Abstract:
Tamer Akgün, a young businessman in Amsterdam, ran into so much red tape while trying to open a sandwich shop that he began to lose hope. The city had set up “one-stop shops” to assist entrepreneurs, but Akgün didn’t know about them, and those who did found them to be poorly coordinated and unhelpful, more focused on identifying obstacles than helping to overcome them.
Akgün’s plight was typical of that faced by many entrepreneurs, especially those from immigrant families like his. For Amsterdam City Manager Erik Gerritsen, Akgün’s case offered a chance to bring together department heads and other officials who work on permits and licenses and examine what happened, address any issues, and, most importantly, prevent these types of issues in the future.
Meeting in Akgün’s sandwich shop, still unopened two years after he rented the space, the officials from various departments and agencies all saw the situation from their own perspective, and some of them didn’t see a problem at all. Each official seemed to think they were simply doing their job by enforcing the rules. What was a way forward that would produce the best results for entrepreneurs like Akgün and the city at large?
Learning Objectives:
This case study is designed to help city officials develop and understand problem-oriented governance by first learning how to diagnose the problem before proposing a set of solutions. The overarching learning objectives are the following:
- Understand the dimensions of public value at stake in social problem-solving.
- Understand the underlying causes of government fragmentation, inertia, and excessive red tape.
- Explore analytic frameworks and leadership strategies that can help overcome these obstacles and create public value for residents.
This practitioner guide is accompanied by a case, a teaching plan, and a slide deck.
