Strasbourg, 22 March 2013 CDLR(2013)13
Item E.3 of the agenda
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE ON LOCAL AND REGIONAL DEMOCRACY
(CDLR)
CDLR REPORT ON INITIATIVES TO STRENGTHEN GOOD GOVERNANCE, CAPACITY BUILDING AND CITIZENS’ DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION AT LOCAL LEVEL
For guidance and action
Secretariat Memorandum
prepared by the
Directorate of Democratic Governance
Democratic Institutions and Governance Department
 |
Introduction
As part of its terms of reference, and following specific decisions taken by the Committee of Ministers regarding the follow-up to the 17th Session of the Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Local and Regional Government (Kyiv, 3-4 November 2011), the CDLR is expected to examine how the principles of good democratic governance at local and regional level can be promoted and applied in the practices of local and regional authorities and to deliver a report on initiatives to strengthen good governance, capacity building and citizens’ democratic participation at local level.
In order to fulfil the terms of reference set by the Committee of Ministers, the report needs to be prepared in time for the CDLR to adopt it at the latest at its second meeting of this year. The Secretariat considers that more in-depth knowledge on the topic is necessary and could be provided through a seminar gathering national (regional) experts, local elected representatives and scholars in order to extract best practices. A questionnaire to be disseminated in advance to identify experiences in member states would provide useful input for the seminar. The documents at Appendices I and II provide an overview of how the seminar could be organised and the outline of the questionnaire.
The outcome of the seminar should subsequently provide the input for the report on initiatives to strengthen good governance, capacity building and citizens’ democratic participation at local level to be drafted with the assistance of a consultant.
It is recalled that the Belgian delegation to the CDLR had suggested a seminar at which (low) participation could be discussed with a view to substantiating the report on good governance. This issue could well be taken up in the framework of the seminar suggested in this document.
Action required
The Committee is invited to comment and give instructions to the Secretariat on the preparation of the questionnaire, seminar and report on initiatives to strengthen good governance.
Appendix I
How to implement the terms of reference
Regarding initiatives to strengthen good governance, capacity building and democratic participation at local level
Three-step approach towards the final result:
- Questionnaire
- Seminar with national (regional) experts, local elected representatives and scholars to have a cross-cutting discussion on initiatives on good governance
- Report providing best practises.
Questionnaire
The questionnaire (Appendix II) will ask member States about their current work and practice, as well as intentions for future work in two main areas;
- enhancing the quality of local and regional governance (within the existing framework and structure)
- reforming the framework and structure of local and regional government.
The replies from member States will be collated into a country-by-country stocktaking document.
Deadline for replies should be early May 2013.
Seminar
A seminar should be held in the week of 17 June on one and half days (2 or 3 working sessions).
Participants would be one per member State reimbursed, plus open to more at own expense.
Congress, PACE and Observers would be invited. The European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) would also be invited to attend and contribute.
Format would be plenary only, unless the costs of workshops (interpretation) could be covered, or interpretation dispensed with.
Two consultant experts to be designated will give their views on the question of the challenges to “good democratic governance at local and regional level” drawing on evidence from questionnaire and their own expertise.
The seminar will highlight selected practices and invite the experts to give their views.
Other experts might be designated to contribute to the seminar, in particular for example from the angle of citizen participation (in day-to-day governance and in structural reforms).
The link with previous work by the CDLR (acquis, tools, reports) should be ensured.
Report*
The concept of good governance in the public sector
When exploring the literature on good governance in the public sector one may find different definitions of the concept of good governance. Summarizing the results, the concept of good governance in the public sector could be divided in two main interpretations:
§ Good governance interpreted as a concept for (new) public management with a strong focus on the effectiveness and efficiency of management and control in and between the different levels of government[1],
§ Good governance interpreted as a concept for an interactive process of decision-making and policy implementing in cooperation with the relevant actors of civil society[2].
Having regard to the competences and the terms of reference of the CDLR, it is suggested that the report on initiatives to strengthen good governance should be based on the interpretation of good governance as a concept for interactive decision-making and policy implementation. This interpretation of the concept of good governance and the underlying goal to create what is described in literature as “polyarchal democracy”[3] matches the ambitions of the Council of Europe and the CDLR as described in the Warsaw Declaration: “… We are convinced that effective democracy and good governance at all levels are essential for preventing conflicts, promoting stability, facilitating economic and social progress, and hence for creating sustainable communities where people want to live and work, now and in the future. This can only be achieved through the active involvement of citizens and civil society…”
* What follows is largely based on the proposals contained in document CDLR-Bu(2012)24.
Good governance and the Council of Europe
The European Charter of Local Self Government and its Additional Protocol, numerous recommendations of the Committee of Ministers and various reports and guidelines adopted by the CDLR provide sufficient background for a set of norms encapsulating the main features of good democratic governance at local level[4]. The Twelve Principles adopted by the Committee of Ministers upon endorsement by the European Ministers at their Valencia conference (2007) are the specific Council of Europe contribution to the definition at the European level of the principles of good governance which should inspire public policy at local level.
The implementation of the Twelve Principles is left to the initiative of each member state in particular but not exclusively through the acceptance of the Strategy for Innovation and Good Governance at Local Level. Some Council of Europe member states (Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Norway) have accepted the Strategy while others (Belgium, France, Hungary, Malta, Romania, Spain, Ukraine…) are considering ways and means of doing so.
In order to facilitate the implementation of the Principles the Secretariat has prepared a compilation of texts (conventions, recommendations, Guidelines and Tools adopted by the Council of Europe and other international Organisations) whose implementation would enable or facilitate compliance with individual principles[5].
Experiences of good practice in innovation and good governance at local level exist however even outside the framework of the Strategy and would deserve to be known and disseminated. Member states could draw inspiration from each other’s experience and action could be recommended or taken at the level of the Council of Europe, if appropriate.
Outline of the report
The report should describe several best practices of good governance at local and regional level used in different member states and how the measures were developed and which legal provisions (if any) were necessary to introduce the measures in the domestic framework.
It could be accompanied by a modest database, preferably in EXCEL, which could be used by member states for additional analysis and publication on the Council of Europe website.
The report should also contain contact details of central, regional and local authorities (or institutions) willing to share their experience with other entities interested in improving their governance having regard to the experience and know-how developed by others.
Outcomes
Based on the systematisation of (their) domestic practices of good governance against the backdrop of the Twelve Principles, member states would be able to identify those policy areas where action (of legislative character or not) could prove necessary in order to fill the recorded gaps in matching specific Principles.
Member states would also have access to each other’s initiatives, measures and lessons learned to improve participation, regain trust in the institutions or introduce good e-governance.
The Stakeholders’ Platform of the Strategy for Innovation and Good Governance could make use of the finding of the report with a view to supplementing and/or updating the existing benchmark used for assessing the implementation of the Twelve Principles by the municipalities competing for the European Label ELoGE.
Appendix II
Questionnaire on best practices in strengthening good governance
at local and regional level
A. Does your government have a specific (national) policy on strengthening and/or encouraging good governance by local and regional authorities: YES/NO
If so:
● what are the main policy priorities ?
● how is the policy implemented by local and regional authorities ?
has a special body been established to facilitate the strengthening of/encouragement to good governance at local and regional level? YES/NO
If so,
● could you please describe its main task and responsibilities?
● could you please provide examples of its (facilitating) activities?
B. Is your government undertaking or does it intend to undertake structural reforms in local and regional government, i.e. changes to the tiers, size or competences of local and regional authorities? YES/NO
If so, is the European Charter on local self-government explicitly taken into account as a standard for the reform?
C. Is the strengthening of and/or encouragement to good governance at local and regional level among the explicit objectives of the reform? YES/NO
If so, is the Strategy for Innovation and Good Governance at Local Level taken into account as a standard/source of inspiration for the reform?
[1] Poluha, Eva; Rosendahl, Mona (2002). Contesting 'good' governance: cross-cultural perspectives on representation, accountability and public space.
"The IMF's Approach to Promoting Good Governance and Combating Corruption — A Guide". International Monetary Fund. 20 June 2005. http://www.imf.org/external/np/gov/guide/eng/index.htm.
[2] What is Good Governance? UN: http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/governance/
[3] Dahl, Robert (1999), On Democracy
[4] The Tools produced by the Centre of expertise for Local Government Reform could also be mentioned in this connection.