Instating a training academy for local government requires strong alignment between all partners and clear local ownership. In Albania, the establishment of the Training Academy for Local Governance (TALGA) is a nationally led reform process, supported by several long-standing international partners. Therefore, careful coordination is essential to avoid duplication of efforts, to respect institutional ownership and ensure that support strengthens Albanian leadership.
Photo credits: Helvetas Albania. From left to right: Erik Illes, Deputy Head of Mission and Head of Development Cooperation at the Embassy of Sweden in Albania, Ervin Demo, Minister of State for Local Government, Ruth Huber, Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation to Albania, and Aslı Çetinel, Deputy Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
“European integration is a historic challenge in which local government plays a fundamental role. TALGA is designed to provide the practical support municipalities need, while partnerships such as MATRA bring international expertise, peer-to-peer cooperation and concrete solutions that strengthen local capacities.”
– Ervin Demo, Minister of State for Local Government of Albania.
Over the years, local governance reform in Albania has benefited from ongoing cooperation with international partners including SDC (Switzerland), Sida (Sweden), the Netherlands and the European Union. Each has contributed expertise and resources to decentralisation and public administration reform.
To avoid fragmented approaches resulting from multiple initiatives from the outset, the MATRA consortium partners — The Hague Academy for Local Governance (THA), VNG International (VNGI), and Helvetas Albania — recognised that only strong coordination and deliberate alignment between international partners could prevent duplication and safeguard TALGA’s national ownership. This required a shared commitment to align mandates, sequence support carefully, and clarify complementary roles.
Through structured coordination meetings, joint field visits, and high-level dialogue during and after the inception phase, partners reaffirm a common vision: TALGA as a nationally owned institution serving municipalities across the country. Rather than introducing separate training tracks, the MATRA programme positions its contribution around strengthening methodologies, peer-to-peer municipal exchanges, and practice-oriented learning approaches that reinforce TALGA’s long-term mandate.
Building on existing work proves equally important. By aligning with earlier institutional groundwork supported by Swiss and Swedish cooperation, the programme ensures that new activities complement ongoing efforts and do not create parallel delivery systems. This approach protects TALGA’s legitimacy and strengthened trust among institutions and partners alike.
The shared commitment became visible during TALGA’s official launch on 18 December 2025 in Tirana, a moment marking Albania’s ownership of its municipal training home, backed by coordinated international partnership.
As His Excellency Reinout Vos, Dutch Ambassador to Albania, stated:
“The strength of TALGA lies in its coordinated, partnership-based approach. By bringing together international partners and building on the valuable work already undertaken, we maximise impact. This kind of cooperation ensures that support to municipalities is coherent, sustainable, and truly responsive to local needs — which is at the heart of effective local governance and of the Netherlands’ engagement under the MATRA framework.”
With this foundation of trust and alignment demonstrating that sustainable reform is strongest when partners work together behind a nationally owned vision, the next phase focuses on rolling out training and Training of Trainers programmes under TALGA’s leadership.
Towards Democratic Local Governance is a Government to Government (G2G) project funded by Matra, a programme focused on strengthening local democracy in Albania. The project is implemented by THA, Helvetas Albania, VNG International, AMVV, NAMA, the Embassy of the Netherlands and four municipalities in the Netherlands and Albania. Matra is commissioned by the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and implemented by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO).
