The Report as an Administrative Tool. Case Study: Reports for the Reform of the Bucharest Municipal Laboratory of Chemical and Bacteriological Analysis (1908)
The Report as an Administrative Tool. Case Study: Reports for the Reform of the Bucharest Municipal Laboratory of Chemical and Bacteriological Analysis (1908)

Summary/Abstract: The Romanian administration used reports written by specialists to manage various types of information, from organizational models used in the West to scientific knowledge. Bucharest’s administration was no exception: mayors and councilors, City Hall employees or external experts produced reports on many of the problems facing the capital. This important category of sources has been insufficiently investigated by historians. Our study aims to analyze an exceptional case. In the context of the reorganization of the chemical analysis laboratories under the City Hall in 1908, several reports were produced, on the basis of which the municipal administration decided how this sector was to operate in the future. The paper answers several questions. Who were the experts commissioned? How were the reports structured? What were the main problems identified and what measures did the reports propose to improve the situation? Why did City Hall not implement all the measures proposed by the experts? We show that the report is more than a conduit for transmitting information. The report creates models, objectives, and standards for the municipality to achieve. It is also an instrument of the rapporteurs, which use the report to promote their own interests.

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