Excellence in “Open Governance”
Tychy, Lublin and Wrocław have been identified as the “Local Government Leaders of Governance 2022”. Winners and honourable mention receivers were presented with statuettes, diplomas and prizes during a gala ceremony in Tarnów on 23 February.
Honourable mentions were awarded to Niepołomice, Starachowice, Zduńska Wola, Ostrów Wielkopolski, Gliwice, Siemianowice Śląskie, Częstochowa, Kielce, Poznań, Łódź, and Gdańsk (special honourable mention award). The “Local Government Leaders of Governance 2022”
competition for cities and towns was organised under the “Communication – Participation – Shared Governance” motto. Thirty-nine applications were filed by 31 cities and towns: 18 by cities, towns and urban-and-rural communities, 8 by county cities and towns, and 13 by cities and towns – seats of voivodship authorities.
Competition Jury membership comprised Maciej Aulak, Director of the Department of Assistance Programmes at the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy; Kamil Wieder, Head of the Local Government Unit Support Section of the Department of Assistance Programmes at the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy; Andrzej Porawski, Executive Director of the Office of the Association of Polish Cities; Tomasz Potkański, Deputy Director of the Office of the Association of Polish Cities for Research and Development, and “Local Development” project manager; Aleksandra Jadach-Sepioło, Deputy Director of the Institute of Urban and Regional Development; and Wojciech Jarczewski, Director of the Institute of Urban and Regional Development. During the jury session on 19 January 2023, members discussed expert recommendations concerning award and honourable mention proposals selected from among Local Government Unit application entrants.
Competition finalists were selected on basis of Competition Jury expert assessments: 30 projects (entered by 24 cities/towns) with point scores above 60: 11 submitted by cities/towns and urban-and-rural municipalities, 8 by county cities and towns, and 11 by cities and towns – seats of voivodship authorities. As stipulated in Competition by-laws, finalists received diplomas confirming participation in the Competition Finale. The Competition Jury decided to award Competition Winner titles to 3 cities/towns, honourable mentions to 10 cities/towns, and one special honourable award. Two representatives from each of the winning cities/towns and the special honourable mention city, and one representative from each of the honourably mentioned cities/towns will attend a study visit to Norway (as part of the prize).
WINNERS AND HONOURABLE MENTIONS – “Local Government Leaders of Governance 2022”
Communication – Participation – Shared Governance
Category: Cities/Towns and Urban-and-Rural Municipalities
4 honourable mentions:
Niepołomice for the project “Innovative format of partnership-based residents’ joint decision system based on the participative field workshop model – Niepołomice Town Common Green”
Starachowice for two projects: “Local Initiatives Programme” and “Openness policy for the Starachowice Municipality – with a particular focus on public spending”
Zduńska Wola for two projects: “Cost calculator for the STOP SMOG coal-fired furnace conversion” and “60+ Smart City – innovations as an outcome of inter-generational collaboration – green square development”
Ostrów Wielkopolski for the project “Ostrów Wielkopolski’s revitalisation-centred citizen’s budget as an innovative tool combining public participation with revitalisation efforts”
Category: County Cities/Towns
WINNER
Tychy for the project “Official yet comprehensible! – the Simple Word project at the Tychy Municipal Authority”
3 honourable mentions:
Gliwice for the project “Gliwice Participation Platform – Deciding Together”
Siemianowice Śląskie for the project “Creating a Municipal Data Bank as a tool to support urban development and governance processes”
Częstochowa for the project “Better Jobs Now Programme”
Category: Cities/Towns – Seats of Voivodship Authorities
WINNER
Lublin for the project “Imagining Lublin Together. Participation to design the Lublin 2030 Intelligent Strategy”
WINNER
Wrocław for the project “Public consultations with children and young people – a participation and civic educational project”
4 honourable mentions:
Gdańsk – special honourable mention for two projects: “Gdańsk Project Workshops” and “Gdańsk Contact Centre – a one-stop-shop for local residents”
Kielce for the project “Idea Kielce – a city for people”
Poznań for the project “Citizens Panel of Poznań”
Łódź for the project “Urban Activity Factory”
The finalist group included other cities and towns: Rawicz, Wasilków, Władysławowo, Cracow (for two projects), Katowice, Bydgoszcz, Zabrze, Konin, Jelenia Góra, Hrubieszów, and Bełżyce.
Competitions are one of the many initiatives introduced by the Association of Polish Cities with intent to design a valuable platform of exchanging and promoting innovative experiences and practices facilitating efforts to resolve intricate urban issues, and improve the response to local residents’ needs.
Competitions have been organised by the Association of Polish Cities for over thirty years, the tradition dating back to early days of the reactivated Association, i.e. the year 1992. This was when we announced the “Urban Innovations” Competition for the first time, as a project accompanying the Urban Business Exhibition and Association of Polish Cities Business Convention.
The 14th edition of the Competition “Local Government Leaders of Governance 2022 – Communication – Participation – Shared Governance” was organised as part of the “Local Development” Programme, funded by the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism, and Norway Financial Mechanism 2014-2021.
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