The coordinators of the Working Group on Local Government invite researchers and practitioners to take part in a research project aimed at exploring the reforms of, and at, 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 will be built around a comparative analysis of local government developments in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) area. The developments will be compared to the European and Anglo-Saxon local administration models, as well as to the theories of self governance and decentralization.

The Working Group will focus on local government reforms. Members are expected to compare the challenges CEE countries face, identify the trends and waves of changes, and draw conclusions about convergence and divergence within CEE and between the 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.

●        Markku Temmes: Introduction on the themes of the working group.
●        Gábor Soós: Organization of the workshop and other practicalities.

Paper: From centralisation to decentralisation – a change in reform profile of the CEE countries?
Author(s):
Markku Temmes, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Presenter(s):

Paper: Local government reforms in Bulgaria: Recent developments and key challenges
Author(s):
Desislava Stoilova, South-West University “Neofit Rilski”, Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria
Presenter(s):

Paper: Strengthening sub-local governance in Bulgaria: Demand for further reforms?
Author(s):
Nadezhda Bobcheva, Oborishte DIstrict (Part of Sofia Greater Municipality), Sofia, Bulgaria
Presenter(s):

Paper: Decentralization processes of local government sector in Poland
Author(s):
Iwona Otola, Czestochowa University of Technology, Czestochowa, Poland
Presenter(s):

Paper: New trends in local public governance in the perception of local government leaders in CEE countries.
Author(s):
Pawel Swianiewicz, Wroclaw University of Enviornmental and Life Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland
Presenter(s):

Paper: Thinking outside the box: Local government and the preference-holders’ participation to policy making processes in Slovakia and Romania.
Author(s):
Diana - Camelia Iancu, National School of Political Studies and Public Administration, Bucharest, Romania
Daniel Klimovsky, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia
DANIEL KLIMOVSKY, Faculty of Public Administration, P.J. Safarik University, Kosice, Slovak Republic
Presenter(s):

Paper: Local government reform in Russia: A step to decentralization or consolidation of vertical authority?
Author(s):
Irina Turgel, The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Moscow, Russian Federation
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Presenter(s):

Paper: From comparing to quality improvement: Benchmarking and bench-learning in the Czech local government
Author(s):
Jana Voldanova, Training Centre for Public Administration (Vzdelavaci Centrum pro Verejnou Spravu), Prague 8, Czech Republic
Jana Voldanova, FALA, Czech Republic
Presenter(s):

Paper: E-governance in municipalities: Slovenia in comparative context
Author(s):
Uros Pinteric, Faculty of Organisation Studies in Novo mesto, Novo mesto, Slovenia
Uros Pinteric
Presenter(s):

Paper: Electronic communication with local governments
Author(s):
Sorin Dan Sandor, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Presenter(s):

Paper: Interaction in Polish local government
Author(s):
Marcin Sakowicz, Lech Kaczynski National School of Public Administration, Warsaw, Poland
Presenter(s):

Paper: The capital city in the local self-government system in central and eastern European and Caucasus countries
Author(s):
Sulev Maeltsmees, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia
Presenter(s):

Paper: Three modes of strategy formation in local public agencies
Author(s):
Jan-Erik Johanson, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Presenter(s):

Paper: Civil servants as mediators- A study on local government co-operation in Ukraine
Author(s):
Timo Aarrevaara, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland
Timo Aarrevaara, Research Director, University of Tampere, Finland Mikhail Nelip, Associate Professor, National University after Taras Schechenko, Ukraine
Presenter(s):

Paper: Local self government in Kyrgyzstan – myth or reality?
Author(s):
Nuripa Mukanova, Anticorruption Business Council, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Presenter(s):

Paper: Developing of local partnership as a challenge for local development initiatives
Author(s):
Zuzana Khendriche Trhlinova, Institute of Finance and Administration, Prague 10, Czech Republic
PhDr. Jaroslava Kaderabkova ing. Zuzana Khendriche Trhlinova
Presenter(s):

Paper: Local self-government in the Kyrgyz Republic. New strategy. The ways to improve the local self government system.
Author(s):
Galima Eshmukhamedova, Prague 10, Czech Republic
Presenter(s):

Paper: Development priorities in an emerging decentralized economy: The case of Armenia local development programs
Author(s):
Astghik Mavisakalyan, The Sydney University, Sydney, Australia
Presenter(s):