Governments for the Future: Spring of Europe - is it here already?
“There is certainly a firm commitment in government and public administration to greater openness and transparency, but in practice our work and decisions are often hidden behind a growing flood of information or official jargon. It’s not enough just to reform administrative structures. We also need to reform the ways of doing politics,” said Minister of Public Administration and Local Government, Ms Henna Virkkunen in her opening address at the final seminar of the Governments for the Future project in Helsinki on 20 November 2013.
The purpose of the Governments for the Future project was to share experiences internationally of how and to what extent central governments in different countries are prepared to meet current and future challenges. Financed by the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, the project was conducted jointly by the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Finance.
Finland has a strong tradition of making good use of international knowledge and collaboration in the administration policy field. The Governments for the Future Project was launched on Finland’s initiative. Scotland, Great Britain, Sweden and Austria, all countries that have invested heavily in reforming public administration, were invited to join the project. The OECD has also been involved. A key focus in the project was to identify common problems faced by central government in the participating countries and to see how those problems have been addressed and resolved. However those solutions are not directly transferred from one country to another: instead the countries worked together to create a common framework for national reforms.
Two project reports were published in connection with the final seminar: a joint report by all the participating countries and a report by the Finnish contributors on how the project’s observations are reflected in the Finnish situation (“Finland in the mirror”).
“Civil society will have an increasingly important role in the future in the practical implementation of decisions. Changes always work better when citizens and business get involved in putting them in place. For the whole chain to work it’s necessary that public administration uses plain language so that citizens can properly understand the issues on which decisions are being taken,” Minister Virkkunen concluded.
The other speakers at the seminar were Secretary of State Olli-Pekka Heinonen from the Prime Minister’s Office; Auditor-General Tuomas Pöysti from the National Audit Office; and MP Päivi Lipponen, Chair of the Parliamentary Committee for the Future.
Governments for the Future – Main Report
Decision or Changes – Finland in the Mirror
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