Paper/Speech Details of Conference Program for the 26th NISPAcee Annual Conference Program Overview IV. Regional Development and Inter-regional Author(s) Arvydas Mikalauskas Vytautas Magnus University Kaunas Lithuania Title Intermunicipal Cooperation in Lithuania: Does it always go together with Regional Policy? File Paper files are available only for conference participants, please login first. Presenter Arvydas Mikalauskas Abstract The objective of this report is to research the forms and extent of co-operation between Lithuanian municipalities (providing public services); explaining whether the content of this cooperation can become an alternative (officially, but passively) to regional policy. There is one level self-government in Lithuania, which is based on an atypical big (in comparison with other European states) area and population of the municipality. Poorly developed regional policy identifies municipal co-operation essentially only as a mechanism for the absorption of EU Structural Funds. Nevertheless, the rapidly changing environmental conditions (especially large scale of emigration, aging of population, increasing debts of municipalities, incentives to resist the ideas of central government, etc.) and new challenges impels the municipalities to take initiatives to cooperate in various collective activities; i.e. more often cooperation based on principle „from bottom to top“ is noticeable. Thus, despite large municipalities and poorly developed regional policy, which do not promote incentives for closer cooperation between municipalities, the incentives of municipalities to institutionalize their cooperation in various levels are noticeable. The article will be based on quantitative research data, which were gathered during the implementation of project "Intermunicipal cooperation and implementation of public services: options for network governance and public interest dilemma in Lithuania".
