New Governance for Rural America
Creating Intergovernmental Partnerships
Beryl A. Radin, Robert Agranoff, Ann O'M. Bowman, C. Gregory
Buntz, J. Steven Ott, Barbara S. Romzek, Robert H. Wilson
240 pages, 6 x 9
Cloth ISBN 978-0-7006-0770-9, $29.95
Paper ISBN 978-0-7006-0771-6, $17.95
Throughout the 1990s public demand
for a fundamental shift in the relationship between government
and its citizens has intensified. In response, a "new governance"
model has emerged, emphasizing decreased federal control in favor
of intergovernmental collaboration and increased involvement
of state, local, and private agencies.
As the authors of this volume show, one of the best examples
of "new governance" can be found in the National and
State Rural Development Councils (NRDC and SRDC), created in
1990 as the result of President Bush's Rural Development Initiative
and now called the Rural Development Partnership. This effort
was part of a move within policymaking circles to redefine a
rural America that was no longer synonymous with family farming
and that required innovative new solutions for economic revival.
By 1994 twenty-nine states had created and ten other states were
in the process of forming such councils.
In this first detailed analysis of the NRDC and SRDCs, the
authors examine the successes and failures of the original eight
councils in Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Oregon, South Carolina,
South Dakota, Texas, and Washington; as well as eight other councils
subsequently created in Iowa, New Mexico, North Carolina, Vermont,
New York, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.
Combining empirical analysis with current theories about networks
and inter-organizational relations, this volume should appeal
to academics and practitioners interested in rural development
policy, public administration, public policy and management,
and intergovernmental relations.
"This is an excellent addition to our understanding of
rural development and intergovernmental management. Its solid
scholarship, enlightened conceptual framework, and clear writing
style make it a welcome addition to the field of public policy
and administration."--B. J. Reed, University of Nebraska
at Omaha
"This book provides insights to the tools that are essential
in implementing 'new governance' partnerships. For anyone interested
in these partnerships, this is a book you must read, study,
and use!"--W. Robert Lovan, Director, National Rural
Development Partnership
BERYL A. RADIN is professor of Public Administration
and Policy in the Graduate School of Public Affairs at Rockefeller
College of the State University of New York at Albany.
ROBERT AGRANOFF is professor of public administration
in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana
University.
ANN BOWMAN is professor of government and international
studies at the University of South Carolina.
C. GREGORY BUNTZ is executive director of the Iowa
Peace Institute in Grinnell, Iowa.
J. STEVEN OTT is associate professor of political science
at the University of Utah, where he is also director of public
administration education in the Center for Public Policy and
Administration.
BARBARA S. ROMZEK is professor of public administration
in the Department of Public Administration at the University
of Kansas.
ROBERT H. WILSON is director of the Urban Issues Program
and Mike Hogg Professor of Urban Policy in the Lyndon B. Johnson
School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.
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