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This study investigates the effectiveness of monitoring and evaluation systems for housing service delivery in local authorities in the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe has been experiencing poor housing service delivery and the Midlands province is characterized by housing backlog, poor quality housing projects, lack of housing finance, lack of technical capacity, and no new partnerships. Despite the Government of Zimbabwe introducing monitoring and evaluation tools in all public institutions to achieve good governance and effective housing service delivery, this did not fully address the housing problems experienced in the province. The research utilized the mixed-methods approach with a case study research design using urban and rural local authorities in the Midlands Province. The article recommended that the three tiers of government should work collaboratively with the aid of a monitoring and evaluation system to solve housing delivery problems. This study is critical for local government housing delivery performance management.

Intro -- The Federal Government & Urban Housing -- Contents -- ILLUSTR ATIONS -- Introduction to the Third Edition -- 1. Power, Ideology, and Public Policy -- 2. The Ideological Framework for Housing Policy -- 3. Housing and Human Needs -- 4. Federal Housing Assistance from the Depression to the Moratorium:1934-1973 -- 5. New Directions in Housing Assistance:1973-1980 -- 6. The Federal Role in Community Development -- 7. Retrenchment and Recovery: Reagan and George H. W. Bush -- 8. Stagnation and P rogress:The Clinton Era -- 9. Housing in the Twenty-first Century -- R eferences -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Z.

Data are the fuel that powers government agencies as well as private sector organizations. The proliferation of data over the past few decades has dramatically increased in volume, earning the designation Big Data. Government agencies can use the latest technology to harness the power of Big Data to enhance their performance, better serve the citizens of the US, and stay within their budgets. In 2012, the White House published a document outlining a four layer 'conceptual model' for a digital structure through which data can be amassed, organized, and presented to consumers. The model designates these layers as information-centric and customer-centric, with approaches that utilize shared platforms and provide users with the assurance of security and privacy. These elements are further explained in this article, along with examples of how the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are using the digital strategy model to organize and present Big Data to consumers. Adapted from the source document.

In the quest to find solutions to the ever increasing housing shortages in Nigerian cities, developers, especially the low-income groups, embark on housing construction which in the eye of the government housing agency circumvent compliance to housing standards and are therefore illegal. This research evaluates factors affecting the implementation and compliance with housing standards for sustainable housing delivery in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The methodology employed was a qualitative research approach involving indepth interviews, physical observations and detailed, systematic and thorough review of literatures on the subject matter from published works of renowned authors. In addition, 20 housing units were selected using purposive sampling technique for detailed study; while respondents of 20 selected housing units used were also interviewed including housing professionals and personnel of housing agencies in the state using both random and expert sampling techniques. From these responses, other factors peculiar to Bayelsa State were outlined. Data collected were analyzed using content analysis. Findings listed factors such as administrative practices, uncertainty of standards, socioeconomic, demographic and socio-cultural factors. Recommendation is that these factors should be considered in developing housing standards for a given area and making the standards flexible in order to make compliance practicable and enforceable.

The aim of this study is to identify problem associated with urban land acquisition for sustainable housing delivery in Akure with a view of arriving at means of mitigating them. The three principal survey techniques used include administration of questionnaire, interviews and observations. The choice of these survey techniques was to enable the collection of both qualitative and quantitative data for the study. The research samples used were drawn from both government and private owned estates in Akure. The study focuses on Ijapo Housing Estate, Obele Housing Estate and Afunbiowo Housing Estate. Using systematic random sampling, a sample size of 252 was taken which represent 5% of the total housing units in the selected estates. Although, 231 were retrieved in usable form which represent 91.7% of the 252 questionnaire distributed. Evidences from the study revealed that adequate supply of land is generally recognized as a prerequisite for sustainable housing delivery. It was also revealed that access to land for housing development in Akure is becoming highly problematic due to rapid population growth and informal land delivery system. The study therefore suggested that indigenous land owner's syndrome should be looked into and takes appropriate legal actions against it. Government should periodically carry out public orientation and enlightenment on public land acquisition matters which will easy the tight procedure for individuals so as to sustain efficient housing delivery in Nigeria.

Selected developments in government and administration in the year 2000 are reviewed. The focus is in turn on the centre of government, the Treasury's relations with departments, the scrutiny of the executive by Parliament and its auditors, the civil service, the devolution of service delivery and the National Health Service. The review reveals the underlying and intractable problems the government is facing in implementing policy and delivering public services. (Parliamentary Affairs / FUB)

PurposeThis paper aims to formulate an Austrian model of the governmental process and to apply the theory of human agency to discuss the problems in transforming government into a digital organization.Design/methodology/approachThe paper applies the Schutzian theory of human agency to analyse public agents' behaviour and the decision‐making process involved in adopting information technology (IT) in the public sector. The study incorporates cognitive elements such as opportunity discovery, learning, experimentation, trial and error, and revision of plans to understand problems in adopting new technology in government.FindingsFrom an Austrian perspective, the government is viewed as an institution for coordinating economic affairs. Advances in IT will facilitate the coordination. However, public agents will face structural uncertainty when they consider adopting new technology. During the process of making an adoption decision, public officials perceive new incoming events and formulate plans according to their experience and knowledge. The subjective interpretation of a problematic situation by public officials yields provisional judgements to be confirmed by subsequent experience. With new information and experience, they subsequently revise their plans in order to eliminate errors. A new problem situation requires the public planner to produce new trial solutions which are then subjected to further testing in daily operation. The revision of plans by public officials is thus seen as a continuous process and results in administrative and coordination changes.Originality/valueUnlike neoclassical public economists who act as omnipotent advisers on how the e‐government should behave, the theory of human agency analyses the operation of digital government from the "first person perspective". It suggests that public officials, equipped with better IT, act or make decisions under uncertainty and constraints. Hence, the impact of a government action on an economic issue is not deterministic. Instead, many government policies take society by surprise and result in institutional change. It is concluded that agents in both the private and the public sectors are journeying into an unknown future.

Several studies in the past show that the work done by the incumbent government helps the ruling party to get re-elected. However, most of these studies focus on re-election and do not look at the impact assessment of governance on trust in government, which is a precursor of re-election. To fill this gap, this article explores whether perceptions of good governance lead to trust in government. The results support the view that governance at the state level leads to a higher trust with the state government. Of all the variables used to measure governance as access, benefitting from welfare schemes had the maximum impact on trust. Other governance measures like availing public services and citizens' interaction with the state too had a positive relationship with trust in the state government. Furthermore, having the same government at the centre and the state, strengthened one's trust in the state government.

This paper examines the notion of empowerment and what it entails in housing development. Through a critical analysis if the different phases in one particular housing project analyzed by the author, the paper highlights the areas of empowerment and emphasizes that it is a process, which in the case of Nthutukoville in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa began with securing land tenure. Access to resources and acquisition of skills are important. Both external and internal factors may be responsible for women's inability to take charge of their lives. External factors include political violence, unsupportive local authorities, and a hostile environment as well as lack of resources and skills. There is, however, often an internalized problem of the failure to challenge the prevailing gender ideology that reinforces women's subordination and male dominance in power. Although state policies may be favourable, women, through mobilizing resources, negotiating with authorities, and strategizing must be responsible for their own empowerment.