BADAC: Database of cantons and cities
(Indicators to compare Swiss cantons and cities on the Internet)
La BADAC est une base de données et un portail d'information, de recherche et d’analyse comparative des administrations publiques et des autorités politiques en Suisse. Le projet est rattaché à l'Institut de hautes études en administration publique (IDHEAP) et soutenu par les autorités cantonales et municipales.
BADAC-News: http://www.badac.ch/fr/news/index.php
BADAC is a Website of comparative information and analysis on the administrations of the Swiss cantons and cities. The bilingual (French-German) Website supplies unique and up-to-data to researchers, practitioners and anyone interested in the public administrations in Switzerland. It describes the main characteristics of the structure and size of government, the political-administrative organisation (governments, parliaments, management and public policy), the civil servants and their wages, the finances as well as inter-cantonal cooperation. The www.badac.ch portal hosts a
dynamic database that contains more than 600 variables and indicators, as well as a
large number of downloadable tables in Excel format. It is supplemented by
survey data about the
cantonal and
municipal administrations, collected by the BADAC, and by other official statistics. It offers numbers possibilities of performing comparative analyses (benchmarking, monitoring, links, organisation charts) for the 26 cantons and 120 Swiss cities with more than 10,000 inhabitants (including at the level of departments and services of the respective public administrations). www.badac.ch is also a unique monitoring tool - transparent and free – necessary to watch and understand Swiss federalism.
It is produced by a small team of IDHEAP researchers who work closely with the cantonal (Conferences of state chancellors and finances), and municipal (Union of Swiss cities) authorities, the Universities as well as with the Statistical services of the Swiss confederation, of the cantons and cities. The project is funded by the cantons and cities on a pro-rata basis according to population size.
Our most recent book, entitled "The cantons under the magnifying glass, Authorities, public employees, finances" gives a summary of the results produced by BADAC since the beginning of the 1990s. This publication is available in the bookshops and can be ordered from the publishers Haupt (in French or German).
Other publications: http://www.badac.ch/fr/publications/index.php
The complex technical developments are outsourced to an IT company, the Lausanne-based electronic architecture agency fabric | ch (www.fabric.ch).