In line with the general theme of the conference, the sixth year of the Working Group on Local Government focuses on the relationship of regionalisation and local governance in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Both the functional needs of public administration and the requirements of the EU structural funds led several countries in CEE to establish or reform the middle level between the central and local government tiers. Regions obtained various names, responsibilities and autonomy. Nevertheless, their existence invariably has an impact on the strategies and everyday life of local governments. In some cases, this effect is positive. Local governments enjoy, for example, a higher level of coordination, which allows them to spend much of their resources on their core projects and activities rather than administration or coordination. In other cases, the relationship between the regional and local tiers become dysfunctional, causing fragmentation and making public administration more costly. In all probability, the real life influence is mixed and has a combination of positive and negative elements.

WG coordinators expect papers in the following categories:

1.Conceptual frameworks, which help us to understand the complexities of the relationship between regionalisation and local governments. Papers that explicitly reflect on the CEE or CIS problems are especially welcome.

2.Evaluations, which analyse the degree to which the regional–local relationship lives up to the normative expectations. Country studies are very suitable for this approach.

3.Explanations, which provide us with causal analysis on how certain forms of relationships emerge, stabilise and decline.

4.Comparative papers that highlight the similarities and differences between countries or regions are strongly encouraged.

Beyond this year's theme, one of the panels will be devoted to high-quality papers dealing with topics which are not related to the regional-local relationship, but contribute to local government studies in CEE and CIS.

The papers to be presented at the workshop in 2013 are expected to contribute both to LG studies and to administrative and other social sciences in general. The coordinators hope to find the opportunity to publish a selected set of contributions.

2. Working Group on Local Government

NISPAcee’s Working Group on Local Government was established in 2008. The Working Group invites researchers and practitioners to take part in a project aimed at exploring the reforms of, and at, the local government level in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

The theme of the Working Group is local government. By using the term "local government” we prefer the broader context of governance to the internal machinery of local administration. The core of the mission of the Working Group is built around a comparative analysis of local government developments in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) area. The developments are also compared with the European and Anglo-Saxon local administration models, as well as with the theories of self-governance and decentralisation.

The Working Group especially focuses on local government reforms. Members are expected to compare the challenges which CEE countries face, identify the trends and waves of changes, and draw conclusions on the convergence and divergence within CEE and between CEE countries and the rest of Europe. The reforms examined by the group include both large-scale structural changes of public administration and small-scale managerial reforms initiated by local decision-makers. Contributions are encouraged, especially covering the following topics: local government reforms, multi-level governance, metropolitan governance, local network governance, e-governance and e-democracy, the relationship of local politicians and administrators, and local democracy. All these areas of research fields can be analysed by using political, administrative, cultural and economic views.

The first meeting of the Working Group in Bratislava (2008) collected various papers on local governments in CEE and the CIS. The second, in Budva (2009), had a more specific focus on city-regions. A volume was published with 10 papers and presented at the conference. The third meeting in Warsaw (2010) provided an opportunity to discuss the impact of the global economic crisis on local government and the fourth in Varna (2011) focused on the relevance of history for the future of local governments.

The fifth year of the Working Group on Local Government in Ohrid, Macedonia (2012) focused on the state and development of local government/municipal autonomy in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Autonomy was approached from the viewpoint of constitutional/legislative autonomy, control over resources, and political independence from central influence.

3. Working Group Directors and Members

Gabor Soos, Institute for Political Science (Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest). He holds a PhD in Political Science, MA in Sociology, and MA in History. He edited and co-edited four books on local government in Central and Eastern Europe.

Arto Haveri is a Professor of Local Government Studies at the department of Regional Studies, University of Tampere. He focuses primarily on local governance and local government management, and most recently on promises and problems of democratic network governance. He also maintains an interest in the problems of administrative reform design and evaluation, particularly in areas of local and regional government and regional development.