Newbie Question

Still working my way through the Nburg website and forums.

I have been looking for public administative-type systems and documents, and find bits and pieces here and there but nothing in a finished form, so it has me wondering - Have any of the following things been done? If so, where might I find them?

Mission Statement?
Vision Statement?
Value Statement?
Diversity Statement?
Stakeholders Survey?
Strategic Plan?
Organizational Chart?
Program Planning Process?
Action Strategy?
Budget Planning Process Documentation
Records/Knowledge Mangement System?

Edited as spelling matters

Here's a list of government officials that should sort of work as an organizational chart.

http://www.neualtenburg.info/id21.html

Currently, Records/Knowledge Mangement System is the wiki.

http://wiki.neualtenburg.info/

Certain government officials have access to the website, to archive meeting transcripts, laws, hearing results, etc.

Hi Salzie!



Good to see you're "doing your homework" To be honest I am still muddling through the forum history myself to catch up with the events and discussions of the latter part of 2005. The Neualtenburg forum is one of the largest on secondlife.com so there's a lot to read - even if much of it is banter without relevance to the governing structures and decisions.



Your question is very relevant I think as it strikes at a key issue in our development, namely the "professionalisation of our bureaucracy".

So far the focus in Neualtenburg has been pretty much on the discussions of governance, building, lawmaking and the constitution in my view: The branches of government that we have in place are very heavy on thinking, discussion and decision making capacities but quite light-weight in terms of power to transform these decisions into actions and structures.

Many of those documents that you mention are as I see it the hallmarks of a mature and well-developed bureaucracy - which traditionally falls under the exectuive branch of government. Since we do not have a proper executive branch of government but have rather spread out the executive powers into 'government and service roles' of the various branches, it is only recently that we have begun to pay attention to the need for more executive focus in my view.

Remember, this is a young democracy although by SL terms we have already lasted quite long and presumably outlasted a few other communities dependent upon the initiative and resources of a few benevolent autocrats.

However, as we mature, as more laws are passed and administrative routines are instituted the need for somebody to step in and take care of the proper execution of the principal decisions and structures mandated by the RA for example becomes larger.

We have seen the first infant steps toward professionalising a bureaucracy in Neualtenburg: About a little over a month ago I think it was decided by the RA to allocate a portion of the budget to establish positions as archivists for each of the three branches of government. The positions are to be compensated with 1,000 L$/month and the responsibilites were to be described by the branches. I am not sure how far this initiative has progressed. It seems to me the leaders of the branches have so far been satisfied with carrying out the duties themselves. At least I have seen no announcements of the positions being available.

Many of those documents that you mention would be or could be the responsibility of the Guild to craft. However, since the administrative capacities are to a large extent the burden of one person - namely Guildmaster Sudane Erato (and prior to that Kendra Bancroft) - I think it's fair to say we have preferred to adopt an approach of "build it as and when it's needed in an actual Neualtenburg problem context" rather than shape the administrative working practices of the guild and the other branches of government from the top down according to for example a classical idealised Weberian model of bureaucracy or the more modern New Public Management philosophy.

Sudane or other citizens with a more intimate or more extensive knowledge of the branches of government will probably be better positioned to give you specific feedback on the individual items you post - I just wanted to give you a broad context in reply to your question.

As I said however I think your question is spot on since one of the major challenges that all branches of government face right now lie in developing, formalising and implementing guidelines and structures for their internal way of working. For the Scientific Council for example, this encompasses drawing up guidelines for forum moderation, handling the court system and archiving our verdicts and proceedings. I think I have already outlined in an earlier post some of the challenges faced by the Guild. The RA has I think come the farthest in formalising its internal routines, which is only natural, since they meet practically weekly and constitute a broad group of individuals between whom work can be naturally delegated.

I hope the above has contributed just a little toward clarifying things for you. If this gives rises to any further questions please don't hesitate to ask. I'm also sure that some of the other citizens will chime in to answer other parts of your post

Oh and the vision of the city is watever the collective vision of their citizens is, via their elected representatives. Right now, the party with the most votes is the DPU, and they mostly set the agenda for government. Here is their party platform:

http://www.neualtenburg.info/visual2layout1article33.html

I suppose that I should disclose that I am a Certified Public Administrator in RL for a large metropolitan governmental entity. I envision participating here as a learning tool for myself - thinking outside of the box I work within.

I've been trying to see where I could use my skills to help out in N'burg - I guess the Guild?

Yes, I'd recommend the guild especially since they have so many areas with potential for some administrative shaping, which are on hold due to a lack of resources:

- Procedures for registration of companies and contracts
- Funds Management Policy for the city
- An institutional framework for the Neualtenburg Bank and the Funds Management Policy of the City
- Participating in the process to choose a winning proposal for sim expansion and develop plans to implement it
- Draft and implement a marketing strategy on the basis of a strategic vision of what we want Neualtenburg to be
- Implement request for proposals for new website
- ...

It would also allow you to not be too distracted by much of the current drama as it is mostly ping-ponging between the other two branches of government at the moment.

I recommend you get hold of Sudane in world when you have the chance and have a little chat with her on where to start. One idea might be to engage in the planning of the upcoming flohmarkt with Patrokuls (and possibly Rubayiat and Kendra and Pelanor).

The Guild it is then, I will contact Sudane next time I'm in world.



I fully intend not to become involved in all that - I've made my one and only public statement on the mess in a different thread - basically let's move on.

I do have some more questions - though I probably should read the constitution as it might have the answers.

Communications:

How do residents communicate with each other the most regarding N'burg issues? In-world, on the forums, via email, the website? Which is "official" means? e.g., are the docs at the wiki the "certified" ones?

Do you hold City wide meetings? How often?

Politics:

When are the next elections scheduled to happen?

Does a citizen have to declare a party? Can someone be independent?

In world is quite common. The forums are used sometimes. As for documents, I would start with the wiki. There you can see a change history and who made each change.



There hasn't been one since I've been here. The ten hour time difference between outr most far flung citizens makes it difficult.



The week of July 15.



You must join a faction if you wish to serve on the RA. If you don't wish to be on RA, you may be independent.

Oh, read the constitution regardless, it is a *very* interesting document.


All of the above. Traditionally, proposed laws are placed in the forums for everyone to dissect and discuss. The forums, as you probably know by now, also gets used to talk about a wide variety of issues, events, and personalities related to neualtenburg.


The docs on the wiki are probably the closest we have to official documentation


There is no city-wide meeting per se, but RA meetings tend to be town-hallish, as every nburg citizen is allowed to attend and contibute. RA meetings are held at least once every two weeks (this RA term, it is held mostly on wednesdays).

SC meetings are held less often, and may not necessarily be open to all citizens.



Next RA election will be around July 15 (a seven day period that includes July 15, which coincidentally, is my birthday!)


A citizen does not need to declare a faction (a party), unless he/she wants to serve in the RA.