Introduction

Formally constituted organisations are core contributors to public governance involving the state, market, and civil society. Their functions and operation are significant in what they do, how they do it, and what they achieve, as supported by the legal instrument by which they are established, accompanied by the source, kind and exercise of their legal powers. Individually and together, they certainly matter in why, when, where, how, and for whom public action is framed, taken, and assessed in the public interest.

Organisations of immediate interest are those deliberately established by governments as semi-autonomous organisations of the state beyond, but varyingly within the purview of, ministries and departments. Included are executive bodies, statutory bodies, and state-owned companies. They are examples of “agencification” (Caulfield et al., 2006; Peters & Bouckaert, 2004; Pollitt & Talbot, 2004; Verhoest et al., 2021) and/or “corporatisation” (OECD, 2017, 2018; Lane, 1997; Thynne, 2018, 2021). They are “para-government” or “quasi-government” organisations to which “quangos” generally applies (Curnow & Saunders, 1983; Flinders & Smith, 1999; Greve et al., 1999; Hood, 1986; Hood & Schuppert, 1988).

The establishment and powers of semi-autonomous organisations are designed and adopted ostensibly as being fit-for-purpose as embraced by their functions with form following function. Over time, they are shaped and reshaped by various internal and external developments as purposes are pursued and lessons are learnt. Involved are mixes of conscious and spontaneous reform and change consistent with the formal and informal attributes of organisations which affect how establishment, powers and purposes are aligned in practice.

While there are challenges in ever proving that the establishment and powers of organisations are logically aligned with their purposes, it is possible to know from documents and interviews whether and, if so, how their key stakeholders – as members of a government along with a treasury department and/or a state/public service commission – justify them with reference to the purposes. Justifications, or an absence of justifications, could valuably complement other information in making sense of their existence, activities and achievements when they are called to account and controlled in various forums. There could be important lessons for enhancing their efficiency and effectiveness, and potentially also for their redesign or even abolition and replacement by other organisations.

Propositions, Hypotheses and Questions

Three interrelated propositions underpin analyses of organisational justifications involving the establishment, powers and purposes of semi-autonomous organisations:

• The first proposition is that the establishment and powers of organisations are vital in shaping their formal identities and, thus, are meaningful bases on which to address their fitness-for-purpose.

• The second proposition is that formally declared purposes of organisations should be paramount considerations in any justifications of their establishment and powers.

• The third proposition is that, in addition to their establishment and powers, many other features of organisations, formal and informal, affect how they are designed and managed in alignment with their purposes without diminishing the importance of their establishment and powers.

  These propositions indicate a possible cause and effect relationship between the purposes of organisations and their establishment and powers, with purposes being an independent (cause) variable and establishment and powers being dependent (effect) variables. In response, two hypotheses are relevant, with one being positive, and the other not so positive: 

• The positive hypothesis is that key stakeholders, in understanding the importance of logically aligning the establishment and powers of organisations with their purposes, will seize opportunities to justify the alignments on all relevant occasions.

• The not so positive hypothesis is that key stakeholders, while possibly understanding the importance of aligning the establishment and powers of organisations with their purposes, will miss opportunities to justify the alignments by only doing so when requested.

The propositions and hypotheses raise fundamental questions about organisational justifications, types, purposes, and diversity in governance. Justifications ought to be clear and substantial. Accordingly:

• If justifications are clear and substantial, by whom are they articulated? In what forums are they articulated? What specific matters are highlighted? What are the responses to them within and beyond government?

• If justifications are not clear and substantial, or are not provided at all, why is this so? Is it just assumed that different types of organisations are needed for different purposes: that one size does not fit all and, therefore, that diversity is inevitable without justifications being required? If so, how valid is this assumption?

• On what comparative experience and evidence do justifications rest involving the achievements of different types of organisations with similar purposes? If there are no supporting experience and evidence, is there any sense in different types of organisations being established and empowered for different purposes?

Paper Proposal

Papers are invited which address the above propositions, hypotheses and questions, with each paper considering semi-autonomous organisations in a selected governmental system. The variety of governmental systems covered in the Special Issue will provide a comprehensive basis for detailed comparative insights and understanding.

The papers will need to identify and assess specific justifications (or absence thereof) concerning particular types of semi-autonomous organisations. It will be necessary to extend the analysis of justifications well beyond the more general justifications normally discussed in the literature.

Final Submission Arrangements

1 May 2022——Proposal submission (thynne@hku.hk)

1 June 2022——Admission decisions announced

1 November 2022——Full draft papers submission

2023——Publication

Guest Editors

Ian THYNNE, Visiting Professor,Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Hong Kong (thynne@hku.hk)