Local Government & Public Service Reform Initiative2007 Activities
The Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative (LGI) and the OSI-supported Revenue Watch Institute began working in 2007 to ensure that regions and communities experiencing vast increases in wealth from rising commodity prices for natural resources such as oil, gas, and minerals will use that wealth in transparent and strategic ways to improve public services and reduce poverty. LGI and the Revenue Watch Institute started promoting participatory development planning and local, national, and international initiatives like the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in Indonesia and Peru. They aim to follow and help guide the “money” from the time it leaves the ground as a commodity until it arrives in national coffers, is transferred to local governments, and then re-invested for local needs and services.
A coalition of OSI programs coordinated by LGI was established to ensure that European Union funding is used effectively to help the Roma communities in Central and Eastern Europe. The coalition seeks to engage local governments and communities in Eastern Europe in connecting EU-funded social and economic opportunities with the Decade of Roma Inclusion and in using EU funding for Roma inclusion targets in public education, public health, employment, housing, and infrastructure. LGI will share and disseminate best practices, and advocate in Brussels for a better use of EU funding for the Decade of Roma Inclusion.
LGI teamed up with OSI’s Roma Initiatives Office to enhance the policy writing and advocacy skills of Roma NGO leaders engaged in the Decade Watch’s monitoring of decade activities. In Macedonia, Roma NGO leaders prepared a policy brief that outlined ways for the government to reduce its dependence on donors when implementing programs. In Bulgaria, Roma advocates used a policy brief to generate support to create a resource center for elected Roma officials. LGI plans to expand this advocacy capacity building throughout Central and South Eastern Europe.
In Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine, LGI advocated for education finance reform, which has often been overlooked by other donors interested in improving fiscal transparency and educational services. LGI aims to assist finance and education ministries in devolving financing and management decisions to municipal governments and individual schools. Education is one of the largest budget lines in most of the region’s countries, yet centralized control of budgets makes it nearly impossible for schools to manage staff and resources according to real local needs. Central control also results in citizens feeling disconnected from their children’s educational systems and having less oversight over how schools are managed. As LGI helps bring education financing and administration to the municipal or school level, it works with communities and local governments to preempt corruption and inefficiency by establishing municipal transparency and accountability measures.
