The requirements to the municipal services are changing rapidly with the demands from the citizens and other external cooperation partners. Consequently, the requirements to the organisation of local governments are changing at the same pace.
In many countries, the actual demands point in the direction of:
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A more cost-efficient municipal administration
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A greater variety and improved quality of municipal services to the citizens
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Internal decentralisation of tasks to individual municipal institutions
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Active cooperation with other local governments, the regional and the state level of the public administration, and non-governmental organisations
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Co-operation with and facilitation of the private sector, e.g. by contracting out.
In order to meet these demands, the local governments as well as the central and regional governments need to reshape their organisations with respect to institutional structure, division of tasks, capacity of the employees etc.
The same is the case for central government institutions, like ministries for local government and subordinate institutions at regional or local levels.
Organisational development cannot be limited to redrawing the organisational diagram and moving functions and compet encies between the different units of the organisation. It is LGDK’s experience that many aspects, such as the political and administrative management, the organisational culture and human resource development need to be incorporated in the organisational development, if sustainable results are to be achieved.
Needless to say, organisational development projects need adaptation to the local conditions, and to take the actual situation as a point of departure, often by performing a management audit of the organisation in question. Some of the following elements are frequently part of organisational development projects:
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Review of the political management and relations between the political and the administrative level
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Analysis of the current organisational structure, competencies etc.
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Review of the division of tasks and responsibilities within the organisation
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Human resource development, including development of the professional and human capacity of managers and the employees, including willingness to internal cooperation and exchange of experience, adaptation to a changing environment etc.
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Analysis of the work and information flow in the administration
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Review of the relations between the political council, the municipal administration, the municipal institutions and the citizens (for local governments)
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Review of the relations between the central government, the ministry, the regional and local governments, and the citizens (for ministries)
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Review of the resource endowment (finances, human resources, institutional structures etc.) to the strategic development plans of the organisation in question
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Though the objectives of organisational development projects are to establish new and improved conditions for the solution of municipal tasks, the projects often generate some uncertainty about future tasks, responsibilities and cooperation. Therefore, LGDK finds it important to ensure:
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A common start – a thorough discussion within the steering committee about the project in order to agree on the objectives, the process, the content, the division of tasks and the responsibilities during the project period, etc.
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Provision of information – this is crucial in order to avoid rumours within the organisation
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Involvement of employees – is necessary in order to earn the acceptance and support from the employees to the development project
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Clear ownership and follow up – though many stakeholders may participate in the development project, it is important to locate the ownership of the project at the management of the organisation in order to ensure optimal use of the results generated and the motivation of the employees.
LGDK has assisted organisational development in Jelgava Municipality in Latvia. Partly, the project aimed at supporting Jelgava Municipality and partly at developing a consultancy service in the Union of Local Self-Government (ULSGL). Therefore, LGDK carried out the project in Jelgava in cooperation with newly appointed consultants from ULSGL and representatives from Jelgava Municipality. The project included the following stages: a) Creation of a steering committee and working groups on 1) cooperation between the political and administrative level 2) management information systems and management structures and elaboration of a time and action plan for the project b) Review of available written material on organisation and management of Jelgava Municipality, and interviews with key politicians and employees in the municipality c) Elaboration of a status report, including recommendations for development d) Elaboration of activity plans for specific aspects of the organisational development plan that were approved by Jelgava's city council afterwards e) Detailed descriptions of working processes and tasks and functions of the employees in the municipality f) Creation of a "one-stop-shop" and new administrative structures in Jelgava Municipality g) Implementation of a seminar on "administrative management" including presentation of general management tools, tools for personnel management, tools for managers' self-analysis and creation of management teams h) Study visit to Denmark in order to gather inspiration for the development of the "one-stop-shop" in
Jelgava Municipality.
The review of administrative procedures revealed a serious overlap in functions and by cutting these, it became possible both to cut costs and introduce more rational administrative procedures.
In the Ministry of the Interior’s Central Unit for Public Administration Reform (CUPAR) in Romania,
LGDK in 2007 implemented an organisational analysis with a view to assess if the present structure and staffing of CUPAR’s is appropriate in relation to its tasks and responsibilities.
The analysis included the following elements: a) Agreement about methodology for the organisational analysis with the CUPAR management b) Collection of facts about CUPAR’s achievements and challenges and data about the staff c) Electronic questionnaires with 31 questions about working environment, cooperation, relations with the management and colleagues d) Interviews with selected staff at different organisational levels as well as interviews with stakeholders
The analysis resulted in a 93 pages report, being presented in 60 slides at a seminar for all CUPAR staff.