Governance and local democracy (GOLD)

The project, to be implemented by local government units (LGUs) with help from a U.S. contractor and a local NGO, will: (1) strengthen participatory mechanisms for local governance; (2) provide TA and training in targeted local government action areas; (3) provide institutional support to local government leagues and NGO networks; (4) address key policy issues; and (5) institutionalize a communication and feedback system. The first component will provide TA and training to promote active participation by community-based NGOs in the local special bodies (e.g., the Local Development Council, and Local School and Health Boards) in which NGO representation is mandated by the Local Government Code, as well as in the community-based decision making structures (e.g., the Bantay structure) developed to address specific problems; the inclusion of women and other disadvantaged groups in these groups will be stressed. Specifically, this component will, inter alia: support "visioning" efforts to sensitize NGOs and LGUs to their complementary roles in community decision making; strengthen NGO technical and organizational skills; increase the number of accredited NGOs; institutionalize NGO networking and advocacy systems; and support NGO-LGU partnerships in addressing local problems (e.g., cleanliness campaigns). The second component will provide TA and training to LGUs in three critical local governance action areas. (1) Assistance in financial mobilization and management will help LGUs: (a) improve development financing through cost-recovery projects and revenue-generating activities and private sector investment in Build-Operate-Transfer and Build-Own-Operate schemes; (b) institutionalize a participatory budgeting process; and (c) improve tax collection and increase cost recovery from existing services. (2) The project will help improve local development planning by helping NGOs and LGUs to collaborate in prioritizing development objectives within the context of Section 17 of the LG code (which details the basic services LGUs are expected to deliver) and in actively promoting private investments in these areas. (3) Finally, the project will help NGOs and LGUs collaborate in environmental planning and management. The third component will provide institutional support in two areas. (1) TA and training will be provided to help LG leagues (the Leagues of Provinces, of Cities, and of Municipalities) to professionalize league secretariats, institutionalize league systems, organize "sharing" sessions (successfully demonstrated under project 492436), and provide consultative services to league members. Linkages with relevant U.S. associations will also be formed. (2) The project will work with NGO networks such as the National Coordinating Council for Local Governance to organize a series of roundtables on local governance issues, including "cutting edge" issues such as the private ownership of public goods and the use of electoral mechanisms for participation. Provincial participation in these discussions will be emphasized. Policy studies will support the decentralization process. The studies will be conducted on request from LGUs, the leagues, and national government and will focus on identified constraints to decentralization such as the need to streamline administrative rules, the IRA (unidentified acronym) and the national wealth allocation formula, the relationship between the national government and local government, and innovative LGU systems. Finally, the project will promote participatory decision making by institutionalizing communication and feedback systems at the local, provincial, and national levels. Specific objectives are to: (1) conduct rapid field appraisals of the pace and progress of national decentralization; (2) provide monitoring information on LGU performance; (3) develop systems for information sharing among LGUs, NGOs, and national governments; and (4) track community perceptions of and attitudes towards decentralization.