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IAF Egyptian Participants' Reports |
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Report on the Seminar on New Public Management Participant: Ahmad Ibraheem Date: 27 September – 4 October 2009  Report :Upon the announcement posted by FNF about a workshop titled “New Public Management”, I applied. The process was divided into three stages. The first and second stages were conducted on the Internet starting on the Internet on 23 July and extending up to 26 September. The third stage, however, took place in the Theodor Heuss Akademie in Germany 27 September – 4 October 2009. The first stage on the Internet: The first part of the workshop had 86 participants from more than 20 countries. It started with providing a set of studies and research on the main concepts of modern management and their relationship to liberalism. It also comprised writing an essay on the most important problems of public management and the attempts at dealing with them. There was a forum that was established to discuss the following topics:  The relationship between modern public management and liberalism The extent to which the government can draw on external services The main differences between traditional public management and the modern side of it in terms of application The importance of liberalism and new public management The centralization misconceptions Public management and the waste of human and financial resources, as well as the importance of reducing costs The legal side for administrative reform from a liberal viewpoint Responsibility in public management The expectations of voters from politicians Anti-corruption policies Decentralization and the flexible state Globalization and the liberal debate Freedom and equality The meaning of public service Comprehensive administrative reform The importance of reform in the public sector The possibility of having an efficient public administrationThis stage also included a testing of the concepts and information acquired. There was a also a competition on the slogan for a campaign launching new public management. The stage ended with an evaluation by the participants. Second Stage on the Internet Participants were divided into 4 groups according to geographical location: 1. Latin America 2. East and Central European countries 3. Mediterranean and African countries 4. South and East Asian countries The "wiki-editor" was used to prepare a study on the most prominent political, social, and cultural features of the Mediterranean countries and Africa. Each group presented a proposal for a project on New Public Management in one of the areas of services offered by the government. Third Stage in the Theodor Heuss Akademie in Germany This stage started with explaining the concepts of new public management and explaining the significant points needed to enhance this type of management and to deal with it. This was followed by a discussion and an evaluation of the tools used in New Public Management as well as their relevance to the represented states through the group presentation of the results. Among the main training methods the group was exposed to was that of role play. The participants were divided into three groups, each of which representing a different political movement and the chief of the local council. Each group was supposed to try to pass a law through the local council by cooperating with the two other groups. Meetings with some officials in Köln were held, such as the meeting with Mr. Ulrich Breite, Councilor and Secretary of the FDP Cologne Parliamentary Group, who talked about the most significant problems of local government, as well as the proposed solutions for overcoming these problems. Another meeting was held with Mr. Joachim Hoffmann, CEO of Association of Liberal Local Politicians, who talked about the nature of this union and the services, offered to the liberal politicians in town. We had a meeting with Mr. Walter Leitermann, Head of the European Office of the German Association of Cities in Brussels and Head of the Foreign Department of the German Association. Upon returning to the Academy, the participants in groups presented some of the projects already underway in their countries, showing the use of new public management tools in solving problems. The participants had a meeting with Mr. Uwe Ufer, Mayor of the town of Hueckeswagen who was able to properly apply the methodology of New Public Management on the city, which improved the conditions in the city greatly. There was also a discussion of the tools of new public management from the perspective of each country represented in the workshop. Finally, the most important viewpoints opposing new public management were tackled. I would like to thank FNF for giving me the opportunity to participate in this workshop. |
Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty in Egypt : www.fnst-egypt.org
