Meeting on Sharing of Best Practices and Innovation in Public Administration in the Mediterranean Region Tunis, June 2005 Adriana Alberti Chief Technical Advisor InnovMed Programme Division for Public Administration and Development Management UNDESA

MISSION The overall goal of the InnovMed programme is to promote the effective exchange of innovative experiences in public administration among the countries of the Mediterranean region with a view to promoting good governance for social and economic development. It aims at reinforcing the capacity of national governments in terms of institutions, human resources, technological adequacy and financial management, to better cope with emerging national, regional and international challenges, as well as to respond more effectively to citizens’ demands and needs.

MISSION (continuation) The InnovMed Programme was launched in mid InnovMed is made possible thanks to the contribution of the Government of Italy through funds in trust to the United Nations.

OBJECTIVES Within this broad framework, the Programme’s objectives are: Capacity-building: –To strengthen the capacity of governments of the region to establish national and regional priorities in public administration, through national and regional reports and studies, as well as regional meetings; –To foster synergies among existing programmes for the promotion of exchange of experiences in public administration innovation by preparing an inventory of governance programmes in the region; –To reinforce the capacity of governments and regional institutions to share information, knowledge and best practices in public administration innovation through the creation of a Network of Innovators, specific conferences and meetings, and an on-line portal accessible to all citizens across the Mediterranean countries;

OBJECTIVES (continuation) - To enable governments of the region to acquire knowledge and information on the usefulness of the programme and lessons learned through evaluation tools and to establish an Awards Programme on Innovation in Public Administration in the Mediterranean Region. Fostering Innovation and Best Practices: - To develop methodologies and approaches to assess the nature and transferability of innovations in public administration, as well as produce training materials;

- To assess the absorption capacity of the countries to adapt an innovation; - To assist selected governments of the region to implement innovations in public administration and innovative experiences through pilot projects.

COUNTRIES PARTICIPATING IN THE INNVOMED PROGRAMME Albania Algeria Bosnia Herzegovina Croatia Egypt Federation of Serbia and Montenegro Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Jordan

COUNTRIES PARTICIPATING IN THE INNVOMED PROGRAMME Lebanon Libya Morocco Palestinian National Authority Syria Tunisia Turkey

Who implements InnovMed? InnovMed is implemented by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs through its Division for Public Administration and Development Management. It avails itself of the collaboration of Formez Training and study centre through Caimed.

WHAT HAS BEEN DONE SO FAR? 1.Assessment of the state of public administration in the Mediterranean region. Country profiles on public administration in each country of the Mediterranean region have been prepared and will be published shortly. These reports are based on a questionnaire that was prepared by UNDESA and distributed to all the Ministers for Public Administration in the Mediterranean Region to gather relevant information. On behalf of UNDESA, about 30 policy papers have been prepared by national experts in the region on the challenges and priorities of public administration reform (2 for each country). In order to assist governments in coordinating information about governance programmes in their own country, the Africa Governance Inventory (AGI) methodology is being used for a pilot activity, which will include Northern African countries. If this activity is successful and useful, it could be extended to other countries of the region. The AGI will also be utilized to identify the existence of similar programmes of exchange of experiences in the region.

2.Identification of national, regional and sub-regional priorities and establishment of a framework of action for the promotion of exchange of innovative experiences. A Consultative Meeting on Priorities in Innovating Governance and Public Administration in the Euro-Mediterranean Region was held in Naples in the premises of Formez (representatives of 14 countries of the Mediterranean region took part in the meeting). The Meeting was instrumental in comparing and contrasting the various national experiences of the region and in defining the priority areas of public administration reform at the sub-regional and regional levels (i.e. Northern Africa, the Middle East and the Balkan region). Based on the above-mentioned meeting and on policy papers prepared by national experts and comparative analysis undertaken by DPADM, UNDESA is preparing a major publication on “Governance in the Mediterranean region: Challenges and Priorities” in order to assist policy-makers in identifying policy options and reform programmes; An Action plan of priorities has been prepared based on the findings of the above- mentioned meeting.

3.Conceptualization and elaboration of tools and methods for the assessment and replication of best practices: UNDESA just organized an Experts Meeting on Methodologies for the transfer of best practices here in Tunis June 13 and 14. Based on the findings of the Meeting, guidelines and mechanisms for the adaptation of best practices will be elaborated. 4. Sharing of Best Practices and Innovation in the Mediterranean Region A high-level meeting on sharing of best practices was held during the 5 Global Forum on Reinventing Government in December 2003 in Mexico City; A meeting on best practices was also organized in collaboration with UNESCWA in Lebanon in 2004.

An interactive portal ( has been set-up on the United Nations Global Online Network on Public Administration and Finance (UNPAN) in order to: - Facilitate the exchange of information among government officials and experts, as well as others development actors of the partner countries, - Facilitate the work of the future Network of Innovators in the Mediterranean region through a Forum; - Create a knowledge hub on governance and innovation in public administration in the Mediterranean region The Tunis Meeting has brought together for the first time all 14 countries and case studies prepared by national experts. Following the Meeting, a report containing all the innovations will be published and distributed to all countries of the Mediterranean region

NEXT PHASES OF INNOVMED? 1.Establish a Network of Innovators in Governance in the Mediterranean Region, namely of individuals and institutions who either were involved in developing innovations and/or who have studied and documented them; 2.Establish within this network “communities of practice” bringing together practitioners and innovators linked by specific knowledge of specialized areas of public administration;

3. Better collect, describe and benchmark successful practices in the region through an on-line observatory and include this information in easy accessible databases; 4.Promote and institutionalize exchanges, such as peer-to-peer exchanges, bringing together teams of institutions which have developed innovations and those which are interested in transferring them and adapting them to their national or sub- national context; 5.Establish an Awards on Innovation in Public Administration in the Mediterranean Region 6. Expand this programme to other regions.

NETWORK OF INNOVATORS: SOME PROPOSALS FOR DISCUSSION The Network of Innovators in Governance in the Mediterranean basin could be a unique initiative in the region.Network of Innovators It could be at the service of interested governments undertaking reforms in public administration, and It could serve as a mechanism to reinforce collaboration among public administration systems in the region, as well as other development actors.

NETWORK OF INNOVATORS IN GOVERNANCE The mission, structure, operational modalities and role of the network of innovators, as well as their expected contribution to enhancing the exchange of administrative innovation in the region will be established following this and other consultations with the beneficiary countries. A Meeting on the Network of Innovators will be organized in order to discuss the modalities of implementation of the network itself and to agree on collaborative mechanisms.

Why should a Network of Innovators be created? Knowledge acquisition is very important in the era of Information Technology and rapid change. It is not sufficient any longer to rely on one’s own local expertise, but knowledge may be acquired through exchange of information on successful practices, or even failures, and experiences in general that may facilitate reform in other countries. Learning from other developing countries or developed countries can save time, inspire new reforms, and in some cases help countries to leapfrog stages of development. There is great expertise in the Mediterranean region, but links should be created in order to maximize the returns in terms of guiding and inspiring innovative processes in governance institutions.

A Network of Innovators at different levels – experts, government officials, private sector specialists can accelerate the sharing of information and can be a valuable tool in providing advisory services to governments in the region. All partner countries of the Programme, including those from developed countries, will be able to benefit from this initiative.

FUTURE STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE INNOVATION IN THE EURO-MEDITERRANEAN REGION 1.As a continuation of this programme, would sharing of innovations in governance and public administration between the Southern countries of the Mediterranean region and the European Union be a useful tool for promoting good governance in the region? 2.Through which mechanisms could we link the different initiatives in governance and public administration in the region?

FUTURE STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE INNOVATION IN THE EURO-MEDITERRANEAN REGION 3. Could the implementation of the Awards Programme for Innovation in Public Administration in the Mediterranean Region motivate and inspire governments to further innovate? 4.Besides sharing of best practices would training on innovation policies and change management be useful for governments of the region?

5. How can the United Nations better assist the countries of the region in innovating public administration and promoting good governance?

THANK YOU !

Asdasdasdsad Sadsadsadsadsa Dsdsadsadsadasd Sadsadsadsadsadsadasdsad sadasdsadddddddddddddddddddddddddd dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

Asdasdasdsad Sadsadsadsadsa Dsdsadsadsadasd Sadsadsadsadsadsadasdsad sadasdsadddddddddddddddddddddddddd dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

Asdasdasdsad Sadsadsadsadsa Dsdsadsadsadasd Sadsadsadsadsadsadasdsad sadasdsadddddddddddddddddddddddddd dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

Asdasdasdsad Sadsadsadsadsa Dsdsadsadsadasd Sadsadsadsadsadsadasdsad sadasdsadddddddddddddddddddddddddd dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

Asdasdasdsad Sadsadsadsadsa Dsdsadsadsadasd Sadsadsadsadsadsadasdsad sadasdsadddddddddddddddddddddddddd dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

Asdasdasdsad Sadsadsadsadsa Dsdsadsadsadasd Sadsadsadsadsadsadasdsad sadasdsadddddddddddddddddddddddddd dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

Asdasdasdsad Sadsadsadsadsa Dsdsadsadsadasd Sadsadsadsadsadsadasdsad sadasdsadddddddddddddddddddddddddd dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

Asdasdasdsad Sadsadsadsadsa Dsdsadsadsadasd Sadsadsadsadsadsadasdsad sadasdsadddddddddddddddddddddddddd dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

Asdasdasdsad Sadsadsadsadsa Dsdsadsadsadasd Sadsadsadsadsadsadasdsad sadasdsadddddddddddddddddddddddddd dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

Asdasdasdsad Sadsadsadsadsa Dsdsadsadsadasd Sadsadsadsadsadsadasdsad sadasdsadddddddddddddddddddddddddd dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

Asdasdasdsad Sadsadsadsadsa Dsdsadsadsadasd Sadsadsadsadsadsadasdsad sadasdsadddddddddddddddddddddddddd dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

Asdasdasdsad Sadsadsadsadsa Dsdsadsadsadasd Sadsadsadsadsadsadasdsad sadasdsadddddddddddddddddddddddddd dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

Asdasdasdsad Sadsadsadsadsa Dsdsadsadsadasd Sadsadsadsadsadsadasdsad sadasdsadddddddddddddddddddddddddd dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd