The design of decentralised demand-driven programmes and equity: Learning from implementation in Malawi councils

This paper analyses demand-driven development programmes and spatial equality. If focuses on two programme design aspects that are assumed to have a bearing on equality: the degree to which they are demand-driven and the degree to which they are integrated in to local councils' operations. The lesson from Malawi is that the demand-driven logic matters; the most demand-driven programme had the most unequal spatial sharing of benefits among sub-district units. The level of integration, however, was less significant. Because of weak downwards accountability there was no more equality concern in the most integrated programmes than in the loosely integrated one. These findings illustrate that equality improvement depends on not only design factors but on the accountability of the programmes to the wider community. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.