Decentralisation and Local Governance

• Course introduction
• The experts
• Learning objectives
• The content
• Practical information
• Application procedure

The summercourse Decentralisation and Local Governance is designed for professionals dealing with decentralisation processes and local service delivery in developing and transitional countries. It discusses questions like: How do decentralisation policies contribute to poverty reduction and reaching the Millennium Development Goals? In what way can a transfer of power and budget from central to local authorities lead to better services on the local level? How can a dialogue between national governments and local stakeholders be stimulated? And how can local governments be made more accountable to their citizens?

The summercourse provides you with indicators for assessing and monitoring decentralisation practices and increases your insight into decentralisation processes in different contexts, like fragile states or countries with ethnic tensions. Fiscal decentralisation, sources for local income generating and social accountability issues are discussed, as well as aid modalities and the role of the donor community. 

Contributions come from practitioners in the field of decentralisation and local governance, with extensive experience in various parts of the world. During the training, you will have the opportunity to share your experiences with them and ask their opinion about the situation in the country you work in.

Jamie Boex, has over ten years experience in international fiscal policy analysis and reform, with direct experience in over a dozen countries around the world, including in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria, Uganda, Indonesia, Georgia and Tanzania. In addition to his real-world policy work, Dr. Boex has engaged in extensive scholarly research in the field. Presently, Jamie is principal research associate at the Centre on International Development and Governance at the Urban Institute in Washington.

Jean Bossuyt, Head of Strategy at the European Centre for Development Policy Management and author of the EuropeAid publication ‘Supporting Decentralisation and Local Governance in Third Countries’. Jean Bossuyt has been working extensively on issues of EU development policy over the last seven years. Areas of particular interest are the political dimensions of EU-ACP cooperation (e.g. democratisation, governance), aid relations with conflict countries, private sector development, decentralised cooperation and relations with NGOs. 

Otto Stapel, expert in the field of public administration and local governance and specialised in participatory policy making, has worked as a local government advisor for VNG International in a.o. Sudan, Afghanistan, Turkey and Iraq. 
 

The summercourse Decentralisation and Local Governance helps you in:

• Assessing decentralisation practices in the countries you work in;
• Increasing insight into the various factors that influence performance at the local level;
• Judging the impact of decentralisation policies on the realisation of poverty reduction;
• Designing strategies for a more effective implementation of decentralisation in partner countries;
• Exchanging experiences with other professionals in the field.

After successful completion of the course you will receive a certificate of The Hague Academy for Local Governance.

Day 1: Assessing decentralisation practices
The first day of the course will introduce you to various concepts and practices of decentralisation, such as motives for decentralisation; coherence between political, administrative and fiscal decentralisation; conditions for successful decentralisation and special circumstances like fragile states and countries with strong ethnic or regional tensions. Otto Stapel will share his experience with developing local democracy in post conflict areas such as Iraq, Afghanistan and The Sudan. At the end of day one, an assignment will help you in assessing the decentralisation practice in your own country.

Day 2: Fiscal decentralisation and local service delivery
A governance game will introduce you to the world of municipal financing, followed by a presentation by Jamie Boex, clarifying expenditure responsibilities, intergovernmental transfers, local taxes and user fees. Jamie will illustrate the theory with practices from various parts of the world and he will give you feedback and suggestions on the questions you may have. In the afternoon, Jamie will zoom in on financing local services such as water, education, health and waste collection and will analyse with you two case studies. 

Day 3: Social Accountability
Decentralisation has the potential to make it easier for citizens’ to express and exercise their views effectively and influence government priorities and processes. But in many cases, this does not translate into practice. On the third day, we will discuss how decentralisation can contribute in making governments more accountable to their citizens. In the morning, Jamie Boex will present good practices and tools for participatory planning and budgeting systems. In the afternoon, Jean Bossuyt will discuss various support strategies to achieve a culture of accountability from the bottom-up. Special attention will be paid to developing partnerships with community groups, NGOs and the private sector. 

Day 4: Decentralisation and development goals
Day 4 will focus on the role of the donor community. We will talk about questions like: How to design a coherent support strategy for decentralisation? How to integrate decentralisation in sector wide approaches? How to implement (do’s and don’ts) and how to asses outcomes and impact on development goals such as the MDGs? In a final exercise you will prepare an individual action plan that describes the steps you will take for assessing and monitoring intervention strategies related to decentralisation and local service delivery in your partner country. 

Day 5 (optional)
For those who are interested, on day 5 you will have the opportunity to see in practice how a Dutch municipality manages its public services. We will go on a field visit, exchange experiences with municipal staff and discuss how their work relates to decisions made at the central government. 

The course fee is € 2.415,-. This includes all training-related costs for five days as well as drinks and meals, training materials and travel during the training. The course language is English. 

If you would like to receive more information you can contact our programme manager Emmely Benschop at emmely.benschop@thehagueacademy.com or +31 6 575 384 13. 

New course dates for 2011 will be published as soon as possible. Please check our website regulary for updates.

Click here for more information about the application procedure and an online application form.