BUILDING COMPETENCIES IN ENABLING, FINANCING AND INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING

BUILDING COMPETENCIES IN ENABLING, FINANCING AND INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING Prepared by: Harris F. Tarnue, Sr. Maxwell Tody Jacob D. Davies, Sr. RESOURCE PERSONS / LIPA TRAINER

BUILDING COMPETENCIES IN ENABLING AND INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING OVERVIEW / RATIONALE • This module is designed to provide practical tools in building competencies in enabling, financing and institution building for Liberian Local Government Officials; both elected and appointed. • The world is witnessing / experiencing dramatic changes in terms of demands for greater roles and responsibilities for local government and its functionaries. • This is especially so since local government is the action part of government or where the impact of governance is felt. • Many global trends affect local government and its ability to perform to citizens expectations. • Some of these are political, economic, social, environmental, cultural, and technological. • The expectations of people vary and include provision of water and sanitation services, managing public health and education services as well as other community programs and services. • Self-governance operation is even more challenging.

The emphasis of the module is on: • Exposing local government officials to creative thinking, methods, and ways in which best Practices are used in making governance productive, effective, and efficient. • Creating awareness of the vital role officials can play in setting the appropriate conditions for ensuring inclusiveness in governance. • Stimulating the thinking of local government officials about adopting values and norms that support principles of good governance.

OBJECTIVES • To present the basic concepts, principles and strategies in achieving competencies in enabling, financing and institution building; • To develop skills and competencies of local government officials in enabling, financing and institution building; • To stimulate local government officials to plan and make use of specific ways to improve governance.

LEARNING OUTCOMES • The participant/official will be expected to have the ability and skills for: • Application of key concepts, principles and strategies of enabling, financing and institution building; • Developing strategies for enabling, financing and institution building; • Demonstration of understanding of the principles of good governance; • Managing local government unit more effectively and efficiently.

THE ENABLING COMPETENCY • INDUCTION – The nine dots puzzle: This induction exercise is intended as a warm up exercise to set the participants in a ready mood for the presentation. The rationale for the exercise is to demonstrate how pre-existing ways of thinking can prevent us from seeing new ways of doing things. INSTRUCTION: Connect all nine dots by drawing four straight, continuous lines without lifting your pen / pencil or retracing a line.

DEFINITION & SCOPE Enabling is providing the means for others to get things done. It defines local government largely in terms of what others can do to provide programs and services for the community and citizens. Enabling others, according to Kouzes and Posner, is based on two fundamental commitments: • Fostering collaboration by promoting cooperative goals and building trust; and • Strengthening others by sharing power and discretion.

This collaboration is a process from goal setting to the implementation of programs and services. Sharing power and resources is also important to assure that those who have been “enabled” have the means to get things done. • Here are few examples of how the enabling competency works: • Enabling involves communication, not just from local government to citizens, but from the bottom of the democratic process, neighborhoods and groups of citizens to their local governments. • Enabling involves shared decision making and making decisions where they mean the most to those who have to live by their consequences. • Enabling involves the decentralization of public programs and services whenever possible or what is known as subsidiarity. • Enabling is the process of building partnerships with civil society institutions as well as other units of government. • Enabling is assuring that your local government organization is delegated the authority, resources, and responsibilities to implement legislated policies, programs and services. • Enabling is the process that gets enriched and redefined by elected men and women, local governments, civil society, and citizens as the level of open communication and trust among all these community components increases.

The civil society concept includes NGOs, CBOs, Cultural groups, Religious groups/organizations, Social and athletic associations, youth groups, women groups, labour unions, professional and non-professional associations, plus all other interest groups not owned and/controlled directly or indirectly by government. • Let the participants discuss the functions of civil society.

CONCEPTS, PRINCIPLES AND STRATEGIES FOR BUILDING THE ENABLING COMPETENCY

CONCEPTS, PRINCIPLES AND STRATEGIES FOR BUILDING THE ENABLING COMPETENCY CONT’D

IDENTFYING ALTERNATIVES/SERVICE DELIVERY OPTIONS It is essential in today’s environment that local governments continually look for ways to improve their daily operations. This section is an exercise designed to challenge you participants to explore options / alternatives for how you deliver public goods and services to your local community. EXERCISE: Activities include the following process: • Participants will individually identify three (3) programs or services that their local governments currently perform using their own employees, equipment, and facilities. Participants will then choose programs or services that could be performed by someone else.

IDENTFYING ALTERNATIVES/SERVICE DELIVERY OPTIONS CONT’D • When task one above is completed, participants will form themselves into smaller groups to perform the same task one. The groups will carry out the following activities: • Make a written list on postal sheet of the various programs or services identified by the each group; • The group will select one program or service from the list and identify at least one way that the program or service selected could be carried out differently or maybe better without using the government’s employees, equipment, or facilities; • After selecting the group’s alternative delivery option, list down the advantages and disadvantages; • Based on the analysis, write your recommendations; • Review the exercise with a brief general discussion on: (1) Factors to take into account when considering options for the delivery of a program or service; (2) How should officials work with their staff and others in proposing new programs or service delivery options?; and (3) What might officials personally do to encourage regular review of programs or service delivery options?

STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS/MAP • Who is a stakeholder? A stakeholder is an individual or group that is affected by or can affect the solution to a problem. Stakeholder analysis or mapping has to do with winning support for delivery of public goods or services. It is a technique used to identify the key people who have to be won over. This ensures the official or leader builds the support that helps him/her to succeed where others fail. • This section includes the following exercise designed to broaden the understanding of participants about the importance of involving key people or groups of people in the process of solving problems and making decisions about issues that affect them.

EXERCISE: Activities include the following process: • Ask for different views on what the concept stakeholder means to participants? • Let participants split up into smaller groups. The groups will identify a problem in their assumed local government area which seems to be unsolvable using available human and material resources. • Each group will prepare a “stakeholder’s map” consisting of names of individual citizens, groups, or organizations that are directly influenced by actions taken by others relative to the problem or that would have a stake in seeing the problem solved. Remember to include stakeholders who might impede progress as well as those who would be supportive. Draw maps on postal sheets for group presentation. • At presentation, let other groups assist by adding any left out stakeholder. • Each group will then finalize its stakeholder’s map by (1) identifying the five most important stakeholders; (2) Explain / state how they were determined to be the most important stakeholders; and (3) Identify the strategy (s) that might be employed to enable these stakeholders to make a valuable contribution. • End the exercise by plenary providing critique of each group’s work and a general discussion on the importance of involving others or enabling them and various ways local governments can collaborate with others in the delivery of programs and services. Draw a sample stakeholders’ map.

PARTNERING & NETWORKING • The purpose of this section is to engage participants in activities that create awareness for including diverse groups within the population, i.e. youth, women and children, neglected and marginalized, to have voice in public decision making and developing relationships and expanding contacts for successful delivery of public goods and services. EXERCISE: • In Liberia, community-based initiative needs to be developed to promote socio-economic improvement of rural women. Concrete actions must be implemented at the local levels by everyone. Major issues of concerns include;

PROTECTION OF DOMESTIC RIGHTS AGAINST VIOLENCE • EDUCATION: ACCESS, MAINSTREAMING AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTIONS FOR OPPORTUNITIES 3. COMMUNITY ROLE • Questions • For each of these issues, identity five strategic actions aimed at addressing them. • State two ways you as local officials might act to give women and other marginalized people in your community an opportunity to participate and influence the quality of their lives? END

INSTITUTION BUILDING COMPETENCY • INDUCTION: - Each participant will introduce him/herself starting with the most senior official in government service. • Definition and Scope Institution building: • Is a developmental process that helps local governance organizations gain and sustain the respect and support of their citizens based on the merit of local government contributions to democratic self-governance and an enhanced quality of life for all their citizens. • Governance and government is different thing just like organizations are not institutions. An institution is more than an organization and more than a cultural pattern. It attracts support and legitimacy from its environment so that it can better perform its function and services. An organization becomes an institution when it succeeds in being valued by others as important and significant. The institution building competency is designed to help local governments become institutions by achieving important and significant status from their various communities.

CONCEPTS, PRINCIPLES AND STRATEGIES

INSTITUTION BUILDING & THE TRUST FACTOR • Institutions are special types of organizations that embody and promote certain values and norms. They are not simply instruments to carry out functional requirements within a community or society, although they normally perform these functions as well. If there is one quality that sustains institutions, it is trust. Trust is established when there is confidence in the intentions and actions of others to be fair and ethical in their social exchange relationships. • INSTITUTION BUILDING, GOOD GOVERNANCE, & TRUST • It is held that there is a direct connection between institution building and good governance principles. Good governance and institution building processes also rely heavily on interpersonal, intergroup, and inter-organizational skills and competencies. The decisions that drive these two processes are often made in highly complex settings involving actors with widely differing agendas and priorities. The glue that holds the pieces together and makes long term progress possible is trust.

Trust can be achieved gradually by officials engaging in the following: • Shared decision making; • Equitable distribution of costs and benefits based on inputs and outputs; • Open and transparent financial policy with all including citizens; • Subsidiarity of authority and resources to achieve effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of services; • A commitment to sustainability in all dimensions of development; and • Civic engagement as integral part of various programs and services, i.e. placing citizens on boards and committees, e.g. auditing and advisory. • INSTITUTION BUILDING AND THE OTHER COMPETENCIES • The institution building competency is highly dependent on other competencies. Some of these linkages are communicating, facilitating, decision making, policy-making, negotiating, financing, etc.

SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF GOOD GOVERNANCE • Successful achievement of the institution building competency is highly dependent on the seven principles of good governance. There is connection between institution building and good governance. Good governance and institution building processes also rely heavily on interpersonal, inter-group, and inter-organizational skills and competencies. The good governance principles are: Respect for the rule of law; Sustainability; Equity and Inclusiveness; Effectiveness and Efficiency; Accountability; Subsidiarity; and Participation. • EXERCISE: • Grading your Good Governance Report Card • As you do this exercise, reflect on each of the principles and determine the progress made by your local government. The scale is marked 1 – 10 for rating your local government’s progress. One on the scale represents the least possible progress, and ten equals the most possible progress in fulfilling the aims of the principles. Honestly assess your local government by circling the appropriate number to the right of each principle.

LOCAL GOVERNENT ORGANIZATION AND INSTITUTION BUILDING One of the major institution building responsibilities is to assure that local government organizations have the overall capacity to carry out policies, programs, services and other directives in accordance with good governance principles. Capacity is dependent on the will and the motivation of all local government employees to actually do all the things they are expected to do. It’s one thing to possess the capacity to do something. It’s another thing to do it and do it to the best of one’s ability and willingly. • INSTITUTION BUILDING & ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE (CHANGING VALUES AND NORMS) Organizational culture here means the assumptions, norms, values, working arrangements, and other artifacts that define how local government does business. Institution building often runs headlong into organization culture. The good governance principles, values and norms run counter to the norms that are already in place within a local government organization. Many officials find out after taking office that the local government is corrupt. If they don’t know it before taking office, they certainly will learn about it soon.

“SYSTEMATIC CORRUPTION” WORSENS POVERTY AND OVERALL UNDERMINES THE PRINCIPLES OF GOOD GOVERNANCE. EXERCISE: Changing the Culture CASE: PICKINGTHE”LOW HANGING FRUIT” • Perhaps the most evident and generalized form of corruption used to occur in the corridors and the main halls of the Finance Ministry. Hundreds of men and women wandered through, trying to complete some paperwork or make a tax payment. Due to the total disorganization and lack of information for citizens, there emerged dozens of middle men who offered their services to “arrange” for the expeditious services. • The first extortion of citizens occurred when they delivered their documents to these middle men. Then, when the paperwork was finished, very often illegally, the man or woman was required to pay a so-called “small thing or cut,” in addition to the official cost of the transaction. Receipts even for official sums were infrequent, and it was clearly the case that most of the money was stolen by corrupt public officials. What citizens and clients of the public service did get was basically undeserving service and protection from public officials involved and higher-ups. • QUESTIONS • Discuss and describe the corruption mentioned in this case and why is it harmful? • Do you agree or think that this kind of corruption has become systematic in the Liberian public service and specifically in your local government organization?

Identify some anti-corruption alternatives for dealing with this situation, and what are the consequences associated with implementing each alternative. • ORGANIZATIONAL VARIABLES • In all viable organizations there are found certain key components or variables. These variables include the following: • Doctrine: This is the aggregation of written documents that assures those who are associated with the organization and those outside looking in that your local government organization knows what it is doing. These are expressed in written statements called vision, mission, and a set of operating goals and objectives. The vision, mission and goals and objectives state the organizational global-positioning system that tells where you are and how to get to where you want to be. • Leadership: Leadership here is not only concerned with issues of people at the top of the organization. The concerns here are: (1) Are the officials engaged in creating opportunities for professional self-development learning activities (workshops, continuing education, team-building, mentoring from senior officials)?; (2) Are the local officials encouraging and supporting good governance concept of subsidiarity?; (3) Are the local officials engaged in succession planning (plans for retirements and turnovers to avoid voids in capacity)?

Resources: The most obvious local government resources are finances and human resources. This has a lot to do with building the financing competency and establishing standards and policies for human resource management and development. • Programs and Services: Programs and services deliver by local governments should be based on policies. This involves asking basic questions to include: (1) should this program or service be offered? (2) If yes, what are alternative delivery options? (3) What new programs and services should we offer based on changing needs, interests, values, and other criteria? (4) How and by whom should they be delivered? And (5) how should they be financed? • Technologies: These refer to the “how – to” mechanisms employed such as equipment and processes. For example, computer hardware and software. Vital questions here are: why do we need such equipment? What will it cost? What are the alternatives? • Structure: This describes “who does what with whom. Issues of structure include such things as changing the budget process to allow for citizens participation; opening neighborhood service centres, initiating public-private partnerships, merging operating departments, etc.

THANK YOU

BUILDING COMPETENCIES IN ENABLING, FINANCING AND INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING