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This report examines the theoretical and practical synergies between three intervention models that are currently being employed to improve local governance in developing countries: 1) democratic decentralization or devolution; 2) community participatory approaches, and; 3) rights-based approaches. The aim is to identify the possibilities and challenges of an 'integrative approach' to local governance that combines the strengths of each of the three intervention models. It is assumed that an integrative approach can help enhance efforts to improve the downward accountability of local governments, enhance equity in the distribution of services and in various citizens' access to influence, and increase citizen participation in local governance processes. This is supported by a number of empirical cases from Africa, Latin America, Asia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, which are presented in the report. Each case also highlights a number of context-specific challenges to using an integrative approach, such as available financial resources, national policy environments and local conflicts. The report fills this gap by both identifying theoretical synergies and by drawing on the few empirical cases that exist.

Access to Information --- Accountability --- Advocacy --- Capacity Building --- Child Labor --- Citizen Participation --- Civil Rights --- Civil Society --- Civil Society Organizations --- Community Empowerment --- Constituencies --- Constitutions --- Corruption & anticorruption Law --- Decentralization --- Democratization --- Discrimination --- Domestic Violence --- Empowerment --- Food Security --- Good Governance --- Governance --- Governance Indicators --- Human Rights --- Inequality --- International Development Agencies --- Law and Development --- Legislation --- Mobilization --- Multilateral Donors --- National Governance --- Participatory Governance --- Political Dynamics --- Political Parties --- Public Policy --- Public Sector --- Public Service Delivery --- Social Accountability --- Social Development --- Social Justice --- Socialism --- Transparency

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The study addresses governance challenges in public service delivery in China. It builds on the citizen scorecard survey conducted in five Chinese cities in 2006 to gauge citizens' experience with public services, and demonstrates the usefulness of citizens' feedback for policy development and implementation. The survey found that citizens were generally pleased with urban public services, but worried about the associated fees. Compared with the official urban residents, the urban poor and rural migrants in cities reported sharper utilization constraints, lower readiness to complain or pay informal fees, and a much larger income share spent on public services. The reported citizens' perceptions sometimes diverged from the evidence and pointed to significant information asymmetries. Explaining the survey results, the study reveals problems of inadequacy, inequality and misaligned incentives in public resource allocation. The study presents several successful experiments reducing the dependence on user fees in basic education and primary healthcare. It recognizes that China has been undertaking comprehensive reforms to enhance equity and quality in public service delivery. Such reforms have included measures to strengthen the regulatory, monitoring, and enforcement systems and accountability relationships. In the context of the ongoing reforms, this study highlights the need to: a) hold the provincial governments accountable for public service delivery performance; b) develop effective mechanisms to align public resources and incentives at each level of government with the national priorities; and c) develop proper means to empower the citizens. In this context, the study affirms that the Chinese government is rightly placing reforms in the intergovernmental, administrative, and public finance systems at the top of its agenda.

Basic education --- Citizen --- Citizens --- Communities & Human Settlements --- E-Government --- Economic growth --- Governance --- Governance Indicators --- Health Monitoring and Evaluation --- Health Systems Development and Reform --- Health, Nutrition and Population --- Housing and Human Habitats --- Human development --- Migrants --- Ministry of education --- Ministry of health --- National Governance --- National policy --- National priorities --- Policy development --- Policy research --- Policy research working paper --- Population Policies --- Progress --- Public Sector Corruption and Anticorruption Measures --- Public Sector Economics and Finance --- Public Sector Management and Reform --- Public service --- Public services --- Quality of services --- Resource allocation --- Service delivery --- User fees

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The devolution of procurement responsibilities to local levels of government is increasingly occurring across South Asia. This trend is significant because increasingly localized decision-making better enables communities to hold government authorities accountable for the effectiveness of public spending, which can lead to various improved development outcomes, such as improvements in quality of service delivery; greater empowerment and understanding by end-users services supplied through public procurement processes; and improved oversight and accountability of service delivery agencies. The objective of this report is to set out an overview of the strategic approach developed by World Bank Institute (WBI) as a component of the Norwegian governance trust fund (NTF) program `procurement and service delivery: establishing effective collaboration between government and beneficiaries on monitoring procurement outcomes`. WBI received funds under the NTF to facilitate the development of context and audience-specific knowledge products by recognized practitioners and civil society organizations in South Asia as part of a broader effort to create a practical curriculum on social accountability in procurement.

Access to Information --- Accounting --- Advocacy --- Best Practices --- Bidding --- Bribery --- Bureaucracy --- Capacity Building --- Citizen Groups --- Citizen Participation --- Civil Society Organizations --- Consensus --- Corruption --- Corruption & anticorruption Law --- Decentralization --- Disclosure --- Economic Development --- Fiscal Policy --- Focus Groups --- Freedom of Information --- Good Governance --- Governance --- Governance Indicators --- Human Resources --- Interviews --- Law and Development --- Leadership --- Legislation --- Mobilization --- National Governance --- Other Accountability/anti-Corruption --- Participatory Budgeting --- Penalties --- Political Economy --- Political Institutions --- Political Parties --- Preparation --- Public Health --- Public Hearings --- Public officials --- Public Opinion --- Public Policy --- Public Procurement --- Public Sector --- Public Sector Governance --- Public Service Delivery --- Public Spending --- Rule of Law --- Sanctions --- Social Accountability --- Social Development --- Transparency --- Villages --- Youth