Recommendations

Nine villages Achievements in Maikop Villages planned, financed, and developed their own infrastructure, Empowered participation processes facilitate

Rayon, in line with their own priorities. Seven villages now have gas the generation ofadditional revenue

Krasnodar Kray pipes, trade has been organized, phone communication to use at the local level. has been installed in some villages, and transport Legal framework that allows for public meetings to infrastructure has improved. make binding legal decisions ofself-government in small villages facilitates innovative solutions.

Challenges Building trust between local government and citizens is difficult. Gatchina Achievements

Rayon, Leningrad Expenditures are controlled closer to beneficiaries. Capacity building in local administrations is vital.

Oblast Local administrators are more involved in budgeting and revenue calculation. Challenges Local administrators initially saw their role as mainly controlling expenditures and not managing local development. St. Petersburg Achievements Capacity and confidence oflocal NGOs were built. Involvement by academics resulted in strong Participation increased modestly over time. conceptualization and ability to communicate Interactive mechanisms were established among NGOs, the expert at a sophisticated level. community, and local authorities that may yield fruit in the future. Independent budget analysis contributed to the Joint programs were developed; joint budgeting mechanisms are success ofhearings. being institutionalized in some cities. Hearings and other transparency institutions Joint reviews ofpolicies were conducted in some cities. evolved as mutually reinforcing mechanisms. Civil society capacity supplemented the low capacity oflocal Murky roles and responsibilities in authorities. intergovernmental relations negatively affected Participation increased. participation.

(continued)

TABLE 4A.1 (continued)

Case study Achievements and challenges Lessons

Low level ofcapacity in local NGOs, lack ofNGO coalitions, and low level ofconsolidation hindered local organization and effective participation. Other mechanisms ofinfluence and interaction that exist between local elites and authorities resisted the introduction oftransparent public hearings. Illiteracy and a low level ofawareness among the public, NGOs, and elected council members hindered participation. Low level oftransparency and weak media limited impact.

Challenges Access to information remains deficient; demand for information Analysis by NGOs was more useful than analysis by remains low. academics. The regulatory basis for public involvement in decision making Poor communication about hearings limited is not clear. impact. The divide between NGOs funded from the budget and others was History affects how citizens respond to participatory difficult to bridge. initiatives. Local government perceived participation as consisting only of The quality ofmoderation is important. information sharing and consultation. Mutual distrust detracted from hearings.

Low level ofcapacity in local NGOs, lack ofNGO coalitions, and low level ofconsolidation hindered local organization and effective participation. Actors who benefited from existing nontransparent mechanisms of influence and access resisted open public hearings. Low level ofexpertise or apprehension oflocal experts created a high level ofmutual distrust. Ukraine Achievements

Kemyanets- Participation in hearings to set local budget priorities grew to 600 Participatory processes developed with experience.

Podilski, people, with many representing entire communities. Technical capacity in town (local university)

Khmelnitsk Hearings offered an avenue for groups working with vulnerable facilitated the use ofmore sophisticated

Oblast, and groups to bring their concerns into budget deliberations. instruments, such as opinion surveys. 31 other cities Trust between citizens and government increased. Leadership by the local mayor and the dynamism Citizens’ priorities and opinions were integrated into the budget oftown leadership with values ofpluralism process. and political activism were important. Local government was able to draw on citizens’ support to advocate More transparency on budget issues preceded at higher levels ofgovernment. participation practices. An initiative was launched to approach oblast and national Better background information (budget and governments to secure local budget revenue from income taxes. budget execution information on the Web site, As a result ofintroducing public hearings, municipal spending for example) enabled participation. patterns changed. Surveys and opinion polls supporting budget Projects’ experience has been disseminated to other cities through hearings made it more difficult for council the Internet. to ignore citizens’ priorities. Public hearings need to be backed with other mechanisms ofengagement, such as public planning committees.

(continued)