bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Unconventional Approaches for the Unconventional Resources in Central China
Authors: D'Amore A. , Hii K.K. , Moh T. , Chen Z.Y. , Phan V.C. , Lim J.M. , Tellez F. , Kok J. , Poor A. , Huang B.
Published: February 2015

Operator started evaluating the shale gas block in Central China since Dec 2010. During exploration and appraisal phases, 3 horizontal wells were drilled. The challenges were hard, abrasive, kicks, losses, stuck pipe, over pressure, high formation dip, faults, and high stratigraphy uncertainty. As a result, it was unable to achieve performance drilling with conventional motor BHA, difficult to run casing, and multiple geological side-tracks were required. Wells were exceeding the AFE curves. Average well duration was 220 days.

This paper will feature the challenges and lessons learned and the unconventional approaches that were employed. Four key categories of the process were identified:

Emerging technologies were hybrid and more robust rotary steerable system, real time ROP optimization, high resolution real time LWD image data and high telemetry rate MWD. Drilling and best practices adopted were MPD Drilling, hole cleaning, high dog-leg-severity curve with smoother borehole, and low cost rotating BOP with higher RPM. In the absence of 3-D seismic data, 2-D seismic data combined with LWD data were used. Integrated Operations & Innovative Commercial Contract with local drilling service contractors had made a big impact in terms of faster well delivery and overall cost saving. Another step change was the performance based commercial contract which helped to attain the ultimate goal that meets both HSE and time requirements.

During first half of 2013, 5 horizontal wells were completed, 2 were Top Quartile and 3 were Best-In-Class. Some highlights were zero geological side-track; double footage drilled per day and significantly reduced drilling cost. Average well duration was 120 days.

The accomplishment has a big impact on drilling schedule sequence. Longer horizontal wells will be planned with greater confidence as results of predictability and repeatability.

The paper will conclude with learning curves summary and compare them to the peer. The team believes that this is a big step towards delivering Best-In-Class wells in complex geological structure. The next step is to realize the ambition of factory drilling at further reduced cost to un-tap the unconventional in Sichuan and to bring cleaner fuel to Central China as a replacement of coal.
Soil Strength Degradation Due to SCRs Vertical Motion at Touchdown Zone
Authors: Hu H.J.E. , Leung C.F. , Chow Y.K. , Palmer A.C. , Chan H.C.N.
Published: February 2015

Steel catenary risers (SCR) connect seabed pipelines and flow lines to floating structures used for oil and gas production in deep waters. Waves and currents induce motions of the structure and the risers. The repeated motions of the risers at the touchdown zone in turn induce loads on the seabed soil and might eventually cause fatigue damage to the risers. The analysis of riser fatigue damage is heavily dependent on the soil model. Soil behaviour at touchdown zone such as soil remolding, stiffness degradation and deformation of the seabed at the touchdown zone further complicate the accurate assessment of riser fatigue damage, which is currently not appropriately quantified in existing design methods.

This paper presents centrifuge model tests simulating the repeated vertical movement of a length of riser on clay seabed. During the tests, the pipe was subjected to cyclic motion of constant vertical displacement amplitude. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) analyses are performed to investigate the soil failure mechanism during the penetration and uplift of the length of riser, including cavity formation, transition from shallow and deep failure mechanism, and evolution of failure mechanism as the load cycle increases.

The test results show a significant progressive degradation of penetration and uplift resistances upon the onset of riser cycling which is due to the remoulding of the soil. Furthermore, formation of weakened zone confines the development of failure mechanism as the number of load cycles increases. These results could provide further insight into the touchdown zone modelling as SCR present as an economical solution as oil exploration and production carried out in greater water depth.
Coupling Between Lateral and Torsional Vibrations: A New Insight into PDC Bit Drilling Inefficiencies
Authors: Makkar Navish , Sullivan Eric , Habernal Jason
Published: February 2015

Drilling performance and durability of polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) bits can be degraded by the vibrations associated with drilling. In particular, two types of vibrations are of interest, torsional oscillation and backward whirl. Torsional oscillation ("stick / slip") is characterized by fluctuations in bit angular velocity. In extreme cases, the angular velocity can fall to zero or even reverse (CCW) direction, and reverse rotation is known to be detrimental to laminated cutters. In addition, backward whirl (lateral vibration), which refers to the counter-clockwise orbiting of bit center-of-rotation around the hole centerline, causes inefficient off-normal cutter movement and can lead to excessive cutter wear and fracture.

In the current paper, the authors examine torsional oscillation data representing field and laboratory drilling events, and provide an alternative explanation for the observed reductions in drilling efficiency and durability. More specifically, the authors suggest that the likelihood of backward whirl with variations in angular velocity. At first, the hypothesis is evaluated by dynamic simulations and then validated through a series of torsional oscillation tests performed in the laboratory.

To further substantiate the effect, the authors demonstrate how mechanical specific energy MSE and temperature rises when loading on PDC cutters varies from normal. This information is easily correlated with the dull conditions and damage to PDC cutters.

The insight that stick / slip may include a backward whirl component can be used to guide the optimization of drilling parameters. This can be achieved in the field, either during operations if real-time in-bit sensing data are available or for offset well planning purposes if data are available in memory mode only. In either case, the likelihood of achieving performance objectives such as completing an interval (minimizing early terminations) and achieving target penetration rates are significantly improved.
Coiled Tubing Downhole Communication System Helps Solve Complex Intervention Challenges
Authors: Acorda Edgar Paul , Sundramurthy Deenadayalan , Stanley Frederick , Terry Adrian , Dean Gregory
Published: February 2015

Well completion in deepwater operations are particularly challenging from an engineering perspective. With the high cost and high risk associated with deepwater interventions it's critical to reduce the number coiled tubing runs and maximize the number of operations that can be performed during one run into a well.

Coiled tubing perforation jobs have historically required multiple runs to correlate depth, perforate and sometimes stimulate or gas lift a well. Recent advancement in this field has resulted in a suite of solutions based on a realtime downhole communication system comprising a non-intrusive electrical conductor, surface hardware and software, and a combination bottomhole assembly (BHA). The combination BHA incorporates the motorhead assembly, conductor and BHA release function, and a pressure, temperature, and casing collar locator sensor package for accurate depth correlation with high-resolution pressure and temperature data. The design also enables the use of ball-activated tools.

A particular offshore Philippines deepwater project recently benefited from this technology. The coiled tubing downhole communication system obtained realtime data using a small-diameter conductor wire pre-installed inside the coiled tubing. The data was used to optimize conventional coiled tubing interventions and expand the use of wireline logging tools. The conductor has minimal effect on the flow area of the coiled tubing or on the overall weight of the reel. The logging BHA was attached with mechanical and electrical quick connects and was rigged up offshore in minutes.

This paper reviews how the new downhole communication system extended the capabilities of coiled tubing during two deepwater well interventions. It will further discuss the system's operational flexibility by illustrating the case study of running the system.
Numerical Studies of Vortex Induced Vibration of a Circular Cylinder at High Reynolds Number
Authors: Tofa M. Mobassher , Maimun Adi , Ahmed Yasser M. , Jamei Saeed , Khairuddin N.M.
Published: February 2015

Study of vibrations due to vortex shedding(VIV) in the wake of a cylinder that is exposed to a current is very important, especially for marine risers which are used to extract oil and gas from sea bed. The phenomenon of vortex induced vibration(VIV) has been one of the major concerns for hydrodynamic researchers due to its potential ability to cause severe fatigue damage, the hydrodynamics of VIV is a very complex subject to be dealt with. Though there are numbers of research papers about VIV simulation of a circular cylinder, most of them were related to 2D flow and lower Reynolds number. 3D numerical simulation of vortex induced vibration at high Reynolds number can be very challenging.

Successful 3D simulation can be useful for designing effective VIV suppression devices.

Suitable mesh and turbulence model are important to get desired results, analyzing computational time and resources are crucial before starting such projects. In this paper turbulence model such as DES and LES are used at three dimensional VIV simulation for a Reynolds number Re=104, results from CFD are compared with existing experimental results. A comparison was drawn between these two turbulence models in terms of result accuracy and computation time.

Hopefully discussion of this paper can be helpful for any future project that would deal with VIV simulation.
Numerical Study on Stress Concentration Factors at Splice Welds of Structural Steel Pipes
Authors: Qi Z.M. , Zhang Y.B. , Chen Y. , Li Y. , Sadiq Rehan
Published: February 2015

Structural steel tubular elements are widely used in offshore structures, such as for marine piles, risers, and jacket bracings. Transversal weld is a common form for the splice of the structural steel pipes. The stress concentration at the splice weld is a critical effect to be considered in the structural analysis and design of the steel tubular elements. Researchers have provided solutions to the stress concentration factors (SCFs) for the splice welds under axial loading. Using finite element software ANSYS, this paper investigated the stress concentration due to in-plane bending moment. Various geometric configurations, such as diameter and thickness, determined according to normal marine steel tubular piles were modeled in the numerical models, and typical V-shape welding forms were adopted. Particularly, different thickness transitions applied in practice were modeled. Hot-spot stresses were determined based on the two-point linear extrapolation recommended by DNV-RP-C203. The stress concentrations at both toe and root were investigated. In addition, approximate solutions to the SCFs were derived based on flat-plate assumption. The computational results showed that the flat-plate solutions agreed with numerical solution in a reasonable manner, and correction factors were accordingly developed for the approximate solutions. It was also found that pipe thickness and thickness transition demonstrated significant impacts on the SCFs, while pipe diameter seemed less important. The numerical study establishes a fundamental database for the SCFs at pipe splice given in-plane bending moment. The findings will significantly support the practical fatigue assessment of spliced marine structural steel pipes subjected to complex loading effects.
Primary hydatid cyst of brain: Two cases report
Authors: Senapati Satya , Parida Deepak , Pattajoshi A , Gouda Amiya , Patnaik Ashis
Published: February 2015

Brain involvement with hydatid disease occurs in 1-2% of all Echinococcus granulosus infections. Isolated cerebral hydatid disease is a rare manifestation of it. In this report, we analyze two cases of isolated cerebral hydatid cysts and discuss their mode of presentation, radiological features, operative procedure and outcome. In our two cases, radiological features and surgical approaches were different from one another. The literature concerning isolated cerebral hydatid disease is reviewed.
Pure cortical ependymoma: A rare entity
Authors: Bijwe Sanjay , Ansari Sameer , Jadhav Vinod , Palande Deepak
Published: February 2015

Ependymomas are mostly infratentorial, intraventricular tumor, accounting for 2-9% of all central nervous system tumors. Supratentorial pure cortical ependymoma are extremely rare tumor with definite ependymal morphology and uncertain histogenesis. They are mostly low grade tumor and are cured with resection, rendering them favorable prognosis. Our case is of 14-year-old female presenting with headache and convulsion of short duration. She underwent gross total excision of the tumor without radiation therapy and her follow-up is uneventful.
Characterizing Heart Failure in the Ventricular Volume Domain
Authors: Kerkhof Peter L. M.
Published: February 2015

Heart failure (HF) may be accompanied by considerable alterations of left ventricular (LV) volume, depending on the particular phenotype. Two major types of HF have been identified, although heterogeneity within each category may be considerable. All variants of HF show substantially elevated LV filling pressures, which tend to induce changes in LV size and shape. Yet, one type of HF is characterized by near-normal values for LV end-diastolic volume (EDV) and even a smaller end-systolic volume (ESV) than in matched groups of persons without cardiac disease. Furthermore, accumulating evidence indicates that, both in terms of shape and size, in men and women, the heart reacts differently to adaptive stimuli as well as to certain pharmacological interventions. Adjustments of ESV and EDV such as in HF patients are associated with (reverse) remodeling mechanisms. Therefore, it is logical to analyze HF subtypes in a graphical representation that relates ESV to EDV. Following this route, one may expect that the two major phenotypes of HF are identified as distinct entities localized in different areas of the LV volume domain. The precise coordinates of this position imply unique characteristics in terms of the actual operating point for LV volume regulation. Evidently, ejection fraction (EF; equal to 1 minus the ratio of ESV and EDV) carries little information within the LV volume representation. Thus far, classification of HF is based on information regarding EF combined with EDV. Our analysis shows that ESV in the two HF groups follows different patterns in dependency of EDV. This observation suggests that a superior HF classification system should primarily be founded on information embodied by ESV.
Defining a Canadian approach to municipal consolidation in major city-regions
Authors: Lightbody Jim
Published: February 2015

Where there is a central government with an exclusive mandate over municipalities, along with a state executive structure using the Westminster model, then the consolidation of squabbling municipalities within metropolitan boundaries becomes a distinct possibility A general model of municipal restructuring for the Canadian metropolis is more widespread than the superficially unique circumstances of each case might suggest. The thinking here is informed by Clarence Stone’s urban regime model, which helps to clarify what influences constituted the political tipping point for central government action. The paper focuses primarily on the Toronto and Montreal city-regional municipal consolidations at the end of the last century. It is argued that the decisive element in setting the stage for significant change lay in the pervasive influence of corporate Canada in generally shaping provincial political discourse. What has not previously been of much interest for investigators is the matter of direct consequences for the low politics of city-regional governance. As will be seen, they were both tangible and considerable.
Electoral Quotas: Should the UK learn from the rest of the world?
Authors: Game Chris
Published: February 2015

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown would surely love his political legacy to include a significant contribution to constitutional reform. Certainly he inherited, on succeeding Tony Blair in 2007, a substantial agenda of unfinished constitutional business: devolution, House of Lords reform, the electoral system, a bill of rights, a written constitution. Two years on, though, major progress on any of these ‘big’ topics seems most unlikely before a probable 2010 General Election. Which might mean a rather modest constitutional legacy, based mainly on bringing some prerogative powers under MPs’ scrutiny and control, and, in other comparatively minor ways, boosting the role of Parliament. One such low profile, though not unimportant, initiative is Brown’s revival of the Speaker’s Conference, a constitutional device that many supposed had become extinct with the creation in 2000 of the Electoral Commission.
Leading Communities: Community-led Development in England’s Small Towns: the Market Towns Initiative
Authors: Morris Gordon
Published: February 2015

The Market Towns Initiative (MTI), a UK community-led development programme, operated throughout rural England from 2000 until 2005/6. It was designed to help local people, with professional support, identify – and then capitalize on – the economic, environmental and social strengths and weaknesses of small country towns. This paper explains the origins and ways of working of the MTI. Examples of the topics explored and participants’ views are given, and conclusions drawn. The opportunity is also taken to explain how interest in the roles of England’s small country towns grew in the years following the Second World War, and how this led to the development of the MTI. Evidence suggests that the programme worked well. It demonstrated that local people have the enthusiasm, skills and knowledge to take a lead in the development of the places in which they live; something which, until local government reforms changed roles and structures, was largely taken for granted.
Rates versus Developer Contributions as Revenue Sources for Local Government
Authors: Koutifaris Kate , Mangioni Vince
Published: February 2015

Population expansion in many New South Wales (NSW) local government areas (LGA) has resulted in an increase in demand for local infrastructure and services that has far outstripped sources of local government revenue. This paper looks at two important sources of local government revenue in NSW, municipal rates and Section 94 contributions, as a source of funding increased demand and maintenance of infrastructure. It examines some recent and potentially long-term trends of both these revenues within different economic climates. An analysis and comparison of data over the period from June 2006 through to June 2010 against data collected for the period ending June 1993 forms the basis of this research. The research objective is to compare changes in the relativity of these revenue types and assess their application as a source of local government revenue. Data collected from the Department of Local Government NSW is compared with the findings of an earlier study, conducted by Barnes and Dollery (1996), in determining their relativity. The provision and maintenance of infrastructure by local government is essential for growth in the economy and is a valuable asset to be used by the community. Two types of funding for this infrastructure, among others, is sourced from municipal rates and developer charges levied under Section 94 contributions either by the developer providing the infrastructure, or a contribution towards its funding (Barnes and Dollery 1996).
Driving up Standards: Civil Service Management and Decentralization: Case Study of Uganda
Authors: Nabaho Lazarus
Published: February 2015

There is a consensus that decentralization by devolution leads to improved service delivery, but debate on the appropriate type of personnel arrangements for delivering decentralized services is far from over. Put differently, the discourse on whether civil service management should be decentralized or devolved still rages on. Little wonder that countries which started off with decentralized civil service management models in the 1990s are currently centralizing some aspects of personnel management while others are having centralized and decentralized personnel arrangements operating side by side in sub-national governments. The paper argues that civil service management should be decentralized whenever a country chooses the path of decentralization by devolution. Using Uganda’s example, the paper highlights two major challenges of managing the civil service under separate personnel arrangements: civil service appointments devoid of merit, and the perennial failure to attract and retain qualified human resource. The paper presents proposals on how to ensure meritocracy in appointments and how to bolster attraction and retention of human capital in local governments.
Transforming Development with Grassroots Planning in Madhya Pradesh, India
Authors: Mahor Yogesh , Singh Ram Gopal
Published: February 2015

There is growing acknowledgment that state interactions must take place in a democratic context. This has been accompanied by attempts to foster forms of democratic governance that provide scope for citizen participation in the development process. However, due to vast inter- and intra-country differences, no single model has emerged for countries to follow, even if each effort has contributed to further deliberation and discussion. A major challenge to successful implementation has been the absence of an effective and practical framework to ensure decentralization. In the state Madhya Pradesh of India, the democratic reform has progressed from conceptualization to mobilization to institutionalization. For the first time in Madhya Pradesh's development history, state government has shown the courage to interact with communities in making village-level development plans. The Madhya Pradesh Planning Commission has created a tangible plan for working more closely with communities. This paper outlines the nature of this initiative and analyses the adequacy of the framework for decentralizsation and the mechanism of governance adopted by the Madhya Pradesh government for achieving the goal of participatory democracy. In particular, the paper assesses the state model of decentralized planning, its operational framework, and ongoing efforts. It also presents the status of village-level planning in the state, including how villages are interacting with one another and with government entities outside the state.
New CLGF Four-Year Grant to Help Local Government Service Delivery and Boost CLGF’s Research Capacity
Authors: Slack Lucy , Rhodes Susan
Published: February 2015

The UK Department for International Development (UK AID) has agreed £4.5 million funding for a four-year CLGF programme to improve governance and service delivery at local level in several areas of the Commonwealth including Africa and Asia from 2012-16. It will also help to support national policy frameworks for local government service delivery, and increase engagement of local government in regional policy planning and implementation. CLGF will continue to work with its members, UN partners and others to mobilise more resources towards the support of local government in the Commonwealth. The new programme will focus on local government pilot projects in LED, supporting ministries and local government associations in strengthening their national policy making for local government, and establish regional forums to enable local government to engage in and influence regional policy making to reflect the needs and priorities of local government. It will also boost CLGF’s research capacity with targeted research to strengthen CLGF’s policy making and advocacy, including more sustained engagement in international policy debates on key issues affecting local government, such as climate change.
What’s left, what’s been done and what next? England’s 2000 Rural White Paper: Town council activities and a survey of town clerks
Authors: Morris Gordon
Published: February 2015

The research discussed in this paper was prompted by the writer’s interest in the roles of England’s small country (“market”) towns. It has two aims: first, to discover the extent to which the work programmes announced in the British government’s Rural White Paper (RWP 2000) (DETR-MAFF 2000) are recognised by town clerks, and second, to find out what town councils are doing, either on their own, or with others, and to gauge the potential and desire that they have for a greater degree of autonomy. In both cases the data was gathered from an online questionnaire sent to town clerks.
Community-based participatory irrigation management at local government level in Ghana
Authors: Braimah I , King R S , Sulemana D M
Published: February 2015

Ghana has attempted to decentralise the management of irrigation schemes to communities at local government level. This study examines the existing local participatory management structures and the principles of the Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) strategy designed to promote sustainable management of irrigation schemes in Ghana. Two community-based irrigation projects, Bontanga and Golinga in the Northern Region of Ghana were selected for the research. The study demonstrated that farmers’ participation was minimal and limited to the discussion of irrigation service charges at the expense of other issues related to the sustainability of the projects/schemes. The study also established that there was less participation of women, and more than half of all the crop farmers on the two irrigation projects were reluctant to assume additional responsibilities without remuneration. The study therefore concluded that the sustainability of the PIM strategy depends on the adoption of an integrated management approach involving all stakeholders including local government, with appropriate incentives.
Local Government and Local Development: Bridging the Gap through Critical Discourse: Evidence from the Commonwealth Caribbean
Authors: Schoburgh Eris D
Published: February 2015

Local development, whether construed broadly as community development or more narrowly as local as economic development (LED) is not always associated with local government but rather is the purview of a central government department or agency in Anglophone Caribbean policy systems. However with the emergence of ‘local place - and people-oriented approaches’ to development that offer new propositions about how to respond to risks and opportunities brought by globalization, local government is seen increasingly as an appropriate institutional context in which to pursue short-range objectives, such as creation of market opportunities and redressing the disparities within national economies; as well as the long-range goal of social transformation. A developmental role for local government raises two questions that form the central concerns of this paper: What are the institutional and organisational imperatives of a developmental role for local government? To what extent have these imperatives been addressed in reform? A critical analysis of local government reform policies in Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica revealed substantive convergence around local development as an outcome of reform but also important divergence in the approach to achieving this goal which suggests the absence of a cohesive model. The paper argues for a new agenda in reform that links local government more consistently with a local development strategy. It asserts that such a strategy must incorporate gender equality, the informal economy and institutional organisational capacity in the process of transformation and as a basis for creating a local context in which all types of resources can be maximized in the process of wealth creation in a locality.
Governing Carbon Mitigation and Climate Change within Local Councils: A Case Study of Adelaide, South Australia
Authors: Zeppel Heather
Published: February 2015

There is growing concern about climate change impacts on local government areas. In Australia, the federal carbon tax (from 1 July 2012) will also increase costs for local councils. This paper evaluates what carbon mitigation (i.e. energy, water, and waste management) actions have been implemented by metropolitan Adelaide councils (n=14) and why (or why not). A survey of environmental officers profiled carbon mitigation actions, emissions auditing, and motives for emissions reduction by Adelaide councils. The main reasons for adopting carbon actions were a climate change plan, climate leadership, and cost savings. Internal council governance of climate change actions was also evaluated. A climate governance framework based on adaptive management, communication, and reflective practice (Nursey-Bray 2010) was applied to assess climate mitigation by Adelaide councils.
Regional Transition Groups and Regional Collaborative Groups - A Voluntary Approach to Structural Reform in Western Australi
Authors: Berry Chris
Published: February 2015

The Western Australian Minister for Local Government, the Hon John Castrilli MLA announced on 4 February 2009 strategies for local government reform based on a voluntary reduction in the number of individual councils.Western Australia has a professional and well managed local government sector that is characterised by diversity in size, revenue and remoteness. However, Western Australia is effectively the last state in Australia to experience major structural reform in the sector. Local government reform in WA is currently being implemented as a voluntary, industry led process.
Complete Issue (1.88MB)
Authors: Brown Alison
Published: February 2015

Complete Issue 10 December 2011 to June 2012 (1.88MB).
Local Government: How does it fit into the post 2015 MDG agenda?
Authors: Amis Phil
Published: February 2015

A complex process of global consultation is currently under way to discuss the shape of the MDGs Post 2015. The aim of this paper is to address the question of where Local Government (LG) should fit into this debate, as a modest contribution to the ongoing consultation process. The paper is structured as follows: the first section describes in more detail the global consultation process on the Post 2015 agenda; the second describes how Local Government relates to the current MDGs; the third section explores how some of the consultation documents see the role of LG before considering what the role of LG could be in the new agenda. The final section speculates on more radical roles for LG, in terms of what we should be asking for, and suggests new roles for LG in partnerships with other civil society organizations in poverty reduction.
Looking back, moving forward: Towards improving local governments' performance in Ghana
Authors: Zakaria Hamza Bukari
Published: February 2015

This paper, based on a desk study, adopts a path-dependent perspective to explore how local government authorities in Ghana have attempted to institutionalise performance management at the organisational level. It questions the existing performance diagnostic framework that is used to assess local government authorities by arguing that any attempt to consolidate the prevailing ‘performance assessment regime’ ought to re-examine previous government initiatives that had in-built mechanisms for assessing local government performance. The prevailing system, despite its attempt to empower local authorities further promotes central government manipulation of local government administration. The paper concludes that performance assessment of local governments in Ghana will remain ineffective until local government councils genuinely serve local communities and their citizens by achieving goals and objectives that are consistent with the needs and aspirations of the latter rather than relying on annual performance assessments designed to ignore the opinions of citizens.
Comparing local fiscal autonomy in the water and sanitation sectors of Johannesburg and Nairobi
Authors: Kithatu-Kiwekete Angelita
Published: February 2015

The rationale for local fiscal autonomy suggests that local expenditure and local revenue generation should remain in close proximity. This is achieved through fiscal decentralisation to local government, to ensure efficient provision of local services that align with local needs, and to improve accountability to residents. Fiscal decentralisation has found resonance in developing countries through local government reforms, but in Africa fiscal decentralisation has been focussed mainly on revenue sharing, except in a few cases where some local fiscal autonomy has been achieved. Urbanisation in Africa is likely to continue (UN-Habitat, 2008), necessitating an increase in municipal service delivery which African cities must finance − hence the need for local fiscal autonomy. Local fiscal autonomy is arguably contentious for African cities, partly because provision of municipal services must be tempered with considerations of equity and redistribution to the poorer urban populations, and because inadequate welfare nets from national government do not subsidise the gap in municipal revenue. In the recent past, Kenya and South Africa adopted local government reforms in different forms that has yielded different forms of local fiscal autonomy. The paper conducts a comparative of local fiscal autonomy in municipal services provision in Nairobi and Johannesburg.
BOOK REVIEW: Governing Cities in a Global Era: Urban Innovation, Competition and Democratic Reform (edited by Robin Hambleton and Jill Simone Gross)
Authors: McKinlay Peter
Published: February 2015

Robin Hambleton and Jill Simone Gross have assembled a collection of papers which powerfully supports their argument that “those concerned with the future of cities, whether as academics or practitioners, should devote more time to instrumental learning from abroad.” Contributions range widely from the influence of globalisation and urbanisation, to the importance of understanding the unique impact of our own context; from innovation in the leading ‘world cities’ of the developed world, to the seemingly intractable problems of cities in the developing world; from celebrating the importance of a shift from government to governance, to contributions highlighting the potential of governance to undermine local democracy; and from the role of leadership to the dangers of persistent managerialism.
BOOK REVIEW: DIY Community Action: Neighbourhood problems and community self-help (by Liz Richardson)
Authors: Wills Jenny
Published: February 2015

This book explores collaborative community engagement for local well-being initiatives, and is substantially based on the experiences and perspectives of activist groups in low-income neighbourhoods across the United Kingdom. It gives a voice to people in precarious communities and “helps to explain the strong desire that people feel to organize themselves at a level below that of official structures, no matter how low or lowly.”
Editorial
Authors: Sansom Graham
Published: February 2015

Editorial by Graham Sansom.
From Citizen Participation to Participatory Governance
Authors: Aulich Chris
Published: February 2015

This paper identifies types of citizen participation in local government in Australia, in particular focusing on the past two decades when local government systems have been the focus of intense reform. The paper considers the extent to which contemporary views of participatory governance have taken root at local and sub-local levels and concludes that despite reforms intended to engage local citizens more in local government activity, citizen participation has yet to develop significantly into arrangements that reach the level of participatory governance. It also argues that for participatory governance to be further developed, leadership may often have to come from organisations outside institutional local government.
Local Government Level Restorative Adjudication: An Alternative Model of Justice for Children in Bangladesh
Authors: Rahman Muhammad Mahbubur , Khan Borhan Uddin
Published: February 2015

Keeping the best interests of children in mind, this paper examines the prevailing restorative model of justice at local government level of Bangladesh and argues that this model, if adequately activated and reformed, can be a desirable alternative to the formal system of justice for children who come into contact or conflict with the law. In doing so, the paper outlines the historical development of local government adjudication mechanisms, analyzes the existing norms and procedure of such adjudication, outlines the potential of such adjudication bodies as viable alternatives to juvenile courts in protecting the best interests of children, sets out the shortcomings of the local government bodies and the challenges involved in capturing their potential, and finally suggests a number of ways in which the model could be improved.
A Human Rights Approach to Localising The MDGs Through Gender-Equitable Local Development
Authors: McGill Ron
Published: February 2015

Until now, the United Nations Capital Development Fund’s (UNCDF) Gender Equitable Local Development (GELD) programme has not been presented within an explicit human rights framework. This is strange given that the human rights based approach to development (HRBAD) aims to ensure that all human beings can live their lives fully and with dignity. HRBAD is fundamentally about the healthy and full development of individuals and communities. In addition, one of human rights’ central concerns is that people have equal access to the benefits of society. Initiatives to realize human rights therefore give priority to the most marginalized - the poorest - in a society. It is those individuals who have most difficulty in securing the basics that are essential to living their lives with dignity. Women in all communities are disproportionately represented among the poor. Thus, human rights have gender equity as a central focus. Put another way, we are dealing with the feminization of poverty. We are dealing with the concept of equal access (to development). In short, we are dealing with those who need (and deserve) greater priority in access to infrastructure and supporting services in order to reach a point of equality.
Decentralisation in India: Towards ‘Localism’ or ‘Regionalism’?
Authors: Gopinath Deepak
Published: February 2015

This paper offers a commentary on what decentralisation has come to mean in India, based on recent research conducted in Kerala, one of the southern states. In particular, the paper discusses the tensions between ‘regionalism’ and ‘localism’. It begins with a brief outline of how decentralisation is conceived within the broad literature. This is followed by a case study, where the shifts in forms of decentralisation adopted by the Kerala state government are examined. The paper concludes with key findings that underpin an understanding of decentralisation within the Indian context.
The Capacity and Institution Building (CIB) Working Group of United Cities and Local Governments: Towards Improving Aid Effectiveness in the Local Government Sector
Authors: Kehoe Tim
Published: February 2015

The United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) Capacity and Institution Building (CIB) Working Group gather together professional practitioners of local government associations (LGAs) and individual local governments active in international cooperation, with the overall objective to improve the quality, coordination and alignment of their development cooperation interventions.The Working Group is the successor of the CIB Platform, which existed for many years within the former International Union of Local Authorities (IULA) as an informal gathering of staff members of local government associations (LGAs) involved in the field of municipal international cooperation (MIC) and association capacity building (ACB). In addition to information exchange, the CIB Platform undertook specific initiatives such as a World Bank-funded program supporting ACB in several countries. In May 2004, the CIB was integrated into the structures of the newly-founded UCLG organisation, and its membership was expanded to also include staff members of international departments of cities active in international cooperation.
BOOK REVIEW: Improving Local Government
Authors: De Visser Jaap
Published: February 2015

This book is a compilation of ten essays on local government with an introductory and concluding chapter. The themes discussed include metropolitan governance, the role of community leadership, the value of best practice as an administration technique, indigenous knowledge, intergovernmental relations, public-private partnerships and local management.
Australian Infrastructure Financial Management Guidelines
Authors: Champion Chris
Published: February 2015

The Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia (IPWEA) has recently published the Australian Infrastructure Financial Management Guidelines. The Guidelines provide new assistance to link the technical (engineering) and financial aspects of managing infrastructure and services, and to assist infrastructure owners such as local government to develop sustainable long-term asset and financial management plans.Financial management for long-life infrastructure assets (such as roads, water, sewerage, and stormwater networks, and community buildings) is about ensuring sustainability in the provision of services required by the community. These new Guidelines offer advice for every organisation and individual with responsibility for the management of infrastructure assets. They assist in defining best practice approaches for:• Accounting for infrastructure• Depreciation, valuation, useful life, fair value• Managing financial sustainability• Integrating asset management planning and long term financial planning• Meeting requirements for financial reportingThe project was a joint initiative of IPWEA and the National Local Government Financial Management Forum. A steering committee representing national and state governments, technical and financial professionals, local government associations and auditors oversaw it.
Recent trends in Gender Mainstreaming and Poverty Alleviation: The Kudumbashree Initiative
Authors: Tiwari Nupur
Published: February 2015

Kudumbashree was officially launched in 1998 in the State of Kerala, India, with the objective of eradicating absolute poverty in 10 years through community action. It is a comprehensive women-based poverty eradication programme jointly initiated by Government of Kerala and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), scaled up from earlier UNICEF-assisted initiatives in Alappuzha Municipality and Malappuram district. The programme is implemented by community-based organizations (CBOs) of poor women in co-operation with local governments (Panchayats).Kudumbashree focuses on empowerment of women through its CBOs and activities such as service coordination, encouraging thrift and internal lending, and start-up of micro enterprises. There are success stories of enterprises such as catering and canteen services at bus stands and offices in several places across the state. Handling of solid waste in municipalities is another emerging area of activity.
Complete Issue: No.4 November 2009 (2.2MB)
Authors: Vo Anna
Published: February 2015

Complete issue of No. 4 November 2009 (2.2MB).
A Decade of improvement for local government
Authors: Rhodes Susan
Published: February 2015

The theme of this year’s Commonwealth Local Government Conference was Improving local government: the Commonwealth vision. This theme is fundamental to all of us working in and with local government, but particularly so in the current economic climate where councils are having to once again look at how they can tighten their purse strings while they are facing greater demands with less income - doing more with fewer resources.The conference was held in Freeport, Grand Bahama, hosted by the Government of the Bahamas and the councils of Grand Bahama at the Our Lucaya Conference Centre. More than 550 local government ministry, association and council representatives from 48 countries attended the conference. Previous conferences set out Aberdeen Agenda and Auckland Accord as to the kind of local government we want to strive to achieve: local democracy and good governance for effective services to respond to the needs of the local community and strong local leadership to drive development and support local communities. This conference builds on these previous outcomes, with speakers and delegates calling for local government to continue to improve as part of a broader process of development. Jamaican Minister Robert Montague summed up what is needed as a shift in attitude to include the public as important partners – a shift he called ‘business unusual’ to encompass improving service delivery, improving revenue streams, increasing community dialogue, finding new partners and leading from the front.
New Professionals on tap? The human resource challenges in developing a new generation of municipal and local government managers in Nova Scotia
Authors: Molloy Andrew , Johnson David
Published: February 2015

Canadian governments are facing significant human resource management challenges due to pending retirements, projected labour market shortages and the workplace expectations of New Professionals. This paper explores human resource recruitment planning initiatives, which have been undertaken by Nova Scotia municipalities, in order to attract and retain a new generation of municipal government managers. We will argue, in line with a recent Association of Municipal Administrators (AMA) of Nova Scotia municipal report that Nova Scotia municipalities must take intergenerational issues into account, for management succession planning to be successful. Our exploration of municipal succession planning will take place in the context of a larger study, which we have done on “New Professional” recruitment, retention and development initiatives in Canada
The Commonwealth Local Government Pacific Project: Seeking ‘most significant change’
Authors: Hassall Graham
Published: February 2015

The origins of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum’s Pacific Project date to a 1997 roundtable in Papua New Guinea. Substantial activity, however, commenced more recently in 2005 with the launch of a 5-year project to enhance the quality of local government in the small states of the Pacific Islands. The project was well-conceived and managed to establish strong ‘buy-in’ by major stakeholders and partners. A mid-term review was undertaken in 2008 and was generally positive. The project is now in the final stages of implementation of what it hoped will be only its first phase. In 2009-2010 its central task is to ensure that the ‘key results’ envisaged at the outset are achieved: donors are looking for evidence of real impact in participating countries; project administrators are refining management practices on the basis of the mid-term review (as well as the regular feedback they receive from participating countries); participating countries are being asked to realistically plan, and to better integrate project activities into their ongoing work-plans as evidence of both genuine development outcomes and future sustainability of lessons learned.