Partnership between NGO and LSG in addressing priority issues of local communities based on municipal social procurement (GIZ, 2013-2015)

Local governments - is not just a form of public authority organizations to address issues of local importance.

LSG bodies are very close to the population and know all their needs best of all, especially of the vulnerable citizens. LSG bodies are considering a variety of issues, not only those described in the Law on Local Self-Government. Apart from the traditional issues like waste and water supply, LSG bodies mandated to handle local community development issues like development of culture, sport and leisure activities for local youth, women and old people, promotion of local community to be informed in different areas. However, LSG bodies are lack of human resources (competent specialists in all fields) and time, in order to consider all above-mentioned issues. Here, non- governmental organizations could provide assistance to LSG bodies in addressing social issues of communities through public (municipal) social procurement system. Herewith, LSG bodies are customers of the procurement; through signing the agreement on the implementation of the state social procurement, they become responsible for the implementation of the social projects.

Partnership between NGO and LSG in addressing priority issues of local communities based on municipal social procurement (GIZ, 2013-2015)

Period:

• September 2013 - September 2014
• September 2014 - October 2015

Funding: The project of GIZ (German Society for Technical Cooperation) to support civil society

Implementation: Development Policy Institute

Location: 12 municipalities of Jalal-Abad, Talas and Batken oblasts of the Kyrgyz Republic

The main goal of the project is to propose and test new forms and methods of collaboration between NGO and local self-governments through municipal (state) social procurement in the 12 municipalities of the Kyrgyz Republic to address issues in social sphere.

The entire project is estimated to be implemented within 12-18 months (started in September 2013) taking into account the following processes: cycle of identifying priority issues, formation and implementation of the municipal (social) procurement, formation of monitoring and evaluation and description of the obtained experience. Thus, the projects is divided into the three logical parts, which are implemented within two phases.

Background

Prior to launch of the project, Kyrgyzstan had a legislative framework for implementation of social procurement, including the Law "On state social procurement", which adopted in July 21, 2008. However, only one state authority - the Ministry of Social Development of the Kyrgyz Republic (MSD), applied the Law. While the Law on SSP of the Kyrgyz Republic envisaged the possibility for implementing the SSP in almost all spheres, covering a variety of socially oriented ministries and departments, as well as local self-governments. Unfortunately, except for MSD, none of the other ministries, departments and LSG utilized this mechanism.

With that, it was obvious that vulnerable groups in the community needed social services in the same or a neighboring municipality, and not only in the rayon or oblast centers. The project had a challenge to find out how local self-governments and civil society organizations are able to work together to meet the needs of vulnerable groups in social services.

In the first phase with the duration of not more than 9 months, the following steps are taken:

• to provide trainings for LSG bodies of 12 municipalities on cooperation principals with NGO, priority rural assessment (PRA) and implementation of municipal procurement in social field;
• to provide trainings for LSG bodies on management of municipal finance in new conditions of inter-budgetary relations;
• to provide the support in identifying priority social issue in 12 municipalities;
• to provide trainings for NGOs and initiatives groups on project development mechanism;
• to provide the information and technical support of activities in 12 municipalities on identifying priority social issues and selecting priority project;
• to ensure the provision of technical expertise of 12 projects;
• to provide trainings of NGOs and initiative groups on monitoring and evaluation mechanisms;
• to provide the technical assistance to financial divisions of LSG for introduction of municipal procurement mechanism into the social sphere through the local budgets;
• to compile the practice and describe the methodology and procedures of priority projects by formation of social procurement based on the practice in 12 municipalities.

In the second phase, the Project Executor solved the following issues:

• to provide training for the local self-government bodies of pilot municipalities on basics of legislation to the procedures of public procurement in accordance with the new legislation;
• to provide the technical support of an open public competition;
• to provide assistance to the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Group;
• to provide the methodological analysis of the mechanism of municipal social procurement, conclusion, and recommendations/proposals for legal framework.

Project Manager - Dobretsova Nadezhda (NDobretsova@dpi.kg)

Project experts:

• Batken and Talas oblasts: Musaeva Anara (AMusaeva@dpi.kg) and Suranchieva Rosa (RSuranchieva@dpi.kg);
• Jalal-Abad oblast: Mairambekov Sultan (SMairambekov@dpi.kg) and Osmonkulov Tanat (TOsmonkulov@dpi.kg), Ainura Balakunova (ABalakunova@dpi.kg)

Final Report

• Final report on project results, 2013-2015