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primary health system. Similarly, it is estimatedthat achieving the Millennium Development Goalsfor water and sanitation would requires additionalannual funding of US$10 - US$25billion; an estimatedUS$700 billion of investment is required tobring electricity to an additional 1.4 billion people.There is need across much of this world forgreater resources to effectively deliver basicservices to the poor. While increased financingis a necessary condition, it is not sufficient toensure that the unmet needs of the poor and thevulnerable are fulfilled. In the case of educationand health services, lessons learnt from a numberof developing countries have shown that increaseof funding in any given sector does not alwayslead to delivery of enhanced access and improvedquality of service. Increasing public expendituresmay not lead to anticipated outcomes if the institutionsand professionals responsible for deliveryof integrated services have inadequate capacityand are not accountable. Accordingly, capacitydevelopment, participation, transparency and accountabilityare mandatory to ensuring that fundsallocated to public service for equitable developmentreach their intended targets.Investments in health, education and basic services,like energy, water and sanitation, involveincreasingly both the public and private sectors.In many countries, such services are in part beingdelivered through private initiatives that includecooperatives, communities and independentnetwork providers. This in turn has given rise toexperimentation with privatisation of core functionsof the state (services delivery, for example)and increasing participation of delivery throughoperators in the informal economy. Privatisationhas not yielded many positive results as itreduces the ability of the state to define an activesocial and economic agenda. Informal operatorsrequire regulation as well as capacity development,particularly form the perspective of qualitycontrol and also for consumer protection.But, since the poor interact with the privatesector, both as consumers and entrepreneurs,the private sector can play an important role indelivering goods and services for developmentand poverty alleviation. This would work best inpartnerships that also include civil society organisations,because they are vital in assuring theparticipatory and accountable approaches neededfor improving the quality of life of the poor.At the same time, governments are increasinglyrecognising the benefits of decentralisation inmaking the delivery of services more effective.For local communities to take advantage of thebenefits of decentralization, it is critical to putinstitutions in place for enforcing accountability,reducing costs of varying kinds (for transactions,negotiations and enforcement of contracts), andfor developing adequate capacity to facilitatecoordination among public agencies, private enterprises,NGOs, and civil society organisations.Multi-stakeholder partnerships in public servicedelivery involving state and non-state actors cancontribute to mobilising their competitive advantagein terms of capacity and resources from variouspartners and supplementing traditional directpublic delivery of services.Well-trained and motivated service providers,whether from public, private, or civil societycommunities, and adequate institutions withtransparent procedures and responsive accountabilitysystems, are important constituents ofeffective public service delivery. Involvement ofthe poor themselves in setting service deliverypriorities, infrastructure investment planning,level of service and oversight, responsive feedbackmechanisms, and accountability, is criticalin determining the quality of service provided.233