www.regionalcentrelac-undp.org gerardo.berthin@undp.org No. 9 July 2010 Regional Centre LAC Viewpoints Local Governance and Public Administration: for what and How? Local Governance and Decentralization The promotion and management of human development at sub-national levels assumes the existence of effective institutions and norms that support and expand development. As a result, public policies could have a higher impact and public services would be more effective. The sub- national level also involves a broader participation in the institutional spaces and decision-making processes. Therefore, the link between local governance and public administration refers not only to effective outcomes, but also to more inclusive and transparent processes. The current situation shows that while sub- national governments may be more democratic, they do not always have the capacity to respond to people’s needs and/or demands. A key question is, what can be done so that sub-national democratic governments work better? In other words, how to go beyond the opportunity to express electoral preferences, and have a real and feasible opportunity to influence public decisions and demand more accountability? In this context, both local governance and decentralization processes allow the construction and strengthening of an institutional framework in the sub-national level, which is closer to the people. Human development gives an intrinsic value to local public administration in that it encourages closing the gap between the state and citizens’ needs and interests. Thus it is not only about the promotion of local development policies and/or services delivery, but also about better citizens’ oversight on governance and decision- making processes. Behind the public administration are not only institutions, processes, systems and policies, but also public servants who are the human resource for sub-national public administration. Therefore, the processes of local governance and decentralization must be accompanied by the strengthening or consolidation of a civil service to develop institutional capacities and a meritocratic system, stable, yet not rigid and with the necessary mechanisms to retain and motivate civil servants, and sufficient flexibility to allow the incorporation of new public servants. Professionalizing the civil service allows public administration not be linked to political changes. The strengthening of the civil service at the sub- national level would also help protect public administration of a possible capture or the creation of patronage systems, projecting greater state legitimacy to citizens. The incorporation of citizen monitor and control tools such as accountability, access to information, participation in decision making, and social audits are also key elements to strengthen the virtuous link between local governance, public administration and human development. The development of institutional capacities and opportunities for social control by citizens could generate high-quality public services and promote human development in a more transparent and effective way. The strengthening of sub-national governance requires investing in people, processes, systems, and instruments. This makes more relevant the task to have integrated financial management systems. It assumes also not only human resource capacity-building, but also updated information systems, the use of adequate technology and the promotion of transparency and accountability in resource management. The strengthening of public administration at the sub-national level is not an end in itself, but a means. As such, the strengthening of public administration and the institutional environment could have an impact in multiple dimensions, such as the political, legal, fiscal, financial, administrative and management. It also implies the application of norms, laws, political will, resources, structures and planning. Through time the strengthening of public administration in the sub-national level can be a substantial transformation for democratic governance Strengthening the administrative framework at the sub-national level, could also have an impact in many practical areas that add value to local democratic governance. For example, transparency in contracts and tenders, hiring, firing and promotion of personnel; information on municipal providers, revenues, public debt, infrastructure and policies, programs and salaries of public officials; information on administrative procedures and municipal services; quality assistance to citizens to ensure that the governments that is closer to the people works with transparency criteria. To continue promoting discussion and deepening the knowledge about local governance and public administration for human development, some selected cases, materials and reports can be downloaded by clicking. In this Issue  Viewpoints  Highlights  Article - by Rosa Nely Méndez  Event - A Note from the Strategic Visioning Workshop on Public Administration and Local Governance held in Panama  Thematic Web Site  Golstat  Links of interest  Agenda 1