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Decentralized cooperation

Decentralised cooperation is a type of international development cooperation carried out by non-state (ie local) actors. Established in the 1980s and developed throughout the 1990s, it experienced alternating phases in the first two decades of the 21st century. It is a form of cooperation that contributes to building relations between territories through the guiding, active role of local authorities and the conduct of projects in partnership between homologous realities of the territory, in particular between civil society actors.

History

The reasons leading to the spread of decentralised cooperation can be found inside and outside the development cooperation sector. The process of decentralisation that has taken place over the last 30 years in many developing countries has increased the devolution of political and economic power to local governments. Furthermore, since the late 1980s local authorities have begun to play an increasing role in international relations and especially in international development. The European Union has taken on a leading role in this process: the IV Lomé Convention of 1989, the European Charter of Local Self -Government in 1985 (the first and only international legal instrument guaranteeing the principle of decentralisation), the European Urban Charter in 1992 and the Council Regulation on decentralised cooperation in 1998 are the main milestones of such engagement. Since 2007, when the EU development cooperation program Non-State Actors - Local Authorities was launched, the EC has written two communications promoting the role of local authorities in development cooperation: local authority actors for development in 2008 and empowerment of local authorities in partner countries for strengthened governance and more effective development outcomes in May 2013. In 2008 it also contributed to the creation of Platforma, a network of European local authorities aimed at increasing the political recognition of their activities of development cooperation and promotion of decentralised cooperation programmes.

In the context of development cooperation practices, since the 1960s we have witnessed a growing presence of civil society actors in the countries where international cooperation operated. This form of international cooperation, based on the significant contribution of volunteering, was carried forward by associations, lay or religious groups which have come to occupy a space that had hitherto been under the responsibility of governments and supranational bodies. Towards the end of the 1960s the first non-governmental organisations were born, and their presence and that of their volunteers intensified in various areas of the world that were not as developed from an economic/technological point of view. Their appearance in Western countries is linked to the great social and cultural transformations of those years: student and worker protests, criticism of the dominant powers, national liberation movements. NGOs brought this anti-institutional critique into international cooperation, and experienced personal engagement on the ground together. The initial style of work had a charitable imprint: collect as many goods or funds as possible and send them to those in need. However, it soon evolved towards more defined and structured actions, introducing the use of design tools.

In the context of development cooperation policies, the presence of non-state actors was recognized towards the end of the 1980s through European and national legislation. At the international level, the birth of decentralised cooperation tends to coincide with the 4th Lomé Convention (15 December 1989) of which Article 20 provides:

«... to encourage the development and mobilisation of the initiatives of all active parties of the ACP States and of the Community, which can make a contribution to the autonomous development of the ACP States, the cooperation also supports, within the limits set by the ACP States concerned, the development actions of economic, social and cultural active parties, in the context of a Decentralised Cooperation, in particular in the form of a union of efforts and means between homologous active parties of the ACP States and of the community. This form of cooperation is intended in particular to put skills, original ways of acting and resources of these active parties at the service of the development of the ACP States. The active parties referred to in this article are the decentralised public authorities, rural and village communities, cooperatives, businesses, trade unions, teaching and research centres, non-governmental development organisations, various associations and all groups and active parties who are able and willing to make their spontaneous and original contribution to the development of the ACP States.»

In Italy the law no.49 of 1987 "New regulation of Italy's cooperation with developing countries" envisages a proactive and implementing role in the development cooperation action for Italian local authorities. In particular, it provides:    

1. that local authorities can allocate funds for international solidarity or international cooperation activities;    

2. that the Italian government can use the structures of local authorities as part of its projects.

At the beginning of the 1990s, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) also promoted the role of local actors in international cooperation thanks to the elaboration of the concept of "Human Development" which puts people's well-being in the foreground. In 1995 the Copenhagen World Summit on "Social Development" confirmed the importance of civil society in development processes and underlined the existence of a "global social question" in which unemployment, poverty and social exclusion are problems that, albeit with different degrees, concern the countries of the global South and North. In the context of these reconsiderations, civil society is recognized as playing an active role in development processes and in international cooperation activities. It’s a recognition that does not end with the activities carried out by NGOs, but which also increasingly concerns the role of local authorities, grassroots groups, trade unions, cooperatives, universities, schools and other actors.

Features

Decentralised cooperation has become increasingly relevant internationally as an approach to development capable of supporting democratic and decentralised governance and of proposing an idea and practice of international cooperation less focused on the aid paradigm and more inclined to promote relations and mutual interests of communities, which, despite living in distant territories, are faced with similar challenges posed by the processes of globalisation.

To date, there is no unanimously accepted definition of decentralised cooperation. Based on the available literature, the objective of decentralised cooperation is the promotion of sustainable local development through the strengthening of the capacities of local actors. Its main features are:

1. the main role played by local authorities;

2. the involvement of different types of actors in both the territories involved (local authorities, NGOs, schools, associations, universities, businesses, trade unions, ...);

3. the direct responsibility of partner communities (traditionally called “target communities”) in setting priorities and implementing actions;

4. the presence of mutual exchange/learning and, ultimately, reciprocity (mutual benefits).

Furthermore, a peculiarity of this form of cooperation is the activation of territorial processes based on public consultations and local governance practices between the various subjects who "belong" to a specific territory. Sometimes this leads to the establishment of collective subjects composed of a multiplicity of actors capable of making decisions and acting within an ever-changing field of action.

Experiences of decentralised cooperation promoted by territories in Europe

During the 1990s decentralised cooperation played a significant role in mobilising territories of several European countries, especially during the Yugoslav wars. Different territories in Italy mobilised and set up trips, twinning and relationships, part of which are still active today.

Libya

In 2015, in response to the conflict that flared up in Libya following the fall of the Gaddafi regime, few Libyan municipalities made contact with the European Committee of the Regions to explore the possibility of establishing decentralised cooperation relations between Libyan and European local authorities. Initiated in January 2016 in Nicosia on occasion of the Plenary session of the Euro Mediterranean Assembly of Regional and Local Authorities (ARLEM), the Nicosia Initiative is the European Committee of the Region’s platform aimed at strengthening local administrations in Libya. It started at a moment where it was necessary/imperative to let Libyan municipalities out from isolation and to mobilise them in helping the Country’s stability by improving their efficiency in providing basic services to citizens, who, due to failed politics, constant turmoils and impoverishment of life’s quality following the revolution, had gradually lost faith in the added value of any democratic elected institutions. Since then, a number of activities have taken place jointly between Libyan municipalities and European local authorities (municipalities, provinces, regions). In particular, in 2021, as part of the Nicosia Initiative, the REBUILD - Research and Education Building Urban Institutions for Local Development project was launched. It is a four-year project (2021 - 2025) of decentralized cooperation promoted by ten Libyan municipalities (Az-Zawiyah, Benghazi, Beni Walid, Ghariyan, Sebha, Sirte, Tobruk, Tripoli Centre, Zintan, Zliten), together with 2 European local authorities (Autonomous Province of Trento (lead partner) and Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia) with the technical support of 10 Libyan universities and the Center for International Cooperation of Trento. Funded by the European Union, the REBUILD project originates from and contributes to the Nicosia Initiative, the decentralized cooperation platform between Libyan and European local authorities promoted by the European Committee of the Regions and the Libyan Municipalities to support local governance in Libya and encourage the creation of strategic partnerships between homologous bodies. One of the pillars of the project is the construction of a lifelong learning system for Libyan local administrators and locally elected officials to promote local development and strengthen the role of local authorities. Within REBUILD, all partners commit to work together to achieve the main objectives of the project: continuous capacity building through qualified academic trainers in practice-based adult learning; a community of practice to share knowledge, experience and expertise; two strategic pilot projects in the areas of local economic development and provision of basic services, to translate the knowledge and skills acquired during the training process into concrete actions.

Experiences of decentralised cooperation promoted by Trentino

Trentino is a territory that, for historical and geographical reasons also related to its statute of autonomy, has significantly promoted its role at the international level through decentralised cooperation policies and practices as well. In 1988, Trentino was the first Italian territory to adopt legislation on decentralised cooperation (LP 10/1988), updated in 2005 (LP 4/2005). In Trentino, decentralised cooperation has been defined as "cooperation between communities", to underline the centrality of the relationships established between the territories and within each territory active in the relationship.

The role of local authorities goes hand in hand with the broad participation of civil society, which puts its skills and professionalism to good use, gained in areas often not conventionally linked to the world of international cooperation. In the second half of the 1990s, Trentino co-promoted four decentralised cooperation programs together with the communities of Prijedor (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Peja/Peć ( Kosovo), Caia ( Mozambique) and Kraljevo (Serbia), accomplished thanks to the political and financial support of the Autonomous Province of Trento.

A distinctive feature of these four experiences are the "Tables", meeting places between local authorities and associations operating in the field of international cooperation, but also subjects who do not usually cooperate with other countries but find specific interests in the projects.