Fostering Blueprints For Local Government Development

The Local Government Development Framework (LGDF) is a local governance performance measurement and monitoring tool based on government-citizen collaboration. Developed by RTI International, the LGDF provides for the establishment of demand-driven benchmarks and participatory assessments for the improvement of local governance, service delivery in particular. The paper presents the development-project origins of the LGDF beginning in the 1980s, comparatively examines LGDF’s strengths and weaknesses, and provides a step-by-step discussion of its utilization. Four developing countries in which the LGDF has been applied serve as examples. The LGDF involves, first, the establishment of performance benchmarks for the priority functions of the local government. Second, local officials and community stakeholders come together to collaboratively assess and score progress toward achieving the benchmarks. Third, local officials working with stakeholders develop action plans for achieving priority objectives. Finally, the process is regularly repeated to identify areas of improvement and future capacity-building needs. Successful implementation of the LGDF, we conclude, requires leadership, well-aligned political incentives, proper design and implementation, and dedication to the process. Yet it has withstood the test of time and proven to be an effective tool for bringing government together with the community to achieve local development objectives.

The Local Government Development Framework (LGDF) is a local governance performance measurement and monitoring tool based on government-citizen collaboration. Developed by RTI International, the LGDF provides for the establishment of demand-driven benchmarks and participatory assessments for the improvement of local governance, service delivery in particular. The paper presents the development-project origins of the LGDF beginning in the 1980s, comparatively examines LGDF’s strengths and weaknesses, and provides a step-by-step discussion of its utilization. Four developing countries in which the LGDF has been applied serve as examples. The LGDF involves, first, the establishment of performance benchmarks for the priority functions of the local government. Second, local officials and community stakeholders come together to collaboratively assess and score progress toward achieving the benchmarks. Third, local officials working with stakeholders develop action plans for achieving priority objectives. Finally, the process is regularly repeated to identify areas of improvement and future capacity-building needs. Successful implementation of the LGDF, we conclude, requires leadership, well-aligned political incentives, proper design and implementation, and dedication to the process. Yet, it has withstood the test of time and proven to be an effective tool for bringing government together with the community to achieve local development objectives.

RTI International has extensive experience implementing international donor-funded programs and projects, including single-sector and multisector policy and service-delivery improvement efforts, as well as governance and public management reforms. Drawing on that experience, this collection examines six recent RTI International projects, funded mostly by the United States Agency for International Development, that pursued several different paths to integrating service delivery and governance through engaging citizens, public officials, and service providers on issues related to accountability and sectoral services. The six cases illustrate the multiple ways in which citizen participation in accountability, called social accountability, can lead to positive effects on governance, citizen empowerment, and service delivery. The analysis focuses on both the intended and actual effects, and unpacks the influence of context on implementation and the outcomes achieved.

Jordan is undertaking ambitious decentralization reforms to place citizens at the heart of local policies and services. This review analyses the main gaps in the current needs assessment process, which aims to mainstream a participatory approach for the design of local development plans and budgetary allocations through a yearly collection and assessment of citizens’ needs.

This book focuses on urban development and planning in Nigeria by analyzing the nature and determinants of urban and regional planning strategies and outcomes in Rivers State, Nigeria. The book is organized into fourteen chapters. The first chapter focuses on population growth and the development of the Nigerian urban system. The second chapter traces the roots of Nigerian urban and regional planning system. The third chapter discusses the institutional framework for planning the evolving planning institutions and the emergence of the planning profession in the country and Rivers State. Chapter four examines political and economic forces and the substantive urban planning issues and problems faced by planners in the PH metropolis. Chapter five focuses on PH urban politics, planning administration and institutions. Chapters six and seven focus on the responses of planning to environmental, housing problems, transportation, land use, local economic development, and urban services issues. It documents how urban development and planning policies pertaining to these issues affect urban population groups and how the populations have responded to the outcomes of conventional planning intervention and offers alternative policies. In chapter eight, the problems of plan implementation is examined focusing on the implementation of the Diobu Master Plan, while chapters nine, ten, and eleven present physical planning and development control within the context of local government system in Rivers State. In chapter twelve, the book presents planning for a new town, New Finima, in Rivers State, designed to resettle the Finima. Chapters thirteen and fourteen dwell on the problem of rural urban balance and regional planning in Rivers State and Nigeria in general. It focuses special attention on the problem of urban and rural disparities as the key issue facing regional planning and suggests measures for ensuring that urban planning promotes the welfare of all and enhances the opportunities for the procurement of benefits of development programs by all socioeconomic groups. The book concludes with chapter fifteen on planning imperatives to make the Port Harcourt metropolis livable.

A Brookings Institution Press and Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation publication The trend toward greater decentralization of governance activities, now accepted as commonplace in the West, has become a worldwide movement. This international development—largely a product of globalization and democratization—is clearly one of the key factors reshaping economic, political, and social conditions throughout the world. Rather than the top-down, centralized decisionmaking that characterized communist economies and Third World dictatorships in the twentieth century, today's world demands flexibility, adaptability, and the autonomy to bring those qualities to bear. In this thought-provoking book, the first in a new series on Innovations in Governance, experts in government and public management trace the evolution and performance of decentralization concepts, from the transfer of authority within government to the sharing of power, authority, and responsibilities among broader governance institutions. This movement is not limited to national government—it also affects subnational governments, NGOs, private corporations, and even civil associations. The contributors assess the emerging concepts of decentralization (e.g., devolution, empowerment, capacity building, and democratic governance). They detail the factors driving the movement, including political changes such as the fall of the Iron Curtain and the ascendance of democracy; economic factors such as globalization and outsourcing; and technological advances (e.g. increased information technology and electronic commerce). Their analysis covers many different contexts and regions. For example, William Ascher of Claremont McKenna College chronicles how decentralization concepts are playing out in natural resources policy, while Kadmeil Wekwete (United Nations) outlines the specific challenges to decentralizing governance in sub-Saharan Africa. In each case, contributors explore the objectives of a decentralizing strategy as well as the benefits and difficulties that will likely result.

In this book, a team of scholars from five universities shows how new experiments in growth management can reinvigorate land use planning and help local governments find new solutions to the problems caused by growth and change. Drawing on evidence from five states and scores of cities and counties, the authors show why the benefits of growth are not automatic. Much depends on how well states craft growth management legislation, how amply programs are funded, and how dedicated state officials are to working with localities. By building on these findings, they conclude, states and localities can improve their chances for coping successfully with land use change.

The world is in a race against time to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) by 2030. Despite global efforts to address these ambitious goals, progress remains uneven, and significant gaps persist. Women are often underrepresented and underutilized in leadership positions, yet they possess untapped potential to be formidable forces of change. The Role of Female Leaders in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is an exploration into the role of female leaders in overcoming the challenges that hinder the realization of the UN SDGs. It makes clear that the reality of achieving these goals requires a seismic shift in leadership dynamics, with women at the forefront of this transformative journey. The Role of Female Leaders in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals introduces readers to a diverse array of women leaders who have been instrumental in driving progress towards the UN SDGs. Their stories serve as sources of inspiration for academics, corporate executives, non-governmental organization (NGO) leaders, and government officials, showcasing the tangible impact women can have when given the opportunity to lead. The book is a call to action, urging women to step into leadership roles across academia, corporations, civil society, and government, thereby expediting the achievement of the United Nations development goals.

This report assesses the extent to which Croatia’s multi-level governance system is supporting its regional development objectives. In particular, it provides an overview of the country’s regional development performance on several demographic, economic and well-being indicators. From there, it considers how the regional development reforms adopted since 2014 affect the ability of national and subnational governments to design, implement, fund, monitor and evaluate place-based regional development plans.