Regional Centre in Bangkok

Decentralization and Local Governance in Asia and the Pacific

Improving Local Service Delivery for the MDGs

Although the countries of Asia have made impressive progress in poverty reduction, much more is needed in order to achieve the MDGs. While there is a general agreement that a large part of basic public services are most effectively and efficiently delivered through decentralised arrangements, more attention  needs to be paid to the policy and practical challenges surrounding the role of local governments in managing basic service delivery.

A joint UNDP Regional Centre in Bangkok, United Nations Capital Development Fund and UNICEF initiative Improving Local Service Delivery for the MDGs has been developed aiming to broaden and inform national policy processes and to contribute to increasing regional awareness of what it takes to establish appropriate sectoral decentralization policy frameworks to improve local delivery of basic MDG-related services such as primary education, health and water, especially in the rural areas and to the most vulnerable groups.

While many discussions of “decentralization” approach the topic generically, implementation of the policy is ultimately linked to a set of specific public services.   Only by moving into more specific discussions and analysis, we are able to highlight certain factors that need to be examined when evaluating the efficacy of decentralizing services within the particular sectors. This is especially relevant for the primary sectors of health, education and water in Asia, which might have the greatest potential for benefits from decentralization.

Each service sector has its own technical, institutional and financing characteristics. And within each sector, the delivery of any particular service involves an intergovernmental dimension of functions and complex financing arrangements, surrounding the different roles and responsibilities. In addition, non-state actors (formal and informal private sector, CBOs, NGOs, and religious organisations) also deliver local public services to various extents in a context of regulatory vacuums. To draw on and make the most of their engagement, both national and sub-national governments need to further review functions and roles and responsibilities so that non-state actors can effectively engage in the delivery of services.  

In order to address these issues, a Methodology has been designed that will guide sector studies to analyze divisions of responsibilities, roles and functions between central and sub-national levels of government for selected basic social services and their delivery in both direct public and regulated private provision contexts, and arrangements for the financing of these functions. They will identify key sectoral issues, compare best practices and propose recommendations on appropriate distributions of responsibilities between national and sub-nationallevels and sub-national financing arrangements for the studied sectors.

This objective will be achieved through research in five countries (Cambodia, India, Mongolia, Philippines, and Thailand) and policy consultation activities with government stakeholders.

• Concept Note (2007)

Workshops

A technical workshop hosted by UNDP Regional Centre in Bangkok, United Nations Capital Development Fund and UNICEF was held in Bangkok from 15th-17th October, 2007, bringing together senior government officials and policy-makers, researchers and UNICEF, UNDP and UNCDF specialists from Nepal, India, Mongolia, Cambodia, Thailand, and the Philippines. The objective of the workshop was to present and fine-tune common sector-specific methodologies that will operationalize the country processes of research and consultation. The methodologies aim to examine the details of institutional and financing arrangements for local service delivery in the MDG-critical sectors of education, health and water, with a view to promoting greater understanding of problems inherent in current arrangements, and identifying areas for policy development or reform where appropriate. The meeting was also meant to provide a platform to discuss the evolution of the proposed initiative’s activities and any other substantive and methodological issues arising.

• Techincal Workshop: 15-17 October, 2007, Bangkok, Thailand Improving Local Service Delivery for the MDGs in Asia: Pilot of Methodology for Support to National Policy and MDG Strategies
  • Full Report

In 2005, regional discussion forums were held in Hua Hin and in New Delhi to analyze the challenges with policy-makers, local government representatives, and other partners in Asia.

• Regional Workshop: 7-9 December 2005, New Delhi, India Financing Local Service Delivery for the MDGs: Challenges and Opportunities
• Full Report
• 22-24 June 2005, Hua Hin, Thailand Regional Retreat Representation in Decentralized Governance and Local Service Delivery for MDGs
  • Full Report