UNITED NATIONS. Capacity Development Workshop

Transcription

1 UNITED NATIONS Capacity Development Workshop Capacity Development Workshop on Implementing the Citizen Engagement Self-Assessment Questionnaire (CESAQ) in Fairmont Hotel, Coral Room, Uruba Street, Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt December 2014 Aide Memoire A. Background and Context 8 December The report of the United Nations System Task Team to the Secretary General, Realizing the Future We Want for All 1, states that achieving inclusive economic, social, sustainable, and peaceful development is dependent on active public participation and on engaging communities and citizens in policy-making processes. This derives from a growing recognition that the involvement of all stakeholders in the design of public policies that would impact their lives is beneficial. It also considerably reduces risks associated with the lack of trust and dialogue between governments and citizens. 2. Governments aiming for an inclusive and responsive development agenda, particularly in the period after 2015, will need to examine their institutional frameworks and practices for better engaging citizens. Government-citizen relations can be categorized into three layers 2 : (i) governments providing information to citizens, (ii) governments initiating consultation with citizens to solicit their feedback on issues that might concern them, and (iii) citizens engaging in decision-making more integrally, interactively and jointly with the government and other relevant actors. 3. In the MENA region, against the public perception of a low supply of public information and accountability, recent developments, though ongoing, have generated a demand for a new OECD, Citizens as Partners: Information, Consultation and Public Participation in Policy-making. Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development, Paris; and OECD, 2001, Engaging Citizens in Policymaking: Information, Consultation and Public Participation, PUMA Policy Bried No 10. 1

2 social contract for citizens and better development opportunities for all men and women alike. As a result, every Arab country is seeing some form of citizen demand for an end to corruption and for better economic opportunities. Although each case is different, in every Arab country, citizen activism is demanding participation in terms of having a role in shaping the transitional period, and beyond. Citizens do not want to be only passive recipients of public services, but they want to be shapers of the concept of legitimacy and the exercise of power within their countries The UN Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA) noted in its 2012 report to the United Nations Economic and Social Council that the needs in the Arab region were daunting, particularly in light of the transition after the 2011 uprisings. It, therefore, emphasized the need for the United Nations Secretariat to provide sustained support to countries in the region. 5. As a response to this recommendation, DESA/DPADM started developing the Citizen Engagement Self-Assessment Questionnaire (CESAQ). This tool helps governments to assess whether they have in place measures aimed at engaging citizens more directly in the national planning, programme management, as well as their functioning. These measures can progressively assist governments to promote the engagement of citizens in policy design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation to better address sustainable development challenges. In particular, CESAQ is designed to assist leaders in the public sector to assess regulatory, organizational frameworks and channels/modalities for engaging citizens. 6. The initial conceptual framework of CESAQ was discussed during an expert group meeting and a capacity development workshop on Citizen Engagement and the Post-2015 Development Agenda, jointly organized by the DESA/DPADM and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), in Beirut, Lebanon on 3-6 December The importance of customizing CESAQ to the needs of the Arab region, as highlighted in the aforementioned event, prompted DESA/DPADM to continue collaborating with ESCWA to refine CESAQ and test the Arabic version of the questionnaire during the workshop on Fostering Participation in the Context of the Post-2015 Development Agenda organized in Manama, Bahrain on June Participants in this workshop recommended that ESCWA and DESA should continue their collaboration on the CESAQ. Additionally, it was suggested that some selected governments should be invited to pilot this tool with support provided by regional and national United Nations offices. 8. The continued partnership with ESCWA and the collaboration with the Arab Administrative Development Organization (ARADO) are very important for successfully implementing CESAQ in the MENA region. Organizing this workshop in conjunction with an 3 Rami Khouri, Director, Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs, American University of Beirut; Keynote Speech: From Revolution to Constitution to Citizenship delivered at the CDW: Citizen Engagement and the Post-2015 Development Agenda organized by DESA and ESCWA in Beirut, on 5-6 December 2012 ( 4 For more details, see: 9/language/en-US/Default.aspx?selecteddate=12/5/ For more details, see: (workshop 3) 2

3 ARADO League of Arab States 14 th annual general conference, taking place in Cairo, Egypt on December 2014, offers a good opportunity to launch CESAQ in the region. 9. CESAQ is also expected to be a tool for governments to take stock of their preparedness to effectively engage with citizens for implementing the post-2015 development agenda. The tool will take advantage of a current online platform being developed by DESA/DPADM on the Measurement and Evaluation Tool on Engagement and e-participation (METEP) and be digitalized to allow for greater outreach to the Arab audience. B. Mandate 10. DESA/DPADM assists Member States in developing accountable governance systems, including fostering efficient, effective, transparent, accountable and citizen-centric public administrations and public services through reform, innovation and technology. The Division supports the United Nations intergovernmental policy deliberations by providing information on and policy-oriented analysis of the role of public administration and governance in the development process via CEPA. The Committee is responsible for supporting the work of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) concerning the promotion and development of public administration and governance among Member States in connection with the MDGs and the post-2015 global development agenda. 11. The United Nations General Assembly and ECOSOC, through their numerous resolutions on public administration and development, provide the mandate for DPADM to foster good governance and sound public administration by promoting transparency, accountability, corruption prevention and citizen engagement 6. The most recent of these resolutions, namely ECOSOC 2013/23 of 29 October 2013, emphasizes the need to promote public trust and accountability by providing access to information, fostering the use of open government data in public institutions and publicly funded organizations and optimizing citizen engagement ( ) 7. The resolution also requests the Secretariat to increase the scope and depth of its capacity-development activities with the aim of better assisting countries, according to their specific contexts and needs, in strengthening participatory governance ( ) 8. C. Objectives of the Capacity Development Workshop 12. This Workshop aims to foster the engagement of citizens in governance, public administration and development management in the MENA region for responsive, transparent and accountable delivery of services. 13. The objective is to provide guidance to workshop participants on the implementation and roll out of the CESAQ tool while conducting its requirements in a controlled examination 6 United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Public Administration and Development management, 7 United Nations, E/RES/2013/23, 29 October Ibid. 3

4 environment. The workshop is also expected to serve as the initial stage to finalizing the tool for deployment in the MENA region. D. Thematic Focus 14. Conducting the citizen engagement self-assessment entails addressing the following topics: Participatory Governance Access to Information/Freedom of Information and provision of information to the public Data Protection (Privacy) Multi-stakeholder Process Public Consultation Public participation in decision-making Channels and modalities employed by a government in order to engage citizens in development management Assessment of citizen awareness and capacity for engagement E. Participants 15. It is expected that the workshop will be attended by a selected group of senior government officials from the MENA region. Those officials will be selected from the pool of individuals who attended meetings previously organized by DESA in collaboration with ESCWA during the process of developing CESAQ. In addition, it is hoped that a number of representatives from national, regional and civil society organizations, and other research institutions participating in ARADO s 14 th annual general conference will also attend the workshop. 16. The selection of participants will be based on their ability to benefit from CESAQ implementation in their current capacity 9 and also as potential trainers and champions for initiating the implementation of CESAQ in their respective countries. F. Expected accomplishments and indicators of achievement 17. In order to achieve the objectives of this workshop, the following accomplishments are envisaged: Increased capabilities of the workshop participants to use the CESAQ tool when measuring and detecting the existing regulatory and operational frameworks for citizen engagement 9 Please refer to CESAQ s objectives described in the background section of this aide memoire. 4

5 Increased awareness of the workshop participants of the potential and positive impact that CESAQ will provide when deployed at the national and other government levels in the Arab region Increased capacity for the detection, identification and potential mitigation of risks associated with the absence of participatory, transparent, responsive and accountable public administration systems in the region 18. Indicators of achievement will be: Number of completed CESAQs during the workshop Number of participants who were fully trained and became capable of running the CESAQ tool for further training their national counterparts G. Venue and Dates 19. The workshop will take place at the Fairmont Hotel (Coral room), Uruba Street, Heliopolis, Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt, from 18 to 19 December H. Organization 20. The workshop, organized by DESA/DPADM in collaboration with ESCWA and ARADO as a side event of the 14 th annual general conference, will last two days. The first day will include a presentation of each component of CESAQ, as well as question and answer sessions and preparations for implementing the self-assessment. The second day will consist of group work on self-assessing preparedness for citizen engagement and participation in the MENA region. Rapporteurs will share findings of the self-assessment exercise during the 14 th annual general conference. 21. The workshop will take the form of interactive dialogues focused on the sharing of the most updated version of CESAQ and then piloting the tool in one or two scenarios (representing government ministries and state agencies). To facilitate inclusive participation of experts and practitioners, the event will be conducted in English and Arabic with simultaneous interpretation. 22. The workshop s main activities will include: A refresher for the main purpose, background and methodology of the CESAQ A description of the latest development stage of the CESAQ, together with the most updated format Breakout group discussion on the potentials for implementing CESAQ including technological and ICT requirements Development of conclusions and recommendation for the next follow-up actions in deploying CESAQ in the MENA region. 5

6 23. For further information on the event, including the programme, please see: For information please contact: DESA/DPADM Ms. Elia Armstrong, Chief, Development Management Branch Ms. Valentina Resta, Senior Governance and Public Administration Officer Ms. Victoria Ceban, Programme Assistant, Development Management Branch ARADO Mr. Amr Elfar Mr. Hassan Diaab 6