EU DELEGATION DECISION

Use majority of 5 % envelope for strategic

purposes

Invest solely in capacity building and implementation of funds

Award entire 5 % to programme as a whole

and pool the funds

EU DELEGATION DECISION

F I G U R E 1 6 . 5 Options for allocating the support measures budget at the country level

LA-CSO dynamics, decentralisation processes, local mapping, analysing a specific territory/

topic — or conducting preparatory consultations.

Emerging practices show that non-conventional uses of support measures can add countless opportunities to create an adequate environment for the implementation of DLGTD interven-tions promoted through the thematic programme. Following are some concrete examples of how EU delegations have made smart use of support measures to give an additional boost to their DLGTD interventions.

C o n n e c t l o c a l e x p e r i e n c e s w i t h n a t i o n a l p l a t f o r m s e n g a g e d i n a d v o c a c y

When acting in concert at the local level, CSOs and LAs may gain useful insights on how reform could succeed and could therefore inform the adjustment of national policies ori-ented to promoting territorial development. Such a feedback loop is not possible unless a connection is made with policymaking processes at the national level. Support measures can be mobilised to engineer such critical linkages between the two levels so as to enhance the chances of cross-fertilisation and scaling up. See Box 16.3 for an example.

V i s i b i l i t y o f t h e E U a n d f u n d a m e n t a l t h e m e s f o r t e r r i t o r i a l d e v e l o p m e n t

EU delegations have initiated visibility actions through support measures with the broader objective of demonstrating the importance of territorial dynamics. Typically, these activities sought to:

■ foster partnerships with other development partners/embassies to generate visibility for specific development topics (e.g. supporting associations of LAs in their advocacy activities);

■ ensure EU participation in national and international events (e.g. annual conference of elected mayors) to present the European Commission’s vision on the country roadmap.

B O X 1 6 . 3 Using support measures to facilitate the scaling up of good practices

I

delegation — through support measures — has been supporting the organisation and operation of the Mesa Temática de Residuos Solidos.

Based on experiences gained at the local level, where the delegation has been promoting environmental programmes through improved management of solid waste implemented by municipalities and CSOs, local actors realised that the consolidation of these local efforts

required a set of supportive national policies and regulations. The idea of organising a national round table on solid waste management emerged as a necessary step forward.

The EU delegation saw in this concept an opportunity to mobilise local and national environmental actors. With a small amount of support from the EU delegation, the principal stakeholders were able to meet regularly and establish a permanent consultation body with

the participation of the national government, LAs, CSOs and development partners.

The support catalysed this initiative, and the future operations of this forum are ensured via the financial support of the participants. The forum’s recommendations are taken to the highest level of political decision-making and are creating a favourable environment for the sector as a whole.

While the contribution of the EU delegations can be considered more of a symbolic and political gesture given the small amount of budget allocated to such support measures, the events supported have provided the delegations with excellent platforms to introduce the European perspective of LAs and local development.

S u p p o r t i n g t h e e m e r g e n c e o f b e t t e r n a t i o n a l D L G T D p o l i c i e s

EU delegations can use support measures to provide some backing — albeit modest — to national initiatives related to decentralisation reforms (e.g. drafting a new law for land use and property taxes allowing for incremental local tax collection by LAs) or national agendas regarding urban and rural development. Because national actors sometimes have regula-tory constraints that limit their capacity to contract external expertise, EU delegations can use support measures to finance some specialised consultancy or technical assistance for national initiatives; over time, these may help create a more conducive environment for ter-ritorial dynamics.

D i s s e m i n a t i o n o f l e a r n i n g a n d e x p e r i e n c e s

g a i n e d t h r o u g h t h e C S O - L A T h e m a t i c P r o g r a m m e

With support measures, EU delegations have developed some knowledge-sharing materials for both LAs and CSOs — including short videos, films and a photo exhibition — on experi-ences gained through implementation of projects from calls for proposals. The objectives of this type of initiative financed as a support measure are twofold:

■ to document experiences and lessons learnt and share these practices with potential applicants of future calls for proposals of the thematic programme;

■ to increase the EU’s visibility.

I n n o v a t i v e C S O - L A p a r t n e r s h i p s f o r p r o j e c t i m p l e m e n t a t i o n

Because of public sector laws, regulations and timing, LAs sometimes face major capacity and other limitations in administering donor grants, particularly in challenging institutional contexts. To ensure their effective engagement in DLGTD interventions, EU delegations can resort to creative solutions such as:

■ passing support through LA associations so as to facilitate access to LAs;

■ forging partnerships between LAs and international/national non-governmental organisa-tions to obtain the needed administrative support and thus avoid the legal complicaorganisa-tions (especially regarding procurement and accounting) and political problems (elections and subsequent changes) inherent in the public sector;

■ using support measure financing to create ad hoc management units at the LA level to efficiently implement a project using their available staff and means (including processes, procedures and regulations).

A N N E X E S

C O N T E N T S :

■ 1: Glossary

■ 2: EU support for decentralisation, local governance and local development programmes, by region

■ 3: Approach of international organisations and donors to territorial development

■ 4: Key considerations in ensuring local authority financing in budget support operations

■ 5: Key ingredients of smart projects

■ 6: Case studies