A Users' Guide to Measuring Local Governance

A critical step in developing an assessment is to
transform valued principles into actual measurable
indicators and operational questions, as shown in
Figure 1 below.
It is important that governance assessments make
explicit and clear the normative assumptions that
underpin them so that users may understand how
the concept of “good” or “democratic” governance
is being addressed. This clarifies the discourse and
encourages informed dialogue with partners,
other agencies and academia about the pros and
cons of different approaches to governance
assessments. 14 It also enables end-users to
ascertain what assessments are actually saying –
and what they are not.
The norms that underpin UNDP’s governance
assessments include principles of democratic
governance (transparency, accountability,
participation) and also a concern with the rights,
needs and interests of the poor, women and other
vulnerable groups. The detailed and contextspecific
nature of local governance assessments
provide a mechanism for identifying the obstacles
that hinder the economic, political, social and
cultural advancement of the poor, women and
other vulnerable groups. In addition, the use of
participatory methods of data collection, by giving
voice to the poor, women and other vulnerable
groups, can draw attention to governance issues
that had previously been ignored.
Figure 1. Operationalising principles
Principles of
democratic
governance
e.g.accountability
Specific indicators
e.g. public review of
the budget
Operational
questions
e.g. does the local
government
announce and
disclose the budget
for public review
Profile of
democratic
governance
Box 3.
The normative basis of an assessment
All local governance assessment frameworks are based on normative, value-oriented, prescriptive principles. To date
there is not one integrated framework for “good” local governance, and the priority for each particular assessment is to
endorse a combination of normative principles that will guide it.The examples below illustrate the guiding values and
principles that form the basis of selected assessment frameworks that can be found in the Source Guide.
International IDEA Democracy at the Local Level
1 Representative Democracy (equality, equity)
2 Participatory Democracy (openness, fairness,
transparency, responsiveness, accountability)
Good Governance for Local Development – GOFORGOLD
1 Representation
2 Participation
3 Accountability
4 Transparency
5 Effectiveness
6 Security
7 Equity
Local Governance Barometer (LGB)
1 Effectiveness
2 Transparency and Rule of Law
3 Accountability
4 Participation and civic engagement
5 Equity
UN-HABITAT Urban Governance Index
1 Effectiveness
2 Equity
3 Participation
4 Accountability
14
Donor Approaches to Governance Assessments, DAC Network on Governance, OECD, June 2008 (final draft)
10 UNDP Oslo Governance Centre