UpDate - Vol. 16, No. 13
December 5, 1996
Organization of world cities opens office at UD

     An international organization has just established an Office
of Research and Training at the University of Delaware that will
help local governments throughout the world strengthen their
capacity to serve the needs of their residents.
     The International Union of Local Authorities (IULA) is based
in The Hague, Netherlands, with regional offices in Guatemala
City, Harare, Istanbul, Jakarta, Kuwait, Ottawa, Quito and Paris.
     IULA's membership includes the U.S. Conference of Mayors,
the National League of Cities and the National Association of
Counties in the U.S., as well as their counterpart organizations
in 90 other countries. Founded in 1913, IULA's mission includes
advancing democratic local self-government.
     Recently, for example, IULA, one of whose long-standing
members is the Israeli national association of governments, has
been working with the support of the Dutch association of cities
to strengthen the capacity of the Palestinian association of
cities.
     "The Office of Research and Training will strengthen our
ability to provide the analysis needed to have an impact on
issues of public policy affecting local and regional governments
throughout the world," Drew Horgan, IULA secretary general, said
in a recent visit to the UD campus.
     The Office of Research and Training will be part of the
Institute for Public Administration in the College of Urban
Affairs and Public Policy and will be located in Graham Hall.
Arno Loessner, a policy fellow in the UD institute and IULA's
permanent representative to the United Nations, will direct the
office.
     According to Loessner, the Office of Research and Training
will have two basic functions: "The International Union of Local
Authorities wants to help increase the capacity of local
governments to deal with their own public management challenges
and to help democratize societies around the world by fostering
leadership skills and training for women and others groups that
are underrepresented in political decision making."
     "I'm pleased that this new Office of Research and Training
will provide our faculty, staff and students with increased
opportunities to work with the International Union of Local
Authorities," Daniel Rich, dean of the College of Urban Affairs
and Public Policy, said. "This will build upon and strengthen the
college's established international links. The experience of
working across cultures is an important dimension of public
affairs education."
     Both of the two key areas for the Office of Research and
Training-local government capacity building and leadership
training-are particular strengths of the college's Institute for
Public Administration.
     "In establishing the Office of Research and Training at the
University, the International Union of Local Authorities builds
on our long-standing efforts in these areas," Jerome Lewis,
director of the Institute for Public Administration, said. "We
expect this new office to complement our programs in Delaware."
                                             -Mary Helen Callahan