The problems and the challenges which local authorities face rarely correspond to the administrative and territorial division of the country. Very often one problem has an effect on several (non) neighboring municipalities and a successful solution can be found only through actions coordinated in time and logic. In addition, very often it is cheaper and much more effective if the solution of a problem in a specific town or village is carried out by the mobilization of the institutions of a (non) neighboring municipality rather than the one which is administratively responsible for it. This is why it is necessary to have developed institutional procedures of interaction in place, something which would be impossible without the active involvement of civil society structures. Moreover, the nature of the challenges which stand before the local authorities today requires a new infrastructure for civic participation in the process of priority set up, and procedures and policy making to allow the mobilization of the resources of the local administration, businesses, experts, NGOs and citizens. And it is at this point that we face a cascade of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Even if the local administration or city councils have a positive attitude towards the participation of civil structures in the process of defining and controlling public policies (and that is by far not the case for most of the country), problems arise. Thus, the knowledge of new mechanisms for mobilization of civic participation and control becomes a key prerequisite for carrying out adaptive, synchronized, consistent and long-term public policies.
The new forms of civic participation in the public policy making are still underdeveloped in Bulgaria. This is why the project asserts the following:
Project objectives: Increasing the efficiency of civic organizations in the local and national policy making process through building pilot models for civic participation; Improving the quality of public policies through approbating and tailoring good international practices and models for civic participation; Ongoing development of civic society through promotion of institutional mechanisms for transparency of policy making and decision making, and through introducing innovative approaches of civic participation; Creating new partnership and cooperation forms between citizens and local authorities for coping with public micro crisis and problems going beyond the territorial level.
Main activities: Assessment of the level of civic participation and legitimacy of municipality units; A survey on the communication policy of municipalities with civic organizations and structures (a desk research); Comparative research on ways and methods of civic mobilization at the local, regional and national levels; Ad hoc academy developing specific skills for civic participations; 5. Workshops in policy making process and application of good practices; Discussion forums about topics in public education, health care systems and regional and local infrastructure; Open lectures (public lecturers) on education, healthcare, and infrastructure; Establishing committees on school problems (primary and secondary education) in municipalities; Developing an on line platform for civic participation; Developing a nominating system along with index of civic organization efficiency + civic seismograph for forecasting ‘seismic public areas’.
Implementation: Ad-hoc academy - Negotiation skills; Management of change and transition, presentation skills, Assertiveness for maximum impact; 3 Workshops - Instruments for civil participation; Civil seismograph approbation; Mass Media; 4 Discussion forums - ‘Unsolved problems for the Municipality and Bulgaria’; Euro Fund;Education; Public health; 4 4 Public Lectures – About budget 2011 and is there more; Values of democracy and democratization of values; About internet, democracy, freedom and cyber revolutions and digital aborigines; The future of cohesion policy.
Participation: More than 60 representatives of the target groups in the sessions (workshops/discussions/ad-hoc academy), over 40 representatives of the target groups in the forums and more than 40 representatives of the target groups in the public lectures.
Research: Assessment of the level of citizen participation in Bulgaria and institution legitimacy within the municipality; Review of the communication policy of municipalities with citizens organizations (Desk Research ); Comparative research – Citizen participation and control, published in 1000 copies, 50 pp..
Developed: Web portal system and civil seismograph; Training materials, handouts, auxiliary instruments and other resources on concepts used in the workshops are uploaded on the web portal. NGO participation in the platform is expected to increase the technological skills of the participants in the process and to contribute to the development and manifestation of the whole potential of the NGOs. The platform represents an additional communication channel between NGOs and state institutions. The platform is hosted in the internet under www.newcitizens.eu.
Contact information
„YANTRA” Regional Association of Municipalities
[Nominate]
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