Information for residents' associations in Hospitalet: Bringing local government closer to residents

This case presents Hospitalet Council's innovative neighborhood visitor scheme, which operates at the level of residents associations. The project concerns a pro-active service whose purpose is to strengthen links between citizens and the local council, thereby facilitating public service and a communication channel between citizens and public administration. The day before the presentation of the municipal budget for 2011, Sergi Crespi was drinking coffee on a cafe terrace in Hospitalet. Sergi, the Mayor's Delegate for Districts 4 and 5 was chatting with Teresa Sambola, Head of the Council's Education Department. They were talking about whether they should include the Neighborhood Visitor Scheme in the budget. The project started in 2008 and had achieved excellent results. It still made sense in the context of the world economic crisis and public spending costs. The neighborhood information scheme was one of the most important municipal initiatives over the last few years. It involved door-to-door visits to tell local residents about council services. The visitors also gleaned information and residents' views of life in Hospitalet, a large satellite town adjoining Barcelona. The challenge was to both increase and enhance public participation in local government and to bring the council closer to citizens.