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Local Government Strengthening
Emerging democracies face major difficulties meeting public expectations, and as nations decentralize, citizens increasingly look to local governments for solutions. Yet at the local level, the democratic process and its ability to meet constituent demands are often only beginning to emerge. To address these challenges, NDI's local government strengthening programs seek to encourage articulate citizen input into local decision making processes, enable local officials to manage scarce resources effectively, and create an environment in which local government can build public confidence in democracy.
Technical Assistance to Local Government Officials
If local governments are to effectively shoulder increased responsibility for their citizens' lives, it is critical that local elected officials represent the interests of their constituents, manage local development and service delivery projects, and coordinate with regional and national-level governments. Yet too often they lack necessary experience, access to information, and skills to carry out their jobs effectively.
To enhance the ability of local elected representatives to effectively manage new responsibilities, NDI programs in Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, East Timor, and several other countries have provided training and comparative models on the role of local elected officials how they can manage difficult decisions and understand the content of national decentralization legislation, and approaches for handling public needs. In Afghanistan, NDI has assisted provincial councilors to assess local development needs, produce provincial development plans, and present the plans to higher-level government officials. In several provinces, the plans were widely publicized and adopted directly by the government’s centrally appointed governors.
In East Timor, the Institute has worked with the National Institute for Public Administration (INAP) to conduct trainings for local suco (village) council members. Simplified training materials, designed by NDI and adopted by INAP, have presented topics such as leadership and management, problem identification, problem solving, and decision-making.
Enhancing Citizen Participation
In an effort to increase the responsiveness of local government to citizen concerns, NDI assists local governments to develop systems for more effective interaction between local officials and citizens. Looking again to East Timor, NDI helped suco councilors improve communication with citizens to better address community development needs. Other citizen participation programs have been conducted in many countries, including Albania, Kosovo and East Timor.
Associations of Local Authorities
NDI has helped to form local government associations in Russia, Georgia and South Africa. These associations articulate local government interests at the national level and provide an ideal environment for training. Where regional cooperation is strong, regional local government associations are a mechanism for local government officials to exchange ideas and experiences and sometimes advocate for regional-level policies. NDI has provided technical assistance to municipal councilors of Gulf Cooperation Council countries of Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE and Saudi Arabia to establish effective networking bodies, including a municipal association and an annual conference for developing and promoting good governance at the local level. Support has focused on strategic planning, capacity building and institutional cooperation.
