Measuring Local Governance

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Measuring Local Governance
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Objectives

• Introduce local governance and its present
  dynamics in terms of decentralisation and
  democratisation trends and processes
• Provide guidance on planning, selecting, adapting
  and implementing LG assessments
• Both objectives should help you in taking
  several critical decisions around the development
  of a country specific strategy regarding local
  governance assessment and capacity development.

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Outline

1. Users Guide to Measuring Local Governance
2. Decentralisation and democracy
3. Measuring local governance
4. Issues to consider for carrying out LG
   assessments
5. Practical application

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1. Users guide to Measuring Local Governance

• Decentralisation and democracy
• Measuring local governance
• Issues to consider for carrying out LG
  assessments
• Practical application

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1. Users Guide to Measuring Local Governance
Purpose

• Compile existing knowledge
• Provide a framework for understanding existing
  assessment tools.
• Highlight priority issues (for UNDP) for
  selecting tools or developing new measurement
  approaches
• Inclusive processes
• Assessments reflect the concerns/rights/interest
  s of vulnerable groups
• Rigorous and scientifically sound

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1. Users Guide to Measuring Local Governance
Structure

1. Understanding local governance and description of
   issues, concepts and priorities that assessment
   tools focus on
2. Good practice for developing and implementing
   assessments of governance at the local level
3. Case Studies
4. The Source Guide Overview of 22 assessment tools

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1. Users Guide to Measuring Local Governance
Provides guidance on

• How to deal with the preparation and launch
• How to ensure the most inclusive process
• How to ensure that the assessment methodology is
  rigorous
• What to do with the results
• How to address problems of sustainability

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Outline

1. Users Guide to Measuring Local Governance
2. Decentralisation and democracy
3. Measuring local governance
4. Issues to consider for carrying out LG
   assessments
5. Practical application

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2. Decentralization and democracy Why
decentralize?
Development rationale. Improved service delivery
by increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of
public services Democracy and good governance
rationale. Decentralisation has the potential to
promote transparency and accountability in public
administration and to promote democracy, from
both the supply and the demand
side. Conflict management and peace building
rationale. If people have better development
opportunities and their voice is taken into
account, they are less likely to resort to
violence to resolve their grievances.
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2. Decentralization and democracy Degrees of
decentralization
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. Importance of local ownership and the
need to adjust planning and resource allocation
to specific local settings or priorities.
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2. Decentralization and democracy Local
government
Local government? or Government at local level?
What to include in an assessment? Only the local
government? Or all government institutions at
the local level?
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2. Decentralization and democracy Functional
decentralisation
Political decentralisation. The transfer of
political and legislative power and authority to
the sub-national level. Administrative
decentralisation. The transfer of decision-making
authority on functional responsibilities (like
planning, implementation, HRM) related to the
delivery of a select number of public services or
functions to the sub-national level. Fiscal
decentralisation. The transfer of funds and
resources as well as the revenue generating
authority to the sub-national level of government.
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2. Decentralization and democracy Trends in
decentralisation
From decentralisation of government to
decentralised governance or democratic local
governance the art of governing communities in
a participatory, deliberative and collaborative
way to produce more just and broadly acceptable
outcomes. ? more attention in basic service
delivery process is nowadays placed on
government-citizen relationships, civil society
engagement, public private partnerships, social
accountability, etc.
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2. Decentralization and democracy Why is the
quality of governance important?

• It affects quality of service delivery (good
  governance as a means to improve livelihood)
• It affects legitimacy of the state (good
  governance as an end building local democracy)

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2. Decentralization and democracy Democratic
Local Governance

• Emphasizes the importance of
• the process
• in which decisions are made and implemented, as
  well as
• the results
• in terms of improved services of the people in
  democratic local governance.

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2. Decentralization and democracy Universal
priorities for local governance

• UN-Habitat Guidelines on Decentralisation and the
• Strengthening of Local Authorities (April 2007)
• 1. Governance and democracy at the local level
• Appropriate balance of representative and
  participatory democracy, and governance in
  accordance with principles of transparency,
  integrity and downward accountability
• 2. Powers and responsibilities of local
  authorities
• Public responsibilities should be executed by
  those elected authorities closest to citizens
  (subsidiarity), and incremental decentralisation
  combined with capacity development

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2. Decentralization and democracy Universal
priorities for local governance

• 3. Administrative relations between local
  authorities and other spheres of government
• recognition of the legal autonomy of local
  authorities, respect for the practice of
  autonomy, as legislatively defined, by higher
  levels, and provisions for legal recourse where
  such autonomy is unjustly infringed
• 4. Financial resources and capacities of local
  authorities
• local authorities should be supported by
  other spheres of government, as much as possible
  determine their own administrative structures and
  adapt them to local needs, and have the
  financial autonomy to carry out their
  responsibilities

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2. Decentralization and democracy Exercise 1
In your setting What are the big issues in
governance at the local level? How do you define
good local governance?
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Outline

1. Users Guide to Measuring Local Governance
2. Decentralisation and democracy
3. Measuring local governance
4. Issues to consider for carrying out LG
   assessments
5. Practical application

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3. Measuring local governanceWhy address and
assess governance at the local level?

• Its at the local level where
• There is direct interaction between government
  and citizens
• More services are decentralized
• An increasing part of government budget is
  spent
• Citizen dissatisfaction is most apparent
• The state derives a large part of its
  legitimacy

• If governance is important, then measuring
  governance is also important, to know if
  these objectives are being achieved, or
  whether adjustments are needed.
• Not simply a disaggregated national governance
  assessment!

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3. Measuring local governanceReasons for
assessing local governance
Diagnostic. For identifying gaps and
constraints in local policy implementation for
identifying specific capacity-building needs, for
evidence based planning on local
governance. Monitoring and evaluation.
Monitoring results of capacity building efforts
and changes in governance and for providing an
objective account of achievements of local
government, and thus building accountability.
Dialogue and advocacy. For creating a platform
to involve civil society and citizens in local
governance and to empower stakeholders to demand
change based on evidence.
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3. Measuring local governanceWhat kind of
assessments are possible?

• Comprehensive local governance assessment
  approaches based on mutiple stakeholder
  perspectives
• Local Governance assessments based on citizen (or
  single stakeholder) perspectives
• Local Governance and performance self-assessments
  by local government institutions

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3. Measuring local governanceNormative
foundations
Governance indicators measure the relationship
between the actual and desired state of
governance. Critical step valued principles ?
measurable indicators


Principles of democratic governancee.g.
accountability
Specific indicatorse.g. public review of the
budget (quality scale)
Profile of democratic governance
? Its important to make these normative
assumptions explicit so users of reports
understand how good or democratic governance
is being assessed.
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3. Measuring local governanceExercise 2

BrainstormGenerate as many indicators as
possible within the time allocated. Use the
principles of good governance you discussed in
the previous exercise, and, if helpful, the
format below (with intervening indicator
questions).
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3. Measuring local governanceExample principles
and indicators
Effectiveness- LG revenue per capita- LG
revenue transfers- Published performance
standards


Participation- elected council- voter turnout
and representation by sex- public forum for
women, youth and vulnerable groups- citizen
capacity to engage in decision-making
Equity- citizens charter right of access to
basic services- percentage of women
councillors- pro-poor pricing policy for water
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3. Measuring local governanceExample principles
and indicators (2)
Accountability- Formal publication of contracts,
tenders, budget and accounts- codes of conduct-
disclosure of income and assets- regular
independent audit


Security- facilities for citizen complaints-
protection against crime and violence- security
of land tenure and use
Institutional capacity- degree of
professionalization or personnel and selection
criteria- mechanisms for attention to citizens
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3. Measuring local governanceWhat kind of data
sources?

• Use existing (secondary) data, and collect new
  (primary) data
• Administrative data policy and legal
  documents, codes of conduct,
  organizational set-up and management systems,
  processes for decision-making
• Statistical data and indexes expenditure
  tracking and budgetary information,
  organisational audit reports, election data,
  census data
• Perception and fact based evidence from
  individuals, households and private sector
  through surveys, report cards, focus groups

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3. Measuring local governanceSelecting an
assessment tool

• The tools profiled in the Source Guide are
  classified according to the following features
• Cost benefit analysis
• Purpose
• Information sources
• Lead actors applying the tool
• Use of explicit poverty measures
• Use of explicit gender measures

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Outline

1. Users Guide to Measuring Local Governance
2. Decentralisation and democracy
3. Measuring local governance
4. Issues to consider for carrying out LG
   assessments
5. Practical application

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4. Issues to considerAre you ready to assess?

• Is the basic decentralised system functioning
  according to certain minimum standards?
• e.g. delivery mechanisms, basic institutional
  procedures, planning and budgeting, staffing,
  clearly delegated mandates,
  inter-governmental relations
• Are you able to tackle the issues raised and
  the capacity needs of stakeholders that
  emerge from the exercise?
• Drafting a Capacity Development plan and budget
  should be part of your strategy from the
  start.

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4. Issues to considerOwnership

• Local government?
• Official legitimacy, but concerns for
  independence and validity
• Central government?
• Supportive, but not a leadership role
• Civil society/ research institutes?
• Greater autonomy and independence, but may need
  to achieve consensus with government to bring
  about reform
• Who is the leading agent in the process and
• how can we guarantee neutral facilitation?

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4. Issues to considerManaging multiple and
conflicting purposes

• Challenge
• Getting a shared understanding and purpose when
  there are different and conflicting
  purposes, and unrealistic expectations.
• Good practices
• Assessment as part of a capacity building and
  inclusive dialogue process
• Clear normative framework is agreed upon
• Assessment is purpose oriented
• Derive objectives from local development needs
  and the strategic policy agenda

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4. Issues to considerPolitical support and
leadership

• Ensuring high level political support, and
  local level buy in
• ? Convincing local leadership of potential
  win-win situation greater transparency,
  rule of law, reduced corruption, better
  responsiveness etc will enhance the
  legitimacy of the local government and
  politicians, and likelihood of re-election

• Identify champions who create enthusiasm and
  drive the exercise, and who work with all
  different actors to keep them committed to the
  original purpose of the assessment.

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4. Issues to considerEnsuring inclusiveness

• Starts at the definition and selection of
  stakeholder groups
• If you dont include marginalised groups
  explicitly, they will not be heard
  (stakeholders, sub-indicators, segregated data)
• Avoid elite capture by working with groups
  individually (to stimulate the emergence of
  true opinions) and collectively (to stimulate
  dialogue)
• Use differences in perceptions and scores as a
  starting point for dialogue
• Treat the assessment as a collective learning
  process

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4. Issues to considerThe purpose should define
the method

• Starts at the definition and selection of
  stakeholder groups
• If you dont include marginalised groups
  explicitly, they will not be heard
  (stakeholders, sub-indicators, segregated data)
• Avoid elite capture by working with groups
  individually (to stimulate the emergence of
  true opinions) and collectively (to stimulate
  dialogue)
• Use differences in perceptions and scores as a
  starting point for dialogue
• Treat the assessment as a collective learning
  process

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4. Issues to considerDeciding the scope

• Which government level to focus on?
• Local government only?
• Also Ministries at the local level?
• Lack of coordination is often an important
  bottleneck for efficient service delivery
• Ordinary citizens are in general not able to
  distinguish the two, which might affect
  their view of governance problems and
  solutions

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4. Issues to considerAdapting the tool to a
local context

• Dont just replicate a tool used in another
  country
• Map out existing tools, and select a
  methodology that is suited to the purpose and
  the normative foundation
• Invest in proper design, testing and initial
  consultation of stakeholders
• Continuous adjustments are important, even
  during implementation (Why are services not
  as they should be?)
• Adjust ambitions to capacities available

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4. Issues to considerSelecting the indicators

• Balance direct needs with systemic issues
  (immediate vs long term impact)
• Combine input and output/outcome based
  indicators to show discrepancies between
  change in law and change in practice
• Use indicators that are actionable but also
  action-worthy
• Integrate poverty and gender sensitive
  measures, to provide a basis for local
  equitable development (in addition to
  disaggregating data by sex, income etc..)
• Be cautious with use of data, scores are not
  absolute because they are based on
  perceptions.

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4. Issues to considerEnsuring findings are used

• Ensure high level political support to so that
  more systemic issues that emerge are
  addressed
• Ensure there is a budget and technical support
  to address capacity needs identified
• Breakdown problems into priorities and
  according to the type of solution they
  require
• Craft concrete recommendations that help to
  address these in terms of immediate,
  medium and long-term objectives
• Build on strengths
• Communicate research in a useful and accessible
  form, to an audience that is as wide and
  diverse as possible

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Outline

1. Users Guide to Measuring Local Governance
2. Decentralisation and democracy
3. Measuring local governance
4. Issues to consider for carrying out LG
   assessments
5. Practical application

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5. Practical applicationGetting started checklist

• Decide on ownership of LG assessment
• Depending on where ownership resides, involve the
  right partners and generate buy in from above
  and locally
• Decide on purpose
• Decide on scope
• Clarify budget
• Assess what secondary data are ready available
• Select instrument
• Adjust instrument to country setting and specific
  requirements

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5. Practical applicationExercise 3

• Describe the contours of a local governance
  assessment
• framework for your country addressing
• Which category of tools (assessment by whom?) or
  which combination of tools would be most
  applicable?
• Using the matrix, which tool could be your
  guiding tool?

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5. Practical applicationExercise 3 (selecting a
tool)

• Take into consideration the following
• Can it be made country specific (but also applied
  country wide)?
• Do the objectives address both local development
  needs and strategic policy agenda?
• Can it provide evidence for a strategy to enhance
  good governance at local level?
• Can the process itself help to promote desired
  objectives? (e.g. capacity development,
  dialogue, transparency)
• Is it poverty and gender sensitive?
• Does it combine measures of performance in
  practice as well as in law?

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5. Practical applicationExercise 4

• Choose the case that is of most interest to you
• Facilitating commitment and involvement The
  role of a local government official
• Moving from government to the concept of
  governance
• The role of a civil society
  activist
• Balancing comparability with local
  relevance The role of a representative from a
  local government association
• Ensuring uptake of assessment findings in local
  policymaking The role of a local elected
  government official

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In conclusion

• Governance becomes measurable and thus
  discussible at local and national level
• We can detect capacity building needs amongst all
  stakeholders that if addressed properly can
  strengthen governance
• We can prioritize, plan and budget for related
  capacity building
• We can provide evidence based policy advice to
  central government.
• It is possible to create emerging social
  contracts between government and civil society
  by showing that they work towards the same
  objective and that win-win solutions to
  governance problems are possible.