What we offer
Law and judiciary
We support governments and public organisations in developing and improving rule-of-law structures that enable all actors to comply with these structures, and in implementing judicial and legal reforms.
Public finance
We advise our partners on budgetary reforms, revenue policy and management (taxes and duties), external auditing (audit courts) and domestic financial structures (fiscal decentralisation).
Strengthening civil society
We promote participatory processes in connection with policymaking and public services. We advise partners on improving access for individuals to public services and their opportunities for asserting their personal rights. We also support capacity building for civil society actors.
Gender
We provide advice on implementing national gender policies and integrating gender aspects in public institutions' activities. We support the promotion of women's rights in connection with legal reforms. In addition, we promote strategies for combating gender-specific violence and international trafficking of women.
Local self-governance
We support structural municipal reforms. In this context we provide advice on organisational development, local political and administrative reforms, and local financial management.
Decentralisation
We help to introduce good governance in the context of developing state structures in fiscal, administrative and political fields. We promote reform alliances, strengthen decentralised institutions (e.g. municipal associations) and promote coordination and communication processes in connection with decentralisation.
Regionalisation
We promote regional integration. We assist the private sector, the population, and urban and metropolitan regions in steering sustainable spatial development. We provide advice on economic structural change and help regional and endogenous potential to flourish.
Promotion of democracy (in preparation)
We enhance the capacity of representative democratic institutions (e.g. parliamentary committees). We offer capacity building and organisational advice and help to strengthen internal and external capacities for political analysis. The aim is to allow the population to participate in the democratic process. To this end we provide advice on democratic decision-making processes (e.g. elections) and offer political education measures.
Reform of public national administration structures (in preparation)
We offer conceptual advice on public sector reforms. We support the organisational development of public administrations on the basis of our capacity building approaches. We promote the establishment and continued development of IT projects in administrations, and provide advice on e-government.
Combating corruption (in preparation)
We advise public and private sector actors in various sectors on how to combat bribery. We also support the implementation of the UN Convention Against Corruption, advise on the adjustment of laws and contracts, and strengthen social control mechanisms.
Human rights (in preparation)
We advise governments and public sector organisations on respecting, protecting and ensuring compliance with human rights. This involves strengthening a police force that respects the rule of law, criminal laws that respect human rights, and functioning legal and judicial institutions. We also promote human rights at non-governmental level through political participation and by establishing communication channels between government and society.
Security sector reform (in preparation)
We provide support in defining the security interests of a country in alignment with democratic, rule-of-law standards, enabling the public to participate in that process, and reforming security sector structures accordingly.
What you can achieve with us
By the beginning of the new millennium, most states had undergone a transition to market structures. However, political and social institutions are adjusting only slowly, at varying paces, and the process is fraught with conflict. Good governance is crucial to sustainable economic and social development. In this context good governance is understood as governments' responsible use of power and public resources – in a process of cooperative interplay between the state, industry, local authorities and civil society.
Governance reforms
- promote the development of democratic, efficient states that are committed to the rule of law and the common good
- promote the development orientation of governments that gear their activities towards sustainable development
- create the basis for effective poverty reduction and peace keeping.
Further information on governance services:
