- 10 December 2021
- Posted by: andrzej.sztando
- Category: Traveling in search of local development and inspirations for local & regional governments
At the invitation of Commissioner General Marie-Geneviève Mounier, I was a guest at the Canada Expo 2020 pavilion, and we talked i.a. on Canadian communes and their development strategies. We can learn from them, e.g. that combining communes by the state, even agglomeration ones, rarely brings the benefits, contrary to expectations. This was done, e.g. in Canada, but also in the USA, Australia and New Zealand, reducing their number by up to 30%. Instead of better strategies, increased efficiency and effectiveness of governance, however, the main results are an increase in bureaucracy and costs. Polish strategies for supralocal development of communes, i.e. voluntary strategic cooperation of functionally related communes, supported by state grants, may turn out to be a better solution. However, it must be done right, which it is completely possible.