Danida Fellowship Course in GOVERNANCE IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Transcription

1 GHANA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION (GIMPA) Excellence in Leadership, Management and Administration Danida Fellowship Course in GOVERNANCE IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT 1 12 September, 2014 Danida Fellowship Centre Sustaining development through research and learning

2 INTRODUCTION The course in Governance in Local Government is to be held at Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) in Accra, Ghana during the period 1 12 September, The Fellowship course is open for applications from Danida s priority countries in Africa. COURSE OBJECTIVES The main purpose of the Course is to: Broaden the outlook of the participants and thereby improve their operational effectiveness Expose participants from the region to the principles of good governance and leadership and accountability at the local government level in order to make them more effective Enable participants to learn from other countries experiences in decentralization and local governance so that best practices can be shared and adapted to the participants home organisations/countries. LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of the Course, participants will have: Deepened their understanding of the principles of decentralization and local governance including checks and balances at the local level A better appreciation of local level leadership skills requirements and human resource management and organizational behaviour in local government An understanding of local level policy making and the monitoring and evaluation of programmes and projects at the local level An appreciation of how to use local government to achieve local economic development in their various regions in their home countries

3 Obtained a good understanding of procurement procedures and management as well as issues of procurement transparency and accountability at the local level An appreciation of the role of civil society and other local level bodies in holding local governments to account The capacity to propose reforms in their countries local government systems, incorporate principles of decentralization into them where these do not exist or to improve upon them where they do exist in order to make their local governments more effective, efficient and development-oriented. APPROACH The learning process will engage participants through lectures, visits, field trips, syndicate/group discussions and development/presentation of Action Plans. COURSE CONTENTS Governance Principles and Practice What is governance and what is the difference between governance and good governance forms the theme of this lecture. The lecture also introduces participants to the specificities of local level good governance. The principles of good governance and the issue of cleavage or congruence between principles and practice are examined in detail with the aid of case studies. Decentralization and Local Government Administration The session introduces participants to local government administration and the principles and variants of decentralization. It emphasizes especially local level checks and balances to ensure good governance at the local level. A general overview of local government and decentralization in Ghana is taught as a specific case study. Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior in Local Government The session covers the functional areas of human resource management: recruitment, training, development, performance, compensation, resignations and retirement within local government. The division of these competences between central and local government systems is also examined.

4 Local Level Leadership Concept, Principles and Practice The session will examine the qualities of local leadership and how these are identified and nurtured. The political, economic, social and developmental environment of local level leadership is discussed and the reasons for the difficulties at the local level in sub-saharan Africa are examined. Also examined is how best local level leadership should emerge. Decentralized Planning and Fiscal Decentralization The session deals with the conversion of top-down planning systems into bottom-up systems; the creation and the nature of decentralized planning structures and their functions; and the differences between decentralized and participatory planning systems. It also covers the transfer of means and resources to decentralized units and the financial empowerment of local governments. The relationship between the decentralized planning system and budgetary arrangements is also examined. Policy Formulation and Analysis in Local Government Local level agenda setting, decision-making, monitoring evaluation and feedback are all analyzed in this lecture. Also analyzed are the respective role of local councilors and local bureaucrats and technocrats as well as local civil society organizations in policy making. The limitations of local level policy making and the relationship between that and national policy making is examined. The impact and reaction of the local citizenry to policies are examined in some detail. Political and Administrative Decentralization The lecture introduces participants to the principles of demarcation of decentralized units; the nature of decentralized structures for political supervision at the local level as well as the composition and functions of local level political structures. It deals with the principles of the transfer of skills and competence to decentralized units and the general issue of capacity-building at the local level. Public Private Partnership and Local Economic Development The lecture discusses Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) as a variant of decentralization and elaborates on the various types of PPP and privatization at the local level. Local Economic Development (LED) as a function of local governments and an additionality to local level development and municipal services delivery is examined in detail and its pros and cons assessed. Some specific LED case studies will be discussed.

5 Procurement Management at the Local Level The lecture defines public procurement and examines the different methods of procurement for local authorities. It assesses the merits and demerits of local governments as their own procurement authorities as opposed to central government doing it for them. The advantages and disadvantages of the different methods are discussed. Rent-seeking and other malfeasances associated with public procurement are discussed and solutions to them examined. Civil Society and Participatory Planning and Budgeting at the Local Level The lecture examines how women as a historically disadvantaged group can be effectively mainstreamed into the local government system. It also looks at the wider issue of civil society and local governance and examines how participatory planning and budgeting can be used as processes of inclusiveness to involve chiefs, traditional authorities, opinion leaders and other stakeholders at the local level in local governance as well as to ensure accountability and transparency. Grant Proposal Writing This session is intended to prepare participants for developing and writing project proposals and also consider general and specific techniques for its implementation. The course is designed to provide you with the fundamental basics of proposal writing. Participants will be taken through step-by step preparation of a proposal, starting with the executive summary, followed by a needs statement, goals and objectives, activities, personnel, budget, monitoring and evaluation. Action Planning A key component of the course is the preparation of a draft Action Plan taking its starting point in a work-related issue of the individual participant or a group of participants from the same organization. The purpose of the action planning is to provide the participants with an opportunity to reflect on the new knowledge and skills presented to them through application of relevant tools etc. in a concrete case from their own working situation. The action planning process will be supervised by the course facilitators.

6 TARGET GROUP / SELECTION CRITERIA Participants are expected to be senior District Officers with a relevant educational background and at least 3-5 years of professional experience in local government. CERTIFICATION A Course Certificate will be issued upon successful completion of the Course. COURSE FEE The course is co-funded by Danida Fellowship Programme. After selection of course participants, the Danida programmes/projects will be charged a non-refundable amount of DKK 1,500 per participant per tutorial week. Thus, total funding needs are DKK 3,000. This includes study fee, accommodation and allowances as well as international air ticket for participants coming from other African countries. APPLICATION PROCEDURES Application procedures are stipulated in Guidelines for Danida Fellowships which together with the application forms can be downloaded from The fellowship application form should be filled by the applicant and must be endorsed by the Danida programme/project and the Embassy Desk Officer in order to ensure that the training is within the framework of national sector plans for capacity development. The Danish Embassy will forward the application form to Danida Fellowship Centre. Deadline for submitting the application form to the Danish Embassy is Friday 27 June 2014

7 Danida Fellowship Centre and Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration in Brief Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) is collaborating with Danida Fellowship Centre (DFC) as regards development, management and implementation of the course. Danida Fellowship Centre (DFC) DFC manages and implements the Danida supported Fellowship Programme, which supplies training in support of capacity development in Danida s development programmes. DFC is responsible for the educational, administrative and practical aspects of the training. Additional information can be found at Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) GIMPA s mission is to maintain a Centre of Excellence for training in public and business administration, by continuously enhancing capacity of middle and top level executives in public and private sectors, as well as Non-Governmental Organizations both in Ghana and internationally to manage their institutions and enterprises efficiently and effectively. Additional information can be found at

8 For further information on the course please contact: Mr Jasper Tetteh Ahafianyo, Programmes Advisor GIMPA School Public Service and Governance Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration P. O. Box AH 50, Achimota Tel: Mail: / Ms. Violet Bawuah, Director of Training GIMPA School Public Service and Governance Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration P. O. Box AH 50, Achimota Ghana Tel: Mail: / viodata@hotmail.com