Text size

Decentralisation is a broad term often used to describe transfer of power from central government to lower levels of government. This can include responsibility for planning and management of various government functions, as well as the allocation of resources.

Commonwealth produces new guide on theory and practice of decentralisation

15 September 2009

Online publication includes suggestions for designing, implementing and evaluating decentralisation reforms and local government practices

A new guide on the theory and practice of decentralisation, which aims to support national, regional and local government staff, has been produced by the Commonwealth Secretariat in collaboration with the Governance and Social Development Resource Centre.

Funded by the UK Department for International Development, the Governance and Social Development Resource Centre aims to help reduce poverty by informing policy-making and enhancing professional knowledge in relation to governance, conflict and social development.

“It orients readers to current issues and debates in local government reforms and directs them to key publications – research, reviews, lessons learned, operational guidance and internet links,” said Jacqueline Wilson, Director of Governance and Institutional Development at the Secretariat.

The guide covers:

- Political, administrative and fiscal decentralisation reform in both developed and developing countries

- Links between decentralisation and the Millennium Development Goals

- Decentralisation and local government in conflict and post-conflict environments.

Senior officers in local government; policy-makers in national governments looking to reform local government structures and services; decentralisation secretariats managing reform processes; and students and researchers in public administration, will all benefit from this guide.

It is available online from the following link: www.thecommonwealth.org/decentralisationguide