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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<strong>Local</strong> <strong>Governance</strong> Barometer (LGB)<br />
Producer<br />
Impact Alliance (including PACT; IDASA – The<br />
Institute for Democracy in Southern Africa; and<br />
SNV – Netherlands Development Organisation).<br />
His<strong>to</strong>ry<br />
The <strong>Local</strong> <strong>Governance</strong> Barometer was initiated in<br />
2005 during a <strong>Local</strong> <strong>Governance</strong> Labora<strong>to</strong>ry in<br />
Pre<strong>to</strong>ria, where the three partners active in<br />
capacity development for good governance and<br />
improved service delivery at the local level<br />
identified the need <strong>to</strong> develop an instrument<br />
which will assist them in assessing the state of<br />
governance at local level and in identifying<br />
capacity needs for improved governance. The<br />
initial <strong>to</strong>ol was developed in 2006 and was tested<br />
in various countries and settings in Africa. Based on<br />
these experiences the <strong>to</strong>ol was revised in 2007 and<br />
has since than been applied in more than 10<br />
countries in partnership with local NGOs.<br />
Objectives<br />
The overall objective of the LGB is <strong>to</strong> describe,<br />
analyse and understand local governance<br />
situations, in order <strong>to</strong> develop the capacity of local<br />
ac<strong>to</strong>rs <strong>to</strong> promote and sustain good governance<br />
and improved service delivery. By applying the<br />
instrument in a participa<strong>to</strong>ry manner, it is both an<br />
assessment and capacity building <strong>to</strong>ol for local<br />
level democratic dialogue. In particular, the <strong>Local</strong><br />
<strong>Governance</strong> Barometer aims <strong>to</strong>:<br />
• Arrive at quantitative measures for good<br />
governance indica<strong>to</strong>rs <strong>to</strong> enable a comparative<br />
analysis between different situations, an<br />
understanding of the evolution of fac<strong>to</strong>rs of<br />
governance, and <strong>to</strong> evaluate the impact of<br />
interventions; and<br />
• Ensure the participation of principal ac<strong>to</strong>rs<br />
during the design of governance models, as<br />
well as the collection, processing, and analysis<br />
of the information collected.<br />
Applicability<br />
The LGB can be used in any local governance<br />
context with or without reliable quantitative<br />
baseline and performance data, <strong>to</strong> assess (a) how<br />
the government delivers its services <strong>to</strong> the local<br />
population, and (b) how the local government<br />
relates <strong>to</strong> citizens and other service providers. It<br />
can be used as part of the process of localising the<br />
Millennium Development Goals. The universal<br />
governance model provided can easily be adapted<br />
<strong>to</strong> different situations and contexts.<br />
Types and sources of data used<br />
Input data can be qualitative and/or quantitative,<br />
subjective and objective, derived from multiple<br />
data sources (review of available primary or<br />
secondary data and reports, interviews and<br />
surveys with sec<strong>to</strong>ral experts, persons<br />
well-informed on local and regional governance<br />
issues, focal group discussions and citizens at large<br />
– relying on a stratified random sample). Data<br />
collection is outsourced <strong>to</strong> local organizations that<br />
have the required skills and capacity. The criteria<br />
used should ideally provide a combination of<br />
criteria measuring the performance of formal<br />
mechanisms against national standards as well as<br />
criteria measuring the perception of the various<br />
stakeholders against their ideal definition of “good<br />
governance”. For example, a municipal government<br />
in South Africa might allocate itself a high score on<br />
“participation” since it has adhered the national<br />
guidelines <strong>to</strong> consult the population before<br />
adopting its Integrated Development Plan, while<br />
Civil Society might give the same municipal<br />
government a low score because the formal<br />
consultation exercise was a mere formality and<br />
didn’t influence the actual decision-making<br />
process. The LGB helps <strong>to</strong> facilitate a dialogue<br />
about the different interpretations of “meaningful<br />
participation” between stakeholders.<br />
60 UNDP Oslo <strong>Governance</strong> Centre