A Model For Municipal Institutional Capacity Analysis by Brock Carlton

In an environment of rapid urbanization municipal governments are faced with challenges for which their structures, processes and capacities are sometimes inadequate. The International Office of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities has established an extensive program to utilize Canadian municipal management expertise through international cooperation aimed at strengthening local government.

This article illustrates the approach taken by FCM in defining municipal capacity. A subsequent article will illustrate how FCM works towards municipal institutional capacity development.

People live in communities which are becoming increasingly urban in nature and for which municipal governments are increasingly important. While the conditions are radically different in each locality, people's fundamental needs are the same: clean water, waste disposal, employment, security, basic health care, etc. National policies and laws assign ever more important roles to municipal government, devolving planning and fiscal powers which enhance the opportunity for municipalities to respond to local needs and priorities.

This context puts great pressure on often limited municipal government capacities. The effectiveness and nature of municipal government is a function of locally available resources, skills, structures and management processes. Existing capacities (or lack thereof) to respond to this devolution of power and responsibility and to realize positive change have become a critical component in the development process.

While the details and context of these challenges are local; the phenomenon is global. Municipalities in Brazil are faced with decentralized responsibilities and administrative/managerial challenges similar to those in South Africa. Managerial and political capacity constraints, in part a result of decades of racial inequalities in South African municipalities, are very similar to the constraints faced by Palestinian authorities trying to overcome years of Israeli-appointed local rule. Ontario's experience in multi-tiered municipal government and the current debate regarding their abolition is relevant in the Czech Republic where there is currently strong momentum towards the establishment of multi-tiered municipal governments. Diversification strategies for resources based economies in Alberta are relevant in Russia.

Parallel to the rising importance of municipal governments is the rising importance of the role of the citizen. Decentralized responsibilities place decision making closer to the citizen. In many countries municipalities and their communities are experimenting with citizen fora, community input into budgeting processes, community councils for managing primary health care, early childhood education, waste disposal, community security, etc. It is possible now, more than in the past, for citizens to control the institutions which control their lives.

Municipal International Cooperation

The appearance of the local problematic on a global scale has increased activity to strengthen municipal government through international cooperation. Many of these initiatives have focussed on capacity development at the municipal level which follows the traditional approaches of tailored courses at training institutions and universities, provision of equipment, etc.

Through FCM=s international experience it is apparent that in many instances traditional approaches do not recognize the realities of the municipality as an institution. Municipal government, while being highly complex, has many standard institutional features. A municipality has departments and individuals which share common objectives, human resource management systems and processes for decision-making. Its complexity and uniqueness are derived from:

1. the blend of political and administrative functions and the relations between these two functions as the central component of the institutional dynamic;

2. the various means of gathering and dispensing financial resources;

3. the multiplicity of services and mechanisms for delivery of those services; and

4. the varied means by which citizens and municipal governments relate and influence each other. As a result of this complexity, traditional institutional analysis and strategies for institutional capacity development often do not determine the approaches most appropriate for addressing capacity constraints.

Municipal Capacity Framework

FCM has developed a AMunicipal Capacity Framework@ which demonstrates the inter-relatedness of these management processes. It establishes a set of standard reference points for analyzing capacity, determining capacity gaps and designing programs. This framework is used by FCM as the first stage in a process that leads to designing tailor-made programs that will strengthen local government.

What is municipal government capacity?

Municipal government capacity can be defined as "the ability of municipal government to plan for development, mobilize and allocates resources, implement programs and deliver services in a manner which is responsive to the needs and priorities of the community."

Capacity gaps (the difference between existing capacities and those required to achieve institutional objectives) limit a municipality=s ability to realize the objectives, priorities and ultimately the needs and expectations of its citizens. Municipal government capacity is therefore a function of a complex mix of skills and knowledge oriented towards ensuring effective management process and service delivery. The key variables are:

1. the roles and responsibilities of municipal government within the larger political economy;

2. the responses by municipal government to the forces which enable and/or constrain municipal development;

3. the processes for planning, developing, mobilizing and allocating resources;

4. the technical capacity (infrastructure and staff skills) to deliver programs and services;

5. the processes which characterize the community;

6. the links between municipal government and community;

7. the ability of municipal government to function in a manner which is responsive to the needs and priorities of civil society;

FCM's framework recognizes that municipal capacity is affected by the roles and responsibilities of municipal government within the larger political economy. Termed the Legal and Regulatory Framework, this element of the Framework outlines the roles and responsibilities of municipal government and establishes the municipality's position within the national financial and legal structures. It gives municipal government the mandate to manage and deliver programs and services.

Municipal governments have management processes which are shaped by these variables. The processes which define municipal government can be characterized as "strategic leadership", "operations management" and "services management". Attachment #1 is a schematic presentation of this framework.

Strategic leadership establishes a vision and sets the goals and strategies for the municipality. Strategic leadership involves long term planning and policies which facilitate social well-being, economic development, environmental sustainability. It also creates a framework within which governance mechanisms operate. Strategic leadership is formulated at the senior levels and is often realized through the interrelationships between the political and administrative parts of the municipal government.

Operations management is the management processes to translate the municipal vision into systems for informed decision making, effective resource allocation and effective management by those resources, be they financial, human or other. The political and administrative functions are linked closely at this level through organizational structures and internal relationships (often in committees) which define the municipality's operational management process through which programs and services are delivered. Operational management also involves management of staff, financial management and investment decisions, communications, operations monitoring and evaluation and other functions related directly to the functions of the municipality.

Services management is the organization of the departments and sections designed to deliver services. The management of service delivery is determined by the strategic and operational management components.

The ultimate purpose of municipal management in general is to serve the needs and demands of the people. Relationships between the people and municipal management processes are multiple are captured in the Framework as the Governance links and the community process. The Governance links is the systems for dialogue between the municipal government and the community. The community process is the dynamic through which individual and organizational leadership articulates community interests for the governance links and the municipal government processes.

Individuals in society have three important roles in this context:

Firstly, people are users and customers of infrastructure systems and other municipal services. They generally pay for these services. The effectiveness of the services depends on the responsiveness of service delivery processes to the real needs of the people.

Secondly, the people are producers who themselves make important contributions to the provision of infrastructure facilities and services. For example, they produce sewage and waste water. Individuals and households actively participate in the management of solid waste and the implementation of recycling programs.

Thirdly, people are citizens. They have the right to a voice in the use of public resources, either for infrastructure or for other facilities and municipal activities.

In applying this model for municipal government capacity development one must understand the methods of community organization, the processes and structures in the community and the ways which community and government connect. One must also analyze the means by which citizens can and do control the institutions which control their lives. This includes consideration of the relevant institutions, their capacities and the capacities of the community to control these institutions.

Consideration of the community-municipal government links may imply local governance guided by democratic principles. This model is equally valid in countries where no western democratic style of community-municipal government dialogue exists. For example, in the Muslim society of the Palestinian territories the religious leaders are the main "governance link" between the community and municipal government. The Framework provides units of analysis for analysis for governance and capacity development needs. The absence of activity in any of these components is equally important to the analysis.

It is interesting to note that in applying the Framework in highly centralized, non democratic countries like Vietnam, a great deal of the analysis fall into the Legal and Regulatory Framework. In such cases municipal governments do not play a role in strategic leadership. Often parallel central and regional government departments work along side municipal departments complicating operations management and service delivery, thus making the role of municipal government in these management processes vague and weak.

FCM has applied this analysis for project preparation in South Africa, the Czech Republic, China and Brazil. In each case FCM used interviews and observations of council meetings and community meetings etc to determine the context and processes which characterize municipal government. FCM also analyzed individual staff skill levels, training and opportunities for professional upgrading. In addition, discussions concerning what impedes the municipality from achieving its objectives and priorities provide insights into the capacity gaps which restrict development. With this analysis programs have been designed to facilitate the necessary capacity changes so that municipal government can achieve its goals and objectives in a manner appropriate for the citizenry within the legal and financial context.

Conclusion

Consideration of municipal governance and capacity development are highly complex issues. A conceptual framework, such as FCM's Municipal Capacity Framework, puts information and analysis into manageable units. Through this framework, FCM has been able to design capacity building projects in societies very different in cultural and political orientation from the Canadian experience.

Brock Carlton is the Deputy Director and Manager of Training and Research for the International Office of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Mr. Carlton has 15 years experience designing and managing international cooperation projects focusing on training and institutional capacity development. He has lived in Kenya, China and Nambia. Mr. Carlton spent six years managing the China Open Cities Project, a Canadian Institute for International Development funded project building the institutional capacity of China's Open Cities through training of senior municipal officials. He has conducted municipal capacity analysis in South Africa, the Czech Republic, Brazil, Gaza, Vietnam and China.

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