Building local capacity for service delivery may entail support to formal and informal local governance structures, including within and outside of government. Large-scale community-based approaches, and approaches which build trust and relationships with local service providers, have helped to reach deprived populations in some cases.
Williamson, T., & Dom, C. (2010). Making sector budget support work for service delivery: good practice recommendations (Policy briefing no. 37). London: Overseas Development Institute.
The second in a series of three Project Briefings on Sector Based Support (SBS), this briefing focuses on good practice recommendations. It finds that complementary SBS and general budget support (GBS) packages are the preferred modalities for support to service delivery, and that funding, dialogue, conditionality and capacity-building practices must change for SBS to realise its promise. It concludes that the required focus on service quality at the front line will not happen automatically.
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Arifeen, S., et al (2013). Community-based approaches and partnerships: innovations in health-service delivery in Bangladesh. The Lancet, 382(9909), 2012-2026.
In Bangladesh, rapid advancements in coverage of many health interventions have coincided with impressive reductions in fertility and rates of maternal, infant, and childhood mortality. Three distinctive features have enabled Bangladesh to improve health-service coverage and health outcomes: (1) experimentation with, and widespread application of, large-scale community-based approaches, especially investment in community health workers using a doorstep delivery approach; (2) experimentation with informal and contractual partnership arrangements that capitalise on the ability of non-governmental organisations to generate community trust, reach the most deprived populations, and address service gaps; and (3) rapid adoption of context-specific innovative technologies and policies that identify country-specific systems and mechanisms.
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Khan, Q. M., Faguet, JJ.-P., Gaukler, C. & Mekasha, W. (2014). Improving basic services for the bottom forty percent: lessons from Ethiopia (World Bank study 90430). Washington, D.C: World Bank Group.
Ethiopia, like most developing countries, has opted to deliver services such as basic education, primary health care, agricultural extension advice, water, and rural roads through a highly decentralized system. This paper describes how development partners and the government have co-financed block grants for decentralized services through the Promoting Basic Services (PBS) Program. Aside from funding the delivery of services, the program supports measures to improve the quality of services and local government’s capacity to deliver them by strengthening accountability and citizen voice.
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Schanke, L., & Lange, S. (Eds.). (2008). Decentralisation and Gender. Coordination and Cooperation on Maternal Health Issues in Selected District Councils in Tanzania. Bergen: Chr. Michelsen Institute.
This study identifies good practices in examining how five district councils cooperate with local communities, civil society organisations and the private sector to improve maternal health, and how well different departments within district councils coordinate their work. Structural problems, partly linked to financial issues, impede sustainable cooperation between local government and civil society. Cooperation with the Department for Community Development is central to enhancing participation and including lower local government levels.
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UNDESA. (2010). Promoting Citizen-Centric Public Service Delivery in Post-Conflict Situations. In Reconstructing Public Administration after Conflict: Challenges, Practices and Lessons Learned – World Public Sector Report 2010 (pp.105-122). New York: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA).
What challenges and strategies are involved in rebuilding public service delivery after conflict? This chapter considers the benefits of a multi-stakeholder approach and the potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Effective delivery of public services contributes to peace and stability, which in turn facilitates economic development. Post-conflict situations offer opportunities as well as challenges in public administration. Any framework aimed at restoring public services must derive legitimacy from national ownership and local involvement.
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