2009 Press Releases

New Book Highlights Innovation in Local Government
28.05.2009

A new book, Innovation and Best Practice in Irish Local Government, written by UCC researchers Dr Aodh Quinlivan and Dr Emmanuelle Schon-Quinlivan of UCC’s Department of Government will be launched today (Thursday, May 28th 2009) in Dublin. 
The book highlights that, despite inherent weaknesses in the local government system, city, county and town councils are working hard to cope with societal changes and are making valuable contributions to the social, economic and cultural development of their communities.  According to the authors, ‘many people associate innovation solely with the private sector but innovation is multi-dimensional and can take many different forms. It can be an idea, a practice, a product or a relationship. It can happen through a bottom-up process, emerging from the activities of line managers, a top-down process, channelled by high civil servants and their political masters or a lateral process through the adoption of good practice from other organisations. We give examples in this book of local authorities across the country that are going above and beyond the call of duty and they are finding innovative ways to better their communities.”
 
Innovation and Best Practice in Irish Local Government draws from local authority entries to Chambers Ireland 2008 Excellence in Local Government awards. Fifteen individual case studies are presented in a wide variety of areas including arts and culture, partnership with business, energy conservation, social and community development, technology and waste management. Both Cork City Council and Cork County Council feature in the book, the former for its Library Link service to households and the latter for Wastematchers, an online re-use of household goods initiative. Aodh Quinlivan is a member of the Excellence in Local Government awards judging panel and he is impressed by the work which goes on at sub-national level: ‘There are many unsung heroes who work in our network of 114 local authorities. At a time when it has become fashionable to knock the public sector it is important to provide some balance and perspective. Through this book, Emmanuelle and I hope to shine a light on some of the activity which goes on at local authority level, the vast majority of which goes unnoticed and unreported.’
 
Innovation and Best Practice in Irish Local Government is jointly sponsored by Chambers Ireland and SIPTU.
 
Aodh Quinlivan lectures in politics in the Department of Government, University College Cork. Before his appointment in UCC, Aodh worked in Cork County Council, and local government remains his primary area of research interest. Aodh has published widely in this field, including Philip Monahan – A Man Apart (Dublin, 2006) and All Politics is Local: A Guide to Local Elections in Ireland (with Liam Weeks, Cork, 2009). Aodh is a member of the judging panel for the Chambers Ireland Excellence in Local Government Awards.
 
Emmanuelle Schön-Quinlivan lectures in politics in the Department of Government, University College Cork. An IRCHSS (Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences) Government of Ireland scholar, she completed her doctorate in University College Dublin in 2008 on the impact of the New Public Management reforms launched by Neil Kinnock in the European Commission in 2000. Born in France, Emmanuelle completed a Masters in International Politics at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris, Paris and a LL.M in European Law at Edinburgh University before moving to Ireland.

Picture shows Dr Aodh Quinlivan and Dr Emmanuelle Schön-Quinlivan

RMcD1123



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