Strasbourg, 11 March 2014                                                                   CDDG(2014)2

                                                                                             Item 3 of the agenda

EUROPEAN COMMITTEE ON DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE

(CDDG)

CDDG PEER REVIEW

For action

Secretariat Memorandum

prepared by the

Directorate of Democratic Governance

Democratic Institutions and Governance Department

This document is public. It will not be distributed at the meeting. Please bring this copy.

Ce document est public. Il ne sera pas distribué en réunion. Prière de vous munir de cet exemplaire.

Introduction

According to its terms of reference, the CDDG is instructed to:

“Facilitate, upon request from interested member States and within the limit of its resources, targeted activities of exchange and assistance between member States in its field of work, notably regarding local and regional democracy, the modernisation of public administration and transfrontier cooperation. This will be done including through peer-to-peer advice and drawing on the in-depth knowledge of governmental representatives from other member States and the expertise of high-level consultants, having full regard to Council of Europe standards.”

In the course of its mandate, the CDDG is expected to organise up to four such Peer Reviews upon the request of member states to facilitate the modernisation of public administration at any level.

Background

The Peer Review process has been developed and adapted by the Centre of Expertise for Local Government Reform to provide assistance and advice to several member States preparing, adapting or implementing reforms in recent years.

Peer Reviews have recently been organised in Albania, Armenia, Belgium, Finland and Moldova on topics such as empowering local authorities, Territorial Administrative Reform, the transfer of competencies between central and local / regional level, and respecting the autonomy of local authorities in the context of austerity policies.

The Centre of Expertise for Local Government Reform has been organising peer reviews at local level for a number of years and, in the light of its experience, has improved the concept of the exercise, as it appears in appendix. It will be closely associated with the planning and, where appropriated, the organisation and implementation of peer reviews.

The concept paper in appendix seeks to give a general overview of the methodology of the Peer Review, outlining the key stages and expected results.

Action required

The CDDG is invited to hold an exchange of views on the Peer Review based on the paper in appendix and on recent experience.

Member States are invited to indicate how they might contribute to or benefit from a Peer Review.  They are also invited to comment on how the methodology, as described in the appendix, can be improved in order to increase impact and value for money.

Appendix

The CDDG Peer Review:

Targeted activities of exchange and assistance between member states

Preconditions

The authorities of member State X have expressed their wish to embark on a process of reform or modernisation, which, for example, might include a review of:

i)             the allocation of functions between different levels of government;

ii)            the allocation of financial resources and financial mechanisms;

iii)           the intergovernmental relationships between state and local authorities;

iv)           the territorial pattern/ inter-municipal cooperation.

Such an ambitious task needs a clear and shared political vision, a coherent strategy design and a well-thought implementation work programme. The vision and strategy will of course be largely based on domestic debates and expertise and careful preparatory work done at expert and political level and including the involvement of local stakeholders.

However, in the context of a reform process, State X may see the advantage in inviting government experts from other member States to carry out a more comprehensive analysis of the preparatory work, reports, and recommendations already undertaken.

   

An external review by impartial, third-parties with specific expertise can offer valuable advice and highlight potential pitfalls to be avoided.

Next steps

Member State X requests assistance from the European Committee on Democracy and Governance in the context of a Peer Review. Member State X is currently preparing a comprehensive report on “Public Administration in X: the Way Forward” and would like CDDG Peers to advise on specific aspects of the reform process. The report is intended to become an ambitious Action Plan for public administration reforms in X and as such would benefit from the experience already garnered by member States having recently adopted similar plans.

Peer reviews are essentially intergovernmental exercise, the efficiency of which has been proven by past experience: they allow colleagues from other European governments who have conducted similar reforms and legislative changes to offer information, exchange experience and best practices and provide friendly advice to the host government.

The Council of Europe is the only international organization in the field, which can gather representatives of selected Governments of 47 member states for this type of exercise.  The new European Committee on Democracy and Governance has been conceived as the appropriate intergovernmental forum for exchange of views and good practice in public administration reform at all levels of government. 

In addition to meetings with governments’ representatives involved in preparing and implementing the proposed reforms, Peer Reviews also include meetings and exchanges with a multitude of other stakeholders, international experts, representatives of other international organisations, civil society and local experts. The results of these discussions lead to a broader understanding of the issues at stake and can contribute to significant improvements in any legislation or action plan that is being prepared, reflecting both European standards and the specificities of the situation in member State X.

The Peer Review Team is tasked with preparing a short report, including basic recommendations and advice to be taken into consideration in the course of the reform process.

In the course of the Peer Review, attention will be drawn to transversal policies of the Council of Europe to ensure that all envisaged legislative reforms take into account the gender dimension and seek to foster equal opportunities.

Process

The box below summarises the main elements of the suggested process.

1.    A Peer Review can only be carried out upon the request of a member State addressed to the CDDG Secretariat and provided the given authorities see the benefits of doing such an exercise. Their strong commitment and support is also required for the effective implementation of the project. Thus, as the first step, the authorities are invited to express their interest and commitment to hosting a Peer Review to the CDDG, and to identify a key issue (or 2-3 issues) to be reviewed (for example, territorial reform). 2.    The Secretariat of the CDDG, in consultation with the host State, will help put together a team of 3-5 Peer Reviewers (Peer Team) from relevant member States with appropriate knowledge and experience of the topics and issues of concern to the host State. 3.    One or two independent experts – one at least with experience of the country’s context – will join the team. 4.    The Secretariat of the CDDG or the Centre of Expertise for Local Government Reform will provide a Project Manager responsible for ensuring organisational support and overall co-ordination. 5.    The peers, in agreement with the host Government, will establish a list of authorities and stakeholders to meet and agree dates.  Normally the Peer Review will last for 2-3 days. 6.    The Project Manager, assisted by the authorities will gather background documents relevant to the Peer Review (e.g. basic statistics; information on local government system and structures; recent experts’ reports and analysis on issues at stake; etc.). Each member of the Peer Team should receive a set of these documents sufficiently in advance the visit to member State X. This will enable the members to be well prepared in advance of the visit and have a clearer understanding of the issues at stake. 7.    The Project Manager will work with the partners to make arrangements for the programme, accommodation, meals, transport and administrative support for the Peer Team for the duration of the visit. 8.    Costs of the Peer Team and project manager are borne by the Council of Europe. The host State bears the costs of organising visits, meetings and local transport, as appropriate, as well as interpretation to/from one of the official languages of the Council of Europe and the language(s) of the host State. 9.    Two weeks before the visit, the programme for the Peer Review visit should be agreed between the Project Manager and the partners. It should include individual discussions with key stakeholders (policy- and decision-makers within the Government and Parliament; senior staff); representatives from (the associations of) local authorities; partners from the Donors’ community[1]; think tanks and other external partners... 10. The Peer Review visit takes place (2-3 days). At the beginning, the Peers will hold a pre-mission briefing where the team will come together to discuss their preliminary impressions and agree how to conduct the various meetings. The Peer Review Team is guided in each discussion or workshop by a prepared set of questions. The aim of the discussions should be to build up a picture of the present situation (to complement the evidence gained from relevant documents) and of the views of key stakeholders on aims, targets, path and pace of the reform, as well as on possible triggers and potential dangers/threats. At the end of the visit, the Peer Review Team will hold a de-briefing session to discuss its preliminary findings.  The preliminary findings should then be presented orally to the host authorities. 11. Within two weeks following the visit, the Peer Reviewers and independent experts submit their written comments and recommendations to the Project Manager. The Project Manager prepares a confidential draft report with conclusions and recommendations, and shares it with the Peer Team and the authorities. 12. On the basis of the comments received from the [authorities and] the Reviewers, the Project Manager finalises the report and sends it to the Peer Review Team and the partners within two weeks after the peer review. Publication of the report remains a decision for the authorities of the host state, though it is to be hoped that the conclusions and policy recommendations will be shared with the CDDG. 13.  On the basis of recommendations made in the report, the authorities should be able to further their reform strategy and medium-term work plan.