Several study tours on “Regional Planning and Development and Territorial Reform”

An additional focus of the study tours is the topic of regional planning and development as well as territorial reform. Overall, bgh. supported the conception and organization as well as in the implementation, accompaniment, coordination and moderation of about seven study tours in this thematic field. The delegations were composed of sexperts and high-level decision-makers, such as government officials, service companies and scientific institutions in Georgia, Armenia, Myanmar and South Africa.

In some of the delegation visits, technical exchange took place with a focus on political transformation processes, such as the parliamentary elections held in 2012 for the first democratic change of government in Georgia. At this time, the new government in Georgia, under the auspices of the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure, planned a comprehensive territorial reform affecting the administrative structure, public services, funding schemes, etc. The exchange of expertise in the delegation trip generated important input for this transformation process.

Other travels were embedded in the GIZ ” Local Governance ProgrammeSouth Caucasus”,  which aims to improve coordination between municipalities, regional and national levels of administration in order to strengthen democratic decision-making in Armenia.

A training and coaching of Myanmar experts, with the aim of strengthening participatory processes in regional planning, took place on site in Myanmar and was the focus of another trip.

Main topics:

  • Regional and regional planning as well as regional management in Germany
  • Implementation of territorial, municipal and administrative reforms
  • Legal frameworks as well as public participation and citizen communication processes in the context of administrative reforms
  • Democratization
  • Local and regional planning for economic development
  • Significance, forms and mechanisms of inter-municipal cooperation
  • Legal-regulatory and organizational frameworks, financing models and inter-municipal cooperation in practice
  • Professional exchange between German and foreign colleagues from different political and administrative levels

Commissioned by: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Good Local Governance in the South Caucasus, Local Government Georgia, Strengthening Local Governance South Africa
Cooperation partner (on one tour): Dipl.-Ing. Jens Gerhardt