John Chenier - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by John Chenier
McGill-Queen's University Press eBooks, Sep 2, 2005
McGill-Queen's University Press eBooks, Jan 25, 2010
Bruce the Builder j o h n a. c h e n i e r G. Bruce Doern's research and writing in the field of ... more Bruce the Builder j o h n a. c h e n i e r G. Bruce Doern's research and writing in the field of Canadian public policy have informed his contemporaries and will continue to provide food for thought to young scholars for years to come. This impressive body of research, much of it pioneer work cutting across broad fields of Canadian public policy, can overshadow an equally important contribution Doern has made to the intellectual capital of this country: namely his role in building and shaping the institutions associated with the education of public administrators and the community of public policy scholars in Canada and elsewhere. The purpose of this short chapter, therefore, is to define the institutional legacy of G. Bruce Doern; a legacy that includes the more "concrete" entity of the School of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton University and the other, more ethereal, worldwide network of scholars he fostered over the years.
This thesis examines the manner in which a policy objective is qualified in execution by the re... more This thesis examines the manner in which a policy objective is qualified in execution by the requirements of interministerial collaboration in Cabinet, and the pressures of individual departmental interest. Housing policy in England and Wales from 1945 to 1951 serves as the central focus of the study. Wherever possible, the events surrounding the policy are presented and considered in chronological order. In the first section, the allocation of responsibility for housing and the development of the policy are considered. The thesis then examines some specific problems encountered during the implementation of the policy. Next, it provides an account of the factors which lead to the adoption of cuts in the housing programme and the imposition of greater central control. Finally, the thesis examines the means employed by the Ministry of Health to re-establish its autonomy and restore the housing programme to its previous level. The thesis concludes that the postwar housing policy was ...
Canadian Public Administration/Administration publique du Canada, 1985
Canadian Public Administration, 2009
Abstract: Following its near demise in 1982, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) adop... more Abstract: Following its near demise in 1982, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) adopted new goals and processes designed to increase satisfaction and deliver concrete results to its member municipalities. Over time, the FCM assumed the role of primary interlocutor or broker, establishing a bridge between federal intentions and local government needs and playing a central role in the aggregation, definition, articulation and advocacy of local government issues at the federal level. These FCM actions, in conjunction with the significant improvements in the financial position of the federal government, resulted in significant monetary transfers from the federal to local governments and large increases in FCM membership. At the close of 2005, the FCM was poised to achieve its ultimate goal of establishing a joint federal-local mechanism for policy development as part of the New Deal. However, the election of the Harper government in 2006 led to a change in the federal position, leaving the FCM in a position remnminiscent of 1982 and a way forward that was suddenly less clear. While continuing to lobby strongly for fiscal transfers to municipalities, the FCM is assuming a broader role of filling the research void on local issues at the federal level. Sommaire : Apres avoir pratiquement disparu en 1982, la Federation canadienne des municipalites (FCM) a adopte de nouveaux objectifs et processus afin d'accroitre la satisfaction de ses municipalites membres et de leur fournir des resultats concrets. Au fil des ans, la FCM a assume le role de principal interlocuteur ou representant, en servant d'intermediaire entre les intentions du gouvernement federal et les besoins des administrations municipales et en jouant un role majeur dans le regroupement, la definition, la formulation et la defense des questions relatives aux administrations municipales a l'echelle federale. Ces mesures prises par la FCM, de concert avec les ameliorations importantes de la situation financiere du gouvernement federal, ont eu pour resultat d'importants transferts monetaires du gouvernement federal aux administrations municipales et de fortes augmentations d'adhesion a la FCM. A la fin de 2005, la FCM etait sur le point d'atteindre son but ultime qui etait d'etablir un mecanisme conjoint federal-municipal pour l'elaboration de politiques, dans le cadre du Nouveau pacte pour les municipalites canadiennes. Cependant, l'election du gouvernement Harper en 2006 a entraine un changement dans la position du gouvernement federal, laissant la FCM dans une position tres similaire a celle de 1982 et avec des perspectives d'avenir soudainement plus obscures. Tout en continuant a exercer de fortes pressions en faveur des transferts fiscaux aux municipalites, la FCM assume un role plus vaste en comblant le vide dans la recherche sur les questions municipales a l'echelle federale.
Canadian Public Administration/Administration publique du Canada, 1980
Some observers have suggested the success of policy planning and research units depends upon the ... more Some observers have suggested the success of policy planning and research units depends upon the receptivity of the political system to rationality. Others have put forward personality traits such as 'flair' and 'diplomatic style' as the major determinants of policy unit effectiveness. Neither of these would seem to provide an adequate explanation for the Canadian experience. This paper concentrates on the profile which a policy unit might assume in any given organization. A two-dimensional model is presented based on the degree of initiative and the degree of visibility of policy units. Against the background of the model, the experience of these units in the Canadian federal bureaucracy suggests that while most start as highly visible and proactive, they later tend toward being invisible and reactive. With a view to the future, a distinction is made between the policy development function and the policy unit. If policy development and analysis is to survive, greater use must be made of a task force approach. If permanent policy units are to survive and be effective, they should adopt a modest role and profile. Sommuire. Daprks certains observateurs, le succhs des services de recherche et de planification depend de la rkceptivitk du systkme politique A la rationalitk. D'autres considkrent que des traits de caractkre tels que le a flair n ou le a style diplomatique n sont les klements dkterminants de l'efficacitb de ces services. Aucune de ces d e w hypothhses ne semble expliquer totalement l'experience canadienne. L'auteur de cet expose centre ses observations sur le profil n que ces services de recherche et de planification pourraient adopter dans une organisation donnee. I1 offre un modkle bi-dimensionnel bask sur le degrd d'initiative et le degre de singularit6 de ces services. En utilisant ce modhle, l'analyse du fonctionnement de ces services dans la bureaucratie fkdkrale canadienne semble indiquer que la plupart d'entre eux sont remarquables et font preuve de beaucoup d'initiative au dkpart mais qu'ils tendent A devenir invisibles et rkactifs par la suite. Pour l'avenir, l'auteur sugghre de distinguer entre la fonction d'klaboration de politiques et le service de recherche et de planification. D'aprhs h i , si nous voulons que cette fonction d'elaboration et d'analyse des politiques survive, il faudra gkneraliser l'approche a groupe de travail m. De plus, si les services permanents de planification et de recherche dksirent survivre et &re efficaces, ils devront adopter un rdle et un profil modestes. 1 For a debailed discussion of policy planning and research units, see Michael J. Prince, Policy Advice and Organizational Sumival (Farnbnrough: Gower Publishing Co., forthcoming). 2 See, for example, the conventional explanation of obstaoles to rational policy and decision making represented in the works of Herbert Simon,
McGill-Queen's University Press eBooks, Sep 2, 2005
McGill-Queen's University Press eBooks, Jan 25, 2010
Bruce the Builder j o h n a. c h e n i e r G. Bruce Doern's research and writing in the field of ... more Bruce the Builder j o h n a. c h e n i e r G. Bruce Doern's research and writing in the field of Canadian public policy have informed his contemporaries and will continue to provide food for thought to young scholars for years to come. This impressive body of research, much of it pioneer work cutting across broad fields of Canadian public policy, can overshadow an equally important contribution Doern has made to the intellectual capital of this country: namely his role in building and shaping the institutions associated with the education of public administrators and the community of public policy scholars in Canada and elsewhere. The purpose of this short chapter, therefore, is to define the institutional legacy of G. Bruce Doern; a legacy that includes the more "concrete" entity of the School of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton University and the other, more ethereal, worldwide network of scholars he fostered over the years.
This thesis examines the manner in which a policy objective is qualified in execution by the re... more This thesis examines the manner in which a policy objective is qualified in execution by the requirements of interministerial collaboration in Cabinet, and the pressures of individual departmental interest. Housing policy in England and Wales from 1945 to 1951 serves as the central focus of the study. Wherever possible, the events surrounding the policy are presented and considered in chronological order. In the first section, the allocation of responsibility for housing and the development of the policy are considered. The thesis then examines some specific problems encountered during the implementation of the policy. Next, it provides an account of the factors which lead to the adoption of cuts in the housing programme and the imposition of greater central control. Finally, the thesis examines the means employed by the Ministry of Health to re-establish its autonomy and restore the housing programme to its previous level. The thesis concludes that the postwar housing policy was ...
Canadian Public Administration/Administration publique du Canada, 1985
Canadian Public Administration, 2009
Abstract: Following its near demise in 1982, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) adop... more Abstract: Following its near demise in 1982, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) adopted new goals and processes designed to increase satisfaction and deliver concrete results to its member municipalities. Over time, the FCM assumed the role of primary interlocutor or broker, establishing a bridge between federal intentions and local government needs and playing a central role in the aggregation, definition, articulation and advocacy of local government issues at the federal level. These FCM actions, in conjunction with the significant improvements in the financial position of the federal government, resulted in significant monetary transfers from the federal to local governments and large increases in FCM membership. At the close of 2005, the FCM was poised to achieve its ultimate goal of establishing a joint federal-local mechanism for policy development as part of the New Deal. However, the election of the Harper government in 2006 led to a change in the federal position, leaving the FCM in a position remnminiscent of 1982 and a way forward that was suddenly less clear. While continuing to lobby strongly for fiscal transfers to municipalities, the FCM is assuming a broader role of filling the research void on local issues at the federal level. Sommaire : Apres avoir pratiquement disparu en 1982, la Federation canadienne des municipalites (FCM) a adopte de nouveaux objectifs et processus afin d'accroitre la satisfaction de ses municipalites membres et de leur fournir des resultats concrets. Au fil des ans, la FCM a assume le role de principal interlocuteur ou representant, en servant d'intermediaire entre les intentions du gouvernement federal et les besoins des administrations municipales et en jouant un role majeur dans le regroupement, la definition, la formulation et la defense des questions relatives aux administrations municipales a l'echelle federale. Ces mesures prises par la FCM, de concert avec les ameliorations importantes de la situation financiere du gouvernement federal, ont eu pour resultat d'importants transferts monetaires du gouvernement federal aux administrations municipales et de fortes augmentations d'adhesion a la FCM. A la fin de 2005, la FCM etait sur le point d'atteindre son but ultime qui etait d'etablir un mecanisme conjoint federal-municipal pour l'elaboration de politiques, dans le cadre du Nouveau pacte pour les municipalites canadiennes. Cependant, l'election du gouvernement Harper en 2006 a entraine un changement dans la position du gouvernement federal, laissant la FCM dans une position tres similaire a celle de 1982 et avec des perspectives d'avenir soudainement plus obscures. Tout en continuant a exercer de fortes pressions en faveur des transferts fiscaux aux municipalites, la FCM assume un role plus vaste en comblant le vide dans la recherche sur les questions municipales a l'echelle federale.
Canadian Public Administration/Administration publique du Canada, 1980
Some observers have suggested the success of policy planning and research units depends upon the ... more Some observers have suggested the success of policy planning and research units depends upon the receptivity of the political system to rationality. Others have put forward personality traits such as 'flair' and 'diplomatic style' as the major determinants of policy unit effectiveness. Neither of these would seem to provide an adequate explanation for the Canadian experience. This paper concentrates on the profile which a policy unit might assume in any given organization. A two-dimensional model is presented based on the degree of initiative and the degree of visibility of policy units. Against the background of the model, the experience of these units in the Canadian federal bureaucracy suggests that while most start as highly visible and proactive, they later tend toward being invisible and reactive. With a view to the future, a distinction is made between the policy development function and the policy unit. If policy development and analysis is to survive, greater use must be made of a task force approach. If permanent policy units are to survive and be effective, they should adopt a modest role and profile. Sommuire. Daprks certains observateurs, le succhs des services de recherche et de planification depend de la rkceptivitk du systkme politique A la rationalitk. D'autres considkrent que des traits de caractkre tels que le a flair n ou le a style diplomatique n sont les klements dkterminants de l'efficacitb de ces services. Aucune de ces d e w hypothhses ne semble expliquer totalement l'experience canadienne. L'auteur de cet expose centre ses observations sur le profil n que ces services de recherche et de planification pourraient adopter dans une organisation donnee. I1 offre un modkle bi-dimensionnel bask sur le degrd d'initiative et le degre de singularit6 de ces services. En utilisant ce modhle, l'analyse du fonctionnement de ces services dans la bureaucratie fkdkrale canadienne semble indiquer que la plupart d'entre eux sont remarquables et font preuve de beaucoup d'initiative au dkpart mais qu'ils tendent A devenir invisibles et rkactifs par la suite. Pour l'avenir, l'auteur sugghre de distinguer entre la fonction d'klaboration de politiques et le service de recherche et de planification. D'aprhs h i , si nous voulons que cette fonction d'elaboration et d'analyse des politiques survive, il faudra gkneraliser l'approche a groupe de travail m. De plus, si les services permanents de planification et de recherche dksirent survivre et &re efficaces, ils devront adopter un rdle et un profil modestes. 1 For a debailed discussion of policy planning and research units, see Michael J. Prince, Policy Advice and Organizational Sumival (Farnbnrough: Gower Publishing Co., forthcoming). 2 See, for example, the conventional explanation of obstaoles to rational policy and decision making represented in the works of Herbert Simon,