Foundation in Support of Local Democracy


Although Poland has a unique history and was not under communism for nearly as long as the nations of the former Soviet Union, the way its local and municipal governments have made the transition to a new role in a market economy contains many lessons for cities and counties in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, etc. Playing an exemplary role in assisting this transition has been the Foundation in Support of Local Democracy in Poland. We describe its work here because of its relevance to the wider region.

The Foundation in Support of Local Democracy (FSLD) was established in September 1989 under the leadership of Senator Jerzy Regulski, a former professor of comparative government at the Polish Academy of Sciences. Initially it organized training courses for about 30,000 candidates running in local government elections in 1990. Today FSLD maintains a network of sixteen regional training centers and five colleges which offer a two-year curriculum in local government administration.

The regional centers offer training and consultancy in such fields as:

The regional centers have also established Polish-American Enterprise Clubs. FSLD's five colleges of local government administration were established to ensure a steady supply of qualified staff for local governments. Hundreds of students have completed the two-year curriculum, which includes basic courses on the principles of democracy and contemporary models of local government, specific courses on aspects of municipal administration, basic computer science, and foreign languages. The colleges also offer training for municipal employees and school directors. Close to 40% of the colleges' graduates find work in municipal and state government, which in many cases provide scholarships for their future employees. Many of the remaining alumni are employed by private businesses.

A central office in Warsaw provides general oversight of the regional offices' programs and management, and is responsible for ensuring that each FSLD regional center's work is apolitical, a fundamental rule of the Foundation. FSLD has developed a nation-wide database that includes information on literature about local government problems, local legislation, and resolutions adopted by local governments that were subsequently repealed by state administrative bodies.

Role of International Partners

Many of FSLD's training programs include internships with foreign government bodies and institutes. Upon their return, fellows generally prepare Polish-language manuals based on their international experience.

The list of American professional associations and non-governmental organizations with whom FSLD has worked include: the Community Development Training Institute, the Institute of Public Administration, the International City Management Association, the National Association of Towns and Townships, the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, and the National League of Cities. FSLD's U.S. representative is the Local Democracy in Poland Project (LDP) at Rutgers University managed by Professor Joanna Regulska.

LDP has helped FSLD raise funds in the U.S. and promoted contacts with American institutions, besides organizing internships in the U.S. It has arranged 4-6 week training programs in the U.S. for more than 50 Polish officials, who gain an opportunity to observe first-hand the structure of U.S. local government and the division of responsibilities among different levels of government. LDP has also recruited over 100 Polish-American and American professionals to go to Poland.

LDP has translated into Polish a wide variety of publications concerned with local government that FSLD has identified as useful and appropriate to conditions in Poland. LDP has also produced a series of videotapes that feature Polish-speaking experts describing American models of local government. The column to the right lists some of FSLD's videos and publications.

For more information about FSLD or LDP contact:

Dr. Joanna Regulska
Local Democracy in Poland Program
Office of International Programs
Rutgers University
172 College Avenue
New Brunswick, NJ 08903
Tel: (908) 932-8551
Fax: (908) 932-1144

or

Foundation in Support of Local Democracy
ul. Krzywickiego 9
02-078 Warsaw
POLAND
Tel: 48 (22) 25-25-47, 25-28-08
Fax: 48 (22) 25-14-16


This article is from the February 1994 issue of
Civil Society ... East and West

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The URL for this page is: http://solar.rtd.utk.edu/~ccsi/csew/94-02/fsld.html
Last updated: October 8, 1996

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