Decentralised Cooperation takes different shapes when it comes to practical modalities.
Decentralised cooperation: a chance to look at cooperation in a different light
The weight of basic needs in Latin American countries and the frequent occurrence of natural disasters or exceptional circumstances, particularly in Central America, have helped to make many decentralised cooperation initiatives markedly aid-related (the construction or rehabilitation of infrastructure, the supply of materials and equipment, humanitarian aid, etc.).
This model is, however, the subject of debate and trends today now point to a search for real added value in decentralised cooperation in two respects:
- Capacity-building of local and regional authorities
- The fostering of horizontal and mutual relations between stakeholders in both regions, thereby moving away from one-sided relations based on the transfer or resources or knowledge from one party to another, from the North to the South
Diversity of practices
Decentralised cooperation can take various forms depending on the partnership formed:
- one-off or lasting
- bilateral or multilateral
- exclusively between local authorities or involving other agents
The types of cases are very varied:
- lasting city-to-city relations: twinning or long-term cooperation accord
- short-lived city-to-city (or region-to-region) relations: project or one-off initiative
- joint projects that involve a number of local authorities in a single initiative
- networking to share specialist knowledge between a number of local authorities
- strategic alliances that tend to have an impact on national and regional agendas by bringing together various types of actors and levels of government
- political representation and lobbying networks to defend the interests of local actors and to foster municipalism at a global level
Moreover, other institutions of a public nature such as national governments, multilateral organisations or associations of municipalities, have developed support programmes to decentralised cooperation targeting local and regional authorities.
A proposal for a tipology
Given the different coexisting practices, the Observatory has set up a classification with a view to order and interpret the phenomenon of decentralised cooperation taking into consideration its multiple variations and richness.
- Bilateral relation: relation between 2 public subnational institutions (local and regional governments, as well as its associations) involving strong links between them. In practice, bilateral relations are all those having signed a formal cooperation or twinning agreement or having developed a specific project, no matter the lenght of it. Thus, it is possible to find long-term links (town-twinning) and short-term initiatives (projects) and these relations can move on to multiple activities in different sectors and fiels.
- Project: relation of a fixed duration, with beginning and end. In practice, only multilateral partnership projects with more than 2 local governments involved and those focused on local and regional capacity-building and strengthening are being considered. The most part of the projects now registered in our database are URB-AL ones.
- Network: long-term permanent relation among various local governments. It can be thematic, in case networks generate around a specific subject, or it can be based on profile, when members share similar characteristics (capital cities, big metropolis, outskirt towns, etc.).
- Programme: framework action boosting or promoting other relations under its influence. The majority of the programmes are coordinated by national governments, international organisations or associations of municipalities, but also regions are starting to set up their own programmes.
The Observatory has used this tipology to classify the initiatives identified until now and results can be searched and are shown on these grounds, both in the Database and as Statistical data.
