ICPE at the UNDESA Workshop in Vienna, 11-13 July 2011

Dr Stefan Bogdan Salej, Director-General of ICPE participated in the workshop on “Engaging Citizen to Enhance Public Service Delivery and Strengthen Accountability: Accelerating Progress toward the Millennium Development Goals”, which was organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and was held at the Vienna International Centre (VIC) in Vienna, Austria from 11 to 13 July 2011.

This Workshop explored how the engagement of citizens—and their organizations in civil society and the private sector—can contribute to improve public accountability in public service delivery and spending. The goal of the Workshop was to enhance knowledge and build a shared understanding of what participatory institutions, approaches and tools can be adopted by countries to make public service delivery more effective, equitable, transparent, responsive and citizen-centric.

The Workshop provided ample time for discussion on regional trends and contexts, and on public services related to the achievement of the MDGs, such as healthcare, primary education, employment and entrepreneurship services. The workshop also allowed for consideration of emerging accountability mechanisms involving citizen, parliaments and public enterprises.

In the Panel 7 "Enhancing Accountability in Public Service Spending through Citizen Engagement”, Dr. Salej participated as panelist with his presentation.