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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.
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.
Project Description
The objective of this project was:
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To 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:
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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. |
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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. |
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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.
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Development
and implementation of administrative structures, policies and
programs to absorb the reforms.
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Community-based
strategic plans governing future local government actions.
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Established
and tested processes for involving citizens in local government
decision-making.
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Communication
of best practices and lessons learned throughout the project
to other Slovak municipalities.
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Approach
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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.
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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.
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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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