Local institutions play a fundamental role in governing access to resources, shaping delivery of services, and determining the experience of governance at local level. They are the principal mechanism to channel external interventions, resources, and assistance to poor households, women, and...

This note outlines two methods developed by the Mobilizing Rural Institutions study to assess and compare the governance capacities of local institutions and their network relationships in any local context. Local institutions and their institutional networks play a fundamental role in shaping...

Since January 2004, the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Finance has taken an initiative to improve transparency at all levels of government, particularly the sub-national level. Every month, it publishes the federal, state, and local government shares of revenue from the country's federal account....

In conflict-affected countries, insecurity can worsen the incidence of poverty, undercut the delivery of basic services, and leave segments of the population chronically vulnerable. Because security provision is both a core function of the state, and a necessary condition for the delivery of...

This note examines the relationships between climate-related vulnerabilities, adaptation practices, institutions, and external interventions to show the role and importance of local institutions in climate change. It proposes an analytical framework to classify adaptation practices based on...

Projects involving community participation often give communities responsibility to identify, prioritize, plan and implement small-scale investments. While the approach generates high ownership and relevance, it has often been considered inappropriate for large infrastructure projects with...

Community Driven Development (CDD) approaches present an effective means to involve young people in local development decision-making, giving them voice and influencing power, with benefits for themselves and their communities. This note highlights a range of key learning points emerging from...

In Community-Driven Development (CDD) programs, communities identify, prioritize, design and execute small scale investments. While relevance and community ownership have been high, it is also crucial that these public investments meet economic feasibility criteria and generate adequate rates of...

This note emphasizes that Community Foundations present a practical instrument to supplement larger cultural heritage projects and to support the preservation and use of cultural heritage applying community driven development (CDD) approaches. This is relevant especially since while existing...

This note summarizes the main findings of the Rapid Social Assessment (RSA) Update. To respond to community tensions and to build upon emergent positive social relations the Update recommended a new impetus for local and community development in Liberia. Community Driven Development (CDD)...