A Users' Guide to Measuring Local Governance

Table 27:
EXAMPLES OF KEY ISSUES FROM THE QUESTIONNAIRE AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL
(supply side of local government)
6 5 4 3 2 1
Do elected members fulfill their roles and
responsibilities?
fully mostly partly hardly not at all I do not
know
Are UP meetings held regularly?
always:
each month
most of
the times:
10-11
rarely:
1-5
sometimes:
6-9
never:
0
I do not
know
Does your women member participate in the UP
meetings?
takes
always part
takes most
of the time
part
takes
sometimes
part
takes
hardly
part
takes
never
part
I do not
know
Are UP office hours maintained?
open every
day and
timely
open four
days a
week
open
irregularly
mostly
closed
always
closed
I do not
know
Does the UP notice board have up to date
information?
always
up to date
mostly
up to date
Sometimes
up to date
hardly
up to date
not at all up
do date
I do not
know
How satisfied are you with services provided by
the UP in regard to awarding certificates,
registration, etc.?
very high high medium low not at all I do not
know
process and in the community self-assessment is
strongly requested. In addition, specific questions
are formulated in both the community and UP
LGSA about the extent of representation and voice
of the poor and marginalised in CBOs and in the
coordination meetings as well as the level of
participation of poor/marginalised in general
public meetings (e.g. To what extent are poor and
marginalised well represented and have a voice in
these CBOs? What is the level of participation
of poor/marginalized groups in coordination
meetings?)
Strengths
• The same evaluation process is undertaken at
the both the community and Union Parishad
levels in order to facilitate the understanding
that local governance is not only about what
the Union Parishad does but also about how
the people fulfill their responsibilities as citizens.
• The LGSA is not only an assessment tool for the
functioning of local governance but also a
means to support local governments in taking
action to improve local governance.
Weaknesses
• Because of the nature of the self-assessment
exercise, which tries to capture the perceptions
of participants, results might always be an
accurate reflection of ‘reality’.
• Given the unavoidable presence of authoritative
figures in the groups, there is a risk that
participants might not feel comfortable
publicly expressing their opinions.
Coverage
35 Union Parishad in the geographical areas
of Rajshahi and Sunamganjto, Bangladesh. 5,700
participants were involved into the LGSA exercise,
both citizens and Union Parishad representatives.
Timeline
2007. On-going.
Where to find it
Guidelines for Facilitators:
http://www.sdc.org.bd/ressources/resource_en_167178.pdf
A Users’ Guide to Measuring Local Governance 119