Original scientific paper
Regional Policy-Making in Finland: Governance of Networks or Just Top-Down Steering
Pekka Kettunen
; University of Tampere, Finland
Abstract
The article analyses regional policy-making in Finland. More precisely the aim is to analyse the characteristics of a specific regional organisation, the Regional Management Committee (RMC). The organisation is a tri-party cooperative discussion arena and resembles a network. The article thus begins with an overview of the governance network theory. This section of the paper closes with
discussing three specific features which are argued to be shared by governance networks: autonomy, significance and informal internal relationships. The empirical analysis thereafter discusses the characteristics of the RMC, with the help of a survey. The results of the analysis are the following: the RMC was found to have some characteristics of networks, but it did not fully correspond to the definition of governance networks. It seems that the RMC, though a network, suffers from the uneven distribution of power, this applies particularly to the social and economic partners. Thus, if the RMC is supposed to be a forum for open, interactive debate, the anagement of it should more clearly emphasize the network characteristics and aim at guaranteeing an open debate.
Keywords
governance networks; regional policy; autonomy; partnership
Hrčak ID:
135529
URI
Publication date:
2.3.2009.
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