Towards Local Transparency 2.0

Project facts

Project promoter:
Transparency International Lithuanian Chapter(LT)
Project Number:
LT-ACTIVECITIZENS-0064
Status:
Completed
Final project cost:
€166,500
Donor Project Partners:
Citizens Foundation Iceland(IS)
Other Project Partners
Eitminiskes gymnasium(LT)
Kalveliai "Ausra" gymnasium(LT)
Kaunas University of Technology
Faculty of Social Sciences
Arts and Humanities(LT)
LCC International University(LT)
Lithuanian Junior Doctors’ Association(LT)
Pabrade “Rytas” gymnasium(LT)
Panevezys Vyturio progymnasium(LT)
Prienai “Žiburys” gymnasium(LT)
Sakiai “Ziburys” gymnasium(LT)
Siauliai “Rasa” progymnasium(LT)
Silale Simonas Gaudesius gymnasium(LT)
Ukmerge Senamiestis progymnasium(LT)
Vilnius Simonas Konarskis gymnasium(LT)
Programme:

Description

In the past 15 years the level of bribery in Lithuania has decreased three-fold falling to the all-time low in 2019. Yet, high-level corruption such as nepotism remains widespread. Citizens consider municipalities as one of the most corrupt institutions in Lithuania.  

The solution: TI Lithuania, together with its partners, will conduct monitoring and evidence-based advocacy initiatives aiming to increase transparency and accountability of municipal level politicians, public authorities and other institutions, as well as citizen engagement at the municipal level. The main project target groups are (1) municipal level politicians and decision-makers, (2) local community leaders and (3) representatives and decision-makers from national authorities, associations.

Planned results: 

1) stronger evidence-based advocacy by TI Lithuania and its partner CSOs, improved monitoring of public institutions (proposals to at least 6 pieces of national legislation addressing local governance issues, at least 35 public policy proposals); 

2) increased transparency and accountability of politicians and public institutions (at least 38 monitoring initiatives aimed at increasing the level of transparency of at least 250 public institutions and of at least 180 municipal level politicians and public officials, at least 5 online tools with the newest data from municipalities aimed at increasing citizens‘s opportunities to monitor public sector institutions and local level politicians); 

3) increased civic participation, improved civic education (at least 10 schools supported in engaging some 2500 members of school communities and at least 2 municipalities in engaging some 500 citizens in public consultations and decision-making processes; at least 80 thousand citizens engaged via online tools); 

4) strengthened partnerships with and improved networking capacity of TI Lithuania and at least 16 partners, jointly implementing at least 28 initiatives.

Summary of project results

In the past 15 years the level of bribery in Lithuania has decreased three-fold falling to the all-time low in 2019. Yet, high-level corruption such as nepotism remains widespread. Citizens consider municipalities as one of the most corrupt institutions in Lithuania. Notably, in the past decade little attention has been paid to the ways to decrease corruption and increase transparency of local institutions and politicians.

Therefore, with this project Transparency International (TI) Lithuania aimed to address corruption at the municipal level.

The solution: TI Lithuania, together with its partners, conducted monitoring and evidence-based advocacy initiatives aimed to increase transparency and accountability of municipal level politicians, public authorities and other institutions, as well as citizen engagement at the municipal level. The main project target groups were (1) municipal level politicians and decision-makers, (2) local community leaders and (3) representatives and decision-makers from national authorities, associations.

Project results: (1) stronger evidence-based advocacy by TI Lithuania and its partner CSOs, improved monitoring of public institutions (proposals to 11 pieces of national legislation addressing local governance issues, at least 35 public policy proposals); (2) increased transparency and accountability of politicians and public institutions (43 monitoring initiatives implemented together with partners, aimed at increasing the level of transparency of municipal and national level politicians and public officials, newest data from municipalities published in different TI Lithuania’s online tools, increased opportunities of citizens to monitor public sector institutions and local level politicians); (3) increased civic participation, improved civic education (13 schools supported in engaging some 4 thousand members of school communities; 82 thousand citizens engaged via online tools); (4) strengthened partnerships with and improved networking capacitiy of TI Lithuania (18 public and private sector institutions engaged, jointly implementing 29 initiatives).

Summary of bilateral results

During the implementation of the project, Transparency International Lithuania consulted with Citizens Foundation on issues related to the participatory budgeting (PB) platform, as well as the sustainability of PBs in municipalities. Colleagues from the Citizens Foundation were sharing their knowledge and expertise with TI Lithuania’s staff members during the implementation of this project.

Information on the projects funded by the EEA and Norway Grants is provided by the Programme and Fund Operators in the Beneficiary States, who are responsible for the completeness and accuracy of this information.