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Research and educational journal
Published quarterly since 2007
ISSN 1999-5431
E-ISSN 2409-5095
Issue 2014 no3 contents:
THE THEORY AND PRACTICES OF THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
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7–29
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International humanitarian cooperation is one of the ways for Russia to propagate its interests abroad and maintain its image of a modern democratic state in front of the world community. The article discloses the multichannel implementation of Russia’s “soft power” potential, shows the necessity of a systemic organization of international humanitarian links, proposes the grouping of the implementation mechanisms of Russia’s potential “soft power“into program and extracurricular blocs. The object of the analysis is internationally recognized mechanisms of forming interstate programs, international projects of different scale, and activities involving all bodies of state power, numerous non-government corporations and organizations. The subject of the analysis is the experience of organizing and managing such programs within CIS and EurAsEC. The authors present the action algorithms of administration bodies and states-participants of such programs; analyze and assess methodological, organizational and financial aspects of the formation and implementation of interstate programs and projects; reveal shortcomings in the existing methods to form and implement international programs and projects in the CIS space, which make an effective implementation of such programs difficult; substantiate the scheme for managing the interstate program of innovation cooperation between CIS states-participants that provides for setting up and using new institutes and infrastructure for the interstate cooperation in the humanitarian field. The article concludes and recommends by proposing measures to improve the mechanisms of managing international humanitarian cooperation in Russia and interstate programs that take into account the best practices of the leading foreign countries. |
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30–48
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The article is devoted to the analysis of theoretical concepts and empirical characteristics of internal mobility of researchers. Internal mobility is understood as a changing job by moving from one university or research organization to another within the country as well as some forms of combining jobs – such as the consulting of professors in companies. Theoretical studies link the internal mobility with concepts of human and social capital and justify its positive influence on the knowledge transfer, growing qualification of researchers, and increase in innovative activity as a whole. Empirical assessments of the internal mobility show that it is positively connected with the productivity growth. However it cannot be stated that the internal mobility decisively influences the number of publications and patents. Internal mobility in Russia is lower than in developed and BRIC countries. It is especially true for the inter-sector mobility that implies movement of researchers from universities and research organizations to companies and vice versa. The low level of internal mobility may be explained by such factors as practice of hiring and career growth as well as a specific Russian phenomenon of inbreeding when universities mainly hire their own graduates. In order to clarify the current state of internal mobility, pilot interviews with researchers representing three sectors of Russian science – academy, university, and industry – were conducted, which has revealed that internal mobility is low in all sectors. Three major reasons were identified: mentality of leadership, low quality of workforce that specifically affects the inter-sector mobility and the high average age of Russian researchers in all sectors. The article concludes with some practical suggestions to policymakers aimed at increasing the internal mobility of researchers. |
THE THEORY AND PRACTICES OF THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
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49–71
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The purpose of this study was to determine existing practices of young volunteer recruitment, retention and motivation in Russian noncommercial and government organizations and compare them with the best practices in American organizations. To know this information is essential for government managers and NGO leaders to successfully attract and retain young people as volunteers in their organizations. The theories of “economic man” and “altruistic man” have shaped the methodology and research design of this study. To determine the advances and limitations of youth volunteering, the authors conducted expert interviews with prominent public figures and civil society experts. To collect data on practical youth recruitment, retention and motivation, the authors organized semi-structured interviews with 16 NCO leaders in Moscow. The data have been analyzed and divided in thematic clusters. The synthesis of information permitted to determine three major types of youth volunteering, identify internal and external motivational factors, and single out Russian traditional motives, methods of recruitment and ways of interaction between managers and young volunteers. Based on data analysis, the authors have developed recommendations on best organizational policy for recruitment, retention, and motivation of young volunteers in Russia. In conclusion, the authors developed practical approaches for volunteer managers in government and NGOs is Russia, which included the combination of traditional methods as well as modern volunteer management techniques. The study expands existing knowledge on managing young volunteers, provides insights in how to better use traditional Russian collective values and connections among young people o attract and inspire them to be good citizens. Results of this study have practical value for government volunteer coordinators and NGO leaders and volunteer managers. |
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72–89
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Nonprofits play a growing role in social service delivery as a result of privatization of local public services through contracting out by the public sector. This paper explores a competitive bidding process in eight regions of the Russian Federation which local governments entered into during 2011–2012. The author reviews reasons to involve nonprofit organizations in a quasi-market as local government social service contractors. The nondistribution constraints and mission of nonprofits organizations tend to preclude exploitation of purchasers and consumers. Thus, this type of social services providers can be more appropriate for needs of the society. Then bidding documents have been analyzed in terms of a type of providers’ ownership, public or private one, levels of nonprofits’ activity and competitiveness. The findings indicate considerable discrepancies between numbers of social services competitive tenders in the regions in question. Types of social services that the local governments procure vary significantly from region to region. They range from strictly standardized services to credence ones. These differences are supposed to be an essential factor of nonprofits’ participation in procurement because of the characteristics of nonprofit organizations. The most active nonprofits’ involvement has been found out in the regions where procured services are the same the nonprofits usually produce. Three types of nonprofits’behavior at the regional quasi-markets have been discovered. Firstly, they take an active part in the competitive bidding and compete with business and public organizations successfully. Secondly, they actively participate in this process but only compete with similar producers. Finally, they are rather inactive as potential local government contractors. |
FOREIGN EXPERIENCE
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90–102
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The article deals with efficiency networks, representing organizational structures created to solve problems in spheres of local government. It starts with the introduction to the efficiency networks concept as an instrument in overcoming challenges in municipality service delivery, including the theoretical foundation and existing practical experience. The Norwegian model of efficiency networks provides an example of effective cooperation between local authorities and scholars, demonstrates advantages of evidence-based decision making that includes profound analysis of statistical data and opinions of service users. There were considered the experience of the application of effi ciency networks in Poland and Ukraine, analyzed the features and peculiarities of research and data processing, proposed algorithm of the projects, and highlighted the results of their implementation in the article. The results of the efficiency networks’ application were summarized, their practical importance was defi ned, and their infl uence on the quality of public services provided by the municipalities was presented. The article covers the process and outcomes of the projects considered, reflects on some of the achievements of the Norwegian, Polish and Ukrainian efficiency networks as well as the main findings and lessons learned. |
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103–140
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Privatization of local government services is assumed to deliver cost savings, but empirical evidence for this from around the world is mixed. We conduct a meta-regression analysis of all econometric studies examining privatization of water distribution and solid waste collection services and find no systematic support for lower costs with private production. Differences in study results are explained by differences in time period of the analyses, service characteristics, and policy environment. We do not find a genuine empirical effect of cost savings resulting from private production. The results suggest that to ensure cost savings, more attention be given to the cost characteristics of the service, the transaction costs involved, and the policy environment stimulating competition, rather than to the debate over public versus private delivery of these services. |
SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION
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141–161
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The article studies relatedness as a property of economic space of a region. Intra-regional relatedness is proposed to be assessed by using the authors’ gravity model that allows to provide “interference” of physical and economic space, and identify “mass centers” of economic interrelations, their strength and vector. The implementation of the gravity model allowed to find out the level of relatedness between cities of Tyumen region. Another stage of the research dealt with the modeling of the impact of economic space relatedness forces on regional development which led to the formulation of variant scenarios of regional development and the estimation of expected per-capita GRP elasticity to relatedness forces changes. The research resulted in the proposal of an administration model for the regional development goal-setting concerning economic space relatedness. |
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162–176
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The analysis of local self-government practices conducted on the basis of the Laboratory for Local Administration field researches and scientific literature study reveals the information deficit of local authorities. The Federal State Statistics Service provides full information for federal and regional authorities, while substantial part of statistics is too aggregated or superficial to be used by municipalities. In accordance with these facts the following subject of the investigation was formulated – used by local authorities mechanisms of collecting information about socio–economic conditions in the municipal unit. The purpose of the article is to identify all the sources of information that are used by local self-government bodies to tackle the problem of information deficit and to fill the gaps in state statistics. In order to achieve the goal both theoretical and empirical materials were used. One of the sources is interdepartmental communication with the local offices of government authorities such as police, migration service, pension fund, tax service and others. Another tool is to collect data themselves, but such statistics is difficult to gather, because local authorities are not empowered to do this, so natural and legal persons have not to provide data to them. Furthermore, the internal municipal statistics would be illegitimate and practically not applicable for usage. So, to solve the problem of information defi cit, at least the following measures should be implemented: 1) to obligate government authorities to provide information to the local self-government, 2) to improve the horizontal information exchange between local authorities and territorial offices of government authorities in the municipality; 3) to legalize internal statistics of local self-government bodies (now state authorities accept only collected by State Statistics Service figures, which are often incorrect). |
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177–200
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The paper analyses homeowners associations (HOAs) in Russia. Systematization of the 20 years’ trends in housing and communal services reform is given. Problems of HOA formation are analyzed and three periods with different patterns of HOA creation are defined. Time interval between early 1990th and 2005 is proposed to be the first period and is characterized as having a slow growth of HOAs, the absence of a clear campaign in favor of HOA creation, and a passive role of homeowners reluctant to form HOAs. The second period is defined from 2005 to 2011 and described as demonstrating a boost of the HOA formation and a big share of faked HOAs. The third period is designated from 2012 and featured with the liquidation of HOAs, both faked and viable. Overall it’s argued that the HOA dynamics is determined by stimulating bonuses or suppressing constrains. Homeowners’ self-organization and pure initiative are less pronounced. Numerous problems that HOAs experience are referred to several groups and analyzed in detail. Among them are immaturity of tenants and lack of social capital in apartment buildings; wear and tear of the housing stock and heterogeneity of tenants’ composition; legislative obstacles and problems of law enforcement; monopolization and state capture of the vital for HOA life markets of housing and communal services as well as management companies. |
PERSONNEL POLICIES
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201–212
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The analysis includes applied aspects of the corruption problem in activities of the authorities of the Russian Federation; it measures a degree of corruption threat in modern Russia; it spells out some meaningful mechanisms to counteract this dangerous for Russian society and state phenomenon. The purpose of the article is to show the relationship between a theoretical and applied analysis in the study of the corruption phenomenon in public administration, and to determine effective measures for its overcoming. The main task of the article is to demonstrate the possibilities of the sociological method applied in various studies of corruption, and to present the results that are of practical importance. The article used data from the representative sociological researches conducted on the base of the Department of Civil Service and Personnel Policy in the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration in 2012–2013. Special attention is paid to the measures to combat corruption in public administration personnel area. The conclusion is that a balanced and socio-technologically modern personnel policy, as well as the motivation of civil servants to anti-corruption behavior can give the best effect in the anti-corruption enforcement. |
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