Genesis, Objectives and Rationale, Process and Methodology: The Story behind Local Governments Self-Assessments

Abstract

Discusses the need for city government self-assessment, explains the objectives and rationale for Local Governments Self-Assessments (LGSAs); and describes the process and methodology used. Reducing the gap between citizens and the level of government responsible for service provision will lead to greater efficiency in the use of resources, and over recent decades, many countries have devolved a growing list of expenditure responsibilities to local governments, but often without corresponding decentralization of resources to finance them. The seed for the LGSAs started in the 1990s, when the World Bank, between 1993 and 2003, financed about 50 urban development projects in the cities of Sub-Saharan Africa. A new generation of municipal audits launched in the 2010s led to capacity-building programs for municipalities in Southeast Europe. A successful LGSA requires political will and buy-in from key stakeholders, including (1) mayors and city managers; (2) key municipal departments; (3) central ministries; and (4) associations of local governments.