A Users' Guide to Measuring Local Governance
A Users' Guide to Measuring Local Governance
A Users' Guide to Measuring Local Governance
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
<strong>Local</strong> governance performance measurements include the<br />
following 5 aspects:<br />
1 Policy-Making Performance: Informed and Coordinated<br />
Decisions<br />
2 Democratic Performance: Openness and Fairness<br />
3 Policy Implementation: Effectiveness<br />
4 Responsive Performance: Satisfaction and Goal Congruence<br />
5 The Level of Service Provision as a Performance<br />
Measurement<br />
Explana<strong>to</strong>ry variables for local governance include the<br />
following:<br />
1 Characteristics of the local government<br />
system (budget, etc.)<br />
2 <strong>Local</strong> institutions (media, civil society, political parties)<br />
3 <strong>Local</strong> political culture (citizen participation in politics,<br />
representatives’ political culture, etc.)<br />
4 Characteristics of the municipality (size, inequalities,<br />
socioeconomic development, etc.)<br />
<strong>Local</strong> governance performance 2: Democratic Performance: Openness and Fairness Measures:<br />
1 The transparency of the budget (the specification of some significant items, e.g. the costs of a teaching program; ordinal scale)<br />
2 The existence and transparency of the rules of public purchases.<br />
3 The existence and sophistication of rules regulating public access <strong>to</strong> local government documents<br />
4 The number and comprehensiveness of local government meetings, hearings and forums and the method of their announcement<br />
5 The existence and power of citizens’ consultative committees that are organized or recognized by the local government<br />
6 Number of copies of free bulletins issued by the local government per 1000 inhabitants<br />
7 Citizens’ answers <strong>to</strong> survey questions about the importance of good connections and bribery in local government offices<br />
8 Citizens’ answers <strong>to</strong> survey questions about discrimination (e.g. ethnic)<br />
9 Citizens’ answers <strong>to</strong> survey questions about the fair-mindedness and helpfulness of local government bureaucrats<br />
(All of them are on an ordinal scale)<br />
Table 8:<br />
Report Outlines – State of <strong>Local</strong> Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe<br />
The State of <strong>Local</strong> Democracy in Central Europe, 2006 (Bulgaria, Es<strong>to</strong>nia and Slovakia)<br />
1 Introduction (the local government system, formation / structure of local government, project indica<strong>to</strong>rs)<br />
2 Au<strong>to</strong>nomous local government (legal, fiscal and political au<strong>to</strong>nomy<br />
3 Constitutional <strong>Local</strong> Government (civil and political rights, rule of law)<br />
4 Transparent and Accountable <strong>Local</strong> Government (transparency, corruption, horizontal accountability)<br />
5 Effective local Government (resource control, decision-making capability, output control)<br />
6 <strong>Local</strong> Elections and Referenda (elec<strong>to</strong>ral system, process, results and turnout)<br />
7 <strong>Local</strong> Parties and Factions (political parties, nomination and endorsement, party activity, factions)<br />
8 <strong>Local</strong> Representatives (demographic features, political background, social capital, political culture)<br />
9 Responsive <strong>Local</strong> Government (inclusive decision-making, accessibility of local representatives)<br />
10 <strong>Local</strong> Media (availability, independence and representation, media in local political life)<br />
11 <strong>Local</strong> Civil Society Organisations (legal status, CSO in local public life, contacts with local government)<br />
12 Citizens’ Political Culture (political interest and knowledge, local political participation, political efficacy)<br />
Each local governance performance variable and<br />
each explana<strong>to</strong>ry variable is assessed with several<br />
“measures”. For instance, the variable on “democratic<br />
performance” is assessed based on the following<br />
measures:<br />
The data is collected through surveys (administered<br />
face-<strong>to</strong>-face and through mail) targeted at local<br />
administra<strong>to</strong>rs, elected representatives and citizens.<br />
The currently available international database<br />
contains the responses of approximately 5,000<br />
local councillors and mayors of the surveyed<br />
countries. The Tocqueville Research Center was<br />
responsible for the collection of data and<br />
generation of results, in collaboration with polling<br />
institutions in each country.<br />
A Users’ <strong>Guide</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>Measuring</strong> <strong>Local</strong> <strong>Governance</strong> 75