Tools to Support Transparency in Local Governance

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Tools to Support in Local Governance
TRANSPARENCY
UNITED NATIONS HUMAN SETTLEMENTS PROGRAMME
UN-HABITAT
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The need for transparency in local governance
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Transparency is Everyones Business!

• A multi-stakeholder coalition to build
  transparency can achieve
• More equitable and effective service delivery
• Increased accountability, civic engagement and
  strengthened citizenship
• Enhanced legitimacy of local government
• Improved policy design and implementation
• Greater leveraging of resources from stakeholders
• Increased urban investment
• Reduced corruption

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Intervention Strategies to build Transparency in
Local Governance

• A.Assessment and Monitoring understanding the
  degree of transparency in local governance
  creating a base-line against which progress in
  improving transparency can be measured.
• B.Access to information measures to improve
  stakeholders access to information.
• C.Ethics and integrity tools for clarifying what
  is expected from professionals and elected
  leaders.
• D.Institutional reforms including both
  administrative procedures and structural
  innovations.
• E.Targeting specific issues using specific
  issues as an entry-point for improving
  transparency.

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A. Assessment and Monitoring Tools
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The Importance of Monitoring

• To build PUBLIC accountability as well as
  INTERNAL accountability
• To enhance EFFICIENCY, EFFECTIVENESS and
  RESPONSIVENESS of local government

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Effective Monitoring through the use of Report
Cards in Bangalore

• Trigger The continuing poor performance of
  public services in the city
• Essential elements
• understanding of the socio-political context of
  governance
• scientific execution and analysis of the survey
• media and advocacy campaign to bring out the
  findings into the public domain
• institutionalising the practice for iterative
  civic actions
• Conducted by A credible NGO and a reputable
  market research agency

Case Study A
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Effective Monitoring through the use of Report
Cards in Bangalore ...2

• Outcomes and Impact
• Clear signal to service providers about their
  performance
• Enhanced citizens' awareness of Bangalore's
  public service problems
• Focus on corruption and demand for greater public
  accountability
• Benchmarking qualitative and quantitative
  dimensions of public services to monitor
  performances over time
• Public feedback as a proxy for the pressure of
  competition in a context where customers have few
  choices

Case Study A
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Other Monitoring and Assessment Tools

• The Municipal Checklist
• The Urban Corruption Survey
• The Municipal Vulnerability Assessment
• Participatory Corruption Appraisal
• PROOF The Public Record of Operations and Finance

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B. Tools to Improve Access to Information and
Public Participation
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Why Improve Access to Information?

• To enhance TRANSPARENCY and PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY
• To promote more EFFECTIVE PARTICIPATION OF
  STAKEHOLDERS in decision making

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E-governance through the OPEN system - Seoul

• OPEN On-line Procedures Enhancement for civil
  applications
• Objective To achieve transparency in the city's
  administration by preventing unnecessary delays
  or unjust handling of civil affairs by civil
  servants
• Essential Features
• Easy Access citizens can monitor procedures of
  handling civil applications through the Internet
• Transparency Access to real-time information on
  the procedure of approval, document review,
  schedule for process ahead, etc.

Case Study B
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E-governance through the OPEN system - Seoul 2

• Outcomes and Impact
• Allows citizens to monitor applications for
  permits or approvals where corruption is most
  likely to occur and to raise questions in the
  event any irregularities are detected
• Increases credibility and removes public distrust
  by offering access to information to all citizens
• Improves local government performance by holding
  officials accountable

Case Study B
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Other Tools to Improve Access to Information and
Public Participation

• Public Meetings
• Open Meetings Laws
• Access to Information Laws
• Records Management and computerisation
• Media Training
• Public Education Tools
• Public Participation tools

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C. Tools to Promote Ethics, Professionalism and
Integrity
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The Importance of an Ethical Ambience

• Promotion of ethical behaviour can play a major
  role in REDUCING CORRUPTION, ENHANCING
  TRANSPARENCY, and IMPROVING CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
• As governance involves all pillars of the
  society, including local government, the private
  sector, and the civil society, ALL STAKEHOLDERS
  MUST ADOPT HIGH ETHICAL STANDARDS in their
  operations and activities
• C (MD-A)/E

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Ethics Guidance in Canadian Legislation

• Approach Building and managing an ethics
  structure turns on avoiding possibilities for
  conflict of interest well before the fact
• Responsible Agency The Federal Ethics
  Counsellor's Office, whose role is designed to
  provide advice and counsel to those in
  government, not to act as prosecutor, judge or
  jury

Case Study C1
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Ethics Guidance in Canadian Legislation 2

• Essential features
• The office deals with potential conflicts of
  interest and other ethical issues for those most
  likely to be able to influence critical decisions
  in the Federal government
• It handles the monitoring of the assets, incomes
  and liabilities of those it oversees
• It is also responsible for the Lobbyists
  Registration Act and the Lobbyists' Code of
  Conduct
• Impact Public office holders recognise that
  citizens expect high standards of conduct and
  make a concerted effort way to meet those
  standards

Case Study C1
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Transparent procurement through Public Hearings
and Integrity Pacts in Morón

• Trigger Widespread corruption and administrative
  chaos, leading to an atmosphere of distrust and
  suspicion among the citizens
• Objectives
• To promote civic participation and transparency
  in this procurement and contracting
• To restore public confidence in the local
  government
• Components
• A Public Hearing - the responsible authority
  convenes all stakeholders to express their
  objections and suggestions about the planned
  terms of the contracting
• An Integrity Pact - the government and all
  potential bidders establish reciprocal control to
  prevent the payment of bribes

Case Study C2
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Transparent procurement through Public Hearings
and Integrity Pacts in Morón 2

• Essential features of the Integrity Pact
• A formal and voluntary no-bribery commitment by
  the bidders not to bribe or collude full
  disclosure to report any violations by other
  bidders
• A commitment to guarantee full transparency of
  the documents public disclosure of the award and
  the major elements of the evaluation and reasons
  for selecting the successful bidder resolution
  of any conflict by national arbitration
• A corresponding commitment by the Mayor (on
  behalf of all officials in his office) not to
  demand or accept any bribes, and to prevent the
  extortion and acceptance of bribes by other
  officials
• Heavy sanctions against any official or bidder
  violating the non-bribery commitment

Case Study C2
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Transparent procurement through Public Hearings
and Integrity Pacts in Morón 3

• Outcomes and impact
• Savings Value of the contract reduced by 35
• Transparency A forum where the bidders, external
  experts and the interested public presented
  comments and objections during the
  decision-making process
• Consensus On critical decisions about the
  service and the process of the bidding
• Better Service Involvement of citizens and
  external experts resulted extension of the tender
  documents to include environmental concerns
• More Control Mechanism for losing bidders to
  monitor how the winning bidder addresses the
  terms of contract
• Confidence and Empowerment Implementation of the
  tool opened up a closed public institution and
  empowered citizens to monitor the meeting of the
  terms of contract

Case Study C2
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Other Tools to Promote Ethics, Professionalism
and Integrity

• Conflict of Interest Laws
• Disclosure of Income and Assets
• Lobbyist Registration
• Whistleblower Protection
• Code of Ethics
• Ethical Campaign Practices
• Ethics Training

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D. Tools to Increase Transparency through
Institutional Reforms
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Why Institutional Reforms are Essential

• Much of the work of local government is reliant
  on complex administrative processes - it is
  important that these processes be made as simple
  and direct as possible, with limited staff
  discretion, in order to reduce chances of abuse
• Institutional reforms targeted at improving
  communication with the public can assist in
  building a common understanding of administrative
  processes - which in turn helps to build trust in
  local government

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Reaching out to citizens through Municipal Front
Offices in Kosovo

• Trigger Municipalities ill-prepared to take on
  new responsibilities citizens dissatisfied with
  quality and efficiency of services/information
  provided by municipalities
• Essential features
• Preliminary series of workshops to build a common
  understanding of the functions of the Front
  Office.
• Formal group established in each municipality to
  work out the concept, organizational rules and
  the range of responsibilities of the new
  structure
• Front Offices answer almost all questions from
  the citizens

Case Study D
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Reaching out to citizens through Municipal Front
Offices in Kosovo ..2

• Essential features (contd.)
• Common and simple forms to request services
• Civil servants working in Front Offices assist
  people to fill in forms Citizens receive all
  useful information relating to service delivery
  in one place
• Front Offices also take in complaints and ensure
  they are directed to the right departments
• Outcomes and impact
• Improved information flow between municipalities
  and citizens
• Improved quality of services provided to citizens
• Better working conditions for civil servants -
  flow of citizens through municipal buildings
  reduced almost to zero

Case Study D
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Other Tools to Increase Transparency through
Institutional Reforms

• Complaints and Ombudsman Office
• One Stop Shop
• Oversight Committees
• Independent Audit Function
• Independent Anti-Corruption Agencies
• Participatory Budgeting

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Other features of the Toolkit

• The Toolkit explains, for each tool
• the purpose
• the impact on transparency
• how the tool works in practice and
• a case study to illustrate successful application
  of the tool
• Nearly 70 Case Studies
• Comprehensive Yellow Pages and References
• Glossary of terms related to transparency and
  governance

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Users are encouraged to add more tools, case
studies, experiences and lessons at
www.unhabitat.org/governance/

• Were online!