Advanced EC seminar on decentralisation and local governance European Commission EuropeAid 2-5 July 2012, Brussels The seminar reviewed the country context and the evolving international development framework and considered how to manage the political dimensions of decentralisation. It also looked at using decentralisation as a trigger to foster better development outcomes and governance and what all this means for future EU engagement in decentralisation and local governance. Jean Bossuyt, ECDPM, was the lead facilitator of this meeting. Alisa Herrero, ECDPM, was also one of the experts facilitating this seminar.

1. Seminar
on
Decentralisa/on
and
Local
Governance
Some
key
messages
from
Day
1

2. Reality
check...
INTERACTION
EXCHANGE
GOOD
PRACTICES
CO-­‐PRODUCTION
OF
AGENDAS

3. The
red
thread
of
the
seminar
Day
1,
an
appe:ser
Understanding
Day
3,
the
main
dish:
contexts
and
DGL
Red
thread
dynamics
-­‐public
service
delivery
-­‐ Sector
programmes
Iden/fying
windows
-­‐ Domes/c
of
opportuni/es
accountability
Refining
engagement
strategies
Day
2,
a
starter:
Be@er
managing
Day
4:
the
dessert
the
poli/cs
of
dessert:
DGL
Grand
panel
&
Building
a
common
vision

4. We
s:ll
work
in
hos:le
environments

5. OLen
only
small
openings
available...
5

6. More
for
more?

7. That
ought
not
be
surprising…
DECENTRALISATION
AS
A
HIGHLY
POLITICAL
PROCESS

8. In
this
context…
several
existen/al
ques/ons
arise

9. Existen/al
ques/on
1
Why
should
donors
care
about
decentralisa2on
and
support
it
in
hos2le
environments?

10. 6
reasons
why
we
should
care
about
DGL

Adap:ng
to
a
decentralising
evnvironment
 In
some
countries
there
is
(growing)
societal
demand
for
DLG

DLG
can
be
an
effec:ve
TOOL
for
beZer
development
and
governance
outcomes

Local
democracy
and
par:cipatory
development
are
EU
values

Busan
principles
of
country/democra:c
ownership
and
inclusive
partnerships

Agenda
for
Change
:
call
for
a
more
“poli:cal
approach”
to
coopera:on
involving
all
actors

11. Paradigm
shiL

12. Existen/al
ques/on
2
Do
we
properly
understand
the
poli2cs
and
dynamics
of
decentralisa2on
processes
?

13. Existen/al
ques/on
3
Is
decentralisa2on
the
right
thing
to
do
in
all
countries
at
same
2me?
For
what
reasons
do
we
support
it?

14. Existen/al
ques/on
4
What
is
the
role
of
donors/EU
?
Many
hot
debates:

Poli2cal
vs
technocra2c
role

Accompanying/facilita2ng
change
processes

Ownership
vs
results

Are
we
equipped
to
play
these
roles?
 Can
we
be
poli2cally
coherent
?

15. Lack
of
coherence
can
affect
our
credibility
on
the
ground

16. Some
elements
of
response
1) The
ques:on
is
not
whether
we
should
support
decentralisa:on
or
not….
Decentralisa:on
is
a
fact!
2) The
ques:on
is
how
to
mainstream
it
in
our
sector
opera:ons
and
to
frame
it
around
added
value
3) You
first
need
to
have
a
vision
and
poli:cal
will…
then
you
choose
aid
modality
accordingly