Defining a good governance assessment framework Decentralisation and local governance Shipra Narang Suri International Consultant, OGC Stakeholders’ Consultative Workshop Amman 6-8 July 2010

Defining Decentralisation..   Decentralization is primarily a national political, legislative, institutional and fiscal process. Can take different forms:  Deconcentration: Transferring responsibilities to field and subordinate units of government (no distinct legal entity).  Devolution: Transfer of competencies from the central state to distinct legal entities at lower level. Acknowledges the importance of local ownership and the need to adjust planning and resources allocation to specific local settings or priorities. Has the potential for downward accountability & active citizen engagement.

… and Local Governance   Local governance includes the processes by which public policy decisions are made and implemented, at the local level. Includes dialogue, negotiation, power relations between state, civil society and private sector.

Possible focus areas of any assessment  Decentralisation – Political, administrative, fiscal decentralisation; enabling environment (laws, policies) for decentralisation  Local governance –  Local governance – dimensions and determinants of governance at the local level, including (but not limited to) equity, effectiveness, transparency, participation etc.

Possible focus areas… [2]  Local democracy – Political and representative democracy, both de jure mechanisms/systems and de facto experiences  Local government performance –  Local government performance – Outputs or results achieved by local governments in service delivery, income, expenditure

International agencies supporting LG assessments  UN-HABITAT – Urban Governance Index  UNDP – Methodological Guidelines for Local Governance Analysis  International IDEA – Local Democracy Assessment Guide  Tocqueville Research Centre & OSI - Indicators of Local Democratic Governance  Council of Europe – Guide for developing well- being/progress indicators with citizens  UNCDF – Assessments informing performance- based grant systems

National Initiatives on local/ urban governance assessment  Afghanistan  Bangladesh  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Canada  Chile  Indonesia  Macedonia  Mongolia  Nigeria  Pakistan  Philippines  Sri Lanka  Sudan  Zambia  Zimbabwe

Urban Governance Index   Effectiveness   Equity   Participation   Accountability   (Security)

Urban Governance Index… [2] Sample Indicators included under Effectiveness   Local Government Revenue per capita   Ratio of actual recurrent and capital budget   Local Government revenue transfers   Ratio of mandates to actual tax collection   Predictability of transfers in local government budget   Published performance standards   Customer satisfaction survey   Existence of a Vision statement

Local Governance Barometer (LGB)   Effectiveness   Transparency and Rule of Law   Accountability   Participation and civic engagement   Equity

Local Governance Barometer (LGB) …[2] Sample Indicators included under Transparency and Rule of Law   The existence and application of an institutional legal framework   Citizen access to justice   The availability and access to information   Corruption incidence

Social Audit of Local Governance (Bosnia) Conducted through household surveys in three parts:   Basic household information   Respondents’ experience of 10 essential public services (housing conditions, local roads, transport, waste removal, water supply, sanitation, heating, electricity, health facilities, education – including pre-school education)   Local governance, focusing on local government authorities and citizen participation in the municipality.   The questions relate to the technical details of various services provided, citizens’ access and usage, and citizens’ satisfaction with service delivery.

Local Governance Performance Management System (Philippines)   Five themes – Governance, administration, social services, economic development, environmental management   17 service areas, 111 indicators   Indicators divided into performance measures for inputs, outputs and outcomes

GOFORGOLD (Afghanistan)  Provides snapshot of governance at sub- national levels   Uses seven ‘good governance’ themes – representation, participation, accountability, transparency, effectiveness, security, and equity   25 indicators and 60 operational questions   Can be used to benchmark and monitor sub- national government performance, improve resource allocation   Can also help to identify good local governance and sustainable development practices.

Lead actors and stakeholders  National/provincial ministry of urban development  National planning commission  National association of local governments  Local government  Statistical agency  Civil society  UN/WB or other external donor

Some key issues to consider  Purpose – Diagnosis & policy-setting, or capacity development & citizen engagement  Driver – Externally-driven or nationally-led  “Core” and “satellite” indicators  Type of data – Quantitative or qualitative  Type of results – Narrative “profile”, Scale or Index  Methodology – Consultant-executed or participatory

Thank you for your attention