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UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT

PROGRAMME IN UZBEKISTAN

LOCAL GOVERNANCE SUPPORT PARTICIPATION AND

PARTNERSHIP PROJECT

Article: A way forward to ensure the transparency of local governments

The views expressed by the author of this publication do not necessarily reflect the official position of the

United Nations of its subordinate organizations, including UNDP and the participating countries

Tashkent 2012

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SUBJECT

Introduction……………………………………………………………..

1. LGIC Press Secretary Training held by LGSP…………………….

2. The interactive training covered many different topics for LGIC

officers, from news story writing to interview techniques…………..

3. A variety of interview skills and technologies that Press Secretaries

would apply in their LGICs was used during the training

4. Belgium's Service Fédéral d'Information.......................................

5. Greece's KEP……………………………………………………….

6. Ireland's Citizens Information……………………………………….

7. Japan's Yamanashi Prefecture Website…………………………….

8. Romania's Constanta City Hall website……………………………..

9. Andalusian province of Spain’s CLARA………………………….

10. Catalan government of Spain's CAT365…………………………

11. Sri Lanka's Government Information Centre……………………..

12. USA's Federal Citizen Information Center……………………….

13. USA's Rural Information Center………………………………….

Bibliography……………………………………………………………

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Introduction

The importance of open, effective public communication between local

governments and citizens cannot be underestimated. The proper communication

between the government and the citizen has an impact on progress, sustainable

improvement in society, and efficient exchange of ideas and delivering

services.

Local governments and their officials and officers are the primary point

of contact between the citizen and the state. They are the first point of

information for citizens. They are the main government body closest to the

citizens. They are the ones relied upon to pass important government

information to their citizens.

It is vital that government officials at the local authorities are capable and

provided with the means to strategically, effectively and efficiently inform the

public, be they citizens, be they businesspersons, organisations and media alike.

This activity is usually performed regularly through Offices of Information

Services at the local government level on a professional manner.

In line with improving good governance at the local level, a regular,

consistent and timely flow of information from the local administration to the

citizen level should exist. A key activity of the UNDP Uzbekistan’s Local

Governance Support Project (LGSP) in Djizak and Namangan regions is

therefore to support strengthening local governments’ technical and functional

capacities to improve the transparent communication system through which

citizens receive public information.

In this regard LGSP will launch the opening of Local Governance

Information Centers (LGICs) in the regions of Djizak and Namangan to serve

the local population. By the end of 2011, the LGSP will have facilitated the

establishment of a total of 6 LGICs. Three LGICs will have been established in

each pilot region, with one each serving either a city, a district or a region:

DJIZAK REGION NAMANGAN REGION

- Djizak regional khokimiyat - Namangan regional khokimiyat

- Djizak city khokimiyat - Namangan city khokimiyat

- Zaamin district khokimiyat - Yangikurgan district khokimiyat

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The LGSP, under the Good Governance Unit of the UNDP in Uzbekistan,

earmarked this as an important target output directly relating to the facilitation

of “free access of population to the information related work of the government

bodies at all levels”. It is part of a citizen-centric approach to improve local

governance, by improving and strengthening the capacity of the local

government authorities and improving participation and partnership in joint

formulation and implementation of regional development strategy.

14. LGIC Press Secretary Training held by LGSP

The baseline for this LGSP activity was the result of monitoring and a survey

carried out in 2010 showed that there was a high citizen demand for high

quality, disaggregated information from government institutions in a timely and

comprehensive

manner. There have

been reforms to

improve citizen access

to information on

government activities

at the local level and

there is a new

Presidential Concept of

further deepening the democratic reforms and establishing the civil society in

the country which envisages the adoption of a new legislation on the

transparency of government organisations. LGSP has taken this baseline marker

and, assisting the regional, city and district khokimiyats, developed a

comprehensive Concept Note on Local Government Information Centers. In

line with this Concept Note, a number of supportive actions were taken by

LGSP to provide legal and analytical advice, to conduct the necessary public

communications and ICT trainings, procurement of assets such as ICT and

media equipment but importantly capacity building trainings on effective client-

based approach to deliver information services, Public Relations and outreach

training for press secretaries, as well as subsequent monitoring and evaluation.

The lessons learned from this LGSP pilot project could be used to create a

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sustainable institutional mechanism for future LGICs in other regions of the

country.

15. The interactive training covered many different topics for LGIC officers,

from news story writing to interview techniques. In this photograph, a mock

press conference

For Uzbekistan, LGSP hopes that through this pilot program of opening three

LGICs at the city, district and region khokimiyat in two different regions,

Djizak and Namangan, the public will be able to easily access information and

up-to-date news about government services, and make local governments’

performance results more

efficient and transparent.

Not only will it provide

easier access to information

at the two different levels

(regional and district) of

local governments, but at

their fully operational states,

LGSP aims to make all six

of them in full networking

communication with one

another, between and within, at region-to-city-and-district and region-to-region

approaches, facilitating the fast hierarchical movement of information.

16. A variety of interview skills and technologies that Press Secretaries would

apply in their LGICs was used during the training

In addition, LGSP aims for these LGICs to

reach out to their citizens through multiple

channels of communication, and intends to

reach different demographic groups through

different means. A website, blogging

platform and micro-blogging as well as

mobile-compatibility for websites useful for

the younger demographic, pre-assumes computer literacy and access to the

internet. Internet usage, however, is not as widespread among members of the

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older demographic groups, who might prefer face-to-face interaction with

employees of the local authority, and who would prefer to have their

information given to them in local meetings with their local authority.

Therefore, LGSP envisages a networked, multi-platform and multi-channel

LGIC.

Uzbekistan is not a unique case in terms of local government information

services. The idea of LGICs is not new, and there are many different models of

implementing these information centers in many countries. However, the ways

and means that information centers operate are different for each jurisdiction

depending on the needs and capacities of their local population.

In some countries, information of different governmental bureaux are

disseminated or accessed by the citizen through the respective offices. In

Albania, while there are no comprehensive information centers as such

information is disseminated by the different Public Relations departments of

relevant ministerial or governmental service entities. In Croatia, while there is a

recognised need to extend services to regional and local levels, information

centers operate through the different public service institutes, and citizens not

only have an access to information, but the centers are able to inform and advise

as well as process applications and complaints regarding the different services.

In Montenegro, while municipalities provide administrative procedures on

specific services, they still lack the capacity to provide full information on

broader issues (Contiades 2007, 40, 43, 45). These countries already have base

mechanisms for provision of information services, but they are not

comprehensive LGICs as such as citizens still need to visit specific offices for

different information needs. There are moves, in these respective countries,

toward more comprehensive service provision for their citizens.

On the other hand, there are many comprehensive Citizen Information

Centers in many countries, either run by local governments or through the

federal system. Of varying quality and accessibility, some function more

popularly through physically located centers, while in some other countries,

citizens prefer using a telephone call center, or having information provided

through the internet website. Some still have Citizen Information Services

which disseminate information over multiple channels. There are many different

ways to deliver information from the public authority to the citizens, and there

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are many different ways that the citizen may seek information, depending on the

needs of their citizens. This may be seen in the different cases of Belgium,

Greece, Ireland, Japan, Romania, Spain, Sri Lanka and the United States.

17. Belgium's Service Fédéral d'Information

Belgium also has a Service Fédéral d’Information, established by the official

federal body responsible to

disseminate information to its

citizens, and accessible by a

comprehensive website. It

centralises the search for

information regarding specific

citizen concerns such as

housing, education, justice,

mobility, taxes, work.

However, it has not taped into the alternative channels of communicating

information, and its news and list of addresses and websites of official Belgium

government offices are not frequently updated, and would be more

appropriately classified as a government website, and not an active information

center (Lobet-Maris, Van Bastelaer and De Vos 2000).

18. Greece's KEP

Greece has a centralised Citizen

Information Service accessible to

citizens. There is a comprehensive

website dedicated to disseminating

information and services, for the

population who use the internet. The most popular channel is a telephone call

center accessible from anywhere in Greece by dialling a short telephone

number. There also over 1,000 physical locations for this service. Public

services are obliged to take action within a 10 day time limit. Should this limit

be exceeded by the public agency, the application may request monetary

compensation of up to 600 euro to the relevant region or the Ministry of the

Interior, Public Administration and Decentralisation. The information service

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center is able to provide up to 60 different certificates, including passports,

university issued study certificates and engineering insurance services, and

between 1998 until 2003, received 2,730,000 telephone calls in the call center

for procedural information and applications (Contiades 2007).

19. Ireland's Citizens Information

The Government of Ireland provides Citizen Information Services through

physical LGICs, telephone services, as well as a Citizens Information website

run by the Citizens Information Board, where information on all government

services is available and

searchable in multiple

languages (Citizens

Information Board n.d.). Local

Citizen Information Centres

provide free, on-the-spot and

confidential information

regarding all aspects of citizen

life in the municipality in question. While those who prefer not to access the

website have access to the physical centre, the central website also connects

with demographic groups that find information through internet more

accessible, by providing a blog with an RSS so citizens can easily subscribe to

their updates, usually composing of important workshops and events for the

community. They also connect to citizens through micro-blogging websites

such as twitter for more immediate news briefs and updates, such as weather

warnings, as well as reminders of important dates for their citizens, such as tax

deadlines and college application deadlines. The website itself also provides a

version for mobile phones and allows the comprehensive information system to

be accessible anywhere.

20. Japan's Yamanashi Prefecture Website

Some of Japan’s many different prefectures also have physical information

centers. In Yamanashi

Prefecture, there is a

Prefectural Citizens

Information Plaza, where

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among other things, citizens may readily gain access to prefectural

administration-related public information and publications, open on all working

days (Yamanashi Prefecture n.d.), among other services. This Information Plaza

is within a bigger Prefectural Office Complex where there are offices of the

various departments located there that serve the local population which are then

readily accessible by citizens. This is one case and not all Prefectures provide

the same level of services through internet channels.

21. Romania's Constanta City Hall website

Romania’s network of Citizen Information Centers (CICs) is supported by a

CIC Network, and is affiliated with a non-governmental organisation, the

National Association of the Center of Citizen Information. Some municipalities

have dedicated information

offices where all departments

of a specific City Hall are

located within one location,

where citizens are able to find

accurate information for their

problems (Constanta City Hall

2009). In one particular city of

Constanta, nine different

bureaux tackle different issues of citizenship, including requesting audiences

with the Mayor in case of unsatisfactory responses. Citizen applications and

requests are registered in a program which tracks paper flows from department

to another until answers are received, and citizens may use this program to find

out their request status, and they may also view the status of their applications

online. However, most websites are still considered local government websites

aimed more at information dissemination for potential investors and tourists

than for the local citizens. On the other hand, Romania have developed a

manual for guiding government units in establishing CICs in different

jurisdictions, are actively establishing both new CICs and improving the

capacity development for staff and increasing the services provided. Training

for staff are done in how to best manage such facilities, on-location training, as

well as media and public relations training (Pamfil and Serban n.d.).

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22. Andalusian province of Spain’s CLARA

More similarly to the LGSP, many regional governments also seek ways to

more efficiently disseminate and connect with their citizen base. CLARA is an

initiative of the regional

Andalusian government of

Spain which is designed to

offer information to citizens. It

is part of a modernisation

process of Andalusian Public

Services in order to increase

transparency, agility and

efficiency. CLARA itself is a multi-channel platform for citizen information

and services and self-service in order to increase the access and appropriateness

of government service information to the citizens and minimise waiting periods,

as well as provided on-demand standard information. The regional government

also benefits by decreasing the gap between the Andalusian public

administration and its citizens, which are available through a multiple channel

format, through internet, through Andalusian government bureaus whereby

CLARA information is accessible to all visitors and through telephone. The

Andalusian government uses a model called Citizen Relationship Management

(CSM) which involves increasing efficiency both in its back-office, or internal,

management, information and communication exchanges and processes as well

as front-end, or external approach, to citizens (Segura Vinuesa 2007).

23. Catalan government of Spain's CAT365

The Catalan government also

has a similar information

center, one accessible through

telephone hotline and the

internet website portal,

CAT365, which provides

citizens with a starting portal

for various aspects of citizen

information (Contiades 2007,

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30). Thus in Spain, the initiatives of local governments provide improved

information services.

24. Sri Lanka's Government Information Centre

Sri Lanka has both a Government Information Centre (GIC) website and a call

center that enables citizens to obtain correct and relevant information regarding

citizen services presented in three languages (Sinhala, Tamil and English). The

project was initiated by the government and through an ICTA Re-engineering

Government Programme in

order to increase efficiency of

the information delivery to

citizens (Government

Information Centre 2009), in

regards to information

regarding individual as well as

businesses and also has a

comprehensive complaint

handling mechanism. In addition to a single four-digit phone number that Sri

Lankan citizens may call from anywhere in the country, the call center also has

a phone number for telephone calls from overseas, making the GIC more

accessible to even more Sri Lankans. According to the website, the call centers

routinely process up to 2500 telephone requests daily. The website was created

to relay information to information seeking citizens twenty-four hours a day,

seven days a week, versus the call centers which operates only for twelve hours

a day, seven days a week. The GIC website targets the computer-savvy

demographic groups by providing information through social media websites

such as Facebook and LinkedIn, micro-blogging websites such as Twitter, as

well as YouTube for video which informs their citizens the uses of the GIC. Out

of the 374 government organisations, such as ministries and departments that

operate, 106 had information accessible through the GIC. The GIC increased

awareness and its user base into non-central regions of Sri Lanka by providing

demonstrations and billboard campaigns, such as in Jaffna and Batticoloa

(Strategic Communication and Media Unit ICTA 2009). The GIC is not an

LGIC as it covers a wide range of information for Sri Lankan citizens regardless

of location.

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25. USA's Federal Citizen Information Center

For the United States, the Federal Citizen Information Center (FCIC), having

been in operation for more than 40 years, is still the most comprehensive citizen

information service for the

whole of the USA, with

different internet media

platforms used for different

demographic groups, including

social media, blogging, micro-

blogging, free publications

accessible on the internet and

in print, as well as a fully

separate website dedicated for children. In a national survey conducted in 2003,

the American Customer Satisfaction Index, measuring the level of services

provided by the federal government for its citizen, the FCIC scored 79 out of

100 points, due to its “accessibility and usefulness of the free Consumer

Information Catalog” (U.S. General Services Administration 2004).

26. USA's Rural Information Center

There is also a centralised Rural Information Center run by the federal

Department of Agriculture for citizens

living in rural areas with information

and guides accessible by the internet

website as well as through telephone

call center. Like the United States

Federal Citizen Information Center,

several individual states as well as

municipalities and towns have their own Citizens Information Center. Most

have physical locations in their jurisdiction; due to varying fund allocations for

these, they vary in the quality and quantity of information given as well as

varying the amount of different channels from which they disseminate

information. For example, some tap into the readily available social media

networks, others do not. However, unlike FCIC, most are run by the local

authority offices.

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Governments are always seeking for new and innovative as well as efficient

ways of disseminating information and communicating on a two-way basis with

their local citizens. In the aforementioned examples, many are continually

updating the information services and systems they use to provide them through

monitoring and evaluation, similar to LGSP’s vision for Uzbekistan’s LGICs.

LGICs provide a comprehensive way to relate to their citizens, their main

service beneficiaries. For Uzbekistan, the LGIC pilot project in Djizak and

Namangan hopes to be a first steady step in the process of enhancing the

communication channels between the local authority and the citizens, through

more efficient and transparent information dissemination.

Soraya Soemadiredja, LGSP Intern

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