USAID Democratic Decentralization Programming Handbook

Preface

The “Democratic Local Governance Programming Handbook’’ (Handbook) is a long-running publication of USAID’s Center for Democracy, Human Rights and Governance (DRG Center). It was first published in May 2000. It then received a major reformulation in June 2009. Since then, the Center commissioned additional research on decentralization. This edition of the Handbook incorporates what we have learned about democratic decentralization since the last edition. The Handbook has endured as one of the Center’s most popular publications.

The current document conceives of decentralization as, above all else, a means to achieve democratization. In doing so, it responds to the mandates of the Center and prioritizes the needs of mission-based DRG Offcers. It is written by political scientists with the input of feld practitioners and prioritizes discussion of the politics of decentralization at the cost of not discussing administrative and fscal aspects to the same degree.

Though democratization is prioritized, the Handbook takes the position that countries pursue decentralization with various goals in mind. These goals are summarized as “democracy,” “stability” and “economic development.” USAID is increasingly involved in countries whose circumstances are not favorable to democratization, whether democratization through decentralization or through other means. In these diffcult circumstances, USAID’s decentralization programs must be strategically conceived to support stable, sustainable long-term paths to democracy, with full consideration of adverse country circumstances and potential conficts and tradeoffs among the three prominent goals.

At a conceptual level, the Handbook does not focus on local governance, or on local public service delivery, to the degree that earlier editions did. This Handbook views local governance and local public service delivery as means – means that are more directly and immediately linked to an economic development goal than a democratization goal. This is not to deny that improvements in local public services are desirable, but to argue that improved local public services directly improve citizens’ welfare and local economic development, while the effects of improved local services on democratization are indirect, empirically complex and diffcult to measure.

This Handbook is intended (as was its predecessor) to support USAID programming processes. It is, therefore, detailed and specifc, and offers numerous developing country examples that illustrate principles discussed, in appropriately placed “text boxes.” Though we hope and expect the Handbook reads well and proceeds in a logical sequence, we advise readers to apply its contents, chapter by chapter, to accompany the development of a specifc activity. It is a reference book, not meant to be read front to back in a single sitting.

Download the full Handbook here.