Learning objectivesParticipants will gain insight into:Elements to take into account when designing a

support strategy: different entry points of support to decentralisationsequencing of support approaches to capacity development;

How to use and reinforce national procedures and mechanisms in designing support strategies;

Incentives and obstacles within each others’ organisations and within partner country governments that might help or hinder harmonisation and alignment.

Session overviewIntro: designing coherent support strategiesGroup work: lessons learnt on support to

decentralisation & local governancePresentations on DPs experience with

sequencing of support modalitiesPreconditions and action points for improving

alignment and harmonisationFishbowl discussion on incentives for

harmonisation and alignment

Introducing strategic optionsGroup work: Defining lessons learnt

Overall recommendations

Identifyingstrategicoptions

Identifying concrete strategic options for supporting decentralisation

Supporting decentralisation:

• Focus• Entry points• Sequencing of support• Capacity development approach

Focus• Should the support have a multi-actor and/or network focus? Which relevant players to involve?• Choosing a single-layer or multi-layer focus? Which levels are appropriate to intervene at?• Should it be a country-wide or a regionally focused intervention?• Which processes do we want to engage in? Which other partner processes should we link up with?

Entry points• Central government institutions• Regional governments• Local governments• Local economic actors, private companies• Civil society, non-governmental organisations, associations• Supervisory bodies, such as parliaments, audit courts and ombudsmen

Choosing the right sequencingInvest in a shared vision on decentralisationAvoid trying to do too much too quicklyIncorporate the various dimensions (political,

administrative, fiscal) throughout the processPrioritise reforms with the greatest

possibility of achieving results in a relatively short period of time

Transfer powers before capacity buildingProvide modest funding to be used in a

discretionary manner (‘learning by doing’) Create incentives for improved performance

Capacity development approachTo ensure sustainability, strengthening of capacities needs to be considered, as well as how capacity building should occur:

How feasible is an intervention?How sustainable will it be after the

support is ended?What are the options for coordination and

management by partners?How can we strengthen capacities?

The UNDP Approach to Capacity Development

Capacity Development Process

Levels of capacity buildingCapacity needs to be build at three levels:• System level (enabling environment)• Organisational level• Individual level

It’s crucial to understand the relationship between all three levels in designing a coherent support strategy for decentralisation.

Capacity development and sustainability concernsAn OECD-DAC evaluation points out that there seems to be great potential for ensuring longer-term sustainability through:

• Better institutionalisation or up-scaling of pilot programmes.• Formulation of exit and/or mainstreaming strategies in every support programme from the initial stages. 

Small group exercise• Try to come up with examples of decentralisation strategies that - in your opinion – were successful• Why do you think were they successful?• Make a list of lessons learnt from these examples, try to group the examples according to four steps of the identification process:

• Focus• Entry points• Sequencing of support• Capacity development approach

(ca. 25 minutes)

• One group member presents the findings in the plenary

Overall recommendations for managing the identification processInvest time to produce clear terms of

referencePromote and facilitate a multi-actor

dialogue throughout the processMake sure that government stays onboardMobilise existing sources of local knowledgeCoach the consultantsBe transparent and communicate about

outputs

Participants’ experiences Lessons learnt on harmonisation

Harmonisation of responsesThe DPWG-LGDs country specific guiding Principles call for DPs to:

“Build on and strengthen nationally driven DLG policies with harmonised

strategic responses from DP according to different degrees of and commitment to decentralisation and local governance”.

Country typologies (1)Actively decentralising countries: DPs are

invited to fully align their strategies, approaches, funding instruments and procedures to the national framework.

Advanced intermediate decentralising countries: Stimulate the emergence and consolidation of a coherent national policy on decentralisation while providing support for policy experiments with selected national and local stakeholders

Country typologies (2)Early intermediate decentralising countries:

response strategies will have to build on existing windows of opportunities (in sectors or at local level) and support drivers of change

Non-decentralising / (post-) conflict countries: Focus first on creating a basic legitimacy (i.e. rule of law) and invest then in shaping the pre-conditions for a decentralisation vision through a variety of entry points and instruments. It is of critical importance to act jointly as donor community.

Steps to be considered for counties with limited commitment

If you cannot align, then harmoniseAlthough only few advances may be

made within the five critical pillars for decentralisation, these few advances could be used as the first “building blocks” for harmonisation

Steps to be considered for countries with stronger commitmentOne or more roundtables should be

promoted for dialogue A road map for alignment and

harmonisation should be agreedThe principles from the General

Guiding Principles on alignment and harmonisation should be applied.

General steps to be consideredStart up a dialogue with stakeholders without waiting

until all DPs commit themselves to A&HEvaluate periodically the progress made by DPs

toward harmonisationRequire each DP to draw up A&H strategies

including coordination between general DLG support and sector programme support

Harmonise support to civil society participating in DLG processes

Try to develop a common technical assistance planEstablishment of joint monitoring, evaluation and

audit mechanisms a key issue

Participants experiences with sequencing of support modalities

How applicable are the country typologies in practice:

To what extent does the case follow the response strategies suggested? What was the rationale behind the choice for this sequencing of support modalities? To what extent has the support reinforced and used national procedures and mechanisms?

DP Alignment to country strategiesAlignment to non-coherent national strategies can

lead to conflicting and contradictory support strategies, therefore integration of decentralisation into overall national strategies essential.

Gradual alignment to key elements of a national framework can facilitate the development of a comprehensive overall support programme with joint funding mechanisms.

Overall strategy for development cooperation and partnerships (Joint Assistance Strategy) will facilitate alignment and harmonisation

DP Coordination MechanismsMake coordination more comprehensive

horizontally and vertically to be able to address all dimensions relevant to the DC process in a coherent manner

Ensure government commitment for its leadership role for the DP coordination

Set-up road map with specific milestones for enhancing coordination and harmonisation within the DP group, moving towards joint missions, common funding mechanisms and partnership and representation arrangements.

Challenges of harmonisation and alignmentOECD-DAC (2004): • It is widely recognised that development partner coordination is crucial for cost-effective utilisation of scarce resources. • Changing the traditional way of operating has proved to be a challenging and lengthy process. • DPs and partner governments should examine obstacles to effective DP co-ordination and endeavour to make sure that DP programmes in this field are better co-ordinated.

Fishbowl discussionWhen designing support strategies, what are the obstacles for effective donor harmonisation and alignment:

• within development partners’ organisations?• within partner governments?

And (how) can these be altered?

Fishbowl discussion: process• Circle of five chairs, four occupied, one empty• The four “fish” briefly present their (organisations) experiences and view on the statement• Any member of the audience can, at any time, occupy the empty chair• When this happens, an existing member of the fishbowl must voluntarily leave• The discussion continues with participants frequently entering and leaving the fishbowl