Jurmus's study focuses on two reform processes that have already been implemented. These processes are Oulu municipal consolidation and the Kempele select committee model. The study also examines what kind of expertise reforming municipalities need, and how the utilisation of the experiential knowledge of municipal citizens is understood in municipal reform processes.
The research approach is qualitative, and the research material comprises individual and group interviews of Kempele and Oulu municipal and elected officials as well as written materials related to reform processes. The philosophy of science underlying this study is constructivism and, using hermeneutical methods, the aim of the study is to understand and interpret municipal reform through the experiences and conceptions of individuals.
The research shows that reviewing the knowledge and expertise utilised in municipalities will increase understanding of the ability of municipalities to renew their operations. In already implemented reform processes, the consolidation of networks, partnerships, and various skills were identified as important, but, in many instances, the reform work was conducted utilising the knowledge and expertise of officials and politicians holding key positions. In addition to existing knowledge, the collective knowledge and expertise arising from the joint work of officials and politicians was utilised. The utilisation of expertise arising from outside the municipal organisation varied both in quantity and form in various phases of reform and was typically coincidental.
Examination of the expertise needs for expertise in reforming municipalities shows that expertise is changing. Among the skills of experts, the following were emphasised: utilisation of information, communication and interaction, networking, comprehensive understanding of matters, and the management of change. The sectors of expertise are related to the increased importance of cooperation between various actors and networks, i.e., to the sectors also emphasised in New Public Governance.
In expert network, information processing is essential. Experts must be able to find essential pieces from a great mass of information, and apply them within their own context. What manifests as important to experts is the skill of summing up essential information and presenting it to others in an understandable form. This study shows that communication and interaction are the core skills of experts who work in various roles in reforming municipalities. If emphasised, these skills are also related to increased significance of interaction within the local community.
Interaction between various actors in the municipal community is regarded as important. However, cooperation is still partly based on administration. This study shows that many different challenges can still be found in the utilisation of experiential knowledge of possessed by citizens. Utilisation of experiential knowledge is affected by whether the municipal officials are prepared to utilise the knowledge of expertise of various actors, who are the people whose expertise is valued, and what kind of knowledge is considered valid. Leading political and elected officials have varied opinions on the utilisation of experiential knowledge of citizens.
In municipalities, expertise is built through cooperation, and what appears important is the enabling of merging of various forms of expertise. The creation of collective expertise is affected by the structures of municipal organisation, which may further or prevent the shared processes of creating knowledge. However, what seems to be more essential than structures is the municipal operating culture. It seems that municipal reform has mainly focused on structures and processes rather than on operating culture.
In terms of municipal reform, important individuals are those who reflect on communal operations as well as their own actions. Based on this, they endeavour to change visible and invisible institutions, i.e., the structures and operating models affecting human activities, in order to promote reform.
Jurmu's study shows that the transition to operations consonant with New Public Governance is not as advanced in municipalities as theoretical considerations, to some extent, suggest. New operations based on partnerships and networks seem to be developing partly on top of old structures. This can be indentified as a consequence of the existence of institutions and operating culture typical of traditional administration.
The doctoral dissertation of M. Adm. Sc., M. Soc. Sc. Liisa Jurmu in the field of regional studies titled Millaisella asiantuntijuudella tulevaisuuden kunta rakennetaan? will be publicly examined at the Faculty of Management and Business of Tampere University at 12 o'clock on Saturday 5 June, 2021. Assistant Professor Pia Bäcklund from the University of Helsinki will be the opponent while Professor Markku Sotarauta will act as the custos.
The event can be followed via remote connection
The dissertation is available online at
http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-03-1916-8