3. Political and operational management: thinking globally, acting transversally

3. POLITICAL AND OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT: THINK GLOBALLY, ACT TRANSVERSALLY

POLITICAL MANAGEMENT

Who has the right to make a global political decision involving numerous sector-specific officials? We have observed 3 different models: • The Mayor: Liège, Turin. • A specifically-dedicated municipal deputy or councillor; Nantes, Paris, Bordeaux, Vilnius. • Co-management between several deputies commissioned by the Mayor: Bordeaux (from 2018 to 2020). For district Mayors: in Paris, nomination of one elected official as Night Mayor. Since 2020, Bordeaux has a municipal councillor in charge of Nightlife, appointed as such by Mayor Pierre Hurmic.

Several European cities have a Night Mayor. These individuals are not elected officials, but rather people from outside of the municipality, generally stakeholders in nightlife culture who are elected or appointed by the Mayor and officially recognized in their function, sometimes having also financial resources like in London, Lausanne, Mannheim, Tbilisi, or the main Dutch cities (like Amsterdam and Rotterdam). Other cities use various iterations of this model. This is the case in Zurich, where the area of nightlife is politically managed by the Council of the Night Mayor (not an elected official but a group of six nightlife campaigners from different professional backgrounds). It is thus more a matter of the convergence of different stakeholders’ interests and needs who agree on particular points rather than a long-term strategy with a cross-cutting approach. Furthermore, this model enables an important lobbying approach for active groups and networks.

In the 7th district of BUDAPEST, the political leadership is performed by three deputy mayors who are in charge of the Security / Tranquillity and Urban Development portfolios. They work in close cooperation with: police experts and representatives; local surveillance bodies (a specifically Hungarian example, the Rendészeti Igazgatóság); tourism and urban development experts; as well as with civil society representatives, nightlife-related business owners and the inhabitants of the district.

Crédit hvg.hu

7th district of Budapest (nightview)

In VILNIUS, the nightlife strategy is led by an elected municipal councillor who works in collaboration a working group called Nighttime Economy Commission and with an independent NGO called ‘Vilnius Night Alliance’(1), which represents venues, organisers and artists.

In TURIN, the municipality is still ironing out its local nightlife strategy. The Mayor (who has chosen to be in charge of some specific areas such as crime prevention and security) manages nightlife matters on a case by case basis with the help of the Deputy Mayor for innovation and other deputies – such as those in charge of youth or industry.

In MANNHEIM, the Night Mayor, the first in Germany, is responsible for all matters relating to nightlife and therefore acts as a point of contact. After the first nomination, this position has been filled through a classic application process rather than through a public vote. The position is under the jurisdiction of NEXT Mannheim, a body that is under the supervision of the department for urban cultural development. This body is entirely financed by the city of Mannheim and the Mayor is president of its executive board. This system allows for demands to be rapidly dealt with by the relevant municipal or police departments.

OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT

A project manager from a relevant department can be tasked with: 1. Coordinating the different bodies in charge of implementing the nightlife policy: • Organising plenary assemblies and moderating working groups (in order to maintain overall consistency and supervise general matters such as schedules, follow-up on decisions, etc., are shared across the board); • Coordinating between the different directorates, the relevant municipal departments, the working groups and all the city’s external partners; • Managing internal communication: mailing lists, newsletters, digital library, etc. 2. Ensuring the implementation of an action plan for nightlife: • Identifying and mobilising the necessary resources to implement actions; • Supervising and evaluating all of the actions implemented by the city and its partners; • Facilitating the exchange of practices with other cities; • Participating in the promotion of the city’s nightlife policy. In PARIS, NANTES and BORDEAUX, the project leader or coordinator works with nightlife advisers in each relevant municipal administration, thus ensuring synergies and cooperation across the board. In other cities, coordination and transverse work are less structured and can sometimes be difficult, but they still remain key for an efficient implementation of the strategy.

Credit Ville de Paris

Meeting with nightlife deputy Frédéric Hocquard, City of Paris, and residents associations

In BORDEAUX, a project team meets every six weeks for an operational follow-up. Its members lead and moderate the thematic commissions and technical meetings.