TYPE OF DATA PROJECT: Data Collection
TITLE: “New Orleans Satellite Government: Board, Commissions, Public Benefit Corporations and other Quasi-governmental entities that govern New Orleansâ€
AUTHOR: Aaron Schneider, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver (aaron.schneider@du.edu); David Marcello, David Martin
KEYWORDS: accountability, local government, New Orleans, transparency, urban regimes
PROJECT SUMMARY:
New Orleans has a fragmented structure of boards, commissions, public benefit corporations, and other entities that produce a phenomenon labeled as “satellite governance†in this project. The concept includes the complicated web of governmental and quasi-governmental entities exercising public authority that to one degree or another receive tax money or spend budget resources, obey civil service and other public administration regulations, have some or all of their board appointed by public officials, and were created by law, constitution, or charter.
The core issue pursued in this project is the degree to which satellites distort the public interest in New Orleans. The project was designed with an express civic function to assist in accountability of public authority. This called for an explicitly participatory methodology that would include public input in the identification, collection, and use of data. The data have been made available in multiple venues to potential users, including fellow researchers, the general public, investigative journalists, public officials, and civil society organizations.
Information collected allows an evaluation of entities, with particular attention to items that characterize unaccountable decision-making, unrepresentative leadership, and privatization of public assets and authority. In addition, information on other characteristics of entities has been collected such that other users might find additional patterns in the data. The project suggests that over the long-term, non-transparent public authority potentially allows public power to be distorted to private ends, exacerbates existing inequalities, damages democracy, and stifles development.
DATA ABSTRACT:
The data cover the period from 2008 to 2013 and primarily consist of quantitative and qualitative data on individual entities. In general, the data is recorded in nominal form, such as 1-0, supplemented by a descriptive explanation of the score. Where possible, variables are measured with quantitative indicators at higher orders of measurement. Some data elements also contain additional linkages to data that a user can pursue independently.
The data were collected by a small team of research assistants working from 2010 to 2012. Some of the data, especially to document the existence of entities, were gathered through archival research. Most of the data in this database are public record, though housed in different locations. Some are available directly from individual entities, and others were obtained from oversight bodies such as the state legislative auditor or the city council. The difficult task, in many cases, was identifying where the data could be found and compiling it in a way that it could be compatible with the data obtained from other satellites.
The project includes interviews with experienced public officials, civil society activists, and civil servants, board members, and members of staff of satellites. Most key informants and board members were interviewed face-to-face by the principal investigators, and most satellite staff were interviewed by phone, generally by student research assistants. Also, surveys were generated for and sent to each entity requesting public information such as budget, board membership, and function. Most responded within a reasonable period of time. The postal survey thus also served to confirm or disconfirm the existence of entities that occasionally survived in public records even after they had ceased to operate.
FILES DESCRIPTION: The notes taken during interviews and mail surveys were taken either directly into an Excel spreadsheet for incorporation into the database or in long form. For less interactive forms of data collection, many documents were downloaded, printed, and stored in hard copy, with internet links preserved in the database where possible. In other cases, notes were taken and occasionally incorporated into the database. There are two organizational principles in the data. The first orients the data by entity, with entities grouped according to functional category, and each entity characterized by a series of variables relevant to research questions related to the functioning of public authority and fulfilling the general civic duty of making satellite entities more accountable. A second principle organizes the data by board member, in which the overlapping and intertwined membership of many satellite entities suggests a sociological, political, and economic linkage among entities that is not evident without a focus on board membership.
AVAILABILITY AND ACCESS OF FILES: Almost all of the data are collected from the public record. The only personal data collected include the characteristics of members of boards, and where possible this information is collected directly from members of each board. The data collected in interviews are kept anonymous, and human subjects IRB approval will be obtained for data that apply to individuals, such as board members. Since they are public figures, this information is largely in the public realm already. All data in the project authors’ database have been shared with QDR and with the public, reflecting this project’s roots in a logic of transparency and accountability. In addition, the participatory logic of the project presumes that there are useful insights and research agendas to be opened through the publication and wide dissemination of the information collected.