USAID IQC: Decentralized Local Governance: The PADCO-GSU Consortium

The Decentralization IQC has been commissioned to

(1) Increase participatory decision-making, transparency, accountability, and responsiveness at all levels of government by working with both state and non-state actors;

(2) Increase citizen participation in local and national government decision-making;

(3) Assist local governments to serve as counterweights to central state authorities and to participate in policy-making at regional and national levels;

(4) Enhance the fiscal adequacy and probity of decentralized democratic governments;

(5) Enable local governments to influence their own destinies by promoting and sustaining local economic development.

Moreover, the objective of this activity is to increase the capacity and performance of all levels of government (with specific focus on sub-national government agencies and elected officials) and NGOs to execute public management functions related to the provision and production of public goods and services. Providing technical assistance and training to increase the capacity and performance of public agencies, especially the capacity of sub-national governments to obtain, allocate and monitor resources is emphasized.

Georgia State University is the team’s (PADCO/GSU) major subcontractor, concentrating on supporting policy design and implementation in fiscal decentralization, local revenue generation, local financial management and related training.