Understanding Collaboration Between NPOs and Local Governments in Japan.

Abstract

In recent years, we witnessed the proliferation of new citizen groups that are called “NPOs” and the gradual transformation toward a cooperative relationships between the public sector and NPOs in Japan. Local governments are increasingly forming partnerships and collaboration with NPOs to achieve the effective local governance.
  However, in the micro - level perspective, there are differences in the level of collaboration. Some local governments willingly engage in various types of collaboration with NPOs, while others still have no connection with them.
  What determines these micro - level differences? What factors affect the level of collaboration? Much of the existing studies have not examined this points sufficiently.
  In this article, the author emphasizes the importance of three factors―institutionalization, networks, and political opportunity structure―and offers the systematic empirical test with the municipal data of JIGS2 survey. The results of statistical analysis show that these factors explicitly drive the formation of collaboration between NPOs and local governments.