Local development and decentralisation

Scroll to discover
Scroll to discover

Decentralisation is increasingly recognised internationally as essential for good governance. Done well, it leads to greater participation, greater efficiency, and greater diversity and is a driver of economic development in areas outside of the capital. Local empowerment is thus a fundamental building block of a successful representative political system. 

Our approach

GPG has provided support to a range of different countries to design and implement effective decentralisation reform. While systems differ according to the historical, political, and demographic circumstances of each country, our work has generally seen us operate at three levels: 

  • Supporting strategic planning to decentralise and devolve authority to the local level 
  • Ensuring that local/regional authorities have the skills, capacity, and resources required to implement the strategy 
  • Providing direct support at the local level to staff and politicians to establish inclusive and consultative mechanisms to set local priorities and practical ways to improve the delivery of services to citizens 

Our support draws extensively on international examples and best practice, including the direct experience of a number of our Associates in managing and implementing decentralisation as senior leaders in local and central government. 

Our experts

Sir Paul Silk
Dame Stella Manzie
Sarah Hayward
Gordana Comic
Adrian Crompton
Baroness Alison Suttie
Meg Munn
Eve Burt
Alistair Burt

Case studies

Jordan
Iraq
Sudan
Tanzania

Related resources