Decentralization and local good governance, ensuring development in line with the needs of communities

Figure: A large administration building is surrounded by four smaller buildings overlaid by objects symbolising decision-making powers and financial resources.
The SDC supports administrative reforms that allow powers and financial resources to be devolved from central to local government. © SDC

The majority of national policies are implemented on a devolved basis, i.e. at provincial level or within rural or urban communities. However, the communities concerned often lack the necessary expertise or resources. The SDC aims to address this through a realignment of the capabilities and finances needed to promote effective delivery of public services. This is the best way to attain the global objectives for sustainable development backed by Switzerland. 

The SDC believes that the concerns of local communities are better addressed at local level. The representatives of public-sector organisations usually have greater insight into the developmental needs of local communities and are more readily accessible to citizens. It is easier to manage and maintain an overview of economic and social conditions in medium-sized economies. It is also easier to organise cooperative development projects in this context. Communities are more likely to work on solutions in their specific locality.

The necessary conditions can be established by transferring decision-making powers, responsibility for public services and the requisite funding to decentralised bodies. However, the danger remains that mismanagement, the unjust enrichment of elites and inequality may permeate down to lower levels of government. As a result, the SDC also works to strengthen decentralised forms of good governance, including the efficient management of funds, transparency, public participation and accountability, with the ultimate aim of supporting local development for the benefit of all population groups. 

Supporting decentralisation reforms

Decentralisation reforms facilitate coordinated measures for transferring functions, decision-making powers and budgetary resources and promote effective interaction between different levels of government. To this end, the SDC supports broad-based dialogue on reforms and, for example, encourages local associations to address the concerns of their members. The SDC provides the expertise required by the relevant local bodies to ensure that responsibilities are properly shared and financial powers defined. Alongside economic considerations and efficiency criteria, the SDC is guided by the principle of subsidiarity, i.e. the principle that decisions should be taken as closely as possible to citizens. 

Enhancing good governance at local level

The SDC supports government agencies in delivering relevant services at local level (e.g. education and health, waste management, land-use planning and economic development). It helps agencies consolidate their planning and oversight authority and provides encouragement and guidance on consulting a range of social interest groups. It also supports measures to improve practices relating to data, public information and reporting. The SDC encourages local authorities to diversify their funding base by raising taxes or other forms of finance to help implement their plans. It also promotes balanced accounting and transparent budget management. The SDC also focuses on local parliaments and courts as well as ensuring involvement of citizens and the media to participate with critical scrutiny and public debate to balanced decision-making and reporting. 

Promoting economic development at local level

The development areas targeted by the SDC may extend beyond administrative borders or combine rural regions with urban development centres. Such areas may not be covered by central government. Switzerland therefore promotes measures to support coordinated development projects through partnerships between the public and private sectors and social interest groups. The SDC supports joint planning processes based on an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of local economies and the opportunities and risks involved. It also promotes cooperation between devolved bodies, advising local authorities, for example, on creating optimum conditions for private sector investment. Such advice may cover matters such as market infrastructure, transport routes, methods of communication, transparent tax policy, legislative frameworks and legal certainty, with a view to creating better employment and income-earning opportunities.

Current projects

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Asset Recovery Strategic Partnerships

01.01.2025 - 31.12.2029

Switzerland supports strategic partners in asset recovery who provide technical assistance to countries, advocate for international standards, and facilitate knowledge and exchange on international efforts and ongoing cases. The partnerships leverage Switzerland’s potential to influence the agenda more effectively, facilitate the integration of international best practices in ongoing restitution negotiations, and help ensure that returned assets benefit the populations of states of origin.


Core Contribution to the Interna-tional Fund for Public Interest Me-dia (IFPIM)

01.01.2025 - 31.12.2028

Public interest media in low- and middle-income countries face existential threats, impact-ing sustainable development and peace. IFPIM is an organization backing the resilience and independence of public interest media. Through SDC’s contribution to IFPIM, Swit-zerland promotes democracy by combating dis- and misinformation and ensuring media freedom and access to reliable information.


Programme D’Accès à l’Information pour une Citoyenneté Engagée (ALICE)

20.11.2024 - 31.10.2027

La peur de se faire enlever, emprisonner ou interdire d’activités, a réduit au silence la plupart des contrepouvoirs. Les populations participent peu aux débats et sont exposées à cause du manque de contenus pertinents dans les médias et la désinformation. Avec ALICE, la Suisse consolide son partenariat avec les médias en offrant une information crédible, des espaces de dialogues inclusifs et une éducation des citoyens aux médias sociaux pour combattre la désinformation.


E-Governance for Accountability and Participation (EGAP), Phase 3

01.10.2024 - 30.09.2028

Digital transformation of Ukraine’s public administration significantly contributed to its resilience in the critical war conditions. Switzerland will consolidate its support to Ukraine in promoting innovative digital tools as amplifiers of democratic reforms in socially important sectors, catalysts of sustainable recovery and effective service provision to citizens and the private sector.


Appui au Forum des ONG Internationales au Mali (FONGIM)

01.10.2024 - 30.09.2028

La présente contribution soutient le Forum des ONG Internationales au Mali en tant que plateforme efficace de coordination, de plaidoyer et de renforcement des capacités des ONG humanitaires et de développement au Mali. Le FONGIM permet aux partenaires de la DDC au Mali de mener leurs activités sur le terrain de manière efficace en assurant un rôle d’interface avec l’administration malienne.


Programme Redevabilité - Phase 3

01.10.2024 - 30.09.2028

La Suisse soutient le Bénin dans l’amélioration de sa gouvernance démocratique et l’efficacité de la fourniture des services publics aux usagers, en adoptant une approche systémique axée sur la demande et l’offre de redevabilité, tout en valorisant une citoyenneté active et inclusive. Forte de sa crédibilité, la Suisse poursuit son appui à la consolidation de l’État de droit par l’accès à la justice, la lutte contre la corruption et la promotion de la transparence et la responsabilité dans l’action publique.


Enhanced Protection and Support to the Most Vulnerable Children, notably Refugee Children, in Lebanon

16.08.2024 - 15.08.2027

Children of all nationalities in Lebanon are affected by the country’s multifaceted crisis and collapse of public services. They face heightened risks of abuse, exploitation and violence, and of getting in contact or even in conflict with the law. Specific groups like refugee children are particularly at risk of seeing their rights violated. Through this project, NGOs and UNICEF will jointly enhance the protection of children from violence by providing them with crucial legal and protection services and by improving the child-friendliness of the justice system (nexus).


Public Service Improvement (PSI) in the Kyrgyz Republic

01.08.2024 - 31.07.2028

To improve people's quality of life, municipalities need to deliver efficiently and effectively services such as safe drinking water, waste collection, cultural facilities in a socially inclusive and gender responsive manner. In rural Kyrgyzstan, their capacities still need to be improved in a sustainable way. To achieve this, the project will develop the municipalities' support system which shall then provide adequate counseling and training to those municipalities today and in the long run.


Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine 2 (PFRU-2)

01.08.2024 - 31.12.2027

The Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine (PFRU) unites eight development partners (UK, US, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, Estonia and the Netherlands) and the Government of Ukraine to strengthen communities and government legitimacy through improved services, economic recovery and strengthened civil society. With its contribution, Switzerland can shape the development and deployment of an innovative multi-donor financing instrument in Ukraine to support its resilience and early recovery.


Participation citoyenne et prévention des conflits au Burundi (PCPC)

01.08.2024 - 31.12.2026

Au Burundi, le système politique ne permet pas un espace suffisant pour la participation citoyenne inclusive, la redevabilité et le respect des droits humains, ce qui rend difficile la prévention et la gestion des conflits. Par cette intervention la Suisse contribue à l’instauration progressive de pratiques démocratiques promouvant un environnement favorable à la participation citoyenne et l’opérationnalisation des mécanismes de gestion des conflits au niveau communautaire, ce qui a un impact positif sur la consolidation/capitalisation de la paix et la cohésion sociale.


Programme de Participation citoyenne et Prévention des conflits (PCPC)

01.08.2024 - 31.12.2026

L’Est de la RDC est confronté, depuis plus de deux décennies, à une situation d’insécurité avec une dégradation des droits de l’homme, de la cohésion sociale et de la situation humanitaire. Par ce programme, la Suisse entend contribuer à la promotion de la paix et le respect des droits humains en renforçant les capacités institutionnelles des entités territoriales décentralisées (ETD) et des structures locales de règlement des conflits et en favorisant la collaboration entre les institutions étatiques locales et les acteurs clés de la société civile.


Programme de Protection et Promotion Sociale Réactive aux Chocs (PROMES)

01.08.2024 - 31.07.2027

PROMES vise à renforcer la résilience de la population vulnérable d’Haiti. Une contribution de la Suisse au Programme Alimentaire Mondial permet de déployer un filet de protection sociale déjà testé et développé conjointement avec les autorités locales dans un nouveau département. En appuyant une ONG locale, le programme va consolider les résultats de la phase 1 dans le Sud-Est. Au niveau local dans le Sud, PROMES permettra d’améliorer les capacités de relèvement financier rapide en cas de catastrophes.

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