The State of Participatory Local Democracy

From 2012-2014, the United Nations Democracy Fund supported The Hunger Project to build a community of practice on Participatory Local Democracy. This community was mobilized to comprise dozens of local pro-democracy civil society groups in more than 70 countries.

Following a series of regional meetings in Africa, Asia and Latin America in 2012, a small secretariat team in Washington DC developed a multidimensional Participatory Local Democracy Index and solicited input from all participating countries to issue State of Participatory Local Democracy Reports during the 2013 and 2014 UN General Assembly.

UNDEF does not “renew” grants – it intends to make a catalytic investment, and with this project they succeeded. It led directly to the launch of the Movement for Community-led Development alongside the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015.

Posts on this site

  • Introducing the RDLG Bibliographic Database

    Introducing the RDLG Bibliographic Database

    We are pleased to announce that the Rural Decentralization and Local Government (RDLG) Database, with its 1600 bibliographic entries – is now part of this website. The Royal Tropical Institute in the Netherlands has, for many years, supported its development and operation within its KIT Information and Library Services. When the services closed in August 2013 due…

    Read more


  • Assessing the Institutional Environment of Local Governments in Africa

    Assessing the Institutional Environment of Local Governments in Africa

      Africa’s cities are growing at an unprecedented rate, over 3% per year on average, and local governments are expected to play a crucial role in the urbanization process. United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLGA) and Cities Alliance proposed an assessment of the institutional environment of local governments in Africa. The report analyzes…

    Read more


  • UNDP – Measuring Local Governance

    UNDP – Measuring Local Governance

    UNDP’s Oslo Governance Center produced this useful guide to measuring local governance, published in 2009. The purpose of the Guide is “to compile existing knowledge and decentralization and local governance measurement and provide a platform for understanding and navigating the array of assessment tools that exist…” This report is a treasure chest of references to frameworks,…

    Read more


  • Governance and Public Service Delivery

    Governance and Public Service Delivery

    Asian Development Bank ‘s “Asian Development Outlook 2013 Update” published in October 2013 highlights the need of government reform to sustain development momentum in Asia and the Pacific. Strengthening governance is a key among reform priorities and the report identifies public service delivery as an entry point for the reform. The annual Asian Development Outlook,…

    Read more


  • Rockefeller Foundation – 100 Resilient Cities

    Rockefeller Foundation – 100 Resilient Cities

    The Rockefeller Foundation launched the 100 Resilient Cities Centennial Challenge on its centennial, May 14, 2013. The $100 million grant program will help cities build greater resilience from the increasing shocks and stresses of the 21st century. One hundred of the world’s cities will be selected to receive technical support and resources for developing and…

    Read more