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17 cities and 4 research institutes of 11 countries in Europe work
together in the program "Knowledge Network, Governance in Action".
Governance in Action is about shifting from government to governance,
from working for the people to working with the people. Our intention
is to work closer to the people and to work in equal partnership with
civil society, inhabitants and enterprises.
Our main goal is the creation of a solid network, looking for methods
and instruments and sharing information and practices of local governance.
We strongly believe that by improving local governance we can improve
the decision making process and build cross-party consensus.
Participation is our keyword and the quality of daily life of
our inhabitants and visitors is our main concern.
Our intentions for improving governance in our cities are:
- to involve our citizens by stimulating local identity, by
considering all users of the city with equal rights and duties,
by involving people in long-term strategy plans and visions and
by improving methods to listen to the needs of residents.
- to involve our investors and companies by stimulating investors
to invest in society, by developing public-private partnerships
and by creating an inspiring atmosphere for investors.
- to involve our staff and organisation by shifting from
working for the people to working with the people, by giving
training to improve communication skills and by stimulating
the use of ICT-instruments.
In the operation of "Knowledge Network, Governance in Action"
we focus on the following activities:
- collecting good practices from our partners and from elsewhere
- exchanging information and knowledge and improving practices and tools
- implementation of new tools and practices and improvement of governance
- better understanding of needs and wishes of inhabitants
(common questionnaire and interviews with inhabitants)
- comparison between partners/countries and publications
on governance
- improving skills of civic servants and policy makers
In workshops and panels we discuss actual themes and
possibilities for local participation. The creation of
a scientific pole gives a solid basis for action in local
governance. Scientific analysis and conclusions will be
based upon a common questionnaire.
We direct our attention to some important issues for governance:
- creation of employment;
- renovation and rehabilitation and involvement of inhabitants;
- safety and civic prode;
- education and social inclusion;
- health and a healthy environment;
- social and economic development
- and above all: practices to bridge the gap between inhabitants
and local politics and the municipal organisation.
In short, it's our mission to improve the daily life of the
inhabitants of our cities by practising good local governance.
We want to learn from best practices on governance by active
exchange of ideas, information, tools and solutions. The program
"Knowledge Network, Governance in Action" provides the indispensable
platform for this.
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