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| Additional projects in this region |
| AFGHANISTAN: LOCAL GOVERNANCE ASSISTANCE PROJECT (ALGAP) | | BANGLADESH: NATIONAL CONSTITUENCY FOR STRONG LOCAL GOVERNMENT | | EAST TIMOR: LAND LAW PROGRAM TWO (LLP2) | | JORDAN: RECLAIMED WATER REUSE FOR AGRICULTURE, INDUSTRY, AND LANDSCAPING | | NEPAL: STRENGTHENED RULE OF LAW AND RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS | | PHILIPPINES: LOCAL GOVERNANCE AND DEMOCRACY (GOLD) PROJECT | | WEST BANK AND GAZA: ASSISTANCE TO THE PALESTINIAN LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL (PLC II) | | WEST BANK AND GAZA: ASSISTANCE TO THE PALESTINIAN JUDICIAL SYSTEM (RULE OF LAW) | | WEST BANK AND GAZA: EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM TO THE PALESTINIANS THROUGH LOCAL NGOS | | JORDAN: ESTABLISHMENT OF A GROUNDWATER MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT DIRECTORATE AT THE WATER AUTHORITY OF JORDAN | | JORDAN: WATER RESOURCE POLICY SUPPORT PROJECT | | WEST BANK AND GAZA: WATER RESOURCES ENGINEER/WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST SERVICES | | AFGHANISTAN: ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PROGRAM MANAGEMENT UNIT (PMU) FOR THE AFGHANISTAN STABILIZATION PROGRAM (ASP) | | EAST TIMOR: LAND LAW PROGRAM (LLP I) IN TIMOR-LESTE | | ASIA: MANAGING CONFLICT IN ASIAN FOREST COMMUNITIES | | WEST BANK & GAZA: OFFICE OF TRANSITION INITIATIVES | | SRI LANKA: PROTECTED AREA MANAGEMENT AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION PROJECT | | YEMEN: AGRICULTURAL SUPPORT PROGRAM (YASP) | | EGYPT: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT RESULTS PACKAGE DESIGN | | SRI LANKA: ANTICORRUPTION PROGRAM | | AFGHANISTAN: LOCAL GOVERNANCE AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECT | | JORDAN: CUSTOMS ADMINISTRATION MODERNIZATION PROGRAM | | YEMEN: ANTICORRUPTION SERVICES | | JORDAN LOCAL GOVERNANCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM | | EAST TIMOR: STRENGTHENING PROPERTY RIGHTS IN TIMOR-LESTE | | WEST BANK & GAZA: USAID CIVIC ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM (CEP) II | | SOUTHEAST ASIA: US SUPPORT TO THE CORAL TRIANGLE INITIATIVE (US CTI) | | PHILIPPINES: EVALUATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE PHASE 2 PROJECT (ECOGOV2) | | AFGHANISTAN: ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT SOUTH/WEST (ADP/SW) | | NEPAL GOVERNMENT CITIZEN PARTNERSHIP PROJECT (NGCPP) | | JORDAN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MASTER PLAN—IMPLEMENTATION PHASE | | KYRGYZSTAN: JUDICIAL REFORM ASSISTANCE PROJECT | | JORDAN: RULE OF LAW PROGRAM | | WEST BANK AND GAZA: RULE OF LAW, JUSTICE AND ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM | | EGYPT: EVALUATION OF THE FAMILY JUSTICE PROJECT |
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PHILIPPINES: LOCAL GOVERNANCE AND DEMOCRACY (GOLD) PROJECT
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DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES
After the peaceful ousting of Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, the Philippines passed a new Constitution that emphasized the principles of local autonomy, decentralization, and democratic governance. Subsequently, the legislature passed the Local Government Code of 1991 which transferred authorities, functions, resources, and regulatory responsibilities in a variety of basic services to the local government level. The ability of local governments to meet their service obligations, defined in concert with their communities, is essential to sustainable decentralized governance. More than 70,000 personnel and 40% of internal revenue collections were transferred from central to local governmental units. Local officials were made responsible for managing the delivery of health, agricultural extension, social welfare, local public works, and environmental services. In response to this profound democratic transition, USAID developed the Governance and Local Democracy (GOLD) Project. The GOLD project was designed to demonstrate that through decentralized governance, local communities can accelerate development to improve local government operations and community participation in the delivery of public services, including local infrastructure.
APPROACH
ARD was the implementing contractor, supported by several Philippine NGOs that received grants to address governance/decentralized service delivery issues in the broader civil society. GOLD followed a demand-driven, assisted self-reliance approach to technical assistance. Project activities included providing technical assistance in support of: - Local revenue generation and financial management;
- Local development prioritization, finance, and promotion;
- Environmental management and planning;
- Participatory mechanisms strengthening;
- Local, city, provincial, and municipal government leagues and nongovernmental organization (NGO) networks;
- Policy studies on relevant decentralization/governance issues including municipal credit and finance; and
- Information, communication, replication, and feedback system institutionalization.
RESULTS
Local Government Finance:
- Developed revenue-producing tax and fee policies and restructured treasury and assessment operations;
- Assisted local governments with all aspects of tax administration, privatization, and contract management;
- Provided technical assistance for the establishment of a municipal bond market for local government credit;
- Developed a credit rating system for evaluating local government creditworthiness;
- Designed and developed information systems for tracking loans;
- Facilitated public/private sector seminars to promote bond and private sector financing for local government infrastructure projects;
- Assisted in the development of benchmark criteria for monitoring financial trends in local governments;
- Promoted the contracting ability of local governments by encouraging their active participation and oversight of procurement of the project’s technical assistance; and
- Provided professional development to staffs of public and private financial institutions.
Investment Promotion:
Provided technical assistance in investment identification and promotion, including: - Project feasibility studies,
- Financial projections,
- Economic estate development planning,
- Irrigation and water supply development,
- Tourism development,
- Agro-industrial development, and
- Public market management and credit.
Environmental Management:
Provided technical assistance and facilitated participatory workshops on: - Land-use planning,
- Coastal resource management,
- Forest management,
- Municipal watersheds,
- Ecotourism and solid waste management,
- Strategic environmental planning,
- Environment programs for productivity,
- Community organization for natural resource management, and
- Coastal enterprises/investments.
Technical assistance focused on developing collaboration among local governments, NGOs, and communities, including public/private partnerships, to better manage and monitor environmentally sensitive areas.
Participatory Governance:
Extensive in-country training-of-trainers drawn from local government and NGOs resulted in more than 2,500 facilitators being trained in participatory approaches.
Policy Reform:
GOLD provided extensive technical assistance and backstopping to the new leagues of local government (i.e., three leagues representing provinces, cities, and municipalities), including training in legislative research, advocacy, and legal analysis, and regularly published policy and case studies as well as occasional papers that addressed issues in decentralization, local governance, and national policy.
Performance Measurement:
GOLD directly conducted and/or trained local institutions in administering public opinion polls and operating key informant interviews and focus groups as methods of measuring local government performance and monitoring trends in governance and local development.
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