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Articles 1 - 15 of 15
Full-Text Articles in Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration
Identity Crisis: Searching For Personal Responsibility, Justice, And Community In The Real Estate Market Crash, Thomas Bryer
Identity Crisis: Searching For Personal Responsibility, Justice, And Community In The Real Estate Market Crash, Thomas Bryer
Thomas A Bryer
The author introduces the reader to his own and, to a different extent, society’s identity crisis in the context of the real estate market crash. Through personal reflection and analysis of federal policies, four challenges are observed: (1) lack of community focus, (2) neglect of certain populations, (3) unambiguous devotion to encouraging personal responsibility, and (4) no clear statement of moral commitment. Policy and institutional changes are suggested to better address these challenges.
Public Participation In Regulatory Decision-Making: Cases From Regulations.Gov, Thomas Bryer
Public Participation In Regulatory Decision-Making: Cases From Regulations.Gov, Thomas Bryer
Thomas A Bryer
Regulations.gov is an award winning government website that has democratized the rulemaking process by making it easier for citizens to search, read, and comment on proposed rules advanced by federal agencies. Submitted comments from three cases are analyzed; cases come from the Department of Health and Human Services, Environmental Protection Agency, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The issues in each are classified as low salience/high complexity, high salience/high complexity, and high salience/low complexity, respectively. Quality of comments submitted is analyzed across cases. It is suggested in conclusion that if costs are not accepted to better prepare citizens to be …
Linking Students With Community In Collaborative Governance: A Report On A Service Learning Class, Thomas A. Bryer
Linking Students With Community In Collaborative Governance: A Report On A Service Learning Class, Thomas A. Bryer
Thomas A Bryer
Collaborative governance is increasingly becoming a topic for scholarly research, practitioner skill development, and a component of graduate programs in public administration. This article documents a service learning project in a graduate level Masters in Public Administration class on cross-sector governance. The article begins with a brief review of literature on university-community relations and, specifically, the civic mission of institutions of higher education and the role of service learning in public administration programs. The teaching case is then introduced, with the full context and detail explained. Lessons are offered for replicating this kind of class. An analysis of the success …
Costs Of Democratization, Thomas Bryer
Costs Of Democratization, Thomas Bryer
Thomas A Bryer
Link to PowerPoint recorded video.
President Obama, Public Participation, And An Agenda For Research And Experimentation, Thomas Bryer
President Obama, Public Participation, And An Agenda For Research And Experimentation, Thomas Bryer
Thomas A Bryer
The Obama Administration has offered citizens and onlookers from other nations a host of innovative efforts to make the United States federal government more open, participatory, and collaborative. In this issue of the International Journal of Public Participation, a set of invited authors consider the varying levels of success of this work demonstrated thus far and raise important research and practical questions for the Administration and others who might learn from the Administration’s experiences. In this introduction, some of these questions are reviewed and notable practices are summarized. Ultimately, it is concluded that, though the Administration is still young, there …
Public Engagement In The Obama Administration: Building A Democracy Bubble?, Thomas Bryer
Public Engagement In The Obama Administration: Building A Democracy Bubble?, Thomas Bryer
Thomas A Bryer
Following the Bush Administration, the Obama team enhanced access for citizens to participatory venues. Extending and enhancing access gives citizens opportunity to develop their citizenship skills, potentially influence policy, and potentially become better connected to community life. The Administration can be applauded for participatory innovations, but the Administration needs to proceed strategically to ensure the innovations do not produce more harm than good and to ensure that the real change they are producing is not whisked away in the next Administration as rapidly as an information cascade infects the citizenry. This article develops the idea of a democracy bubble as …
Living Democracy In Theory And Practice: Getting Dirty In A Local Government Incorporation Process, Thomas Bryer
Living Democracy In Theory And Practice: Getting Dirty In A Local Government Incorporation Process, Thomas Bryer
Thomas A Bryer
Poinciana, Florida is a growing community in Central Florida. The master homeowners association contracted for an incorporation feasibility study to determine whether Poinciana could survive as a city. This article describes the public participation process designed and implemented as part of the feasibility study and articulates the goals, principles, and venues of the design, the challenges or barriers confronted, and suggestions for revisions to statutory guidelines for incorporation are described with the purpose of moving towards the institutionalization of public participation as a cultural norm.
Explaining Responsiveness In Collaboration: Administrator And Citizen Role Perceptions, Thomas Bryer
Explaining Responsiveness In Collaboration: Administrator And Citizen Role Perceptions, Thomas Bryer
Thomas A Bryer
Between 2003 and 2006, researchers facilitated a collaborative learning process with representatives of Los Angeles neighborhood councils and officials from city agencies. In two cases, each involving a large city agency, the quality of responsiveness on the part of agency officials to participating citizens was substantially different. This study considers the reasons why agency officials differed in their responsiveness. Using an inductive qualitative and quantitative content analysis across three sources of data, the study develops theory pertaining to bureaucratic responsiveness to citizens in collaborative processes. Specifically, the case findings are generalized to theory through seven propositions for future study. The …
Developing A Young Professionals Network For The Arts, Thomas Bryer, Kristin Stewart
Developing A Young Professionals Network For The Arts, Thomas Bryer, Kristin Stewart
Thomas A Bryer
The Young Professionals Network for the Arts simulation is an exercise that allows students to think through the process of creating a network from the ground up. The structure of the class session that includes the simulation consists of a lecture on the readings and an 8-Step network building process, followed by the simulation.
Challenges In Enhancing Responsiveness In Neighborhood Governance, Thomas Bryer, Terry Cooper
Challenges In Enhancing Responsiveness In Neighborhood Governance, Thomas Bryer, Terry Cooper
Thomas A Bryer
When numerous stakeholders, constituencies, and service requests are competing for limited city agency resources, administrators need to decide to whom and how to be responsive. A review of literature on bureaucratic responsiveness suggests five possible determining factors for agencies facing conflicting demands: (a) organizational culture, (b) organizational leadership, (c) organizational rules and structure, (d) dependency on a stakeholder making a demand, and (e) the extent of external control placed on the agency. Based on an action research study of City of Los Angeles neighborhood councils and departments, this article suggests areas for future research on these and other possible influences …
William Robertson: Exemplar Of Politics And Public Management Rightly Understood, Terry Cooper, Thomas Bryer
William Robertson: Exemplar Of Politics And Public Management Rightly Understood, Terry Cooper, Thomas Bryer
Thomas A Bryer
William Robertson, director of the City of Los Angeles' Bureau of Street Services, is profiled here as an exemplary public administrator. The authors suggest that Robertson practices politics appropriately in his role in order to achieve great outcomes for his bureau, the citizens with whom he works, and the city as a whole. To adequately define the ways in which Robertson uses politics, Sherry Arnstein's "ladder of participation" is reconceptualized as a circle of participation in which Robertson uses multiple strategies of interaction with citizens, elected officials, employees, and peers. Lessons for public administrators are offered based on Robertson's example.
Toward A Relevant Agenda For A Responsive Public Administration, Thomas Bryer
Toward A Relevant Agenda For A Responsive Public Administration, Thomas Bryer
Thomas A Bryer
The relevance of the concept "bureaucratic responsiveness" has been questioned in recent years. One reason for the questioned relevance is the apparent environmental changes that are occurring in public administration. Globalization and devolution have infiltrated the halls of bureaucracies. Public agencies are being asked to collaborate with actors in other sectors of society, including, and especially, citizens and citizen associations. In addition to these environmental changes, administrators are being confronted with potentially competing ethical obligations that make decisions regarding responsiveness challenging. This article uses these evolving environments and competing ethical obligations to formulate a set of six variants of bureaucratic …
Collaborative Design Of Citizen Engagement In City And County Comprehensive Planning: A Simulation, Thomas Bryer
Collaborative Design Of Citizen Engagement In City And County Comprehensive Planning: A Simulation, Thomas Bryer
Thomas A Bryer
The Secretary of the Florida Department of Community Affairs has called a special meeting. Invited are an elected official, two public managers, a citizen activist, a business representative, and a facilitator. The Secretary's charge to them is to create an alternative proposal for engaging citizens in comprehensive planning. The purpose of this simulation is to allow students to experience a collaborative problem solving process, as well as to explore the challenges of public managers collaborating with the public. In addition, the simulation can be used to teach facilitation skills.
Negotiating Bureaucratic Responsiveness In Collaboration With Citizens: Findings From Action Research In Los Angeles, Thomas Bryer
Negotiating Bureaucratic Responsiveness In Collaboration With Citizens: Findings From Action Research In Los Angeles, Thomas Bryer
Thomas A Bryer
The Collaborative Learning Project conducted an action research program in the City of Los Angeles between 2003 and 2006, in which researchers facilitated a collaborative process between recently created neighborhood councils and city departments of council choosing. In two cases conducted, the patterns of administrative responsiveness to the neighborhood councils differed substantially. This dissertation asks: How can we explain the patterns of administrator responsiveness observed in each of two cases of collaboration between administrators and neighborhood council representatives? To answer the question, an exploratory assessment of each case was conducted from multiple emergent perspectives using an inductive analysis. Data from …
Citizen-Centered Collaborative Public Management, Terry Cooper, Thomas Bryer, Jack Meek
Citizen-Centered Collaborative Public Management, Terry Cooper, Thomas Bryer, Jack Meek
Thomas A Bryer
Civic engagement and collaborative public management are concepts that are defined broadly, making theoretical explication challenging and practical application of empirical research difficult. In this article, the authors adopt definitions of civic engagement and collaborative public management that are centered on the citizen and the potential for active citizenship. Following a historical review of civic engagement in the United States, a conceptual model of five approaches to civic engagement is offered. Citizen-centered collaborative public management is enhanced through these approaches. The authors suggest the need for further empirical research on collaborative public management that is grounded in citizenship action.