GOLD Report I - UCLG

295stepping stone to higher political office. Onthe other hand, more than half the NorthAmerican cities have adopted a councilmanager form of executive, separatingpolitical functions from the day to day operationsof running a large city. City managersbring certified, professional skills tohandle the complexities of modern citymanagement. The disadvantage of themanager (or in Russia the hired manager)system, is that this arrangement puts theCEO of the city one step further away fromdirect electoral accountability, since mostmanagers are hired by, and are accountableto, the city council.Modes of Participation. Modes of participationby local citizens – i.e., expressingvoice and making choice – are the mostcolorful and innovative spots in the unfoldingstory of decentralization and democracy.Perhaps the most refreshingmessage in the reports is that many countriesin Africa (for instance, Ghana, Niger,and Uganda) in Asia (India and Pakistan)in East Asia (Philippines) and in LatinAmerica draw on tradition and custom,making creative use of village councils tohear citizen opinion and deliberate. Agood example is the Gram Sabha in ruralIndia, a mandatory meeting of registeredvoters called to decide important issues.Table 1 illustrates the many ways that citizensat the local level take part in planning,implementing and monitoring localgovernment activities.However, evaluative research reports thatparticipation by itself does not mean thatgovernance or services are better or thatpoverty is any more quickly reduced, oreven that local autonomy is safeguarded.One tricky issue concerns interventionsby central state actors on behalf of disadvantagedpeople at the local level (Johnsonet al 2005 in India; Tendler 1997 inBrazil). Other studies have focused on theconditions of successful participation.Crook and Manor (1998), suggest that inthe cases of South Asia and Africa, theimpact of participation depends on preexistingconditions and the type of participationemployed (see Table 1).Still others argue for the importance ofconnecting participation to the deeper issueTable 1Sample mechanisms of participation and their functionsArea of effectivenessParticipatory mechanism Policy and planning Demand preferences and budgeting Implementation and oversight AccountabilityTapping Into Grassroots OpinionGram Sabha, India; Neighborhood Councils (Africa, Middle East)Mobilizing Grassroots Groups Participatory budgeting (several countries in LAC, Neighborhood work gangs, Comités de Vigilancia (Bolivia)Philippines, Europe).many countriesBeneficiary Contributions Mayor’s funds (Chile) Bond measures in USCitizens Initiated Contact Voluntary neighborhood Rating systems India, USorganizations in JapanElectoral and Voting Process Programmatic campaign Referenda in US, Europe, and(Colombia)Eurasia (permitted but not used).Legal and Judicial SystemImpeachment, LAC, US, CanadaSource: Adapted from Campbell 2003.