improving administrative sciences worldwide reflections on stronger local governments 7ted –...

I m p r o v i n g A d m i n i s t r a ti v e S c i e n c e s W o r l d w i d e


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Reflections on Stronger Local Governments

7TED – Babes Bolyai University – Cluj Napoca- Roumania

Geert Bouckaert (KU Leuven, Belgium)

President of IIAS


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• Some facts

• Impact of Crises

• Innovations in local government, i.e. cities

• Local government as a necessary level for central level


3

SOME FACTS

-Decentralisation increases

-Trust in local government is higher (highest)

-Citizens/Companies/Organisations are demanding, mobile, assertive, aware of their rights

-Hierarchy remains important, but markets and networks are emerging

-Profiles of populations change

-Transparency increases


Austria Latvia

Belgium: (Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels)

Lithuania

Bulgaria Luxembourg

Croatia Poland

Denmark Portugal

Estonia Slovenia

France Sweden

Germany Switzerland

Greece UK

Hungary The Netherlands

Ireland FYROM


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• Shared challenge = financial-economic crisis:Decline in own tax revenues Lower transfers from the central budgetOther grants diminishing as well (e.g. EU funds)National level anti-crisis measures

• Impact of crisis varies depending on

Level of local fiscal autonomyDebt level of local authorities…


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• Different challenges for different clusters of countries: improvement of overall efficiency Optimization of local government scale (Cluster: states with

small or average-sized municipalities in terms of inhabitants)

Ageing of the population and the civil service (Cluster: ‘old Europe’)

Decentralization issues …

• Many specific national and specific regional challenges State reform in Belgium Joining the EU in Croatia …


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• Personnel management/HRM Shared: Increasing performance of local government staff Specific: diversity, ethics, gender balance,…

• Financial management Shared: Cutting expenditures and improving performance Specific: decentralisation of public finances, transparency, crisis

related measures,…

• Quality management

Shared: Introduction of quality models (CAF, ISO,…)

• Organizational management

Shared: Reorganisation

Specific: High diversity of reforms (mergers of municipalities, metropolitan areas, ‘one stop shops’, agentification,…)


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• Strategic planning and performance management

Shared: Introduction of strategic plans

Benchmarking instruments, quality awards• E-governmentShared: More collaboration within the administration

Less bureaucracy Increasing accessibility of local services

• Partnerships

Shared: Increased number of partnerships (OECD focus)

Specific: Different emphasis (Public-private partnerships, inter-municipal cooperation or multi-level discussion forums)

• Citizen participation

Shared: Increased citizen participationSpecific: Varying range: From passive (e.g. complaint handling) to active (e.g.

citizen budgeting, user committees,…)


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Name of reform packages Period of introduction

Austria - New budget law (title not specified)

Belgium: Flanders - Internal ‘state’ reform 2009

Denmark - Local Government Reform

- Quality Reform

01/01/2007

2007

France - Acte 2 de la décentralisation 2004

Germany - Neues Steuerungsmodell (NSM) Early 1990’s

Greece - Kapodistrias Program

- Kallikrates Program

- Thisseas Program

- Ellada Program

90’s

2010

2010


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Ireland - Transforming Public Services (TPS) Programme 2008

Poland - elektroniczna Platforma Usług Administracji Publicznej

(ePUAP)

28/03/2007

Lithuania - Strategy of Lithuanian Public Administration

Development till 2010

- Law on public administration

- Program for promoting partnership of Public and Private

Sector (2007-2010)

- Conception for the Internal Decentralization of the

Municipalities

2007

2007

Portugal - Public Sector Reform Package


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Sweden - National responsibility and international commitment: A

national strategy to meet the threat of terrorism

- Dialog on shared values

2007

2009

UK - Big Society 2010

The Netherlands - Wet dualisering

- Nationaal Uitvoerings Programma dienstverlening en e-

overheid (NUP)

- Programma Krachtig Bestuur

Code interbestuurlijke verhoudingen

2000

2010

2008


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• Pretended succesful implementation of reforms in most countries...

• ...However no systematic analysis yet • Various difficulties that may impede a succesful implementation: Legal obstacles Lack of information and know-how Little openness of local authorities to reforms, Lack of financial and human resources, lack of staff competence,

political disagreement, Lack of political support Lack of initiative and vision, Mismanagement and corruption. … • Financial-economic crisis: paradoxical role


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• Drivers for reform:

Shared:

-Financial-economic crisis

-Good performing local governments (efficiency, effectiveness, quality)

Specific:

EU-regulations Demands for reforms by local governments or others actors Growing expectations and demands by the public Need/goal for more efficiency, more effectiveness, more

quality, more accessibility and more customer orientation


Delay/ postponement of investments 17

Budget cuts: decrease of expenditure/ spending related to management functions (e.g.

office supplies, staff training) 16

Budget cuts: decrease of expenditure/ spending related to debt 16

Budget cuts: decrease of expenditure/ spending related to service delivery (e.g.

reducing hours of teaching in schools, lowering subsidies for child care, …) 13

Decrease of local government staff numbers (e.g. lay-offs, early retirement schemes,

non-replacement of pensioning staff members, reduction of salaries, others) 11

Restructuring/ reorganization initiatives without reduction of local staff numbers 10

Restructuring/ reorganization initiatives leading to reduction of local staff numbers 9

Increase of local tax levels (e.g. increase of surcharge on income tax, property tax, …) 7

Restructuring/ reorganization initiatives in which tasks and/ or services are transferred

to other organizations 4


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• Additional financial support for local governments in some countries:

Increasing the general grant from central governmentAdditional grants (limited in time), Prefinancing of grantsAbsorbing local debt Providing/guaranteeing low margin loans to local

governments.

• Financial support sometimes linked to efficiency gains (e.g. Flanders)


• Direct support from the private sector only in Portugal

• Indirect involvement of the private sector in other countries:

consultancy Increasing competition in service provisionPPP Increasing the involvement of non-for-profit organizations…

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Belgium:

Flanders

New management and policy cycle (multiannual planning and management)

Germany - A comprehensive strategic approach taking into account all relevant policy areas in order to

cope with the effects of demographic change

Ireland - An independent local government efficiency review examining the cost base, expenditure of

and numbers employed in local authorities

Poland - E-region: a diverse monitoring system for regional development

Portugal - Reorganisation of educational facilities

- New school centres with access and use of information technologies in the classrooms

- Extracurricular activities in foreign language learning, music, etc.


Switzerland - Local government autonomy to levy own taxes and set their own tax rate

- Long term budgeting policy: building up a good financial ‘pillow’ during financially good

periods and reduce the reserves during crises

France - Charter of good conduct between banks and local authorities to limit the risks inherent in

certain loans

- Ombudsman who facilitates dialogue between local governments and banks

- Pooling of resources in an intercommunal frame or in general or regional boards

Hungary - Multi-purpose micro-regional associations

The

Netherlands

- ‘Benchlearns’ (benchmarks + learning process)

- Strategic financial planning (including paragraph on budgetary resistance)


All countries Romania Belgium0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Distribution of EPSA-submissions by level of government (EPSA-editions 2007, 2009 and 2011)

national levelregional levellocal level


Economic a

ffairs, c

ompetition, S

ME

Educati

on (high

er an

d lower)

, train

ing and le

arning

Employm

ent, l

abour r

elated

affair

s and ge

nder eq

uality

Envir

onment, c

limate

chan

ge, a

gricu

lture

and fish

ery

Exter

nal rel

ations a

nd aid, d

evelo

pment a

nd enlar

gemen

t

Informati

on socie

ty, te

chnology

, med

ia an

d audiovis

ual

Justice,

police, h

uman rig

hts an

d secu

rity

Public ad

ministrati

on, modern

isation, in

stitutional

affair

s, refo

rm

Public hea

lth an

d socia

l welf

are/aff

airs

Regional

policy an

d develo

pment, d

ecentra

lisation

Scien

ce, re

search

, innova

tion

Sports

, youth, cu

lture

and ar

t

Taxa

tion, custo

ms, finan

ces

Transp

ort an

d infra

structu

re

Cross-

sectoral

Other

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Distribution of local level EPSA-submissions by sector

All countriesRomaniaBelgium


business

proces

s re-e

nginee

ring

capita

l inve

stmen

t

communica

tion strat

egy

community

and st

akeh

older parti

cipati

on

coopera

tion

e-gove

rnmen

t

human re

source

man

agem

ent

new fo

rms o

f finan

cing a

nd financia

l man

agem

ent

new se

rvices

or new

tech

nologies

public-priv

ate part

nerships

quality

manag

emen

t

strate

gic m

anag

emen

t and plan

ning tools

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Distribution of local level EPSA-submissions by type of activity

All countriesRomaniaBelgium


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Remaining questions• Is the global financial-economic crisis being decentralised?

• Are local governments being strengthened or weakened?

• How to keep strengths of local governments?

• Which role does the EU (want to) play?

• What is the weakest part in the chain of local government performance?


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CONCLUSIONS• 1.Local governments are responding to the economic-financial crisis

• 2.Local governments share an agenda to improve performance (efficiency, effectiveness, quality)

• 3. There is a need to be informed on the performance of local governments

• 4. There is a need to host capacity and/or look for partners to collect data on local government performance

• 5. There is a need to host a learning platform to share innovative practices amongst local governments

• 6. Innovations in local government, i.e. cities

• 7. Local government as a necessary level for central level

improving administrative sciences worldwide reflections on stronger local governments 7ted –...

Documents

cities local government

performance specific

shared challenge

reorganisation specific

central level

stronger local governments

necessary level

quality management