The Participation Coordinator is a desirable position not only in municipalities but also in regional governments
Following the Prague Institute of Planning and Development (IPR Prague) and its pilot program Coordinators of Participatory Planning, the Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Civil Society Development decided to also introduce a position of Participation Coordinators. In the Czech capital, the coordinators have been taking care of the agenda in twelve city districts for the last two years, and now in Slovakia, three-member teams will operate in six regional offices.
Participation Factory will play a key role in the new Slovak program. As professional guarantors, we will accompany the teams of participation coordinators from Trenčín to Košice in the agenda and participatory system setting within the next 18 months. We will help them identify priority agendas, design participatory public policy-making processes, and optimize internal processes.
The role of participation coordinators is being introduced to Slovak regional governments within the national project Participation II – Support for Partnership and Dialogue in the Field of Participatory Public Policy-Making. This project is dedicated to capacity building to establish participation in state administration and regional territorial self-government, and supports mutual learning and the participation of non-governmental organizations in public policy-making.
The first personal meeting in Bratislava was a big milestone for the Slovak Coordinators of Participation. The interactive workshop aimed
- to acquaint individual teams with each other;
- for coordinators to present their previous experience and skills so that they know who to share their experience with and how best to learn from each other;
- to try to plan a participatory process in teams on a model example;
- at the same time, the workshop has enabled us to identify areas that will need to be prioritized in ongoing support;
- to acquaint the coordinators with the plan of the Participation II Program.
The workshop showed the great potential of individual teams, and it is already clear that the participation agenda will be specific in each region.
Are you also thinking about introducing the role of participation coordinator in your office, and want to consult? We are happy to help. Contact us at info@participationfactory.com