This research study develops a framework of indicators to evaluate the ‘institutional capacity’ of a municipality to implement the soft path approach. The soft path approach is a new strategy for water conservation that complements existing supply and demand water management regimes. The soft path approach aims to achieve sustainability by changing how individuals think about water and how water is used. The framework of indicators consists of qualitative descriptions of elements that should be present in a municipality to successfully implement the soft path approach. These indicators fit into eight themes: human resources, information resources, financial resources, policy and legal environment, political environment, community awareness and involvement, technological solutions, and practical considerations. These indicators are also applied to evaluate the institutional capacity of a case study (southern York Region, Ontario, Canada) for its potential to implement the soft path approach. The case study is compatible and equipped to implement the soft path approach, but this can only be accomplished if coordinated with other levels of government and external organizations.

This research study develops a framework of indicators to evaluate the ‘institutional capacity’ of a municipality to implement the soft path approach. The soft path approach is a new strategy for water conservation that complements existing supply and demand water management regimes. The soft path approach aims to achieve sustainability by changing how individuals think about water and how water is used. The framework of indicators consists of qualitative descriptions of elements that should be present in a municipality to successfully implement the soft path approach. These indicators fit into eight themes: human resources, information resources, financial resources, policy and legal environment, political environment, community awareness and involvement, technological solutions, and practical considerations. These indicators are also applied to evaluate the institutional capacity of a case study (southern York Region, Ontario, Canada) for its potential to implement the soft path approach. The case study is compatible and equipped to implement the soft path approach, but this can only be accomplished if coordinated with other levels of government and external organizations.

Institutional Capacity has been a hidden factor that has not been given much attention in the service delivery protests that have seen many residents of the townships taking to the streets. The year 2005 saw the beginning of these protests right up to 2010. South Africa`s Constitution of 1996, has empowered municipalities through the developmental goals set out in chapter 7as well as the Bill of Rights. The Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000 and the Municipal Finance Management Act of 2003 empowered all the municipalities to embark on a developmental agenda that is guided by the Integrated Development Planning (IDP). The IDP process has ensured that the needs of the communities are prioritised and are budgeted for. Hence the approval of the budget is tied to the IDP. Once the IDP is approved by the Council, outcomes and impact must be seen on the ground and this is not happening in most municipalities especially at Emfuleni Local Municipality. The completion of the IDP process is as a result of planning by all departments within a municipality. Once this is done, it is then that the budget is approved. In most cases implementation is the next step that should follow and this is not the case at Emfuleni Local Municipality. Programmes and projects do not reach the completion stage hence service delivery protests. The issue of capacity becomes a critical factor in that municipalities must be able to implement what was planned in the IDP. Currently it seems there are challenges that are caused by capacity problems and political interference in the administrative duties of the administrators. Much as it is admissible that South Africa has undergone political transformation, at the same time it is not excusable to fail when it comes to implementing projects that are planned for. It would seem that capacity challenges are not given proper attention as to whether managers and employees understand what needs to be implemented and how that should be done. Skills and qualifications are the most critical factors that need to be given serious attention when it comes to implementation of programmes and projects. By appointing incompetent people in critical position or politically connected people, the end product or the outcomes thereof are likely to be disastrous as this is revealed by service delivery protests. Project management and financial management skills are very critical when it comes to implementation of any projects. Hence the hypothesis of this study was formulated that due to lack of institutional capacity, Emfuleni Local Municipality was unable to implement the IDP to the satisfactory of the communities that they serve. In support of the empirical research, institutional capacity issues and problems were analysed. The research analysis and outcomes indicate that a majority of the employees used in the sample admit to the fact that lack of skills and political interference as well as misalignment of functions within departments result in the municipality not being able to function to its full capacity. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2011

Institutional Capacity has been a hidden factor that has not been given much attention in the service delivery protests that have seen many residents of the townships taking to the streets. The year 2005 saw the beginning of these protests right up to 2010. South Africa`s Constitution of 1996, has empowered municipalities through the developmental goals set out in chapter 7as well as the Bill of Rights. The Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000 and the Municipal Finance Management Act of 2003 empowered all the municipalities to embark on a developmental agenda that is guided by the Integrated Development Planning (IDP). The IDP process has ensured that the needs of the communities are prioritised and are budgeted for. Hence the approval of the budget is tied to the IDP. Once the IDP is approved by the Council, outcomes and impact must be seen on the ground and this is not happening in most municipalities especially at Emfuleni Local Municipality. The completion of the IDP process is as a result of planning by all departments within a municipality. Once this is done, it is then that the budget is approved. In most cases implementation is the next step that should follow and this is not the case at Emfuleni Local Municipality. Programmes and projects do not reach the completion stage hence service delivery protests. The issue of capacity becomes a critical factor in that municipalities must be able to implement what was planned in the IDP. Currently it seems there are challenges that are caused by capacity problems and political interference in the administrative duties of the administrators. Much as it is admissible that South Africa has undergone political transformation, at the same time it is not excusable to fail when it comes to implementing projects that are planned for. It would seem that capacity challenges are not given proper attention as to whether managers and employees understand what needs to be implemented and how that should be done. Skills and qualifications are the most critical factors that need to be given serious attention when it comes to implementation of programmes and projects. By appointing incompetent people in critical position or politically connected people, the end product or the outcomes thereof are likely to be disastrous as this is revealed by service delivery protests. Project management and financial management skills are very critical when it comes to implementation of any projects. Hence the hypothesis of this study was formulated that due to lack of institutional capacity, Emfuleni Local Municipality was unable to implement the IDP to the satisfactory of the communities that they serve. In support of the empirical research, institutional capacity issues and problems were analysed. The research analysis and outcomes indicate that a majority of the employees used in the sample admit to the fact that lack of skills and political interference as well as misalignment of functions within departments result in the municipality not being able to function to its full capacity. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2011

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF LORI A. BARROW, for the Master of Science degree in FORESTRY, presented on October 18, 2012 at Southern Illinois University Carbondale TITLE: ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT FOR USDA FOREST SERVICE PARTNERSHIPS MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Erin Seekamp and Dr. Andrew Carver In an era of constrained appropriations and increasingly complex social and environmental challenges, partnerships have become an essential tool for public land management agencies, such as the USDA Forest Service (USFS), to accomplish critical tasks, meet management goals, and enhance service delivery. Despite the growing practice and reliance on partnerships as an alternative management strategy, few empirical assessments of this management approach have been conducted, and knowledge is limited regarding the structure and function of these relationships. Therefore, the goals of this study were to expand the established partnership knowledge base by systematically examining the institutional characteristics necessary to foster a vibrant partnership culture, uncovering and documenting the various partnership structural types being utilized, and determining whether or not institutional characteristics or external environment characteristics are related to the partnership approach utilized by USFS personnel. To explore these partnership characteristics, and assess whether differences existed between administrative levels and between national forest, an online questionnaire was administered to agency personnel on 13 randomly selected forests during the fall of 2011. Forests were randomly selected from three stratum of internal commitment from all 155 national forests' "Working Together" webpage. Of the 1584 respondent sample, 611 completed the questionnaire (40% response rate). Data collected clearly document a steady increase in the reliance of partnerships as a management strategy in recreation and resource service delivery. While the findings reveal diverse partnership support networks, respondents reported few incentives to cultivate partnerships and limited recognition for their partnership work. Furthermore, this study confirms that agency personnel work with multiple types of volunteer or partnering groups on a fairly regular basis, and make strategic choices when selecting and cultivating partnerships based on the types of work typically performed and their access and proximity to different partnering groups. Moreover, a mixed-method cluster analysis provided further insight into agency-partner interactions by identifying and defining partnership structural types and exposing variation in personnel's capacity to engage partners based on the level of internal support received, the extent of the national forest's partnership dependency, and type of external environment that categorizes the communities adjacent to the national forest (i.e., urban or rural). As the partnership phenomenon continues to be espoused by the USFS as an innovative and alternative management strategy, this thesis provides agency personnels' depiction of the agency's capacity to engage and support partnerships at multiple administrative levels and on different national forests, and helps build the foundation for managing national forests through partnerships.

This paper addresses the self-management processes of change, referring to a series of processes that take place in education centers undergoing change. The perspective from which the approach is proposed is educational management. The evidences integrated into the document are the result of a study conducted in Uruguay, which involved seven primary, secondary, and technical schools. The approach used has been the study of multiple cases with the intention of analyzing the phenomenon in specific contexts, integrating the possibility of studying it from a global perspective. The overall objective was to achieve greater understanding of the self-evaluation and change processes in schools. Within the specific objectives we highlight: to identify the possible links between self-assessment and decision making / Este trabajo aborda los procesos de autogestión del cambio, haciendo alusión a una serie de procesos que se desarrollan en centros educativos en fase de cambio. La perspectiva desde la cual se propone su abordaje es la gestión educativa. Las evidencias integradas al documento, son el resultado de un estudio desarrollado en Uruguay, que involucró a siete centros de educación primaria, media y técnica. El abordaje utilizado ha sido el estudio de casos múltiples con la intención de analizar el fenómeno en contextos específicos, integrando la posibilidad de estudiarlo desde una perspectiva global. El objetivo general fue lograr mayor comprensión sobre los procesos de autoevaluación y cambio en centros educativos. Entre los objetivos específicos destacamos el de identificar posibles vinculaciones entre la autoevaluación y la toma de decisiones

The aim of this thesis is to examine the relationship between the success of the decentralization schemes and the local capacity by concentrating on the case of Metropolitan Municipality of Diyarbakir. The Local Government Reform in Turkey was built on the argument that local authorities, compared to the central government, are better in providing services in a more efficient and more participatory manner. This thesis argues that such an argument is valid only in an environment where there is a strong local institutional and societal capacity to carry out the given responsibilities and to provide the necessary participatory framework. These issues are investigated with reference to the case of Diyarbakir Metropolitan Municipality, which is located at one of the least developed regions in Turkey (Southern Eastern Anatolia).

In parallel to developments around the world, regional policy issue has become an important issue in Turkey&rsquo / s agenda. However, political tools such as projects and plans were performed poorly due to the fact that these policy efforts failed to take into account bottom-up institutional setting according to own dynamics of each region. The European integration has made a positive impact on Turkey&rsquo / s highly centralized structure. Turkey displayed a series of changes within the scope of institutional reforms. Firstly, NUTS Classification in accordance with EU&rsquo / s statistical regions was introduced and then, Development Agencies were established by The Law on The Establishment and Duties of Development Agencies, based on NUTS-II regions. Thus, institutionalization at regional level was emerged for the first time in Turkish history as one of the significant movement. Following experiences gained during the institutional establishment efforts, this thesis aims to examine the existing DA&rsquo / s institutional performance in the regional plan activities. Izmir Development Agency (IZKA) was chosen as a case study topic in order to explore how Development Agencies perform regional plan in terms of institutional infrastructure. To achieve this aim, the research was formed into two stages. Firstly / factors, affecting the institutional performance were determined. Secondly / IZKA was assessed over these factors. Qualitative research method through in-depth interviews was conducted in order to assess IZKA&rsquo / s institutional performance in operationalizing Izmir Regional Plan 2010-2013. In addition, documented texts were incorporated as the secondary data.

Through a case study analysis of the Central Park placemaking initiative in Winnipeg, this Major Degree Project explores the process of collaborative planning with new immigrant communities. While existing research examines the potential of placemaking to promote physical improvements through collaborative planning, we know less about whether placemaking initiatives achieve the long-term social outcomes associated with collaborative planning theory. Located in downtown Winnipeg, Central Park is surrounded by a diverse multi-cultural community, consisting of many new immigrants. In 2008, the CentreVenture Development Corporation launched a placemaking initiative to revitalize Central Park. The community was a key collaborator in the planning and design process. This thesis examines the long-term social outcomes of this initiative. The main research methods for this project include key informant interviews, and archival and secondary source analysis of existing data. The research finds that collaborative planning processes offer the potential to promote sustainable inner city neighbourhood revitalization. Placemaking through collaborative planning can develop new institutional capacity for participants. By developing and harnessing relational, intellectual and political resources communities can mobilize co-ordinated action toward future initiatives. The findings of this research advance the literature and understanding of collaborative planning processes, particularly within the context of placemaking with new immigrant communities. This thesis adds to the literature of inner city neighbourhood revitalization and collaborative planning theory. / October 2015

abstract: Environmental change and natural hazards represent a challenge for sustainable development. By disrupting livelihoods and causing billions of dollars in damages, disasters can undo many decades of development. Development, on the other hand, can actually increase vulnerability to disasters by depleting environmental resources and marginalizing the poorest. Big disasters and big cities get the most attention from the media and academia. The vulnerabilities and capabilities of small cities have not been explored adequately in academic research, and while some cities in developed countries have begun to initiate mitigation and adaptation responses to environmental change, most cities in developing countries have not. In this thesis I explore the vulnerability to flooding of the US-Mexico border by using the cities of Nogales, Arizona, USA and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico as a case study. I ask the following questions: What is the spatial distribution of vulnerability, and what is the role of the border in increasing or decreasing vulnerability? What kind of coordination should occur among local institutions to address flooding in the cities? I use a Geographic Information System to analyze the spatial distribution of flood events and the socio-economic characteristics of both cities. The result is an index that estimates flood vulnerability using a set of indicators that are comparable between cities on both sides of the border. I interviewed planners and local government officials to validate the vulnerability model and to assess collaboration efforts between the cities. This research contributes to our understanding of vulnerability and sustainability in two ways: (1) it provides a framework for assessing and comparing vulnerabilities at the city level between nations, overcoming issues of data incompatibility, and (2) it highlights the institutional arrangements of border cities and how they affect vulnerability. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Sustainability 2010