Compendium of Research Reports


Book Description




Municipal Reference Library Notes


Book Description




The New Face of Government


Book Description

Change is sweeping the globe, and at the government level, operational changes are prompting many public administrators to develop new management styles and ways of delivering services to their citizens. In the process, they are changing the face of government. The New Face of Government: How Public Managers are Forging a New Approach to Governance explores how national leaders are changing the art and practice of government and how public managers are shaping and guiding government’s response to the transformation. Includes a Field-Tested Survey for Diagnosing Institutional Disequilibrium Focusing on change at the federal, state, and local levels, this book addresses policy dimensions such as: Strategic and knowledge management Enterprise architecture Information and communications technology Organizational performance assessment Technological and organizational improvement It evaluates how these areas enable agencies from the public and private sectors to become more cost-effective, performance-oriented learning organizations. Not all the ambiguities in policy making and administration have been resolved. However, there is much hope for the future of government and governance. The successes and failures included in The New Face of Government: How Public Managers are Forging a New Approach to Governance illustrate this promise and provide guideposts for public managers who find themselves faced with similar problems and new challenges. About the Author: David E. McNabb teaches a variety of public and private administration and management courses both in the U.S. and abroad, including college and university programs in Latvia, Bulgaria, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, and Belgium. He is the author of nearly 80 peer-reviewed conference papers and articles. This is his seventh book.







Cities at Risk


Book Description

As levels of urbanization increase around the world, the growing concentrations of population and economic activity increases vulnerability to natural disasters. Interdependencies among urban populations mean that damage to the built environment, including water, sewer and energy infrastructure, can affect millions. Even if there is no change in the rate of occurrence of natural disasters (an unlikely prospect in the face of ongoing climate change) the potential for human and economic loss will continue to increase, along with the time required to recover. How do cities prepare for and recover from natural disasters? In this book, the authors provide a broad overview of the issues related to the impacts of disasters on cities around the world, from assessing risks to accounting for damages. The comparative approach across different types of disasters in a range of urban locations is useful in identifying opportunities for policy transfer. While there is no ’one size fits all’ solution to hazard mitigation, valuable lessons can be learned from the experiences of others. The chapters emphasize different modes for assessing hazard risk, as well as strategies for increasing the resiliency of vulnerable populations.