Governance
Diagnostic Capacity Building: The Methodological Approach
The
GAC Diagnostic Cycle is one of the WBI responses to
the need to build capacity in a country in the area
of governance and policy design. In particular, this
initiative aims to:
(i)
foster local capacity building through the close
collaboration between external experts and local
counterparts;
(ii) promote long-term, sustainable partnerships
among local stakeholders;
(iii) obtain an initial benchmark of governance
and public sector performance; and
(iv) monitor on a regular basis governance and public
sector performance.
The
complete diagnostic cycle includes the following
components:
-
A
preparatory phase, to identify and recruit
the project team and develop a detailed work
program.
-
A
"partnership-promoting" phase,
in which the team ensures the coordination of
different national stakeholders through the
creation of a government-endorsed partnership
between government and civil society
-
A
development phase, that includes (i)
the assessment of existing institutional weaknesses,
(ii) the design and revision of diagnostic instruments
to collect governance data, and (iii) the training
of staff to carry out the required field work.
-
A
fieldwork phase, where the governance
data is collected, using the three surveys developed
in Phase 2. This Phase is carried out jointly
by local and external experts.
-
An
analytical phase, where the data collected
in Phase 3 is analyzed. This in-depth analysis,
carried out jointly by the Bank team and local
team, leads to the completion of a policy report
on the costs and causes of mis-governance and
poor service delivery
-
An
"action-programming" phase,
in which the partnership of national stakeholders
designs the available datasets are disseminated
to local and central governments and research
agencies using real time data access and electronic
media.
Key
features of the GAC diagnostic surveys used for
the assessment comprise the following:
-
multi-pronged,
separate surveys of users of public services/households,
firms and public officials, which permits triangulation
of the results;
-
use
of experience-based (vs. opinions/generic) type
of questions;
-
a
broad governance and service delivery conceptual
framework; and
-
rigorous
technical specifications at the implementation
stage.
The
analysis developed with this approach encourages
local stakeholders to make use of the results
to promote a constructive debate on institutional
reforms and can lead to a non-political debate
on concrete changes. The agency specific data
steers the debate on institutions rather than
individuals, de-politicizing the problem and facilitating
the reform process.
For
additional information on the Governance Diagnostics,
please see the step-by-step
guide to the diagnostic process (under construction)
and our country survey examples.
Governance
and Statistical Capacity Building Initiative
In
a few selected countries where the GAC Diagnostic
Project Cycle has been launched, a special partnership
has been created between the National Statistical
Agency, the local stakeholders involved in the Project
and WBI. The objective of this partnership is both
to strengthen the capacity of National Statistical
Agencies to monitor governance and to use the valuable
knowledge and information already available within
a country while implementing the GAC Diagnostic Project
Cycle. This initiative is currently carried out in
the following countries:
Governance
Diagnostic Capacity Building Courses
The GG team collaborates with the PREM/Governance
colleagues for the development and delivery of the
following learning activities:
The
GG team has also establish a partnership with IDLO
(International Development Law Organization) for the
design and delivery of learning activities in the
area of governance. The first outcome of this collaboration
is a joint learning activity that will take place
during the first week of November (via distant learning)
and will target legal specialists and public officials
in Uganda, Mozambique and Kenya.
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