Metropolitan Governance and Interorganizational Coordination: Study of a City Corporation in Bangladesh

Metropolitan governance focuses on democratic participation, citizen-centered services and local growth. In Bangladesh, urban sprawl, rapid population growth, and multiple public agencies providing services make inter-organizational cooperation essential, yet problematic. Limited autonomy, unwieldy institutional procedures, unproductive inter-agency coordination and disjointed collaboration often hinder policy and program execution. Consultation, collaboration, negotiation, and mutual adjustment are aimless, incoherent or ineffective. This exploratory-interpretive study using survey data examines the challenges of inter-organizational coordination in Chittagong, the second-largest city in the country. The focus is on institutional mechanisms, organizational culture, leadership, administrative dualism, accountability, integrity, management quality, and program monitoring and evaluation.