Africities

www.arial-programme.eu

This material has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this material are the sole responsibility of VNG International and its implementing
partners, and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.



ARIAL tools
to support and strengthen
Local Government Associations
(LGAs)
A presentation and information session on how to use the
publications and tools systems developed by ARIAL
and VNG International
Special Session, Africities,
Dakar, Senegal, 6 December 2012



Overview
• Purpose of ARIAL:
 To promote the political recognitioon and engagement of Local
Authorities (LGs) as important players and partners of development
 To strengten the capacity of LGs in ACP countries
 Strengthen representative institutions from national to international level
to implement development policies
• Potential users of the tools available:
 LGAs (at the national, regional and continental level)
 Individual local governments



What tools are available?
• ARIAL online Publications & Tools system “Supporting and strengthening
Local Government Associations”
 www.arial-publications-tools.eu/hb0000/

• VNG International publications for LGAs:
“Strategic Planning, Communications, Advocacy and Lobbying and Service
Provision in Local Government Associations”
 www.vng-international.nl/publications-tools/english-language-
publications.html?L=0



What do the tools offer?
• Support the role of LGAs:
 Advocacy for local government generally and specifically
 Communications – internal and external
 Services to support members through
o Capacity building e.g. training, best practice exchanges etc.
o Efficiencies e.g. procurement
o Modernisation e.g. ethics, human resource development etc.
• Leading to improving the role of local governments:
 Representing citizens and engaging the community
 Making decisions on behalf of the community
 Provision/coordination of public services and infrastructure
 Community development



What do the tools contain?
• Discussion and analysis of ideas and policies designed to enhance the
capacity of LGAs to assist LGs in their functions
• But also the reverse i.e. maximising the usage of LGA services by members in
the interests of good governance
• Together with specific tools:
 Assessments
 Surveys
 Exercises
 Workshops



THEME 1
Discern the development needs of local government
• WHY?
 Ensures the LGA adopts a needs based approach to advocacy,
communucations and service provision
 And leads to legitimacy, sustainability and accountability
 Strengthens the organisation and leads to clear strategic planning

AVAILABLE ARIAL TOOLS:
• Sample Questionnaire Municipal Needs Survey
 Covers functions of the LG, its capacity to deliver and an assessment of the
support needed
 Completed ideally by four persons, i.e. mayor (or political leader), another elected
representative, the Chief Executive, and the head of a service department
 Consider a pilot, or use a workshop?



THEME 2
Identify and collaborate with development partners
• Development partners have differing objectives:
 Poverty reduction
 Democratic governance
 Economic growth
 Social change
• And may look for different outcomes:
 Resource transfer
 Capacity building
 Institutional reform



THEME 2
Identify and collaborate with development partners (2)
• So the challenge for LGAs:
 Identify the partners
 Read their plans
 Understand their needs
 Look for the fit between their needs and those of LGs
 ACP Manual: “Engaging Local Governements as Agents of Development”
 Funding Matrix with checklist
 “Know the donors” – a full and detailed PowerPoint presentation
 Analysis to action framework



Questions / Checklist to present your “case” to donors

1. Our programme fits with overarching/regional/national strategies
(did you check? Can you explain)

2. We are a legitimate representative of local government in our country –
“we are the voice of local democracy” (what is the evidence for this)

3. We have sufficient capacity to be a partner in donor programmes
(how can you proof that?)

4. We have a clear strategy for a programme/project – this is supported by XX
municipalities (evidence?) – what kind of support/projects do you envisage,
what kind of contracts?


Example funding matrix www.arial-programme.eu



THEME 3
Lobby and advocate LG development needs

• Advocacy requires effective knowledge management because
 Relevant knowledge provides evidence for effective lobbying
 And advocacy is based on an understanding of members’ needs
• Advocacy is underpinned by communications
 Internally to communicate needs and provide feedback
 Externally to maximise impact of advocacy
 Must be two-way
• Extensive guidance in the ARIAL toolkit on advocacy, based on VNG
publication, includes practical guides and checklists



THEME 3
Lobby and advocate LG development needs (2)
• Workshop programme: “Attending needs by communicating”
• Workshop programme: “Attending needs by Lobby and Advocacy”
• PowerPoint presentations on communications (Cotonu 2012) and advocacy
(ULGA case study)
• Template and checklist for lobby action plans
• VNG publications
 “Developing a Communications Strategy for a Local Government
Association” (2004)
 “Advocacy and Lobbying by a Local Government Association” (2008)


www.arial-publications-tools.eu/data/data/hb/034/d20120125t160729034.html page 1
(Quantitative research) A well-managed survey will provide independent, credible, robust and verifiable
results. Such results are a strong defense against devious political interference. It can be carried out with

a) representative sample of all local governments, or
b) representatives of key local government staff.

The main goals of the survey are to:

• Verify the findings of the qualitative research.
• Learn about the training already received by local government staff.
• Obtain data on the demand for training programmes and their content.
• Assess local governments’ current level of organisation development and areas for improvement.

The results of the quantitative research should be presented in the form of a survey report that uses graphics
and tables to present the data and provides an interpretation of that data. Expert assistance is required to
manage a robust Training Needs Assessment.


Sample questionnaire for local governments www.arial-programme.eu

(Drawn from the Council of Europe’s Toolkit on Capacty-building 2005)

LGAs should work with the researcher to adapt this model as appropriate and to ensure that the way the
responses to the questions are formulated will facilitate their transformation into useful data.

Sample information

Type of local government (x) Name of local government Region
• Rural
• Urban – rural (pop. <15,000)
• Urban (pop. > 15,000)
Size of population:
Population growth / decline (%):
Main economic sectors:
Distance from national / regional capital:

No. of registered businesses:
Unemployment rate (%):
Local media:
Membership of local government association:

Inter-local government cooperation:

International twinning:

Basic information on local government page 3

How many staff are permanently employed? www.arial-programme.eu

How many elected representatives in the Assembly / Council?
What departments are there?
Is the office space sufficient?
How many computers are there in the office(s)?
How many staff have to share each computer on average?
Is there internet access?
Does the local government have its own website?

Do staff have access to email? If not all, what %?

Do staff use email as part of their duties?

Has the local government introduced any aspects of e-government?


Finance page 4

What is the local government’s budget for this year? www.arial-programme.eu

What is the value of the local government’s revenues from its own sources?
To what extent have the local government’s own revenues increased or decreased this year or have they
remained the same (%)?
What is the size of the budget deficit this year, if any (% of budget)?
What is the local government’s debt?
What % of the local government’s budget does capital expenditure represent?
Is there a separate category of funds in the budget for training staff or elected representatives?
What % of the budget is allocated for training this year?

Contacts with citizens
Does the local government have any specific procedures for contacts with service users? If so, what are they?
Are they available to citizens? If so, in what form?
Is there a book of complaints and comments that citizens or service users can use? If so, to what extent is it
used?
Do citizens have full and free access to:
• The budget?
• Minutes from Council meetings?
• Resolutions of the Council?
• Minutes of other significant bodies?
• Decisions of other significant bodies?
Is there a customer service desk in the local government?
Are there specific local anti-corruption procedures in place in the local government?

Strategic and operational management; human resources page 5

Does the local government have a Strategic Plan? www.arial-programme.eu

Does the local government have strategies for different sectors? If so, which?
Does the local government use:
• Task-based funding?
• Multi-year financial planning
• Multi-year capital investment planning?
Is the local government’s budget largely based on last years’?
Does the local government collect the information necessary for effective management (analysis,
forecasting...)?
Is there a scope of work for every member of staff?
Is there a staff performance appraisal system in place?
Are senior officials members of professional bodies? If so, which?

Does the local government use Task Forces to deal with specific issues? Is so, what?

Does the local government have clear bidding procedures in place for external service providers?

Are these procedures generally available to the public?

Are elected representatives required to declare any conflict of interest in respect of bidding for contracts?

Are their clear procedures for appointments to bidding commissions?


Economic development / investment page 6

How many days does it take for someone to set up a business in the local government area? www.arial-programme.eu

What is the state of the local infrastructure in terms of supporting localbusiness? (scale 1 (poor) – 5 (very
good)
• Legislative framework?
• Roads?
• Sewerage and water systems, waste water treatment plants?
• Waste dumps?
• Electricity and gas networks?
• Telecommunications?
Does the local government use the following methods to support economic development?
• Abated taxes / fees?
• Subsidies?
• Free training?
• Local development agency?
• Business support centre?
• Guarantee fund?
• Loan fund?
• Business incubator?
• Information and consulting unit?
• Other?
Does the local government use any promotion activities to target potential investors? If so, what?
Has the local government obtained any additional funding to support economic development in the last year?
If so, for each of the main projects list the:
• Title:
• Amount:
• Source of funding:
• Timescale for implementation:


Personal data page 7

Male of female? www.arial-programme.eu

Age?
Highest level of education?
Current position in local government?
No. of years in present position?
Have you participated in any training this year? If so, what training? How many days?

Any other comments?



Lobby Strategy Checklist www.arial-programme.eu

1. What is the issue?
2. What is the Association’s objective?
3. What is the desired outcome?
4. What is an acceptable outcome?
5. Which Commission?
6. Which experts?
7. Data and research needs?
8. Who are potential partners?
9. What resources are needed?
10. Targets for lobbying: (i) primary, and (ii) secondary?
11. Parliamentary contacts?
12. Media Contacts?
13. Member feedback?
14. Spokespersons?



Sample questions for an interview / local roundtable www.arial-programme.eu

(qualitative research) This should be based on a series of interviews with local government representatives.
This will provide in-depth information on the scope and nature of the knowledge, skills and attitudes
required.

The objective is to:
a) Recognise the most problematic areas in the everyday performance of local governments.
b) Describe existing practices in these areas.
c) Define important areas of training and capacity-building to help resolve these problems and poor
practices.
d) Identify common attitudes towards service provision, community participation, raising levels of
performance, developing expertise.
e) Determine how the effectiveness of training might be evaluated.
f) Learn about key sources of information and support.

Individual interviews should be held with the leadership of a sample of local governments (eg Mayor /
Deputy, Opposition leader, Head of Administration, Director of Finance). Each interview might last for about
an hour.

The results of the qualitative research should be presented in the form of a summary report and transcripts
of the interviews.


Questions to understand the context page 2
1 What are the key problems that the local government faces? www.arial-programme.eu

2 Which of these problems are important from the citizen’s perspective?Which of these problems confront the local government
with its biggest challenges?
3 How does the local government seek to solve these problems? What activities have been undertaken? What activities are being
planned?
4 Which of these problems can be resolved by the local government itself? Which require the support of other organisations? Which
organisations? What sort of support?
5 Why would the local government want to solve these problems? What are the main strengths of the local government that will
help it to solve these problems?
6 How does the local government try to solve these problems (eg by applying the legislation, strategic planning, projects...)? Is the
approach planned or ad hoc?
7 What are the key problems present in the operation of the local government as an organisation? How does the local government
seek to solve them?
8 How does the local government engage with local people and organisations? To what extent do they (a) inform, (b) consult, (c)
decentralise to neighbourhood groups and task forces?

Questions about experience of, and attitudes to, training
1 Have local government staff / elected representatives taken part in any training in the last 12 months? If so, what were the
topics? How was their participation initiated? How did they learn about the training? What were the main reasons for their
participation?
2 What kind of training do the staff / elected representatives attend most often? Who attends? How are they selected?
3 Is this training planned in advance? If so, who makes / approves the plan?
4 Why do staff / elected representatives choose to attend the training? Where does their motivation come from?

5 Does their participation in training bring tangible benefits to the local government / themselves / the community? In what way?
6 What training would best enable the staff / elected representatives to contribute to a more effective local government?
7 This material has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this material are the sole responsibility of VNG International and its implementing
What are the most important training needs for the local government if it is to (a) strengthen itself as an organisation and (b)
deliver better government in the community? can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.
partners, and

Questions for a Roundtable page 3
1 What are the major problem the local government is facing? www.arial-programme.eu

2 Which of these problems can be resolved by the local government itself? What might it do to seek a resolution of those problems it
cannot solve by itself?
3 Could the design, financing and management of local public services be improved? If so, how?
4 What are the local government’s strengths and weaknesses of the management of property / human resources / local services /
infrastructure / community development?
5 Does the local government support business activity effectively (established / new / potential business)? How do they do it? What
more could they do? What were the main obstacles they faced? How did / should they overcome them?
6 Is there a strategic plan with associated financial and operational plans? Do they reflect community and organisational
priorities? How effectively are they implemented? Are they discussed in advance with local people / organisations and staff /
elected representatives? What more could be done?
7 Have the staff / elected representatives participated in training in the last 12 months? If so, how effective has this been? What are
the reasons for the training being effective / ineffective?
8 What are the most important training needs of the local government? What would be the most important training for staff /
elected representatives?



Lobby Action Plan Template and Strategic Objectives www.arial-programme.eu

Action Plan Template
Lobbying issue:
Purpose:
Desired Outcome:
Acceptable Outcome:
Item Requirements Details Deadlines Responsible Result
1 Nominate decision maker(s) Name Dates Name Outcome record
2 Select experts Names Dates Name Outcome record
3 Identify data needs List Dates Name Outcome record
4 Partners Names Dates Name Outcome record
5 Resource needs Budget Time Dates Name Outcome record
6 Primary Targets List Dates Name Outcome record
7 Secondary Targets List Dates Name Outcome record
8 Parliamentary Contacts Names Dates Name Outcome record
9 Media Contacts List Dates Name Outcome record
10 Member feedback Specify Dates Name Outcome record
11 Spokespersons Names Dates Name Outcome record




More information?
ARIAL TOOLS:
www.arial-publications-tools.eu/hb0000/

ARIAL WEBSITE:


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