United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

The administration authority of the district of Feldbach in Styria / Austria aims to be both an administration office with public duties and a centre for contact and information. Basically the tasks of an administration authority are laid down by laws (fixed scopes). The exact distribution of activities for each employee is regulated by the public authority internally. The tasks must be adapted to the actual demand, for example in the case of amendments to laws. The concrete duties of the employees are laid down in an organization manual or in a job description respectively. As we are an administration authority that will accept the social challenge in future we prepared a masterplan in December 2005 which includes 29 projects. The masterplan is a dynamic task-program, which determines the priority of essential tasks within the working process. Adaptations to the masterplan may be necessary if new legal tasks are given, if the political target changes or in the case of unforeseen affairs. The realization of projects is based on the project manual published by provincial government of Styria.

Basically, the masterplan is a document that defines the timeframe, the radius, the topics and especially the problem-listing (description of the current situation) and the aims (description of the situation that should be achieved).

As a first project an internal task force have defined a mission statement for the administration authority of the district of Feldbach. It is a verbally formulated strategy which is communicated to the employees. By means of this mission statement the work, the aims and values will be presented to the people. The mission statement replaces the leading model and is made public means of posters fastened on the walls of the administration authority.

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
The masterplan includes 28 projects on top of the already worked out mission statement. The aim of these projects is the increase of client contentment, for example by optimizing the guiding system in the office and by using an attractive homepage. the use of e-government is to allow an uncomplicated contact with the people and the economy by providing efficient internal working courses and working processes. Many services are already carried out in the one-stop-shop-principle. On a long-term basis these services should be concentrated in a special organization unit - the citizens office - to spare clients time-consuming visits to authority. To take provide for more efficient working processes task forces were established to evaluate the time- and the meeting-management as well as the guideline for industrial manufacturing plants. There is also a team to develop new forms htat are easier to understand. For a better control the costs-work-situation a special controlling toll was installed. Moreover, all working processes in the administration authority of Feldbach were examined and a process-map was prepared, which allowed the evaluation of the working courses. Talks to employees have been established. Through the introduction of the leading instrument "management by objects" the individual employee can speak precisely about the work carried out and his or her wishes for the future. This leads to a higher employee satisfaction. By using a qualified staff development concept we can oppose staff defiles. Projects which serve quickly information to public have been adopted. A purposeful course-model for public work was established. Networks were created. The social workers of the district of Feldbach meet four times a year and hold workshops to set up new priorities. The human doctors of the district have a network-meeting once a year to discuss current topics. To satisfy the special requirements from the public a social manual is made up which includes all social institutions in the district. As there is an increasing need for parents-information a parents-child-centre should be built to provide a meeting- and communication centre for parents. In 2006 we primarily paid attention to projects which concern children and teenagers. The project "kids holiday" enables children from families with a poor social background to have a holiday for two weeks. This is an operation which has been very successful for many years and which has been evaluated within the scope of the masterplan. Moreover, we have initiated the addiction-prevention-project "E.L.O.S. - Ein Leben ohne Sucht (L.W.A. - Life Without Addiction) and carried out a week's campaign "safety on roads". The following paragraphs are dealing with projects regarding the protection and safety of children and young people. They are either still taking place or have already been completed.

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
Some projects have already been completed. They are or were realized repeatedly, such as "kids holiday" and the "network of social workers". From 2nd to 6th Ocotober, 2006 the campaign "safety on roads" lasting for one week, took place in Feldbach. In November 2006 the project "network of human doctors of the district" was put into effect. In future all these arrangements are taking place once a year. From February 25th to March 4th 2007, in cooperation with schools, we will realize a week's campaign concerning iv"8tung für Alle” (Respect for all people) to sensitize children and teenagers towards the topic of discrimination. The project "addiction-prevention" will not be completed before winter 2008 due to its complexive structure. All further projects will be completed by the end of 2007.

Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
a. What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
The masterplan was made in order to pay continuous attention to the priorities along with the daily work. This is important both for the internal working process and for society. Practice has shown that nowadays children and teenagers are confronted much sooner and to a much higher extend with social cultural and social economical problems. The administration authority of the district of Feldbach has therefore forced this sector in 2006. The projects "E.L.O.S. - Life without addiction" and "Respect for all people" were initiated. Also the week's campaign "safety on roads" was organized.

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
The aim of the campaign "safety on roads" is to draw children's attention to the risks posed by the traffic and to sensitize motorists to our pupils. By realizing the project "E.L.O.S. - Life without addiction" the inhabitants of the district should be sensitized towards our consumption- and pleasure society and they should start to change their attitude. Protective factors such as health promotion and life-skills should be enforced. Within the field of alcohol consumption responsibility should be assumed on a legal, economic and personal level. The number of accidents caused by alcohol consumption should be reduced. There should also be a lobby for youngsters. The ever increasing number of immigrants from other nations is responsible for more problems among teenagers. For this reason a campaign is being organized in the district of Feldbach for the period between February 25th and Mach 4th, 2007, stressing the importance of respect and tolerance between people. The aim of this project is to teach people a respectful, considerate and responsible social behaviour.

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
25 schools (i. e. 950 pupils) of the district participated in the project "safety on roads". In cooperation with the police the campaign "zebra" took place. Collaborators were positioned on zebra crossings without traffic lights holding up signs "precendence for zebras". Motorists should be reminded of the fact that on zebra crossings pedestrians must be given precedence. In front of kindergartens and schools "white angels" (employees of hte curatorship for safety on roads) informed people about the consequences of an accident if children are not properly protect. During the campaign "kangaroo" carried out in nursery schools, educationalists of the curatorship for safety on roads informed people about child's safety seats in cars by using glove-puppets. A mobile cycling school offered training in schools to teach children the right behaviour in road traffic. In cooperation with the police and schools children handed out apples and lemons to motorists on regulated zebra crossings. Apples represented praise for the drivers' behaviour on roads, whereas lemons meant criticism. Safety counselling was carried out for moped drivers, and they were also offered legal information. In the field of addiction-prevention a network of different target groups should be created. The public, i. e. parents, teenagers as well as economic, social and educational institutions, etc. should work together on the same project - "Life without addiction". The training of nursery teachers has already begun. The aim of this project is to offer better training for teachers and educationalists: STEP BY STEP - Help instead of penalty; A manual stating school-internal measures if a pupil consumes illegal substances should be compiled. PROJECT CONSULTATION: It is organized either in a professional institution or can take place on the spot for various schools collectively. MODULAR TRAINING FOR LEADERS OF COURSES AIMED TO STOP SMOKING: The smoking pattern of pupils can be influenced fairly easily but it is difficult for them to give up smoking. This training aims at teaching methods and the background knowledge on how to help youngsters stop smoking. EDUCATINAL COACHING AT SCHOOLS: This coaching provides a confidential and professional basis for problems and questions concerning educational matters. Problems should be detected and solved at an early stage. In the district of Feldbach talks, discussions and concerts will take place during the week's campaign for respect and tolerance. There will also be an extensive analysis of the topic "being foreign, being different". Workshops and trainings will be held for children, teenagers and grown-ups. The contents are as follows: * Awakening the awareness in people regarding discrimination and making them understand what it means to be foreign, to be different. * Extention of knowledge in the field of discrimination, prejudices and stereotypes. * Instruction of better competences concerning moral courage. * Know-how about relevant laws regarding discrimination. The trainings will be especially adjusted to the participants.

d. What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
Through the continuous execution of events the public remains sensitized towards various topics.

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
In order to achieve a long-term sensitization of the public many events, which developed from the projects contained in the masterplan, will be carried out repeatedly in the next few years. Above all, the topics of discrimination, safety, protection of children and young persons and health are very important. On the homepage of the administration authorithy of Feldbach people can inform themselves at any time about legal changes, reforms, current affairs, etc.. Various important links are stated, for example health institutions, ministries, etc. From 2007 a special paper published by the administration authority of Feldbach is provided in the world wide web. Networks will be installed in various fields, e. g. the network of institutions and persons who deal with the topics addiction, safety, etc.. Through all these events a high degree of transparence and information is achieved, which serves both our clients and our employees.

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
The financing of projects is usually the greatest challenge regarding their realization. Often the costs of projects can only covered through financial support and sponsoring. Also the mentioned projects "Life without addiction", "Respect for all people" and the "week of safety on roads" could and can be realized only through financial support and sponsoring. The acquisition of external capital may lead to an alteration to the timeframe. A further problem is the time needed for the realization of projects. The projects contained in the masterplan are organized on top of the daily work. As a result of immediate requirements in the office the timeframe of projects may have to be altered. Thanks to the engagement and motivation of the employees who are trusted with the organization and realization of the projects these problems ca be greatly reduced.


Institution Name:		Bezirkshauptmannschaft Feldbach
Institution Type:		Government Agency
Contact Person:		Wilhelm Plauder
Title:		Bezirkshauptmann Dr.
Telephone/ Fax:		0043/3152/2511-200
Institution's / Project's Website:		00043/3152/2511-550
E-mail:		bhfb@stmk.gv.at
Address:		Bismarckstrasse 11 - 13
Postal Code:		8330
City:		Feldbach
State/Province:		Styria
Country:		Austria

The Problem

Solution and Key Benefits

Actors and Stakeholders

(a) Strategies

(b) Implementation

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

(d) Use of Resources

Sustainability and Transferability

Lessons Learned

Contact Information