Savjetovanje s javnošću uobičajen je instrument uključivanja javnosti u procese oblikovanja javnih politika diljem demokratskih država, koje ih najčešće pravno reguliraju. U Republici Hrvatskoj ...savjetovanja s javnošću - osobito u svojoj elektroničkoj inačici (e-savjetovanja) - predstavljaju relativno nov način participacije javnosti u procesu regulacije, koji znanstveno još nije opsežnije istražen. U ovom se radu savjetovanja s javnošću analiziraju u dva aspekta. Prvo, ocjenjuje se adekvatnost hrvatskog pravnog okvira te se ocjenjuje njegova usklaðenost s meðunarodnim standardima, dok se u drugom dijelu prikazuju nalazi empirijskog istraživanja provedenog metodom kvantitativne analize sadržaja izvješća i drugih dokumenata e-savjetovanja koja su provele upravne organizacije u Hrvatskoj u razdoblju od 2016. do 2018. godine.
Uključivanje javnosti u proces izrade propisa vrlo je važno i aktualno pitanje upravne znanosti i prakse. Usprkos rastućem i sve rafiniranijem znanstvenom interesu za temu participacije, kompleksno ...pitanje njezine djelotvornosti još uvijek zaokuplja pažnju istraživača. Postojeća istraživanja prepoznaju potrebu za uvažavanjem perspektiva uključenih aktera u procesu participacije te ukazuju na postojanje različitih percepcija djelotvornosti participacije. Jedan od najčešće korištenih instrumenata upravne participacije su savjetovanja s javnošću. U Hrvatskoj su savjetovanja sa zainteresiranom javnošću (e-savjetovanja od 2013.) relativno nov instrument participacije javnosti u donošenju propisa i politika, koji nije šire analiziran. Svrha je ovog rada istražiti stavove dviju kategorija aktera uključenih u proces e-savjetovanja – upravnih službenika i zainteresirane javnosti (sudionika) – kako bi se odgovorilo na temeljno istraživačko pitanje o razlici u percepciji djelotvornosti e-savjetovanja. Nalazi istraživanja, prikupljeni metodama upitnika i intervjua, sugeriraju da se stavovi službenika i sudionika značajno razlikuju u ocjeni razine utjecaja javnosti i u detekciji glavnih problema provedbe e-savjetovanja, a umjereno u identificiranju ciljeva e-savjetovanja.
Citizens’ involvement in the regulatory process has become a very prominent issue in administrative science and practice. Despite growing and more refined interest in the topic, the complex issue of public participation effectiveness still preoccupies scholars. The existing research generally recognizes the desirability to recognize the perspectives of different actors involved in the participatory process. It also points at the existence of various actors’ perceptions with regard to participation effectiveness. Public consultations represent a common instrument of administrative participation. In Croatia, public consultations (e-consultations since 2013) represent a rather novel instrument for involving the public in the regulatory process, which has not undergone wide scientific analysis. The purpose of this paper is to explore the attitudes of two main categories of actors involved in e-consultations – civil servants and interested public (participants) – in order to answer the research question regarding the existence of different perceptions of e-consultations effectiveness. Research findings, obtained by means of questionnaires and interviews, suggest that civil servants’ and participants’ attitudes significantly differ in the evaluation of public influence as well as in the detection of the main problems related to e-consultations implementation, while the perceptions of the main purposes of e-consultations vary only moderately.
This article explores the concept of open election data, as a specific type of institutional open data. Transparency of electoral procedures, as the most fundamental democratic process, is crucial ...for the legitimacy of democratic political systems. By providing detailed information on electoral processes in open formats for the re-use of the general public, open election data provide an additional democratic dimension for contemporary democracies. The aim of this article is to assess the state of open election data comparatively and in Croatia. The analytical findings suggest that the availability of open election data in most of the countries included is rather limited in scope, with significant cross-national and within-country variations. Numerous countries make only election results, political party and candidate registration lists and polling station information available in open formats, while other types of election data cannot be accessed in machine-readable forms.
Citizens’ involvement in the regulatory process has become a very prominent issue in administrative science and practice. Despite growing and more refined interest in the topic, the complex issue of ...public participation effectiveness still preoccupies scholars. The existing research generally recognizes the desirability to recognize the perspectives of different actors involved in the participatory process. It also points at the existence of various actors’ perceptions with regard to participation effectiveness. Public consultations represent a common instrument of administrative participation. In Croatia, public consultations (e-consultations since 2013) represent a rather novel instrument for involving the public in the regulatory process, which has not undergone wide scientific analysis. The purpose of this paper is to explore the attitudes of two main categories of actors involved in e-consultations – civil servants and interested public (participants) – in order to answer the research question regarding the existence of different perceptions of e-consultations effectiveness. Research findings, obtained by means of questionnaires and interviews, suggest that civil servants’ and participants’ attitudes significantly differ in the evaluation of public influence as well as in the detection of the main problems related to e-consultations implementation, while the perceptions of the main purposes of e-consultations vary only moderately.
Participation has been a relevant issue in public administration research and theory for several decades, especially in old democracies. However, recent processes of globalization, Europeanization ...and digitalisation, coupled with diminishing citizens’ trust in public institutions, have again made the concept of public participation topical. The aim of this paper is to provide a theoretical reflection on the concept and substance of participation in public administration and on research efforts. In order to do so, administrative participation is first defined and distinguished from other types of participation in modern democracies (political and civil participation). Participation in public administration encompasses the processes through which the public is directly involved in regulative and implementation functions of administrative organizations, as well as in the oversight of their functioning. The three main categories of participation in public administration are elaborated – regulative, implementing and oversight participation – together with some apparent forms (instruments) within each category. The main principles upon which administrative participation is based are also explained – transparency, openness, responsiveness and trust. The final part of the paper contains an overview of the existing research and evaluation of participation in public administration. The twofold value of participation – intrinsic and instrumental – is explained, its potential benefits and shortcomings are listed, and a distinction between the process and outcome dimension of participation is elaborated. Although the literature has become rather extensive and refined, one can conclude that unambiguous findings on the practical effects of participation are still deficient, especially with regard to its dependence on different contextual – especially organizational – variables. Therefore, some conceptual and methodological observations for further research are formulated.
Public participation in the formulation of fiscal policy is particularly salient, since public finances is a topic relevant for the public in general, although it requires certain level of knowledge ...about fiscal matters. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the level and the type of public interest in the area of fiscal policy, and to assess the influence of the interested public on the regulation of fiscal policy. In order to do so, authors analyze the implementation of electronic public consultations (e-consultations) in Croatia conducted by the Ministry of Finance in a three-year period. Research findings suggest that even though the level of participation in fiscal policy area does not significantly derogate from the average of e-consultations at the state level, public interest appears to be quite well organized and informed, which positively affects the level of administrative responsiveness in this policy area.
Društvena okolina koja obuhvaća građane u širem smislu vrlo je heterogeno i dinamično područje okoline upravne organizacije. Njezino je značenje za funkcioniranje upravnih organizacija u stalnom ...porastu jer je suvremena javna uprava izložena sve snažnijim zahtjevima za uvažavanje mišljenja građana. Ovaj se rad bavi analiziranjem društvene okoline upravnih organizacija u Hrvatskoj na temelju analize obilježja sudionika e-savjetovanja kao neposredno zainteresiranih građana za sudjelovanje u izradi propisa i politika. Obilježja sudionika koja se analiziraju obuhvaćaju njihov broj, strukturu (vrsta sudionika) i vrstu komentara koje upućuju, a pokazatelji su intenziteta, stupnja organiziranosti i stupnja kompetentnosti relevantne društvene okoline upravnih organizacija. Empirijski su podaci prikupljeni metodom kvantitativne analize sadržaja izvješća o provedenim e-savjetovanjima od 2016. do 2018. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju kako obilježja društvene okoline ovise o organizacijskim faktorima – razini političko-upravnog sustava na kojoj djeluje organizacija te njezinoj vrsti i funkciji. Osim toga, pokazuje se povezanost između samih obilježja društvene okoline – organiziranosti i kompetentnosti.
Coordination in public administration is one of the most important practical problems of public management, making it a very prominent issue for research. In the contemporary world, demands for ...coordination have increased, primarily due to the accumulative outcomes of reforms that have been present in public administration since 1980. This caused a fragmentation of public administration, which created obstacles to coherent formulation and implementation of policies and an absence of effective control mechanisms from the political center. Therefore, a re-affirmation of structural and functional tools for the accomplishment of a primarily hierarchical type of coordination has been noticed recently. This article presents tendencies that argue in favor of re-bureaucratization as a potential new administrative doctrine which presupposes hierarchy as a key mechanism for the accomplishment of coordination goals, and implies strengthening of directional capacities of the political center and firmer control over various aspects of the policy process. The authors aim to confirm this argument in the comparative part of the article, which provides a comparative analysis of four countries: Great Britain, France, Sweden and Croatia, and which shows the method for accomplishment of coordination from the center of executive power with reliance on the dominantly hierarchical type of coordination instruments.
Coordination in public administration is one of the most important practical problems of public management, making it a very prominent issue for research. In the contemporary world, demands for ...coordination have increased, primarily due to the accumulative outcomes of reforms that have been present in public administration since 1980. This caused a fragmentation of public administration, which created obstacles to coherent formulation and implementation of policies and an absence of effective control mechanisms from the political center. Therefore, a re-affirmation of structural and functional tools for the accomplishment of a primarily hierarchical type of coordination has been noticed recently. This article presents tendencies that argue in favor of re-bureaucratization as a potential new administrative doctrine which presupposes hierarchy as a key mechanism for the accomplishment of coordination goals, and implies strengthening of directional capacities of the political center and firmer control over various aspects of the policy process. The authors aim to confirm this argument in the comparative part of the article, which provides a comparative analysis of four countries: Great Britain, France, Sweden and Croatia, and which shows the method for accomplishment of coordination from the center of executive power with reliance on the dominantly hierarchical type of coordination instruments.
Otvorenost javne uprave, koja uključuje njenu vidljivost i dostupnost građanima, ali i mogućnost sudjelovanja građana u donošenju odluka, formuliranju politika i propisa, jedno je od temeljnih načela ...europskoga upravnog prostora. Europska unija prepoznaje otvorenost kao jedno od temeljnih načela funkcioniranja institucija na europskoj razini te potiče zemlje članice i kandidatkinje na usvajanje i ostvarivanje otvorenosti u upravnoj praksi, uglavnom putem mehanizama mekog prava. U Hrvatskoj su procesi europeizacije započeli početkom 2000-ih, a u sklopu brojnih prilagodbi javne uprave, došlo je do napretka u ostvarivanju transparentnosti i otvorenosti javne uprave, posebno u završnim fazama procesa pristupanja u članstvo Europske unije. Pitanje otvorenosti javne uprave prepoznato je kao važan preventivni mehanizam unutar antikorupcijske politike, zbog čega je postalo dijelom europske politike kondicionalnosti. Premda su mehanizmi za ostvarivanje otvorenosti brojni, jedan od najčešćih su javne konzultacije ili savjetovanje sa zainteresiranom javnošću. Provođenje javnih konzultacija predmet je regulacije na europskoj razini. Praksa Europskog suda, preporuke Europske komisije i naglašavanje suradnje i razmjene dobre prakse, bez nametanja konkretnih obvezujućih pravila, upućuje na područje tzv. horizontalne europeizacije i dominaciju mekog prava. U Hrvatskoj je provođenje savjetovanja sa zainteresiranom javnošću regulirano prvenstveno Zakonom o pravu na pristup informacijama (NN 85/15) te drugim zakonima i propisima. U normativnom pogledu, napredak je ostvaren 2009. donošenjem Kodeksa savjetovanja sa zainteresiranom javnošću u postupcima donošenja zakona, drugih propisa i akata. U pogledu implementacije, međutim, napretka nije bilo sve do izmjena Zakona o pravu na pristup informacijama 2013. i ustanovljavanja institucionalnog mehanizma za provođenje zakonskih odredbi. Usprkos tome, provedbu savjetovanja obilježavaju brojne manjkavosti, posebice na lokalnoj i regionalnoj razini, te u slučaju širokog spektra zakonom definiranih tijela javne vlasti.