Project Narrative

Training Schedule

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Project Narrative:

The International Studies Program (ISP) delivered a three-week training course on “Fiscal Decentralization: A Review of Concepts and Applications" for a group of 13 government officials from different government agencies in the Papua region, including regional development and planning board, revenue, finance and asset management office, budgeting division, accounting division, government expenditure division, treasury division, and public works department. The course is part of collaboration activities between the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies and the Center for Economic and Public Policy Studies (PSEKP), Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia. The program is part of the ongoing effort to improve the decentralization process in Indonesia.

The three-week-long course provided an introductory overview of the theoretical dimensions of intergovernmental fiscal relations, with a focus on applications for fiscal policy and decentralization reforms in Indonesia.

Fiscal decentralization and local governance play an increasingly important role in assuring sound public policy and democratic governance around the world. Fiscal decentralization reforms are being pursued in countries around the world in order to enhance the efficiency with which government services are provided. By yielding greater functional (expenditure) responsibilities to regional and local governments, the public sector can be more flexible in response to variations in regional and local needs and demands for public services. In addition, by giving local governments real responsibility for the delivery of local government services and by allowing local governments to raise their own source revenues, local communities are better able to hold their local governments accountable for the services that they deliver. Funding of subnational governments with formula-based intergovernmental transfers can further enhance the equity and transparency of the system of intergovernmental fiscal relations. As a result, decentralization of the public sector also increases citizen participation in the governance process.

In addition to exploring the conceptual underpinnings of fiscal decentralization reform, the course connected sound principles of decentralization reforms to specific policy issues relevant to the current situation in Indonesia. The purpose of the course was to provide technical expertise on decentralization and good governance to inform and advance participants on the transition process, analyze key areas for intervention, and identify the way forward for decentralization planning and implementation. Discussion sessions each day enabled participants to integrate their existing knowledge of the current issues in Indonesia with the newly acquired knowledge on fiscal policy and fiscal decentralization.

The course also included site visits to different government agencies in Georgia, including: Hall County Government; Georgia Department of Revenue; and the Fulton County Tax Assessor’s Office.

The course was sponsored by Government of Papua Province and delivered by Andrew Young School faculty and the Center for Economic and Public Policy Studies (PSEKP), Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia, including Professors Roy Bahl, regents Professor (Economics), Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, regents professor (Economics) and director (ISP), Jim Alm, professor (Economics) Sally Wallace, professor (Economics) and associate director (FRC), Katherine Willoughby, professor (Public Management and Policy) Jenny Ligthart, visiting professor (Economics) Paul Kagundu, clinical assistant professor (Economics) ISP Research Associates Eunice Heredia-Ortiz, Juan Gomez, Cristian Sepulveda, and Andrey Timofeev. Additionally, the course included a presentation by Mr. Burt Manning, Chief Appraiser. The training course was managed by Eunice Heredia-Ortiz in collaboration with Artidiatun Adji.

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Training Schedule:

• Course Schedule: Week 1
• Course Schedule: Week 2
• Course Schedule: Week 3

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