Strengthening institutional leadership at local level is of paramount importance to delivering good democratic governance. In the context of the ongoing reform in the provision of health, social and rescue services, Finland is committed to strengthen the institutional leadership at local level through the implementation of the Council of Europe Leadership Academy Programme (LAP).
On 9 and 10 March, HAUS, the Finnish Institute of Public Management, in partnership with the Council of Europe’s Centre of Expertise for Good Governance delivered the LAP Training of Trainers course as a first step to adapt the programme to the Finnish context. Over the next months, the programme will be implemented in different training sessions to enhance the leadership skills and competences of the Finnish local authorities. The Training of Trainers and the contextualisation of the training material are important elements of the Council of Europe’s country-specific assistance as they set the basis for the sustainability of the project results.
The commitment of the national partners to strengthen the capacities at local level using the Council of Europe tools, and their willingness to work in synergy was reiterated during the project’s Second Advisory Group meeting that took place on 9 March at the Finnish Ministry of Finance. The Advisory Group meeting was attended by the representatives of the European Commission Directorate General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM), Council of Europe’s Centre of Expertise, the Ministry of Finance, the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities, HAUS Institute for Public Management, the Regional Council of Central Finland and other stakeholders.
These activities are part of the Delivering good governance and balanced local economy in Finland project co-funded by the European Union via the Technical Support Instrument 2022 and implemented by the Centre of Expertise. The project also includes a peer review on the revision of competences at the local and regional levels, local finance benchmarking, and implementation of the ELoGE – European Label of Governance Excellence.
