Participatory Budgeting in Serbia: Lessons Learnt from Pilot Projects

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 999-1021
Author(s):  
Miloš Milosavljević ◽  
Željko Spasenić ◽  
Slađana Benković ◽  
Veljko Dmitrović
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Financial Planning ◽  
Local Level ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Participatory Budgeting ◽  
Pilot Projects ◽  
Political Will ◽  
Lessons Learnt

Participatory budgeting has been advocated as a democratic innovation that could bring governance closer to citizens. A myriad of European countries have embraced this idea and piloted participatory budgeting projects at the local level. In Serbia, however, democratic innovations are at the infantile stage. Only a handful of participatory budgeting projects have been initiated so far. The aim of this paper is to present the main lessons learnt from these projects and to present participatory budgeting as a citizen-centric and fiscally decentralized approach to public financial planning and execution. Using the mix-method, participatory budgeting projects and programs in three local government units in Serbia were analyzed. The results indicate political will of only a handful of Serbian local self-governments to implement participatory budgeting and limited sustainability of the concept of democratic innovation.

Experience with Managerial and Political Reform Measures at the Local Level in Slovakia

2016 ◽  
pp. 135-160
Author(s):  
Daniel Klimovský
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Political Reform ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Participatory Budgeting ◽  
Main Attention ◽  
Performance Budgeting ◽  
Direct Elections

This chapter is focused on the Slovak experience with decentralization and relating political and managerial innovations. A main goal is to analyze both managerial and political innovations which have been implemented since 1990, when a democratic local government system with directly elected local government bodies was renewed. An additional aim is to show not only intended outcomes but also the outcomes which can be described as unintended. Main attention is especially paid to inter-municipal cooperation, performance budgeting, participatory budgeting, direct elections of mayors, local referenda, etc. However, attention is paid also to those innovations which have never been implemented in Slovakia, e.g. gender quotas or territorial consolidation (amalgamation).

Experience With Managerial and Political Reform Measures at the Local Level in Slovakia

2020 ◽  
pp. 1301-1326
Author(s):  
Daniel Klimovský
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Political Reform ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Participatory Budgeting ◽  
Main Attention ◽  
Performance Budgeting ◽  
Direct Elections

This chapter is focused on the Slovak experience with decentralization and relating political and managerial innovations. A main goal is to analyze both managerial and political innovations which have been implemented since 1990, when a democratic local government system with directly elected local government bodies was renewed. An additional aim is to show not only intended outcomes but also the outcomes which can be described as unintended. Main attention is especially paid to inter-municipal cooperation, performance budgeting, participatory budgeting, direct elections of mayors, local referenda, etc. However, attention is paid also to those innovations which have never been implemented in Slovakia, e.g. gender quotas or territorial consolidation (amalgamation).

Spatial and Institutional Analysis of the Voivodships Expenditure on Culture in the Years 2003 – 2015

e-Finanse ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 67-75
Author(s):  
Adam Mateusz Suchecki
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Institutional Analysis ◽  
The State ◽  
Cultural Institutions ◽  
Location Quotient ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
National Heritage

AbstractFollowing the completion of the process of decentralisation of public administration in Poland in 2003, a number of tasks implemented previously by the state authorities were transferred to the local level. One of the most significant changes to the financing and management methods of the local authorities was the transfer of tasks related to culture and national heritage to the set of tasks implemented by local governments. As a result of the decentralisation process, the local government units in Poland were given significant autonomy in determining the purposes of their budgetary expenditures on culture. At the same time, they were obliged to cover these expenses from their own revenues.This paper focuses on the analysis of expenditures on culture covered by the voivodship budgets, taking into consideration the structure of cultural institutions by their types, between 2003-2015. The location quotient (LQ) was applied to two selected years (2006 and 2015) to illustrate the diversity of expenditures on culture in individual voivodships.

scholarly journals Coopetitive Nature of Energy Communities—The Energy Transition Context

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 931
Author(s):  
Karolina Mucha-Kuś ◽  
Maciej Sołtysik ◽  
Krzysztof Zamasz ◽  
Katarzyna Szczepańska-Woszczyna
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Building Energy ◽  
Energy Sector ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Energy Transformation ◽  
Pilot Projects ◽  
Economic Dimension ◽  
Self Sufficiency

The decentralization of the large-scale energy sector, its replacement with pro-ecological, dispersed production sources and building a citizen dimension of the energy sector are the directional objectives of the energy transformation in the European Union. Building energy self-sufficiency at a local level is possible, based on the so-called Energy Communities, which include energy clusters and energy cooperatives. Several dozen pilot projects for energy clusters have been implemented in Poland, while energy cooperatives, despite being legally sanctioned and potentially a simpler formula of operation, have not functioned in practice. This article presents the coopetitive nature of Energy Communities. The authors analysed the principles and benefits of creating Energy Communities from a regulatory and practical side. An important element of the analysis is to indicate the managerial, coopetitive nature of the strategies implemented within the Energy Communities. Their members, while operating in a competitive environment, simultaneously cooperate to achieve common benefits. On the basis of the actual data of recipients and producers, the results of simulations of benefits in the economic dimension will be presented, proving the thesis of the legitimacy of creating coopetitive structures of Energy Communities.

Can Russia Fight Organized Crime and Corruption?

2002 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 37-55
Author(s):  
Louise I. Shelley
Keyword(s):  
Organized Crime ◽  
Local Level ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Will ◽  
Structural Problems ◽  
Economic Elite ◽  
High Level ◽  
Personal Interests

The murder of Valentin Tsvetkov, the governor of Magadan in central Moscow in broad day light in October 2002 highlights that organized crime and corruption are still alive and well and highly destructive of life and governance in Russia (Wines, 2002). His murder once again raises the question, “Why has Russia not been able to stop organized crime and high level corruption?” The answer is that Russia docs not have the political will at the national, regional or local level to fight these problems. This is true because the Kremlin and economic elite push their personal interests over those of the state and the society. Structural problems such as low salaries of state personnel and the embedding of organized crime and corruption make reform very difficult.

New Perspectives on British Local Government

1973 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 126-138
Author(s):  
Howard A. Scarrow
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Political System ◽  
Party System ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Pressure Group ◽  
Party Organization ◽  
Pressure Groups ◽  
Party Cohesion ◽  
American Party

It is both humbling and encouraging to recall notions that Americans once entertained of the British political system. Critics of F.D.R. looked enviously at the British Parliament for its reputed ability to hold the executive firmly accountable for its actions. Somewhat later, observers on both sides of the Atlantic supposed that Britain was blessed with an absence of pressure groups. Would-be reformers of the American party system further implied that British voters cast their ballots according to the content of party programs, and that party cohesion was the result of discipline imposed by a centralized party organization able to deny renomination to recalcitrant M.P.'s. Careful analyses of intra-party workings, pressure-group activity, and voting behavior have now dispelled these and other mistaken impressions, and it seems likely that the contours of our understanding of these subjects have now been established. However, additional frontiers of knowledge of the British political system remain to be charted; one of these is government at the local level.

scholarly journals The Sister Village Program: Promoting Community Resilience after Merapi Eruption

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Vita Elysia ◽  
Ake Wihadanto
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Volcanic Eruption ◽  
Disaster Recovery ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Community Resilience ◽  
The World ◽  
Evacuation Routes ◽  
Post Disaster ◽  
Shed Light

Local Government of Magelang Regency initiates the Sister Village Program after Mount Merapi Eruption in 2010. The idea of this program is to connect villages at risk from Merapi eruption to partner villages with less risk in the surrounding regions. This program is part of post-disaster recovery initiatives at the local level which includes planned evacuation routes, shelters, provision of food and other daily essentials. This paper aims to shed light on the role of sister village program in promoting community resilience after the volcanic eruption of Merapi. It is found that the system of sister village program can fulfill many aspects of community resilience components. Considering Indonesia is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, this program should be regarded as a good example to be replicated in other prone areas in the country.

scholarly journals Unraveled Practices of Participatory Budgeting in European Democracies

2021 ◽  
pp. 287-313
Author(s):  
Juraj Nemec ◽  
David Špaček ◽  
Michiel S. de Vries
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Policy Diffusion ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Local Democracy ◽  
Participatory Budgeting ◽  
Porto Alegre ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
The Status

AbstractThe goal of the final chapter was to summarize lessons about the worst and best practices, causes, and effects of (successful or unsuccessful) participatory budgeting, delivered by the country case studies included in this book. The information collected serves to check to what extent participatory budgeting as practiced in the countries involved presents a real attempt to change municipal budgets toward addressing the needs of marginalized groups and to improve decision-making based on local democracy and participation, or whether these processes as such are to be judged to be more important than any output and outcomes. All in all, the practices of PB as they evolved in European countries out of the innovative original as developed in Porto Alegre in the 1990s can be seen neither as a process of policy diffusion nor as a process of policy mimesis. The terminology of participatory budgeting remained, but the goals and tools to achieve the goals resulted only in marginal changes in the status quo in municipalities in European countries practicing participatory budgeting, instead of resulting in radical changes to increase spending in favor of marginalized groups. Participatory budgeting in selected European countries is far away from the level of “best practice” in which local democracy and participation are promoted. However, it is also not possible to conclude that all experiences are just “trivial pursuits”.

scholarly journals Strategi Diversifikasi Atraksi Budaya Dalam Mendukung Pengembangan Wisata Desa Wakatobi

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Muhadjir Suni ◽  
Muh. Zainuddin Badollahi
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Cultural Tourism ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Commitment ◽  
Diversification Strategy ◽  
Political Will ◽  
Purposive Sampling ◽  
The Government ◽  
Active Facilitator

This study aims to determine and analyze the Diversification Strategy of Cultural Attractions in Support of Tourism Development in Wakatobi Village. This research method is qualitative research. The determination of the informants in this study was obtained by purposive sampling. The informants are community leaders and traditional leaders who are key informants. The results show that the opportunity for Wakatobi Regency to become a cultural tourism destination can be opened, because it is supported by the exoticism of local communities with their cultural diversity. The strategy that can be prioritized in the development of Wakatobi village tourism is the diversification of cultural attractions that are organized through institutions or Tourism Awareness Groups initiated by the community and funded by the local government and acting as an active facilitator. It seems that the political will and political commitment of leaders to maximize local government efforts need to be supported by tourism stakeholders from the government, private sector and the wider community, this is a weakness that needs to be covered so that the strategy in developing Community Base Tourism (CBT) tourism in Wakatobi provides a diversification of attractions. tour which is actually quite interesting to witness. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui dan menganalisa Strategi Diversifikasi Atraksi Budaya Dalam Mendukung Pengembangan Wisata Desa Wakatobi. Metode penelitian ini adalah penelitian kualitatif. Penentuan informan penelitian ini diperoleh secara Purposive sampling. Adapun informan yaitu tokoh masyarakat dan tokoh adat yang merupakan informan kunci. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan peluang kabupaten wakatobi menjadi destinasi wisata budaya dapat terbuka, karena didukung oleh eksotisme komunitas lokal dengan keberagaman budaya yang mereka miliki. Strategi yang dapat diprioritas dapat dalam pengembangan wisata desa Wakatobi adalah  diversifikasi atraksi budaya yang terorganisasi melalui kelembagaan atau Kelompok Sadar Wisata yang diprakarsai masyarakat dan didanai oleh pemerintah daerah serta berperan sebagai fasilitator yang aktif. Tampaknya political will dan political comitment pemimpin untuk memaksimalkan upaya pemerintah daerah perlu di dukung oleh stekholder pariwisata dari pihak jajaran pemerintah, swasta dan masyarakat luas hal merupakan kelemahan yang perlu ditutupi agar strategi dalam pengembangan wisata Community Base Tourism (CBT) di Wakatobi menyajikan adanya diversifikasi atraksi wisata yang sesungguhnya cukup menarik untuk disaksikan.

scholarly journals Effectiveness of Strategies Used by Local Government Leaders in Combating Children’s Rights Violation in Arusha City, Tanzania

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (Issue 4) ◽  
pp. 97-104
Author(s):  
Denis Mwaipopo Josephat ◽  
Elias Elisha Mbuti
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
Simple Random Sampling ◽  
Children's Rights ◽  
Children’S Rights ◽  
Political Will ◽  
Community Protection ◽  
The Government ◽  
Rights Issues

This study sought to establish the effectiveness of strategies used by local government leaders in combating violation of children’s rights in Arusha City using the descriptive design. The population involved 168 local government leaders from 24 Wards whereby the sample of 96 was picked through simple random sampling, but the response rate was 71 (73.9%). Validity was assured through expert judgment and the reliability was established through determination of the Cronbach’s Alfa which was above 0.6 for each variable. The study established that strategies used by local government leaders in combating violation of Children’s rights include desks at police stations for children right cases, education to the community, protection committees that coordinate and monitor violation of children’s rights, local government authorities providing legal aid, perpetrators being prosecuted so that legal action can be taken against them and free family events and activities for children’s rights education. The strategies were perceived to be effective except for children’s desk at police stations. Identified challenges included some cases not being reported, poor cooperation from victims, corruption, lack of political will and ineffective policies. It is recommended that appropriate organs should strengthen the use of strategies listed in this study in order to curb violation of children’s rights issues. There is a need for transformations in handling reported cases at the police desks. Finally, the government authorities should find ways to curb the identified challenges that faced initiatives used by local government leaders in combating violation of children’s rights in Arusha city.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document