This guide is a revised and updated version of the 2002 State of Local Democracy (SoLD) assessment framework. It contains four parts: a general introduction to the SoLD assessment framework; a special focus on the SoLD assessment framework itself; the process of conducting an assessment; and a detailed version of the framework, including the assessment questions.
The framework is intended for use in assessing the quality of local democracy by looking at the functioning of the three fundamental pillars of local democracy: citizenship, equal rights and justice; representative and accountable institutions and processes; and citizen initiative and participation.
Key findings: