Public services

Local and regional leaders attending the General Assembly of European Municipalities and Regions in Cadiz, Spain, will have the opportunity to participate in a rather informal, fast-paced and interactive exchange on reshaping and modernising public services.

The leaders’ roundtable, which is exclusively open to elected representatives, will revolve around four different themes, the first of which will be the provision of services via different types of partnerships, be they with private actors, the voluntary sector and other local authorities.

The second theme on the agenda will notably discuss how to measure the efficiency and performance of public service delivery.  Third, participants will work together to identify what new technologies are available to help use resources more efficiently, reduce costs and increase citizen participation, while discussing the pros and cons of social media.

Finally, participants will be given the opportunity to discuss the recruitment and retention of young and elderly workers in public administrations as well as ways of developing and maintaining sustainable workplaces in the local and regional government sector.

This session, scheduled for Thursday 27 September 2012 from 11:15 to 13:00, will aim at encouraging the active participation of the small group of leaders in order to avoid traditional one-way discussions.  Participants will rotate tables once during the session, thus participating in two of the four discussions with a break in the middle for more one-on-one networking purposes.  Each leader will present a case study and exchange on the challenges they are faced with and possible solutions, based on the experiences of those present.