Strengthening Institutional Frameworks for Local Governance Programme

Programme news

Back Assessment meetings on Inter-municipal co-operation for Solid Waste Management Adjara, Georgia

The Centre of Expertise for Local Government Reform within the Good Governance Division, DG-II of the Council of Europe organised a series of meetings on the technical assessment of inter-municipal co-operation for Solid Waste Management (SWM) in Adjara, Georgia.

In the period of 31 July -3 August 2017 several meetings took place in the municipality of Batumi, Khulo, Shuakhevi and Keda, in the Adjara Autonomous Republic and had as priority the identification and drafting of different technical options in SWM, showing their advantages and disadvantages and supporting mountain municipalities in their decision making process concerning SWM.

The main stakeholders to participate in these meetings were the Government of Adjara, the local authorities from three municipalities Khulo, Shuakhevi and Keda, the public company responsible for waste collection services in Batumi and the newly created Municipal Services Development Centre. Assessment included analysis of the institutional/organisational as well as the technical options proposed by the pre-feasibility study for IMC in SWM, developed in the first half of the year and field visits in the mentioned three municipalities conducted by Alexandra Selz, a Council of Europe expert.

As a result, participants agreed to hold a reporting workshop with final conclusions and recommendations in Adjara in the last decade of September of this year.

The mission concluded with a wrap-up meeting on the IMC prospects in SWM in Khulo, Shuakhevi and Keda municipalities of Adjara and discussions on the on-going Local Finance Benchmarking piloting (II phase), held at the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia on 4 August 2017, in Tbilisi.

This activity was funded by the European Union and co-funded by the Council of Europe, within the Thematic Programme “Strengthening institutional frameworks for local governance” under the Partnership for Good Governance (PGG) 2015-2017 for Eastern Partnership countries.

Adjara, Georgia 31July- 4 August 2017

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Publications

Territorial Amalgamation Toolkit

Inter-Municipal CooperationToolkit in Ukraine

Local Finance Benchmarking Toolkit: piloting and lessons learned. Geogia. Phase I

Local Finance Benchmarking Toolkit: piloting and lessons learned. Republic of Moldova

Local Finance Benchmarking Toolkit: piloting and lessons learned. Armenia

Mapping obstacles to Inter-Municipal Cooperation in Eastern Partnership counties

Local finance benchmarking: a shared tool for improved financial management

Study on roles and responsibilities of mayors and local councillors in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus

Mayors and local councillors play a vital leadership role in promoting the principles of local democracy in their communities. The study takes an integral look at the execution of roles and functions of local elected representatives, the division and scope of their responsibilities, the situation of local finances and the quality of local democracy. It is developed with the aim to strengthen the local leaders in order for them to further contribute to the development of local democratic governance.

Download the study : English - Russian

Handbooks on Transparency and Citizen participation

Reducing corruption risks, promoting citizen participation, and developing effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels are key components of just and inclusive societies. These country-specific handbooks provide practical guidance on transparency policies and citizen participation mechanisms, and identify the most prevalent corruption risks. They identify the relevant international standards and national legislation and provide case-law examples and best practices which local and regional authorities are recommended to promote and apply.

ARMENIA: English - Armenian
GEORGIA: English - Georgian
REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA: English – Romanian
UKRAINE: English - Ukrainian

Study on institutionalised citizen participation: assessment of existing mechanisms in Georgia

Through an approach involving in-depth interviews and desk surveys, with the support of local authorities and civil society organisations, this comprehensive overview sets out the main directions for improvement of citizen participation in Georgia. It is comprised of three parts: evaluation of the existing legal bases, description of the challenges and successes in practice, with regard to the implementation of existing mechanisms in practice, and recommendations to improve the current situation.

Download the study : English - Georgian

Management of change: a tool guide for local and regional authorities

This tool provides step-by-step guidance for local authorities towards the successful assessment of local policies’ efficiency and effective management of change. It aims to support local public administrations in leading in a more informed manner, addressing the needs of their communities, and developing demand-driven and responsive policies.

Download the tool guide : English - Armenian - Georgian - Romanian - Ukrainian

About the Programme

Programme summary

The programme is being implemented by Council of Europe

The programme “Strengthening institutional frameworks for local governance” is being implemented by the Council of Europe Centre of Expertise for Local Government Reform, Directorate General of Democracy and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.

Funding

This programme is funded by the European Union and co-funded by the Council of Europe

This programme is funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe through the Programmatic Co-operation Framework (PCF) for 2015-2017 for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus. The total budget of the programme is € 2,570,000.

Expected results

streamlining new by-laws in at least three beneficiary countries and to develop targeted recommendations;
foster a more efficient, transparent and ethical governance at the local level in at least three beneficiary countries;
develop and adapt the European standard local finance benchmarking tool to the specific countries so as to improve legislation and local regulations.

Objectives

To strengthen institutional frameworks for local governance in the Eastern Partnership countries

support the on-going process of reform of local government in participating countries

promote ethical behaviour by locally elected representatives of the region

support the improvement of financial and human resources management of local administrations based on European standards and benchmarking processes.

Main activities

Comparative studies on the role and responsibilities of mayors and councillors

Comparative studies on the role and responsibilities of mayors and councillors, on inter-municipal cooperation and local finance benchmarking, conferences, workshops, bilateral round tables, training sessions, legal expertise, development of recommendations for reform, peer-to-peer exchanges, study visits for beneficiaries from participating countries, awareness raising and visibility actions, country-specific studies and publications, etc.