Participation and accountability Archives

Veiled Transparency: Challenges in Accessing Public Information in Africa

April 2, 2024 Limabenla Jamir

In recent years, there has been a global push for government transparency, with Africa also experiencing a significant increase in the adoption of right-to-information laws. The ability to access this information is crucial for fostering […]

Women’s Representation in Local Government: A Global Analysis

October 13, 2022 LPS Alliance

Subnational governments play a key role in achieving inclusive governance and an inclusive public sector. Not only do local governments form the government level closest to the people, and therefore have the greatest potential for […]

In Cambodia, Decentralization Spurs Development

August 28, 2022 LPSAManager

There are five villages in the Damrey Slab commune of Cambodia’s Kampong Thom province, but travel among them was difficult. The roads between villages were in disrepair, complained Mr. Chea, a villager in Damrey Slab […]

Public hearings working magic for rural residents in Bangladesh

October 28, 2021 LPS Alliance

For 40-year-old Moslem Miah, the speed with which his power connection crisis was resolved after a public hearing seemed like the work of Aladdin’s genie. “They solved the problem in just half a day. I […]

Operationalizing women’s empowerment in development

January 23, 2021 LPS Alliance

One criticism of how women’s empowerment is operationalized in development interventions is the lack of consideration of its context specificity. A recent quantitative study investigates how women participants in development projects in Laos, Myanmar and […]

Nongovernmental Organizations-Local Governments Relations: A Snapshot from Lebanon

June 2, 2018 LPS Alliance

Creating and sustaining democracy remains an elusive quest for many nations. Across the globe, countries are experimenting with an array of structures, institutions, and rules intended to democratize their governmental systems. Many of these efforts […]

Making local voices count: How Senegal and Tunisia inspire each other on governance reform

January 3, 2017 LPS Initiative

Six years ago, a revolution started in Tunisia with an unemployed young Tunisian in a secondary city desperate to make his voice heard. This revolution reshaped the country’s development agenda and triggered a decentralization process to […]

A Content Analysis of the Web Pages of Heidelberg and Konya

January 22, 2016 LPS Alliance

Developments in information and communication technologies affects city administration in all areas. Municipalities in countries around the work increasingly provide information about governaance, services anf finances to their residents, aiming at achieving effiency, speed, low […]

How Not to Increase Participation in Local Government

January 15, 2016 LPS Alliance

Local governments benefit in many countries from nonelected committees that provide citizen input on important issues. Although these committees offer a valuable tool for policy makers, they suffer from low participation and tend to underrepresent […]

Citizens’ Blame of Politicians for Local Public Service Failure

January 15, 2016 LPS Alliance

Theories of blame suggest that contracting out public service delivery reduces citizens’ blame of politicians for service failure. The authors use an online experiment with 1,000 citizen participants to estimate the effects of information cues […]