Citizen Involvement in Local Policy (MK0156)

Which public problem is addressed by the commitment? Countries in Southeast and Central Europe, which include the Republic of North Macedonia, are lagging behind the Western European countries in respect to key indicators of health and wellbeing. The fact that public institutions are closed and citizens have low awareness about their fundamental rights, as well as lack of actual partnership between civil society organizations and public institutions, limit the process for improving public services and access thereto. In addition, technology development and digitalization opportunities in the world have encouraged governments in the region, including the Government of RNM, to initiate processes for digitalization of certain services and to introduce technologies for automated data publishing. Thus far, many of these initiatives concern development of products that would contribute to enhanced transparency of institutions, but significant share of them undermine the need for involvement of citizens and do not take into account their opinions, i.e. increased volume of data made publicly available under previous initiatives and intended to contribute towards increased engagement of citizens in the decision-making, have not yielded the desired results. Two specific factors have led to such situation: complexity of data published and citizens’ inability to understand them, as well as lack of two-directional communication mechanisms between those that publish data and intended users of such data. Lack of two-directional communication mechanisms between local governments and citizens contributes to low trust among users of local services and low response on the part of citizens, with focus on vulnerable groups and environments, in decision-making at local level.

Main objective of the commitment Key and long-term objective of this commitment is to establish organized system and practice for two-directional communication between citizens and decision-makers in planning, implementation and evaluation of local public services.

How will the commitment contribute to addressing the public problem? Activities under this commitment will contribute to initiation of changes and establishment of positive practices at local level, through cooperation between above named institutions and local civil society organizations. All activities will focus on establishment of mechanisms for involvement of citizens as users of services provided by local governments across the country. In particular, the commitment will be focused on: 1) establishing continuous cooperation between minister/director/state secretary responsible for planning, monitoring and delivery of local public services and civil society organizations involved in this commitment, which would later continue cooperation and engage in continuous work on development of relevant policies and services; 2) developing platforms for consultations and transparency and work with citizens from vulnerable groups, in order to familiarize them with their rights under these policies, collect their recommendations and opinions, and familiarize them with possibilities for future involvement in decision-making; 3) promoting the platforms developed with the general public in order to ensure broad use thereof ; 4) improving policies/services/practiced based on proposals received and participation of citizens, by providing feedback on the status and steps taken in respect to their proposals.

How is the commitment relevant to OGP values? COMMITMENT IS IMPORTANT FOR TRANSPARENCY because it anticipates development and launch of tools and mechanisms for distribution of more information on budgeting and programming work of institutions that provide local public services. Also, the commitment works on improving quality and availability of existing and new information. 59 COMMITMENT IS IMPORTANT FOR CITIZEN PARTICIPATION because it allows development of communication and consultation tools with target groups before and during adoption and implementation of policies in the relevant field and anticipates an approach for mobilizing and motivating citizens to actively participate and use these tools. COMMITMENT IS IMPORTANT FOR PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY because it enables establishment of mechanisms that will contribute to promoted accountability of public officials.

Additional information The commitment includes activities that imply establishment and use of mechanisms for civic involvement in decision-making pertaining to local public services. Hence, all solutions proposed contribute to attainment of goals and actions defined by the Government of RNM after submission of the voluntary national review on implementation of SDGs at the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in 2020. In particular, next step under SDG2: government will focus on measures to improve the structure of agricultural land as precondition for development and competitiveness of this sector, improve living and working conditions in rural areas and provide access to knowledge and investment in human capital through reformed services for expansion and education of farmers. Next step under SDG5: one of key priorities of the country in the next years will be continued effort to improve employment opportunities for women and ensure their protection at work. Link to UN Sustainable Development Goals Link to SDG16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions SDG target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels. Measures under this commitment contribute to improved planning, implementation and monitoring of public services which, in turn, will contribute to increased satisfaction among citizens with public services delivered.

No. Milestone Indicators Activity holder Start date End date 3.4.1 Establish uniform mechanism applicable to all municipalities for consultations and communication in order to allow citizens’ input in creation of local services and allocation of local budget funds for implementation of such services, with focus on citizens from rural and marginalized areas Uniformed mechanism for information dissemination is established (yes/no) Number of information published Unified mechanism for civic participation is established (yes/no) MLSG and Rural Coalition October 2021 September 2023 60 Number of citizens involved Uniformed mechanism for feedback to citizens based on their suggestions is established (yes/no) Number of citizens who provided feedback

Action Plan Review

Commitment 3.4: Local policies and services based on citizens’ priorities

● Verifiable: Yes

● Does it have an open government lens? Yes

● Potential for results: Modest