Municipal partnerships and learning – Investigating a largely unexplored relationship

Devers-Kanoglu, Ulrike

doi:10.1016/j.habitatint.2008.10.019

Cited by 15 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…During the 1990s, municipal co‐operation was primarily considered relevant for awareness‐raising and ‘development education’ of the general public (cf. Devers‐Kanoglu 2009). Local level partnerships were seen as sites to create and foster public support for development co‐operation.…”

Section: Changing Government Views To Dutch North‐south Municipal Co‐mentioning

confidence: 99%

City Networking With the ‘Global South’: Dutch Policy and Practice

Bontenbal¹

2010

Tijd voor Econ & Soc Geog

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Whereas the global networking of cities is commonly understood from a fiscal‐economical and technological perspective explaining world economy and globalisation structures, this paper discusses another viewpoint of city networking in which the exchange of knowledge on urban management and policy‐making is examined. It reviews the policy context and practice of Dutch cities in North‐South city networking and their role in international development co‐operation through the sharing of municipal knowledge and expertise with partner cities in developing countries. Against the background of shifts in development thinking leading to increased acknowledgement of the role of cities in development co‐operation, past and current policies at the national as well as the municipal level are considered that shape the framework for Dutch city networking with the ‘global South’.

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Section: Changing Government Views To Dutch North‐south Municipal Co‐mentioning

confidence: 99%

City Networking With the ‘Global South’: Dutch Policy and Practice

Bontenbal¹

2010

Tijd voor Econ & Soc Geog

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“…In the C2C discourse, various references have been made to the benefits (of learning and beyond) that may accrue to Southern as well as Northern cities and their participants of partnership activities. A shared sense of learning has been considered one of the key guiding principles of municipal partnerships (Devers‐Kanoglu, ). However, a difference in benefits has also been observed, with ‘solid’ or ‘tangible’ benefits in the South (technical knowledge and financial resources) versus ‘soft’ benefits in the North: awareness raising and education in the sphere of development and global citizenship, not only for local government participants but also for the local community at large (Rademaker and Van der Veer, ; UNDP, ; Hewitt, ; van Lindert, ).…”

Section: Learning Practices In North–south Partnerships: Difference mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Peer‐to‐peer exchanges facilitate interaction with the ‘other’—who operates in different social, political, economical and cultural contexts, speaks a different language and has different attitudes and values. The ‘other’ may provide a mirror that allows for critical reflection of one‐self and one's own working conditions, work ethic and outlook on life (Wulf, 2001, quoted in Devers‐Kanoglu, ). The process of alienation that emerges from North–south encounters can be beneficial in this respect, for example, for personal development.…”

Section: Learning Practices In North–south Partnerships: Difference mentioning

confidence: 99%

Differences in Learning Practices and Values in North–south City Partnerships: Towards a Broader Understanding of Mutuality

Bontenbal

2012

Public Admin & Development

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SUMMARY This article addresses twinning between local governments in North and South, contributing to the past decade's discourse on institutional twinning in this journal. Local governments have increasingly become recognised as relevant actors in international development cooperation through city‐to‐city cooperation structures, which have been praised as an effective mechanism for local government capacity building. This article discusses the learning practices and the extent to which new knowledge is valued and adopted by twinning participants in both North and South and moreover whether learning benefits are mutual. In a study of three partnerships between Dutch municipalities and partner cities in Peru, South Africa and Nicaragua, 36 participants were interviewed. The findings reveal that learning in city‐to‐city partnerships is not mutual between North and South and that the benefits of ‘shared learning’—a rhetoric commonly used in the twinning discourse—are limited. Instead, other opportunities for mutuality arise for Northern municipalities from political and strategic benefits, such as staff loyalty and motivation. Mutuality in twinning hence deserves a broader interpretation than learning alone so that twinning benefits can be identified and maximised for both North and South, keeping cities interested and motivated. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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“…While most scientists have mainly focused on strengthening local governance in the Global South through city‐to‐city partnerships (Hewitt 1999; Tjandradewi et al . 2006; Bontenbal 2009; Van Lindert 2009), others have explicitly analysed knowledge exchange and (mutual) learning on local governance through municipal partnerships (Johnson & Wilson 2006, 2009a, 2009b; Devers‐Kanoglu 2009, Van Ewijk & Baud 2009). Of particular interest for this paper are the concepts of ‘learning’ and ‘mutuality’ in city‐to‐city partnerships.…”

Section: Mutual Learning In City‐to‐city Partnershipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mutual Learning in Dutch‐moroccan and Dutch‐turkish Municipal Partnerships

Ewijk¹

2012

Tijd voor Econ & Soc Geog

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This paper focuses on mutual learning (learning by both involved parties) in Dutch‐Moroccan and Dutch‐Turkish municipal partnerships. This is particularly relevant as strengthening local governance is high on the agenda of both migrant source and destination countries and the body of knowledge on mutual learning in municipal partnerships is limited. After describing the national and local policy context, the paper presents an analysis of knowledge exchanges and learning at the level of local government and other society actors in the Netherlands, Turkey and Morocco. The results show that involved actors in the three countries learned in different ways within these partnerships. The international exchanges also helped strengthening connections between local government and non‐governmental actors in the involved countries. The potential for mutual learning was however not fully utilised due to the absence of clear learning strategies, existing language barriers and the lack of strategic involvement of other actors.

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Municipal partnerships and learning – Investigating a largely unexplored relationship

Cited by 15 publications

References 18 publications

City Networking With the ‘Global South’: Dutch Policy and Practice

City Networking With the ‘Global South’: Dutch Policy and Practice

Differences in Learning Practices and Values in North–south City Partnerships: Towards a Broader Understanding of Mutuality

Mutual Learning in Dutch‐moroccan and Dutch‐turkish Municipal Partnerships

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