Sharing best practices helps BiH municipalities become 'beacons' of good governance
Winners of the second round of the OSCE-supported Bosnia and Herzegovina Beacon Scheme for excellence in municipal-level governance are sharing best practices through a series of open days for municipal officials, while the areas of excellence targeted in the Scheme's third round will be announced later this week.
The Beacon Scheme, modelled after a similar programme in the United Kingdom (UK), recognizes and rewards excellence in municipal-level governance based around certain themes, such as engagement with youth or waste disposal.
The Scheme was set up in Bosnia and Herzegovina in late 2005 and the first two rounds of the Scheme were implemented with financial support from the UK and Swiss governments and managerial support from the OSCE and the Council of Europe.
"In an environment characterized by generally slow institutional progress and political stalemate, the Beacon Scheme has, over the first two rounds, drawn clear interest - as evidenced by the number of applications for Beacon status, as well as the attendance at best practices dissemination events organized by the winning Beacon municipalities," said Bart Denys, Local Governance Project Manager at the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The six 'Beacon Municipalities' of the second round were honoured at an award ceremony in Banja Luka on 3 April. They are currently sharing their best practices through a series of open days for municipal councillors and officials.
The Bosnia and Herzegovina Beacon Scheme is also supported by the Association of Municipalities and Cities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Association of Towns and Municipalities of Republika Srpska and Brcko District.
Recognizing excellence
In the second round, the six winners were selected from among 44 candidates. They were chosen for excellence in one of three areas: positive youth engagement in the local community and democratic process; selective waste collection and waste disposal; and, service delivery through partnership. Winning municipalities were Laktasi for youth engagement, Bosanska Krupa and Posusje for waste management, and Banja Luka, Samac, and Pale for collaborative service delivery.
To win the award, Laktasi, for example, strengthened co-operation with the youth sector by appointing a Youth Officer and creating two municipal bodies to address youth issues while Bosanska Krupa adopted a strategic plan for environmental protection, including mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation.
"The Beacon Scheme has gone from strength to strength. Well over half of the municipalities in this country applied for Beacon status in the first two rounds," Ambassador Douglas Davidson, Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, told government officials at the award ceremony. "(But) the Beacon Scheme is not about winners and losers; it's about learning from one another."
The good governance encouraged by the Beacon Scheme is a key step towards joining a larger European community. Giovanni Di Stasi, Head of the Council of Europe's Centre of Expertise for Local Government Reform, also speaking at the ceremony, said, "As the gatekeeper to Europe for your citizens, you are all responsible for the destiny of your country."
Exchanging best practices in the UK
From 1 to 7 June, 12 representatives of the winning municipalities visited their counterparts in the United Kingdom to discuss partnerships between their local government councils, and to share mechanisms and examples of good governance in both countries. The UK Beacon Councils attending the week-long visit were South Norfolk District Council (counterpart: Laktasi), Lichfield District Council (Bosanska Krupa, Posusje), Forest Heath District Council (Pale, Samac), and Stoke-on-Trent District Council (Banja Luka).
"With the current change in government here in the UK, public services that have enjoyed ten years of generous funding will have to do more with less. The practices of local authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina can serve as excellent examples for us to learn how to achieve this," Joe Montgomery, Director General for Places and Communities, UK Department for Communities and Local Government, told a reception during the visit.
Moving ahead to round three
Moving forward, the steering group of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Beacon Scheme met on 24 July to decide the themes of the next round - round three. Results of this meeting will be announced this week during the UK Beacon Council's return visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, which takes place from 25 to 27 September.
This round marks a shift from international to local ownership.
"The BiH Beacon Scheme has given an additional impetus to innovation and the exchange of good practices in the local government sector in the country," says Trefor Williams, the OSCE Mission's Director of Democratization.