Factors to Consider in Designing Decentralised Governance Policies and Programmes to Achieve Sustainable People-Centred Development

This document lists the factors to consider in designing a decentralized governance structure, and specifically one that is focused on people-centred development. The factors discussed include: the interrelationship with globalisation; the role of decentralization in democratisation; the multiplicity of areas, actors, and sectors involved; the logical application of the core characteristics of good governance; the mixture of administrative, fiscal, and political functions and relationships; the four dimensions of decentralisation: the collective/exterior, collective/interior, individual/exterior, and the individual/interior; the new form of information flow; and the view of decentralization as an alternative to centralization, affecting more than just the public sector. This paper also explores the reasons in favor of decentralizing, and the means available to do so. Finally, it discusses the role of donors, and particularly the sensitivity of their role in any decentralizing process.