Wai Fung Lam

Improving the performance of small-scale irrigation systems: The effects of technological investments and governance structure on irrigation performance in Nepal

Abstract Technological fixes and government management have often been assumed to be the most effective policy tools in improving the performance of small-scale irrigation systems in Asia. Many intervention efforts based upon that assumption, however, have brought about counterintuitive and counterintentional outcomes. Using irrigation management in Nepal as the context, this paper argues that technological investments might exacerbate the asymmetries of interests and endowments among irrigators, which often dampens their incentives to contribute to infrastructure maintenance. In addition, irrigators in agency-managed systems are usually given few incentives to engage in irrigation management. Their collective inaction often leads to low levels of performance.

The Role of the Nonprofit Sector in Hong Kong's Development

The recent handover of Hong Kong to the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) brought Hong Kong worldwide attention and scrutiny. In the run up to the handover, the international media prominently featured stories about Hong Kongs freewheeling capitalism and the stability created by its administrative institutions. Lost in the media attention was the role of nonprofit organizations and the voluntary sector in Hong Kongs political and economic development. Although Hong Kong has a vibrant civil society, it has received little attention from scholars. This paper reviews the role of the third sector in Hong Kongs development. Among the issues the paper addresses are the legal codes that govern the creation and operation of nonprofit organizations in Hong Kong, the evidence regarding the role of the nonprofit sector in Hong Kongs development, particularly its relationship to the government and market sectors, and the implications of the 1997 transition for the nonprofit sectors role.

Improving Irrigation in Asia

Improving Irrigation in Asia is based on a longitudinal study over two decades on innovative intervention for sustained performance of irrigation systems. The work identifies key factors that can help explain the performance of interventions, and explicates lessons for resource management and the management of development assistance.

Public policymaking in Hong Kong : civic engagement and state-society relations in a semi-democracy

1. Introduction: Civic Engagement and Public Policymaking in a Semi-Democracy 2. The Harbour Protection Movement 3. Southeast Kowloon Planning 4. The West Kowloon Cultural District Project 5. The Anti-Poverty Campaign 6. Municipal Solid Waste Management 7. The Committee on Performing Arts 8. Civic Engagement in Asia: Hong Kong and Other Political Regimes Compared 9. Conclusion

Designing institutions for irrigation management: Comparing irrigation agencies in Nepal and Taiwan

Purpose – Effective irrigation management hinges upon effective collective action among farmers and irrigation managers. The purpose of this study is to examine how the institutional design of irrigation agency affects the incentives and ability of irrigation managers to do a conscientious job and to relate to farmers in managing irrigation, and hence affects irrigation performance.Design/methodology/approach – This study compares the Department of Irrigation (DOI) in Nepal and the Irrigation Associations (IAs) in Taiwan. Based upon extensive fieldwork undertaken in the two countries, this study identifies the opportunities and constraints embedded in the institutional designs of the agencies, and analyzes their effects on the behavior of irrigation managers.Findings – The two irrigation agencies are designed upon very different conceptions of how the provision and production of irrigation can be organized. The DOI is built upon the premises of top‐down control, a reliance on technical knowledge, professi...

Policy Advocacy in Transitioning Regimes: Comparative Lessons from the Case of Harbour Protection in Hong Kong

Abstract Current research on policy advocacy relies exclusively on established regimes where instability is largely contained. Using the harbour protection advocacy in Hong Kong as an exploratory case, the article documents how conservationists exploited the unique opportunities arising from the transfer of sovereignty to advance heritage protection policy. Three new strategic choices in policy advocacy are identified. First, policy advocates strategically switched between issue frames instead of becoming strongly identified with any issue frame. Second, they avoided prolonged involvement by pursuing modest, programme-level adjustments. Third, they circumvented the restrictions on scope and focus by creating new venues outside of the policy subsystem.

Network Structure, Resource Availability, and Innovation: A Study of the Adoption of Innovation in Elderly Services in Shanghai

A network model of service delivery has been considered to be a major innovation in public sector management in recent decades (Goldsmith and Eggers 2004). Based upon comparison of two networks of community-based elderly care service delivery in Shanghai, China, we propose a causal path analysis which clarifies and illustrates how resource availability mediates the impact of network structure on network performance, with a particular focus on its ability to innovate.

Micro and macro approaches to social innovation: mapping the approaches of significant funders and advocates - comparative experience in East Asia, Europe and the United States

Despite the global interest in social innovation, limited attention has been given to the diverse ways in which this effort has been approached. Much of the literature highlights the bottom-up approach and does not deal with the complexity of the broader institutional settings that play a role in the process. While there has been rhetorical attention to issues related to “getting to scale”, this goal is often confronted by diverse structural and political institutions and actors. This diversity limits the ability of advocates to devise approaches that straddle sectoral and national divides. In response, this article focuses on the approaches of a number of different organisations that have emphasised social innovation in their work and have provided resources for the efforts now underway. It analyses and compares the work undertaken in Western countries, including that of the US Social Innovation Fund, the USAID Forward programme, the Kennedy School Innovations in American Government Awards, and the European Commission, with that undertaken in East Asia, including the more socially embedded approach to incubating social innovation in Hong Kong and South Korea. The analysis draws on extant studies and reports issued by the relevant organisations, and provides a skeleton framework for future attempts to analyse the varied social innovation efforts.

Giving in Hong Kong: A Growing Sector Evading Regulation

When Hong Kong became a British colony in 1842, it was a small fishing village with a couple of thousand inhabitants. The British government saw Hong Kong as a gateway to business in China. When it assumed governance of Hong Kong, its main policy objective was to maintain order. Local Chinese were allowed to continue with their way of life, keeping their religious beliefs, traditions and customs. To a certain extent, the British and Chinese populations lived almost as two segregated societies.