scholarly journals Review of the Commonwealth Local Government Good Practice Scheme

Author(s):  
Rachael Duchnowski

The overarching objective of the Commonwealth Local Government Good Practice Scheme (GPS) was to contribute towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals at the local level; there were four expected outputs:1. Increased capacity of local authorities to plan and deliver services, through successful implementation of CLGF-funded projects focussed on the following nationally agreed themes, relevant to the achievement of the MDGs;2. Measurable and/or assessable improvements in individual and/or departmental/local authority management efficiency and effectiveness delivered through the GPS projects;3. National local government associations possess effective knowledge management systems and dissemination networks working nationally - and internationally through CLGF;4. Utilisation of expertise of local government practitioners in partner countries to improve local government performance more widely.

2010 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 1028-1036 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Roma ◽  
Paul Jeffrey

Acceptance and adequate use of water and sanitation technologies in least developed countries is still a chimera, with one billion people using unimproved water supply sources and 2.5 billion not benefitting from adequate sanitation. Public participation in water and sanitation planning and pre-implementation phases has become increasingly important for technology providers seeking solutions to implementation challenges towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Based on the principle that successful implementation of WATSAN technologies ultimately depends on recipients' ability to absorb a technology and adapt it to their own needs, this study analyses the impacts of participatory methods adopted by community-based sanitation (CBS) providers on communities' receptivity of the transferred systems. A fieldwork activity was undertaken in Indonesia and a multiple case study approach adopted to analyse indicators of receptivity of the transferred technologies. Conclusions show that community involvement through participatory methods in the implementation of CBS systems can enhance the process of acceptance and management of the technologies, thereby increasing the progress towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.


Author(s):  
Lucy Slack

As the period of implementation for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) draws to a close, the global community is actively debating what should replace them. Local government is working hard to ensure that the post-2015 global development agenda reflects the important role of local government in implementing the new targets. It is a unique opportunity for local government to make its voice heard, to promote the importance of localisation of the new targets, and to position local government as a key partner in the implementation of the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)


2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Wegner

This article investigates accountability in South Africa’s dominant party system by studying how the African National Congress (ANC) reacts to electoral incentives at the local level. It compares the ANC’s degree of responsiveness to voters across municipalities with different levels of political competition. The analysis focuses on whether and under which conditions the ANC is more likely to renominate better quality municipal councillors. It examines the relationship between renomination as ANC municipal councillor and local government performance – as measured by voter signals, service delivery and audit outcomes. The results show that the ANC does indeed adapt its behaviour to electoral incentives. In municipalities where the ANC has larger margins of victory, performance matters little for renomination. In contrast, in municipalities with higher electoral competition, local government performance is strongly correlated with renomination. These results suggest the need to expand dominant party research to topics of voter responsiveness and sub-national behaviour.


Author(s):  
Fhumulani M. Mulaudzi ◽  
Seepaneng S. Phiri ◽  
Doriccah M. Peu ◽  
Mmamakwa L.S. Mataboge ◽  
Nkhensani R. Ngunyulu ◽  
...  

Background: Despite progress made by other countries worldwide in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4, 5 and 6, South Africa is experiencing a challenge in attaining positive outcomes for these goals.Objective and setting: To describe the challenges experienced by South Africa regarding the successful implementation of MDGs 4, 5 and 6.Methods: An integrative literature review was used to identify and synthesise various streams of literature on the challenges experienced by South Africa in attaining MDGs 4, 5 and 6.Results: The integrative review revealed the following themes: (1) interventions related to child mortality reduction, (2) implementation of maternal mortality reduction strategies, and (3) identified barriers to zero HIV and TB infections and management.Conclusion: It is recommended that poverty relief mechanisms be intensified to improve the socio-economic status of women. There is a need for sectoral planning towards maternal health, and training of healthcare workers should emphasise the reduction of maternal deaths. Programmes addressing the reduction of maternal and child mortality rates, HIV, STIs and TB need to be put in place.Keywords: Millennium Development Goals; maternal and child morbidity and mortality; HIV and AIDS; STI and TB


Author(s):  
Desmond Uelese Amosa

Samoa is one of the many small developing countries that are now joining the international call to strengthen local government in a global effort to advance this institution as a recognized force for positive development, especially with respect to the achievement of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Part of the process includes the introduction of good governance practices through capacity building in order for local government to become proficient in managing resources and to be efficient and effective in service delivery. Accountability and transparency are central to the capacity building process. This paper finds that these central principles of good governance are neither novel nor foreign to the cultural and social practices of local government in Samoa. Hence, it is argued that any attempt to build the capacity of local government in Samoa should involve enhancing and embracing those established cultural measures that underpin accountability and transparency


Author(s):  
Donovan Storey

This article explores the contribution that local government to local government partnerships can make in bringing about more effective and sustained decentralisation through developing the capacity of local governments to deliver improved services to the communities they serve. After almost 15 years of decentralization many of Papua New Guinea’s local governments struggle to maintain essential functions. Building on existing relationships, the Commonwealth Local Government Good Practice Scheme seeks to utilize the resources and knowledge of Australian local councils in partnership with those in Papua New Guinea to build capacity and improve the management and delivery of services to communities. This article examines the program to date, outlining both the successes and failures, but also the potential role such partnerships can play in the deepening of democratic governance at the local level.


2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Minujin ◽  
Mildred Ferrer

The article develops a discourse about equality for children and their recent evolution from adult-centred consideration to definition as a separate, critical constituency as stated in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with their child-focused goals and targets. Challenges implementing equality and fairness are discussed, from the World Summit for Children (WSC) in 1990 to the nearly simultaneous ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which gives children agency through its legally binding clauses, and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The article reviews past lessons learned and the post-2015 agenda debate, from which worldwide agreement evolved about multidimensional poverty and an equality roadmap. The article suggests social accountability processes to achieve lasting SDG targets. It provides a methodology for implementing social accountability actions, accompanied by examples to mobilise communities and encourage child and youth participation at the local level.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 231
Author(s):  
Maria Rabadjieva ◽  
Judith Terstriep

As a response to the grand societal challenges reflected in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the transition towards sustainability has gained momentum in recent years, as has the debate on mission-orientation in innovation policy. Harnessing the positive transformation potential for innovation, is about collaboratively exploring complex and uncertain pathways, especially when the goal is sustainable local economic development. Nevertheless, the demand for participatory approaches posed by the re-emergence of mission-orientated innovation policy, and the conditions for their successful implementation at the local level, particularly in the framework of economic development, are poorly understood and not yet in the focus of the current debate. This article conceptualises participation as a new mode of governance for sustainable local economic development, and links it to mission-orientation in innovation policy. We differentiate forms, degree of involvement and target groups, as well as highlight the underlying rationales and modes of interactions. Based on action-research carried out over three years in the city of Bottrop, Germany, we conceptualise an ideal-typical practice of participatory governance. Our findings show that firms are willing to participate in sustainable local economic development, only if they can internalise at least part of the value-added.


1969 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 149-176
Author(s):  
Sim Carlo Jesuel L. Arriola ◽  
Aljon G. Pangan ◽  
Harvey Leo M. Romano

Today, Batangas is one of the only provinces in the Philippines, who have implemented the Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) program successfully alongside with Bataan and Guimaras. It is a mechanism to increase the efficiency of coastal governance in terms of its ability to achieve sustainable use of coastal resources. The Local Government Code of the Philippines encourages cooperative mechanisms and partnerships among stakeholders at the local level. Furthermore, different sectors and stakeholders, from international, national, and local levels, have contributed to the implementation of the program. The Local Government Units (LGUs) of Batangas are among the key actors in the implementation of the program. Using the Model of Collaborative Governance (Ansell & Gash, 2007), and Common Pool Resource Theory (Ostrom, 1990), this paper reveals that the inter-local collaboration of Batangas City and 14 coastal municipalities of Batangas province as regards the successful implementation of the ICM program in their province is effective based on the Critical Ingredients for Effective Inter-Local Government Unit (LGU) Cooperation, which was formulated by the Philippine Development Forum Working Group on Decentralization and Local Government's Sub-Working Group on Inter-Local Cooperation. A qualitative approach was used in this research, through the descriptive method following an evaluative design. As such, this research caters contributions to the field of political science, both theoretically and practically by applying the aforementioned theories, and by exemplifying the interactions of the LGUs of Batangas in fulfilling the goals of the ICM program as a successful model which could be adopted by other LGUs in the country.


Author(s):  
Lucy Slack

Introduction:The Commonwealth Local Government Conference 2015 – Local Government 2030: Achieving the Vision is taking place at a crucial time of flux and change. The period of implementation for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is drawing to a close, and the global community has been and indeed, still is, actively debating what should replace them. Local government is working hard to ensure that the post-2015 global development agenda reflects the important role of local government in defining, implementing and monitoring the new targets. It is a unique opportunity for local government to make its voice heard, to promote the importance of localisation in the debate, and to position local government as a key partner in the implementation of the proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).


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