Collaborative Research: Integrated City Sustainability: Administrative Apparatus for Overcoming Collective Dilemmas of Agency Fragmentation

意义和重要性的非技术性描述地方政府面临着复杂的跨领域政策问题，这些问题超越了围绕职能组织的传统行政孤岛。当一个问题或目标涉及多个独立单位时，由于权力分散，可能会出现集体行动和协调问题。地方可持续性是一个广泛而复杂的问题，为研究这些组织挑战提供了一个理想的透镜。尽管地方政府广泛采用可持续性目标，但许多社区缺乏协调这些目标执行的行政机构，或这些机构的工作前后不一致。这项研究审查了不同的行政安排对政策努力和成果的影响，并评估了促进地方可持续性努力取得成功所需的体制结构。单一政府内部的职能协调和集体行动问题类似于大都市地区分散的政府权力所产生的机构性集体行动问题。在这两种情况下，服务、目标和资源系统的关联性产生了正外部性和负外部性。解决这些难题需要更多的资源和专门知识，并需要建立行政结构，以统筹决策。这项工作的目的是启动一个一般性的理论机构的集体行动，包括行政困境内以及组织之间。它分两个阶段进行：首先，它将通过对地方政府官员进行的调查收集有关行政机构的定量数据。第二，将根据对调查答复的描述，选出8个城市进行深入分析。将采用分析性叙述方法和社会网络分析，探讨克服地方可持续性方面的功能性集体行动困境的现有机制。虽然职能协调长期以来一直是公共行政部门关注的问题，但这些问题在当代政策理论中并没有得到强调。关于管理机制的设计如何影响组织整合决策和解决功能性集体行动问题的能力，人们知之甚少。关于行政机制如何影响组织一级的政策产出和成果，人们所知更少。通过对城市可持续发展政策的探索，本研究将提出一种功能性集体行动理论，该理论将机构集体行动研究扩展到目前关注的独立政府之间的横向和纵向碎片化。调查结果将为解决“界限模糊”这一共同问题提供深刻见解，即在处理复杂的政策问题方面缺乏明确的责任分工，因此需要作出更协调的努力。这项研究将系统地查明克服职能性集体行动的不同机制的优缺点，使市政当局能够作出更知情的选择，尽量减少组织内部和组织之间的行政困境。分析结果对地方政府工作者具有一定的应用价值。此外，从本研究中收集的实证调查数据将有助于更广泛地研究美国的城市治理和政策，并使研究人员能够更好地研究可持续性和地方政府管理问题。

Nontechnical Description of Significance and ImportanceLocal governments face complex crosscutting policy issues that transcend traditional administrative silos organized around function. When a single issue or objective crosses multiple independent units, collective action and coordination problems can arise from fragmented authority. Local sustainability is a broad and complex issue and provides an ideal lens through which to study these organizational challenges. Despite the widespread adoption of sustainability goals by local governments, an administrative apparatus to coordinate their implementation is lacking or inconsistent in many communities. This research examines the impact that different administrative arrangements have on policy efforts and outcomes and assesses the institutional structures necessary to facilitate the success of local sustainability efforts. Functional coordination and collective action problems within a single government are similar to institutional collective action problems that arise from fragmented governmental authority within metropolitan areas. In both cases, the connectedness of services, objectives, and resource systems produces positive and negative externalities. Resolution of these dilemmas requires additional resources and expertise, as well as the development of administrative structures to integrate decision-making. This work intends to initiate a general theory of institutional collective action that encompasses administrative dilemmas within as well as between organizations. It proceeds in two stages: First, it will collect quantitative data on administrative institutions via surveys administered to local government officials. Second, eight cities will be selected for in-depth analysis based on characterizations developed from their survey responses. An analytic narratives approach and social network analysis will be applied to explore the mechanisms available for overcoming functional collective action dilemmas in local sustainability. Technical DescriptionAlthough functional coordination has long been a concern within public administration, these issues are not emphasized in contemporary policy theories. Little is known about how the design of administrative mechanisms influences organizational ability to integrate decisions and resolve functional collective action problems. Even less is known about how administrative mechanisms affect policy outputs and outcomes at the organizational level. Through an exploration of city sustainability policy, this research will initiate a theory of functional collective action that extends institutional collective action research beyond its current focus on horizontal and vertical fragmentation among independent governments. Findings will provide insight to address the common problem of "fuzzy boundaries," whereby the lack of clear lines of responsibility for tackling complex policy issues necessitates more coordinated efforts. This research will systemically identify the strengths and weaknesses associated with different mechanisms for overcoming functional collective action and enable municipalities to make more informed choices and minimize administrative dilemmas within as well as between organizations. The results of this analysis are expected to be of applied value to local government practitioners. Additionally, the empirical survey data collected from this research will contribute to the broader study of urban governance and policy in the US and enable researchers to better examine sustainability and local government administration questions.