Project outputs
1) Publicity of the project
The aim of the activity is to effectively and clearly inform the involved entities and the public about the implementation of the project, the EEA Funds and the cooperation with the partner from Norway. This goal will be fulfilled in accordance with the communication strategy of the project, which will elaborate the goal in detail into individual steps, describe tools, means, responsible persons.
• The newly created project website – a separate project website, will be created by September 2022 and will contain the following information: information about the project, including the progress achieved during the implementation, achievements and outputs of the project, contact details, a visible link to the program within which it is the project is supported, and the relevant grant mechanism (EEA Funds 2014 – 2021) is indicated as a source of funding, including the relevant logo. The website will also contain visual documentation for the project, links to the website of the program intermediary, a link to the website www.fondyehp.cz/www.norskefondy.cz and the official website of the EEA and Norway Funds (www.eeagrants.org).
• A set of mandatory publicity elements – the city of Otrokovice, partner municipalities and organizations – press releases, the content of which will include information about the project’s goals, key activities, target groups, methods of cooperation with the public, outputs and results. There will be information on the support received from the EEA Funds 2014 – 2021, as well as information on when and how citizens can get involved in the implementation of the project.
• Final conference – a final project conference will be held before the end of the project (in February 2024). It will be a two-day event, the aim of which will be to inform about the project, its progress so far, the fulfillment of the goal, the implementation of project activities, the achieved outputs and results. It will include the evaluation of participatory activities in Otrokovice and partner municipalities, the evaluation of the cooperation of all partners, including the foreign partner, and the planning of the future form of citizen involvement in decision-making in the municipality. The conference will include contributions from representatives of the implementer and partners (from the Czech Republic and Norway), as well as experts who will outline trends in the field of participation with citizens. The conference will also be attended by representatives of other municipalities and organizations interested in citizen participation.
2) Gaining experience from a foreign partner
The goal of the activity is to obtain information from the foreign partner (the Norwegian city of Fredrikstad) about the preparation and implementation of participation with the public. By fulfilling the goal, we will contribute to the education of public administration workers and elected representatives in civic participation.
• Realized study trip to Norway – experiences from study trips abroad, but also study trips for good practice in the Czech Republic, say that it is important to perceive the topic being addressed in the context of the place, work style, legislative conditions and other aspects that we need to know in order to they could successfully transfer the shared experiences to the environment of municipalities in the Czech Republic. The output of the study trip will be a report from the study trip, which will be processed by each participant of the trip and will serve as a basis for the presentation of the project outputs at the final conference.
• Realized consultations – as part of gaining experience from a foreign partner, there will also be two one-day consultations. These will be implemented on time following one of the educational workshops and the conference (May 2023, February 2024). The content of the consultations will be the supervision of specific activities within the process of involving the public and their impact on the topic under discussion. Consultations are primarily planned for the city of Otrokovice, but will also be accessible to colleagues from partner municipalities. The consultation meeting after the final conference will be used to evaluate the public involvement process, but also to evaluate cooperation within the project as such. Minutes will be taken of the consultations and will be shared with the project partners.
3) Education
The aim of the activity is to educate people from the target group of public administration workers and elected representatives on the subject of civic participation
• Educational workshops – There will be six days of educational workshops focusing on the topic of public involvement. The workshops will be attended by representatives of the applicant, partner organizations (including representatives of the Norwegian partner – in person or online) and lecturers. In terms of schedule, the workshops will take place every two days in order to make more efficient use of the time of the involved public administration workers and politicians. The format of the workshop will enable interactive work and the sharing of experiences, with which colleagues from partner municipalities will enrich each other. Experiential learning methods will be used to the maximum extent possible, especially learning by doing, i.e. participants will prepare activities that they will then implement in their municipalities. A record and presentation of partial outputs will be available from each workshop.
4) Public involvement activities in Otrokovice
The goal of the activity is to develop formal and informal public involvement activities incl. the young generation, women, seniors, persons with disabilities and socially weaker citizens and in decision-making and incorporating communication with citizens into decision-making processes. The basic topic on which we will work together with people from the target groups in Otrokovice is the update of the Action Plan for sustainable urban mobility in Otrokovice.
• Realized consultations with active involvement of the public – Questioning of the public through a web application, discussions with target groups, a workshop for students and pupils, public discussion, creation of the document Instruction Involvement of the public in planning and decision-making.
• Created instructions for involving the public in decision-making processes in the village – the instructions are an internal document of the Otrokovice Municipal Office, in which all processes carried out by the office’s staff are described. The Public Involvement instruction will be prepared by members of the implementation team who have experience in creating these documents. They will contain information about in which cases the city of Otrokovice will involve the public in planning and decision-making, what minimum procedures will be necessary for this, which workers will carry out the process, which workers will be responsible for the process and, in particular, in what form and on what dates they will submit the final proposals to the city authorities for approval.
5) Public involvement activities in partner municipalities
The aim of the activity is to develop formal and informal public involvement activities in partner municipalities. The topic of involvement was chosen by each partner municipality according to its needs. Some municipalities, like the city of Otrokovice, will deal with the issue of transport, other municipalities are interested in the modification of public space or the entire housing estate. This will make involvement activities more varied and it will be more useful to share experiences from the public involvement process within the activities intended for this purpose.
• Realized consultations with active involvement of the public – an information campaign or event will take place in each municipality in relation to the discussed topic. In addition, there will be a public consultation in electronic or printed form and a public discussion of the proposed solution or the draft of the strategic document.