What is C.A.I.MED
CAIMED has been established following an agreement between
the Government of Italy and the United Nations who signed
on 21 May 2002 a Memorandum of Understanding for the “Promotion
of Exchange of Innovation in Public Administration”
in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The Government of Italy,
represented by the Department of Public Administration,
through FORMEZ – Study and Training Centre, and the
United Nations, represented by the Department of Economic
and Social Affairs, agreed to cooperate in the implementation
of activities to be carried out by the “Centre for
Exchange of Administrative Innovation between Europe and
the Mediterranean Region” (CAIMED) in order to promote,
strengthen and support improved modalities of cooperation
between FORMEZ and UNDESA.
The Centre for Administrative Innovation in the Euro-Mediterranean
Region - CAIMED, jointly managed by the United Nations Department
of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and FORMEZ–
Study and Training Centre, is a centre of excellence on
public administration in the Euro-Mediterranean region which
aims at sharing experiences in public administration innovation.
Its ultimate goal is to support good governance in the region.
The Centre is also an On-line Regional Centre of the United
Nations Global Online Public Administration Network.
The Centre does not have autonomous legal status, but it
is a common service offered by UNDESA and FORMEZ who collaborate
in the implementation of various activities in the field
of public administration innovation. These activities are
summarized in a joint work plan approved annually by the
Steering Committee of CAIMED (see para. 9). For each activity
either UNDESA or FORMEZ acts as the leading institution,
but it counts on the collaboration of the other partner.
Therefore, some activities will be managed directly by UNDESA
with the support of FORMEZ and others will be managed directly
by FORMEZ with the support of UNDESA.
Why was CAIMED established
The Centre for Exchange of Administrative Innovation in
the Euro-Mediterranean region was created to respond to
the need to support innovation processes in public administration
through sharing of experiences in the countries of the Mediterranean
region so as to promote participatory governance and foster
economic and social progress.
It is widely recognized that effective public administration
systems and good governance have a critical role in alleviating
poverty, making globalization work for all, enhancing citizens'
participation at all levels of governance, protecting the
environment, promoting sustainable development, and preventing
and managing violent conflicts.
Modernizing public administration and making it more
effective is a challenge that affects all countries and
is related to the adaptation and improvement of administrative
structures, managerial and human resources capacities,
financial management and technological adequacy to new
needs and demands emerging from societies which are much
more complex and heterogeneous than a few decades ago.
In other words, it is a process of re-adjustment of State
institutions and public management to the need for greater
cost-effectiveness, quality, simplicity and participation
in government. In a number of countries, debureaucratization
and decentralization have been increasingly coupled with
new approaches to management, exemplifying openness, adaptability,
participation, flexibility, diversity and responsiveness.
The worldwide trends of globalization and pressures from
below for greater citizen participation have also compelled
Governments to debate “the role of the State”,
to explore various partnerships with private sector and
civil society organizations and to consider re-engineering
of government systems, retraining of public officials
and rethinking of public policies. Given the rapid changes
in technology and the global economy, Governments have
also been motivated to learn to continuously re-evaluate
government performance in relation to citizen demands
and global pressures. The changes in the general configuration
of State responsibilities have lead to important modifications
both in the policy arena and in the State’s requirements
for high-level skills, qualitatively and quantitatively.
The advantages of having established this common service
or collaborative mechanism is:
- To capitalize on the various activities undertaken
in the field of innovation in public administration
in the Euro-Mediterranean Region by making them available
through the on-line CAIMED Network and avoiding duplication;
- To build on the respective strengths of each partner
institution – UNDESA as an international institution
with the capacity to mobilize high-level expertise and
networks, and FORMEZ as an institution with great experience
in the area of public administration reform at the local
and regional levels;
- To capitalize on the network that each institution
has in terms of bringing together additional partners
for selected activities to promote more multi-sector
and holistic types of projects in the area of public
administration reform in the Euro-Mediterranean Region;
Who are the users of CAIMED
The clients of CAIMED include government agencies both at
the national and local levels, non-governmental agencies,
universities and research institutions, and citizens at
large in the countries of the Euro-Mediterranean Region.
