Donor support for decentralization comes in two main categories: recommendations at the policy level and project activities at the programming level. At the policy level, donors promote decentralization by recommending greater autonomy for subnational actors. That is, they advocate for reforms...

This study explores the effects of foreign aid on democracy in Mozambique during the last decade. Aid for democracy built on historic relationships forged between donors and the government during the wartime humanitarian emergency. Foreign aid played an important role in Mozambique's transition...

Alienation to politics weakens political competition and can undermine the acceptance and legitimacy of democracy as a political system. Governance and representation problems at the local level cause part of citizens' lack of power and political alienation. Citizens have local power if they can...

The Aquino administration through the Human Development and Poverty Reduction Cluster and Good Governance and Anti-Corruption Cluster launched the bottom-up budgeting (BUB) exercise in 2012 in time for the preparation of the 2013 National Expenditure Program. The BUB process is one of the major...

Key to achieving national targets under a devolved set-up is the capacity of the entire system to implement health and nutrition programs at scale. This requires coordinated efforts among the Local Government Units (LGUs) with the same energy and commitment. Though still few relative to the...

Public trust in government and the strengthened solidarity are the aspects of social capital that can increase community participation in the development programs run by the government. Social capital is a resource that exists in relationships, interactions, communications, and mutual...

The high level of casualties, population displacements and economic costs from recent disaster events still point to necessary augmentations in disaster preparedness. Policy has to be revisited, institutional arrangements have to be reviewed and resource mobilization issues have to be addressed....

This paper is a narrative account and assessment of the Grassroots Participatory Budgeting (GPB) process in three municipalities of the Negros Province, namely, Sagay City, Hinigaran and Cauayan. The GPB process was implemented with the objective of empowering civil society organizations to...

Bottom-up Budgeting (BUB) is an adaptation of the participatory budgeting model in identifying and providing solutions to poverty at the municipal/city level. Leaders of civil society organizations engage with LGU officials in formulating a poverty alleviation plan to be considered in preparing...

The Aquino administration through the Human Development and Poverty Reduction Cluster (HDPRC) and Good Governance and Anti-Corruption Cluster (GGACC) launched the Bottom up Budgeting (BUB) exercise in 2012. The strategy hopes to empower civil society organizations and citizens' groups to engage...