The Government of Myanmar has expressed the desire to pursue people-centered development through civic participation, clean government and greater autonomy for state/region government in the country. The Government of Myanmar has initiated steps to realize these ambitions. At present, however, there is limited information about on the experiences of local administrators, front-line service providers and citizens of this reform process, and the broader institutional capacity deficits at the local level.
As a result, in November 2013, UNDP/Myanmar and the Ministry of Home Affairs embarked on a nationwide local governance mapping to see how people are experiencing local governance aspects such as citizen’s voice in decision-making and how basic services are reaching out to them. It captures the perspectives of both the people and the institutional providers of services in 112 village tracts/wards in 56 townships in 14 states and regions. The Local Governance Mapping is being conducted in all 14 states and regions of Myanmar, and the mapping has been captured in 14 reports on The State of Local Governance in Myanmar.
In addition to the efforts by UNDP/Myanmar, the Myanmar Development Resource Institute’s Centre for Economic and Social Development (MDRI-CESD) in collaboration with the Asia Foundation is producing a series of highly relevant discussion papers examining Myanmar’s path to decentralization.
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