UCLG Position Paper v_2 (eng)
22/12/09
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A Compilation of Case Studies
11 Incentivizing performance: the Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Beacon Scheme
in Europe (OSCE), and Local Government Association (LGA) decided to jointly support a mechanism similar to one used in the UK, which recognises best practices in service delivery and enables local authorities to learn from each other. Approach
Prepared by the Local Government Association (LGA), October 2009
The mechanism is based on the English Beacon Council Scheme that has been operational since 1999. The Beacon Scheme was set up to disseminate excellence in service delivery across local government, whereby best practices are identified within 8 – 10 different local government themes which represent issues of importance in the day to day life of the public and reflect key government priorities. It is a cyclical system, so that each year beacon status is awarded to the local authorities, within a new set of themes. In 2009 the Beacon Scheme was upgraded and replaced by the Local Innovation Awards Scheme.
The Council of Europe (CoE) and the Organisation for Security Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and Local Government Association (LGA) have established a mechanism in Bosnia and Herzegovina to identify, reward and disseminate good practice in service delivery at the local government level.
Background ‘Beacon status’ has been awarded to councils who have demonstrated a clear vision, excellent service and willingness to innovate within the theme. Awarded “beacons” were then responsible for disseminating their knowledge and expertise to all other interested authorities and helping them to improve quality of their services to citizens.
After the war in the 1990s, the governance structures of Bosnia and Herzegovina significantly changed and are quite complex. As agreed by the 1996 Dayton Agreement, Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of two entities, and one district39. The first entity is the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the FBiH) and the second is the Republic of Srpska (the RS). Each of these levels of authority (the FBiH and the RS) have established bodies of legislative, judicial and executive authority.
The Beacon scheme in Bosnia and Herzegovina was set up in 2005 and is now in its fourth year. The scheme has been slightly modified to reflect Bosnian realities and complexities. The BiH Beacon Scheme identifies three themes annually with usually two local authorities awarded. BiH beacons have been able to travel to the UK to exchange experiences and learn from English beacon councils awarded within the same or similar themes.
While the governance structures within the municipalities in both entities are essentially the same and reflect the pre-war Yugoslav system, in the FBiH there is a two tier structure that includes cantons (10) and, within these, municipalities. The primary administrative responsibility for local governments resides with the cantons, under the overall responsibility of the Ministry of Justice. In the RS, there is only one sub-national, or municipal level governed by the relevant entity’s government ministry.
Initially, the implementing team, which included OSCE, CoE and LGA, the UK Improvement and Development Agency and the UK Department for Communities and Local Governments, faced various challenges. Firstly, the structure of the country’s governing apparatus reflected the fact that in Bosnia and Herzegovina there are two entities (Republika Srpska and Federation of BiH) plus District Brcko with entirely different governing structures. Secondly, there were two different local government associations from two state entities. To overcome these issues, the decision was made that the project be run and owned by the “International Community” and practically managed by the OSCE office in Sarajevo (BiH). Neutrality
BiH has had considerable experience in local governance and service delivery with pockets of particular excellence. In order to strengthen the sector more broadly, the Council of Europe (CoE), the Organisation for Security Cooperation 39 District Brcko is a self-governing, entity-neutral, administrative unit under the sovereignty of the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is formally part of both the Republic of Srpska (RS) and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBH).
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