Capacity development for governance and decentralization

This page is part of our dossier on Capacity development for governance and decentralization. On this page you find a small selection of free, online documents from the database of our local governance portal on the subject of capacity building and training in relation to the following sub-themes:

- training/capacity building
- social accountability, participatory budgeting 
- public services
- community participation, participatory development
- general section
- shortlist of major organizations

For more information see the first page of this dossier or the portal itself. You can follow us on Twitter or visit the page of the rural decentralization and local governance team elsewhere on the www.kit.nl website.

Last update: 6 February, 2013. Free, online resources in our local governance portal: at least 1515.

Training/capacity building

The Hague academy for local governance : programme 2013      The Hague Academy for Local Governance offers open enrolment courses, tailor-made training programmes, study visits and masterclasses on participation, accountability, fiscal issues, local economic development, peacebuilding, (female) leadership, climate change, and water governance.

Local government association capacity building : rationale, co- operation practices, and strategies for the future     The landscape of international co-operation with regard to capacity building of local government associations in Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, and Tanzania is described and the Finnish development policy related to decentralisation is outlined.

VNG international's Local government capacity programme      The 2012-2016 plan for the Local Government Capacity Programme (LGCP) Programme of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG) is outlined. The consequences of the new priorities of Dutch international development policy (water, agriculture, security, reproductive health) are highlighted.

Participants' kit : harmonisation, decentralisation and local governance     This training kit gives an overview of the state-of-the-art knowledge on harmonization, decentralization and local governance that are essential for understanding how local governance and decentralisation processes can be designed, supported and monitored in a harmonised manner.

Local government strengthening capacity : a review of measures taken in the last fifteen years     The historical context, within which local government has evolved in South Africa, is narrated and the measures and programmes introduced to empower the developmental capacity of municipalities is analysed. The weaknesses of capacity building programmes and local planning processes are identified.

For more websites or e-publications on training and capacity building in local governance, click here.

Social accountability/participatory budgeting

Local government councils performance and quality of service delivery in Uganda : Luwero district council score-card     Luwero District Council in Uganda was the first to be assessed using the new score-card methodology. District performance and the quality of public services was assessed and recommendations for improvement were provided. Capacity building, budgeting, and development planning need more attention.

Participatory budgeting in Africa : a training companion : with cases from eastern and southern Africa     This manual aims to build the capacity of local governments in Africa to introduce and apply participatory budgeting techniques. It notes the benefits of participatory budgeting in supporting effective transparency and accountability in local government, notably where corruption has been an issue.

Strengthening local level service delivery and accountability : the case of Bukoba district council, Tanzania     This paper reports on the experiences from a capacity building programme for local governance actors that was jointly run by a Dutch NGO and a distrct council in Tanzania. The aim was to strengthen local level service delivery and accountability.

Professionalising local government leadership : a foundational imperative     The aim of this paper is to stimulate and facilitate a collaborative inquiry into the need, motivations and benefits for a professionalized local government. With the right, robust and rigorous interventions and support, local government can truly become a vehicle for lasting development.

Demanding good governance : lessons from social accountability initiatives in Africa      The case studies presented in this book represent a cross-section of African countries, drawing on initiatives launched and implemented both by civil society groups and by local and national governments in countries with different political contexts and cultures.

For more websites or e-publications on accountability in local government, click here.

Public Services

Building capacity for local government to perform     This paper looks at the practitioner’s challenge of building capacity for local government to perform. Five elements that constitute this challenge are identified. They represent the building blocks for local government’s successful performance.

Accountability and voice for service delivery at the local level : a background paper for the UNDP regional training     The focus of this background paper for the UNDP regional training event Developing Capacities for Accountability and Voice held in Bulgaria, October 2008 is practical: it is linked to specific strategies for strengthening UNDP’s work in capacity development for enhancing accountability and voice.

Water budget monitoring education tool     For accountability by local government and optimum service delivery, it is essential to understand the budget processes of municipalities and how these affect service delivery. While this education tool (five modules) focuses on water, the same principles apply to electricity and sanitation.

Devolution and human resources in primary healthcare in rural Mali     Key issues with regard to human resources in the devolution of health services are highlighted, using experiences from Mali and elsewhere. There is a need for: (1) strengthening public accountability; (2) capacity development of all actors; and (3) more attention for human resources policy.

What makes the Bangladesh Local government engineering department (LGED) so effective?     LGED is the organization in charge of planning and implementing rural, urban and small scale water resources infrastructure development projects in Bangladesh. It also provides technical support to local government institutions and stakeholder capacity building.

For more websites or e-publications on public services and local governance, click here.

Community participation/participatory development

Local and community driven development : moving to scale in theory and practice     This publication provides development practitioners with the historical background and the tools required to successfully scale up local and community driven development (LCDD) to the regional and national levels.

Participatory development reconsidered     Evidence shows that civil participation in decentralization works only marginally, with pro-poor results in poorer, more unequal and remote communities generally lacking. This article identifies some conditions for successful localized pro-poor programme design.

Training manual to facilitate decentralized local government planning activities to empower communities     This training manual includes information on: (1) the key areas of decentralization; (2) the rational for decentralization; (3) making a local development plan; (4) making a community development action plan.

Participatory development and its emergence in the fields of community and international development    This study of participatory development and its evolution, explores developmental concepts related to PD including: community, development, community development, capacity-building, project, decentralization, civil society, empowerment, self-reliance, and sustainable development.

Training agencies for citizen involvement : the many meanings of decentralization and their effects on democratic reform     The effect of government structure on availability of training in three different skills necessary for democratic reform is examined: (1) solicitation and use of citizen input; (2) client relations; and (3) development and use of performance indicators.

Fiscal decentralization in Kenya : a small step or giant leap?     Following the post-election violence in 2007, Kenya adopted a new constitution in September 2010, which represents an important step in the process of national reconciliation and an important attempt to make Kenya's public sector more efficient and more accountable through devolution.

For more websites or e-publications on community or popular participation and local governance, click here.

General

Comparative assessment of decentralization in Africa : final report and summary of findings     This comparative study draws lessons from African country experiences with decentralization. Accountability remains mostly upward. In one third public service delivery improved slightly. Capacity remains an issue at all levels of government.

Localizing the MDGs : unlocking the potential of the local public sector to engage in development and poverty reduction     This paper explores how local governments and deconcentrated national government departments can contribute to achieving poverty reduction and development outcomes. Increasingly, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are pursued in a top-down manner.

Institutional choice and recognition in the formation and consolidation of local democracy : introduction     Following decentralization reforms, governments, international development agencies and large non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been transferring power to a wide range of local institutions, including customary authorities and NGOs to the detriment of the authority of local governments.

Giving local government a more central place in development : an examination of donor support for decentralisation     Funding is critical for running local governments, and calls for fiscal decentralization and aligned donor support. Capacity building is needed for all those involved in the process at all levels. Specific attention has to be paid to empowering the poor in local communities.

Demanding good governance : lessons from social accountability initiatives in Africa     The case studies presented in this book represent a cross-section of African countries, drawing on initiatives launched and implemented both by civil society groups and by local and national governments in countries with different political contexts and cultures.

Strengthening local government through international partnerships : a dynamic tool for government and community     Illustrates in what way international partnerships can contribute to improving the performance of local governments. Mentions obstacles in establishing or executing partnerships and provides practical solutions.

For more websites or e-publications on local governance in general, click here.

Organizations

This is the current (8 Feb. 2013) list of organizations we follow actively on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LocalGovernance/organizations/members. Organizations include:

Grassroots Democracy ‏ @grassrootsdemoc @HungerProject & @UNdemocracyfund's Participatory Local Democracy program advocates for grassroots democracy & creates a community to share knowledge & ideas.

CLGF ‏ @CLGF_News  The Commonwealth Local Government Forum works to promote and strengthen effective democratic local government throughout the Commonwealth

Governance+SocialDev ‏ @GSDRC The Governance and Social Development Resource Centre (GSDRC) provides access to the best thinking on governance, conflict and social development.

CIVICUS ‏ @CIVICUSalliance CIVICUS is an international alliance dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society throughout the world.

SA LED Network ‏ @SA_LED_Network The South African LED Network is a platform for practitioners and municipalities to exchange ideas on Local Economic Development thus creating synergies.

ECDPM ‏ @ECDPM The European Centre for Development Policy Management is a “think and do tank” working on global development. We are linking policy and practice. \

Idasa ‏ @DemocracyAfrica Idasa is an independent public interest organisation committed to building sustainable democratic societies in collaboration with African and global partners.

UNDP Demo Governance ‏ @dgovUNDP Democratic governance is central to the achievement of the MDGs and the elimination of poverty

LocalDemocracyWatch ‏ @localdemwatch We are an independent non-partisan, non-government network which promotes #LocalDemocracy as a #HumanRight (#Grassroots)

Land Portal ‏ @landportal The place on the web where you can share and find info on land governance

IAG-AGI ‏ @africgovernance L’IAG est un centre d’excellence panafricain conçu pour contribuer au développement d’une réflexion novatrice sur les défis de gouvernance.

UCLG ‏ @uclg_org Official account of the United Cities and Local Governments. UCLG represents and defends the interests of local and regional governments on the world stage.

For more websites or e-publications on local governance in general, click here.