A Users' Guide to Measuring Local Governance
A Users' Guide to Measuring Local Governance
A Users' Guide to Measuring Local Governance
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Voices from the Trenches<br />
2<br />
2.1 Choosing an appropriate assessment<br />
framework<br />
The most common issue raised by almost all of the<br />
interviewees is the limited number of assessments<br />
carried out <strong>to</strong> date and the associated lack of a<br />
robust, comprehensive and tested methodology<br />
for local governance assessment. There was a<br />
consensus that the frameworks currently used for<br />
local governance assessments are not really<br />
normative systems for “good” or “democratic” local<br />
governance. Instead, there are diverse and<br />
sometimes weakly integrated “compilations of<br />
preferences and values”. Despite an increasing<br />
emphasis on democracy in the discourse on local<br />
governance, there is still an absence of tested<br />
indica<strong>to</strong>rs for the organization of political<br />
parties and for mechanisms of accountability and<br />
responsiveness at the local level. It is noteworthy<br />
that most national associations of local<br />
governments do not yet promote particular<br />
normative frameworks that would serve as the<br />
foundation for their development work at the<br />
local level.<br />
Good practice checklist<br />
• Define the specific purpose, focus and expected<br />
scope of the entire assessment process.<br />
• Map key stakeholders and identify their needs,<br />
preferences and interests in local governance<br />
assessment.<br />
• Ensure focus, while facilitating incorporation of<br />
a holistic concept of governance (i.e. not only<br />
formal structures and services, but also on<br />
processes and relationships).<br />
• Derive the assessment objectives from the<br />
local development needs and the strategic<br />
policy agenda.<br />
• Ensure that there is a focus on the needs of the<br />
poor, women, children and other disadvantaged<br />
groups. Use all opportunities (and create new<br />
ones) for integrating pro-poor and gendersensitive<br />
measures – without which the<br />
assessment will not serve as a basis for<br />
equitable local development.<br />
2.2 Dealing with complex methodologies<br />
There was widespread concern amongst those<br />
interviewed that there are “<strong>to</strong>o many indica<strong>to</strong>rs<br />
floating around” and “<strong>to</strong>o many offers <strong>to</strong> local<br />
authorities”. The proliferation of indica<strong>to</strong>rs created<br />
a situation in which local stakeholders are flooded<br />
with proposals for different assessments. Each time<br />
there is an argument that a particular set of<br />
indica<strong>to</strong>rs is the most important and that its<br />
application should be prioritized over all other<br />
governance assessments. Experts and international<br />
organizations also often send mixed signals on<br />
what the very notion of governance represents. As<br />
a result, local stakeholders may find it difficult <strong>to</strong><br />
reconcile between different approaches and<br />
derive meaningful conclusions for follow-up<br />
actions and development strategies. The<br />
multiplicity of sources of indica<strong>to</strong>rs and the relative<br />
divergence of methodological approaches<br />
sometimes lead <strong>to</strong> confusion, inefficient use of<br />
scarce capacities and “fatigue” with governance<br />
assessments.<br />
Sometimes, when concepts related <strong>to</strong> governance<br />
are explained in a <strong>to</strong>o simplified manner there is a<br />
danger that local stakeholders start <strong>to</strong> believe that<br />
“almost anything can be assessed” (and, primarily,<br />
by quantitative measures). The challenge of<br />
agreeing on what <strong>to</strong> assess is also connected <strong>to</strong> the<br />
complexity of the concept of governance. The<br />
focus can be placed on outputs, relations,<br />
perceptions, means and <strong>to</strong>ols for service delivery.<br />
Nevertheless, assessments often need <strong>to</strong><br />
incorporate a combination of different focuses. A<br />
critical challenge is <strong>to</strong> agree on what dimensions<br />
(or combination of dimensions) should be<br />
considered relevant and prioritised.<br />
The most successful methodologies are those that<br />
have a high degree of transparency: in the process<br />
A Users’ <strong>Guide</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>Measuring</strong> <strong>Local</strong> <strong>Governance</strong> 27