Strong local leadership is a key condition for ensuring good democratic governance and having a clear direction in the development of the local authority. Paired with citizen participation in the decision-making process,  institutional leadership contributes to a thriving municipality where people want to live and work. To this end, the Council of Europe's Centre of Expertise for Good Governance supports the Finnish authorities through the implementation of the Leadership Academy Programme (LAP).

At the beginning of this year, a preparatory training of trainers was delivered to build local training capacities, followed by cascading that knowledge and skills through two successful LAP training stages organised in May and September 2023. The final, third stage of the Leadership Academy Programme will take place from 7 to 9 November in Porvoo, Finland, gathering approximately 20 practitioners from the local and regional authorities across the country. This interactive training workshop will aim to foster hands-on application in co-projecting with stakeholders for the purpose of ensuring that democratic standards in the daily operation of the authorities are applied. It will also include a specific session on the Council of Europe framework on civil participation in decision-making, including guidance on its practical implementation, through presentation of the Toolkit on the Civil Participation in Decision-Making. An opportunity for all interested Finnish stakeholders to join this specific session online will be provided – aiming to attract attention and interest for participation in the implementation of the tool in the following months.

The Leadership Academy Programme in Finland is implemented in cooperation with the Finnish Institute of Public Management – HAUS as part of the project of the Council of Europe and the European Union (EU).