GLOBAL CHALLENGE AND INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY - OR, HOW WE CAN REFIT LOCAL-ADMINISTRATION FOR THE NEXT CENTURY

This article explores the question of how locally based administration can be refitted for the next millennium We use global trends to formu late a new ecology based on open markers, increasing intensity of glob al interaction, and highly decentralized activities That ecology produ ces both positive currents and negative countercurrents, These recipro cating dynamics lead to,wealth through urbanization but also to imbala nces in investment and growth. The dynamics emphasize the leading role of centrally located regions but also beget greater social disruption ; they enhance democracy through a global dissemination of information but also produce heightened expectations increased citizen demand, an d inordinate pressures on local institutions To,manage these pressures , local administration,will have to be flexible and resilient. I Ve of fer an organizational strategy designed to enhance conventional govern ment by building institutional capacity. Networks of interaction,with private, public, and nonprofit sectors are able to maximize participat ion by citizens, small groups, and mass associations.