‘Mandate expectations: How councillors make sense of and enact representation in an appointed arena.’ more

PSA 2011: Local Politics Specialist Group ‘Mandate expectations: How councillors make sense of and enact representation in an appointed arena.’ Thomas Oliver ESRC Doctoral Candidate Institute of Local Government Studies, University of Birmingham, Office 1025, Muirhead Tower, Birmingham, B15 2TT Email: tco601@bham.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0) 121 414 2738 Abstract The modern councillor now lives in an era of complex local governance operating in multiple arenas and networks rather than purely through old-style national/local government structures. Regional assemblies represent one such arena within which councillors operate. Formed on the basis of appointment, councillors are mandated to represent their local authority at the Regional Assembly. This paper is formed from the results of a case study of councillors and their representative actions whilst operating in the West Midlands Regional Assembly (WMRA). The case study explores the role choices of councillors as they strategically access the policy process at different stages and institutional levels in order to maximise their opportunities to forward particular representative concerns. This paper locates the analysis within the theoretical framework of sense making (Weick 1995) in order to understand how external factors, internal preferences, logics and ideals interplay within a particular context to define the enactment of representation. It therefore addresses the reflexivity of actors with regards to understanding and adapting to different policy contexts. The results appraise the differences between and within councillors interpretations of their role by exploring their micro-level enactments of representation as situated actors ‘making sense’ of their role and a new organisational context. Introduction The growth of the appointed state has delivered additional realms for the modern councillor beyond the traditional council chamber. The movement from local government to local governance (Rhodes 1997:133-4) has delivered ‘nearly 5000 bodies, not directly elected... involved nowadays in the governance of our local communities, spending well over half the total money spent by elected local government’ (Wilson and Game 1998:316). This movement offers not only a challenge to the traditional model of representative local government, but also a challenge to councillors negotiating role choices within the new quasi-governmental institutions. Relating to their role as a councillor, the relationship between demos and representative is relatively simple, i.e. through elections a given democratic group (the demos) confers administrative and, in some cases legislative authority (mandate), to specific individuals (councillors), all of whom are subject to possible removal by the membership. The majority of councillor roles are derived on the basis of this election based upon the basis of the mandate This paper a working draft. Comments and suggestions are very welcome. However, please do not cite without the explicit permission of the author. Copyright PSA 2011 ‘Mandate expectations: How councillors make sense of and enact representation in an appointed arena 2 (either the constituents or on a party platform) or drawn from functional aspects of their role (policy making, scrutiny, etc.). However with regards to councillor roles on alternative bodies they are appointed as opposed to elected and there are additional or alternate functions to their appointed roles. During New Labours period in office there was a substantial growth of regional governance in Britain with the creation of a number of bodies formed on the basis of indirect appointment. These regional bodies provide a number of strategic, planning and policy functions yet remain at arms length from the electorate. The contextual location of the research, the WMRA is a prime example of a multi functioned body formed on the basis of indirect appointment and as such provides forms a window into the general problem of representation in the appointed state. Councillors are indirectly elected to the Regional Assembly in order to fulfil a representative function introduced to provide a form of visibility and accountability in order to address democratic concerns. This function and how well it is conducted form a crucial element in maintaining the democratic legitimacy of the institution. Therefore the representative function provides the core conceptual basis of the research. Whilst a great deal of work has been done looking at the concept of representation (Pitkin 1967; Judge 1999) and representative role of politicians (Eulau, Wahlke, Buchanan and Ferguson 1959; Newton 1974; Rao 1999) there has been less consideration of the concept of ‘appointed representation’. Regional assemblies also provide a new environment for councillors and empirical studies of assembly members their roles, role choices and influences are significantly limited. They are a new arena for participation and collaboration within which councillors are operating alongside actors representing business, social and environmental interests (Glasson 2002) in a dynamic, complex and contested system of regional governance. There is a requirement to represent as this function forms the principal accountability mechanism for the Regional assembly. However there are no mechanisms to ensure that councillors act on behalf of the council or constituents they represent, in this way the quality of both representation and accountability can vary. This paper delivers empirical data from the research, a case study of councillors operating in the WMRA. The first part of this paper introduces the literature relating to the representative role of councillors and explores how those interviewed mapped onto different conceptions of their representative role. The second part of the paper discusses possible role types emerging from the data. The final part of the paper discusses the conceptual approach of sensemaking as a means to surface motivations, norms and expectations surrounding role choices and enactment to address whether appointed representatives adopt role choices due to circumstance or strategy. The representative role of councillors The majority of academic attention relating to the representative role of councillors has focused on developing role typologies (Heclo 1969; Jones 1973; Rao and Young 1993). Traditional approaches have tended to focus on the simple distinction between policy and administration. The work of Heclo (1969) made the simple distinction between the roles of committee member, constituency representative and party activist, in a similar vein Jones (1973) divided councillors into three broad categories, the representative, the broad policy maker and the specialised policy maker. These early categorisations, whilst acknowledging the administrative role of councillors are based on a rather limited conception of the functions and organisation of elected members. The dominant typology focuses on the divide between delegates, trustees and politicos developed in the United States (Eulau, Wahlke, Buchanan and Ferguson 1959). In the This paper a working draft. Comments and suggestions are very welcome. However, please do not cite without the explicit permission of the author. Copyright PSA 2011 ‘Mandate expectations: How councillors make sense of and enact representation in an appointed arena 3 UK an extensive survey of the representative role of councillors in Birmingham was conducted in the 1970s and found 32% saw themselves as delegates, 43% regarded themselves as trustees and 25% identified themselves as politicos (Newton 1976). Newton compared these representative roles alongside data on areal roles and the policy orientations of council members. Post Newton a great deal of attention has been directed to ‘party representation’ in line with a strengthening of the system of party control of local government since the 1980s (Game and Leach 1996; Copus 2004). The traditional literature on the representative role of councillors offers a number of dimensions which can often be in competition. They include the co-ordination and oversight of public service provision (administrative/management role), holding officers to account, representing the broad interests of council wards or divisions or sectional interests, representation of the broader council organisation (institutional), a party political role in governing or opposition and representing or pursuing the interests of the party and the development, implementation and review of policy (generalist). Table 1 highlights how the different typologies exploring councillor roles fit into this framework with different authors breaking down the role into functions, orientations, role types and styles. This paper a working draft. Comments and suggestions are very welcome. However, please do not cite without the explicit permission of the author. Copyright PSA 2011 PSA 2011: Local Politics Specialist Group Table: 1 Review of the literature on the Representative Role of the Councillor FOCUS (Eulau, Wahlke, Buchanan and Ferguson 1959) Representative STYLE (Wahlke, Eulau, Buchanan and Ferguson 1962) • Delegate • Trustee • Politico Ward representation Individual citizens (ombudsmen function) Geographic Area (parish/ward/village /town) Specialised policy maker (1-2 services) Broad policy maker (concerned with overall policy of local authority) Political Party Political Party Particular organised groups (political, economic, social) Representative (spokesman and watchdog) ROLE ORIENTATIONS (Newton 1974) • Delegate • Trustee • Politico • Individual problems/ Casework • Broad policy Areal (city/ward/both) FOCUS (Heclo 1969) FUNCTIONS (Jones 1973) ROLES (Jones 1973) PARTY ROLES (Corina 1974) ROLE TYPES (Newton 1976) ROLES (Gyford 1976) • Parochial • Peoples agent • Policy advocate Tribune of the • Policy broker people • Policy spokesperson (casework/ward issues) Geographic Geographic Area (district/state/ both) Policy (Specialist) Policy (Generalist) Specialist Generalist Statesman (focused on broader policy) Party Sectional Interest Pressure Group Administrative Administrative Orientation Council committees Broad section of community (factory workers, council tenants) Another local authority (tier) • Party politician • Party rebels • Ideologist • Faithfuls • Partyist • Abstainers • Associate • Politico administrator Pressure group This paper a working draft. Comments and suggestions are very welcome. However, please do not cite without the explicit permission of the author. Copyright PSA 2011 PSA 2011: Local Politics Specialist Group The developing role of the councillor The increase in the functions of councillors has stimulated further academic attention on councillor roles particularly in the light of the local government reforms under the Labour Government (DETR 1998). Roles external to the council chamber have however lacked academic attention. The distinction between representative democracy and representative government has been used to define a distinction between representational and leadership roles. This distinction informed the reforms outlined within Local Government Act 2000 which brought about the shift away from the committee system in local government and the movement towards alternative arrangements such as cabinets and elected mayors and the establishment of overview and scrutiny committees, providing a clear separation of executive and representative roles. Some academics have developed categorisations which incorporate the impact of the post 1997 modernisation agenda and consider the roles of councillors within the new political management arrangements (Sweeting 1999; Wilson and Game 2002). The new roles and typologies from 1990 are summarised within table 2. Table 2 Contemporary councillor roles and post Local Government Act 2000 roles ROLES (Stewart 1990) ROLES (Byrne 1994) MODERN ROLES (Wilson and Game 1998) CONSTITUENCY NEW ROLES COUNCILLOR ROLES (Rao 1998) (Sweeting 1999) REPRESENTATIVE Parochial (constituents grievances) • Representative Representative • Ombudsmen ROLES IN NEW EXECUTIVE STRUCTURES (Snape 2004) Representative COUNCILLOR ROLES (IDeA 2007) Community representative GEOGRAPHIC Standard bearer (area needs) Specialist Generalist Politician Policy Maker Policy Maker • Constituency servant • Constituency mentor Policy Maker Policy Maker • Community engager • Community advocate POLICY (Specialist) POLICY (Generalist) PARTY Party Servant Party Group member • Party representative • Party Activist SECTIONAL INTEREST ADMINISTRATIVE LEADERSHIP • Managers • Community Leaders Overseer (services and performance) Manager Community Leader Scrutineer Community Leader Performance monitoring Community Leader Scrutineer SCRUTINY • Oversight • Progress checker Overall many individual and group roles have emerged from the reforms leaving the councillor with greater choice and scope in how they appraise and assess their role (orientation) what they choose to represent (focus) and how they choose to do it (style). The movement to different executive systems has offering councillors further choices in which roles to adopt and enact and this gone hand with an increase in the scope of representation in recent years with the proliferation of partnership bodies at both the local and regional level. These new representative roles outside the traditional council chamber pose different challenges for the modern councillor and evoke both traditional and non traditional functions from networking and contact building, to reporting, advocacy and ambassadorial roles. This paper a working draft. Comments and suggestions are very welcome. However, please do not cite without the explicit permission of the author. Copyright PSA 2011 ‘Mandate expectations: How councillors make sense of and enact representation in an appointed arena 6 Appointed Representative Roles Research on councillors appointed to organisations has focused on their role choices and functions in terms of representation and accountability. Appointments can be seen as weakening the representative link and producing representatives that are increasingly distant from their original representative basis. A politician’s conception of representation is likely to be informed by and reflecting different concepts of local democracy. The nature of the modern political system positions elected members as accountable to multiple groups, their constituents, their party, and often to the Government/Local Authority. However the mechanisms for accountability when members are appointed as opposed to elected are less structured than the ultimate sanction of constituents voting out a representative. In their research on joint boards Leach, Davies et al. (1991) saw few examples of appointees briefing, mandating or reporting back to districts as a weak system of delegate democracy failed to offer any clear form of accountability. Two elements frame Regional Assembly members within a non-traditional version of representative democracy. Firstly whereas elected members are subject to processes of authorisation through election, the selection and appointment of members of the Regional Assembly is done by local councils on the basis of a reflection of the geography and political composition of the region. Secondly without the ultimate chance of electoral sanction appointed members of the Regional Assembly will be subject to alternate accountability mechanisms. These two elements represent the conceptual context of difference from traditional elected representative democracy. Applying a representative role framework to appointed representation: The literature on representative roles shows that the majority of councillor roles are drawn from perceptions of responsibility based on the mandates they derive from constituents via elections or are drawn from functional aspects of their role (policy making, scrutiny, etc.). However with regards to councillor roles on alternative bodies they are appointed as opposed to elected and there are additional or alternate functions to their appointed roles. The first stage of the research therefore considered both the mechanism for their appointment and the functions of the institutions to which they are appointed. The main functions of the WMRA are to scrutinise the work of the RDA, to make them more accountable to the region, to act as a regional advocate and lobbying body and provide coordination, oversight and endorsement of the regional strategies (spatial, economic, housing and cultural). It is from these functions that other possible role orientations could emerge. Pitkin’s four views of representation (1967) was used as a simple framework on which to base questioning of assembly members in order to capture different facets of the representative role with particular focus on formalistic elements (authorisation and accountability) and substantive representation operationalised as representative styles (Eulau, Wahlke, Buchanan and Ferguson 1959). Eight Assembly members were questioned regarding not only their object (focus) of representation and how this object is represented (style) but also the scope of their representation in order to appraise the flexibility in their role choices rather than seeing role orientations as static. Assessing the scope of representation assisted in exploring the extent to which they represent a particular object of representation and revealing assembly members views of their mandate and remit and how the consider their role orientations on scales (e.g. generalist to specialist, etc.). In this way the approach addressed the wider role system (figure 1) and showed how assembly members construct and fulfil their roles when operating in the WMRA. This paper a working draft. Comments and suggestions are very welcome. However, please do not cite without the explicit permission of the author. Copyright PSA 2011 ‘Mandate expectations: How councillors make sense of and enact representation in an appointed arena 7 Figure 1 The representative role system framework Representation Formalistic Symbolic (standing for) Descriptive (standing for) Substantive (political responsibility) Authorisation View Accountability View Generalist / Specialist Broad policy / Individual Problems Party Areal District/State/Both Representational Pressure Group Geographic Unit Trustee Party Politico Pressure Group Delegate Administrative Organisation Four Views of Representation (Pitkin 1967) Role Orientations (Newton 1974) Representative Styles (Eulau, Wahlke, Buchanan and Ferguson 1959) Focuses of Representation (Wahlke, Eulau, Buchanan and Ferguson 1962) Methodology: Eight Assembly members were interviewed and asked to firstly consider their representative basis i.e. who granted them the mandate to act form the first step of questioning of the accountability function of their role. This authorisation element was considered in tandem with the accountability view, which post authorisation accrues new obligations to the representative. The second step of questioning therefore explored how assembly members fulfil these obligations to the represented through an appraisal of the accountability view of representation i.e. to whom and how are appointed representatives accountable. The final stage of questioning explored how assembly members fulfil their representative role through an assessment of substantive representation i.e. how appointed representatives go about fulfilling their representative role. On this basis assembly members were asked about how they go about representing through questions on briefing, reporting procedures and who they associate their actions with when operating in the Regional Assembly as opposed to their local authority. This part of the framework was operationalised through the concepts of representative focus; questions about who or what the objects of representation are, representative style; how representatives operate either as trustees or delegates (or a combination of the two) and role orientation; a broader category exploring their beliefs and motivations about both the nature and function of their role. Each of these are explored with an appreciation of the notion of representative scope in order to appraise the flexibility and range of role choices which assembly members can choose and enact. The representative role system framework was used to explore the objects, interest and actions of representation. This paper a working draft. Comments and suggestions are very welcome. However, please do not cite without the explicit permission of the author. Copyright PSA 2011 ‘Mandate expectations: How councillors make sense of and enact representation in an appointed arena 8 Findings from Interviews: Formalistic representation The first stages of analysis concentrated on the formalistic view of representation and address the question of whether those interviewed were fulfilling a democratic representative function. Starting with the authorisation view, whilst the literature suggests that politicians operating on other bodies are not always clear whether they are representing ‘themselves as individuals, their organisations, a cluster of organisations or a particular sector’ (Audit Commission 2005:34), the interviews suggest that assembly members had a clear conception of their representative mandate. All those interviewed asserted that their mandate was drawn from their appointment on a constituency or institutional basis matching their legislative basis for participation in the assembly. Discussing their representative basis in the assembly provoked some members to discuss more functional orientations for their role (specialism, leadership, holistic representation) as opposed to a particular areal representative role. The councillors in question suggested that appointment was simply a procedural aspect and thus exhibited a trustee conception of their role. The balancing part of the Pitkin’s authorisation view is the accountability view which explores the mechanism by which politicians acquire obligations post authorisation. Having ascertained that all those interviewed derived either a constituency or institutional mandate from their appointment the interviews considered how assembly members assured accountability to and representation to their local authority through questions on pre meeting briefings, reporting procedures and information sharing. The public administration literature acknowledges that partnerships and networks challenge traditional notions of accountability (O’Toole 1997; Agranoff and McGuire 2001), positing two general approaches to understanding accountability: accountability as answerability; and accountability as managing expectations. Accountability as answerability stresses accountability can only be ensured by maintaining strong external control mechanisms (incentives and sanctions) whereas accountability as managing expectations asserts administrators are capable of self control based on expectations and norms. The notion of how members do accountability on a non-elective mandate is increasingly contested. An analysis of the council constitutions (including member role descriptions), codes of conduct for members and guides to partnership and external working (Stratford-on-Avon DC 2005; Staffordshire County Council 2008; Birmingham City Council 2010) provided only frameworks for reporting as opposed to strict requirements. The main requirements emerging from the documentation where the need to follow an annual protocol defining any prospective involvement on external bodies and partnerships through the creation of a ‘memorandum of understanding’ (Birmingham City Council 2010:50-51), or simply an expectation to carry out strategic and corporate management functions, effectively represent the interest of electoral divisions and be available to represent the council on other bodies’ (Stratford-on-Avon DC 2005:7; Staffordshire County Council 2008:9). Even though there is this ‘institutional hardware’ (Mathur and Skelcher 2007) it is weak in terms of defining actual procedures for assembly members to follow. Therefore the interviews explored the ‘institutional software’ through which assembly members ‘do accountability’ built upon an ‘accountability as managing expectations’ conception. Mechanisms for accountability The first area interviewees were questioned about related to the mechanisms the utilised to make sure that they were accountable to their appointing institution. The eight assembly members named range of mechanisms as outlined in table 3 This paper a working draft. Comments and suggestions are very welcome. However, please do not cite without the explicit permission of the author. Copyright PSA 2011 ‘Mandate expectations: How councillors make sense of and enact representation in an appointed arena 9 Table 3 Accountability mechanisms mentioned in interviews Accountability Mechanism Questions about WMRA at Cabinet, Executive or Full Council meetings Written report to appointing authority (annual) Written report to appointing authority (quarterly) Issue addressed by overview and scrutiny committee Information briefing to party colleagues Regular leaders briefing to the press Leaders Blog Number of Councillors 6 (C1, C2, C4, C5, C6, C8) 3 (C3, C6, C7) 1 (C4) 1 (C1) 1 (C1) 2 (C1, C2) 1 (C1) In the majority of instances the onus to report back to the appointed institution rested with the assembly member placing an increased importance on the perception of assembly members on what is of interest to their appointing authority. There was no measure of how much time is allocated to questioning the actions of assembly members back at their local authority. Referring to the levels of reporting the councillors described a very unstructured and haphazard system of reporting occurring ‘sporadically’ (C4), being ‘not really a requirement’ (C6) and ‘just a nod really to the work I’m doing’ (C5). The interviews failed to surface a clearly defined accountability obligation acquired by appointed assembly members ‘post authorisation’. Therefore there was a challenge to seek out the ways in which assembly members ‘do’ accountability at the regional level in terms of the softer expectations upon their role. The best method through which to assess the way in which politicians assure their accountability, if at all, is through the practice of representation, which is not considered by either of the formalistic views of representation but instead is addressed in a separate section on substantive representation. Accountability through representation Few assembly members when asked about accountability as an appointed member referred to the fact that they where the voice of their council at the region. One in particular stressed that they made sure if things were of particular relevance to their authority their council was fully consulted saying ‘to a degree that’s a form of accountability’ (C5). A critical factor however in order to be accountable through representation is to clearly know the position of your appointing authority. The interviews asked the eight assembly members if they had briefings before they went to assembly meetings and who they came from. Table 4 lists the range, regularity and source of briefings for each assembly member. Table 4 Pre meeting briefings mentioned in interviews Councillor 1 (C1) Briefings from Conservative party group (morning of assembly meeting) Councillor 2 (C2) Subject based briefings available (on request) via appointing authority Monthly briefings from local Labour party This paper a working draft. Comments and suggestions are very welcome. However, please do not cite without the explicit permission of the author. Copyright PSA 2011 ‘Mandate expectations: How councillors make sense of and enact representation in an appointed arena 10 Councillor 3 (C3) None Councillor 4 (C4) Quarterly briefings from WMLGA Independents group Councillor 5 (C5) WMRA Briefings Councillor 6 (C6) Quarterly briefings from appointing authority, Local authority briefings relating to Regional Spatial Strategy Councillor 7 (C7) Subject based briefings available (on request) via appointing authority Councillor 8 (C8) Quarterly briefings received from West Midlands in Europe on European Issues Only one of the councillors interviewed received a briefing from their local authority in advance of full assembly meetings. The other members were reliant on the briefings provided by the WMRA itself or on subject based briefings which needed to be requested well in advance of any assembly business. The lack of formal and regular briefings weakens any opportunity of representatives acting as delegates. Several councillors fulfilled an accountability function to alternate groups instead of their appointing authority. Other councillors suggested accountability came naturally through other procedures at the council. Some interviewees spoke of the specialist remits of assembly members within the assembly as a possible proxy for the need for accountability: ‘people are put in place to give some political balance to our structures and secondly they are competent people who I think we can all trust to represent us in those areas’ (C5). Many members suggested the assembly contained ‘regional players’ (C7) who were there ‘because of what they bring to the table, not because of where they are from’ (C6). This contradicts the system of geographical authority units as the basis for the appointment of representatives and instead posits a desire for meritocratic appointments in line with Dahl’s conception of guardians (1989). Accountability through visibility Questions about reporting procedures and the politician’s associative identity when operating in each institution their home authority and the regional assembly also led councillors to speak of accountability through alternative means. Some interviewees talked of the Assembly being accountable as a collective entity and visible to everyone. The majority classified the Regional Assembly as different and subject to ‘different standards of transparency, visibility and accountability’ (C7). One councillor stressed that the lack of visibility of what goes on was an important factor restricting accountability but allowing assembly members to act differently in a less partisan way. Talking broadly about partnership working, he added that on the whole the Regional Assembly was: ‘not being scrutinised by the press’ and ‘not under a media spotlight, or indeed generally speaking a public spotlight’ (C2). This according to a number of councillors changed the dynamic at the Regional Assembly: ‘when you are not being scrutinised by the press then it is slightly more responsible, more adult’ (C1). Conclusions on authorisation and accountability views The interviews show that the organisation of accountability mechanisms of partnership members to their appointing organisation is haphazard, unstructured and unclear. Similar findings are seen with larger samples in the work of Smith, Mathur and Skelcher (2006) on public sector partnerships and work on local authority appointments to joint boards (Leach, Davis, Game and Skelcher 1991). The lack of formalised and consistent accountability mechanisms means many of those interviewed stressed that the accountability function came This paper a working draft. Comments and suggestions are very welcome. However, please do not cite without the explicit permission of the author. Copyright PSA 2011 ‘Mandate expectations: How councillors make sense of and enact representation in an appointed arena 11 through non traditional and non-institutionalised means namely external visibility or other proxies (through party or indirectly through councillor role). Some councillors also considered that there was no need to particular geographic accountability as assembly members were often ‘regional players’ or specialists. The relative strength of the ‘institutional software’ to emerging to deliver accountability to their appointing institution was weak in most cases. The institutional software was limited to a series of expectations: assembly members comply with the remit of their mandate, follow any top down directives relating to their actions at the assembly and defer where appropriate to the individual expertise or judgement of others. Returning to the literature the members interviewed failed to fully meet the accountability component suggested for indirectly elected bodies by Leach, Davis, Game and Skelcher (1991:163-164) derived their study of post-abolition metropolitan government. It is clear that without formal accountability mechanisms and requirements, the indirectly elected assembly members are left to their own devices. Overall members were poorly briefed by their appointing authority and were therefore reliant upon WMRA itself for briefings. No interviewees suggested that they were given voting instructions or direction. Reporting procedures were also piecemeal and unstructured. The fact that the WMRA stepped into the void left by the lack of local authority briefings suggests that there is scope for indirectly elected members to be captured by the interests of region. In terms of being held to account individually the lack of effective accountability mechanisms means that there is no scope for ex post control by the mandate giver and so no Damoclean sword, no physical deterrent or mechanism for discipline to force the appointed member to represent. The participation of councillors in the regional assembly without defined accountability mechanisms decouples appointed members from the simplest opportunity to be responsive to others. It would be too simplistic to say that this was because of their appointed nature as opposed to being elected as in both instances councillors can choose independence from the mandate. A councillor put it succinctly when they said referring to the juncture at which they can act independently along a more trustee conception of representation ‘whether you are elected or appointed makes no odds, once you have found that out what do you do with it’ (C1). Substantive Representation: In order to explore how assembly members consider their role they were asked to mark off on a visual analogue scale whereabouts they saw their role at the Assembly on the spectrum from mandated delegate to Independent trustee. The results are shown in figure 2 below. Figure 2 Interviewees conception of their representative style Mandated delegate C4 Politico C3 C2 Independent trustee C6 C8 C5C7 C1 Definitions: Mandated delegate: ‘I see my role as solely pursuing the policy preferences expressed by my council when operating on the West Midlands Regional Assembly’ Politico: ‘My council gives me direction to follow but I will appraise this against other interests (the region/my political party/my constituents) before deciding how to act at the West Midlands Regional Assembly’ Independent trustee: ‘I pursue what I think are the best interests of my council when I operate at the West Midlands Regional Assembly’ This paper a working draft. Comments and suggestions are very welcome. However, please do not cite without the explicit permission of the author. Copyright PSA 2011 ‘Mandate expectations: How councillors make sense of and enact representation in an appointed arena 12 Delegate conceptions As shown in figure two the majority of those interviewed adopted a trustee conception of their role. This was also supported by the interview data which was mapped via a framework analysis onto the role system framework developed from the literature review. Only one councillor mapped onto a delegate conception of his role, as an independent councillor he was keen to stress that he was appointed by his district council and therefore was ‘the district man at the region’ (C4). When asked whether he felt politically limited by taking the mandate literally he stressed ‘I wouldn’t be at the table as an independent without the appointment by the district council, therefore I have no right to exceed the clear mandate I feel I have been given’ (C4). Some councillors did state that they were acting in the interests of their electorate but none referenced a direct delegate role in relation to those who elected them to their appointing authority. This is probably due to the long chain of delegation between the politician operating in the assembly and the demos that elected them. If they are to be considered delegates then their direct principal is not the electorate. They are authorised to act but in a sense are not clearly delegated to any principal. There is little evidence of other interviewees adopting a delegate conception with the majority failing of request briefings in order to re-present the views of their authority to the Regional Assembly. Interviewees instead seem more inclined to focus on taking information away from assembly meetings. There are few examples of councillors directly drawing on opinion, experience or expertise gained at the local level and replicating it or representing it at the regional level as either a straight reinforcement of knowledge or a reapplication to the regional context. The direction of communication in this way is predominantly away from the assembly with reporting back seen as an opportunity to inform fellow councillors and the organisation as a whole of the opportunities, policies and potential areas for funding and lobbying. Trustee conceptions The majority of those interviewed alluded to a more trustee conception of their role which matched the work of Day and Klein on appointed members acting ‘more as trustees or tribunes rather than delegates’ (Day and Klein 1987:229). It should be made clear that trustee conceptions should not simply be assigned to those conceptions that are not delegate conceptions. The majority of those interviewed gave more interpretive assessments about their role as a representative on the basis that they fell under the auspices of a loosely situated mandate as opposed to something strict and defined. This builds on the idea of the nature of appointment freeing the appointee from structured representation allowing them the space to represent a wider range of objects, actors or issues. This idea suggests a fairly open and independent view of representation on the part of the councillor. The answers given about where mandates were situated were varied highlighting the ability of individuals to interpret their appointed mandate in diverse ways. Furthermore the flexibility involved in individual agency and choice when representing manifested itself in broad and often changing responses from councillors between questions. Some councillors asserted the ability of trickle down benefits ‘you have to think regionally, what is good for the region’ (C2) whereas others stressed the need to look after wider interests: ‘it’s just the system that says everyone had to be tied to a geographic area’ (C5). This builds upon an earlier comment whereby he stated a similar idea about his elected role ‘We act corporately and collectively and that’s established in law as well as taken as accepted practice’ (C5). Those closer to trustee positions were less responsive to their constituencies acting along the lines that their mandate grants them a level of independence. Their regional remit gives them independence or specialism and gives them the room to choose whichever group, issue or This paper a working draft. Comments and suggestions are very welcome. However, please do not cite without the explicit permission of the author. Copyright PSA 2011 ‘Mandate expectations: How councillors make sense of and enact representation in an appointed arena 13 object they want to represent leading to the need to assess the possible foci of representation. One councillor directly reference the challenge of multiple representative foci, but stressed that the authority representative focus won out clearly depicting a trustee role referring to the electorate they said ‘one has to represent their interests above all others, but there is a legal requirement upon all elected members at all levels to act corporately within the organisation they are in’ (C5). The majority of councillors interviewed adopted a position that is best described as some form of trustee, although this classification is broad and thus weak in terms of its explanatory power. The category of trustee needs to be delineated as the action of being independent from the mandate cannot strictly be assumed to be a definitional basis for trustee conceptions. Emerging Representative Role Types Many potential role types adopted by Regional Assembly members emerge and are informed by from the skills and knowledge required to work in partnership style bodies. Below are some potential role orientations emerging from the data. Institutional delegate: Councillor 4 (Independent councillor) is the only one of eight interviewed to adopt a delegate conception of his role and remained tightly committed to his institutional mandate. His insistence that he ‘was the district man at the region’ and he represented his council ‘as it goes about its business as part of the region’ went together with a commitment to deliver quarterly written reports on his actions at the Regional Assembly All the other orientations which emerge from the analysis are based upon a dislocation from the original institutional mandate and a trustee conception of role. Regional player: This term coined by one of the Labour councillors (C7) brings together both areal (regional) and specialist orientations. Their mandate to represent was irrelevant as they were involved with the Regional Assembly ‘because of what they bring to the table, not because of where they are from’ (C7). These individuals tend to be senior councillors who have been involved within regional institutions for a considerable time. One councillor alluded to a councillor operating as a specialist as opposed to being a representative for his constituency (Birmingham) stating ‘it doesn’t matter if he is operating outside his remit as a Birmingham councillor, he is the best guy for us on European issues and that’s what he should be answerable for’ (C2). This conception although rooted in an areal orientation towards the region it includes those who believe in the trickle down benefits for their institution from success at the region. Scrutineer representative: The interviewee who stressed that ‘all you can do is scrutinise’ (C1) used the scrutiny process at the Regional Assembly to ensure his constituency ‘got a fair deal’ (C1) out of what was on offer at the assembly (funding/best practice). This was done through hyper-involvement and immersing himself in the regional context. This was mirrored in councillor one also being the most active in terms of reporting his actions at the Regional Assembly through press briefings, party briefings, an online blog and securing regional working as a subject for scrutiny at his appointing authority. Entrepreneurial representative: The flexibility assured by a detachment from a strict appointed mandate allowed many of those interviewed to adopt a floating position in which they ‘can dip in and out of consensus groups’ (C3) and use their experience at the assembly and ‘translate that into a wider outlook for the community’(C1). A solid example of this is councillor five who increased his involvement at the regional assembly when he needed to protect a local interest and ‘fought the government through the regional assembly’ (C5). This paper a working draft. Comments and suggestions are very welcome. However, please do not cite without the explicit permission of the author. Copyright PSA 2011 ‘Mandate expectations: How councillors make sense of and enact representation in an appointed arena 14 Strategist representative: This orientation is based around long-term objectives and was adopted in particular by councillor two; a Labour councillor amongst a Conservative dominated regional assembly. His involvement with the assembly and other partnership bodies is rooted in a long-term strategic approach to advancing the goals of his city council. His appraisal was modelled firmly on a trustee conception of the independent representative. His mantra of representing without being briefed and dealing with accountability afterwards is entrenched in an attitude of ‘if you can’t make a decision then there is not a lot of point being there’ and ‘if I have to go back, I will justify it’ (C2). The strategist representative has a belief in the institution as ‘an arena for influence’ and stresses the importance of presence and ‘being there’ (C2). The orientation is based an overall approach towards communication and building consensus and engaging ‘with opposition members in a different way’ (C2). The strategist representative will operate on broad horizons and make long-term assessments which fits with the way of working of the Regional Assembly (15-20 year plans). This long-term outlook allows the representative to offset losses now for the long term benefit of his appointing institution. As shown with the comments from councillor two that: ‘if you see everything as a one off, then it don’t work’ and ‘If I lose that one then I can expect to win that one’ (C2). Role types: Strategy or Circumstance? The representative role system framework developed from Pitkin (1967) proved useful in teasing out how councillors acted within the regional assembly but didn’t make particular inroads into why they acted in this way. Whilst assembly members predominantly could be placed in the trustee category of representatives, this seemed to be due to the lack of strict accountability mechanisms giving them agency to adopt and adapt who or what the represented and how they went about representing them. It is clear that without accountability mechanisms those who take a delegate role will have a stronger responsiveness to their constituency or appointing authority than those who take on a trustee role. However, defining all assembly members as within the trustee category purely because they exhibit independence from mandate shows that the category of trustee needs further delineation to explore whether assembly members adopt a trustee orientation due to circumstance and structural factors or whether they make a strategic tactical choice to do so. Regarding structural circumstances there are clear examples of factors which restrict the ability or assembly members to enact a more delegate conception of their role. Some assembly members suggested that the volume of pace of business at the assembly meant they neither had the time or resources to act as delegates. The longevity of involvement in the assembly for long-term members alongside the intensity of involvement i.e. large amount of business conducted per assembly session creates strong conditions for the internalisation of particular roles and hints at greater internal responsiveness to the partnership. This could have an affect on their external responsiveness to the constituencies. By not being bound by the ideas or interests of their appointing organisation assembly members can to alter positions and overcome the differences that might otherwise constrain the development of consensus within the assembly. The situation however is not as simple as the assembly members taking on a role of being regional trustees. Their involvement in their local authority is their primary role and with it there is a clear democratic rationale to be active within the Assembly and responsive to the needs of their constituency in order to progress the strategic positions of their appointing institution. The final element of this paper discusses the subsequent use of a sensemaking approach used in the research to explore the concept of appointed representation. Applying a sensemaking framework to Interviews There is a need to explore the concept of appointed representation within the institutional context to understand the processes of reasoning and motivations of the individual and the This paper a working draft. Comments and suggestions are very welcome. However, please do not cite without the explicit permission of the author. Copyright PSA 2011 ‘Mandate expectations: How councillors make sense of and enact representation in an appointed arena 15 relative affect of norms, expectations and rules in providing barriers or facilitators to the enactment of different role orientations. Only through a full acknowledgement of the importance of the individual, their external context, their role choices and motivations and the structural tensions influencing them can we begin to understand the process of interpretation of the representative role and secondly the enactment of representation itself. Through an understanding of these factors can analysis begin to delineate whether Regional Assembly members enact a trustee role as regional representative because of strategic choice or institutional circumstance. Introducing Sensemaking The concept of sensemaking means ‘the making of sense’ (Weick 1995:5) where individual actors construct sensible and perceivable events. Within the concept of sensemaking the essential questions are ‘how they construct, what they construct, why and with what effects’ (Weick 1995:4). Sensemaking is defined by Starbuck and Milliken (1988:51) as ‘placing stimuli into some kind of framework’ and is a process which enables individual actors to ‘comprehend, understand, explain, attribute and predict’ their situation. This depicts sensemaking as the black box which needs to be opened up and understood. In the case of appointed representation the stimuli are those internal and external factors which structure and influence the decision making processes of the individual. The internal factors i.e. the beliefs, values and orientations of the individual and external factors e.g. an availability or lack of briefings or time can act as facilitators or barriers; which inform firstly the perception and secondly the enactment of different representative roles. This interpretative conception highlights the immensely subjective, individualised, dynamic and embedded nature of representation. The West Midlands Regional Assembly, as a new institution with new organisational structures and practices, requires councillors to make sense of their surroundings as they try and reconcile other identities (councillor/party member) and assumptions with new realities. The aspect of institutional environment and context therefore cannot be underplayed. Therefore, in deciding to locate the analysis within the theoretical framework of organisational sensemaking, the research can start to bring together and understand the how external factors and internal preferences, logics and ideals interplay within a particular context to define the enactment of representation. The concept of sensemaking (Weick 2001) is an appropriate tool to address the reflexivity of actors with regards to understanding and adapting to different policy contexts. It permits an appraisal of the difference between and within individuals’ interpretations of representation by exploring the micro-level enactment of reality of situated actors (assembly members) ‘making sense of representation and their conception of it within a particular context. The seven characteristics of sensemaking (figure 3) were used as a questioning framework to design interviews with assembly members in order to surface the norms, expectations, identities and thought processes affecting how they make sense of and adopt different roles in different contexts. This paper a working draft. Comments and suggestions are very welcome. However, please do not cite without the explicit permission of the author. Copyright PSA 2011 ‘Mandate expectations: How councillors make sense of and enact representation in an appointed arena Figure 3 The Seven Characteristics of Sensemaking 16 Sensemaking Ongoing (Sensemaking is continual) Social Driven by plausibility rather than accuracy Identity construction Enactive of the environment Focused on and by extracted cues Retrospective From Weick (1995:18) A single councillor (C5) was interviewed on a particular policy issue (eco towns) about his interactions within the policy process in each of the institutions within which he held a role (Regional Assembly/District/County). This approach revealed the flexibility within the enactment of councillor five’s representative role. In studying how councillor five understood his context and its limits on his capacity and capability to enact particular role the data showed that councillor five’s adoption of roles was contingent on his appraisal and understanding of his political context. The use of Weick’s concept of sensemaking (1995) directed the interview questions towards opening up how councillor five appraised and understood his situation. This approach clearly depicted a two stage process as councillors. Councillor five ‘made sense’ of his context through an appraisal of his identity in each particular role assessed the constraints or enabling elements within his environment (structural & capacity limitations) against past experience. Taking this information to inform his assessment of the capabilities of his role and the perceived optimum outcome for his object of representation councillor five would then adopt and enact a particular representative role in order to give the greatest opportunity to achieve the perceived aims of the council or issue he chose to represent. The process is outlined within the model shown in figure 4. Figure 4 Model for understanding the appraisal and enactment of roles This paper a working draft. Comments and suggestions are very welcome. However, please do not cite without the explicit permission of the author. Copyright PSA 2011 ‘Mandate expectations: How councillors make sense of and enact representation in an appointed arena 17 The adoption of a sensemaking process revealed that there is a great deal more to appreciate beyond the simple labelling of councillors as delegates, trustees or politicos. Councillor five’s different positions and strategies at each of the different levels responding to the eco towns: living a greener future consultation proved brilliantly illustrative of the dynamism of both the individual and the methods he employs to achieve particular goals. Changing course and focus at Stratford In relation to Stratford-on-Avon’s response to the consultation, C5 described his understanding of Stratford as ‘parochial’ and ‘protective of its interests’. This construction of a collective council identity formed the basis of his understanding of the position at the council and his strong choice of the council interest as his object of representation. However his appreciation of the resources available to him in terms of knowledge and oversight, drawn retrospectively from his assembly role allowed him to achieve a particular aim (to deliver a coherent, informed and directed response to the eco town consultation) and subvert some of the knee jerk responses of colleagues. C5’s understanding of the nature and direction of the special council meeting and knowledge of the routine of meetings (i.e. the chair would call for oversight) allowed him to wait for his chance and ultimately change the structure and nature of elements of the council’s response to the consultation. Although positioning himself as ‘a bit out on a limb’, he managed to mediate the concerns of colleagues and lead the response in a direction focusing on elements regarding the inappropriateness of the proposals within the local context. The platform afforded to him by the meeting chair allowed him to legitimately shape the response and prompt recollections of past successes amongst his colleagues to engender support for the changes. This retrospective aspect in both how councillor five made sense of the situation and framing of the sensemaking of his colleagues via calling to mind past successes highlights the extent to which decisions are informed by past experiences. His overall ability to understand the atmosphere at the council and within the meetings and tailor his approach accordingly reveals the reflexivity of individuals in the enactment of different representative roles. Ultimately using the knowledge and oversight gained from his other roles, councillor five managed to subvert a strongly parochial audience and enact a trustee role based upon his additional knowledge of the policy context and judgment regarding the best opportunity to amend the direction of the response at the special meeting. Leading at Warwickshire Whereas he had sat back at Stratford before interjecting to change the nature and tone of their response at Warwickshire councillor five managed to lead the response from the start. This commenced with how he constructed his identity as a Warwickshire CC. His conception of his role as derived from his consideration that the role of the council was a large organisation with a particular role was to ‘join up’ and service the needs of each ward. Identifying his ward as his ‘primary responsibility’, councillor five expressed a strong rooting in representing the interests of his constituents. However he also appreciated his responsibility to ‘the council as a whole’ an element which he described as ‘thinking for the county’ but ‘pushing hard’ for his ward’. Councillor five’s appreciation of the perception of his colleagues of his capability to lead the response meant he could shape the response to focus on issues of infrastructure and transport. This approach was drawn from councillor five’s understanding of the eco town proposals and the government’s particular focus on sustainability, as well as an understanding of the localised focus of Stratford District Councils response. The appreciation of the value C5 could add to the response afforded him the opportunity to lead which he took up as he instigated meetings with the joint officer and joint working group. His knowledge of both the Warwickshire structure plan and elements of the Regional Spatial Strategy meant he could draw upon cues which showed This paper a working draft. Comments and suggestions are very welcome. However, please do not cite without the explicit permission of the author. Copyright PSA 2011 ‘Mandate expectations: How councillors make sense of and enact representation in an appointed arena 18 that the proposals did not fit within the current planning frameworks. His decision to appraise the transport assessment conducted on the eco town site allowed him to depict the government as out of touch and thus play into the anti government sentiment he already knew existed amongst his county council colleagues. The tactic of priming colleagues by verbally briefing them on the historic planning context helped him gain further support to lead the response. Overall at Warwickshire councillor five managed to use his knowledge, position and colleagues perceptions of his capability to lead the response. His belief in his role being to address issues of ‘joining up’ meant that the whole approach adopted at Warwickshire focused on issues of infrastructure brilliantly complementing the geographic focus of Stratford-on-Avon DC. Affirming and informing at the Regional Assembly Whilst at the regional assembly councillor five constructed his identity around the need to ‘reflect’ the interests of his appointing institution and more broadly the collective view of Warwickshire, he mediated the concerns of his constituents through his council role. Councillor five’ ability to enact different roles either delegate or trustee roles was informed by his ability to source the relevant position of Stratford-on-Avon DC or its members. On such an emotive issue councillor five felt he needed to ‘make sure’ that the LGA secretariat were sufficiently briefed on the policy position of his appointing institution thus enacting a delegate role strongly fitting with his identity as someone to ‘reflect’ the district council interest. However where he didn’t have an appropriate response to feed into the regional consultation he had to draw upon his judgement about how the goals of the district could best be achieved and enact a trustee role. However the adoption of a delegate role was contingent on the sudden increased visibility of his role amongst his colleagues to the emotive feelings associated with the district council’s objection to the eco town proposals. This visibility meant his role was under greater scrutiny and he received a greater number of colleagues wishing to make their representative mark on the regional response through him. This increased interaction with his colleagues at Stratford gave him additional information and cues on which to draw when interacting with the policy consultation process at the regional level. This notional movement, from one of trusteeship and role flexibility to a delegated information delivery role, shows the immense influence that context can have upon limiting how individuals can legitimately enact different representative roles and the need for flexibility. Knowledge of the regional assembly as an institution and how it works derived from his experience over time allowed him to learn ‘what worked’ and thus be able to use the best methods to advance the interests of Stratford-on-Avon DC (his appointing authority). By knowing the relevant officer staff he managed to inform the development of the consultation response, without having to act in an excessively parochial manner at the general assembly meeting. His visibility at the assembly and relationships with the senior officer team which he had cultivated over time allowed him the opportunity to be at the forefront of the development of the regional assembly consultation response and ultimately have a significant impact on its content. This involvement allowed the regional assembly response to be informed by and supplemented by the response already developed by both Stratford DC and Warwickshire CC. Sensemaking and enactment The case study of each individual institution served to reveal the adaptive nature of the councillor when confronted with different challenges. The ways in which he ‘made sense’ of each environment, role and potential capability informed how he chose to enact either a This paper a working draft. Comments and suggestions are very welcome. However, please do not cite without the explicit permission of the author. Copyright PSA 2011 ‘Mandate expectations: How councillors make sense of and enact representation in an appointed arena 19 delegate or trustee role in order to advance the strategic interests of the object or organisation he chose to represent. Figure 5 illustrates the actions of councillor five at each institution and posits the logics of his action. Figure 5 Mapping the logics of representative action The analysis of each consultation response allowed an appreciation of the context of councillor five’s sensemaking and informed the interview questions and process which enabled the analysis to reveal the reflexivity of role choices based on context. Conclusion: Moving beyond typologies In seeing the reflexivity within the adoption and enactment of roles by councillor five it was clear that delegate and trustee roles were not predefined by emergent. Within the case of the regional assembly, this was particularly clear. The original lack of visibility of councillor five’s regional assembly role was based upon his colleagues’ lack of appreciation of his regional role as opposed to a lack of formal reporting structures. This meant the adoption of a trustee role was simple. Previous analysis has hinted that due to a lack of elective procedures and visibility the regional assembly role is usually enacted on the basis of a council trustee. However the sudden visibility of the role shows one cannot rule out delegate conceptions in this instance. Roles emerge and are performed by councillors appreciating and adapting to context. Whilst it is difficult to assert what the end goals of councillor five were beyond wanting to stop the eco town, the interview process managed to surface some of the objectives and motivations for action for councillor five operating in different institutional settings. These objectives and motivations appraised alongside how they made sense of their situation show that there is a clear juncture where councillors make sense of their role and then enact it. The adoption of a sensemaking approach shows simply that there is intrinsically more to representation than simply labelling an individual as a trustee or a delegate. Only through understanding the numerous aspects in the construction of identity, the perception of limitations and capabilities and the strategic assessment of opportunity costs and long term actions, do individuals move on to enact particular roles in order to achieve aims. Agranoff, R. and M. McGuire (2001). "Big questions in public network management research." Administration Research and Theory 11: 295-326. Audit Commission (2005). Governing partnerships: Bridging the accountability gap. Public Sector (National Report). London, Audit Commission,. Birmingham City Council (2010). Partnership Governance Framework and Toolkit: Appendix 9: Protocol for elected members involved in any work with outside bodies. Byrne, T. (1994). Local Government in Britain. London, Penguin. Copus, C. (2004). Party politics and local government. Manchester, Manchester University Press. Corina, L. (1974). "Elected Representatives in a Party System: A Typology." Policy and Politics 3(1): 69-87. Dahl, R. (1989). Democracy and Its Critics. New Haven, Yale University Press. This paper a working draft. Comments and suggestions are very welcome. However, please do not cite without the explicit permission of the author. Copyright PSA 2011 ‘Mandate expectations: How councillors make sense of and enact representation in an appointed arena 20 Day, P. and R. Klein (1987). Accountabilities 5 Public Services. London, Tavistock Publications. DETR (1998). Modernising Local Government: Local Democracy and Community Leadership. Department of the Environment Transport and the Regions. London. Eulau, H., J. C. Wahlke, et al. (1959). "The Role of the Representative: Some Empirical Observations on the Theory of Edmund Burke." American Political Science Review 53(3): 742. Game, C. and S. Leach (1996). 'Political Parties and Local Democracy', in L. Pratchett and D. Wilson (ed.) Local Democracy and Local Government. Basingstoke, Macmillan. Glasson, J. (2002). 'Some interim conclusions', in T. Marshall, J. Glasson and P. Headicar (ed.) Contemporary Issues in Regional Planning. Aldershot, Ashgate: 247-264. Gyford, J. (1976). Local Politics in Britain. London, Croon Helm. Heclo, H. H. (1969). "The Councillor's Job." Public Administration 47(2): 185. IDeA, L. (2007). National census of local authority councillors in England 2006, National Foundation for Educational Research. Jones, G. W. (1973). "The Functions and Organisation of Councillors." Public Administration 51(2): 135-146. Judge, D. (1999). Representation: Theory and Practice in Britain. London, Routledge. Leach, S., H. Davis, et al. (1991). After Abolition: The Operation of the Post-1986 Metropolitan Government System in England, PSI Publishing. Mathur, N. and C. Skelcher (2007). "Evaluating Democratic Performance: Methodologies for assessing the relationship between network governance and citizens." Public Administration Review 67(2): 228-237. Newton, K. (1974). "Role Orientations and their Sources Among Elected Representatives in English Local Politics." Journal of Politics 36(3): 615. Newton, K. (1976). Second City Politics. Oxford, Clarendon Press. O’Toole, L. J., Jr. (1997). "The implications for democracy in a networked bureaucratic world." Public Administration Research and Theory 7: 443-459. Pitkin, H. F. (1967). The Concept of Representation. Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press. Rao, N. (1998). "Representation in Local Politics: A Reconsideration and some New Evidence." Political Studies 46(1): 19-35. Rao, N. (1999). "Representing the People? Testing Assumptions about Local Government Reform." Public Administration 77(2): 257-271. Rao, N. and K. Young (1993). Coming to Terms with Change? The Local Government Councillor in 1993, London Government Chronicle and Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Rhodes, R. A. W. (1997). Understanding Governance: Policy Networks, Reflexivity and Accountability. Buckingham, Open University Press. Smith, M., N. Mathur, et al. (2006). "Corporate Governance in a Collaborative Environment: what happens when government, business and civil society work together?" Corporate Governance: An International Review 14(3): 159-171. Snape, S. (2004). 'Liberated or Lost Souls: Is There a Role for Non-Executive Councillors', in G. Stoker and D. Wilson (ed.) British Local Government into the 21st Century. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan: 60-75. Staffordshire County Council (2008). Constitution: Item 3 - Members of the County Council. Staffordshire County Council. Stafford. Starbuck, W. H. and F. J. Milliken (1988). '‘Executives Perceptual Filters: What They Notice and How They Make Sense’', in D. Hambrick (ed.) The Executive Effect: Concepts and Methods for Studying Top Managers. Greenwich. CT, JAI Press: 35-65. Stewart, J. (1990). "The Role of Councillors in the Management of the Authority." Local Government Studies 16(4): 25 - 37. Stratford-on-Avon DC (2005). Constitution: Role and functions of all councillors. Stratford-onAvon DC. Stratford Upon Avon. Sweeting, D. (1999). Leadership, Scrutiny or Mutiny? New Councillor Roles in Local Government in the United Kingdom. Workshop on the Changing Role of Local Councillors at the European Consortium for Political Research, Joint Sessions, . Mannheim, Germany. This paper a working draft. Comments and suggestions are very welcome. However, please do not cite without the explicit permission of the author. Copyright PSA 2011 ‘Mandate expectations: How councillors make sense of and enact representation in an appointed arena 21 Wahlke, J. C., H. Eulau, et al. (1962). The legislative system. Explorations in legislative behavior. New York, Wiley and Sons. Weick, K. E. (1995). Sensemaking in Organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage. Weick, K. E. (2001). Making Sense of the Organization. Oxford, Wiley Blackwell. Wilson, D. and C. Game (1998). Local Government in the United Kingdom. Basingstoke, Macmillan. Wilson, D. and C. Game (2002). Local Government in the United Kingdom. Basingstoke, Palgrave. This paper a working draft. Comments and suggestions are very welcome. However, please do not cite without the explicit permission of the author. Copyright PSA 2011