We are pleased to share with you some of the major achievements of the Members of the Network of Innovators in Governance in the Mediterranean Region in 2007 and to congratulate them for all their hard work towards strengthening good governance in the Mediterranean Region.
Zuhair AL-KAYED, President of the Higher Population Council Amman in Jordan, and Hyam AL-NASHASH, Professor at the Al Balqa’ Applied University
Amman in Jordan have held meetings with top officials including Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and General Directors to discuss innovations and the role of InnovMed in promoting government reinvention and the reform of the public sector through new ideas and tools, including the utilization of best practices shared by UNDESA and the Network. Dr. Al-Kayed has also made several presentations at conferences and workshops about innovation and InnovMed. Many institutions and individuals were very keen to learn more about it and benefit from the outcome of the Network. Moreover, Dr. Al-Kayed and Dr. Al-Nashash have conducted several meetings and discussions with academics of Jordanian universities in order to establish a national network of innovators, which will be announced shortly. Finally, they have held discussions with one graduate studies’ university in Jordan regarding the establishment of a Masters’ degree or graduate center on Innovation and Governance.
Adriana ALBERTI, Chief, InnovMed Programme organized three major InnovMed meetings in 2007, including the "First Steering Committee Meeting of the Network of Innovators in Governance in the Mediterranean Region" with the support of ISA, in particular Mr. Khalid Naciri and Mr. Khalid Ben Osmane, in Rabat, Morocco in March 2007; the Second Meeting of the Network of Innovators in Governance in the Mediterranean Region" in Vienna, Austria, June 2007, and the 7th Global Forum on Reinventing Government capacity-Development Workshop on "rebuilding Trust in Government through Public Sector Innovations" in the same venue as above. She also organized the Ceremony of the 2007 United Nations Public Service Awards held in Vienna in June 2007. Produced four publications in 2007 respectively entitled: Innovations in Governance from Around the World - Success Stories from the Winners of the United Nations Public Service Awards | Guide for the Transfer and Adaptation of Innovations in Governance. Practical Tools and Steps | Innovations in Governance in the Middle East, North Africa, and Western Balkans: making Governments Work Better together with Laila Fala | Governance in the Mediterranean Region, together with Laila Fala and Fatma Sayed.
Ante BARISIC, Professor of Political Science, University of Zagreb in Croatia, made presentations at various conferences and seminars highlighting the role of innovation in governance in public affairs governance. He has also actively worked towards the creation of a sub-regional network of innovators in governance and has established an Association of public affairs governance in Croatia.
Mohamed-Chérif BELMIHOUB, Directeur de recherche associé CREAD, Ecole Nationale d’Administration, Algiers, Algeria, has introduced the concept of innovation in governance in his courses at the ENA.
Khalid BEN OSMANE, Professor of Public Administration, Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA) and Institut Superieur de l’Administration (ISA), Rabat, Morocco has introduced a course on “Human Resources Management and Innovation Management”. He has also introduced case studies in HRM involving students in their elaboration, and has devised a training seminar on streamlining in the public sector. He was also instrumental in organizing the the “First Steering Committee Meeting of the Network of Innovators in Governance in the Mediterranean Region” held in Rabat, Morocco in March 2007.
Carlos CONDE, Professor at the University of Granada in Spain, has moved to Paris (France) where he has assumed the important role of Program Coordinator of the Governance for Development in Arab Countries Initiative at the OECD - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (GOV/PSMP). The Good Governance for Development (GfD) Initiative aims at modernising public governance in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) through dialogue among policy practitioners from MENA and OECD countries. By improving the environment for entrepreneurs, investors and job creation, it works towards sustainable development of the region. Carlos CONDE and Zuhair AL-KAYED, President of the Higher Population Council Amman, Jordan, have successfully organized a meeting on Public Administrations in Arab Mediterranean Countries" at the 2007 European Group of Public Administration (EGPA) Conference which took place in September 2007 in Madrid, Spain. Please click here to view the papers that were presented at this meeting.
Metodija DIMOVSKI, Secretary-General, Civil Servants Agency
Skopje, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, has been an active member of the Steering Committee of a highly important network of institutions responsible for civil servants' training in the Western Balkans. This is an initiative of the European Union which ultimately should result in the establishment of a Regional School of Public Administration.
Sadun Emrealp, President of IULA-EMME, Istanbul, Turkey has been actively working to establish, within the current phase of the Turkey Local Agenda 21 Program, City Councils (including other participatory mechanisms such as the Women and Youth Councils and Working Groups) in over 70 cities with varying sizes, characteristics and geographical locations. The primary focus is on developing the capacities of these City Councils to effectively address the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at local level emphasis via the campaign entitled “Our City Supports the Millennium Development Goals!” which promotes “local governance” as the primary and essential means for attaining the MDGs. Click here for more information.
Laila FALA, Governance Specialist, has been awarded a Fellowship from the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University and received a Certificate for attending an Executive Education Programme on "Innovations in Governance". She is the first Moroccan to participate in the Executive Education Programme at the Kennedy School of Government. Click here for more information on the programme. She also contributed to the organization of key InnovMed meetings, as well as to major UNDESA publications.
Ghazi GHERAIRI, Professor at the University of Cartage in Tunisia, has been nominated to the prestigious Euro-Arab Chair of Social Sciences and Governance at the Euro-Arab Foundation in Granada, Spain. As part of his new assignment, Ghazi Gherairi is currently coordinating an international and multidisciplinary research on the theme « Public Administration and Governance in the Maghreb » which will lead to a publication that will be translated in various languages. He is also coordinating seminars and meetings on the Euro-mediterranean partnership and governance.
Abdellatif HAMAM, Director General for Human Resources, Ministry for Administrative Reform, Office of the Prime Minister, Tunis, Tunisia has written, as member of the Network of Innovators, a very stimulating and interesting article entitled: “L'intelligence collective : Une réponse à la complexité croissante de la société”. He also wrote “Innovations in Governance as a Lever for Change” for the Second Meeting of the Network of Innovators in Governance in the Mediterranean Region in June 2007 in Vienna.
Samer HANKIR, who works for the Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform in Lebanon (OMSAR) as Policy Analyst, held in 2007 an important position at RAND Corporation, a non-profit research institution that helps improve policy and decision making through research and analysis. He joined RAND-Education Unit in Doha, Qatar in August 2007 as an Education Project Associate. He has now returned to Beirut, Lebanon and has resumed his position within the Government. During 2007, Samer Hankir has also worked very hard to create synergies among ministries in the area of innovation in governance. Thanks to his relentless efforts, the Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform has become the focal point for innovation in the Lebanese administration due to its comprehensive administrative development agenda that covers the entire public sector apparatus. Many interested administrations started to contact OMSAR for further clarification. The OMSAR’s efforts to identify and communicate demands for innovation to the Network and supply good practices are underway.
John-Mary KAUZYA, Chief, Governance and Public Administration Branch, DPADM/UNDESA, has published a book on Excellence and Leadership in the Public Sector: The role of Education and Training (see below for more details). He also produced two DPADM Discussion Papers respectively on “Political Decentralization in Africa: Experiences of Uganda, Rwanda, and South Africa” and “The Human Factor in Building Trust in Government: Leadership capacity Development Perspectives in Africa”.
Ali Hussein Asad MAZEN, Project Manager, Support for Public Administration and Civil Service Reform at Birzeit University in Palestine, has supported the establishment of a new network of civil society organizations entitled "Good Governance Coalition" where several organizations joined efforts to ensure that the government is transparent and accountable to its people. The Coalition focuses on monitoring government actions and publishes quarterly reports against certain performance indicators in the field of transparency, resources management, democracy, policy development and service delivery. Dr. Mazen has helped the coalition and shared with them some relevant experiences from past InnovMed meetings. The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) is taking several initiatives to ensure citizens’ participation in planning and decision making to the benefit of citizens. Examples include establishing joint councils in several sectors to discuss concerns and priorities. Moreover, Dr. Asad has conducted several training workshops to PNA employees focusing on innovations in the public sector to build trust. He has also participated in the establishment of a web portal to publish all material related to the PNA reforms so people can access, understand and interact.
H.E. Khalid NACIRI, former Director of the Institut Supérieur de l’Administration in Rabat, Morocco, who greatly supported the First Meeting of the Steering Committee of the Network of Innovators in Governance in the Mediterranean Region and who hosted that event in March 2007, has been appointed Minister of Communications and Government Spokesman in the newly elected Government of Morocco.
Hyam AL-NASHASH, Professor at the Al Balqa’ Applied University
Amman in Jordan has coordinated the translation in Arabic of the publication "Innovations in Governance and Public Administration: Replicating What Works" issued by the United Nations Division for Public Administration and Development Management and is working towards the establishment of a Master’s degree in Innovation and Governance (see above). She has also actively participated as a speaker at the 7th Global Forum on Reinventing Government.
Ragaa MAKHARITA has prepared, as member of the Network of Innovators, the Report of the 7th Global Forum on Reinventing Government in Arabic, which has been posted on-line. He has also been commissioned by AGFUND to redesign their International Award with new methods of call for successful and innovative projects, new evaluation criteria, new methods of evaluation and new methods of awards (cash+credit to encourage new follow-ups) and the proposal was approved by the International Committee that manages the award process. Moreover, Dr. Makharita has prepared the new UNDP-Kuwait Country programme for 2008-20012, and has persuaded the Government and UNDP to innovate in the methods of defining needs and responding to them.
Usama SHAWAN, Professor of Public Administration, Bethlehem University, National Palestinian Authority, has elaborated an Innovation Viability Index which has been incorporated in a new UNDESA Guide to Transfer and Adapt Innovations in Governance.
Fatma SAYED, Office of the Dean at the European University Institute
in Florence, Italy, has produced a paper on “Challenges and Priorities in Reforming Governance and Public Administration in the Mediterranean Region” together with Adriana Alberti, which was presented by Carlos Conde at the Workshop on Public Administrations in Arab Mediterranean Countries during the European Group of Public Administration (EGPA) 2007 Conference (). She also published a major publication on Transforming Education in Egypt: Western Influence and Domestic Policy Reform; The American University in Cairo Press; Cairo; October 2006. A synthesis of her book was translated into Arabic and published as a chapter of a book entitled "Reform of General Education in Arab Countries" published in 2005 by the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in the Arab States . She is also a founding member of the Arab Forum for Education Reform (established by the Lebanese Association for Education Studies and the Kuwaiti Society for Advancing Arab Childhood).
Zana VOKOPOLA, Director, Urban Research Institute, Tirana, Albania, has been very active in promoting a culture of innovation at the Institute she directs. She has also shared knowledge on best practices and innovations in governance through the Association of Municipalities of Albania, a Network of local government units in Albania. The Institute has been implementing a number of innovative initiatives, including the "Participatory Urban Planning" project through pilot activities, which are aimed at building a demand side for better government and strengthening city participation in the governance process in Albania. More than 5 municipalities want to replicate this initiative in their cities and it is already considered a "best practice" in Albania. Zana Vokopola joined two other Networks in the past year: the Network of Civil Society Development, supported by Delegation of the European Commission, with NGOs form the Western Balkans and Turkey, to exchange information/ideas and promote partnerships between NGOs from the enlargement candidates and potential candidates and those in EU member States, and the "Trust in Government and Public Services" Network , with NGOs from Non EU countries, to exchange ideas on this topic. She has shared with them her knowledge derived from being part of the Network of Innovators in Governance in the Mediterranean Region.
Rabha ZEIDGUY, Director responsible for the Modernization of Public Services, Ministry of Public Sector Modernization Rabat, Morocco is coordinating, among other things, the recently established « Division for Innovation and Modernization of the Public Sector» within the Division that she directs. One of the goals of this Division is to gather information about national and international innovations that can improve public governance and propose an eventual transfer/adaptation from other countries to the local context. She is also actively working to establish a Centre for the Evaluation of Public Policies. This activity is being supported by the OECD Good Governance for Development Programme.
