A Users' Guide to Measuring Local Governance

9
Observatory of Democracy in Central America: System of
Legal and Institutional Governance Indicators for Central
America
Producer
Centro Estudios para el Futuro
History
During 2000-2003, the Observatory (a network of 9
research institutions based in 5 Central American
countries) generated extensive research on
legal/institutional governance and the practice,
evolution and requirements of rule of law in 5
Central American countries: Guatemala, El
Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Costa Rica.
From 2004 to 2007, the Observatory documented
normative best practices from 16 OECD countries
with regards to their juridical, institutional and
legal frameworks, and applied these best practices
to the design of a System of Indicators on Legal
and Institutional Governance for Central America.
This assessment methodology was applied to the 5
above mentioned Central American countries, and
generated detailed recommendations for legal
and institutional reforms.
The 99 variables and 475 indicators composing
the System of Legal and Institutional Indicators
of Democratic Governance cover five broad
dimensions of institutional building, legal
organization and public policies in contemporary
societies: 1. Constitutional Framework, Legal
Regime and Institutional Structure of the State; 2.
Electoral System, Political Representation and
Participation; 3. Financial and Public Fund System;
4. Public Investment on Democratic Institutions; 5.
Local Government and Decentralisation.
Given the focus of this guide on decentralised
governance, only the module on “Local Government
and Decentralisation” is presented here.
Objectives
The Project Observatory of Democracy in Central
America proposes a system of indicators of legal
and institutional governance for Central American
countries. The idea is to provide State bodies and
their institutions with benchmarks for legal and
organisational performance at the national and
sub-national levels.
Applicability
The tool is best suited to Central American countries.
Types and sources of data used
Objective data only, mainly from constitutions,
secondary laws, decrees, and other provisions,
budget data, etc.
Methodology
The module on Local Government and
Decentralisation includes 8 variables and 43 legal
indicators. The value assigned to each indicator is
0, 100 or an intermediate value. The great majority
of indicators are of an IF or NOT (existence) type.
The following table presents the framework of the
module on “Local Government and Decentralisation”:
Indicators are selected on the basis of three
analytical categories:
• Parameters of legal existence (yes/no) (weight:
25% of indicator value)
• Parameters of standard typology (consistency
of this norm/disposition with international
“benchmark”) (weight: 25% of indicator value)
• Parameters of systemic efficacy or implementation
(efficacy of system at implementing this
norm/disposition, looking at 8 factors which
were identified as being key for enabling or
interfering in the achievement of the goals and
objectives of the legal provision e.g. legal
systemic contradictions and overlaps,
insufficient budget or financial support,
inadequate civil service, partial/differentiated
application of the law in the same territory,
etc.) (weight: 50% of indicator value)
The table below shows this breakdown for each
indicator (25% for existence; 25% for benchmarking;
50% for system efficacy), and shows how different
weights are assigned to different indicators
making up one ‘variable’ (see column ‘value’).
90 UNDP Oslo Governance Centre