Course Introduction:
How a country organises its public finances forms the basis for how local authorities govern priorities in cities, towns, and villages. While national governments have the responsibility to design and supervise a system that works, local authorities are challenged to use their often limited resources for delivering better local services.
Fiscal decentralisation enables cities and villages to decide on how and where to spend their allocated and self-generated resources, ensuring a more inclusive response to citizens’ needs. This course will address the efficiency of local authorities’ revenues and expenditures schemes, aiming at improving their budgeting processes and their service delivery responsibility towards citizens.
This course will address the following questions:
- How can spending responsibilities and revenue resources be best assigned to the different government layers in different contexts?
- How can sub-national governments optimise their local revenues and strengthen financial management?
- What is the impact of emergencies (such as pandemics) on local finances?
- How can citizens hold their local authorities accountable?
- How can local budgets effectively respond to citizens’ needs?
Participants will discuss the assignment of expenditure responsibilities and revenue sources, the different variations of intergovernmental transfers, financial accountability, inclusive and participatory budgeting, as well as local government spending and monitoring. Case studies will analyse different local finance contexts across the globe. Participants will also visit Dutch institutions including the Dutch Ministry of Interior, the South-Holland Province and the Municipality of The Hague.
Course format:
Due to the travel restrictions associated with the Coronavirus outbreak, the format of the course has been adjusted*.* We are now offering a practice-oriented blended course, consisting of two parts:
Online module: This module will consist of several assignments spread throughout the timeframe provided. This is an opportunity to learn about the topic (while enhancing your online skills in an innovative e-learning environment) and prepare you for the next part of the course.
Dates: 8 February to 19 March 2021.
Face-to-Face course: Participants will spend eight days in The Netherlands, focusing on study visits, expert presentations, and the exchange of experiences with other participants. We intend to offer this part of the training during the dates stated below, but if this proves not to be possible, it will be postponed to the earliest possibility.
Dates: 12 – 19 July 2021.
Key Information
- This blended training will take place both, online and in The Hague**.**
- The deadline for applications is 15 January 2021.
- Group discounts available if you participate with three or more colleagues.
- For general inquiries, please contact info@thehagueacademy.com or call +(31) 70 37 38 695.
Learning Objectives
This course will help you:
- Evaluate and monitor fiscal decentralisation practices in your country;
- Increase your insight into financial management and fiscal accountability at the local level;
- Optimise the different sources of revenue, e.g. taxes, user fees, and intergovernmental transfers;
- Design inclusive and participatory budgets;
- Assess the impact of emergencies such as pandemics on intergovernmental fiscal relations;
- Plan local emergency-response budgets;
After this course, you will receive a professional certificate of completion from The Hague Academy for Local Governance.
Intended Audience
Professionals are responsible for the design and implementation of (fiscal) decentralisation processes, public sector reform programmes, public service delivery or financial management. The course is also aimed at individuals who work for national, regional or local governments, or donor and development organisations.
Experts
Experts involved in this course in the past include:
Jenifer Bukhoke
Technical Advisor on local development finance to the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF). She has previously worked as a policy officer at UNCDF. Jenifer holds a Masters’ degree in Gender and Women Studies from Makere University and a PhD in Gender and Women Studies from St. Clements University.
Jamie Boex Public finance expert with extensive experience in decentralisation and fiscal policy reforms in developing and transition countries around the world. Working with organisations such as the World Bank, UNDP, USAID, and numerous other bilateral development agencies. Jamie has contributed to policy reforms in a.o Afghanistan, Cambodia, Georgia, Tanzania, Indonesia, Nepal, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Timor-Leste and Uganda. He has also authored and contributed to numerous books, reports an research articles.
Peter Jongkind
Programme Director for Local Taxation at VNG International. His most recent programme is called the Tax Revenue for Economic Enhancement (TREE). This 4-year programme works with 32 municipalities in Ghana. Peter holds a Master’s degree in Social Studies from the Free University of Amsterdam and previously worked at the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration as a manager and later on as director.
Henri Schreurs
International expert with over 40 years of experience in local public finance and financial management in 27 countries. He has broad international experience in providing technical assistance and training in fiscal policy formulation, (programme) budgeting, revenue collection, cash and debt management, PPP and asset management. He has advised Local Government Associations in Europe, Africa and Asia on Strategic Planning and sustainable Financial Management.
Henri ten Broeke
Senior project manager for local taxes at VNG International. He has (re)designed and implemented business models, processes and IT architecture for local governments, water utility companies, water control boards and national tax administrations. For the past 6 years, he has worked as a consultant on international projects in, a.o. Mozambique, Kosovo and most recently Ghana and Palestinian Territories.
Experience
In the past, some of the study visits for this course have included:
- Dutch Ministry of Interior: ‘Financing the local governments in The Netherlands’
- Municipality of the Hague, Financial Department.
- House of Province South-Holland: ‘Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations’.
Funding Opportunities
Participants in our courses are predominantly funded by their own employer (municipalities, Ministries, NGOs and training or research institutes) or by a donor or development agency. If you are looking for additional funding opportunities, there are a few organisations you could approach.
Application Deadline
The application deadline is 15 January 2021.
Payment
After submitting your completed application, you will receive a confirmation of your course registration and an invoice. The payment deadline is 1-week after the application deadline.
Payments can be made by bank transfer or by PayPal. We offer the option of paying in one or two installments. An advance payment of 50% secures the reservation of a seat to the training until the payment deadline. However, your participation in the course is guaranteed only after receipt of full payment prior to the deadline.
If no payment is received before that deadline, then your registration will automatically be canceled. Please note that The Hague Academy accepts registrations on a first-pay, first-served policy.
How to register:
Apply through this link no later than 15 January 2021.
Contact Information
For questions about this course and the application process, or to inquire about our tailor-made courses on this topic, please contact us by email at info@thehagueacademy.com, or call +31-70-3738695