Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- There is a global trend of promoting decentralized governance system - transferring decision making and implementation of important regional development strategies to local levels, hence in terms of development outcomes, resilient local governance not only helps ensure better interactions between public institutions and citizens, but also leads to the sustainable and effective territorial development.

There is a global trend of promoting decentralized governance system - transferring decision making and implementation of important regional development strategies to local levels, hence in terms of development outcomes, resilient local governance not only helps ensure better interactions between public institutions and citizens, but also leads to the sustainable and effective territorial development.

Consequently, the ability of regional and district governments to adjust to the recent challenges of economic transformation and function as a “business” unit, using participatory approaches in policy formulation and implementation, will determine the level of future economic and social development of the regions.

UNDP as one of the major development partners of Uzbekistan and as an organization that has significant experience in supporting public administration and local governance initiatives worldwide, with the portfolio of projects in more than 100 countries of the world is already implementing a number of projects aimed at enhancing the capacity of public institutions and local governance in Uzbekistan. One of such projects is “Local governance Support Project: Participation and Partnership” (LGSP), which is being implemented since March 2010 in co-coordination of Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan in two pilot regions – Djizak and Namangan.

Since its launch at the end of the first quarter in 2010, the LGSP has achieved measurable results within its six main activity areas. For example, alone in Djizak region the project has already facilitated installation of e‐document management software among and within local, district and regional khokimiyats of the region. As a result, around 106 employees of khokimiyats of Djizak region, Djizak city and 12 districts of the region have received electronic digital signatures to exchange the important documents with each other instantaneously. LGSP by the end of August 2011will be assisting in establishing the same e-document flow system for all 13 khokimiyats of Namangan region, including the distribution of the certificates for 114 electronic digital signatures among khokimiyats’ employees. Moreover, by the end of 2011 the LGSP will be facilitating establishment of 6 Local Government Information Centers (LGICs) to increase transparency of local state authorities’ performance in pilot regions, and One-Stop-Shop Centers (OSS) for public services delivery in Djizak and Namangan cities, as well as development of community-based tourism in Zaamin and Chartak districts through attraction of investors.

Another achievement of the LGSP was thorough analysis, combining the research methods of functional review and capacity assessment - to identify major functional and quality gaps, which should be paid a special attention in improving the system of public service delivery. The team of international and national consultants identified current processes and procedures of public service delivery to develop a set of recommendations on improving the mechanisms for providing public services, focusing on five most popular public services – retirement pension, child care social allowance, unemployment allowance, land cadastre services and certification on absence of debts on payments for electric power consumption in Djizak and Namangan regions.

Furthermore, within the framework of showcasing the pilot initiatives on public-private partnerships in the area of recreation resource management, the LGSP has launched a couple of initiatives. For example, the LGSP has initiated development of branding and marketing strategy to strengthen the tourism capacities of Zaamin district of Djizak region, which will be presented during the international tourism fair in November, 2011 in Tashkent. More than that, aiming to promote community-based tourism (CBT) in Djizak and Namangan regions, the LGSP has been conducting presentations for interested local communities in selected districts about the main idea of CBT, the minimum requirements for launching small business based on CBT concept and giving useful and practical recommendations for succeeding in CBT. The next presentation on CBT is planned to be conducted in Duoba village of Zaamin district in Djizak region.

It should be noted that above mentioned efforts of the LGSP are practical reflection of the recommendations mentioned in policy briefs on effective local governance, developed by the project in 2011. In particular, the CBT was chosen as a result of research, which has revealed that Djizak and Namangan regions having real chances to become popular tourism destinations and provide local population with benefits to advance their economic situation. As the authors of the same research suggests, development of tourism in these region is most viable through effective cooperation of government, tour operators and local entrepreneurs, thus allowing local communities to improve their well-being by diversification of income sources and creation of new job places.

These and many more project activities were presented and discussed on 11th and 18th of August, 2011 during the round-tables in Namangan and Djizak regions respectively. The round-tables took place in participation of about 25 representatives of khokimiyats, local non-governmental non-commercial organizations (NGOs), private businesses and mass-media representatives from each of two pilot regions.

During the round-tables the LGSP specialists answered the questions of local NGOs, private businesses and mass-media as well as took a note about the proposed ideas on increasing the effectiveness of project activities. The participants have noted that organizing such transparent events is a good practice for ensuring public accountability and participatory monitoring of project activities, which for sure should be continued in the future.