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Choosing an assessment framework

Ingvild Oia, UNDP Oslo Governance Centre

Objectives and structure of the session

1. How to decide on your governance principles?

2. Show two country examples, Indonesia and Nigeria (in addition to the local governance barometer introduced in first session.

3. Introduce the IDEA local democracy assessment framework

4. Present a flow chart for guiding the selection of framework from the users’ guide.

Group work: Select a framework and explain why you chose it! Is there a need to adapt it?

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Type 1: Assessments that focus on the achievement of policy objectives:

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Policy objective

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Activities Outputs Outcome Impact

EconomyEfficiency

Effectiveness

Type 2: Assessments that focus on public administration processes

Input Output Outcome Impact

Processes and structures of:

1.Public service delivery2.Public HR management3.Public financial management4.Government policy making5.Leadership

Your value chain

various performance values may be combined in functions, or value chains, expressing how they may contribute to various policy goals

• Good local governance = effectiveness+ rule of law + transparency + accountability participation and civic engagement+ equity and fairness

Nigeria Good Urban Governance

In support of sustainable urbanization and good urban governance, UNDP and UN-HABITAT are assisting the National Bureau of Statistics in developing a customized framework for assessing the quality of urban governance in Nigerian cities. In the 21 pilot cities, the project will:•help identify appropriate national indicators on urban governance,•develop national knowledge, including the creation of "Urban Governance Information Resource Centres", and•reinforce stakeholders-driven policy dialogue on good urban governance in Nigeria.

Framework

Principles(Higher level indicators)

indicators Questions data sources

Effectiveness Strategic planService deliveryResource mob &mgt.LG capacity

Was the preparation of the plan participatory?

AdministrativeHouseholdFGD

Equity

Participation

Security

Accountability

Indonesia Democracy Index

National leadership & ownership:

• Rapid decentralization process unequal democratic performance across provinces

• Planning Commission needed an

instrument to help assess democratic progress & setbacks in each one of the country’s 33 provinces

• The IDI, measured at provincial level, is now the official policy planning tool for provincial govts

Country specificity: Newly transitioned to democracy, therefore priority is to assess:

1) Civil liberties,2) Political rights3) Democratic institutions

Indonesia Democracy Index

Framework

Aspects(higher level indicators)

Variables(indicators)

Indicators(questions)

data sources

Civil Liberties

Freedom of assemblyFreedom of expressionFreedom of religionFreedom from discrimination

Number of written laws and regulations which impede the freedom to establish association

Written documentation

Political Rights

Democratic institutions

Participatory & inclusive data collection:

IDI triangulates data from 4 different sources:

a) Media (analysis of newspaper content)b) Official documents (local regulations,

police records, records of local election office)

c) Focus group discussions (with pax from 13 different backgrounds)

d) In-depth interviews with some key informants Mix of qualitative & quantitative

data

Indonesia Democracy Index

Use in policymaking:

The IDI is now an official target under Indonesia's National Medium-Term

Development Plan (2010-2014):

By 2014, an average score of 73/100 on the IDI has been set as a national

target for the area of the plan concerned with the consolidation of

democracy.

Indonesia Democracy Index

Use the flow chart to select your assessment methodology.

Once chosen, review the governance principles/higher level indicators of this methodology, would you like to amend these and adjust the value chain?

Choose one governance principle from the framework, look at its indicators. Are there concerns or issues in your country that make you want to adapt these indicators?

Excercise