IPA staff and associates have significant and wide-ranging experience in addressing civil society issues, particularly in regard to increasing citizens' awareness of and participation in government affairs. A recent example of IPA work relating to the strengthening of civil society is in Rwanda, where IPA Senior Staff Ernest Leonardo was an advisor to the City of Kigali in preparing an economic development strategy. Working with local development committees, business interests, civic associations, women's rights groups, and the poor community, the project reached out to engage the full spectrum of society in helping to identify and prioritize community needs.

Recognizing that the national decentralization initiative sets out a new course in which citizens gain access to decisions that affect them, the project was designed to foster the following specific objectives:

• To enable people to participate in initiating and making decisions that concern them by transferring authority and resources to the local level;
• To strengthen accountability and transparency by making local leaders directly accountable to the communities they serve;
• To enhance the responsiveness and sensitivity of local public administration by placing the planning, financing and management of services at the point where they are provided;
• To develop sustainable economic development capacity at the local level to serve as the driving force to alleviate poverty; and
• To enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of services by moving management responsibility from the central government to the point where needs are felt and are services delivered.

The Kigali Economic Development Strategy (KEDS) achieved significant success in empowering citizens to affect the allocation of resources at the local level, and in helping to improve the ability of local governments to reflect community needs and values in its resource allocation processes.

Relevant Projects:

CAMBODIA LOCAL DEVELOPMENT FUND (LDF)

A critical aspect of public sector governance in which IPA has considerable experience is the design and implementation of frameworks to guide the process of preparing local government development budgets. IPA Senior Staff member Paul Smoke and former member Leonardo Romeo worked with the Cambodia Local Development Fund (LDF) to introduce decentralized and participatory development planning procedures, and to establish transparent rules and objective standards for resource allocation and project appraisal. This project achieved considerable success in beginning to integrate local planning processes for determining priority projects and a system of standards for project monitoring into the formal budgeting structures of local governments. The project was funded by the United Nations Capital Development Fund. 2000-2001.

LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND CAPACITY BUILDING PROJECT IN THE PALESTINIAN WEST BANK

IPA Senior Staff Leonardo Romeo led a team of local and regional consultants in the preparation of the "Local Infrastructure and Capacity Building Project" (LICP) in the Palestinian West Bank. The project, financed through a 5.7 million US$ grant of the Belgian Technical Cooperation (BTC), provided financial and technical assistance to selected Palestinian Village Councils, the local authorities responsible for most basic services delivery in the West Bank. The project had two components. The first one supported immediate investments in critically needed local/rural infrastructure, ranging from repair of village roads and power distribution networks, to construction of kindergartens and integrated community service centers. The second one strengthened the institutions of good local governance by piloting a financial mechanism for modest but predictable annual transfers of resources for development spending to Village Councils and the parallel extension of technically sound and participatory local planning, programming and budgeting methods. In spite of the enormous difficulties due to the ongoing conflict in the area, the LICP, approved by the BTC at the end of 2001, is currently under implementation in selected villages of the West Bank. 2001.

IMPROVING SOCIAL SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEMS IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

IPA led a team to over two years advising municipalities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their social services programs. As a result of his work, a number of innovative solutions to social service delivery problems were introduced, such as using means-testing as a way of improving the transparency and the targeting of social subsidy programs. The technical assistance provided also focused on cost-effective approaches for social assistance delivery programs, and as well fostered a policy dialogue between local authorities and citizens by expanding the information available to the public on communal services and social subsidy policies. Funded by USAID, this project was a joint undertaking by IPA and The Urban Institute. 1999-2001.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT REFORM IN MOLDOVA

IPA staff recently completed an assignment leading the Local Government Reform Project in Moldova. This project had three main tasks: help establish legislation to empower local government and implement regulations that clarify and decentralize authority to the local level; build the capacity of municipal officials to implement legislative, administrative and financial reforms through targeted training and technical assistance; and strengthen the capacity of indigenous NGOs and associations advocating local government reform while increasing public participation in the reform process. This USAID-funded work was performed in conjunction with The Urban Institute. 2000-02.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN SLOVAKIA AND THE CZECH REPUBLIC

IPA worked with Slovakia's Institute for Public Administration and the Czech Republic's Institute of Local Administration to develop training programs for new local governments. These projects aimed to build the capacity of both institutions to train locally elected officials and municipal and district managers. IPA's team worked closely with Czech and Slovak counterparts to develop appropriate course modules on town management, democratic participation in local development decisions, and approaches to contracting out government services. In addition, training of trainers and teaching materials and equipment were provided. The projects resulted in the adoption of a series of town management seminars as part of the permanent curricula of the two institutions. 1991-93.