LOGO East: A Programme for Strengthening Local and Regional Governments through Partnerships

Timeframe: 2008 – 2009 (phase II)
 
Implementer:  VNG International (International Co-operation Agency of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities)

Funded: by  Social Transformation Programme Central and Eastern Europe (MATRA) of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Description

LOGO (Local Government) East is a major Netherlands programme for exchange of local government experiences through partnerships between Netherlands municipalities, water boards and provinces and local and regional governments and their counterparts in Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Ukraine, Serbia, and the Russian Federation.
 
LOGO East's starting point are the existing twinning partners between the Netherlands and the above mentioned partner countries. In addition, VNG International promotes Netherlands local authorities to engage in new twinning relations with these countries and to establish tri-partite relations, the so-called trinnings. These trinnings are established by extending the existing twinning networks to third partners in the newly accessed EU countries - Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia - for transition experience.
 
Objective

The main objective of LOGO East is to strengthen the capacity of local and regional governments in Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Ukraine, Serbia, and the Russian Federation by direct, decentralised cooperation.
Accordingly, LOGO East has two sub-objectives, namely:
1.    Strengthening the capacity of the political level and administration of regional and local governments in the partner countries.  
2.    Increasing the number and quality of partnerships between regional and local governments in the Netherlands and the partner countries.

Netherlands municipalities, provinces, water boards, public utility companies together with their equivalent partners are eligible to submit an application for a twinning or trinning project under the LOGO East Programme. Note that the Dutch organisation is considered as the applicant organisation and thus the contracting partner of VNG International.
 
Target countries

LOGO East's partner countries in Phase II are Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Ukraine, Serbia and the Russian Federation. In addition, the programme promotes tri-partite relations or trinnings by extending the existing twinning networks to third partners in the newly accessed EU countries: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia. 

For more specific information per country, regarding the activities, planning, the twinning projects financed by LOGO East, local partners, contact persons, publications application guidelines please visit the web site of VNG International.