A Users' Guide to Measuring Local Governance

What is the purpose of the Guide?
The purpose of this Guide is to compile existing
knowledge on decentralization and local
governance measurement and provide a platform
for understanding and navigating the array of
assessment tools that exist, focusing on particular
issues such how to select amongst the existing (or
decide to design a new set of ) local governance
indicators; how to deal with the preparation and
launching of an assessment; how to ensure the
most inclusive process in implementing an
assessment; how to ensure that the assessment is
rigorous and scientifically sound; what to do with
the results; and how to address problems of
sustainability.
Who is the Guide for?
This Guide is primarily for local and national
stakeholders that are involved in local assessment
initiatives, and those who are working for relevant
international, national and local development
partners involved in such endeavors. 2 These
include government officials, civil society
organizations, media organizations, and
multilateral and bilateral agencies.
2
A particular category is the one including various researchers and analysts. As our analysis indicated, depending on the case and
their personal competencies, they can be considered specialist and/or simply more actively involved stakeholders. For instance,
some of them are involved in data collection and analysis, but either through group discussions or by compiling existing data –
none of which requires deep knowledge and understanding of complex research techniques. Therefore, it is up to each one of
them to evaluate the value of this Guide for their current and future work.
2 UNDP Oslo Governance Centre