Relevant Projects:

LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT REFORM IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

In the Czech Republic, IPA Senior Associate Graham Watt worked with local governments to develop fair, competitive and effective procurement systems adapted to new Czech law and market conditions. An intensive training-of-trainers program helped produced trainers who co-delivered workshops in localities. Provision for continued training was set up with the Czech Fund for the Development of Local Administration and training courses became part of the curriculum of the University of Pardubice. Six hundred copies of a manual for applied local procurement systems and processes were prepared and distributed. IPA's procurement specialist, Harold Leatherby, provided technical assistance in five. This project was sponsored by USAID. 1995.

UGANDA LOCAL GOVERNMENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

As part of the World Bank's Uganda Local Development Program, IPA Associate Richard DeLyser provided technical assistance to the City of Kampala to reform municipal financial management procedures and implement new systems. Work included analyzing the legal framework which established the City of Kampala's general accounting and purchasing procedures, conducting a needs assessment to update the city's financial management, procurement, and inventory systems, and setting requirements for the purchase of new systems. Wrote a Request for Proposals for a municipal accounting, management information and reporting system for the City of Kampala, a city of 1.5 million people organized into 5 districts and 100 parishes for the collection of revenue and delivery of city services, with an annual budget of approximately $40 million. Further tasks included development of procurement criteria to qualify potential vendors to respond to RFPs, a survey of existing information technology capability including hardware, software, and infrastructure, analysis of existing financial management, purchasing, inventory and reporting systems, development of a long-range Information Technology Plan, survey of existing vendors and products in the marketplace, development of an implementation plan and time table for the selection of a vendor, modification of vendor products, installation of hardware and software, acceptance testing and product implementation. 2000.

Public Administration Reform Program in Macedonia

As part of a USAID-funded Public Administration Reform Project in Macedonia, IPA worked with the Ministry of Justice and the Law Faculty of Macedonia's major university to draft the country's first conflict of interest law for government employees, which Parliament is expected to pass as part of a broader anti-corruption law. IPA advisors drafted ethics codes for Macedonia's Central Bank in response to a national banking scandal, the Customs Service, and the Police unit of the Ministry of the Interior. The IPA team conducted numerous training workshops using conflict of interest case studies for ministry, customs and police officials. In addition, IPA arranged meetings for the Macedonian Minister of Justice with U.S. Attorney Janet Reno and the Office of Government Ethics as part of an IPA managed U.S. study tour. 1996-98.

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REFORM PROGRAM IN MACEDONIA

IPA worked with Slovakia's Institute for Public Administration and the Czech Republic's Institute of Local Administration to develop training programs for new local governments. These projects aimed to build the capacity of both institutions to train locally elected officials and municipal and district managers. IPA's team worked closely with Czech and Slovak counterparts to develop appropriate course modules on town management, democratic participation in local development decisions, and approaches to contracting out government services. In addition, training of trainers and teaching materials and equipment were provided. The projects resulted in the adoption of a series of town management seminars as part of the permanent curricula of the two institutions. 1991-93.

STUDY OF THE NEW YORK CITY CONTRACTING PROCESS

IPA, under contract to the Office of the Mayor, reviewed New York City's contracng practices and procedures. IPA analyzed all aspects of contract management practice including: 1) the organizational structure and capacity of the contracting agency, 2) the city-wide structure and capacity form managing contracts, 3) comparative examples drawn from other cities, states, and federal practice, and 4) a review of the literature and state-of-the-art models. The study's recommendations lead to the reorganization of city-wide contracting systems. 1987-1988.