This descriptive study investigated the utilisation of and perceptions about service delivery by Philippi Trust in the HIV/AIDS support groups in the Helderberg region. A questionnaire and individual interviews were applied to gather the data from the HIV/AIDS support group members and their facilitators. The quantitative data analysis was done, using the Statistical Packaging for Social science (SPSS) aiming to determine the descriptive statistics of the database and variables. The qualitative analysis was conducted using thematic analysis. Anonymity was assured but complete confidentiality was not possible as the investigator had knowledge of the HIV status of the study population, however no names appeared in the research report. / South Africa

Magister Legum - LLM / This study focuses on the impact on service provision arising from uncertainties in the UC Act. There are serious problems with the delivery of basic services in urban areas: including frequent interruptions in water supply, persistent power cuts, uncollected refuse, poor health services and dilapidated infrastructure. The purpose of this study is to highlight specific weaknesses in the UC Act and examine how these contribute to poor service delivery. The specific weaknesses to be examined are the unfettered powers of the minister, lack of legal certainty on powers and functions of UCs, limited revenue generating powers and lack of autonomy in recruiting senior council administration. First, UCs exercise delegated powers from central government. The minister has powers to give directions on matters of policy, suspend, reverse, or rescind council resolutions. There is no legal authority to check and balance the unfettered powers of the minister. Poor service delivery may be attributed in part to the unfettered powers of the minister. Secondly, UCs do not have devolved fiscal powers. As agents of central government, UCs can only levy those taxes and borrow money as authorised by the minister. The limited capacities of UCs to generate own revenue impacts negatively on the capacity of UCs to respond to the needs of the communities they serve. / South Africa

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This study analyses the relationship between the manner of citizens’ engagement with the state and the level of service delivery they experience in their everyday lives, as residents of Khayelitsha. The phenomena of so-called ‘service delivery’ protests across South Africa have now become a fixture of South African politics. Khayelitsha is one of the sites with frequent protests in Cape Town and is inhabited by poor people, 70 percent of whom live in informal settlements. While the lack of municipal services is undoubtedly a major problem for many poor people in South Africa, thus far, few studies have been dedicated to investigate empirically this alleged link between service delivery and protest activity. The study utilizes mostly quantitative analysis techniques such as regression analysis and path analysis to discover the form and strength of linkages between the service delivery and participation forms. While residents of informal settlements and therefore poorer services were more prone to engage in protests and thus reinforcing the service delivery hypothesis, this relationship was relatively weak in regression analysis. What is more important than the service delivery variables such as water services was the level of cognitive awareness exemplified by the level of political engagement and awareness on the one hand and level of community engagement in terms of attendance of community meetings and membership of different organizations. In summary the study found relatively weak evidence to support the service delivery hypothesis and stronger evidence for the importance of cognitive awareness and resource mobilization theories in Khayelitsha as the key determinant of protest activity. / South Africa

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / As amended in 1997, the constitution of Uganda local government act devolved power to lower units of government to enhance citizen participation and service delivery. Citizen participation was viewed in this act as an instrument through which service delivery and health promotion can be realized. This is done by involving local people in community development programmes such as health that participate on mutual and equal understanding. Citizen participation has proved to work well in some sub units of national governments with key stakeholders at the lower units of government. All this has been aimed at improving standards of living and promoting more participation in decision making for better service delivery. As highlighted above, this research explores the understanding of citizen participation on health service delivery of Ntungamo district local government. The local government act gives powers to districts to execute planning and administration of district hospitals with the aim of improving service delivery in the districts. The Local Government Act of 1997 spells out that people must holistically participate in the decision making processes of the hospital.This research report analyzes citizen participation in the provision of service delivery in Itojo hospital Ntungamo district, Uganda. The report is based on data collected from 66 participants via electronic, telephonic interviews and field study done by the researcher with help of one research assistant, and use of district score cards. The study employs qualitative research approach, within which a case study design is used. The study used primary and secondary data based on interviews and open-ended questions. The provisional findings reveal that citizen participation does not necessarily improve service delivery.