Characterising two German city networks: the interplay of internal structure, issue orientation and outreach strategies

Figures & data

Table 1. Characteristics of city networks.

City networks	Characteristics	Variations
Internal dimension of representation	Motive(s)	Self-interest Idealism
	Membership structure	Homogeneous Heterogeneous
External dimension of representation	Main strategy	Scaling out Scaling up
	Policy issues addressed by the network	To be determined empirically

Table 2. Comparative analysis.

Dimension of representation	Characteristics	DST	KQI
Internal	Motive	- Self-interest - idealism	- Self-interest - idealism
	Membership structure	Relatively homogeneous (member cities) 16 regional associations, 195 cities as direct members, 13 special members, -Funded by membership fees -Voluntary membership	Relatively heterogeneous Integration commissioners of 50 (mostly bigger) cities, Members from -Academia, -Private foundations, -Federal government -Voluntary membership
	Internal organisation	Formal organisation Non-profit organisation -President -General Assembly -Executive Committee -Board -Council -120 fulltime employees	Informal organisation Lead: City of Stuttgart -Trust-based community -Non-hierarchical
	Membership composition	- Representatives: differ by policy field	- Representatives of municipalities: mainly integration commissioners
External	Main Strategy	- Scaling out - Scaling up actively in terms of advocacy	- Scaling out - Scaling up reactively when consulted
	Main Objectives	Impact on political decision-making on higher government levels	Development and refinement of local soft policies to improve local integration outcomes
	Policy issues	- Social cohesion, - Local intercultural issues and diversity, - Local economic development, - Development aid, - Immigration law, - Migration-related crime	- Social cohesion, - Local intercultural issues and diversity, - Education and labour market integration