planning a governance assessment - United Nations Development ...

Micro, macro or both levels?
To assess governance properly, the differences between the macro and micro levels should be closely examined. At
the macro level there exist political institutions and at the micro level the experiences, attitudes and beliefs of typical
citizens, in particular the extent to which the political institutions are accepted as legitimate. Many claim that to have higher
levels of democratic governance, there must be a fit between these two levels. At the macro level, there should be political
institutions that conform to democratic procedures and the rule of law, and at the micro level, an acceptance by the mass
public, who in a democracy have the power to sanction or remove their leaders. A careful examination of the political
institutions and how they are perceived by the public is needed in a comprehensive governance assessment.
An index or a scale?
Many of the existing governance assessment report their results as an index. It is important to understand the differences
between an index and a scale. An index is often made up of many types of data, collected in different ways from different
stakeholders. It is a numerical tool that represents a combination of indicators and information that can be compared over
time.
One of the best known indices is the UNDP Human Development Index (HDI). The HDI is a combination of many
different indicators, such as GDP, literacy rates, educational enrollment, life expectancy, and number of telephone lines.
Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Idex and the World Bank Institute’s Worldwide Governance Indicators
are also well-known examples of indices used to assess governance.
At some point in the development of an index, decisions are made on how much weight each indicator is given. Indicator
weighting is likely to be complicated and subjective. Because of the complexity, the process is often arbitrary, and seldom
transparent or easily understood by typical citizens or even many experts. It also is important to consider the sources and
quality of information used when interpreting an existing index or attempting to construct a new index.
A scale is a set of numerical values assigned to subjects, objects, or behaviours for the purpose of quantifying the measuring
qualities. In contrast to indices, scales are usually one-dimensional and measure only the degree to which an individual or
object possesses the characteristic of interest. Scales usually rely on original data, but it is often possible to use secondary
data to develop a scale. Scales are often created by simply adding up the scores or values of indicators and are usually easy
to understand.
At some point stakeholders must choose to develop or use an index, a scale or both. There are no clear advantages to
either approach concerning costs; it really depends on the situation. Scales may be easier for typical citizens to understand,
but may have more rigorous data requirements and require time and money to develop. Indices can be tricky to construct.
Getting the weighting correct can be difficult and this process can be difficult for typical people to understand. In some
cases, using an index may limit opportunities to disaggregate the results. Finally, these measurement tools require skill and
experience to construct.
Types of assessments
Desk studies are usually conducted by local or external experts such as academics. These assessments may rely on
archival data, administrative data, narrative reports, laws, legal documents and government statistics, as well as the opinions
of key informants. Desk studies often suffer from a lack local context and experience when conducted by external experts.
However, the use of local academics or other experts may rectify this problem. Regardless of whether external or local
experts are used, these studies often only provide the views of a small group of experts. Desk studies are usually costeffective,
especially after the initial round, because many are simply updated versions of previous studies. These studies are
well suited for examining the de jure governance situation in a country and may also be useful to better understand the de
facto situations.
Planning a Governance Assessment: A Guide to Approaches, Costs and Benefits
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