Decentralisation and local governance

• United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG)
  UCLG represents the interests of local governments on the world stage. It advocates democratic local self-government through cooperation between local governments, and within the wider international community. The website includes a large range of resources including the Global Observatory on Local Democracy and Decentralisation (GOLD), which contains information on local self-government, local authorities and local democracy. UCLG also has regional bodies in: Africa, Asia-Pacific, Euro-Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Middle East-West Asia.
  
• ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability
  ICLEI is an international association of local and national government organisations commited to sustainable development. ICLEI provides technical consulting, training, and information services to build capacity, share knowledge, and support local government in the implementation of sustainable development at the local level.
  
• CITYNET: The Regional Network of Local Authorities for the Management of Human Settlements
  CITYNET is a network of international organisations supporting local authorities to improve urban sustainabilty across the Asia-Pacific region. The website includes a number of publications and other online resources, including a bi-monthly newsletter.
  
• Cities Alliance
  The Cities Alliance is a global coalition of cities and their development partners committed to scaling up successful approaches to poverty reduction. The website includes materials published by the Cities Alliance with a focus on slum upgrading and city development strategies as well as publications on broader urban issues from other organisations.
  
• Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF)
  CLGF works to promote and strengthen effective democratic local government throughout the Commonwealth. The website contains a number of reports and country specific information on decentralisation initiatives as well as the Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance. CLGF also runs a Good Practice Scheme which aims to improve the capacity of local authorities to better deliver services to their communities, through collborative working, technical exchange, partnership, and shared good practice.
  
• The Municipal Development Partnership for Eastern and Southern Africa (MDP-ESA)
  MDP-ESA aims to improve the capacity of local governments and support the process of decentralisation in Sub-saharan Africa. It contains a substantial collection of publications, including the Local Governance and Development Journal. MDP-ESA also hosts the Africa Local Government Action Forum (ALGAF), an interactive initiative which aims to provide a platform for dialogue on key issues that impact on the performance of local governments.
  
• The African Caribbean Pacific Local Government Platform (ACPLGP)
  ACPLGP is an umbrella organisation of mayors and representatives of existing local government associations in the Africa Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. The ACPLGP website aims to raise awareness of the role of local government in the Cotonou Partnership Agreement. It includes networking services, tools, good practices and an online library with a substantial collection of publications on local governance issues.
  
• The Euro-African Partnership for Decentralized Governance
  The Euro African Partnership for Decentralized Governance aims to contribute to the strengthening of local governance in Africa by facilitating the establishment of relationships between African and European local institutions. The website contains information and documentation from past conferences as well as a number of publications which focus on decentralisation and gender.  
  
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) - Decentralization and Local Governance in Asia and the Pacific The UNDP Regional Centre in Bangkok supports country offices in decentralisation and local governance programmes. In particular, it focuses on three areas: 
  - Strengthening local democratic governance 
  - Achieving the MDGs at the local level 
  - Decentralised governance in conflict and post-crisis situations
  
• Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative (LGI), Hungary
  LGI works to promote democratic and effective local government and public administration. It supports local government and decentralisation efforts in eastern Europe, central Asia and selected countries in Latin America and east Asia. The website includes a project database and numerous publications including the local governance brief.
  
• The Local Government Information Network (LOGIN) – Central & Eastern Europe
  LOGIN aims to promote the professional development of local government staff and to support the reform of public administration at the local level throughout central and eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. The website includes an online library with a substantial collection of publications as well as information on legislation, funding and training opportunities.
  
• The Observatory for Decentralised Cooperation
  The Observatory is a tool to support decentralised cooperation between the European Union and Latin America, facilitating regional integration and strenghtening local capacities. The website includes a number of publications, handbooks and case studies as well as information on funding and training. The observatory also works closely with the URB-AL programme of the European Union, which aims to develop networks of decentralised cooperation between local authorities on specific topics and problems related to urban local development. URB-AL's documentation centre hosts a large database of publications on best practices in decentralised cooperation (Spainsh only).

Journals

• Public Administration and Development    
  
• IDS Bulletin
       - Decentralising Service Delivery?
         (Vol 38:1, January 2007)
  
• World Development
       - Rescaling Governance and the Impacts of Political and
         Environmental Decentralization
         (Vol 34:11, November 2006)
  
• United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD) – Regional Development Dialogue
  
• Publius: The Journal of Federalism