National level:

·       NGO participation in key NCSC sub-committees

Not included.

·       procedures and established timeframes for public consultation prior to passing Prakas and other regulations relating to decentralization and local governance reforms

Not included.

·       a publicized schedule of planned Prakas and other regulations, including when the drafting process will begin, when public consultations will be held and when each Prakas or other regulation is expected to be passed

Not included.

·       a Prakas requiring commune councils to incorporate into their commune development plans specific indicators relating to poverty reduction, equitable distribution of resources, gender, children, ethnic minorities and disabled persons

The need for these indicators is included in the text.

·       clarification of the requirements that must be met for a VDC to be represented on a planning and budgeting committee

Not included.

·       prohibition of commune councilors acting also as VDC members

Not included.

·       requirement that council administrative fees be scaled according to ability of a citizen to pay

Not included.

·       specific and transparent criteria for the allocation of funds to communes

The need for funding to be transparent is included.

·       specific development criteria applied when re-drawing commune boundaries

Not included.

·       add the study of decentralization, local governance and gender to high school curricula

Not included.

Provincial and District levels:

·       capacity building for the Provincial Offices of Local Administration (POLAs) and other provincial level authorities involved in decentralization, particularly Departments of Planning

Included in the text, and referred to in Action Plan Matrix under 4.3.(1): “Strengthen DOLA & POLAs to provide technical support to CCs.”

·       avoidance of unnecessary proliferation of provincial and district level authorities assigned to deal with decentralization

Not included.

·       delineated responsibilities outlined in clear terms of reference for provincial and district level authorities

Not included.

·       inclusion of grassroots civil society representatives at district integration workshops with mechanisms that will enhance its participation (such as first called to speak)

Not included.

·       written reports to the Department of Local Administration (DoLA) following district integration workshops

Not included.

Commune level:

·       a required minimum of public forums per year within each commune to update residents on all activities of the commune council and offer residents an opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback

Not included.

·       official minutes taken at every commune council meeting and officially mandated consultative forum made widely available, not only in commune council offices

Not included.

·       phased-in 50% participation by women on all commune committees

Not included, but Section 4.6 (Promoting Gender Equity) refers to “Aims for 20% increase in women decision makers at all levels of government.”

·       mechanisms to attract and enhance women’s participation at legally mandated consultative forums (such as first called to speak)

Not included.

·       incorporation in commune development planning and plans of indicators relating to poverty reduction, equitable distribution of resources, gender, children, ethnic minorities and disabled persons

Included.

·       monitoring implementation of commune development plans based on the above indicators with results contained in the annual reports

Included.

·       both written and verbal information regarding commune council activities (including schedules of council meetings, minutes of council meetings and legally mandated consultative forums, council orders, monthly reports, committee reports, commune development plans, budgets, investment programs and annual reports) made widely available to citizens on a regular basis, not only at commune council offices

Not included in this level detail. Reference under “Promotion of participatory, responsible, accountable and transparent government at local level: … CCs are required to inform citizens CC decisions, resources, allow citizens to participate in CC meeting and build community capacity.”

All stakeholders:

·       funding and programming for capacity building at all levels of government and grassroots civil society

The need for capacity building at all levels is included.

·       coordination of funds and resources with a view to avoiding duplication and ensuring more equitable distribution throughout the country

Not included.

·       funding to commune councils/the Commune Fund

Included.

·       funding made conditional on transparency and effective use of funds

Not included.

·       funding made conditional on the incorporation of the indicators mentioned above to ensure that programs and policies target the poorest members of the community

Not included.

·       funding for training programs be conditional on on-the-job training methodology and an equal number of positions filled by women with preference to ethnic minorities and disabled persons

Not included.

·       creation of social funds to enable meaningful grassroots civil society participation

Not included.

NGO roles and assistance

NGO roles and assistance, in addition to those listed immediately above, include:

·       training and empowerment of citizens and civil society organizations to independently advocate to and monitor local levels of government

Included.

·       organization of civil society forums at village and commune levels

Not included.

·       dissemination of commune council information at the village level (perhaps establishing or monitoring village bulletin boards)

Not included.

·       efforts to organize grassroots civil society representation at public forums at all levels of government

Not included.

·       organization of VDC associations and VDC secretariats

Not included, though there is discussion of VDCs in Box 7.

·       organization of and participation in public forums and participation in district integrated workshops

Not included.

·       partnering with commune councils on development projects (including sub-contracting arrangements)

Not included.

·       monitoring of commune councils

Included.

·       assistance to commune councils and district and provincial authorities regarding governance and planning issues

Partnership with NGOs for capacity building is included.