Public value under pressure

Headlines from ten years of audit reports

City of Rotterdam | 2019

The Audit Office has investigated the substantive similarities (‘common themes’) found in the conclusions of 42 reports it published on the municipality of Rotterdam between 2009 and 2019.

Administrative overconfidence and excessive regulation

The council is repeatedly overconfident in its plans and consequently takes on too many (financial) risks. Furthermore, the council often relies too heavily on rules and procedures, paying too little attention to practical implementation issues and residents’ everyday lives. These and other conclusions are set out in the Audit Office’s report ‘Public value under pressure’, a summary of dozens of investigations carried out by the Rotterdam Audit Office in the municipality of Rotterdam since 2009.

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Het gezag van de gemeentesecretaris

Een ambachtelijke uitdaging

Corné van der Meulen, Thijs Jansen en Niels Karsten | 2019, Stichting Beroepseer en VGS

“Waarom luisteren mensen naar je als gemeentesecretaris? Het lijkt een logische vraag, maar het antwoord is niet zomaar gegeven. De tijd dat je als secretaris, met een rood potlood in de hand kon wachten tot de collegestukken bij je werden aangeboden is lang voorbij – als die ooit al echt bestaan heeft.

Natuurlijk brengt de hiërarchische positie in de organisatie gezag met zich mee. Toch blijkt ook telkens dat er meer nodig is. Dat zien we in dit onderzoek bevestigd. De discussie over gezag, waarom nemen mensen je serieus, hoe krijg je positie in complexe organisaties, wordt steeds relevanter. Nu steeds meer taken in samenwerkingsverbanden worden uitgevoerd, we regionaal beleid maken en gezamenlijk met zorgpartners en woningbouwcorporaties optrekken, sta je als secretaris niet meer bovenaan, maar midden in het speelveld. Dat maakt ons werk veel leuker, maar ook uitdagender.

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Cracks appearing in financial relations

On investment and solvency

Jack Kruf en Caspar Boendermaker | juni 2019

In April 2019, in consultation with BNG Bank, the annual PRIMO/UDITE meeting of the ‘From Global to Local’ think tank took place. Around 15 public-sector leaders met with BNG Bank to discuss the challenges facing local authorities.

The cracks in the local authority’s financial system are clearly visible.

The recently published Global Risks Report 2019 by the World Economic Forum and a presentation by the City of Delft revealed cracks in the financial situation. Is the financial resilience of the city and region at risk?

Transitions require investment, whilst the council’s solvency is under pressure.

The City of Delft presented its ambitious long-term investment strategy. Investments totaling at least 1.4 billion euros are planned through 2040, of which the council will have to cover approximately 25%.

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Resilient Cities Catalyst

Resilient Cities Catalyst | 2019

In partnership with a community of urban resilience actors, RCC leverages experience and a pioneering ecosystem of partners and practitioners to apply lessons, insights, and resources to advance this critical work. RCC works with cities to build the local capacities and partnerships needed to understand, prioritise and concretely address each city’s risk and chronic stress as it pursues strategic goals or recovers from a crisis.

Urban Practitioners

RCC is a network of urban practitioners with deep experience in municipal government service design and delivery, public and private funding and financing, and philanthropic partnership development.

“Our resilience approach rests on three pillars – integrated assessment, planning and action, inclusive governance, and a forward-looking risk-based methodology.”

RCC’s resilience approach rests on three pillars – integrated assessment, planning and action, inclusive governance, and a forward-looking risk-based methodology – that build lasting capacity to address the deep-rooted problems that often impede progress at the project, neighbourhood, city and regional scales.

Their professional experiences cover a breadth of technical domains, from economic development to affordable housing to climate change adaptation to urban mobility and beyond. We know the way cities budget, the way cities plan and procure, and how cities operate.

Resilience Experts

RCC is a network of resilience experts who are pioneers in the urban resilience movement. They have collectively partnered with more than 100 cities worldwide to catalyse and support their resilience-building journeys to deliver impact for their communities.

Strategic Conveners

RCC is a group of strategic conveners who understand the importance of bringing uncommon partners and practitioners together. They have built action-oriented communities of practice and networks of diverse actors centred on complex challenges like urban migration, natural infrastructure, seismic resilience, and more.

Gemeentelijk risicomanagement: een empirisch onderzoek

Peter B. Boorsma, Geert A.M. Haisma en Yvonne Moolenaar1 | 2003

Op grond van het Besluit Begroting en Verantwoording provincies en gemeenten van 17 januari 2003 (BBV – dit besluit vervangt vanaf begrotingsjaar 2004 het Besluit comptabiliteitsvoorschriften 1995 (CV95)) zijn gemeenten verplicht om een risicoparagraaf op te stellen en op basis daarvan hun weerstandsvermogen te berekenen. Tevens dienen gemeenten2 aan te geven welk beleid zij voeren ten aanzien van risico’s en het managen ervan. Dat klinkt fraai, maar uit de praktijk blijkt dat veel gemeenten worstelen met de uitvoering van deze verplichtingen. En ook de provinciale toezichthouder heeft haar controlerende taak vaak niet duidelijk omschreven. Lees verder →