Foundation in Support of Local Democracy

The initiative to establish FSLD, the nature of its operation and its specific program offer were closely related to the idea and the course of the local government reform in Poland. It was at that time that the majority of FSLD Regional Centers was established, well embedded in local self-government milieus. It was the recipients' needs that have determined the basic form of FSLD's operation from the very beginning: training for councilors and local government staff. Training remains till this very moment the basic form of FSLD's effort to support local self-governance. The number and the scope of training topics increase each year, and the fact that the training is in high demand has made the Foundation in Support of Local Democracy the largest training organisation operating on the local government market today. FSLD Regional Centers also initiate the establishment and the operation of clubs and forums of gmina and powiat office personnel. Internships and study tours are also organized for local government officials, in order to better present the way local structures operate and the kind of solutions adopted abroad. The Foundation has also provided technical assistance to an ever increasing extent. The offer targets all local government entities and covers the full scope of services including strategic, financial consulting, as well as that concerning capital investment, transformation and privatization, and also crisis management. FSLD's offer is based on surveys of the needs of local government milieus, while the high professional quality of service is based on a very well developed and experienced pool of trainers and experts available nationwide through FSLD's Regional Training Centers' network.