ToolBOX
Good Governance for Local Development – GOFORGOLD Index
| Purpose |
This tool aims to provide a snapshot of governance at the sub-national level, and more specifically, to help in monitoring governance situation in the provinces, districts, municipalities, and villages against benchmarks and governance indicators. |
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| Types of data used |
GOFORGOLD will use data such as national and city statistics and regulations; and available administrative data on population, budgets and procedures. Like the UGI promoted by UN-HABITAT, all data will be converted into quantitative data of two types - single numbers (expressed by averages, means, rations, percentages) and binary variables (expressed by 0/1 assessments). |
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| Methodology |
The GOFORGOLD indicators and reporting system is composed of 25 indicators, grouped under seven principles of good governance. These principles have been adopted by the Independent Directorate for Local Governance as part of its strategic framework. The overall conceptual framework is provided by the MDGs. Indicators will be collected with the support of actors such as municipal representatives, civil society organisations, private sector representatives and informal sector representatives. It is recommended that data collected be verified with municipal officers, CSOs and local communities. This monitoring and reporting tool is based in large measure on the UGI, but has been customised in order to respond to the current national and local governance context in Afghanistan. |
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| Region |
Asia and the Pacific
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| Area of Governance |
Local Governance and Decentralization
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| Pro-poor /gender sensitive aspects |
A few specific indicators on gender equality have been included in GOFORGOLD. These include, “percentage of women councillors”, “public forum for women” and “affirmative action for women,” i.e. the presence or absence of a policy for programmes which takes into account the women in development. In addition, wherever possible, all the GOFORGOLD indicators are disaggregated by sex, e.g.: voter participation, number of civil servants, conflict resolution, protection against crime and violence, security of land tenure and land use, etc.
There is a specific indicator related to poverty which aims to assess the presence or absence of a policy or programmes which takes into account the needs of the poor households. In addition, for some indicators, results can be disaggregated by income levels to provide information on the relationship between poverty and the local governance.
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| Example indicators |
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| Where to find this tool |
Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS) |
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| Actionability |
The system allows for comparison across sub-national government levels as well as highlights the strengths and weaknesses of a local government so that a more focused support and technical assistance for provinces, districts, and municipalities can be directed by Independent Directorate for Local Governance in Afghanistan. |
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| Complementarity |
The index is largely based on input data, such as: "Is there an anti-corruption policy?" and "is there an independent audit?" and does not take a deeper look at how well the anti-corruption policy is actually implemented or if there are actual political consequences of an independent audit if the audit identifies problems. However, there is some complimentarity between de jure and de facto indicators. For example, it looks at both the existance of civic groups, and also their capacity to engage in decision-making. |
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