Euroregion “Country of Lakes” Lithuanian Office together with partner from Latvia, Latgale Planning Region, brought together 17 local municipalities of Latgale region and Lithuania in a joint public sector training project, which overall objective is in line with Interreg V-A Latvia–Lithuania Programme 2014–2020 priority IV specific objective: to improve efficiency of public services by strengthening capacities of employees and cooperation between institutions.
The overall objective: To strengthen the quality of public sector services in institutions of Project partners and Latvia-Lithuania cross border region municipalities by fostering cooperation and capacity building of employees.
In order to achieve this objective, practical regional and international conferences, meetings of working groups, experience exchange visits among region, on national and international level, thematic trainings and individual and group coaching sessions will be organized for employees and leaders of local municipalities of each country and representatives of project partners’.
In project preparation, an online survey was prepared for LV-LT municipalities. Its data revealed the key problem areas and needs of employees according to what training themes were selected for capacity building. Aiming at efficient changes an innovative LEAN system of provisions, management and governance tools and its attitude and methods were selected for adaptation. LEAN methodology is completely new for LV municipalities and during this project they seek to get more acquainted and learn from good practices of LEAN implementation, while LT municipalities shall access and implement LEAN system. LEAN promotes the elimination of ineffective activities by directing all resources only towards the creation of municipal service value to residents (customer-oriented services), improvement of overall service quality and continuous development. During the project particularly important is strengthening of institutional cooperation at international, regional and local levels. Joint training activities shall create a stronger relationship between different institutions and ensure further long-term development and cooperation. Cooperation also allows saving resources and avoiding the fluctuation of municipal services quality, because of constantly changing political representatives (municipal leaders). All activities and responsibilities between the partners are set out equally, also taking into account the individual needs of each municipality.
Project implementation period: 1 May, 2017 – 30 April, 2019.
Total project size is 382 667,65 EUR. Out of them, co-funding of the European Regional Development Fund is 325 267,50 EUR. (LP – 253 050,12 EUR, PP – 129 617,53 EUR)
Project results: During two years of the Project’s implementation, representatives of overall 29 municipalities from Latvia (21) and Lithuania (8) together with Latgale Planning Region administration and “Country of Lakes” office staff participated in the Project activities. These activities included practical conferences, experience exchange visits, training cycles, individual and group coaching sessions and consultations, workshops and other training activities with specific topics. 10 municipalities in Latvia and 7 municipalities in Lithuania have implemented solutions for improvement of public services, which were found during coaching sessions and consultations – 560 hours in Latvia and 560 hours in Lithuania.
All these activities directly contributed to the strengthening of institutional capacity and efficiency of public sector services, as well as resource-saving, development and use of cooperation. This helped to modernize municipal management and organizational processes and, thus, to create customer-oriented services and to improve their quality in various fields.
The Interreg V-A Latvia – Lithuania Cross Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020 aims to contribute to the sustainable and cohesive socio-economic development of the Programme regions by helping to make them competitive and attractive for living, working and visiting. The webpage of the Programme: www.latlit.eu. Official EU webpage: www.europa.eu.
This project is funded by the European Union. This publication has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of Latgale Planning Region and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.
