CAREER: Integrated Local Sustainability Strategies, Capacities and Performance Management

各种规模的地方政府在财政和经济健康、社区福祉和环境资源方面面临着越来越大的威胁。应对这些挑战需要进行一系列的经济、生态和社会治理调整。然而，它也假设当地社区可以发展新的组织能力，或者将资源从更传统的服务和活动中转移出来。该项目旨在更好地了解地方政府确定可持续发展目标、找到实现这些目标所需的资源并评估其绩效的过程。这需要一个灵活的研究设计，以观察城市和农村社区在整个可持续发展范围内的情况：那些试图制定长期可持续发展战略的社区；那些试图发展实施所需能力的社区；以及那些试图跟踪其进展和适应的社区。这项研究将评估印第安纳州市政当局可持续性规划、能力建设和绩效管理的整合情况。这些要素中的每一个都代表着一个复杂的系统，在这个系统中，外部和内部因素相互作用，影响组织的流程、例程和决策。然而，这些系统也相互作用，通过反馈加强或破坏更广泛的组织行为模式。该项目的经验背景和时机至关重要，因为这些系统仍处于初级阶段和发展阶段。将在五年内采用三个阶段的混合方法和纵向研究设计：第一，将通过自动文本分析对战略规划进行分析；第二，调查和访谈将用于评估能力建设和执行情况；第三，案例研究和试验将审查业绩管理和调整。该项目将通过开发一个涵盖三个阶段的变量的综合数据库，为未来的研究建立基础设施。此外，将通过印第安纳大学农村参与中心(CRE)开展外联活动，并通过印第安纳大学环境复原力研究所(ERI)参与社区研讨会和网络研讨会。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Local governments of all sizes are facing increasing threats to their fiscal and economic health, community well-being, and environmental resources. Addressing these challenges requires a litany of economic, ecological and societal governance adjustments. However, it also assumes local communities can either develop new organizational capacities or divert resources away from more traditional services and activities. This project aims to develop a better understanding of the processes through which local governments identify sustainability goals, find the resources needed to achieve them, and assess their performance. This requires a flexible research design to observe communities in both urban and rural contexts which fall along the entire spectrum of sustainability: those attempting to formulate long-term sustainability strategies; those attempting to develop the capacities needed for implementation; and those attempting to track their progress and adapt.This research will assess the integration of sustainability planning, capacity-building, and performance management in Indiana municipalities. Each of these elements alone represent a complex system in which external and internal factors interact to influence organizational processes, routines and decisions. However, these systems also interact, reinforcing or destabilizing broader patterns of organizational behavior through feedback. The empirical context and timing of the project is critical as these systems are still infantile and evolving. Three phases of mixed-methods and longitudinal research designs will be used over five years: first, strategic planning will be analyzed through automated text-analysis; second, surveys and interviews will be used to assess capacity-building and implementation; and third, case studies and experiments will examine performance management and adjustment. The project will build infrastructure for future research by developing a comprehensive database of variables generated across the three phases. Additionally, outreach will be conducted to involve rural communities through the Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement (CRE) and to participate in community workshops and webinars through the Indiana University Environmental Resilience Institute (ERI).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.