Problem
The main thrust of Pappert’s article [1] is that a wholesale shift is required in how we understand and operate at the municipal level given the pressures of change from technological innovations, demographic shift, the networked economy, and the widespread adoption of social media. Meanwhile, despite increasing dependence on government, there is a correlative increasing distrust in elected officials and administration that may be tied to the “old way of doing business.” Transformation, argues Pappert, must be total and not simply ad hoc revisions. Options Analysis It is only by proactively anticipating and embracing change that municipal leadership will still remain viable and responsive to the changing needs and demands of the citizenry. Some of these changes may include demonopolizing information and aiming for more transparency while ensuring appropriate narrative context, emphasis on team-based leadership and collaboration, showing the courage to retire no longer operable practices, the responsibility of municipal leaders to keep apprised of what is being done in other municipalities, and to adopt a proactive stance on long-range planning. In particular, an emphasis on team-based leadership and collaboration, as well as retiring older notions and practices that are no longer applicable in the current context. Inspiring courage is key, and part of the way of mitigating some of the less desirable outcomes is to change the narrative so that failure is viewed as a learning experience. Also, by taking collective ownership of a problem, this reinforces the team-based aspect of leadership already referenced. Recommendations Municipalities are no stranger to change, be it the transition to the early reformist movement that precipitated the creation of special purpose bodies and an attempt to focus on administrative function rather than representative roles, the postwar challenges with increasing urbanization and land planning, the citizen demand for more engagement during the 1960s, the experiments in regional government in the 1970s, reform of the county structure in the 1980s, up through the drastic effects of the Harris-era amalgamations. At times, the change is gradual, whereas at other times it is painfully abrupt. Anticipating change is indeed important, but it is also important to identify the source of those changes, and to determine what resources and means (financial, legal, intergovernmental, etc) are at the disposal of the municipality to contend with change. There is very little a municipality can do to prevent or accelerate change that is externally sourced - such as a natural disaster, legislative changes by the province, the oscillations of the global market, etc. It can, however, adapt internal policies that can at least be ready and responsive to changes, whether positive, negative, or simply a change of state (such as the adoption of social media). Good collegial and collaborative attitudes will better prevail in the face of such changes than to remain ossified in no longer workable practices or in cleaving to a silo mentality. Sources [1] Pappert, Ann. (2014).“Transformation in Local Government.” Municipal World. 124.10: 21-3.
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Kane FaucherAdvocate for building prosperous and sustainable communities, with a focus on rural and sparsely-populated municipalities Archives
December 2015
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