Enacting governance through strategy: A comparative study of governance configurations in Sydney and Vienna

C Brandtner, MA Höllerer, RE Meyer

Abstract

Over the past two decades, research has emphasized a shift from city government to urban governance. Such a shift brings about its very own challenges, namely governance gaps, uncertain configurations in governance, and a limited capacity to act. In this paper, we argue that the concurrent rise of strategy documents in city administration addresses these challenges. Our central claim is that strategy documents can be understood as a distinct discursive device through which local governments enact aspired governance configurations. We illustrate our argument empirically using two prominent examples that, while showing similar features and characteristics, are anchored in different administrative traditions and institutional frameworks: the city administrations of Sydney, Australia, and Vienna, Austria. The contribution of the paper is to show how strategy documents enact governance configurations along four core dimensions: the setting in space and time, the definition of the public, the framing of the res publica, and legitimacy issues. Moreover, our comparative analysis of Sydney and Vienna gives evidence of differences in governance configurations enacted through strategy documents.

Relevance to scouting

World Scouting has formal mechanisms for governance and youth engagement: the Global Support Assessment Tool (GSAT) is used to assess National Scout Organizations for compliance with international best practices in good governance, youth programs, and adult management systems. At the strategic level, the new Strategy for Scouting (approved at the 43rd World Scout Conference in August 2024) commits to being more inclusive, peaceful, ensuring youth leadership and decision-making, sustainability, and better safety and well-being. Also, the World Scout Committee recently approved actions to enhance youth engagement in decision-making, replacing the older “Youth Advisor System” with new measures for youth leadership across structures. These governance‑and‑policy‑oriented studies (e.g. on how nonprofit governance works, or cultural influences, or youth program decision-making) matter for Scouting because they inform how to design inclusive, ethical, transparent structures that engage youth meaningfully and manage risk across national contexts.