Local development and decentralisation

Jordan

Bringing decision-making closer to the citizen

Decentralisation in Jordan is a key component of King Abdullah II’s vision for political reform, bringing democratic decision-making closer to the citizen.

Greater local flexibility is crucial for deepening public participation and empowering citizens to contribute towards identifying their priorities, in addition to formulating a future vision for their areas’ development plans and distributing developmental gains more equally and effectively.

After providing advice and international expertise to the Jordanian Parliament and Government on the detail of new Decentralisation and Municipalities legislation, GPG worked directly with the central government ministries tasked with overseeing the creation of a new regional tier of governance in Jordan, intended to provide strategic guidance on local development priorities and hold government accountable for delivery.

GPG also held a regional conference in Jordan on the topic of Decentralisation in the Arab Region, bringing together representatives of central and local governments from eight different countries to explore the practical challenges of implementing decentralisation in the Middle East and North Africa.

Following elections to the new Governorate Councils, GPG supported three pilot governorates (Jerash, Madaba and Karak), to directly consult local citizens on priority development issues for their areas, including agriculture, tourism, and women’s economic empowerment.

We developed and documented mechanisms for consultation and strategy-making and supported the Councils to make clear recommendations for action and work constructively with central and local authorities to secure the financial and other resources they need.

Iraq

Managing local-central relations in a conflict environment

After working for many years to support federal authorities in Baghdad, GPG was asked to deliver a specific programme of support to the Governors and Provincial Councils of Basra and Nineveh to manage the planned transfer of central powers as part of the decentralisation process.  

In Basra, we worked directly with the Governor, the elected Provincial Council, and the local office of the Federal Parliament to improve cross-institutional communication and coordination and effectively manage administrative and financial transfers from central government to the provincial level. We supported the creation of a cross-institutional core team to provide coordination and strategic planning for decentralisation and supported a systematic review of service delivery by the Governorate to identify areas of improvement to better serve its citizens.

GPG’s work in Nineveh took place in an extremely fragile political and security situation, supporting the governorate institutions to develop their strategic planning capacity in anticipation of the liberation from ISIS. With our guidance, the local government endorsed their first five-year strategy, outlining a political vision for governance post-liberation. We also worked closely with the Provincial Council on strengthening their oversight capacity, supporting their first policy inquiry into combatting ISIS ideology through a series of public consultations and evidence gathering sessions, and with the Nineveh Women’s Peace Initiative to secure better and more tailored services for female Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). 

Sudan

Political Economy Analysis (PEA) and scoping study for local governance reform in Sudan

This analysis, commissioned by DFID (Department for International Development), mapped the potential for interventions to support local governance and effective decentralisation in Sudan. Through scoping visits to three States: River Nile, Gederif, and Gezira, and meeting with Federal authorities in Khartoum, we consulted stakeholders in the executive and legislature at all levels, including the Minister for Federal Government, State Governors, elected politicians, appointed officials/staff, as well as representatives of civil society and donors. The report was delivered in the form of a Political Economy Analysis (PEA) approach, going beyond surface institutional structures, processes, and legislation to examine actual behaviours within institutions and levels of engagement with citizens, resulting in an exploration of the motivations, interests and strategies of key stakeholders and institutions.  

As a result of GPG’s support a successful forum was held, the last session of which was attended by the then Prime Minister of Sudan Abdalla Hamdok, and where the State Governors of Sudan convened in Khartoum under the auspices of the Ministry of Federal Governance for the first time since they were appointed. They shared their experiences of the decentralisation process including challenges and lessons learned. Resulting from this forum, a list of recommendations was developed by the Ministry of Federal Governance with support from GPG Associates.

Tanzania

Building local coalitions for change

GPG’s role in the Department for International Development’s Institutions for Inclusive Development (I4ID) programme in Tanzania was to support strengthening democratic institutions and governance in Tanzania to become more inclusive, accountable, and able to create economic growth. GPG worked with Members of Parliament (MPs) in their constituencies to develop better approaches to delivering services for local people and address some of the most pressing issues such as water provision, healthcare, and access to economic markets. With a focus on six constituencies, GPG supported MPs to improve the effectiveness of their constituency casework and develop strategic plans to enable collective solutions to policy challenges at the local level.