‘FACING THE CHALLENGE HOW TO EFFECTIVELY SUPPORT
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REFORMS BY ESF FUNDS’
WORK PACKAGE 4
INTEGRATED PROJECT REVIEW
DELIVERABLE 4
FINAL REPORT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT WORK............................................................ 3
1a. Baseline study on local governance in EU countries and good practices
presentation .................................................................................................................... 5
1b. Research study on citizens’ level of satisfaction with local governance services in
network countries ......................................................................................................... 12
1c. Three day learning seminar “Modern Local Governance: Issues and Prospects” 18
2. REVIEW OF SEMINAR KEY FINDINGS AND OUTCOMES ........................... 20
2a. Presentation of good practices of Local Governance in the European countries:
Denmark, Netherlands, Finland, Greece ...................................................................... 20
2b. Key findings of the seminar ................................................................................... 29
2c. Synthesis and conclusions ...................................................................................... 48
2d. Priorities for ESF funding: A synopsis .................................................................. 52
3. A REVIEW OF THE MOST IMPORTANT OUTCOMES OF THE BASELINE
STUDY ON LOCAL GOVERNANCE AND EU COUNTRIES AND GOOD
PRACTICES PRESENTATION BASED ON SEMINAR OUTCOMES .................. 55
4. RESEARCH STUDY ON CITIZENS’ LEVEL OF SATISFACTION WITH
LOCAL GOVERNANCE SERVICES IN NETWORK COUNTRIES: A REVIEW
OF DISCUSSION IN LIGHT OF SEMINAR FINDINGS ......................................... 60
5. ASSESSMENT AND SUGGESTIONS FOR THE USE OF ESF FUNDS ............ 65
5.1: Assessment of how ESF funds were used from local Authorities until today ...... 65
5.2 Suggestions for the future use of ESF funds .......................................................... 76
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................ 88
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The final report is structured in five main sections. The first section refers to the description
of the project work, where a short summary for each of the major milestones of the project is
presented. The second section refers to key findings and outcomes of the seminar, as these
derived from seminar presentations and working group discussions. In the light of seminar
findings, sections 3 and 4 provide a review of the baseline study and research study findings
and discussion, by adopting a critical and analytic approach. The final section refers to
suggestions for the use of ESF resources.
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1. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT WORK
For the programming period 2007-2013, strengthening administrative capacity is considered
one of the most important sectors of the European Social Fund. The need for supporting
administrative capacity results from the belief that effectiveness of the public sector is the
basic condition for the successful design and implementation of policies to promote social
economic development. In many cases, the lack of efficiency of public administration restricts
the inflow of investments, slows reform process and prevents the settlement of citizens’
affairs. Strengthening administrative capacity is the best tool for developing and
implementing effective policies and programs. Both governments and local authorities need
to be supported by appropriate methods and techniques so that their operation becomes more
efficient and effective.
The European Network ‘Facing the challenge of how to effectively support public
administration reforms by ESF funds’ was created in 2009 and has been endorsed by the D.G.
for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. The main objective of the Network is to
stimulate mutual learning for the public administration modernization process by the
utilisation of ESF funds and to enhance the quality of activities undertaken in the area of good
governance. The network comprises of ESF Operational Programmes Managing Authorities,
ministries, agencies, academics and external experts from six member-network countries
which are responsible for institutional capacity building and public administration reform.
Member-network countries include Poland, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Czech Republic and
Lithuania. The coordinator of the network is Poland. Greece participates in the Network with
the Managing Authority of the Operational Programme “Administrative Reform 2007-2013”
(MA).
Each country as represented by its relevant public authority is responsible to conduct in depth
study for one thematic area:
1. Strategic Planning (Romania: Ministry of Administration and Interior)
2. E-government (Bulgaria: Ministry of Finance)
3. Partnership principle (Lithuania: Ministry of Finance)
4. Business friendly administration (Poland: Ministry of Regional Development)
5. Local Governance (Greece: Ministry of Administrative Reform and E-government)
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In the context of participation in the European Network ‘Facing the Challenge how to
effectively support public administration reforms by ESF funds’, Greece and particularly the
Managing Authority of the O.P. “Administrative Reform 2007-2013” has undertaken the
responsibility of thematic area (5) which refers to local governance.
Based on this thematic area, the working group in Greece has conducted:
a) A baseline study on local governance in EU countries aiming to highlight relevant
good practices
b) A research study in all 6 member network countries aiming to investigate citizens’
level of satisfaction from local administration services
c) A three-day learning seminar
The following section provides a brief description of each of the above milestones.
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1a. Baseline study on local governance in EU countries and good practices presentation
The baseline study focused on local governance, as the type of governance which is being
developed at sub-national and especially at local level, while an effort was made to identify
institutions, procedures and practices of good local governance in the cases investigated. In
this study, all 27 national local governance models of all EU members were highlighted,
including both the key actors and stakeholders involved in decision making and the provision
of services by the local government, as well as the financial resources utilized (with the
emergence of the contribution of the European Social Fund (ESF) and co-financed programs
in the operation and reform interventions in local government). The final conclusion of this
study included some key reform trends and alternative models for local governance in
Europe, as well as the identification of specific good practices that can, through learning and
dissemination processes, be useful for most EU countries.
The methodology for this study was based on the following axes: the recording and the
systematic analysis of the local governance systems in the EU, in combination with critical
presentation of the major reform initiatives.
From the study of the performance of EU countries in governance, the best governance
performers seem to be the countries of the north, with Finland being in the first place, which
is followed by Denmark and Sweden, while in the fifth place is the Netherlands that follows
Luxembourg. Therefore, most of the countries that are in the first places of the good
governance’s performance, belong in the group of the Nordic countries and they seem to
share a number of common features. The most important common features include high
proportion of government spending of total public expenditure, in combination with
significant fiscal autonomy of local government; an important role of government in basic
social services, like education and health; as well as a governance system that is characterized
by the dominant position of corporate bodies and the consensual political culture. Moreover,
these countries have very strong welfare state, low social inequality indicators, strong and
professional public administration, and particularly strong diffusion of new technologies. In
these countries, institutions regarding citizens’ involvement and institutions of transparency
and accountability are very widespread and strong, while municipalities are at the forefront in
the use of new technologies and the development of new, modern management methods and
tools. According to all international comparative surveys, the citizens’ degree of satisfaction
that corresponds to the municipal services and generally quality of life, is very high, while
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their societies are distinguished by their high degree of trust in the public system, which is a
key component of the social capital, along with trust in institutions.
Quite close to the performance and characteristics of these northern countries are other
countries of central and northern Europe, such as the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and
Ireland. The second group of countries presenting “medium” performance includes the United
Kingdom, Belgium, France, Malta, Cyprus and Estonia, followed by the third and largest
group of countries in which the governance performance indicators seem to be below the
average level of the EU includes 9 countries (Portugal, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Spain,
Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia). These countries are in a level, which enables
them to directly improve their governance performance through systematic efforts.
In the fourth and last group of countries that show very low governance performance
indicators are two Balkan countries, which experienced a long period of non market economy
(NME) and authoritarian regimes (Romania and Bulgaria) and two countries that have
belonged to the European Union for decades, namely Italy and Greece. In all four countries,
however, the problem of corruption seems to be particularly strong, for which targeted
measures and actions as well as issues of rule of law (where Greece is in a comparatively
better condition) need to be developed, and reforms’ quality issues (where Italy is in a
comparatively better condition) must be placed on the table for discussion. It is obvious that
in these four countries great efforts to improve governance need to be made, while especially
in Greece and Italy, which have decades of democratic normality and participation in
European integration, the problems of governance seem to have deep roots and adjusting will
be particularly difficult.
The comparative analysis allows for a number of significant conclusions. First of all, some
general trends are highlighted, related to the institutional framework, such as efforts to
strengthen the democratic legitimacy and citizen participation, the promotion of efficiency
and effectiveness, transparency and accountability, as well as significant transfers of
responsibilities to local authorities which, in most cases are not accompanied with the
corresponding funding. At the same time, there is a widening of the institutional pluralism
within the countries through the use of a wide range of organizational forms and methods of
action, which offer many different options to the relevant institutions and decision makers.
The way in which local authorities provide services varies depending on prevailing
perceptions in each country and the degree of innovation of the local governance system.
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Thus, in some countries, services are provided directly by local authorities (either individually
or through inter-municipal cooperation). In other countries, services are provided in
collaboration with the private sector, either outsourced or in the form of partnerships. In the
case of social services cooperation with NGOs is followed.
The responsibilities of local authorities include some that are found almost horizontally in the
selected countries, such as waste management, public spaces / green, primary education, the
protection of children and the elderly, primary health, water supply, municipal roads, public
transportation, dealing with licensing and public information on employment issues. In more
"advanced" countries, local government provides services such as town-planning, training and
adult education, provision of welfare benefits, secondary health, housing and promotion of
unemployed in employment.
Also financial instruments differ considerably from country to country, but there are some
common features, in most cases, such as a) the participation of local government in certain
taxes which are collected by the central government, b) the importance of real estate taxes and
fees for services, etc. In general, fiscal autonomy does not seem to be widening, instead
controls and limitations are intensified - a process that derives from budgetary pressures that
all countries currently face. The role of European funds is very important in the eastern and
southern countries, playing often a key role for the adoption of innovative and generally
modernizing measures and initiatives for local government.
Reforms in local government in Europe is oriented towards specific measures, such as
institutional-political changes, territorial restructures, privatization and adoption of market
methods and, generally, of methods and techniques representing new public management.
This combination of reforms differs from country to country, but the influence among
countries and the dissemination of specific standards are obvious. In countries that receive
substantial funds by the EU, “Europeanisation” is particularly strong, while in more
developed countries, the initiatives are developed from within the countries, sometimes by
central governments and sometimes by Local Authorities or Local Authorities’ Associations.
However, in the developed countries the main objective is the modernization and the
rationalization of the administrative system for confronting the contemporary socio-economic
and technological requirements and opportunities.
Consequently, based on the recorded reforms, highlighted good practices include:
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
As for the territorial reforms, successful examples of mergers of municipalities can
be seen in Denmark, Germany, Netherlands and Sweden, with simultaneous transfer
of responsibilities and creation of new levels in the first 3 countries. The merge of
different municipalities constitutes a good practice since it is based on the
rationalization of the levels of governance (abolition of old individual levels and
establishment of new integrated ones). The abolition of different levels of local
governance leads to a simplification of the structures, the procedures and the decision
making process while saving revenues through the reduction the bureaucracy. On the
other hand, the establishment of new integrated levels of governance favours
organizational functionality and the coordination of cross-sectoral public policies
(such as economic development, environmental protection, water protection etc). If
all the above are combined also with the transfer of responsibilities that accompanied
mergers, it is evident that with this model Local Authorities became significantly
more powerful, so that they can be in place to correspond to the constantly increasing
needs of the citizens for the provision of services in areas where the central
government cannot intervene decisively (eg. social services). The example of Greece
("Kallikratis") is interesting but unfortunately there are no quantitative indicators for
evaluating the degree of successful implementation. Together with municipality
mergers, successful development models of inter-municipal cooperation are recorded
in Poland, Czech Republic and France. Inter-municipal cooperation models constitute
a good practice especially in the cases of Local Authorities of small size, which
independently do not have the “critical mass” of infrastructure and resources to serve
the needs of their citizens. In these cases, utilizing common resources and sharing the
expenditures for developing a joint effort among all participating organizations
allows for the development of actions which could not be developed under any other
circumstances. Moreover, the exchange of know-how among participating
organizations is feasible through inter-municipal cooperation models, leading to the
benefit of disseminating good practices and experiences.

As for the cooperation with the private sector, successful concession models can be
seen in Eastern Europe (Poland, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Romania)
and, also, in countries such as France, where there is a long relevant tradition.
Cooperation with the private sector constitutes a good practice, since Local
Authorities on one hand are in position to benefit from the know-how and the capitals
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of the private sector, while on the other hand the private sector is able to contribute
decisively to the development of the municipal property (such as for new
infrastructure or the creation of parks, shopping and sports centers, tourist facilities,
etc.). As a result, cooperation with the private sector is a growth driver for Local
Authorities, contributing decisively to the improvement of the level of services
provided to citizens. Besides cooperation with the private sector, cooperation between
Local Authorities and NGOs is particularly widespread in countries where NGOs
have shown traditionally strong growth and assume an important role in providing
social services, such as France, Germany, Sweden, and Poland. Cooperation models
with NGOs constitute a good practice because NGOs cover many weaknesses and
gaps left by the central and local governments, as the protection of the environment
and social protection. Consequently, Local Authorities can capitalize on the high
level of expertise from the NGOs in the aforementioned areas and use it for the
benefit of their citizens.

As for the adoption of modern methods and tools of new public management,
good practices are emerging a) in creating one-stop services (Greece, Denmark,
France, Germany and Sweden), b) in implementing performance indicators (Poland,
France, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands and Sweden), c) in implementing cost
accounting systems (Poland, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany,
Netherlands and Sweden), d) in the choice vouchers (Denmark and Sweden).
One stop shops constitute a good practice since they concentrate in one focal point a
number of services, facilitating their delivery not only for citizens but also for
companies. These focal points come to replace the many different offices which
anyone should address for fulfilling a single request. It should be mentioned that one
stop shops could be either in a physical or in an electronic form. The benefits from
these shops include on one hand the significant improvement of the level of services
provided to citizens and on the other hand the improved level of competitiveness of
the local economy for companies and investors.
The implementation of performance indicators is considered a significant innovation
and a good practice at the same time. Benchmarking of local government
performance is a very important tool, not only for public information and
transparency of governance, but also to mobilize the various municipalities within the
frame of political competition and competition between municipal administrations.
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Moreover, the development of an integrated framework of indicators for Local
Authorities, which if followed proves quality assurance from the organization,
supports essentially the organization to standardize its operation and to have an
objective view of its strong points and weaknesses.
The implementation of analytical accounting systems is also a good practice, because
such systems promote not only transparency but also comparative evaluation and
benchmarking of the performance and services provided by Local Authorities.
Analytical accounting systems provide both the tools and the information for an
objective financial report, as well as support the evaluation of the work carried out by
Local Authorities, allowing at the same time to set quantitative goals on a regular
basis. These analytical accounting systems are a first attempt of adopting an objective
financial monitoring and evaluation framework, following the standards of the private
sector.
Vouchers are considered also as a good practice because the cultivate competition
among different Local Authorities, as different providers of services to citizens. More
analytically, every citizen has the right to select the Local Authority that he / she
wishes as provider of services through this voucher, instead of being services by the
Local Authority of his home base. Therefore, the most competitive Local Authorities
attract the preference of citizens, together with corresponding vouchers. This
competition affects also all other Local Authorities that provide the same service,
leading to direct benefits for citizens, who enjoy high quality services due to this
increased competition among the providers.

As for the political reforms, the introduction of local referendums is particularly
common. The introduction of local referendums is considered as a good practice
because first of all it contributed significantly to the increase of the interest of citizens
and their participation to elections in satisfactory levels. It is noted that the
continuously growing abstention rates in elections was a very serious problem, since
it was an expression of the lack of concern and dissatisfaction from citizens to their
local Governments. Together with enhancing participation, this practice also
supported democratic legalization, by empowering municipal councils and their
decisions. In combination with local referendums, another widespread good practice
is proven to be the introduction of transparency and accountability institutions, where
the use of new technologies is met, seems to be very common and generally accepted
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(Greece, Denmark, Germany and Sweden). Such examples are met in Greece,
Denmark, Germany and Sweden, with Sweden having developed central platforms
where citizens can retrieve analytical information for all municipalities and compare
their performance in many different sectors and services. The introduction of specific
transparency and accountability institutions is considered as a good practice, since it
supports decisively information and control from citizens to their elected Authorities
and Authorities in general, minimizing the requested time and effort (because of ICT
applications), allowing citizens to have full access to the information necessary for
evaluating their governments.
Generally, as far as the reforms in Europe are concerned, it is worth noting that there is a clear
trend of convergence especially regarding the public debate on reforms (“discursive
convergence”) and of course the related trends. A typical example of this convergence for
most countries of Western Europe is the introduction of the New Public Management model
and its methods. This convergence has also led to the alignment of the different national
regulatory frameworks (“normative isomorphism”), based on the perception that the adoption
of such methods was the most appropriate policy for administrative modernization (“logic of
appropriateness”). The adoption of these methods has been encouraged by the European
Union and by various international organizations such as the OECD, the World Bank and
other smaller international organizations, especially in Eastern Europe.
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1b. Research study on citizens’ level of satisfaction with local governance services in
network countries
The aim of this research study was to investigate citizens’ satisfaction with local government
services in all six network countries (Poland, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania
and Greece). This study was conducted in two phases. The first phase involved a telephone
survey with a single questionnaire common for all countries and the second phase involved
in-depth interviews with two agents/organizations in each country, which play important role
in local governance and public administration strategic planning. Minimum number of sample
size was 60 citizens in each country (n=60).
Citizens with the highest response was indicated in the age group of 26-35, with 32% of
responses followed by the age group of 36-45 with a 24% of response rate. Cross country
analysis indicated that highest satisfaction with municipality services was recorded primarily
in Czech Republic and secondly in Lithuania. The graph below indicates total satisfaction
mean scores in all investigated countries.
Diagram 1b: Total satisfaction mean
More specifically, Czech Republic indicated a total satisfaction mean score of 3.44, Lithuania
3.01, Greece 2.71, Poland 2.7, and finally both Bulgaria and Romania indicated a total
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satisfaction mean score of 2.62. Descriptive data of cross country analysis are presented
below for each service.
Waste
management
Public space
cleanliness
Local
transport
Civil
protection
Public order
and safety
Social serviceselder care
Social servicespeople with
disabilities
Greece
Romania
Bulgaria
Czech
Republic
Lithuania
Poland
3,06
2,75
2,75
3,86
3,39
3,12
Greece
Romania
Bulgaria
Czech
Republic
Lithuania
Poland
2,94
2,9
2,87
3,59
3,53
3,48
Greece
Romania
Bulgaria
Czech
Republic
Lithuania
Poland
2,95
2,75
2,87
3,84
3,46
3,53
Greece
Romania
Bulgaria
Czech
Republic
Lithuania
Poland
2,71
3,62
2,95
3,89
2,98
3,31
Greece
Romania
Bulgaria
Czech
Republic
Lithuania
Poland
2,21
3,62
3
3,29
3,29
2,72
Greece
Romania
Bulgaria
Czech
Republic
Lithuania
Poland
3,08
2,58
2,2
3,73
2,34
2,25
Lithuania
Poland
2,23
1,75
Greece
Romania
Bulgaria
Czech
Republic
2,22
2,65
1,57
3,36
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Primary health
care
Cultural
activities
Athletic
activities
Pre-school
education
(crèches)
Primary school
buildings
Adult
education
Information
provision on
employment
matters
Greece
Romania
Bulgaria
Czech
Republic
Lithuania
Poland
2,47
3,07
2,82
3,88
2,52
2,46
Greece
Romania
Bulgaria
Czech
Republic
Lithuania
Poland
3,61
2,69
3,13
3,74
3,83
3,13
Greece
Romania
Bulgaria
Czech
Republic
Lithuania
Poland
3,13
2,55
2,88
3,87
3,24
2,6
Greece
Romania
Bulgaria
Czech
Republic
Lithuania
Poland
3,21
2,5
2,94
3,64
3,03
2,6
Greece
Romania
Bulgaria
Czech
Republic
Lithuania
Poland
3,45
2,46
2,86
3,74
3,42
3,7
Greece
Romania
Bulgaria
Czech
Republic
Lithuania
Poland
2,29
2,19
2,77
3,03
3,12
2,47
Greece
Romania
Bulgaria
Czech
Republic
Lithuania
Poland
2,13
2,31
2,54
2,76
2,8
2,89
14
Greece
Romania
Bulgaria
Czech
Republic
Lithuania
Poland
2,54
2,07
2,04
2,5
2,65
2
Greece
Romania
Bulgaria
Czech
Republic
Lithuania
Poland
1,63
1,95
2
2,68
2,51
1,21
Greece
Romania
Bulgaria
Czech
Republic
Lithuania
Poland
2,52
1,9
2,45
3,17
2,83
2,69
Facilitation of new
business creation
Collaboration of
municipality and
private sector for
the creation of
new job positions
Improvement of
bureaucracy
The following diagram specifically indicates satisfaction mean scores for each investigated
service and country.
Diagram 1bii: Satisfaction mean score for each service
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Distinct services were highlighted in each country demonstrating high and low satisfaction
rates. To summarize, in Greece the highest satisfaction rate is noted in cultural activities
(3.61) and the lowest in the collaboration of municipality with the private sector for the
creation of new job positions (1.63). In Bulgaria, the highest satisfaction rate is also indicated
in cultural activities (3.13) whereas the lowest satisfaction rate is designated for social
services targeting people with disabilities (1.57). In Romania, services with the highest
average in satisfaction are civil protection and public order and safety/municipality police
(3.62 mean score in both services), whereas the lowest average in satisfaction is indicated in
bureaucracy improvement (1.9) and collaboration with the private sector for the creation of
new jobs position (1.95). In Poland, citizens were mostly satisfied with primary school
buildings (3.7) and least satisfied with the collaboration of the municipality with the private
sector for the creation of new job positions (1.21). In Lithuania, it can be noted that the
highest satisfaction average is in cultural activities (3.83) and the lowest satisfaction average
is in social services-people with disabilities (2.23). Finally, in the Czech Republic citizens
were mostly satisfied with civil protection (3.89) whereas least satisfaction was indicated with
facilitation of new business creation (2.5).
Results indicated that in most countries the lowest levels of satisfaction were identified in
social services and occupation services/local development. More specifically, in Bulgaria,
Poland and Lithuania citizens indicated slight satisfaction (mean ≤ 2.5) with social services,
i.e. elder care and people with disabilities. In addition, respondents in Poland stated slight
satisfaction with reference to facilitation of establishing new business and were not satisfied
with the collaboration of municipalities and the private sector for the creation of new job
positions. Similar results are evident in Romania, Bulgaria and Greece. Differences in service
organization relate to service delivery and affect both quality as well as service performance
with reference to specific investigated parameters: a) information received by the service, b)
human resource / personnel delivering the service, c) time delivery of service, d) service’s
infrastructure and e) electronic system/applications. Limitations in municipality services are
identified in organizational processes as well as in limited funding, which impedes
organization of services especially in terms of human resource, infrastructure and electronic
systems.
Emphasis is placed on exploring new ways for identifying financial resources and on
proposals such as inter-municipal collaborations and cooperation between municipalities and
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the private sector. Citizens’ emerging priorities refer to simpler, faster, user-friendly
municipal services and the elimination of bureaucracy. In addition, the need for provision of
information and training to citizens is highlighted in order to be able to effectively use
municipality services.
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1c. Three day learning seminar “Modern Local Governance: Issues and Prospects”
The three day learning seminar on “Modern Local Governance: Issues and Prospects” took
place in Athens, 25-27 September 2012 and focused on the thematic area of local governance.
The seminar aimed at the exchange of ideas and the dissemination of expertise and good
practices among agents/organizations that play an important role in local governance strategic
planning. The ultimate goal of the seminar was to trigger further investigation of ideas,
opportunities, innovative actions and reforms aiming at sustainability and viability of local
government. Also, an exchange of good practices together with the identification of citizens’
needs took place in light of the new Programming Period as well as definition of ESF’s
contribution to the implementation of high added value interventions.
During the first day of the seminar, the results of the baseline study on local governance and
the research study on citizens’ satisfaction with local administration services were presented.
In addition, good practices from selected EU countries were presented (Denmark, Finland and
the Netherlands). Furthermore, a presentation was also made on the reform program for Greek
local Authorities “Kallikratis”.
The second day of the seminar involved four working groups with particular local governance
topics, as these derived by the relevant baseline study and the research study. The working
groups were divided in two parallel sessions in the morning (WG1 and WG2) and two parallel
sessions in the afternoon (WG3 and WG4). The topics of the workshops were the following:

WG1: Financial resources in the context of economic recession

WG2: Citizens’ needs and local governance

WG3: Innovation in local governance

WG4: Cooperative models of municipalities for growth purposes
Each working group involved one moderator, key speakers and participants with relevant
expertise on local governance issues. In addition, working groups were open to seminar
participants who were interested in listening to the discussions.
The third day of the seminar was mainly devoted to network members and international
guests and participants. The schedule of the third day involved a study visit at the
municipality of Athens, where a presentation was made on the implementation of
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“Kallikratis” focusing on the municipality of Athens. In addition, a tour visit took place at the
Acropolis museum.
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2. REVIEW OF SEMINAR KEY FINDINGS AND OUTCOMES
2a. Presentation of good practices of Local Governance in the European countries:
Denmark, Netherlands, Finland, Greece
The case of Denmark (Speaker: Professor Poul Erik Mouritzen, University of Southern
Denmark)
The case of Denmark concerns the reform of the local Governance system of 2007. As a
result of this reform, 275 municipalities were merged to 98 with an average size of around
55.000 citizens. At a regional level, the initial 14 regions / counties were reduced to 5. At the
same time, around 20 (mostly minor) responsibilities passed to regional level, while a large
number of responsibilities passed from municipalities with less than 10.000 citizens to
municipalities with more than 30.000 citizens. Finally, a small number of responsibilities
mainly about limited social groups passed from regions to municipalities with more than
30.000 citizens.
The reform of the local Governance system of 2007 aimed at developing the capacity of the
local Governance system. The term system capacity (an analytical presentation follows with
the ‘capacity argument’) includes professional capacity (the decision making ability that
meets the professional and legal standards, together with the ability to attract professionally
qualified employees), implementation capacity (the ability of the government to implement
legislation and safeguard this implementation), efficiency (the ability to offer high quality
services in low cost) and financial capacity (the ability to encounter and survive changes in
the social and financial environment-the opposite of vulnerability). With the reform of 2007,
the governance intended to limit inter-municipal cooperation, as it was considered
antidemocratic and could not be controlled by citizens.
Before the reform, the administrative costs in Danish municipalities gradually increased year
by year. By 2007, the administrative cost of the new, merged municipalities started to
decrease, whereas it kept increasing for the non merged municipalities.
One of the basic positive outcomes of the reform is that around 20-25% of the GDP is more
or less automatically flowing into the money box of municipalities. Moreover, a kind of
‘budget guarantee’ is applied, with the central government covering deficits when municipal
expenditures increase or receiving the surplus when municipal expenditures decrease. In this
20
way, equilibrium between needs and financial resources available is achieved. Finally, strict
budgetary discipline in local governments is maintained through a ‘sticks and carrots’ system
of the central government. However, many municipalities keep applying the same policy as
before the reform, leading to unchanged, frozen expenditure and taxation structure. Moreover,
the number of municipalities applying for special grants remains high.
The basic innovations introduced by this reform are the following:

Through this reform, structures for monitoring and disseminating innovation to
municipalities were established. A kind of central government agency was
established, with the task of supporting and evaluating municipalities, disseminating
innovation and monitoring its implementation.

Incentives for the development of new technologies were introduced, especially for
social welfare purposes, as telemedicine in home nursing.

It removes obstacles for innovation in e-government, by changing legislation for
quicker internet communication among citizens and municipalities (e.g. signing
children up for school).

It sets the ground for a positive business administration environment, especially for
tackling the economic recession.

It introduces the use of fiscal indicators and consolidated accounting systems.
The ‘capacity argument’
In a relative survey that took place in Denmark before the reform of 2007, it was observed
that there is only a slight correlation between democracy (it is defined as the effectiveness of
the local Governance system perceived by the citizens) and capacity of the local Governance
system. Actually, these 2 criteria are interrelated inversely. Better democracy levels are
observed in the case of many municipalities of small size, where the system capacity is
limited, while when merging municipalities the system capacity increases, but this is against
democracy.
Ten years ago, a study took place on the issue of ‘local democracy’, including some European
countries (Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands). Basically, the study aimed to
highlight the correlation between the size of the municipality and the effectiveness of the
local Governance system perceived by citizens. The criteria of local democracy were
21
accountability (interest in local politics, knowledge about local political circumstances,
participation in elections), responsiveness (participation in other local political activities,
political confidence/trust, satisfaction with the municipal services), and representativeness
(equal access to and influence on local political decisions). The results of the survey
confirmed for Denmark the slight correlation between size of the municipality and
democracy. In the Netherlands, Switzerland and Norway the correlation was a little bit
stronger.
The criteria that were taken into consideration for dimensioning citizen’s satisfaction were
satisfaction resulting from the delivery of services, facilities and problem solving capacity.
The percentage of satisfaction was generally higher in Switzerland (64%), where many small
municipalities exist, and lower in Norway (53%).
Moreover, the correlation between citizen’s satisfaction and the ability of contacting local
authorities with the size of the municipality was measured. According to the results for
Denmark, the average rate for citizen’s satisfaction with the municipal services and facilities
was 65.1%. The rate was slightly decreased as municipality size increased. A similar case was
observed for the ability of contacting local authorities, with the average rate coming up to
22.4%. After the reform of 2007 the phenomenon was the same with a very small
improvement. As a result, the main conclusion of the survey was the very small correlation
between democracy and local Governance system capacity.
22
The case of Finland (Speaker: Dr Hanna Vakkala, University of Lapland, Finland)
The case of Finland involves the reform of the local Governance system that took place some
years ago. The reform aimed at creating Local Authorities of bigger size and at improving the
cooperation among different municipal agencies. Finally, after the reform the municipalities
were merged to 70, from 336 that were before, while emphasis was given to the organization
of the municipalities and their population.
Some of the good practices from this reform are presented below:

The establishment in many municipalities of joint service desks for public services,
such as allowances and benefits, employment and counselling centers, registry
offices, and social insurance services. In 2011 there were more than 870 service
desks, so that almost every citizen could have access.

The provision of upgraded web services, including the development of a specific web
page consolidating all services provided to citizens (www.suomi.fi) and the
development of another web page providing free service to small employers,
entrepreneurs or households (for paying wages and social security contributions www.palkka.fi).

Regarding the taxation system, taxation cards were developed, allowing online / call /
face to face requests. Income tax return forms were precompleted by the Tax
Administration Office every year and taxpayers could make any changes online.
The example of Oulu Community is very characteristic. Oulu is considered to be one of the
seven most ’’intelligent communities” worldwide, according to the Intelligent Community
Forum (ICF). This is due mainly to the knowledge-based business capital and workforce of
the city, the good interaction levels between public and private organizations, and the online
availability of services provided by the city to its citizens (www.omaoulu.fi). In the city
center there is a free WiFi available for all citizens. What is exceptional in Oulu, is that all
services available on line for the citizens are concentrated on the same web page. These
services include identification, health care appointmets, communication systems among
teachers and parents, while at the same time this web page is also a document library for
applications, appointments etc.
Finland pays special importance to regional development and progress, which is supported by
the European Social Fund (ESF). Many projects were implemented with ESF funds during the
23
period 2007-2012 (137 only in Lapland area). These projects are of different sizes and
budgets (from 20.000 € to 3 million € in Lapland).
There are numerous living labs with different ownership status in Finland, while 16 of them
are members of Enoll. Living labs are part of the promotion of different types of innovation in
production.
Finally, apart from the aforementioned wide interventions, there are also small, grassroot
ideas and initiatives of a very small scale organised and implemented. An example of such
actions is the case of Inno village, which was a meeting place for people and a place of
exchanging ideas (https://www.innokyla.fi/). A similar action involved another small
municipality, focusing on supporting families with small kids, in order to enhance the sense
of community.
24
The case of Netherlands (Speaker: Dr. Marcel Boogers, University of Tilburg)
The local Governance system in the Netherlands consists of 415 municipalities, with
augmented responsibilities, many of which deal with central government issues. In the past,
the total number of municipalities was 600. A kind of intermunicipal cooperation is achieved
through a common legal framework for joint regional policies.
With ESF funding totaling at €740 million for the period of 2007-2013, special emphasis was
given in combatting unemployment for young people and for socially vulnerable groups. In
the IJssel-Vecht region, which is consisted of 13 municipalities, subsidies were given to
employers in order to hire unemployed young people. At the end, more than 200 youngsters
were hired through this programme.
The Netherlands is in a decentralisation process. This means that many tasks and
responsibilities are transfered from central to local level. However, this transfer is not always
accompanied with the required economical support, creating a problem of how to undertake
successfully all responsibilities transferred. Moreover, the local governments are focusing on
adapting to the new challenges of demographic and economic changes, like the depopulation
of rural areas. The rapid agricultural development, which is a main sector of the Dutch
economy, demands constant reforms. A relevant example of this is the shift of people, who
were occupied in pork breeding in the past, to new actions, due to the very strict
environmental policy that was recently applied in pork breeding.
It should be noted that local governments, together with the central government, pay much
importance to the citizens’ criticism, which lately turns to be very strict, whereas there is a
constant effort for both improving quality standards and maximizing the number of services
offered to citizens.
In order to face demographic and economic changes, the government applies inter-municipal
performance
self-assessments,
through
performance
measurement,
performance
benchmarking and other evaluation techniques. Those systems lead generally to a uniform
character for all Local Authorities. Moreover, the government applies municipal mergers, not
obligatorily, but following the decisions and the desire of Local Authorities. Finally, a kind of
intermunicipal cooperation is achieved, through a common insitutional framework for joint
service delivery and joint regional policy making.
25
The keys for the successful service of citizens, besides funding, include the immediate
response to the needs of citizens, joint actions by social and economic partners and
organisations, the leadership level and the administrative and political support.
An important evaluation criterion for municipalities that is taken much under consideration is
the indicator of citizens’ satisfaction with their local government. In order to investigate the
quality dimensions and the factors affecting citizens’ satisfaction with their local government,
133 municipalities were examined during the period 2009-2011. It was found that citizens’
satisfaction with their local government is related to the level of responsiveness from the
municipality (democratic quality, openness to citizen’s needs), neighborhood safety, the
quality of environment (public spaces, infrastructure, safety) and the quality of services
provided (education, shopping facilities, arts, healthcare). The demographic characteristics
that influence those indicators at a personal level include age and gender (the elderly and
women seem to be more satisfied). The factors effecting citizens’ satisfaction from the
municipal point of view are mainly political fragmentation, which corresponds to the number
of the members of local Councils (high fragmentation provokes low satisfaction rates) and
political crisis (augmented political crisis provokes low satisfaction levels). The size of the
municipality does not count that much.
26
The case of Greece (Speaker: George Chryssafis, Ministry of Interior)
In Greece, the last reform in Local Governance took place in 2010-2011 and is known as
"Kallikratis". This reform was the continuation of the previous reform named ‘Kapodistrias’,
which took place in 1997-1998.
The reasons for this reform were many, including depopulation of rural areas with
simultaneous urbanization, the need for new strong local authorities, the new technological
developments, the new needs of local communities etc.
The basic content of this reform included the reduction of the number of Regions into 7, the
establishment of decentralized Administrations with specific responsibilities, the merge of
municipalities, the abolition of old communities, municipalities and prefectures, the transfer
of a large number of responsibilities to municipalities, the transfer of agencies and personnel
to municipalities and the establishment of an independent agency for the supervision of Local
Authorities.
With this reform, more than 200 responsibilities are indeed transferred to municipalities.
Indicatively, the transfer from the central government to Regional Authorities of the
responsibility regarding the law for private investments and the administration of the
Managing Authorities for projects co-funded from the E.U. is mentioned. As far as
development is concerned, municipalities and regions have to elaborate five-year operational
plans. Moreover, new authorities are established such as the consultation committee, in
municipalities with more than 10.000 citizens as well as in all regions, the Ombudsman for
citizens and enterprises in municipalities with more than 20.000 citizens, the obligatory
upload of all decisions taken on the web page of the municipality and the establishment of a
council for the integration of immigrants in every municipality.
This reform foresees the establishment of two metropolitan regions, one in Attica and the
other in Thessaloniki, as well as a new supervision system for Local Authorities. It also
foresees the establishment of Local Authorities’ Independent Monitoring Agency in order to
supervise and exercise a disciplinary control. The Court of Audit, which is an older Authority,
has the responsibility of charging mayors, municipal and local counselors for any positive
loss they caused to public property, either intentionally or by gross negligence.
Through this reform, a specific programme for the economic support for municipalities with
financial problems is foreseen, which is not yet implemented. Through the new programme
27
“AXIA”, which is divided in three axes, two for municipalities and one for regions, economic
aid for Local Authorities is provided. This programme secures funding for projects included
in the programme “THESEAS”, receiving also funds from the NSFR. Small projects for
municipalities with direct labour contracts (short-term personnel) are funded through the new
programme “Aftepistasia”. Moreover, measures for the economic recovery of municipalities
are scheduled, including refinancing of loans or financing of contracts about the elongation of
loans’ repayment time, although these measures pose the risk of charging extra loan burdens
to municipalities. Finally, the ESF provides funds for training programmes in areas like
supervision and monitoring, capacity building for social services, human resource
development etc.
The Institute for Local Governance undertakes a new role by implementing support activities,
like the evaluation of the reform, which has not been implemented yet. Furthermore, the role
of the Hellenic Agency for Local Development and Local Government (EETAA) has
changed, since the Agency undertakes the implementation of support actions and training
programmes. Finally, the Social Work programme for hiring unemployed is foreseen.
As long as the administration system is concerned, new responsibilities like development,
environment, quality of life, employment etc. are transferred to municipalities. However,
numerous problems exist though in the new organization of Local Authorities, such as the
demand for an additional social policy from municipalities due to the increased number of
homeless people. Moreover, municipalities are still economically depended on the central
government and receive granting in a percentage of 35-40%. Apart from these, the
investments are still in a very low level, compared with total expenses. Many of the large
municipalities spend more for their personnel instead of spending in investments, which is
something less common for municipalities of small size. It should also be noted that the
number of municipalities in debt is still high. Finally, it is important to be mentioned that it is
very hard for local communities to adjust to this reform which also takes too much time.
28
2b. Key findings of the seminar
Conclusions and key findings of the seminar can mainly be drawn from the working groups,
which focused on four specific thematic areas of importance for local governance. Details on
the four working groups are presented below:
1. Working Group 1: “Financial resources in the context of economic recession”
Moderator: Dr Pyrros Papadimitriou, Associate Professor in the University of
Peloponnese.
Key speaker: Mr Dan Popescu, Head of the Council of Europe, Center of Expertise
for Local Government Reform.
Mrs Efthymia Stefopoulou, Head of the office of Better Regulation, General
Secretariat of the Government
2. Working Group 2: “Citizens’ needs and local governance”
Moderator: Professor Poul Erik Mouritzen, Institut for Statskundskab, Syddansk
Universitet, Denmark
Key speakers: Mrs Christina Kakderi, Regional Economist, Aristotle University of
Thessaloniki & Mr Panagiotis Tsarchopoulos, Electrical Engineer, URENIO
Research Unit
3. Working Group 3: “Innovation in local governance”, Moderator: Dr Hanna Vakkala,
University of Lapland, Finland
Key speakers: Dr Anastasia Konstantelou, Assistant Professor, University of the
Aegean.
Mrs Christina Kakderi, Regional Economist, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki &
Mr Panagiotis Tsarchopoulos, Electrical Engineer, URENIO Research Unit
4. Working Group 4: “Cooperative models of municipalities for growth purposes”
Moderator: Dr Marcel Boogers, Tilburg University, the Netherlands
Key speaker: Mr Moshos Diamantopoulos, Architect-Urban Planner, General
Manager of the Association for the Development of Western Athens.
Conclusions and key findings are presented separately for each working group in the
following section.
29
Key findings-working group 1: “Financial resources in the context of economic
recession”
The main goal of the first working group was to investigate the way in which economic crisis
influenced the availability of financial resources and also to highlight good practices for the
utilization of financial instruments, emphasizing on the ESF in order to recover from the lack
of funding that affects the local government.
There were several important parameters presented by the Council of Europe representative
regarding the impact of the economic crisis in Local Government. Initially, the implications
of the crisis are not identical, so there cannot be one single pattern or model to be
undertaken by local authorities for tackling effectively the economic crisis. It is also
suggested that a limit in spending must be applied to local authorities, so that expenses can
be rationalized and costs can be adjusted to the new crisis’ framework. A suggestion
regarding limitation in spending is provided through collaboration models of municipalities.
Emphasis is placed on the benefit that local authorities have from strong local
associations, both in terms of economies of scale as well as in terms of disseminating best
practices and submitting requests for funding. It is also mentioned that during a time of
economic recession, lack of trust on the government can be seen as a motivation towards
innovation and improvement rather than a sign of collapse, so local government can be
motivated from this lack of trust in order to develop and support innovative solutions and
initiatives for improving citizens’ trust.
Thereafter, the presentation of the operation of local government in Greece revealed that there
is lack of national strategy and coordination and strategy at the level of local government in
relation to the distribution and allocation of financial resources from European programs. The
rational at the moment is that resources are allocated to the specific regions and municipalities
that have the administrative capacity to submit relevant proposals and claim the money.
Furthermore, it appears that apart from the lack of strategy, there is also lack of coordination
in relation to both investment and allocation of financial resources and also to policy
formulation, as parallel individual efforts are made by several different agents without
cooperation. At this point, the need for coordination is noted between institutions so that all
available resources (financial and human) can be exploited in the best possible way and not be
wasted in meaningless repetition and reproduction of circumstantial solutions. A typical
example is reported in relation to rural development and the participation of three different
30
ministries in respective actions, without any coordination between them. In many cases,
therefore, the complex regulatory framework with the involvement of various actors and the
lack of coordination creates more costs, increasing spending.
The key factors for a successful operational model on both central and local government level
in a time of economic recession are focused on effective coordination and cooperative
procedures, effective budgeting, as well as accountability and trust. In addition, the need
for reforms in all activities related with local administration is emphasized. Especially, the
importance of clearly defined strategies was stressed in order to link all key players.
However, it was noted that each case (country/local government) has different characteristics;
resulting to the need for customized solutions (the policy “one size fits all” is not applicable
under present circumstances).
The importance of asset management as a revenue generator for local authorities was also
raised, although it was argued that property management does not raise significant funds,
according to studies and data from the Council of Europe.
In addition, the need for “consulting / technical” support to small municipalities, for the
submission of funding proposals and increase of revenues, was indicated particularly from
Czech Republic partners, who referred to a relative good practice in their country, whereby
small municipalities were supported in drafting and submitting proposals from professional
consultants.
Administrative capacity building was also a key issue raised as a precondition for effective
policy, suggesting relevant activities for future ESF funding in the next Programming Period,
customized to each country’s needs.
A business friendly orientation and the support of inter-municipal cooperation were also
considered to be important parameters in terms of local government applied models. Within
this context, the need for IT system support in municipalities was also highlighted, by
indicating the necessity of future funds for such purposes.
Available sources for financing activities for local government include:

ESF (New Programming Period)
(http://ec.europa.eu/esf)

Swiss funding instruments for new EU members
31
(http://www.erweiterungsbeitrag.admin.ch/en)

Norwegian funding instruments
(http://www.eeagrants.org)
Emphasis should be given not only to ESF funds, but also to Swiss and Norwegian funding
instruments, which are often not taken into consideration by municipalities. Based on up to
date activities characterized as good practices, main axes for ESF funding could include:

Cultural activities for municipalities
It seems that citizens appear satisfied from the organization of such activities from
municipalities.

Creation of new job positions / local development
Unemployment appears as one of the biggest problems in EU countries nowadays, so
municipalities need to focus on planning and implementing relevant activities.

Social cohesion actions
Social cohesion is threatened not only by unemployment but also by uncontrolled
immigration in many EU countries, so municipalities should target for action
implementation towards social cohesion enhancement.

Provision of social services
Most social services are part of local authorities’ responsibilities and many countries
have relevant good practices to present; therefore, the provision as well as the
extension of the range of social services provided from local authorities should be
part of ESF funding.

Integration of immigrants
Integration of immigrants not only in the labour market but also in the society context
seems a major priority for local communities and emphasis on this issue should also
be given by local authorities.

Development and mobilization of human resources
Administrative capacity building remains a major priority for central and local
administration. Therefore, relevant activities should be organized by municipalities,
following national priorities with reference to ESF fund level to be allocated to such
activities.

Excellence in Governance / Modern methods of Governance – Administration
32
Excellence in governance is one of the main priorities of the Council of Europe,
suggesting new methods of governance with specific evaluation indicators so as to
have measurable outcomes of corresponding performance.

Technical assistance to local Authorities acting as final beneficiaries
Especially small local authorities require professional technical assistance for being
able to utilize funds from different financing instruments.
Based on the above points, axes for future ESF funding, together with indicative interventions
are presented herein:
Table 2b.i: Axes and suggested interventions for ESF funding
Axes
Interventions
for
•
•
Promotion of the cultural capital and tradition
Sports and entertainment
Creation of new job positions
/ local development
•
•
Local employability promotion plans
Intermunicipal
cooperation
for
promotion
Social cohesion Provision of social services
•
Provision of more efficient social services to citizens
Social cohesion - Integration
of immigrants
•
•
•
Cultivation of culture / education
Facilitation of residence for immigrants
Language learning
Development
and
mobilization
of
human
resources – Administrative
capacity building
•
•
Preparation for policy implementation
Facilitation for implementing new processes and tools
Excellence in Governance
(Modern
methods
of
Governance – Administration)
•
•
•
ICT tools
Modern and more efficient processes
Development of measurement and indicators
Technical assistance to local
authorities acting as final
beneficiaries
•
•
•
Preparation for funding proposal submission
Networking
Financial support (eg. for loans)
Cultural
activities
municipalities
employment
33
Key findings-working group 2: “Citizens needs and local governance”
The main goal of the second working group was to investigate citizens’ needs within the
context of local governance, present good practices from member network countries and also
discuss suggestions for future actions and programs that can be funded by the ESF.
Within this working group, “Urenio” research team that develops electronic applications for
"smart cities" presented the project "Improve my city", which is currently applied to the
municipality of Thermi in Greece. In this project, a web application was used to record the
needs of citizens and transfer them to their municipality. This application is one of the five
applications that were developed at Thermi through the program "People". The other four
applications involved: a “virtual market", a system that measures the atmospheric pollution
through sensors, a system that facilitates people in finding parking spaces in central locations
and finally a web application that helps citizens to improve their city.
This service facilitates the recording of operational problems, like for instance abandoned
trash, potholes in roads, broken street lights etc. Reported problems are entered in the list of
municipality’s responsibilities and the municipality deals with them in a priority order.
Through this application, citizens can follow the resolving process of the issue and make
recommendations to upgrade their neighborhood. The service is pilot tested during the last 5
months in Thermi with considerable success. The service is free to citizens and has two
applications: one for the internet and one for the mobile phone, so as to facilitate citizens in
using it. At the municipal level the handling of requests is achieved through the division of
responsibilities and separation of requests into seven distinct areas. It is important to note that
for the successful resolution of problems and handling of requests the active involvement and
contribution of the municipality is necessary. This application has been tested in other
countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Pakistan, Croatia, Denmark and Finland, and can be used in
different areas. For example, this application has been used in Western Australia primarily for
recording problems in forests and national parks. Thessaloniki also attempted to apply the
application specifically for waste collection.
The success of this project is not only due to the advanced technology but also due to the
commitment and involvement of municipalities. It should be noted that this implementation in
order to be effective needs political support and strong will from the part of municipalities to
meet citizens’ needs, something that becomes even more difficult given the lack of funding.
Therefore there are currently not many municipalities in Greece who are willing to support
34
this application. Following this presentation it was suggested this application to be connected
to KEP services (citizens’ service centers/one stop shops) in Greece, and become a
multidimensional service, providing a wide range of accessibilities to citizens as well as use
the application for the evaluation of municipal services.
The report of this example of good practice in Greece raised the issue of citizens’ low level of
satisfaction with municipal services which is attributed to a number of factors. Firstly, abuse
of power is a very important reason, given the fact that local government authorities and
elected “authorities” tend to abuse their power. In addition, programs and actions that have no
real meaning and effect in citizens’ lives is another reason in conjunction with the growing
discontent against the government and questioning of the role of leaders. At the same time,
corruption, bureaucracy, requiring a number of people to be involved in order to resolve one
issue, and inefficiency-poor quality of service delivery-consist equal important causes.
The aforementioned reasons should be examined within a broader context of social
disintegration and challenging of institutions, which is not only due to lack of funding. In a
spirit of alienation and cleavage of the social nucleus, municipalities should strengthen
structures of social cohesion and solidarity, and collaborate with other stakeholders in order to
strengthen health infrastructures, such as for example primary health care and social services,
such as for instance social groceries. The ultimate goal of these actions should be social
cohesion and promotion of culture.
Lithuanian partners reported that the main challenges of their local governance system are the
delivery of effective and quality services in remote areas. Because Lithuania has high
population in municipalities, the allocation of responsibilities is split into smaller spatial
administrative units. For this reason, funding received in each municipality is different.
Another big issue for people is the demand for direct election of the mayor by citizens and not
by the city council. Regarding the above mentioned issues, lack of capacity of local
authorities was also reported, in some cases, to implement programs and to effectively
implement reforms. Therefore, strengthening administrative capacity of municipal staff
should remain a priority in the ESF. An additional priority for Lithuania in financing from the
ESF is strategic regional planning and implementation of quality management systems in
municipalities.
Strengthening administrative capacity is also suggested by Czech partners who point out that
especially in remote areas and in small towns local government executives do not have the
35
necessary skills to respond to current needs. This is because in most cases people who
graduate from University choose not to settle in regional areas, and move to bigger cities
having as effect inadequate human resource in regional and remote areas.
Polish partners described a case of good practice designed for rural areas with an integrated
intervention targeting quality of life in the province, addressing specific demographic
problems and unemployment issues. The project includes four main themes, which are
divided into several sub-projects / actions that can be implemented by all municipalities in the
province. The first key theme is called “the good job means safe family” and includes actions
such as: the establishment of a special economic zone for the entire province with specific
legislation, increasing job positions in regional areas and training of unemployed citizens
below 25 years and over 50 years and finally strengthening employment for parents especially
for women with children. The second key theme is called “education versus labour market”
and includes actions such as improving the level and quality of education, adaptation of
education to labour market needs, vocational training and practical experience in senior high
school students and finally strengthening pupils’ special talents and abilities through
scholarships. The third key theme is called “nurseries and pre-schools” and its’ goal is to
perform actions such as facilitating access of preschool children in social and educational
services, to financially support kindergartens in accommodating children from other
municipalities -communities, adjusting the cost of preschool education in relation to the
number of children and family income. The last major theme is called “golden autumn” and
the final beneficiaries are elderly people. Programs and actions to implement under this theme
include educational activities to prevent discrimination against the elderly, support of day care
centers for elderly people, developing health and social services for seniors and creating
special discount coupons or free access or discount to specific services for older people.
Polish partners noted that with this large scale project they try to cope with the increased
immigration rate that they have towards other countries such as the Netherlands and
Germany, thus creating demographic problems and decline of the province in Poland. They
also believe that some of these programs may be funded by the ESF, but the rest will have to
be funded by own resources.
An additional case of good practice was presented by Bulgaria, on a current European project
initiated by the central government, which aimed at integrating graduates, without former
professional experience, to the labour market in the form of internships in businesses and
36
industries for a six month period. This program covered all expenses, including social
security. Graduates’ response to the program was high but the problem raised in this project
was that because there was a lack of connection/effective communication between central
government and local government, and between local government (municipalities) and
enterprises, there were simply very limited positions in the form of internships offered to
young people. It is therefore considered that corrective measures should be taken so as to
resolve the problem and proceed with the implementation of the project. Given the
aforementioned, it is suggested for future ESF proposals to focus on the facilitation of
network development and connection aiming at resolving communication problems between
different levels of government and between local government and private sector. In this
context, the lack of capacity to meet citizens' needs and respond to problems derived by lack
of interaction and communication among agents is also noted.
In many cases, lack of citizen participation in municipality actions is reported. This is due to
the fact that citizens feel that they are not listened to and that their needs are not met.
Suggestions towards more active citizen participation include for example "online polls" on
specific municipal issues and stimuli that can be given to citizens to support an action, such as
for example recycling bags to all households.
Furthermore, parallel actions and efforts by different bodies for solving similar problems can
be noted, as a result the need for collective intelligence and common source for problem
solving should be targeted by collecting all innovative applications and services on a common
platform, accessible to all stakeholders. In this way each agent can choose the best and most
appropriate idea / service and adapt it to local needs in order to avoid repeating actions and
develop applications that already exist. European Commission has created a list describing all
projects funded by the ESF in 2009 (www.epsa2009.eu) and in 2011 (www.epsa2011.eu).
This list can serve as a "think tank" for possible project ideas that can be funded in the future
of the ESF.
37
Table 2 b.ii: Good practices and needs-priorities
Good practices
Needs - priorities
Urenio “Improve my city”
Greece
•
•
•
Vocational training of young
graduates and integration in
the labour market
Bulgaria
•
•
•
Electronic applications and connection services
facilitating citizen communication with the
municipality
Connection of electronic applications with KEP
Strengthening of social cohesion and solidarity
structures – special emphasis in social services and
health care services
Network development and connection between public
and private sector
Network development and connection among all
levels of government (central and local)
Administrative capacity building with emphasis in
communication
Upgrade quality of life in
province through four major
interventions
Poland
•
•
•
•
•
Regional development (economic and social)
Effective social services delivered to citizens
Creation of new job positions
Citizens’ training
Inter-municipal connection and support of social
services
Lithuania
•
•
•
•
Quality and effective service delivery in remote areas
Strengthening administrative capacity building
Strategic regional planning
Application of quality management systems
Czech Republic
•
Regional development – motivation to preserve
human resource in regional areas
Quality and effective service delivery in remote areas
Strengthening administrative capacity building
•
•
38
Key findings-working group 3: “Innovation in local governance”
The main goal of the third working group was to investigate all required conditions for
introducing innovation successfully to local governance and examine the parameters for the
sustainability of this process.
Initially, issues were identified with regards to the definition of innovation and especially its
importance in local governance and how it differs in terms of application to the private and
public sector. On a second level, the issue of motivation for innovation and the clear
identification of added value were also raised. In addition, the organizational innovation
process and its basis on an interdisciplinary approach were added. In this context the
importance of networking and communication among agencies involved in the organizational
process of innovation for the transfer of expertise was highlighted. An additional point of
reference was the speed of adoption and absorption of innovative proposals and solutions and
the way that this is determined by the internal and external environment (e.g. public-private
sector, region, country, etc.). The decisive role of shaping policy approach to innovation and
the contribution of good practices in shaping relevant policies was also mentioned. Finally,
another parameter highlighted was the size of the environment in which an innovation aims
(e.g. company, location, etc.) with regards to the corresponding risk resulting by such
processes.
An innovative approach in local governance was the presentation on the development of
"smart cities." The term "smart city" is a complex and ambiguous term that refers either to
creation "from the beginning” or to reorganization. In any case, in a city with preexisting
problems a more demanding and more careful strategic planning is required with regards to
implementation. The strategy presented is based on seven steps which are interrelated and are
designed to ensure a participatory process among all stakeholders (end-users and
stakeholders) and maintain a link between the socio-natural environment and the digital
environment of the city. The seven steps involved in strategic planning are the following:
i)
Identification of problems and institutions that will be involved in planning and
action implementation
ii) Mapping the innovation ecosystem (selecting the municipality-city and mapping its
surrounding structures, such as shopping centers, businesses etc.)
39
iii) Identify the digital/electronic infrastructure of the city (electronic applications that
already exist and/or developed to provide services to citizens)
iv) Connection of all data to identify targeted solutions that meet the specific problems of
the city. At this stage an effort is made to interconnect communities and applications
available to extend the range of possible solutions.
v) Developing the solution, which has been already decided in the previous step, based
on existing applications
vi) Selecting a sustainable business model which has not only aimed at finding funding
resources but also aimed at preserving the technical support of the application
vii) Measurement of the degree of “smart location” of the city (a system measuring the
effectiveness of the applications implemented in the city and the services created for
citizens)
The process of innovation should not be perceived as a horizontal process, but as a casedependent process, that is applied adjusted to the specific spatial and cultural environment. So
for example "smart" solutions and services that have been implemented in a given
environment do not necessarily apply with success to another. Each city should develop its
own solutions based on local characteristics and specific needs of the society.
At this point Polish partners reported that development and implementation of innovative
processes are necessary to be supported by legislation and a regulative framework, citing as
an example the unclear legal framework in Poland with regards to the cooperation of
municipalities and the private sector that often creates problems. Lithuanian partners reported
as a main challenge the transferring of knowledge and expertise from large
cities/municipalities to smaller ones, so as to be able to also develop innovative applications
in smaller municipalities. Moreover, Czech partners brought up the political dimension of
innovation addressing the issue of corruption in their country and how it affects and delays
any innovation efforts made.
As innovation usually refers to a gradual process rather than revolution, there is great need for
appropriate guidance and political leadership. Regarding the speed that development of
innovation can take place, organizations and municipalities develop innovative solutions at
different speeds, adjusted to the specific required level of support.
40
The Council of Europe identified three key elements related to the process of innovation.
Initially, the role of conditions favouring an environment to be innovating, and the evaluation
of innovative interventions so as to have comparable results of success and failure were
reported. Also the development of new technologies as a continuous process supporting
innovation and the importance of networking to achieve innovation were also emphasized.
Networking in this case is an ongoing effort to interconnect various stakeholders in the social
core, such as for example non-governmental organizations, municipalities, citizens,
associations, private sector, etc.
Of equal importance are the level of support mechanisms and human resource involved in
supporting innovation within the wider cultural context that either predispose for or prevent
innovation.
Polish partners reported an example of innovation and good practice in their country in terms
of networking and interconnection of local governance, supporting in this way the diffusion
and exchange of ideas and experiences between municipalities with respect to new products
and services.
One of the main issues in the introduction of innovation in local governance is the mindset,
and particularly the mindset of public organizations which does not usually support
innovative initiatives and ideas. Moreover, freedom of creativity and knowledge sharing in a
wider cooperative framework is essential. In this context, the model of network governance
that strengthens the connection and communication of people and institutions between all
levels of government is much more effective than traditional principles of public
administration. One example is that of South Korea, which developed an innovative program
for civil servants, through which they could make their proposals to implement innovative
ideas and actions.
In general, the support in networks of innovation is the key to success, as scattered, individual
activities can not lead to effective results. For the Greek reality, the application of new
technologies in the public sector is also important with emphasis on social services to people
with disabilities. The development of e-services for citizens and platforms that foster the
development of ideas through open discussions could lead to essential results.
41
Czech partners indicated the existence of a forum for the ESF and a database with all
innovative projects and their final outputs. In this context Lithuanian partners reported the
case of a network developed for local governance, where local governance authorities
exchange views and ideas with the prospect of linking and promoting ideas to the central
government level.
Based on the above information, ideas and suggestions for innovation that could be financed
by the ESF are the following: a) development of electronic applications to support social
services with emphasis on services for vulnerable groups, b) electronic platform for ESF
project stakeholders for knowledge and experience sharing at national and international levels
by supporting also forums, c) development of a liaison and networking platform for public
administration staff and organizations at both national and international level in order to
exchange best practices and develop innovative solutions, d) development of a networking
and interconnection platform for various stakeholders at a local governance level to explore
local needs, e) development of evaluation systems for measuring and assessing implemented
innovative solutions and f) development of actions to integrate electronic services in everyday
lives of citizens.
Table 2b.iii: Axes and suggested interventions for innovation
Axes
Interventions
Strengthening of innovation
networks
•
•
•
Development of services
•
Development of an electronic platform for ESF
project stakeholders – connection of all agents and
projects and support of forums
Development of liaison and innovation platforms for
public administration organizations aiming at the
exchange of good practices and the development of
innovative solutions at a national and international
level
Development of a liaison and network platform for all
stakeholders at a local government level aiming at
identifying citizens’ needs (e.g. municipality, NGO,
private companies, citizens, organizations etc.)
Development of electronic applications for supporting
social services - emphasis placed on vulnerable
groups
42
Axes
Interventions
•
•
Development of evaluation system for measuring and
assessing innovative services and implemented
actions
Development of actions aiming at integrating
electronic services in citizens’ everyday lives
43
Key findings-working group 4: “Cooperative models of municipalities for growth purposes”
The main objective of the fourth working group was to highlight the approaches that exist in
cooperative models of municipalities, and determine the key factors of success. Additional
aim of the working group was to exchange experiences regarding inter-municipal cooperation
models.
It is reported that cooperative models of municipalities usually have two main pillars
a. Service delivery (simplest mode of cooperation)
Models for service delivery include agreements between municipalities or between
municipalities and service organizations to provide specific services. (e.g. waste
collection, street maintenance, etc.)
b. Policy formulation
Models for policymakers include either simple collaborations in policy-making level or
more complex collaborations in the form of quasi-regional governments, which is a
distinct governmental entity comprised of all the municipalities that are members (e.g.
geographical design, engraving and formulation of economic policy).
Key success factors for implementing cooperation models for municipalities can be grouped
in five categories:
i)
Gains and costs
A cost-benefit analysis is vital to the implementation of models of cooperation, since
municipalities aim at reducing costs and maximizing benefits when applying such
models.
ii)
Legal reform
The number and level of legal reforms required for the implementation of cooperation
models is a very important factor for the promotion or rejection of such solutions.
iii)
Number of partners involved
The number of partners and partner characteristic in a cooperation model play an
equally important role in the success or failure of a collaborative effort
iv)
Conflicting interests
44
Definition of interest includes identifying common or conflicting interests that may
derive from partners in cooperation. In situations where there are common interests,
the cost of cooperation is usually smaller and the benefit larger.
v)
Political control and accountability
For successful models of cooperation a stable political control is needed and
accountability at all times.
In the context of inter-municipal cooperation the example of France was mentioned as a
country with a long tradition in inter-municipal cooperation and as a source of inspiration for
other European countries.
Also, the example of quasi-regional government of Croatia was reported, which marks
success. Polish partners reported a successful experience and implementation of intermunicipal cooperation even for European projects implementation.
Greece reported the example of "Help at Home" as a good practice of inter-municipal
cooperation which aims at providing multi-dimensional services to the elderly. Successful
outcomes of inter-municipal cooperations are limited cases in Greece and mainly depend on
the willingness of mayors, adopting the standard model of programming contracts. In the case
of "Help at home", which is funded by the ESF, the organization, the financial management
and the coordination of the whole cooperation was managed by the Hellenic Agency for
Local Development and Local Government (EETAA).
Within the context of cooperation models of municipalities in Greece, the creation of
development associations are reported, which consist by municipality-members and
controlled by members of the respective city councils. Development associations have clear
predefined geographical contexts and have the possibility to be multidisciplinary (i.e. serve
multiple purposes). A typical example is the Association for the development of Western
Athens (ASDA) as a framework for inter-municipal cooperation. One of the first actions of
ASDA, implemented with ESF funding, was the creation of a vocational training center. In
the association context, inter-municipal structures were developed, such as the support center
for women and programs for political refugees. It should be noted that structures-services
which "survived" throughout the years were those adapted to technological progress
integrating electronic applications for users. It is also important to highlight the common
interests and motivation for the creation of ASDA, which was to resolve common problems
45
and enhance the development of the area. It is also reported that at the time where there was
money inflow there were no problems in the cooperation and the sharing of money but during
the last couple of years there were significant changes, such as the withdrawal of one
municipality from the association and questioning of the association’s viability and
sustainability.
Additionally, a reference to the program "Kallikratis" specifies that within the context of
municipal cooperation, larger municipalities are required by law to provide administrative
assistance and support to smaller municipalities. It is also noted that the merge of
municipalities is usually a difficult and long process that requires a supportive political
background and the need for control and accountability
Cyprus reported a model example of cooperation based on a council of municipalities and
communities composed of senior members of city and community councils. But in terms of
inter-municipal cooperation aiming at service delivery it is stated that the legal framework
does not support this type of cooperations and there are currently efforts for legal reforms.
Within the framework of cooperation models of municipalities it is also noted, in view of the
next programming period, the cooperation of local action groups as an initiative of the
European Union mainly in terms of policy formulation at a local government level.
A relevant observation of Czech partners in relation to local action groups is that some actions
cannot be applied in all countries in the same way mainly due to the legislative framework
that differs. It is also reported that the Czech model of inter-municipal cooperation which is
widespread is mainly about service delivery, as for instance, education and maintenance of
roads.
In general, it is important to note that the positive and effective outcome of any model of
cooperation lies primarily in the willingness and motivation of each mayor. Also important is
of course the role of funding, but not decisive. Characteristic examples of inter-municipal
cooperation are the ones taking place in Czech Republic and Poland with prospects for further
development. Also in the context of evolution of cooperation models of municipalities, the
need to develop cooperation between municipalities and different levels of government is
highlighted, an action which may be financed by the ESF in the future in conjunction with the
development of administrative capacity.
46
Table 2 b.iv: Problems in existing cooperation models and suggested interventions
Problems in existing
cooperation models
Interventions
Legal framework
•
•
Adjustment of legislation in the reform context
Selecting and identifying the cooperation model
supported by the existing legal framework
Lack of communication and
adversity
•
Establishment of cooperation with common interests
and motives
Strengthening administrative capacity building
Development of networking and liaison structures
aiming at extending possible solution options
•
•
Limited funding
•
•
•
•
Lack of political control and
accountability
•
•
•
•
Identification of new financial tools and resources
Development of management plan for human and
financial resource aiming at reducing expenses
Development and support of inter-municipal
structures with emphasis on social services
Development of electronic applications and services
Strengthening administrative capacity
Application of quality management systems
Development and implementation of evaluation
systems
Strengthening control and accountability at the
municipal level
47
2c. Synthesis and conclusions
To conclude, all working groups arrived at a number of conclusions and suggestions,
following the exchange of views and experiences in each country. The main focus though
should remain on specific factors which constitute fundamental axes of interaction:
motivation, means, action implementation-reform, and target group. These axes are
represented schematically, summarizing and synthesizing conclusions and main focal points
of each working group. The interaction model presented below provides a depiction of the
interaction process and dynamics involved in the reform process. This representation should
be examined in the wider political and government context, as this situates primarily a
reference framework in each country and defines to a great extent (if not ultimately) process
development. In addition, the political and government context defines the level of trust,
which rules the relationship between citizens and public administration and predetermines the
extent of reform perspective in each country.
With regards to the above, it needs to be pointed out that ‘administrative capacity building’,
wherever mentioned does not refer only to local governance but refers to central government
as well. This is based on the fact that local governance does not currently have the autonomy
to act independently and needs to adhere to legal framework and processes defined by the
central government stage. As such, administrative capacity in both levels is interrelated and
interdependent when aiming at improving local government current situation and approach.
48
Diagram 2c: Axes of interaction in local governance
Mobilisation
Means
Administrative capacity
building
Funding resources
Reforms/Action
Implementation
Innovation
Collaboration models
Citizens’ training/participatory
process
ICT tools and applications
Networking at internal and
external levels
Target group-citizens
Customization to different needs (countries/local governance)
The schematic representation above indicates an interaction model among different levels of
needs and stakeholders. ‘Mobilisation’ is the first axis that needs to be strengthened with a
parallel effort aiming at both administrative and citizen level. A need analysis is necessary in
order to identify and evaluate administrative needs in terms of training and administrative
capacity building, customized to the specific country/culture context and level of local
governance. Further to administrative capacity building, mobilisation needs to be reinforced
also in citizens through training and enhancement of the participatory process in common
citizen issues through mindset cultivation towards upcoming reforms. Citizens need to be
trained and ‘prepared’ in order to define their needs and accept reforms and action
implementation addressed to the community. Examples discussed in the working groups in
relation to citizens’ training are related the project of Urenio research team on how citizens
49
can cooperate with their municipalities for recording, tracking and resolving problems
through electronic services and applications. Also in Poland, the project "golden autumn”,
includes training of citizens on the prevention of discrimination against the elderly. This type
of training can be reported as a typical example of citizens’ training with regards to social
awareness, enhancing social cohesion of local communities. A typical case is also the case of
Finland trying to strengthen the role of citizens in a participatory innovation process with the
example of the village Inno.
The role of citizens is dual as they are involved both in the initial process, by setting and
defining needs but also in the final stage by being recipients of the reform outcomes. As a
result, citizens need to be updated with all necessary information and ‘qualified’ with
necessary tools to properly evaluate reforms and action implementation. Thus, there is an
interconnection between the ‘mobilisation’ axis and the target group of citizens, indicating a
reciprocal relationship/communication. Any attempt for reform will inevitably fail, should it
not have the ‘approval’ of final recipients.
The second axis refers to ‘means’ as potential ways and options to enhance and implement
reforms. Means identified in the seminar involve the utilization of appropriate funding
resources, inter-municipality collaborations and other collaboration models between
municipalities and private sector and municipalities and central government and finally,
networking to share existing problems and expand possible options for solution. Networking
refers to the strengthening of communication either internally at government level (local
government with central government) or externally among different agents and stakeholders
(local governance with various stakeholders at national or international level). The connection
and communication between agents is not necessarily aiming at cooperation, instead it
encourages the exchange of ideas and experiences in relation to shared issues and problems in
order to resolve them in the best possible way. Networking is also a way of sharing good
practices and extends solution options. However, in order to define and select the wider
framework of means to succeed one’s target, one needs to have been “mobilised” and hence
hold appropriate ‘qualifications’ to engage in the selection process. As a result, ‘means’ are
not independent of mobilisation as ‘mobilisation’ defines the exploration and selection of
‘means’.
Selection of ‘means’ will lead to reform and action implementation. Selection of appropriate
means will help to provide a framework context to any planned reform. In addition,
50
collaboration models and networking can help to explore similar cases/situations and develop
ideas for target-specific solutions. Innovation as related to ICT tools and applications are two
fundamental parameters defining reform. Nevertheless, ‘innovation’ is not a universal term
with objective criteria. The extent of ‘tolerated innovation’ is culture specific and different for
every community. Therefore, the extent, the process and the speed of innovation should be
determined based on ‘subjective/case-dependent’ criteria and measures defined by final
recipients-citizens.
To conclude, the target group of citizens is the ultimate recipient of all reforms and action
implementation programs. The target group of citizens is country and culture oriented, and as
such reform programs should take this aspect into consideration. Country, level of local
governance and population are criteria that form the design, the speed and the extent of
reform, taking into consideration specific needs and adjustment parameters. As a result, ‘axes’
identified in the working groups cannot be examined in isolation from each other as they are
interconnected and inter-dependent. A reform process should thoroughly examine each
investigated parameter and explore the route of adjustment before setting success standards.
In addition, a reform process needs to include a well-designed evaluation process in order to
have sustainable results and outcomes and identify specific indicators and targets to achieve.
Finally, the evaluation process is a continuous process that starts from the first stage of the
reform design and continues throughout the implementation. The evaluation process does not
end with the achievement of implementation but continues to evaluate the outcomes after the
end of the implementation process so as to target for sustainable development instead of
ephemeral achievements.
51
2d. Priorities for ESF funding: A synopsis
Although alternative funding opportunities were discussed in the seminar, the main focus
remained in the ESF, as a primary funding resource. In light of this direction, the present
section will summarize the main priorities discussed in the working groups for the next
programming period.
On a first more general level, emphasis was placed on administrative capacity building, as to
communication, human resource management and leadership skills and citizens’ training with
regards to the strengthening of a participatory process in common issues. These two priorities
can be considered as the main priorities shaping the overall effect of any future reform. The
need for administrative capacity building was raised by most partner-countries in order to be
able to meet current challenges successfully. In this context the ability to draft and submit
project proposals as well as technical assistance for this purpose was also raised as an
additional need.
Furthermore, the development of networking and liaison was also raised as a need for ESF
funding. In order to achieve networking, the development of communication skills is
extremely important in terms of administrative capacity building as communication is a vital
tool for any type of activity undertaken, and especially for networking. Communication
between different levels of government, private and public sector is vital when it comes to
strategic planning and decision making. The above examples of Bulgaria, Lithuania and
Czech Republic highlight the need for better communication between administrative
executives (from diverse government organisations) and between the public and private
sectors. It is important not to distinguish the effort to strengthen communication skills from
networking and the general strengthening of administrative capacity building. Thus,
administrative capacity building should adopt an integrated approach aiming at the
development and enhancement of interpersonal skills but also at effective implementation of
work and everyday challenges. Based on the above needs, networking could be structured on
both internal and external levels. The internal level refers to networking at national level
between services in the public sector and different government levels, such as central
government and local government. Typical examples are the actions of Poland and the
example mentioned of South Korea. The external level refers to both national and
international networking between different agents and organizations of the public and private
52
sector, in which case corresponding efforts to implement actions derive from almost all
network countries.
Citizens’ training with regards to the participatory process is an implicit priority that although
it has not been explicitly stated, is a necessary transitional step to be undertaken for the
implementation of innovation and reform activities. As a result, this priority should also be
considered in the list of ESF proposals for the next programming period.
Taking as a prerequisite the above general level of interventions, highlighted needs for ESF
priorities on a more concrete level of local government services, can be summarized under the
following major themes:

Occupation services / local development
Local government should take a drastic approach in dealing effectively with the issue
of unemployment placing particular emphasis on local development. Local
government should make any possible effort to develop job opportunities for citizens
according to their skills for the benefit of the local community.

Social services
Due to the fact that effective social services constitute the fundamental basis of social
cohesion, the delivery of effective, retributive social services to citizens is the
primary goal. Successful delivery of social services in different European countries
could be used as good practice examples.

Integration of immigrants
Immigration is a major issue for many European countries. Integration of immigrants
in the community and in the labour market is a major priority with regards to social
cohesion especially on a local community level.

ICT infrastructure development
The use of electronic systems is cost-effective and time effective for a range of
services. Fostering the appropriate infrastructure for the development of local
government e-services can be of extreme value to citizens. The development of ICT
infrastructures can have a dual purpose, by developing e-services for citizens but also
developing communication tools for administrative executives and agents who are
involved in the planning and implementation process.
53

Cultural education
Cultural activities were on top of the list for most partner countries with regards to
citizens’ satisfaction with local government services. These activities can be
continued, having though as a primary goal the provision of cultural education to
citizens by engaging them in an active process of learning and valuing their cultural
heritage. In a time of economic recession and general social turbulence, protecting
and preserving cultural heritage is vital both in terms of national priority but also as a
mean to address the importance of social cohesion.
54
3. A REVIEW OF THE MOST IMPORTANT OUTCOMES OF THE BASELINE
STUDY ON LOCAL GOVERNANCE AND EU COUNTRIES AND GOOD
PRACTICES PRESENTATION BASED ON SEMINAR OUTCOMES
From the analysis of the current situation on the national local government system in 27 EU
member states and in conjunction with the findings of the seminar, a number of useful
conclusions can be drawn on several areas:

Evaluation of national governance systems
Clearly the best governance performance can be seen in countries of the European
north, the first in order being Finland, followed by Denmark and Sweden, and then
Luxembourg and the Netherlands. In contrast, countries of southern Europe (mainly
Greece and Italy), and some new EU member countries (mainly Bulgaria and
Romania) are at the other end of the range. From the comparative analysis it is
evident that the characteristics which distinguish them and regulate to a great extent
the level of national governance system involve: a high percentage of local
government expenditure in the total public expenditure, significant fiscal autonomy of
local government, provision of high quality service in key social sectors such as
education and health, dominance of local government authorities, consensual political
culture, strong institutions, citizen participation, emphasis on ensuring transparency
and accountability, as well as pioneering attitude regarding the use of new
technologies and the use of modern methods and management tools.

Responsibilities / Services offered by municipalities
The way of service delivery of municipalities to citizens is the most important factor
determining the level of satisfaction of the latter, while the breadth of the range of
services does not vary significantly from country to country. It can be noted that a
high degree of citizens’ satisfaction with local government services is highly
associated with the application of municipal cooperation models either with the
private sector or with NGOs for their delivery purpose.
55

Funding of local government
One of the biggest problems facing local governance at European level is economic
resources, both in terms of their reduction due to the current financial crisis and also
in terms of their sufficiency to ensure the financial autonomy of local authorities. In
general, there is no extension of fiscal autonomy of local authorities, instead there is
an intensification of controls/audits and limitations-a turn that is obviously due to
fiscal pressure experienced in all countries. With regards to the European Social
Fund, it is used extensively by local authorities. The way of use depends largely on
the degree of "maturity" of the governance system: structural interventions of a wide
spectrum are financed in cases of low “maturity” of the system, while otherwise ESF
resources are directed to implement targeted and specialised interventions on local
priority issues (eg employment, social inclusion).

Presentation of good practices
Good practices are directly related to the successful implementation of reforms and
are indicated below by thematic area:
1. As to territorial reforms, successful examples of municipalities’ merges are
recorded in Denmark, Germany, Slovakia and Sweden, with simultaneous
transfer of powers and creation of new levels. Specifically, in Germany, after the
reunification the map of local government was reformed with the addition of 5
new federal states, with simultaneous transfer of responsibilities (either from
central government to local government or internally, between different levels of
government). Similarly, Denmark has recently consolidated its geographical
administrative structures and the reform included reorganization of functions of
new local authority structures by weakening the old counties of almost all their
powers, which were then divided between the central government and the new
large municipalities. Sweden has since 2007 started the process of removing
existing counties and created 6-9 large regions with the aim of simplifying
administrative structure, with parallel transfer of basic functional design. In the
case of Slovakia, until October 2007 there were 8 regional offices of state
decentralized administration ("Krajsky Urad"), which were abolished and their
responsibilities were transferred to 8 self-governing regions ("samospravne
56
kraje") that were created in the same limits in 2002. Finally, an interesting
example is the one of Greece ("Kallikratis"), for which unfortunately there are no
quantitative indicators of successful implementation level. Also noteworthy is the
simplification
of
administrative
structures
of
the
decentralized
state
administration in some countries, such as Finland.
2. As for the cooperation with the private sector, successful concession models
are found in Eastern Europe (Poland, Lithuania, Czech Republic and Bulgaria),
but also in countries such as France, where there is a long tradition. Specifically,
in the case of Bulgaria, remarkable is the creation of specialized structures both
on central and on municipal level, dealing with concessions, while significant
actions and training of the staff were implemented in these structures, as well as a
practical effort to ensure transparency by activating the Public Procurement
Agency and the creation of a Public Procurement Register. In Czech Republic,
several municipalities proceeded in collaborations with individuals by
establishing joint ventures or applying service concessions after a competition or
contracting out, with the municipality retaining ownership of assets, while the
individual is responsible for the maintenance and operation of facilities.
Moreover, it is worth mentioning that Czech Republic was one of the pioneers in
developing and implementing models of inter-municipal cooperation, mainly due
to the large number and small size municipalities in the country. In Lithuania
there is a memorable emphasis in PPP, in terms of local government, and in some
cases, municipalities cooperate with them or with the state and jointly carry out
competitions for the emergence of joint contractors on amenities, urban design
and basic public services. Poland has developed a long-standing collaboration
between local authorities and companies, many of them from abroad, while it is
worth mentioning that many municipalities have created municipal holdings,
some of which are in the stock market of Poland. Finally, cooperation with NGOs
is particularly evident in countries where this sector traditionally presents an
increased growth and plays an important role in the provision of social services,
such as France, Germany, Sweden, and Poland.
3. Regarding the adoption of modern methods and tools for new public
management good practices are indicated in the creation of one-stop shops
(Greece, Denmark, France, Germany and Sweden), the implementation of
57
performance indicators (Poland, France, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and
Sweden), implementation of cost accounting systems (Poland, Czech Republic,
Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden) and choice vouchers
(Denmark and Sweden). In particular, it is worth mentioning the adoption of
quality assurance standards by municipalities in Poland, many of whom have
acquired quality certificates (ISO), while others have established performance
indicators, in order to monitor and evaluate the implementation of policies and
general operation of the administration. Another area where there have been
significant changes in Poland is the financial and accounting management of
municipalities, many of whom have introduced methods of task-oriented
budgeting, cost accounting or long loan programming. In Greece, it is worth
mentioning the practice of Citizen Service Centers (CSC), which were
established and operate as one-stop shops for citizens, combining the provision of
many different public services. A similar practice is found in France and the
Public Service Centers and offices of multiple services, while in public
management, municipalities in France are based on performance reports with the
use of indicators while the use of annual performance contracts and annual
performance reports is provided and implemented. In Germany, one-stop shops
can be found dealing with procedures for citizen service purposes, as one stop
shops of local government, while simultaneously municipalities in the country
have a tradition of using new methods and management tools, having developed a
list of administrative "products", indicators, data performance and cost
calculations. In Denmark and Sweden, typical examples of innovation are
networks created to compare the quality of municipal services and promote local
benchmarking, as well as coupons for citizens for choosing local government
services, a practice that fosters competition and raises quality standards of
services for citizens.
4. As for political reforms, particularly common is the establishment of local
referendums (eg Germany). Widespread and generally accepted seems to be the
establishment of institutions of transparency and accountability, where new
technologies have certainly contributed. Typical are the examples of the
establishment of the Consultation Committee of the institution of the
Ombudsman for the support of citizens and businesses and the mandatory upload
58
of all decisions on the internet (Greece) as well as the introduction of immigrants’
voting in Denmark and Sweden.

Future trends
Generally as to the propensity of local governance systems in Europe, it is worth
noting that there is a clear trend of convergence principally in terms of discursive
convergence, with a typical example for most countries of Western Europe being
New Public Management and its processes. The function of local government is
required to respond to the triptych of economic viability, quality and good
governance. Economic independence is related mainly to the rationalization of
spending and sound economic operation, without the need for ongoing subsidies and
grants from the central government. Quality includes monitoring of performance
based on indicators and standards, with the aim of continually improving and
upgrading the level of services provided. Good administration incorporates citizens’
request for transparency and accountability and commitment of local government
authorities to operate under principles and rules.
59
4. RESEARCH STUDY ON CITIZENS’ LEVEL OF SATISFACTION WITH LOCAL
GOVERNANCE SERVICES IN NETWORK COUNTRIES: A REVIEW OF
DISCUSSION IN LIGHT OF SEMINAR FINDINGS
The baseline study provided the fundamental basis for the research study. The design of the
study aimed to provide a descriptive overview of citizens’ satisfaction with local government
services, attempting at the same time to highlight the reasons for the satisfaction outcomes.
Low satisfaction with local government services, wherever evident, is not merely the result of
deficiency in one of the relevant investigated parameters (information received by the service,
human resource/personnel delivering the service, time of service delivery, service’s
infrastructure and service’s electronic system/applications), but is rather the outcome of a
problematic organizational/implementation process and restricted funding with regards to
service delivery. So for example, the difference in average satisfaction between Czech
Republic (3.84) and Greece (2.95) in local transport services is a result of different
organization processes resulting in different levels of quality in terms of service delivery,
which is not due to the deficiency of a single parameter.
Based on key seminar findings, the above deficiency can be equilibrated by focusing on two
main axes: mobilisation and means. Building administrative capacity in order to meet
design and implementation needs and explore prospects of financial resources (besides
government subsidies) to support additional duties/ responsibilities, is a vital necessity for
local government in most countries.
Building administrative capacity involves training and education to existing administration
staff, but involves also human resource management and the identification of human capital
with appropriate expertise to support specific services and interventions. This is an essential
need as local government staff will play a leading role in future strategic planning and action
implementation. Future planning and initiatives need to be designed in such a way so as to
involve sustainable services and actions retributive to citizens.
At this point it needs to be noted that investment for training and education should not only
involve administration executives but also citizens, who need to cultivate ‘culture’ and
‘behaviours’ and adjust to innovative prospects for cost-effective services, such as for
instance e-services and tools.
60
The identification of financial resources that will support such actions plays also an
important role. At the moment, the largest part -if not all- of municipalities’ funding is
centrally dependent in most investigated countries. The wider context of financial crisis
however, does not allow proceeding with traditional and static behaviours and imposes the
need for change and adjustment to more flexible and innovative solutions. As a result,
exploring new means and ways to support the duties of local governance is of vital
importance. New functional and sustainable models need to be explored, such as
collaboration models and networking. More specifically, inter-municipality collaborations
and collaboration with the private sector are options that need to be thoroughly explored and
customized to each country’s needs and existing political status.
Underlined services with low satisfaction rate reflect a culture/country specific situation in the
wider economic recession context. For instance, it is no coincidence that in most countries
lowest satisfaction ratings can be seen in social services and in occupation services/local
development. For social services it can be argued that they are not in the priority list in terms
of strategic planning. As suggested by local experts, in most countries social services rest
merely on municipalities’ initiatives as there are no provisions for specific actions to be taken
by local authorities. However, social services tend to be part of local authorities’
responsibilities and some countries have relevant good practices to present; therefore, the
provision as well as the extension of the range of social services provided from local
authorities should be encouraged and increased, through exploration of new funding
opportunities and the investigation of potential collaboration models and networking. In
addition, the delivery of efficient social services helps to increase social cohesion and
provides a strong foundation to the community.
With reference to occupation services/local development, results of this study suggest that
these services are in preliminary stage and rather unsuccessful, as they fail meeting citizens’
needs. As unemployment is currently one of the greatest problems that the community has to
face, local authorities need to activate and take the leading role by designing interventions and
actions in order to provide targeted solutions. According to experts, occupation services and
local development should be the main priority in order to develop ways and tools to confront
financial crisis and proceed to growth. Local development can be enhanced through a
collaborative approach and the use of networking by exchanging experiences and ideas and
adopt best practices customized to specific country based needs.
61
In general, it is important to note that citizens in all investigated countries have not yet
become ‘clients’ of municipal services as they are still unclear which services are provided by
the municipality and which services are provided by the state. So, the confusion in
responsibility allocation in the administrative level is often transferred to citizens. In addition,
citizens are not aware of all the services provided by their local government and thus they do
not become users.
This confusion derives as municipalities have undertaken new responsibilities that were stategovernment responsibilities and are not able to successfully meet the needs of their recent
duties. In addition, they have not yet identified and implemented effective means in order to
become functional with reference to the above responsibilities. As a result, in most cases
municipalities have undertaken extra responsibilities without additional funding and clear
instructions on how to proceed with action implementation. An additional factor that impedes
action implementation is the lack of administrative capacity, which is also evident in many
cases. In the concrete level of services, difficulties in service organization in terms of human
resource, infrastructure and electronic system, reflect limitations in fundamental operation
parameters.
Besides the lack of funding resources and limitation in the utilization of other means, there
are also major and deeply political issues that tend to persist, despite modernization and
globalization processes, such as corruption. Corruption seems to be deeply rooted in countries
with low total satisfaction scores, mainly prevalent in Romania, Bulgaria and Greece. It is
worth noting that countries that suffer from ‘corruption’ are countries that tend also to suffer
from increased bureaucracy. The issue of corruption should be examined in relation to trust
within the political framework of each country. As trust between citizens and governmentand hence local government- plays a fundamental role in the reform process, it is critical to
adopt ways and tools to effectively restore it. The relationship of bureaucracy, transparency
and accountability remains a critical issue in the context of a wider local government reform
effort and raises questions regarding the effectiveness of current operation procedures.
The diagram below presents a perspective of local government service delivery process
combining findings from the research study and axes of interaction derived from key seminar
findings.
62
Diagram 4.i: A perspective of service delivery process
Local Government
Administrative
capacity
building
Citizens’
training
Hierarchy of
needs
and
Priority of
services
Citizens
Identification of
funding
resources
and
customization
of means
Organization of
services
(human resource,
infrastructure,
support systems)
Service
delivery
Evaluation
process
Political context
The above diagram focuses on the service delivery process, incorporating elements and steps
of improvement for an integrated procedure. The first layer represents the wider political
context (unique for each country) and the local government sector as an inseparable part of it.
As concluded in the seminar, the political framework shapes the reform process and
predefines to a great extend the success or the failure of a reform program. As a result, the
political support is a necessary element for the operational success of action implementation.
The next essential layer refers to citizens as the target group which is directly interrelated with
local government.
With reference to the improvement of local government service delivery, several steps need to
be taken in the beginning of service delivery process. Firstly, parallel training processes need
to be initiated aiming at: a) administrative capacity building and b) citizens’ training and
education on novel services and tools. The successful training process will result in the
effective identification and hierarchy of citizen’s needs and with a prioritization of services.
63
This result will be achieved with the input of both local administration executives and
citizens. The next step referring to identification of funding resources and customization of
means, is a local government task which will be facilitated should executives have adequate
knowledge and qualifications for the endeavor process. It is necessary to note that
customization process needs to take into consideration country/culture parameters and the
target group of citizens involved in each case. The following step refers to the organization of
services in terms of fundamental operation parameters such as human resource, infrastructure
and support systems (i.e. electronic systems). In order to effectively organize services,
previous steps should be completed so as to provide target based solutions and meet citizens’
needs. The final two steps refer to service delivery and evaluation process as interrelated
aspects. Service delivery needs to be assessed based on specific indicators. Service evaluation
from citizens will encourage the improvement of service delivery and will actively engage
citizens in this process. Overall, this process provides a perspective of sustainability and
encourages development.
To conclude, from a citizen perspective, the focus should be placed on simpler, faster, userfriendly municipal services with the elimination of bureaucracy. In addition, it needs to be
noted that the success of local government services is also dependent on citizens’ culture and
education. Citizens need to be actively informed of the services provided by their
municipalities and be trained in order to be able to accept and use those services. Therefore,
successful service delivery is not isolated from citizens’ active engagement. All process steps
described above play a distinct but equally important role. Improvement efforts should target
all steps and layers adopting a parallel intervention process so as to have effective outcomes
in the reform process overall.
64
5. ASSESSMENT AND SUGGESTIONS FOR THE USE OF ESF FUNDS
5.1: Assessment of how ESF funds were used from local Authorities until today
The European Social Fund (ESF) and especially its corresponding Operational Programmes
co-financed by the European Commission and national funds constitute a significant source of
funding for local Authorities. Local Authorities are included in the final Beneficiaries of
Operational Programmes in all EU countries, while at the same time special activities for
local Authorities are foreseen in many Operational Programmes.
Having a look at how ESF funds were utilized until today, 2 basic categories can be
distinguished:
1. In countries where performance against indicators measuring the level of
governance is poor and / or the local governance system requires significant
reforms so that it is aligned with international standards, ESF is considered as an
important funding tool for the implementation of these reforms. These reforms are
considered as interventions of structural character, aiming at restructuring the existing
local Governance system and aligning it with modern existing developments and with
the expectations of citizens. Consequently, ESF plays a crucial role for these
countries, since it finances the radical or partial restructuring of the national
framework for local Governance. The importance of ESF in such cases becomes even
greater taking under consideration the current economic recession and its implications
in the financial situation of local Authorities. In this case, interventions funded from
ESF involve all Local Authorities of a certain level, this is why they are characterized
as structural. This category includes the cases of Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Romania
and the Czech Republic.
In Bulgaria, the Operational Programme “Administrative capacity” supported the
implementation of the Decentralization Strategy 2006-2015, which is a wide reform
for the local Governance system in the country. ESF funds were channeled through
this Operational Programme to activities related with the enhancement of
transparency and accountability, the introduction of new Human Resources
management techniques for people working in the central and local Governments, as
65
well as with the development and application of ICT solutions for the promotion of
electronic governance for the benefit of both citizens and businesses.
In Greece, the Operational Programme “Public Administration Reform 2007 – 2013”
supports the implementation of a wide reform for the national local Governance
system, known as "New Architecture of Government Administration and
Decentralisation - Kallikrates Programme". Based on this programmme, the
administrative division of Greece was reformed in 2011 and the boundaries and
responsibilities of local authority units were redefined, together with the method of
electing these local authority units, changing thus the whole map of local
Administration in the country.
In
Hungary,
the
Operational
Programme
“Public
Reform”
supports
the
implementation of the ongoing effort to improve the overall operation of Public
Administration through interventions in internal processes and procedures and
through the improvement of the Governance system. Especially for local
Administration, emphasis is given in enhancing the responsibilities of local
Authorities by supporting the strategic management and organization functions, as
well as in upgrading the effectiveness and the efficiency of administrative functions
by simplifying and transforming all related activities through electronic
implementation, followed by the development and application of the appropriate
tools.
In Romania, the Operational Programme “Human Resources Development” supports
the implementation of certain activities under the reform “Modernization of the
Public Employment Service”. The activities that involve local Authorities aim at
improving the quality and the effectiveness of services offered by local Authorities,
and relate with institutions (decentralization of services offered), human resources
(training, development of skills) and tools.
In the Czech Republic, local Administration reforms are mainly financed by the
Operational Programme “Human Resources and Employment”. Emphasis is given in
the implementation of modern methods for improving performance, quality standards,
effectiveness and transparency of local Authorities and public services, including
introducing tools for monitoring the performance of local Authorities. The same
Operational Programme financed also the implementation of capacity building
activities, the expansion of the use of ICT for promoting electronic governance and
66
the introduction and application of modern quality management tools for local
Authorities, as complementary activities for reinforcing this effort.
2. In countries where performance against indicators measuring the level of
governance is strong, while at the same time local governance system is
considered “mature” enough, and local Authorities have at their disposal significant
sources of income either from the central government or from local taxes – fees and /
or entrepreneurial activities, ESF funds are utilised mainly in implementing targeted
and specialised interventions rather than wide reforms, in order to meet local needs
and priorities. In these countries, the structure of the national local Governance
systems is considered satisfactory, so there is no need for any radical or partial
restructuring. On the contrary, ESF funds are directed for financing innovative
initiatives (in many cased even of a pilot chatacter) for combating local problems. In
most of the cases the implementation of specific initiatives is located in a local level
(local character), not like the previous case (structural character). The axes of such
interventions include:

Employment promotion

Social cohesion and enhancement of social inclusion

e-governance

Capacity building for people working for Public Administration

Improvement of institutional / regulatory framework
Almost EU countries fall under this second category (it should be noted that the 5
countries of the first category implement also targeted / specialised activities under
this category, together with wide structural interventions of the existing overall local
Governance system).
Regarding employment promotion interventions, all EU countries use ESF funds to
implement such activities, since unemployment is one of the biggest problems that all
EU citizens currently face. Most common practices for employment promotion
include:

Implementation of local integrated Action Plans for promoting the
unemployed in the labour market
Local integrated Action Plans aiming at employability promotion constitute a
very common practice in many EU countries. These interventions are based
67
on one hand on the collaboration of many local productive institutions and
associations together with social partners, and on the other hand on taking
advantage of the local characteristics of each area contributing to
competitiveness. Local Authorities act as pillars in these Action Plans, while
the beneficiaries – unemployed receive a wide range of support services,
including vocational training, counseling, networking, as well as professional
support for establishing new businesses.
Typical examples of such interventions include the Local Employment Pacts
in Austria, the Local Plans for Inclusion and Employment in France, the
Local Social Capital in Germany, the Local Plans for Employment in Greece
and the Local Employment Promotion actions in Spain.

The support to the adaptability of employees and businesses in order to face
the current economic crisis
This category includes capacity and skills development programmes for
employees and / or businesses, so that on one hand the employees will be able
to remain within the labour market and on the other hand businesses will
reinforce their viability. The improvement of competitiveness both for
employees and for businesses is the common denominator in this type of
programmes.
Typical examples of such interventions include the skills improvement
programmes for workers in Denmark, the Structural Adaptability
programmes for employees and for businesses during economic recession in
Greece, the Human Resources Development and Adaptability programme in
Cyprus, activities related with the adaptability of workers and enterprises and
healthy workforce in Poland, development of human resources programmes
in research and development in Slovenia, integrated programmes in many
parts in the Czech Republic (Děčín Region, Olomouc Region, Přerov Region
and Šumperk Region), as well as the “Development of the employed
workforce, support businesses and encourage entrepreneurship” programme
in Finland.
68
Regarding social cohesion and enhancement of social inclusion interventions, almost
all EU countries utilize ESF funds for implementing relevant activities, most of which
in local level and under the guidance and supervision of local Authorities. Typical
examples of such interventions include the local Public Centers for Social Action in
Belgium, the programmes “Help at Home", “Nurseries - KDAP” and “Day Care
Centers for the Elderly – KIFI” under the Action "Harmonisation of Family and
Professional Life" in Greece, social inclusion programmes for socially vulnerable
groups in local level (e.g. “Local Experiences – Reconciliation” and “Establishment”)
and programmes promoting gender equality (e.g. “Local Employment and Equality”)
in Spain, programmes combating poverty and social exclusion in Latvia, programmes
for the integration of disabled people in the labour market, for improving access to
equal treatment in employment, and for increasing the participation of migrants in
employment (e.g. "Provision of additional tools facilitating support remotely for
people excluded from the labor market") in the Netherlands, the modernization of
Public Employment Services in Poland in order to support social care institutions and
to establish partnerships promoting social inclusion, social inclusion programmes
(e.g. “Combating poverty and social exclusion", “Employability and Equal
opportunities for migrants" and “Quality of life for people with disabilities or
disability") in Portugal, programmes for increasing the participation of migrants in
employment and for promoting equal access to employment in Sweden, as well as
activities combating long term unemployment of socially vulnerable groups in the
Czech Republic.
Regarding e-governance interventions, some EU countries have utilized ESF funds to
finance the implementation of such activities, related with the operation of local
Authorities and services offered by them. Typical examples of such interventions
include the development of e-government and e-justice systems in Bulgaria aiming at
improving services to business and the general public, project promoting the
electronic offer of services (e.g. e-Citizens’ Service Centers / e-KEP) and the
development
of
ICT
applications
promoting
transparency
(e.g.
“Cl@rity
Programme”) in Greece, “e-Volve” project for improving e-government, e-business
and e-skills in Cyprus, as well as the “Support for the broad and specialized training
in ICT” project in Portugal.
69
Regarding capacity building interventions for people working for Public
Administration, the vast majority of EU countries have used ESF funds for
implementing relevant activities, since capacity building and the development of
skills in order to improve the administrative capacity of Public Administration is a
basic priority and axis for ESF.
A typical example in met in Estonia, where through the Operational Programme
"Human Resources" and in particular within the Priority "Improving institutional
capacity", an integrated capacity development programme for people working in
Local Authorities in the country. The target of the programme is to empower the
Regional Authorities of the country and to develop a network that will support Local
Authorities and coordinate common interests. In this framework, a number of training
sessions were implemented for all levels of local Governance and for every hierarchy
level (for top executives of local Governments as well as for employees). These
training and capacity building sessions took place in many areas, covering a big part
of the country (πχ. Järva, Jõgevamaa, Järvamaa, Läänemaa, Tartumaa, Võrumaa και
Võru). A second typical example is the one in Hungary, where through the OP "State
Reform" and especially under the priority "Renewal of the organization and
development”, programmes having local authorities as final beneficiaries were carried
out, aiming at increasing individual performance and improving the moral of the
personnel. This priority includes also measures for the utilisation of additional human
resources for public administration, as well as measures to modernize human
resources management tools. It should be mentioned that these programmes are
combined with actions for improving the organization and operations of Local
Authorities implemented also through the OP "State Reform", which affect the
content of the aforementioned training programmes. Consequently, the case of
Hungary is an example of an integrated intervention in the national local Governance
system, including capacity building programmes of wide range for people working in
Local Authorities. Finally, also in Lithuania ESF’s contribution to the operation of
Local Authorities involves to a great extent the upgrade of competencies for the
human capital working in these organizations. Specifically, through the OP "Human
Resource Development" and under Priority 4 "Strengthening administrative capacity
and improving efficiency in public administration", training programmes were
implemented for people working in Local Authorities. The content of these
70
programmes included strategic planning and strengthening administrative capacity,
while it should also be mentioned that the final goal of the programmes was the
certification of the competencies of the participants.
Regarding interventions related with the improvement of institutional / regulatory
framework, some EU countries (mainly some of the new EU members or countries
where citizens show low satisfaction levels about their central and local governments)
decided to implement relevant activities through ESF funding. These activities differ
from the wide reforms of point 1 of this section (cases of Greece, Bulgaria, Romania,
the Czech Republic and Hungary) in terms of targeting (they are more targeted than
horizontal reforms) and range (they are more limited than horizontal reforms).
Typical examples of such interventions include programmes under the "Improving
institutional capacity" Priority in Italy, programmes for improving the legal
framework for economic activity, public services and businesses in Lithuania,
activities for the improvement of the governance system and the enhancement of the
responsibilities of local Authorities ("Improving the capacity for self-governance and
the quality of legislation") in Hungary, activities for the improvement of the
regulatory and institutional framework for Public Administration (Priority “Good
Governance”) in Poland, programmes supporting local Authorities in the
decentralization process for the delivery of public services ("Improving institutional
capacity") in Romania, capability and institutional development activities for local
Authorities (“Improving institutional capacity”) in Slovakia, the project "Institutional
and administrative capacity" for the improvement of administrative and institutional
capacities in Slovenia, as well as introduction of modern methods in the operation of
local Authorities in the Czech Republic (e.g. modern methods of fiscal and financial
management).
Attempting an evaluation on how ESF funds are used by local Authorities in EU members, it
is worth mentioning some important parameters. First of all, it is clear that activities funded
under the ESF are planned, organized and customized based on ESF priorities for the
improvement of the Administrative capacity (participation, rule of law, transparency,
consensus,
responsiveness,
equity
and
integration,
effectiveness
and
efficiency,
accountability).
71
This applies for all countries, since all activities planned, organized and implemented having
local Authorities as beneficiaries relate with the aforementioned priorities. Therefore, all EU
members adopt and implement in practice the priorities set by ESF for the improvement of the
Administrative capacity, making ESF a basic convergence tool among EU countries.
The specific areas where each EU country gives emphasis result from the existing situation
and the needs in terms of governance for each national case. The performance of all 27 EU
countries in six dimensions of governance is presented in the following table (ie: a.
participation-accountability VA, b. political stability / lack of political violence-terrorism, PV
c. governance effectiveness, GE d. reforms’ quality. RQ e. rule of law RL, f. corruption’s
control CC), and a final index (Factor).
72
Table 5.1: Assessment of governance systems
VA
PV
GE
RQ
RL
CC
Mean Factor
Finland
1.10
1.47
1.75
1.38
1.49
1.65
1.47
1.56
Denmark
1.15
1.00
1.67
1.46
1.39
1.86
1.42
1.52
Sweden
1.15
1.09
1.51
1.25
1.47
1.75
1.37
1.46
Luxembourg
1.13
1.54
1.18
1.21
1.34
1.56
1.33
1.40
Netherlands
1.06
0.91
1.21
1.33
1.32
1.65
1.25
1.33
Austria
1.01
1.10
1.37
1.01
1.31
1.17
1.16
1.23
Ireland
0.90
0.99
0.77
1.16
1.27
1.19
1.05
1.11
Germany
0.91
0.75
1.02
1.07
1.13
1.22
1.02
1.09
Un. Kingdom
0.88
0.24
1.03
1.28
1.28
1.01
0.95
1.03
Belgium
0.99
0.73
1.06
0.75
0.89
1.03
0.91
0.97
France
0.79
0.61
0.90
0.79
1.02
0.93
0.84
0.90
Malta
0.71
1.17
0.60
0.89
0.98
0.48
0.81
0.84
Cyprus
0.63
0.24
0.96
0.83
0.67
0.62
0.66
0.71
Estonia
0.69
0.53
0.67
0.92
0.63
0.47
0.65
0.69
Portugal
0.69
0.59
0.48
0.18
0.52
0.58
0.50
0.53
Czech Rep.
0.59
0.96
0.45
0.67
0.43
-0.11
0.50
0.51
Slovenia
0.58
0.76
0.47
0.10
0.50
0.40
0.47
0.49
Spain
0.71
-0.50
0.42
0.62
0.68
0.56
0.41
0.46
Poland
0.60
0.99
0.13
0.36
0.15
0.02
0.37
0.38
Slovakia
0.46
1.02
0.28
0.45
0.04
-0.14
0.35
0.35
Hungary
0.48
0.62
0.11
0.46
0.24
-0.09
0.30
0.31
Lithuania
0.47
0.57
0.14
0.36
0.22
-0.10
0.28
0.29
Latvia
0.38
0.33
0.12
0.36
0.28
-0.21
0.21
0.22
Italy
0.49
0.32
-0.08
0.21
-0.17
-0.45
0.06
0.05
Greece
0.47
-0.42
-0.07
-0.02
0.07
-0.52
-0.08
-0.08
Bulgaria
0.05
0.20
-0.61
-0.08
-0.66
-0.58
-0.28
-0.31
Romania
0.02
0.05
-0.77
-0.01
-0.52
-0.56
-0.30
-0.33
Source: A. Kaasa, 2012 SEARCH Project
73
From these figures sufficiency and insufficiency of each country is evident with respect to the
system of governance applied. Therefore, each country plans and implements actions, through
ESF, according to their specific needs, striving to improve their position (e.g. Greece
proceeded in wide-scale reform, Bulgaria invested in measures to improve accountability,
Romania in actions improving the efficiency of government, etc.). So, ESF is a tool of direct
response of each country to the needs of its citizens.
From the analysis of action implementation in each country with ESF funding there is a clear
dissemination of models and practices and their adoption and implementation by EU
member states The actions implemented in various countries have specific models (e.g.
integrated local action to promote employment), which circulate and disseminate rapidly (e.g.
actions tested during the previous programming period in some countries and marked success
were spread to other countries during the current programming period). Therefore, the ESF
acts as a common platform for implementing actions which, when becoming good practices
are directly disseminated in all EU Member States.
The flexibility and practicality of how to exploit ESF resources is another point that should
be emphasized. The model of the Operational Programmes and their structure in general
objectives and priorities allows the adoption of targeting ESF across Europe, giving at the
same time the opportunity for Member States to specify the actions they wish to implement
based on local needs and circumstances. This model is particularly functional, as it promotes
uniformity but does not support the logic of one size fits all.
A quantitative approach and cost - benefit analysis for the actions of the ESF is not feasible,
as the effects of the large-scale action implementation are influenced by a number of
exogenous factors and they are long-lasting and difficult to quantify. Nevertheless, it is clear
that in every major reform with positive implications the ESF played an important role by
contributing financially to a greater or lower extent (e.g. the reforms mentioned at the
beginning of this section). Also, the ESF supported and continues to largely support the
development of services provided by local government to its citizens, promotes e-government
and supports solutions to pressing contemporary problems such as unemployment, immigrant
integration and social cohesion. So the benefits from the use of ESF resources are important,
outweighing corresponding costs.
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From the experience so far, actions financed by the ESF in current programming period and
appearing as good practices by their early results (which will be finalized after the completion
of the evaluations of current Operational Programmes) include:

Promotion of transparency and accountability (internet publications, accumulation and
comparison of data on municipalities’ service performance providing free access to the
public etc.)

Support of inter-municipal collaboration models

Establishment of One Stop Shops

Development and application of performance indicators

Development of cost accounting systems

Choice vouchers for services provided by local authorities

Integrated local interventions for dealing with unemployment

Development of new services provided by local authorities (either independently or
through collaboration with NGOs)

Improvement of the level of provided services through e-government system
applications (e.g. certificates to citizens, service delivery to businesses)
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5.2 Suggestions for the future use of ESF funds
In view of the new programming period, a planning has been initiated for the use of the fund.
The actions proposed for funding by the ESF will arise both from the needs of EU member
states and from good practices of the current Programming Period.
The needs of EU member states, as indicated in the three day seminar include:

Financial independence of local government authorities
During the presentation of the good practices that took place at the first day of the
seminar, it was mentioned that the main goal of any reform of a Local Governance
system is to empower the new Local Authorities and to enhance their economic
independence. In the case of Denmark, the system before the reform was problematic
due to the increasing administration cost of the municipalities, in combination with
the low effectiveness level of services provided to citizens (services with high cost
and low quality). Similar situation was observed also in Greece before the
‘Kallikrates’ reform. Despite though the efforts for empowering the economic
independence of municipalities, the issue still remains unsolved. During the second
day of the seminar, in the first Working Group it was mentioned that the transfer of
responsibilities to local governments was not always accompanied by the necessary
transfer of funds corresponding to these responsibilities, whereas the audits and
restrictions become more intense, mainly because of the fiscal deficits. Reduced
revenue, as a result of the economic crisis, makes the situation even worse. As a
conclusion, the empowerment of economic independence of the local governments is
a major priority in order to reassure first their viability, and second to secure their
capacity to provide high quality services to their citizens.

Developing solutions to address problems faced by citizens threatening social
cohesion (e.g. unemployment)
The need of all EU countries to reinforce social cohesion, which is threatened by a
number of problems such as unemployment and immigration, came out in all
Working Groups of the second day of the seminar. This need was mentioned by many
Greek participants, with almost all participants sharing the same view. The
continuous increase of unemployment in active workforce in all EU countries creates
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the necessity to provide support to them and to proceed to practical efforts to
reintegrate the unemployed in the labor market. At the same time, as mentioned in all
Working Groups, integration of immigrants and fulfillment of their basic needs
(housing mainly), which will lead to being accepted by local communities, requires
also planning of relevant activities. In this field, the contribution of the ESF is
recognized, since more than 90% of total available funds are directed to reinforcing
employment, social integration and education, as noted by Mr. Luκasz Wardyn
(European Commission).

Improving efficiency and effectiveness of the operation of local government through
the adoption and implementation of modern management methods
As already mentioned, Local Authorities have undertaken a number of
responsibilities from the central government, without having in many cases the
infrastructure or the know-how to provide the relevant services. Eventually, their
operational model is not that efficient, even though many activities for improving
their operational model both from the organizational and from the human resources
point of view are either under implementation or have been already implemented. The
problem is mainly located to leadership issues, strategy planning and human
resources management. At that point, it should be mentioned that during the seminar,
the modern trend of standardizing and certifying the operational model of Local
Authorities was presented by the Council of Europe, as something that could improve
significantly the effectiveness and efficiency levels of Local Authorities.

The development of inter-municipal cooperation to achieve economies of scale and
funding opportunities
The importance of inter-municipal cooperation was a point of reference during the
Working Groups of the second day of the seminar. In Working Group 4 a typical
example from Greece was presented (Development Association of West Attica),
while relative models were also presented by the Czech partners (inter-municipal
cooperation between small municipalities in the Czech Republic). All participants
agreed that the continuation and further development of inter-municipal cooperation
can be a very good solution to the problem of economic crisis, a problem that Local
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Authorities face as well. Through this kind of cooperation the implementation of
important actions is feasible, actions that cannot undertaken by individual Local
Authorities. Moreover, inter-municipal cooperation enables Local Authorities of
small size to utilize funding sources, which demand special know-how and
availability of relevant resources (this was mentioned both from Czech and from
Lithuanian partners).

Skills’ development for local government staff
Constant reforms of Local Authorities in combination with the augmented role they
need to play, with additional responsibilities and obligations, demand the constant
skills development for their personnel. Skills required include modern methods and
techniques of administration and work, as well getting familiar with modern tools and
especially with ICT applications. This need is immediate so as to improve the levels
of effectiveness and efficiency of the operational model of Local Authorities and has
been funded from the ESF during the current Programming Period. Moreover, this is
supported not only by the research study’s conclusions regarding the citizens’ level of
satisfaction with local governance services in Network countries, but also from Mr.
Mouritzen’s presentation during the first day of the seminar.

To raise the level of city’s friendliness to its citizens
The basic conclusion of the research study regarding the citizens’ level of satisfaction
with local governance services in Network countries was that the level of cities’
friendliness towards citizens is relatively low. Moreover, the presentations of the
good practice of Finland and of the innovative project of Municipality of Thermi in
Greece (URENIO) prove that one of the main concerns of modern Local Authorities
is the development of the necessary conditions making a city friendly to its citizens.
This need was mentioned also for the case of Croatia in the seminar, despite the fact
that Croatia is not member of the Network, something that proves that this certain
need is common in a European level. The rise of the level of city friendliness towards
its citizens can be achieved either through the simplification of procedures related
with the provision of services or by using modern ICT applications for improving the
level of citizens’ service.
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
Promotion of transparency and accountability in combination with the elimination of
bureaucracy
Transparency, accountability and reduction of the bureaucracy were brought up as
basic needs of Local Authorities by the participants of the seminar and mainly during
the Working Groups of the second day. The importance of accountability mainly, but
also of transparency has been already underlined during the first day of the seminar
also by Mr. Mouritzen, as factors that affect significantly the level of citizens’
satisfaction with Local Authorities. Although many countries have already
implemented relevant actions, relevant needs still exist, especially for those countries
that are evaluated really low in the corresponding indicators, such as Greece, Bulgaria
and Romania.

Promotion of innovation
Innovation is a need for Local Authorities, serving as a tool for increasing efficiency
and effectiveness, but also as a tool for improving the level of services provided to
citizens. Many efforts have been already made to that direction (relevant examples
were mentioned in the first day of the seminar in the case of Finland, while the
practice of the Municipality of Thermi is a typical example), including the use of ICT
applications for providing better services to citizens. However, innovation is still
considered as a challenge for Local Authorities, as Mr. Popescu from the Council of
Europe mentioned.
The significance of these needs in an EU Member State level also derives from the table
presented in the previous section, as it is clear that the degree of performance in each country
in the rating categories demonstrates the need for intervention or non-intervention. In any
case, these needs are common ground for EU member states and should be taken into account
when designing new ESF interventions.
At that point it should be noted that based on the new Regulation for ESF for 2014-2020
(COM 607, EC 2011), it is proposed for ESF to focus on four “thematic objectives” for all EU
countries:
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i.
Promote employment and support labour mobility
ii. Invest in education, skills and life-long learning
iii. Promote social inclusion and combat poverty
iv. Enhance institutional capacity and efficient public administration
Moreover, ESF will contribute also to other thematic objectives, like supporting the shift
towards a low-carbon, climate-resilient, resource-efficient and environmentally sustainable
economy, enhancing the use of information and communication technologies, strengthening
research, technological development and innovation and enhancing the competitiveness of
small and medium-sized enterprises.
Given on one hand the emerging good practices according to up until now implementation of
the ESF and on the other hand the targets for ESF for the upcoming Programming Period,
priorities that stand up as funding pillars of the ESF for the next programming period are as
follows:

Strengthening administrative capacity building for local government staff
particularly in management and leadership skills
The ongoing strengthening of local government human resource is the basis for the
proper and efficient operation of local government. Based on the needs and
challenges of local government for the next programming period, the areas where it is
recommended skill development programs to focus include modern methods of
administration, management and leadership. In any case, the exact content of training
programs will be decided by each Member State on the basis of specific
characteristics and needs.
This particular priority was discussed thoroughly during the seminar. Mr. Wardyn’s
characteristic view was that strengthening the administrative capacity of human
resources is essential, as it is a precondition for implementing effective policies and
for reassuring the successful implementation of ESF programmes and projects. Polish
partners proposed the implementation of programmes for strengthening the
administrative capacity of human resources for Local Authorities in modern subjects
like management by results and modern accounting management methods. Lithuanian
partners proposed also the implementation of programmes for strengthening the
administrative capacity Local Authorities’ employees. Moreover, Mr. Popescu during
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the first day of the seminar, as well as Ms. Vakkala in her Working Group underlined
the need for developing the leadership skills (that was mentioned in general by Mr.
Popescu and focused on innovation by Ms. Vakkala).

Application of modern government methods based on excellence criteria and
performance indicators
As mentioned above, the modernization of operation of local government authorities
across Europe is a key challenge and is promoted by several European institutions
such as the Council of Europe. Therefore the ESF support for the development and
implementation of an integrated relative model, which will consist of procedures,
standards and quantitative indicators to measure performance of local government is
deemed appropriate, as this seems to be the next model of Public Administration and
Local Government. The application of such models is perhaps the most appropriate
solution for improving the economic viability and achieving actual financial
independence of local government.
Mr. Popescu presented analytically the methodology for the application of an
integrated performance indicators framework as well as the use of excellence criteria
in Local Authorities during the first two days of the seminar, proposing to plan
related projects to be funded by ESF in the next Programming Period. Moreover,
Polish partners proposed the introduction of performance measuring model for the
economic operation of Local Authorities. Finally, the presentation of the Netherland’s
case during the first day of the seminar showed that the evaluation of municipalities
in the country is carried out based on indicators, while citizens’ satisfaction is closely
related to the municipalities’ effectiveness in a number of performance measuring
indicators.

Introduction of quality management systems
The introduction and implementation of quality management systems in local
government is a complementary action to the previous one, as only through the
application of quality management systems is the successful adoption of modern
methods of governance feasible. All modern governance models have as a common
element and objective, quality, the achievement of which involves the development
and implementation of a relevant integrated management system.
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Relative activities were proposed by Lithuanian partners, who focused on the
development and application of quality management systems not only for Local
governments but also for organizations and legal entities controlled by them.
Moreover, some of the Greek participants agreed that the development and
application of quality management systems in Municipalities focused on the service
delivery process will improve significantly the level of services provided.

Provision of innovative social services to citizens for addressing the problems caused
by the financial crisis
Traditionally, the ESF was a funding source for the development of new social
protection services offered by local governments to their citizens. The need to design
and implement new social services has increased dramatically compared to the past,
as the current economic crisis has multiplied the number of people belonging to
vulnerable social groups (eg unemployed, immigrants and those below the threshold
of poverty or threatened by poverty etc.). Therefore, the ESF must support financially
the development and delivery of innovative actions, with the additional innovation to
also include potential use of ICT applications, as local authorities are required to
respond to growing demands of relative services.
The use of ESF funds for implementing social protection activities was a common
view shared by almost all participants during the seminar. Greek participants
proposed activities combating poverty, such as social markets, centers of primary
healthcare, municipal infirmaries, programs combating unemployment and actions to
support disable people. Polish partners focused on the care of children of preschool
age, the establishment of nurseries, the support of the elderly in order to remain
within the community and programs against unemployment, especially for people up
to 20 years old or above 50, ages for which women are in a more difficult situation.
Moreover, activities promoting social integration for immigrants were mentioned
both from Polish and Greek participants. Finally, Bulgarian partners presented their
experience of internship programs for University graduates.

Promotion of strategic planning and policy development in a regional level
Local authorities have acquired substantial responsibilities in strategic planning and
policy at regional and local level. To meet this role, they need to be supported both in
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tools and processes and also in the development of relevant skills of their personnel.
Therefore, it is deemed appropriate to provide for relevant actions under the ESF for
the next programming period.
Strategic planning of Local Authorities was mentioned as one of the main
deficiencies of Local Authorities in Greece. As a solution to the problem, Greek
participants proposed to develop the required skills of people working in Local
Authorities. Lithuanian partners proposed that Regional Plans for strategic
development could be funded by ESF. Policy development focused mainly on
innovation issues, based on Ms. Vakkala’s presentations as well as from Greek and
Lithuanian participants, since Local Authorities lack in policy making, something
considered as one of the responsibilities of the central Government.

Support of local development schemes, in which local government will have a
consistent role, linking all local authorities and social agents
The leadership role of local government in local communities is undeniable and can
provide the opportunity to create local development schemes, which can address
problems of the local community. A typical example is the one of local projects for
the promotion of employment, which is a good practice for the current and previous
programming period. In this context, it is recommended that the ESF supports such
collaborations as levers to tackle unemployment, increase the level of
competitiveness of the local economy, support social cohesion, etc. At the same time
the implementation of such actions can be done on inter-municipal level with the use
of ICT applications, factors to be taken into account when designing interventions
financed by the ESF.
Almost all participants during the seminar agreed that Local Authorities should be
characterized by a developmental character. During the presentation of the case of the
Netherlands, Mr. Boogers highlighted the consistent integrating role of Local
Authorities together with the implementation of joint action with local social and
economic partners as the key for the successful service of the needs of citizens. The
utilization of local characteristics for achieving sustainable and viable development
was proposed by the Polish partners. Furthermore, Greek participants proposed the
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implementation of local development plans in inter-municipal level, in order to
enhance their capacity and maximize their success.

Promotion of the city as a friendly environment for citizens and businesses
Given the extended responsibilities of local government, both in terms of providing
services to citizens and to businesses, municipalities mainly face the challenge of
improving the degree of friendliness of the city to citizens and businesses. This can be
done by: a) simplifying procedures, b) developing and implementing modern
innovative tools (eg with the use of ICT), c) providing services delivered by local
government staff. The support of local authorities in the three levels mentioned above
should be taken into account in the design of ESF activities for the next programming
period, as the ESF traditionally financed and continues to finance related
interventions.
The presentation of the programme of the Municipality of Thermi from Greek
participants was very interesting. This was a remarkable welcomed by all participants
because it is a typical proposal for interventions using ICT for the improvement of the
level of friendliness of cities towards citizens and companies. Another similar good
practice from Croatia was presented, concerning the implementation research for
defining the level of friendliness and thus to schedule the necessary interventions.
Proposal for including in ESF funding the development and application of ICT
solutions so that Local Authorities can serve better the needs of citizens and
companies was also highlighted from Ms. Vakkala’s presentation, as well as during
the discussion in the Innovation Working Group.

Provision of high quality services in remote areas
Given the new structure of local government, according to which municipalities
accumulate a lot of areas, the need to support many different areas by the same
municipality has been created, which in many cases they are far from the centre of
operations of the municipality. Consequently, municipalities need to develop relevant
tools and infrastructures for uniform service delivery to all citizens of the
municipality, even if they are located in remote areas. Relevant tools can make use of
ICT applications that address the problem of distance in a cost-effective way.
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Therefore, financing relevant innovative tools with the ESF should be included in the
activities of the next programming period.
For this particular issue, Lithuanian partners proposed the solution of an ‘internal
decentralization’, where every municipality is reorganized by establishing an internal
structure based on covering a certain geographical area. Czech partners underlined
the magnitude of the problem for small municipalities, which don’t have the knowhow and infrastructure to provide high quality services in remote areas. To overcome
this deficiency, they proposed cooperation among municipalities and exchange of
expertise. Greek participants had a similar approach, proposed inter-municipal
cooperation models for combating this issue.

Strengthening inter-municipal collaborations
Inter-municipal collaboration models are examples of good practice not only for the
ESF but also in general for the local government. The use of these collaboration
models becomes even more important now as they are successful tools to achieve
economies of scale during the implementation of activities and dissemination of good
practices and experiences. Therefore, the support of creation and operation of such
models should be a priority for the ESF.
The development of inter-municipal cooperation is met in a wide range in Greece (eg.
Development Association of West Athens) and Cyprus, where established
associations develop activities and initiatives on sectors where each of their members
could not respond individually. Funding of such associations is proposed for ESF
during the next Programming Period, as a mechanism promoting and supporting
innovation. The models of inter-municipal cooperation are widely met also in the
Czech Republic and are considered to be a very promising model for the
enhancement of economic viability of small municipalities. Lithuanian partners
agreed with the Czechs’ approach, but they added that ESF funding should have a
limited duration, so that inter-municipal schemes are organized in a viable and
sustainable way, without requiring constantly external funding. At that point Mr.
Mouritzen’s contradicting view should be noted, since during the first day of the
seminar he pointed out that inter-municipal cooperation lacks in terms of democracy
and control by citizens and this is the reason why such models are not adopted in
Denmark.
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
Technical support of local authorities for the exploitation of funding instruments
Many local authorities (mainly small) do not have the expertise and the skills to use
financial tools, sometimes even with reference to ESF programs. These local
authorities need technical support by professionals for the development, the
preparation and the submission of funding applications in various financial
instruments. Such technical assistance is proposed to be included among the actions
that will be supported by the ESF for the next programming period and is expected to
deliver tangible and significant benefits to final beneficiaries.
A relevant good practice was presented by Czech partners. According to that, small
municipalities in the country were supported by professionals as a kind of technical
support, in order to prepare applications for funding under different instruments. A
similar good practice is recorded also in Croatia, which is restricted in providing
information to potential beneficiaries for certain programmes, without though
including the provision of technical support for the preparation of applications.
Another funding mechanism for the support of Local Authorities operates also in
Bulgaria, according to which Local Authorities can receive loans with a very low
interest rate for implementing co-funded projects.

Creation and extension of communication platforms for the exchange of ideas
The existence of functional communication platforms for the exchange of ideas
among citizens and also between citizens and local government authorities ensures a
healthy dialogue as well as the ability to dynamically capture the needs of citizens
and their views on local government. In recent years there have been major efforts in
this direction, and citizens consider appropriate to continue such actions and extend
the functionality of existing platforms to enable direct communication and exchange
of ideas. This would have multifaceted benefits, as beyond recording citizens' needs,
it would be possible to disseminate experiences and practices, and forge partnerships.
The ESF has a tradition in supporting relevant platforms and as a result, the
continuation of funding in such efforts is deemed appropriate.
Relevant practices were presented by Ms. Vakkala in her presentation of the case in
Finland during the first day of the seminar. The use of the internet and the
development of electronic portals for integrating information or for providing
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services to citizens and companies is proven to be a crucial element for the
improvement of the level of satisfaction of citizens and companies. An essential
conclusion showed by the case of Finland is that the use of internet, the compilation
of data in certain web pages and the development of e-services are very important to
improve citizen’s satisfaction and that of the businesses. A relevant platform has been
developed also in Poland in order to disseminate innovative ideas. Mr. Wardyn
underlined though that in a transnational level there are numerous platforms and
channels facilitating electronic communication, which eventually are not used in the
most effective way because they are not widely known. Consequently, actions to
inform citizens for those existing platforms, as well as for the improvement of the
interaction level of the existing communication channels are necessary.
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CONCLUSION
The activities of the project “Dissemination of Results and Actions of the European Network
‘Facing the challenge how to effectively support public administration reforms by ESF funds”
contributed significantly to the thematic Working Group “Local Governance” of the Network.
Firstly, the baseline study on local governance in all 27 EU countries was based on an
integrated comparative analysis, recording the background of the national local governance
systems in all 27 EU countries, placing emphasis to the relevant reforms that were
implemented and how the European Social Fund contributed financially, highlighting at the
same time good practices in local Governance interventions. The research study on citizens’
level of satisfaction with local governance services revealed a description of the level of
satisfaction in all 6 Network countries regarding services offered by local Authorities,
providing also tendencies and in-depth details of the causes leading not only to high levels of
satisfaction, but also to low ones. Finally, the three day learning seminar worked as a dynamic
channel for exchanging know-how, experiences, needs and problems, in view of the next
Programming Period and the role of the ESF in that period.
The activities within this project can act as the basis for further investigation and monitoring
of the satisfaction level of citizens regarding how local Authorities meet their needs and
demands, as well as contribute to the establishment of a mechanism facilitating the exchange
of experiences and know how among Network countries and EU members in general. All
project deliverables, methodologies and tools are at the disposal of the Managing Authority of
the Operational Programme “Administrative Reform 2007-2013”, which is in a position not
only to expand but also to replicate the activities and the analysis that took place. Finally,
supporting European level Networks and organising working groups in order to cultivate
future activities can become the cornerstone in the function of the European Social Fund,
maximising the benefits from the financed activities.
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