Do sister cities matter for international municipal networking? analysis of cities of newfoundland and labrador province in canada

To ensure better reinforcement for the objectives of the Development Millennium Goals (DMGs), cities are presented as key players in the formulation and implementation of public policies not only at the municipal level but at the international level as well. Sister city movement aims to empower local communities and to strengthen their role in the decision-making process to better respond to the sustainable development objectives. Through the literature, different attempts exist to provide significant description of the relationship taking place between different sister cities at the local, national, regional and international level. This research investigates primarily the type of networking which ties the sister cities existing in Newfoundland and Labrador province in Canada. The study aims to present a detailed analysis of the following: reasons of networking between cities; motives driving the initiatives for the formulation of networking; sectors of intervention; level of intervention; outcomes and changes brought to the community through the process of networking; problems of the implementation phase; and the actions taken during the evaluation phase for networking sustainability. The results of the research demonstrate that public policy networking, which exists between the sister cities in Newfoundland and Labrador province in Canada, may be described as strong ties. Nevertheless, those cities need to dedicate attention, regarding the implementation and the evaluation phase of public policy networking, to improve the existing relationships.