Designing Decentralization:

Decentralization is a generic term which includes devolution, deconcnetration, delegation, privatization, etc. The challenges to be resolved in designing and deciding

decentralization concerns on the many modes of decentralization to be applied. Central government around the world are decentralizing fiscal, political and administrative responsibilities to lower level governments and private sector. Many decentralization policies in the world are designed in a mix of them all.

Challenges:

a. Sizable amount of mutual trust between the people and political as we as technical leadership.

b. Requirement of leadership that trusts people and the people that trust leadership especially in the local and national levels.

c. Challenge of engineering consensus.

d. Challenges related to capacity

e. Challenges related to finance decentralized governance

Methods for designing decentralization :

a. Conductive political climate.

b. Favorable socio-psyschological attitude.

c. Adapting participatory approach in planning local governance and decentralization program.

d. Clarity of functional jurisdication.

e. Recognisation of autonomous status of LGIs

f. Capacity building of local bodies.

g. Conceptual clarity on local development and people's participation.

h. Political stability an continuity.

Five important conditions for successful decentralization:

1. The decentralization framework must link financing and fiscal authority to the service provision responsibilities and functions of the local government.

2. The local community must be informed about the cost of services and service delivery options.

3. There must be mechanisms by which the community can express its preferences.

4. There must be a system of accountability.

5. The instruments of decentralization- the legal and institutional framework, the structure of service delivery responsibilities and the intergovernmental fiscal system are designed to support the political objectives.