SPEECH BY
PRESIDENT MARTTI AHTISAARI AT A SEMINAR ON LOCAL AND
REGIONAL ADMINISTRATION IN TAMPERE ON 9.11.1999
EFFECTIVE ADMINISTRATION, PART OF
FINLAND'S COMPETITIVENESS
During its
independence Finland has constantly faced and dealt
with great changes and challenges. Now on the verge
of a new millennium we are going through another
challenging transition. Its key factors are
integration, globalization and the birth of the
information society.
Integration and
globalization decisively increase competition between
economies and nations. At the same time they require
new skills for increasingly diverse interaction and
cooperation. These issues are being considered around
the world at this moment. I myself discussed them
last week in a speech which I gave in Paris, for
example. The significance of administration was also
emphasized there.
Public administration
has had a key position and task in building and
developing Finland and in dealing with previous
changes and challenges. In implementing legislation
and exercising authority administration has strongly
regulated and guided the lives of individuals and
organizations. Administration has also been an active
developer of society.
But what is the role
and task of administration in an integrating and
globalizing market economy and the information
society? It is obvious that administration must
adjust. Administration is in fact changing in
Finland. Many factors require the continuation and
deepening of this process.
Citizens' attitude
towards administration has become more demanding and
critical. People who are better educated and have
greater knowledge and skills than before want to
decide for themselves on their own affairs and do not
need help from the public sector for this, at least
not to the same extent as in the past. People still
expect and demand basic security and justice from
society, however.
An enormous change has
taken place in the economic rules in Finland in just
a short time. With the freeing of the movement of
capital and the gradual removal of obstacles to
competition, the regulation of economic life is no
longer the task of the public sector in the same way
as before. This does not mean that the economy does
not need support from administration, however.
In addition to
traditional infrastructure, business is increasingly
dependent on the availability of information, on
trained labour and the results of scientific
research. The availability and quality of the
services required by corporate personnel as well as
the quality of the living environment have an effect
on where firms locate operations. The lowering of
borders and increasing freedoms have led to a rise in
crime and other disturbances so that more attention
will no doubt be given to the safety of firms' and
employees' operating and living environment in the
future.
In the middle of
changes and upheavals it is essential to remember
basic facts and values. These include justice. One of
the state's basic tasks is to ensure the equal
treatment of people and as part of this particularly
to take care of the disadvantaged. Only a society
based on justice can be efficient and strong. This is
also a fundamental idea in European integration.
The cohesion policy
which is one of the European Union's key principles
is based on the old truth that the whole is only as
strong as its weakest link. It is therefore important
to bring living conditions in different parts of the
Union closer in line by supporting development
particularly in weaker regions. By improving the
living conditions of the disadvantaged and by
ensuring justice we can increase the entire Union's
internal cohesion and thus strengthen the Union as a
whole.
Although citizens'
confidence in present democratic institutions has
also weakened in Finland recently, democracy and
people's opportunities to participate in the
political system have a fundamental significance for
the development of human communities. This has also
been observed in development cooperation. Sustainable
development does not appear possible without
democracy. Reforming institutions and they way they
operate is a great task in our hands in many
nation-states as well as the European Union.
Administration thus
faces demanding challenges in Finland. On the one
hand its task is still to maintain and strengthen a
democratic, just and safe society. On the other hand
administration is changing from a regulator and
director of people and life and an active developer
primarily to a creator of a good operational
framework and a supporter of people's own enterprise.
This change must be carried out in the midst of
tightening competition between nations and economies,
in which the competitors are also cooperation
partners. This contains plenty of challenges in
itself. But the need for change is even greater
still.
The information
society, as we are able to evaluate it today, imposes
its own special requirements on the public sector and
administration. I will try here to outline a few of
these requirements. It is in the best interests of
both society and administration that additional
emphasis is being placed on the consideration and
development of administrative models and operating
principles in the information society.
In my tasks during the
past decade I have closely followed the change in our
administration. A great deal has been accomplished,
for which credit is due above all to administration
itself. To you, ladies and gentlemen. There is still
work to be done, of course, and in one respect we are
only in the early stages of reform, especially if we
consider the matter from the viewpoint of the
information society. I refer to the hierarchical
structure and nature passed down from the past.
There is presently a
tension between administrative organizations and
their environment. Information flows without regard
to hierarchical relations. Administrative practice,
however, has still not changed decisively, since the
hierarchical structure is deep in our way of
thinking. The weakening of hierarchies is also
intensified by the development which is known as
networking.
Networking means
increasing and diversifying cooperation between
different actors. This type of development is
indispensable in a world where everything depends on
everything else. In Finland as well administration
has faced this situation and is already responding to
it. Regional policy is conducted nowadays both
nationally and as part of the European Union's
structural and regional policy in close cooperation
with regional-level officials and other actors, in
networks. At the local level cooperation between the
municipalities has increased, albeit too slowly.
The information
society leads to the removal of hierarchical
structures. Administration should devote real
attention to controlling this process. This
transition period contains enormous opportunities.
The creativity and initiative of citizens and the
administrative levels closest to their needs can be
made to serve the common good in a new way and with
new strength.
The task of
administration is to take advantage of the
opportunities offered by new technology so as to
improve the availability and quality of public
services and to get people on the margin involved in
services, social activity and human interaction.
The information
society also offers administration new opportunities
to support balanced regional development. With
electronic communication and with administrative
matters tied less to time and place, administrative
functions can be thoughtfully located in different
parts of the country. I also challenge you to
accomplish this task, forgetting traditional
hierarchies. Working in local and regional
administration, you can serve as the initiators and a
force for change in this development.
Electronic
communication has naturally provided opportunities to
speed up administrative activities. The partial
dismantling of hierarchical structures creates the
preconditions to lighten administration and thus
increase its efficiency. As we all know, Finland is
on the cutting edge in the development of the
information society in practically every category,
including public administration. Here we hold a
national trump card with which we can improve the
competitiveness of our enterprises and our entire
economy.
What does
administrative efficiency mean in this connection now
and in the future? Cost effectiveness is an
increasingly important part of administrative
efficiency. The smaller a portion administration
takes from what we produce as a nation, the more we
can invest in activities which will improve our
competitiveness and build the future, such as
research and education. Our administration could be
made still more efficient.
The international
competitiveness of administration is not just cost
effectiveness. The traditional strength of Finnish
administration, reliability, is still valuable
currency today. Internationally Finns have a
reputation for being honest and reliable people.
Since these same characteristics also apply to our
administration, we must hold onto them firmly and
must also build our international competitiveness on
this basis. It is excellent that discussion
concerning values and ethical matters has got under
way in our administration.
Administration
nowadays must be much more flexible and responsive
than in the past and must be able to adapt to change
and renew itself. This is certainly not one of the
easiest new challenges. We are used to considering
strict formal requirements as guarantees of legal
security. We must hold onto legal security, of
course. Its guarantees in the future will be, above
all, officials' strong expertise and the high quality
of activities.
I encourage you to
make determined and effective progress on the often
stony and thankless road of reforming administration
and its operating methods. One problem on this road
specifically in the information society is the
relative timing of costs and benefits. New
information technology requires large economic
investments. Basic investments are expensive. It
often takes a long time before benefits can be reaped
in full.
Electronic business is
becoming part of our public administration. Here
again we are on the cutting edge internationally. Our
public administration is also doing well in
comparison with the private sector in this regard.
Many countries are carrying out broad programmes to
make extensive use of electronic communication in
administration, however. Finland is in a good
position to maintain its excellent competitive
position, but this requires additional investments.
In my opinion now is the right time to prepare and
start a programme to ensure the effective development
and implementation of electronic business in
administration. This would also be the right kind of
national regional and cohesion policy.
We should not keep
quiet about the achievements of our administration.
Our developing administration has many competitive
export products. For example Finnish local democracy,
municipal administration, could be a major Finnish
contribution to European and even broader
cooperation.
It is important for
our administration and officials to participate
extensively and even more actively in work aimed at
building democracy and democratic administration in
the countries which have applied for membership of
the European Union as well as other countries.
I wish all of you
separately and together success in your work in
today's administration and
its constant renewal.
