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Do-It Yourself Democracy
SELF-GOVERNING PROGRAMS FACILITATE MODERNIZATION OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

WRITTEN BY Marta Karenova

Self-governing networks that bring into play organizations from the public and private sectors are gradually becoming part of Hungarian community life. Several programs supporting the establishment of integrated and comprehensive community-based social services have been launched in the recent past. These belong to the framework of public administration modernization and try to fulfill the needs of the local community that local governments cannot meet.

Hungary's cash-strapped government is increasingly cutting back on public funding in an effort to bring the deficit under control – one of the main criteria for pending euro adoption. Constrained by fiscal tightening, some public service providers may soon become subject to a municipal self-governance system and joint commissioning. Hungary’s new Social Bill, to be introduced this year, is set to increase the functional scope of joint commissioning in public service delivery at the local level, says György Vinczek, Deputy Mayor of Kispest, where one self-governance program is currently underway. The majority of the self-organizing networks implemented at local levels focus on areas where public action has been most pressing. The prime subjects of such efforts are welfare and health care programs.

SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP

The Integrated Local Welfare System (ILWS) is one nationwide program supported by the Ministry of Equal Opportunities that aims at consolidating community care through partnerships between the local government, public and private service providers and other social actors. Based on a UK model, the program is set to provide comprehensive social services to community members by launching coordination schemes between public and private agencies and civil society organizations. Supervisory structures of this program are composed of representatives from municipal government, healthcare, education, social welfare, housing sectors, NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) and other self-help groups. “The purpose behind ILWS is to bring together the process of planning, resourcing and delivering social services. Our goal is create a one-stop shop for different social care services intended for the people living in communities and regions, especially in the neediest areas,” says Tamás Neumark, ILWS project coordinator who received HUF 30 million in government funding this year and EUR 80,000 from EU grants last year to run the program.

György Vinczek, Deputy Mayor of Kispest

During his scholar visit at Cambridge, England in the late 1990s, Neumark was inspired by the joint commissioning of health care and social services in the UK. The main goal of joint commissioning, an approach common throughout the EU, is to deliver integrated social services and avoid parallel spending. Commissioning agents act together to take joint responsibility for the translation of strategy into action. In the UK, joint commissioning has evolved into key mechanism of various community actions such as social housing. Neumark saw the direct relevance of this system in Hungary: “Our program is not a new concept. Similar self-governing networks exist across the EU and represent important mechanisms that have influenced reforms of the public sector all throughout Western Europe. Hungary must follow in its footsteps if it wants to catch up to the living standards in the EU,” says Neumark. Decentralization and the strengthening of participatory mechanisms at the local level are two trends that have shaped recent reforms in the EU as well as the in United States. EU countries have seen a reduction in the importance of the state at the local level through transfer of responsibility for public service provision to the private and voluntary sectors, or the “community.” In some countries, like Finland, NGOs have become main public service providers. In Switzerland, the direct role of NGOs in the local service sector has led to a considerable revision of the traditional Swiss political system. The highly-publicized Harm Reduction Facilities in Swiss cities serve as a good example of the workings of self-governance schemes within a highly developed political system. These interorganizational networks, which involve areas of social works, health care and police enforcement, emerged as a response to drug abuse problems in Swiss cities in the mid-1990s.

FRAGMENTED HUNGARIAN SYSTEM

In Hungary, the process of decentralization has also been one of the most important aspects of public sector reform. The Act on Local Self-Governments in 1990 focused on the establishment of a strong local tier. However, the notorious gap between political-legal autonomy and functional capacity has led to a complete fragmentation of the system. To remedy the problem of fragmentation, local governments in 1997 were permitted to freely associate with other local governments and establish partnerships in order to fulfill their responsibilities in a more efficient way. But many settlements proved too small to operate efficiently as administrative or economic entities. The subsequent Act of May 2004 addressed the issue of multi-functional small regional associations. It instituted 168 small regions as voluntary-based territorial units. The establishment of multi-functional associations of settlements signaled a major step toward a comprehensive and much needed public administration reform in Hungary. Small regions now resolve the problem of institutional deficit at local level while arranging operational capacity for the local governments in a way that would best suit public needs. The complex set of institutions at the local level provides both state and self-governance services.

Kispest has reached the highest implementation stage of the ILWS program

“The connection with ILWS and its multi-functional association can be the ideal frame of such initiatives. The program’s purposes are in harmony with our concept about the future of small regions,” says Bence Kópiás, adviser at the Hungarian Ministry of the Interior’s Department of Local Governments. In 2004, the government supported the formation of multi-function associations with HUF 7.7 billion.

AN ACTIVE KISPEST

ILWS has reached its highest implementation stage in Kispest, in Budapest’s District 19. The program is in full operation in five other settlements and affects close to half a million Hungarians. By March 2005, implementation will be completed in seven additional localities. Under the progressive leadership of Kispest Deputy Mayor György Vinczek, the program got under way in 2002. ILWS’s management structures involve a coordinating committee – a nonstatutory body that has a consultative function and is composed of representatives from both the public and the private sector, who are delegated by their respective services and organizations. The committee, currently set up in five Hungarian localities, is given the task of drafting a strategic plan that will outline solutions to the specific needs of the community. Kispest recently completed its Population Needs Assessment survey, based on interviews with 1,000 local residents, which will provide a starting point for the committee’s strategic plan. The plan will reflect the analytical evaluation of the statistical results of the assessments. One section of the survey focuses on the needs of senior citizens: 46.5% of elderly people in Kispest live alone, slightly more than half of which are called on by family members, while less than 0.4% receive monthly visits from social workers. “There is plenty of room for improvement,” says Neumark. “If the community joins forces through this program the statistics might not be so grim.”

STRONGER TOGETHER

Vinczek stresses that government” cannot take responsibility over everything.” It lacks “the know-how” and “the resources” to address these social problems unaided. He also concedes that like in some EU countries, the importance of the Hungarian government at the local level may diminish as private and voluntary organizations take over public service: “If we find such partners in Hungary who are able to take on this role then we will happily surrender some of our traditional functions to them,” he says. Furthermore, by involving private organizations, the government may be able to bring public agencies closer to the people; bridge the gap between public programs and citizen needs and gain practical knowledge. Vincek says so far he is impressed by the degree of cooperation between different community actors.

Tamás Neumark, ILWS project coordinator

“These people depend on each other. They have to work together if they want to evolve organizationally, especially if you consider the reliance on EU and government funding.” According to Vincek, organizational coherence is a real differentiator in EU tender applications. Despite the fact there are millions of euros from structural funds up for grabs following EU accession, public and private sectors in the region are ill prepared to benefit from these funding opportunities.

SOCIAL SKEPTICISM

Even though ILWS has been lucky in obtaining EU grants, the program hasn’t had a smooth ride in Hungary. Institutional roadblocks aside, the main obstacle to self-governance schemes is the local mind-set regarding social care, says Neumark. While many public services continue to be institution-centered rather than client-focused, the communist legacy of dependency on a paternalistic and distributive state continues to dominate social values. Some Hungarians also believe that self-organizing networks will not take immediate root in Hungary. Thirty-eight-year-old Budapest resident Beáta Vidák welcomes the news of self-governance programs. “In Hungary you have to go to many different offices and wait in long lines to get one problem solved. When you have a full time job, young children and old parents you have to take care of and so on, the problems just keep on coming; especially if you are economically less privileged. There must be a better way,” says Vidák. However, some Hungarians are doubtful they will get to directly benefit from these programs any time soon. “Given the bureaucracy in this country, I think it will take a long time before these programs function like they do in the West,” Vidák adds.

SLOW PROGRESS

So far, many self-governance networks like ILWS have depended on government and EU funding. Yet the excessive dependence on state resources presents the danger that public and private actors may become administratively more heavy-handed and bureaucratic. Finally, the collaborative model of public-private partnerships can leave the government with an inadequate "in-house capability" to oversee the resulting ties and even can undermine associative pluralism – the very principal on which self-governing schemes are founded. Although public authorities in Hungary will not be devolving tasks and subsidizing private activities any time soon, the trend of self-governing schemes is slowly taking root here. “NGOs’ role is increasing from year to year in Hungary but this sphere is not strong and experienced enough to take over the majority of the public services,” says Kópiás. Yet, he also points to a significant tendency of local self-governments carrying out tasks and responsibilities via NGOs or private companies.