Local Government has undergone ma.n;r changes in the past decade. Not least of these is its changing relationship with the organisations which lie outside its institutional boundaries. A particular focus of interaction between the Local Authority and other agencies has been Policy for the Inner Cities. This thesis examines the implementation of an Inner Area Programmein Nottingham and the changes in local policy making which have been associated with it. It argues that the implementation of the Inner Area Programmehas involved the development of closer relationships between statutory and non-statutory seotors, which oontain some corporatist fea.tures. Importantly, these changing relationships were identified not only by institutional features, but also by values and ideas, thus indicating an ideological dimension to corporatism. Other aspeots of the UP, such as its strategio and main programme components, and its requirements for momtoring and review, were not developed, despite the 1nitial stress on them at national level. . The Inner Area Programmewas implemented within an existing framewrk of trends and patterns, some of which reinforced the oonsultation emphasis' and interaction between sectors, while others mitigated the strategio and planning aspects of the policy. The inJeotion of the Inner Area Programmeinto the local policy makjng system in Nottingham illustrated the complexity of interactions between a national policy, local institutions and values, and underlying 'imperatives' to political action. Within this framework there was soope for the organisational choices which determined the particular fo:m of the Inner Area Programme in Nottingham.

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The central aim of this thesis is to investigate how a collaborative partnership approach as presented in contemporary planning theories can be applied to, and improve, a process of integrated waterside revitalisation. The emergence of a new model of governance, bringing together governmental and non-governmental forces to achieve the policy goal, calls for a novel form of partnership driven by interdependence and networking between a range of actors. Although this approach is often described as 'collaborative planning', there is widespread acknowledgement that the 'new' practice has operational difficulties. Collaborative planning has raised issues about how common values can be forged and applied in a real-life context, especially in the face of political inequality. This thesis draws on the results of a research project investigating a concrete example of collaborative partnerships, the Mersey Basin Campaign in the North West of England. The Campaign is a government-sponsored 25-year initiative that aims to improve water quality and the waterside environments of the Mersey Basin, a heavily urbanised area containing the two conurbations of Merseyside and Greater Manchester. In carrying out the study, six detailed case studies within the Campaign's activities have been investigated; about 40 semi-structured interviews have been undertaken, and over 25 meetings and field works have been observed. The study investigated the establishment and operation of a particular collaborative partnership according to a four-stage life cycle of partnerships. By exploring the six cases of collaborative practice through the views of practitioners, the research has shown how collaborative efforts can be made in a real-life context. The results showed that waterside sustainability issues were essential to tackling a river basin ecosystem management by creating a win-win strategy for wider stakeholders. The sustainability issue however, was not a top priority for all key stakeholders in deciding whether or not to put their money, time and efforts into the partnership. The research showed that funding availability is the best way to attract reluctant stakeholders, although partner organisations seemed not to be interested in implementing the tasks of the partnership once the initial excitement of funding availability had died away. There is, therefore, the partnerships need to develop an understanding of the collaborative approach among stakeholders and to change their attitudes towards a collaborative form of planning practice. Collaborative partnerships need different implementation processes to tackle different problems in the face of the complexity of waterside agendas; some planning processes require continuity of leadership, whilst others need bottom-up approaches. In this context, the study identified three key aspects of integrated waterside revitalisation; consensus building, facilitation, and open participation. It also developed a mechanism of collaborative partnership service delivery in coordinating a top-down approach and a bottom-up approach. The study has shown that the role of representatives linking their parent organisations to the partnership is fundamental for effective service delivery. It has been seen that once the representatives have shared ownership of the partnership, they act as a catalyst to stimulate and motivate action from their parent organisations.

The main objective of this research is to develop a systematic approach for comprehensive ex-post evaluation of urban policy. In broad terms, urban policies are central government initiatives applied in a spatially targeted manner within urban areas where specific needs have been identified. 'Comprehensive' is defined as the attempt to answer all the questions policy-makers and stakeholders are likely to raise at the various stages of the planning and implementation process. In moving towards the achievement of this objective a number of different, yet supplementary, sources of knowledge and experience are examined. Part 1 reviews the underlying assumptions and strengths and weaknesses of existing appraisal methods and examines their applicability in ex-post evaluation and the choice among them. It also examines the different views and models of both monitoring and implementation analysis and the role each can play within a comprehensive evaluation approach. Part 2 examines evaluation methods adopted in a number of case studies in various fields. It starts with the first hand experience in urban policy evaluation within a governmental context. Then, it critically reviews the methodology adopted for evaluation in a number of case studies in the field of urban policy. Evaluation traditions in the fields of regional (economic) policy in Britain and, trunk road and motorway schemes in the UK, USA and the Netherlands are also reviewed. These different strands are brought together in the form of a flexible systematic approach for comprehensive ex-post evaluation of urban policy. The choice of the 'components' of the approach is based, to a large extent, on the first part of the research. However, the organisation of the approach and the exact role each tool can play are greatly informed by the second part.

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