Internationalisation of Local Authorities (InterLoc)
Internationalisation of Local Authorities
(InterLoc)
Start date: Jun 30, 2011,
End date: Jun 29, 2014
PROJECT
FINISHED
In order to bring about true changes it is important to have the insight that what happens outside our borders influences our local level and vice versa.As part of a globalized world we need to take responsibility for the transnational challenges that we face.Ecological,social and economic sustainability does not end at our borders–problems related to these areas cannot be cannot be tackled by individual countries, regions or local authorities.It is also important that small and medium sized local authorities(SMLs) see the opportunities that international cooperation brings–by working together we can through innovative and sustainable actions and by supporting each other,develop good preconditions for achieving growth and competitiveness at both the local and SB level.We need each other to bring about real changes.We are not always best in our own countries.Sometimes we need to look beyond our borders to find the best good examples to learn from.SWOT analyses made in 4 of the project partners show both many opportunities with an increased internationalisation and needs for improvement. Politicians and civil servants need to, through international experience gain a better understanding for different working methods,cultures and differences between our countries in order to facilitate the cross-border cooperation.The SWOT also shows that international work must be regarded as a natural way to develop the municipal departments, and international exchange must be sustainably integrated in the daily work. The partner SMLs share the same problems in relation to international cooperation–the work tends to be centralised around one key person and few administrative units are actively involved in international cooperation and networking.Some partners dont have documents to guide the departments and their individual units in how to be internationally active and how this could be integrated this in the daily work.Many decision makers and civil servants do not see the importance of international cooperation.Consequently municipalities dont benefit from international cooperation at a satisfying level.If this continues it could lead to that SMLs will loose attractiveness and competitiveness comparing to other successful municipalities.It will e.g be more difficult to find qualified staff to fill the gap when civil servants are retiring when many young people choose to live and work in big cities. Local internationalisation will make the partners more attractive as employers with good possibilities to attract new staff and will be regarded as a better place to live and work at. Expected results are:*Created and assessed model/toolbox for internationalisation;*International action plans;*Creation of active networks for civil servants and politicians in the SB area;*Increased cross-border cooperation and experience exchange between partners for developing new solutions to joint challenges;*Improved capability of partners to meet the increasing demands from the EU Achievements: The project has established a functioning international network and we have together created and disseminated a Toolbox for internationalization, based on our joint experiences.The issue internationalisation has been lifted in our organisations, the awareness of the benefits of internationalisation has increased as well as the willingness to use international cooperation as a tool in the daily work.The main achievement during this period is the creation of the toolbox which can be found on www.interloc.eu. This toolbox contains the essence of experiences during this project and can be seen as a vital part of the documentation of InterLoc. The content is a description as well as an evaluation of what has been accomplished.
Get Access to the 1st Network for European Cooperation
Log In