Between local governments and communities Knowledge exchange and mutual learning in Dutch-Moroccan and Dutch-Turkish municipal partnerships

This PhD dissertation focuses on mutual learning processes of governmental and non-governmental actors involved in Dutch-Moroccan and Dutch-Turkish municipal partnerships in the period 2007-2011. These partnerships aim at strengthening local governance in Morocco and Turkey as well as in the Netherlands. The research focuses on five case studies and indicate the partnerships lead to important forms of learning at both sides, including strengthening service delivery and working in multi-actor arrangements in Morocco and Turkey and learning on issues related to cultural diversity in the Netherlands. Local-to-local exchanges between peers had an important added value as practical tacit and embedded knowledge was exchanged; knowledge which is not documented. Exposure to another context, another country, proved to be important for obtaining new ideas and an understanding of the context the knowledge was derived from. Strengthening local governance in Morocco and Turkey was particularly relevant as roles of local governments are changing due to decentralization processes. The collaboration also helped to build bridges between institutions and citizens. Moreover some ties had a wider impact as knowledge between municipalities was exchanged. Transnational linkages played an important role; especially the involvement of migrants as facilitators helped overcoming obstacles. The research indicates that there still is a large untapped potential for learning, especially on the Dutch side of the partnerships. The phasing out of Dutch based support programmes and budget cuts at the local level imply many local governments in the Netherlands are pulling out at a time the potential of these partnerships could be materialized.