TY - JOUR A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine A1 - Heuberger, Moritz T1 - Digital transformation going local BT - implementation, impacts and constraints from a German perspective JF - Public money & management N2 - Digital government constitutes the most important trend of post-NPM reforms at the local level. Based on the results of a research project on local one-stop shops, this article analyses the current state of digitalization in German local authorities. The authors explain the hurdles of implementation as well as the impact on staff members and citizens, providing explanations and revealing general interrelations between institutional changes, impacts, and context factors of digital transformation. KW - administrative reforms KW - digital transformation KW - e-government KW - Germany KW - local government Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/09540962.2021.1939584 SN - 0954-0962 SN - 1467-9302 VL - 43 IS - 2 SP - 147 EP - 155 PB - Taylor & Francis CY - Abingdon ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Bogumil, Jörg A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine ED - Ladner, Andreas ED - Sager, Fritz T1 - The politics of administrative reforms T2 - Handbook on the politics of public administration N2 - Administrative reforms refer to conscious decisions about institution building and institutional change that are taken at the end of political processes and can be conceived as the attempt by politico-administrative actors to change the institutional order (polity) within which they make and implement decisions. In this paper we proceed from the assumption that the role of politics, the constellation of political actors and arenas vary according to the scope and objectives of administrative reforms. Depending on whether they refer to changes between organizational units/levels/sectors ('external institutional policy') or to an internal reorganization ('internal institutional policy'), different actor strategies, patterns of conflict and power constellations can be expected. As external administrative reforms are aimed at changing functional and/or territorial jurisdictions and thus always involve external actors, larger resistance, heavier political conflicts and generally more politicization are likely to occur than in the case of internal administrative reforms. Yet, for internal reforms, too, actor coalitions which support or block institutional changes, promotors, leaders, and moderators have revealed to shape processes and outcomes. Against this background, this chapter examines the influence of politics on various types of administrative reforms making a distinction between external and internal institutional policies. We analyse the role of politico-administrative actors, their strategies and influence on the formulation, trajectories and outcomes of administrative reforms. Our major focus will be on reforms in the multi-level system on the one hand and on (Post-) NPM reforms on the other as two major international trends. Drawing on reform experiences in different European countries, the chapter will reveal to what extent actors' interests and influences have triggered and shaped administrative reforms and which difference these have made for the reform outcome. KW - administrative reforms KW - institutional policy KW - actor constellations KW - micro-politics KW - managerial reforms KW - territorial reforms Y1 - 2022 SN - 978-1-83910-943-0 SN - 978-1-83910-944-7 U6 - https://doi.org/10.4337/9781839109447.00018 SP - 125 EP - 137 PB - Edward Elgar Publishing CY - Cheltenham, UK ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ebinger, Falk A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine A1 - Bogumil, Jörg T1 - Territorial reforms in Europe BT - effects on administrative performance and democratic participation JF - Local government studies N2 - Territorial reform is the most radical and contested reorganisation of local government. A sound evaluation of the outcome of such reforms is hence an important step to ensure the legitimation of any decision on the subject. However, in our view the discourse on the subject appears to be one sided, focusing primarily on overall fiscal effects scrutinised by economists. The contribution of this paper is hence threefold: Firstly, we provide an overview off territorial reforms in Europe, with a special focus on Eastern Germany as a promising case for cross-country comparisons. Secondly, we provide an overview of the analytical classifications of these reforms and context factors to be considered in their evaluation. And thirdly, we analyse the literature on qualitative performance effects of these reforms. The results show that territorial reforms have a significant positive impact on functional performance, while the effects on participation and integration are indeed ambivalent. In doing so, we provide substantial arguments for a broader, more inclusive discussion on the success of territorial reforms. KW - Municipal amalgamation effects KW - territorial reform KW - municipal mergers KW - local government performance KW - administrative reforms Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2018.1530660 SN - 0300-3930 SN - 1743-9388 VL - 45 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 23 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER -