‘Visiting Policy Discovery Team’ … Daegu City Council, Second Operation

On-site 'Visiting Policy Discovery Team' Operated for the Second Year Following Last Year

Listening to Complaints and Difficulties of Institutions under the Jurisdiction of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee ... Realizing Empathetic Policies

The Policy Support Team of the Culture and Welfare Committee of Daegu Metropolitan Council will visit about 10 locations, including the Sports Council and the Disabled Sports Council starting on the 21st, as well as the Happiness Promotion Social Service Center and the Culture and Arts Promotion Institute in April and May, to strengthen the policy capabilities of council members and support smooth legislative activities.

Daegu City Council.

As the term "Visiting Policy Discovery Team" implies, the council's policy support team directly visits affiliated institutions under its jurisdiction to listen to operational difficulties and challenges, reflect system improvements and suggestions in policies, and ultimately support council members' legislative activities more efficiently for the convenience and welfare enhancement of citizens.

Now in its second year following last year, the "Visiting Policy Discovery Team" has moved beyond formal visits to affiliated institutions by thoroughly reviewing various suggestions in advance and conducting meetings in a "brainstorming" style rather than a standardized reporting method, thereby producing more productive and practical outcomes and increasing participant satisfaction.

In particular, considering the organizational nature where it is somewhat difficult for affiliated institutions to actively express opinions to their higher supervisory departments, the team visits these institutions directly to hear unfiltered voices from the field.

A representative from an affiliated institution that participated in last year's "Visiting Policy Discovery Team" responded positively, saying, "Thanks to the policy discovery team visiting the site directly, we were able to naturally discuss our usual difficulties and also come up with creative proposals."

Since the full revision of the Local Autonomy Act last year introduced the policy support officer system to assist local council members, Daegu Metropolitan Council has piloted the policy support team in the Culture and Welfare Committee for the first time nationwide. In March this year, eight new policy support officers on fixed-term contracts were additionally recruited and selected, and assigned to each of the five standing committees (Planning and Administration, Culture and Welfare, Economy and Environment, Construction and Transportation, Education).

Kim Jae-woo, Chairperson of the Culture and Welfare Committee, said, "The newly appointed policy support officers, who have diverse careers and expertise, are expected to create synergy effects together with the existing general policy support officers who have rich administrative experience in various fields, playing a key role in Daegu Metropolitan Council." He added, "We will do our best to efficiently utilize the policy support officer system to reflect and policyize the diverse opinions of citizens going forward."