Good governance, transparency, citizen participation, efficiency in the production of local services, proper financial management and strengthening of local economy are tools for local governments in the promotion of better life for their citizens. Local and regional governments have an important role in all countries. Municipal modernization, decentralization, proper policies, strategies, legislation, fiscal resources and capacity building all work towards strengthening local and regional governments. National associations of local governments and relevant training centers may have an important role in this development.
According to international studies, Finland is together with Iceland the least corrupted country in the world. It is also one of the most competitive countries in the world. This competitiveness is widely thanks to the reliable public administration in our country. Good governance, proper public services to citizens, including education, health care, social support and infrastructure, are to a large extent the responsibility of the Finnish municipalities. Finland is one of the most decentralized countries in the world. FCG represents internationally the Finnish know how on local and regional development. The Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities is the biggest shareholder of FCG.
Areas of Expertise
There are no standard solutions to local and regional development. Each country, region and local authority has to develop itself based on the local culture, needs and resources. Using our wide international and domestic expertise we are happy to serve, and co-operate with clients in local and regional development in e.g. the following fields:
- Good governance
- Municipal modernization
- Regional development
- Decentralization
- Financial management
- Provision of local services
- Provision of technical infrastructure
- Local economic development
Services
In local and regional development we focus on the needs of our partners with flexibility. We are ready to serve national authorities like ministries in charge of local government or regional development, other ministries, regional and local authorities and their co-operation bodies.
We work with relevant legislation, strategy and policy formulation, with concrete development projects and in capacity building and training both for elected representatives and officials.
Resources
In addition to its permanent and project staff working in the field of local and regional development, FCG also has access to much wider resources. The Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities with its 300 employees, over 400 Finnish local authorities with 520 000 employees, the 19 Regional Councils of Finland, thousands of international experts in our expert roster as well as FCG's strong business areas (eg. architecture, engineering, environment, local government training and consultation) which all are among the Finnish Consulting Group Ltd's resources in the field of local and regional development. We have strong linkages to many international companies and organizations. Our project experts also increasingly come from our partner countries.