Forum 3: Demographic Change and the level of municipalities. Prof. Dr. Gerhard Naegele

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1 Forum 3: Demographic Change and the level of municipalities Prof. Dr. Gerhard Naegele Deutsch-japanisches Symposium Strategien zur Bewältigung des Demografischen Wandels in Deutschland und Japan 14. Januar 2016 Berlin Structure The principle of local self-government in Germany How are municipalities affected by demographic and social change? Local policies to cope with demographic change Federal Government`s initiatives to cope with demographic change Successful strategies to cope with demographic change on local level Benefits of local policies explicitly reacting to the challenges of demographic change Conducive framework conditions to strengthen the role of municipalities The project Demography-workshop municipalities funded by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Women, Senior Citizens and Youth (BMFSFJ) 2

2 The principle of local self-government in Germany Population of Germany today: 81,3 millions (Statistisches Bundesamt 2015) Number of municipalities: municipalities (BBSR 2013) Municipalities must be guaranteed the right to regulate all local affairs in responsibility of their own, within the limits prescribed by the laws. (Federal Constitution: Art. 28 Abs. 2 S.1; ( Prinzip der Allzuständigkeit für alle Angelegenheiten der örtlichen Gemeinschaft principle of being politically responsible for all local affairs ; / Daseinsvorsorge ; to guarantee the basics of existence ) Local affairs affected (among others): Educational infrastructure, social services, health and care services, sports, culture, housing, urban development, traffic, water, electrical power and other technical supply, leisure infrastructure, local economy, labour markets, staff, public financing and others 3 How are municipalities affected by demographic change? Population ageing Population shrinking Stagnation in birth rate Singularisation of old gae Feminisation of old age Ethnic cultural differentiation of population / of age Regional discrepancies Segregation Labour market shortage, ageing of the workforce How to organize social infrastructure affected at best? Economic burdens - often linked wirth population shrinking and ageing New social inequalities.. 4

3 Policy challenges for municipalities resulting from demografic change (1) Municipalities are affected first hand and outstandingly Federalism and subsidiarity principle which are t h e basic norms for structuring political responsibilities in Germany stress the prominent role of local authorities for establishing and providing services of general interest (Art 28 II GG). There is an urgent need for establishing adequate political, administrative, infrastructural and financial prerequisites to tackle with the demographic challenges including suitable forms of participation Demographics have become a key challenge for local policy makers who often are not prepared/qualified accordingly Local policies reacting explicitly to demographic change must aim at all dimensions, include all political fields of actions touched and to rethink approaches which so far have proven as inappropriate 5 Policy challenges for municipalities resulting from demografic change (2) Demographic change has to be seen as a prominent local task for shaping policies and adapting existing supply structures on the local level ( shaping and adapting ) Within municipalities cross-sectoral, multilevel-oriented and integrated approaches including cross-cutting administrative structures are needed Furthermore, outside supraregional solutions are needed in order to both pool resources as well as to look for joint solutions New groups of political actors which so far did not co-operate have to be included, new strategic alliances are needed Demographics have also to be regarded as a task of civic society A substantial financial base must be guaranteed which is the more difficult to create the more the local population is ageing and shrinking 6

4 Federal Government`s initiatives to tackle with demographic change - Strategy to cope with demographic change (since 2012) Objectives for the municipalities (2014) To give regional-specific answers To provide municipalities with new scopes for political action To support manyfold forms of co-operation (in the sense of social innovation ) as well as to actively inform and involve regional actors ( new strategic alliances ) To pursue integrative planning and solution approaches on the local level To identify and to pursue strategic fields of action To strengthen regional economic power To combine EU-framework-setting, Federal and Federal-states approaches with regional flexibility 7 Successful strategies to cope with demographic change on the local level a selection of good practices To establish a political will among local policy makers and key actors A mutual demographic consciousness among policy makers and key stakeholders To agree jointly upon demographically sensitive policy targets Continuously anaylising both composition and age structure of the local population Continuous demographic literacy and reporting Local policy approaches to raise the attractiveness of the own municipality ( location factor policies ) To continue/adapt social welfare policies even in shrinking municipalities To activate potentials of civic engagement To foster intra- and inter-local co-operation To introduce demographically sensitive personnel policies among key actors Support from EU, Federal and Federal states level (e.g. subsidies, guidelines, examples of good practice ) 8

5 Long-term benefits of local policies explicitly reacting to the challenges of demographic change - an evidence-based selection Both improving and ensuring quality of life and well-being of the population under changed demographic circumstances Both modernisation and improving (social) services and infrastructure ( taking demographic change as starting point for reforms beyond demographic change ) Improving one`s reputation abroad and being more attractive to others through new location economies (demographics-based ranking of municipalities ) Increasing the position in the competition of municipalities Both common and clear objectives as well as concentration of tasks lead to a more effective use of ressources Improving and strengthening the social potential of the local population by promoting and enabling participation processes, promoting civic angagement and being more aware of social underprivilidged groups Increase of inter- and intragenerational solidarity inside and outside of families Demographic-related data monitoring enhance the municipalities awareness of potential future developments and the ability to react in the long-term 9 The Project Demography-Workshop- municipalities ( Demografiewerkstatt Kommunen ) Funded by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) Project duration: 01/ /2020 Seven municipalities are supported over a period of five years in the process of designing, developing and implementing local policies to cope with demographic change 3 communities, 2 cities and 2 rural districts, which are at the beginning of a policy process of their own, with the intention to cope with demographic politically change but with so far no elaborated concept 10

6 Construction and implementation of municipal demographic policy in the project Demography Workshop municipalities The municipalities selected continuously receive individual counselling, scientific evaluation and support through professional advisory teams to develop and implement a municipal political concept For minor project-related purposes (e.g. organising future-oriented-workshops, urban district meetings or starting meontacts relations) a small budged is available The municipalities selected receive support in public relations and event management from a special administrative office: Competence Center Technology-Diversity-Equal Chances (Kompetenzzentrum Technik- Diversity-Chancengleichheit e.v., Bielefeld) Exchange and networking with other municipalities interested and/or in comparable situations will be supported as well The processes are supervised and evaluated scientifically: Research Association for Gerontology (FfG) / Institute of Gerontology at TU Dortmund University (Forschungsgesellschaft für Gerontologie e.v. / ) 11 Objectives of the project Demography-Workshop municipalities To design and to develop both action-oriented approaches (with different thematic points of departure) as well as a methodological toolbox, which can be used by other municipalities outside the project To establish a sustainable implementation of processes and co-operation among relevant groups of actors To improve the autonomy and the people s own initiative of both older people involved in the project as well as all other citizens being effected To promote the participation of the younger generation and to develop a demographically sensitive social potential among them To support both the reconciliation of family and working life as well to transfer this goal into a political task To regard diversity as a cross-sectoral precondition for all kind of demographicrelated policies To evaluate research findings obtained and to transfer them into an explicit demography-strategy with the aim to dissiminate to other municipalities interested, to other Federal policy levels and to the international community 12

7 Demography-Workshop municipalities : needs for action (1) To implement a demographic reporting To make the demographic change transparent To develop models of good practice To develop and to implement an integrative cross-sectional concept To identify main thematic topics and to agree upon concrete targets To ask for political legitimation To gain confidence among key actors and to position the issue of demographic change into their catalogues of objectives and actions To look for/strengthen co-operative policy approaches To participate the entire local population To consider the specific needs and interests of different generations 13 Demography-Workshop municipalities : needs for action (2) To incorporate the power of the local civil society To avoid social exclusion, segregation und (new) social inequalities To analyse and evaluate the long-term impacts of different instruments To implement a periodical monitoring to realize a continuous optimizing of the overall process To position qualified staff e.g. into local administrations, parliaments, governments etc. to influence political decision making To use scientific expertise and consulting To acknowledge population growth not being the only valid target of! pure demographic policies To promote cross-sectional thinking and supraregional co-operation 14

8 Selected literature on the subject Bertelsmann Stiftung (Hrsg.) (2013): Stadt Land Umland. Handlungsansätze für Kommunen im demographischen Wandel. Verlag Bertelsmann Stiftung, Gütersloh. Bertelsmann Stiftung (2014): Wegweiser Kommune. Verteilung der Demographietypen. Online unter: Bundesinstitut für Bau-, Stadt- und Raumforschung (BBSR) (2013): Gemeinden und Gemeindeverbände. Online unter: x? blob=publicationfile&v=8 Deutscher Städtetag (2006): Demografischer Wandel. Herausforderungen, Chancen und Handlungsmöglichkeiten für die Städte. URL: Hüther, M. & Naegele, G. (Hrsg.) (2012): Demografiepolitik. Herausforderungen und Handlungsfelder. Wiesbaden (2013): Springer Verlag. Mayer, T. (2009): Demografiepolitik gestalten oder verwalten? In: APuZ 10-11/2011, S Naegele, G. (2010). Kommunen im demographischen Wandel. Thesen zu neuen An- und Herausforderungen für die lokale Alten- und Seniorenpolitik. Zeitschrift für Gerontologie und Geriatrie, 2, Wiechmann, E. & Kißler, L. (2010): Kommunale Demographiepolitik. Antworten auf den sozio demographischen Wandel in den Rathäusern. Berlin: Edition Sigma. 15 Thank you for your attention! Prof. Dr. Gerhard Naegele Forschungsgesellschaft für Gerontologie e.v. / Evinger Platz Dortmund Tel: Fax: E- mail: orka@post.tu-dortmund.de URL: 16