Municipal Development Council

Shaping the future together locally

The consequences of the Corona crisis, climate change, the energy crisis, the guarantee of health care and mobility – these are just a few of the many challenges that municipalities in rural areas are facing today. With the model project "Shaping the Future Together Locally", we are working with five rural municipalities over a period of two years to establish municipal development councils in order to develop strategies for dealing with complex issues of the future together with representatives from civil society, business, politics and administration. The focus is on strengthening the participation competence of the municipality. For this purpose, a local coordination from the administration and local moderation teams are trained within the framework of the project and closely accompanied in the implementation. The Berlin Governance Platform provides each municipality with process support. Together with the municipalities, we aim to test and further develop municipal development councils as an efficient and effective participation instrument at the municipal level.

DURATION

01/2022 - 12/2023

FUNDER

Federal Agency for Civic Education (BpB)

TEAM

Dominique Pannke, Johannes Krabbe, Laura Gerards Iglesias, Karol Sabo

ON-SITE INSIGHTS

www.kebniesky.blog

www.kebkalletal.blog

FORMAT

Municipal Development Council

Our partner municipalities

Kalletal

Arneburg-Goldbeck

Rottenburg on the Neckar

Hoyerswerda

Niesky

Kalletal

is a municipality in the northeast of North Rhine-Westphalia and has around 13,000 inhabitants. Kalletal has been a Fairtrade municipality since 2020 and has already successfully implemented several participation processes. Mario Hecker has been mayor of the municipality since 2020. Further information: www.kalletal.de / Photo: Robin Peste

What is the theme?

The mission of the Community Development Advisory Board in Kalletal 2023 is to develop a recommendation on how health care in Kalletal can be improved and also secured in the future. The title of the process is: "Strengthening healthcare in Kalletal together - from the cradle to the end of life". More insights on site: www.kebkalletal.blog

Arneburg-Goldbeck

is an association municipality in the Altmarkt in the north of Saxony-Anhalt. The association municipality includes eight independent municipalities, which are united for their administrative activities. In Arneburg-Goldbeck live 9,000 people on 304 km2. Arneburg-Goldbeck is characterized by a lively club life and a committed civil society.

What is the theme?

The Municipal Development Advisory Council should address the issue of mobility in rural areas. How can safe, affordable, reliable and sustainable mobility be ensured in the long term, especially in an area as large as the association municipality? After a dedicated planning phase, the majority of the Arneburg-Goldbeck Association Municipal Council nevertheless decided against the implementation of the Municipal Development Advisory Council in December 2023. This means that the development advisory council cannot be implemented at this point in time.

Rottenburg on the Neckar

is a large county town in the district of Tübingen in Baden-Württemberg. Rottenburg has a very committed urban society and numerous experiences with participation, such as citizen dialogues and citizens' petitions. Among other things, the city is characterized by a special Fasnet culture, which marks the beginning of the Rottenburg year.

What is the theme?

The Municipal Development Advisory Council will focus on the effects of current crises on peaceful coexistence and the sustainable development of the city. In doing so, the increasing polarization in the urban society will also be addressed, which has become apparent in previous participation processes, among other things. The Municipal Development Advisory Council builds on Rottenburg's 'City Concept 2030' and reviews where the achievement of goals could be inhibited by current crises and what is needed to counteract this.

Hoyerswerda

is located in the Lausitz region of Saxony and has 31,000 inhabitants. Starting in the 1960s, Hoyerswerda was massively expanded to provide living space for thousands of employees of the lignite combine "Schwarze Pumpe". At its peak, 70,000 people lived in the city. Today, Hoyerswerda is characterized by a very active civil society and numerous socio-cultural meeting places. Image: City of Hoyerswerda

What is the theme?

In Hoyerswerda, the Municipal Development Advisory Council is concerned with the sensible use of green and demolition areas in the city. A "green fringe" is to be created here that connects the old and new towns and is used as a sustainable experience space. The Municipal Development Advisory Board works to link the ideas of politics/administration, civil society and business for inclusive design and to bring them into practical implementation.

Niesky

is a large district town in Upper Lusatia in Saxony. Almost 10,000 inhabitants live here. The city builds on a long tradition in wagon construction and industrial timber construction. Niesky has just become a model community for citizen participation in Saxony. In addition to our model project, Niesky also participates in the participation format jugend.entscheidet! participation format. Photo: Doris Heinrich

What is the theme?

Under the title "WegWeiserWirtschaft" (WayWiseEconomy), the Municipal Development Advisory Council is looking at the economic development of the large district town. Where does Niesky see itself in ten years? As a 'dormitory town', an industrial location or something completely different? What criteria should be applied to future decisions on economic issues? On the basis of these considerations, the advisory council will examine the conditions under which a rail test line project could be located. Read more: www.kebniesky.blog

Voices from the municipalities

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