Jubilee Seminar - Inspiring change in Partners and Institutions
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Friday morning 17.08.07
The morning of the last day, attended by some 100 participants, was dedicated to this topic – with presentations from three distinguished speakers.
| Serjius Minj , Agriculture Production Commissioner, Government of Chhattisgarh, India, presented his experiences as a policy maker on making policy changes effective, and tailored to the needs of the people. Key lessons learned from the formulation of a new State livestock policy through a multi-stakeholder participatory process are that communication must be adapted to ensure that all parties have a sound understanding of the issues; the risk of negative impacts in the implementation is minimised by a thorough consultation process; and those charged with delivering the policy must be equipped to respond effectively to peoples’ uncertainties. Using a different example, of integrated water management, he argued that it is possible for the State bureaucracy to support bottom-up approaches, using the lessons of small scale and innovative projects and giving value to the capacities and know-how of tribal farmers. |
| Jean Chrysostome Rakotoary , General Director of the National Office for Environment in Madagascar stressed the importance of the government’s role in effective policy dialogue, according to the principles of real consultation and participation. Development partners can support policy dialogue in different forms: “upstream”, by feeding political discussions with field experiences and reality; “downstream”, by supporting the implementation of national strategies at local level and its consistency with national policies; or “mainstream”, by strengthening the stakeholders’ reflex and capacity to participate in policy dialogue or by facilitating consultation processes. Through the policy dialogue practiced in Madagascar, ownership of national strategies is being developed amongst all stakeholders. Coordination and participation are becoming key elements in any strategy development process, and lobbying structures are increasingly playing a role. |
| Ginka Kapitanova , Director of the Foundation for Local Government Reform, Bulgaria then described the decentralisation processes in Eastern Europe, illustrated with a number of examples. She noted that interventions are needed at various levels: strategic level (decentralisation, legislation, policy dialogue), organisational level (municipalities, associations), at process level (participation), and at public service delivery level (efficiency and effectiveness). Lessons learned at national level show that the commitment from all international and national stakeholders is needed, as is capacity building at all levels. The perspectives and benefits for national government need to be highlighted, and achievement has to be strongly promoted. At the local level, key success factors lie in citizen participation; media involvement; information flow in a manner adapted to the information and communication requirements of the recipients, and a positive attitude towards good governance on the part of the local authorities. |
Last modified 26-09-2007 09:15 AM
