Funding Agency
The Canadian International Development Agency (Central and Eastern European Branch)
Timeframe
1997-2004 (Phases I and II)
Geographic Focus
Slovakia : Bratislava (central government agencies), Nitra Region, Zilina Region, District of Nové Zámky and the Orava sub-region.
Project Partners
At the national level, the CUI worked closely with the Slovak Ministries of Interior and Finance and the Association of Towns and Communities of Slovakia (ZMOS), to disseminate key information on local government reforms to local governments and to expose local and national level officials in Slovakia to Canadian methodologies and best practices in local governance and inter-governmental cooperation. At the local government level, project partners (beneficiaries) included the Regions of Nitra and Zilina, the Nové Zámky District and the Orava sub-region.
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Background
Like most post-communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Slovakia has begun addressing the need to decentralize government powers as the country undertakes one of the most challenging transitions to democracy and a market economy. Important components of this reform are fiscal decentralization and the associated local government reorganization. While Slovakia has lagged behind its Visegrád neighbours in implementing decentralization reforms, the current government is committed to recover the lost time and to prepare the country for accession to the European Union. The new government realizes not only that it must accelerate the pace at which it implements reforms, but also that it must adopt more democratic policies and approaches on all levels, in order to achieve EU membership. These facts have provided momentum to the decentralization efforts.
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Project Description
The objective of this project was t o support a smooth transition to a new governance structure, by assisting in both the development of a decentralized government framework and by strengthening the capacity of local governments in the areas of municipal management, revenue generation and financial management.
Outputs achieved:
- Conducted research on local government in Slovakia which was presented at a national Forum where action plans were subsequently formulated to facilitate the decentralization reform process.
- Instrumental in the creation of the National Commission on Public Administration Reform in 1999, established to provide recommendations to the national government on a strategy for decentralization and to investigate the restructuring of public administration and local governments.
- Elected local government officials and administrators in Slovakia have a better understanding of their new roles and of the practical reform implementation problems that could be solved through the development of legislation.
- Development and implementation of administrative structures, policies and programs to absorb the reforms.
- Community-based strategic plans governing future local government actions.
- Established and tested processes for involving citizens in local government decision-making.
- Communication of best practices and lessons learned throughout the project to other Slovak municipalities.
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Approach
National Forum
The CUI served as the lead organization that assisted the Slovak National Parliament to: undertake a national consultation process to assess the current state of local governments in Slovakia; set priorities for fiscal decentralization; and to create plans to achieve these priorities. The creation of the National Commission on Public Administration Reform followed shortly in 1999 and was established to provide recommendations to the national government on a strategy for decentralization and to investigate the restructuring of public administration and local governments.
National Workshops
In 2001, the IFDS project held eight national workshops for Mayors across the country, in association with the Ministries of Interior, Finance, Education and Labour and Social Affairs and the Association of Towns and Communities of the Slovak Republic (ZMOS) providing basic information for Mayors on their new responsibilities. An output of these workshops was a three-volume manual that provided an overview of all new public reform legislation together with summaries and interpretations of the laws. In partnership with ZMOS, this practical tool was distributed to all municipalities and regions in Slovakia.
Capacity Building Program for Local Governments
By working closely with the project partners in Slovakia, priorities for administrative capacity building were established in the following areas:
- Inter-municipal cooperation
- Municipal administration policy and procedural guidelines
- Public participation in local government decision-making
- Financial management
- Education
- Health care and social service delivery
The capacity building activities took many forms and included: curriculum development; training workshops and conferences; study tours; professional placements; expert coaching and consulting; and information dissemination through publications and newsletters.
Strategic Planning and Economic Development
This activity set was designed to provide technical expertise to municipalities in the Nové Zámky District and Orava sub-region and to the Nitra and Zilina Regions, to develop their capacity to undertake local and regional strategic planning initiatives. Activities were developed to: assist in the design and establishment of regional economic development associations in the Orava sub-region and the Nové Zámky District; strengthen local governments' capacities to serve as strong promoters of economic activities in their regions; and develop local capacities to support community-based economic development initiatives.
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