激情快播

Fall 2014

鈥淩omania is in a unique situation right now as a recent entrant to the European Union trying to professionalize its bureaucracy to align with European standards,鈥� says , associate professor and director of the in the .

鈥淭hey are interested in having good government. They are interested in having open, sustainable tourism. And they鈥檙e interested in supporting a good business climate.鈥�

Enter 激情快播

The American system of public administration offers examples that Romania鈥檚 officials want to emulate, especially the relative uniformity and consistency in how our government officials do their jobs. So the has created a training program through a partnership with the Romanian Review of Local Public Administration and the (ASPA).

The certificates in public management and city management draw upon the expertise of Bryer and eight other faculty members on topics ranging from civic engagement and human resources to ethics and strategic planning. Online learning modules will help Romanian city and county managers and mayors gain 鈥渁 common base of knowledge鈥� about the course material before meeting with their instructors, explains David Laney, interim director of 激情快播鈥檚 Division of Continuing Education.

The certificate program is an exciting project, Laney says. 鈥淚t is a worthwhile thing to do as an international partnership on the part of 激情快播 when you have an appreciation for what it is the people of Romania are attempting to accomplish.鈥�

The partnership formed last fall when the ASPA asked 激情快播 to host a Romanian delegation. The Good Governance Exchange brought Romanian officials to Central Florida for panel discussions with their American counterparts and field visits to Orlando City Hall, Second Harvest Food Bank, Evans Community School and other sites. On a reciprocal visit to Romania, Bryer and a delegation of 激情快播 professors and students met mayors and local government administrators and toured various agencies.

鈥淚 think the most impressive part was the cooperative side of local government [in the U.S.],鈥� says Cristina M卯牛膬, managing editor of the Romanian Review of Local Public Administration. 鈥淲e were surprised to see that 激情快播 has partnerships with local governments and with the private sector, and that they work together to solve problems.鈥�

During the trip to City Hall, M卯牛膬 was equally surprised to learn about the many citizens who donate their time there throughout the year. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 do that in Romania,鈥� she says. 鈥淭here is no rule prohibiting volunteering, but there are no procedures in place and the employees at city hall have no idea how to handle someone who wants to volunteer.鈥� Volunteering used to be compulsory in Romania, M卯牛膬 explains. 鈥淎fter the revolution, when people heard about volunteering, they were a bit skeptical.鈥�

Full Circle

鈥淲e are still learning about democracy,鈥� says M卯牛膬. 鈥淭he challenge is to teach the citizens that democracy also comes with responsibilities and that being a citizen does not mean only voting and paying your taxes.鈥�

Becoming a member of the EU in 2007 has led to a host of new environmental and other regulations in Romania, M卯牛膬 says. 鈥淏ut the good part is this will eventually lead to a better quality of life for Romanian citizens.鈥� She says that Romania鈥檚 local governments are beginning to work together more, forming associations to manage landfills and other infrastructures.

According to Bryer, the Romanians have their own practices worth emulating. While visiting the city of Tulcea, he noticed that the city council members sat around a circular table while the audience was seated above. 鈥淚t was sort of a flip of what we鈥檙e used to in the United States, where council members sit above everybody,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 help but think, 鈥楧oes this create more civility than we have in the U.S.?鈥� 鈥�

He adds, 鈥淢y hope is to not only teach some technical skills, but also to open channels for some robust dialogues across nations so we can improve the systems on both sides.鈥�

Bryer鈥檚 goal is for the Romania partnership to eventually lead to study-abroad opportunities for 激情快播 students and, as its value is demonstrated, for the certificate program to be extended to other emerging democracies. 鈥淭here are a lot of opportunities for this kind of work.鈥�