The Regional Decentralization Observatory (RDO) Index to inform dialogue for decentralization and local government reform in Albania and Georgia
2020/04/14
The Regional Decentralization Observatory (RDO) Index to inform dialogue for decentralization and local government reform in Albania and Georgia.
The RDO Index, developed with the key support of the BACID Program, is further implemented in Georgia, while the Albanian Association of Municipalities is using the RDO to develop a tailored methodology for measuring good governance at the local level in Albania.
NALAS has implemented the RDO Index in Georgia, in February 2020, in a workshop “Reinforcing dialogue on informed local government reform in Georgia: Achievements, Challenges and Opportunities”, organized in the framework of PLATFORMA, with the cooperation of the National Association of Local Governments of Georgia (NALAG), and the participation of national and local government policymakers, experts and practitioners. The results of the RDO Index for Georgia proved to be very relevant to inform and confirm the advocacy efforts of NALAG, in particular as regards the need to improve the political and fiscal autonomy of local governments, with improved financing mechanisms and enhanced sectorial decentralization.
NALAS provided guidance and encouraged the Albanian Association of Municipalities (AAM), to develop a tailored methodology to measure good governance at the local level in Albania, as part of AAM’s cooperation with STAR2 Project in Albania. While the RDO is built to measure the progress of decentralization and local governance at the national and regional level, AAM’s Catalogue of Decentralization Indicators provides a self-evaluation system of individual municipalities. The development of this tool, tailored for individual local governments is an important step forward, as it further facilitates the implementation of the RDO index at the national level in NALAS member countries.
In the coming months, NALAS will follow up with select member Local Government Associations and organize online conferences and webinars for the implementation of the RDO in these countries.
Fotocredit: Vladimer Jojishvili
