What Decentralization Is?
Decentralization could also be expected to contribute to key elements of good governance,
such as increasing people's opportunities for participation in economic, social and political
decisions; assisting in developing people's capacities; and enhancing government
responsiveness, transparency and accountability.”
While decentralization or decentralizing governance should not be seen as an end in itself,
it can be a means for creating more open, responsive, and effective local government and
for enhancing representational systems of community-level decision making. By allowing
local communities and regional entities to manage their own affairs, and through
facilitating closer contact between central and local authorities, effective systems of local
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governance enable responses to people's needs and priorities to be heard, thereby
ensuring that government interventions meet a variety of social needs.
Decentralization stimulates the search for program and policy innovation, first of all
because it is, an innovative practice of governance. Second, because through its
implementation, local governments are required to assume new and broader
responsibilities in order to provide public services for all. The assumption of new
responsibilities through decentralization often requires improved planning, budgeting and
management techniques and practices; the adoption of new tools; and the development of
improved human resources to operate the decentralized programmes.”
Decentralization, or decentralizing governance, refers to the restructuring or
reorganization of authority so that there is a system of co-responsibility between
institutions of governance at the central, regional and local levels according to the principle
of subsidiary, thus increasing the overall quality and effectiveness of the system of
governance, while increasing the authority and capacities of sub-national levels.
Decentralization could also be expected to contribute to key elements of good governance,
such as increasing people's opportunities for participation in economic, social and political
decisions; assisting in developing people's capacities; and enhancing government
responsiveness, transparency and accountability.
While decentralization or decentralizing governance should not be seen as an end in
itself, it can be a means for creating more open, responsive, and effective local government
and for enhancing representational systems of community-level decision making. By
allowing local communities and regional entities to manage their own affairs, and through
facilitating closer contact between central and local authorities, effective systems of local
governance enable responses to people's needs and priorities to be heard, thereby
ensuring that government interventions meet a variety of social needs. The implementation
of SHD strategies is therefore increasing to require decentralized, local, participatory
processes to identify and address priority objectives for poverty reduction, employment
creation, gender equity, and environmental regeneration.
Decentralization stimulates the search for program and policy innovation, first of all
because it is, per se, an innovative practice of governance. Second, because through its
implementation, local governments are required to assume new and broader
responsibilities in order to provide public services for all. The assumption of new
responsibilities through decentralization often requires improved planning, budgeting and
management techniques and practices; the adoption of new tools; and the development of
improved human resources to operate the decentralized programmes.
Decentralization is a complex phenomenon involving many geographic entities,
societal actors and social sectors. The geographic entities include the international,
national, sub-national, and local. The societal actors include government, the private sector
and civil society.The social sectors include all development themes - political, social,
cultural and environmental. In designing decentralization policies and programmes it is
essential to use a systems-approach encompassing these overlapping social sectors and the
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different requirements which each makes. Decentralization is a mixture of administrative,
fiscal and political functions and relationships. In the design of decentralization systems all
three must be included.
What Decentralization Is Not
An alternative to centralization: Decentralization is not an alternative to
centralization. Both are needed. The complementary roles of national and sub-national
actors should be determined by analyzing the most effective ways and means of achieving a
desired objective. For example, a national road system should be designed with both local
input and national coordination. Foreign policy should be a national function based on the
views of the citizenry. Solid waste management should primarily be dealt with through
local mechanisms. And so forth. In designing a decentralization strategy it is imperative
that such an analysis be done.
Exclusively public sector reform: Decentralization is much more than public sector, civil
service or administrative reform. It involves the roles and relationships of all of the
societal actors, whether governmental, private sector or civil society. The design of
Decentralization programmes must take this into account. This is why UNDP prefers the
use of the term "decentralized governance" rather than the term decentralization.”
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