Workshop „Involvement of nonprofit organizations” Public involvement and the State Chancellery of the Republic of Estonia Eleka Rugam-Rebane Government´s Communication Office March 4, 2005

Workshop „Involvement of nonprofit organizations” Main issues:  The framework of public involvement in Estonia  Raising awareness of public involvement in the governmental institutions  Best practice of public involvement  The existing practice of public involvement in governmental institutions in Estonia

The framework of public involvement in Estonia  Estonian Civil Society Development Concept (EKAK in Estonian) - Activity Plan for implementing the Civil Society Development Concept of the Estonian Civil Society for  Joint Committee of the government of the Republic of Estonia and the representatives of citizens’ associations - 3 working groups: legislation and involvement; financing and statistics; civic education and public awareness.

The priorities of the of the Joint Committee  The priorities dealt with by the 3 working groups of the Joint Committee: - legislation regulating citizen initiatives - involvement of citizens and citizens' associations in the decision-making processes - financing of citizens' associations - statistics - civic education - public awareness

Raising awareness of involvement in the government institutions Involvement actions of the State Chancellery: - coordination of the area of public involvement in the governmental institutions ; - participation in the work of Joint Committee ; - initiation of the working group of best practice of public involvement ; - developing the electronic forms of involvement/consultations ; - training of public servants in the field of the effect of politics and legal acts.

Best practice of involvement (work in progress) - Frame in a clear and simple manner the purpose of consultation, the expected output and effect of the process of consultation and its decision. - Identify the involved parties concerned with the field being consulted and map their wishes, needs and characteristic features. - Establish the plan and different forms of involvement elaborately. - Consider the communication for the involved parties and the general public from the standpoint of information mediation.

Best practice of involvement (work in progress) - Initiate consultation with involved parties in the early stage. - If necessary, make conclusions of the feedback received during the consultation, amend the details of the process according to the feedback received and notify the parties of the conclusions. - Assess the consultation process and the applicability of its outcome. - Notify the involved parties of the outcome of the consultation.

Existing practice of involvement in Estonia  The practice of involvement in the Estonian public institutions vary according to the field.  For most of the public institutions, the involvement requirements are provided by different foreign treaties or conventions recognized by Estonia.  Active consultations are conducted by the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, Ministry of Education and Research, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Social Affairs.

Existing practice of involvement in Estonia, 2  Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications – inculcating the ideas of best practice of involvement, good administration and better regulation on ministry level; establishing framework for electronic consultations.  Ministry of Finance - conducting consultations with its cooperation partners within the framework of the Estonian National Development Plan 2004 – Inculcating ideas of best practice of involvement on ministry level.