UNCDF Global Forum on Local Development

The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) has taken the lead on developing a Global Forum on Local Development, which is expected to be held in Africa in October 2010. This international event is intended to trigger a series of concrete activities designed to improve decentralization in interested countries. The Capstone team conducted two principal tasks. First, the team prepared case studies on decentralization in a set of countries of interest, including Cambodia, Egypt, Guatemala, and Uganda. Second, the team helped to gather and compile materials to assist with the development of more comprehensive and integrated diagnostic tools for assessing the state of the evolution of a local government system and the dynamics that have shaped it. These tasks are intended to help the UNCDF develop a variety of practical assessment tools that could assist with the design and implementation of policies and programs that improve decentralization and the attainment of the various potential benefits associated with it in specific countries.