LocationsPeer-to-peer partnerships continue to enhance decentralized management of public services in Iraq
November 2, 2022
Iraq is moving forward in changing how public services are delivered, meeting the needs of citizens, and providing long-term and sustainable solutions for evolving priorities. To this effect, decentralization adds value to the socio-economic development of Iraq, through the effective and transparent management of local government systems and public services.
Within this context, UNDP Iraq organized a three-day workshop in Erbil from 11 to 13 October 2022 for 30 local government officials from Ninewa, Salah Al-Din, Anbar, Erbil, Duhok, Sulaymaniyah, Basra, Thi Qar, and Missan governorates to highlight the achievements of the peer-to-peer project between Iraqi governorates and respective European partners. The workshop aimed at sharing best practices and lessons learned among governorates, facilitating the transfer of knowledge among participants, and introducing innovative concepts to enable local authorities to strategically prioritize local development initiatives.
The peer-to-peer project is a series of collaborations between the governorates of Ninewa, Salah ald- Din, Anbar, Erbil, Duhok, Sulaymaniyah, Basra, Thi Qar, and Missan and European local authorities from France, Sweden, Italy, Albania, and Slovenia. The partnerships focused on sectors of priority to the Iraqi governorates such as solar energy, inclusive education, agriculture, water resources management, job creation, and waste management.
The workshop participants reiterated their commitment to a sustainable partnership with European peers and exchanged views on how to scale up and replicate their interventions, based on lessons learned throughout the implementation phase of their respective partnerships.
During his participation in the workshop, Dr. Maher Hammad Johan, Deputy Minister of Planning for Technical Affairs at the Ministry of Planning said: "This peer-to-peer project stimulates the transferring of modern ideas that local authorities have adopted in EU countries, and it is very important that we contribute to ensuring the sustainability of this project in Iraq by all means. These peer-to-peer partnerships with European local authorities will help all Iraqi governorates to independently think about their priorities and needs without referring to the ministries and asking them to plan on their behalf”.
"This project has given us the opportunity to meet with peers from European countries, and contributed to sharing experiences and information that helped us greatly in moving forward towards providing services to young women and men in our governorate”, Amal Abdul Razzaq Muhammad, a workshop participant from Basra Governorate said.
This initiative is implemented under Supporting Recovery and Stability in Iraq through the Local Area Development Programme (LADP III), funded by the European Union, and implemented by UNDP Iraq.