Local Governance

 

Governance refers to the way in which any social unit – from society as a whole to the smallest community organization – organizes itself politically to undertake a range of public functions. Democratic governance implies a partnership between the principal societal actors in the making and implementation of public policy, resolving public problems, and the allocation and management of public resources.

 

Fruitful collaboration between constituents and their elected leaders is a critical step toward building democracy, but is difficult to realize in countries where political power traditionally has been concentrated in the hands of a few. Through technical assistance and training programs aimed at bringing together government officials and the community at large, ADF builds democratic linkages between citizens’ groups and local government bodies to encourage the equitable distribution of authority and enhance local autonomy. Local governance training programs cover not only the importance of political decentralization and accountability but also basic administrative skills and constituent participation techniques. ADF institution-building programs at the national and regional levels complement these initiatives, focusing on forming associations, networks and support structures both for local governments (e.g., municipal federations and councils) and for constituent community groups.

 

ADF also works to increase the effectiveness of civil society in the fight against corruption. ADF provides training, technical assistance and grant support to CSOs to join together, form strong coalitions or partnerships, undertake outreach to expand the numbers of groups belonging to their coalitions, and undertake effective action to document, expose and push for the elimination of corruption in the government and public institutions. Educating citizens is another key element to achieving the desired impact of civil society anti-corruption work. Without widespread public disapproval of corruption, efforts at reform are unlikely to succeed.

Programs in democratic governance, including anti-corruption, have been conducted in Bosnia and Herzegovina,  Haiti, Iraq, Russia, and Serbia.