3.1. The role of the public sector
3.1.3. A series of recommendations for improved results
In order to achieve high levels of involvement, local governments need to take a number of key factors into account.
- Clear vision. Local governments must be clear about the results they hope to achieve if they are to design effective complementary currencies. A clear vision enables the people implementing the idea to better understand the purpose and select the most suitable currency type for the design. A clear vision helps to determine the key actors and define the objective and scale of the currency.
- Co-design. Co-design with the potential stakeholders is essential to reinforce involvement and add value in the early stages.
- Business case. A good business case needs to be produced in order to attract support and demonstrate social value. Focusing on objectives more than on results is fundamental for an understanding of long-term impact.
- Top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top development and support. A complementary currency requires highly-qualified management personnel and committed human resources dedicated to its adoption. Procedures and performance must be adapted to accommodate the complete integration of a currency system. Heads of service need to promote the programme internally to help their personnel acclimatize to different ways of working.
- Political and personnel involvement. A strong involvement at political and management levels is essential for the success of any local government programme. Political approval will be required for the adoption of any complementary currency, but successful implementation will also depend on personnel involvement.
- Evaluation from the outset. Robust impact evaluations are needed in order to sustain ongoing commitment to the currency. These should be included at design stage and introduced from commencement of the programme.
