In the end of 2018, NALAS launched an in-depth assessment of potential local government’s role in MAP-REA and the Regional Investment Reform Agenda (RIRA). The findings of this assessment provide the point of departure for an evidence-based dialogue with the EU Commission’s DG NEAR, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and the WB6 national governments. In this context, the Poznan Summit in July 2019 and its side events will be the ideal platform for such an exchange.

The report’s objective was to assess the involvement of local governments and local government issues in the MAP/RIRA and make recommendations for the better inclusion of local governments’ concerns. Hence, the assessment’s central task consisted in analyzing gaps in the MAP REA/RIRA with respect to local governments’ positions and involvement in the further implementation of the MAP REA/RIRA process.

As a general conclusion, it was possible to observe a general lack of local government interests and local economic development and low representation of direct approaches for local governments’ roles and action settings.

The evaluation resulted in 47 designated fields. Only one was assessed as “sufficiently covering local concerns”. 23 were assessed as “not sufficiently covering local concerns” in the MAP REA/RIRA, whereas the remaining “do not cover local concerns at all”.

Based on the assessment, a total of 9 recommendations for improving MAP REA and 16 recommendations for NALAS and Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) action were presented.

The assessment was conducted and the report produced by a team of the KDZ-Centre for Public Administration Research from Vienna, Austria.

To download the report: