Makandra – Capacity strengthening of Districts in Suriname

In short

The aim of this project is to improve the quality of public administration in Suriname by strengthening the capacity of its Districts.

Objective

The aim of this project is to improve the quality of public administration in Suriname by strengthening the capacity of Districts in Suriname. Service provision on the local level is strengthened to improve quality and transparency of (local) governance (‘good governance’).

It also contributes to building and strengthening the rule of law. After all, citizen participation is a form of democracy, and part of the pillars of a constitutional state.

Approach

This will be done by

1. Strengthening the training institute for administrative officials: the Institute of Administrative Officials Suriname (IBAS).
2. Strengthen the training offer of IBAS with a curriculum of short-term training courses for district officials. The core themes include a) Financial Management, b) Motivational Leadership & Team Management, c) Conflict Resolution and d) Citizen Participation.
3. Improving citizen participation at the district level.
4. Strengthen capacity of individual officials.

Results

1. Organizational structure of IBAS will be strengthened and equipped to provide short training sessions.
2. Selected local government officials will be trained according to the Train the Trainer model in the above mentioned fields of expertise. Participants are certified by the Ministery of Regional Development to diffuse their knowledge to colleagues at the district level and are guided to establish an action plan for application. All training modules will be handed over to IBAS for integration in their offer.
3. Selected officials of all District Citizen information centers are strengthened in their capacity to engage citizens at the district level. The officials engaged in training and personal coaching to establish personal action plans.
4. Local governments in the Netherlands and Suriname engaged in knowledge exchange on citizen participation and self-sufficiency through a study visit in the Netherlands.