The European ELoGE Label is the Council of Europe's (CoE) highest recognition for local governments that achieve Excellence in Governance and Democratic Innovation. This Label accredits the highest quality of local governments based on 12 principles and 72 indicators.
About?
Since 2017, EUDEL has been the accredited regional platform to implement the European Label in Basque Local Councils. The European methodology has been adapted over 4 editions, in which 20 different municipalities have already taken part; some even twice. A total of 12 local councils of the Basque Country hold the ELoGE Seal of Excellence to date. The interinstitutional ELoGE Committee is made up of EUDEL, the Basque Government and the three Provincial Councils (Álava, Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa).
THE 12 PRINCIPLES OF GOOD GOVERNANCE
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1
DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION
2
HUMAN RIGHTS
3
RULE OF LAW
4
PUBLIC ETHICS
5
ACCOUNTABILITY
6
OPENNESS AND TRANSPARENCY
7
QUALITY, EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT ADMINISTRATION
8
LEADERSHIP, SKILLS AND ABILITIES
9
RESPONSIVENESS
10
ROBUST FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT
11
SUSTANABILITY AND LONG-TERM ORIENTATION
12
OPENNESS TO CHANGE AND INNOVATION
EACH OF THE 12 PRINCIPLES HAVE SEVERAL INDICATORS TO MEASURE THEIR COMPLIANCE
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PRACTICES
ELoGE mobilises and stimulates the action of the municipalities embarking on continuous improvement processes.
This bank of best practices is an opportunity for joint learning and allows improvement areas in the 12 principles of good governance to be identified.
What are the indicators?
The ELoGE self-assessment is governed by a total of 97 indicators. They are parameters to measure the degree of compliance of each of the twelve principles of good governance.
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Democratic participation
- The local council regularly implements participatory democratic mechanisms, such as public consultations, citizen assemblies, municipal forums, plenary sessions and participatory budgeting initiatives.
- The local council gathers disaggregated data to measure gender representation – of less privileged and vulnerable individuals – in decision- and policy-making bodies.
- The local council is involved in the decision-making processes with legitimate intermediate bodies (private or public), consisting of representatives from different backgrounds and demographics within the community.
- The local council actively seeks contributions from a broad spectrum of representatives and stakeholders of the community, including under-represented groups.
- The local council implements educational and awareness-raising programmes for voters on the electoral process, the importance of voting, and how to participate effectively in elections.
- Within the scope of its powers, the local council deploys actions to bolster electoral monitoring, guarantee integrity and transparency in the electoral processes and to ensure the accuracy and security of the voter census systems
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Human Rights
- The impact of the local policies and legislation on human is regularly assessed, possibly in conjunction with local human rights organisations.
- Monitoring, information and complaint mechanisms have been set up – including the presence of the Institution of the Trustee or the Neighbourhood Ombudsman – to address breaches of human rights.
- Training programmes are offered on diversity and inclusion, skill-building and awareness-raising initiatives for municipal staff and stakeholders of the community.
- The local government has adjusted its regulations to apply current international and national legislation against discrimination, without distinction of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political opinion or of any other type, social or national origin, economic position, birth or any other condition.
- The local council designs and applies diversity and inclusion strategies.
- The local council designs and applies citizen participation initiatives.
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Rule of law
- Resolutions, procedures, regulations and other decisions are adopted according to the law and are published in an open and accessible manner.
- Accountability and transparency reports setting out the main legislative actions and decisions and their repercussions for the local community, along with information on the decision-making process, are prepared.
- The local legal framework guarantees equality before the law and lack of discrimination.
- There are effective and proportionate measures for inappropriate decisions or omissions and in response to any action or lack of action in that regard.
- The administrative decisions made by the local authorities are regularly evaluated to assess compliance of the legal requirements and of their justification.
- Training and skill-building programmes are run for municipal staff involved in administrative decision-making.
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Public ethics
- There is a code of conduct setting out ethical practices and standards for the staff working for the local authority.
- Regular training sessions/workshops on the principles and application of the public ethics framework are run for municipal staff.
- There is an ethics committee to process alleged breaches of ethical standards and to manage conflicts of interest.
- Public awareness-raising campaigns are run on ethical standards, anti-corruption measures and mechanisms for reporting allegations.
- There is a whistleblowing procedure for citizens and local council staff to report alleged breaches of ethical standards and conflicts of interest.
- There are policies to protect whistleblowers with a confidential platform or hotline within the local council for allegations to be reported, while guaranteeing the whistleblowers’ anonymity and safety.
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Accountability
- There is an accountability framework for the authority's staff that sets out the legislation, institutions, procedures, practices and the appropriate code of conduct.
- The local council has a comprehensive system to log, classify and file official documents.
- The rules and regulations establish the categories, content and frequency of the accountability of the decision-makers to guarantee that current and significant information is always available.
- There are regular meetings of all the key players of the municipality to communicate decisions, assess them and establish sanction mechanisms.
- There are mechanisms to address inappropriate decisions and empower decision-makers to apply effective solutions.
- Information leaflets are produced and awareness-raising activities organised to explain the policy-makers' decisions to the citizens.
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Openness and transparency
- The inclusive and accessible information portal ensures that citizens can easily access local information and services.
- There is a system in place for the regular review of the municipal information, which guarantees its availability and that it is accurate, current and secure.
- The municipal website has a specific section that facilitates access for citizens to minutes of the Plenary session, decisions and policies. Furthermore, summaries are provided in plain language for better understanding.
- Opportunities are regularly provided to submit progress reports on key initiatives and to facilitate direct interaction between citizens and policy-makers.
- The local council has digital solutions that simplify access to essential municipal services. There are tools and guidance aimed at improving accessibility and at addressing the poor levels of digital literacy.
- The local council has a robust data protection policy and conducts regular cybersecurity audits, in order to protect the personal information of citizens when they use online services.
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Quality, effective and efficient administration
- The local council publishes an annual report which highlights the progress made to accomplish the goals and targets defined in the operational and strategic plans within the envisaged timeframe. The report includes a detailed description of the distribution and use of resources, which shows their efficiency.
- The local council regularly reviews the effectiveness of the services provided by using indicators and holding meetings with staff and stakeholders.
- Performance results using KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to measure predetermined goals and targets are regularly published.
- External and internal audits are regularly conducted and their conclusions and recommendations published.
- A regular summary is produced with the legislative updates and the improvements introduced to the administrative procedures that contribute to clarity, accessibility and equity.
- Citizen participation mechanisms allow the local council to identify the needs and interests of the population, and to check compliance of their rights.
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Leadership, skills and abilities
- The local council issues regular reports that highlight progress in the area of promoting diversity and inclusion, by showcasing initiatives and results.
- The local council regularly organises workshops and training sessions on innovation and lifelong learning for municipal staff.
- Skills registers enable local authorities to adapt staff aptitudes to the strategic goals.
- The local council implements a training session programme for municipal staff – with an attendance register kept – to contribute to improving skills.
- The local council conducts regular assessments of the training programmes to improve their impact and pinpoint improvements.
- There are performance assessment procedures and industrial development plans to assess and improve the development and performance of the municipal staff.
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Responsiveness
- The needs of the community are regularly assessed to pinpoint its specific needs and expectations.
- A public consultation mechanism is in place to gather the opinions of the citizens regarding the service priorities and the improvements needed.
- There is an online portal or hotline for citizens to make complaints or comments.
- An accessible annual report is published on the number and type of complaints received, the resolutions processed and the measures adopted to address systemic problems.
- An inter-service working group tasked with reviewing the results of the claims and complaints has been set up, and guarantees their integration in the policy discussions.
- Regular monitoring reports are produced on the complaints and their influence on the policy decision making.
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Robust financial and economic mnanagement
- The local council has a comprehensive economic strategy that aligns the financial and economic policies with the development plans.
- The impact of the financial and economic policies on sustainability is regularly assessed in order to identify their environmental and social impact.
- Financial audits are conducted by external auditors in order to measure the financial management practices of the authority.
- A system has been implemented to continuously monitor and update the key risk indicators, provide regular updates on the status of potential risks, and the measures adopted to manage them.
- Inter-municipal cooperation frameworks are in place for the joint provision of services.
- Inter-municipal agreements for risk mitigation, such as natural catastrophes and economic recessions, are reached.
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Sustanability and long-term orientation
- The local council has a comprehensive assessment strategy, which takes into account considerations regarding resilience, sustainability, and intergenerational equity in the decision-making and policy-making processes, based on key performance indicators (KPIs).
- Citizen participation and awareness-raising programmes are regularly run; they seek to improve awareness and understanding of resilience, sustainability and intergenerational equity.
- The local authority has a preservation strategy to assess the possible social, historical and cultural repercussions of the proposed policies and decisions.
- The local authority involves the community in the decisions that have an impact on the cultural and historical heritage, and on the life of the municipality.
- The local council has a long-term community-focused plan, which goes beyond the electoral cycles and which identifies the future needs of the municipality.
- There are regular training programmes organised for local stakeholders and for the municipal staff, in order to provide them with the necessary skills and expertise to implement and champion long-term planning processes.
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Openness to change and innovation
- There are guidelines to conduct regular self-assessment, foster flexibility in decision making, and to apply lifelong learning mechanisms.
- Innovation and openness are fostered by training initiatives, which include programmes to manage change and personal skills.
- Intersectoral exchanges of knowledge are regularly organised with other private and public stakeholders, civil society organisations and experts.
- The local council develops and participates in international projects and associations in order to provide valuable international experiences and expertise to benefit the local community.
- Interdepartmental cooperation is fostered to develop and apply innovative solutions.
- Local organisations, companies and individuals are offered a platform to propose innovative practices or solutions that address specific local challenges or improve services.
COUNCIL OF EUROPE
The Council of Europe (CoE) is the continent's main human rights organisation. It has 46 member states including the members of the EU. The CoE fosters Good Governance by means of legal assistance, policy advice and the development of the capabilities of local governments.
Learn about the European governance tools for municipalities here