French speaking countries in Africa like Mali, Niger and Senegal are regularly confronted with social, economic, environmental and security issues. Situated at the doorway to Europe, both continents, Africa and Europe, are affected by these issues leading to precarious living conditions for the population, mistrust into government structures and massive migratory movements.
In order to meet these challenges, decentralisation, good governance, democratisation of local governments as well as the promotion of respect for the rule of law and of efficient service delivery for the local population are indispensable elements for successful development strategies in Western African countries. By creating new innovative Master programmes on Local Governance and Local Public Management, the participating universities and research institutions in Mali, Niger, Senegal and Germany contribute to the satisfaction of the increasing demand for knowledge and skills improvement in the field of good governance, sustainable development and public financial management.
The project focusses on the development of
- Presence Master courses in Local Governance and Public Management in the partner universities in Mali, Niger and Senegal
- A joint blended learning master course in Local Governance and Public Management combining the advantages of e-learning and face-to-face learning
- PhD and research programmes in the field of decentralisation, local governance and sustainable development
- Further training courses for improving skills of local public employees

The CEGLA’s work is based on successful development strategies such as decentralisation, constitutional administration and governance, and partnership-based democratic development planning in the municipalities. In this way, CEGLA makes an important contribution to meeting the growing demand for better skilled, responsible personnel at the local level in order to provide the population with urgently needed basic services.