Local Governance Initiative and Network Asia (LOGIN)

Globally, decentralization emerged as a major trend since the 90s, normatively linked with reform objectives such as enabling more efficient service delivery, advancing democratic reform, promoting economic development and poverty reduction. In Asia, there currently are two broad trends at work:

a)    The socio-economic and environmental complexities brought about by rapid economic development challenge vertically integrated, sector-specific systems. There is a clearly emerging need for enhancing the capacity and efficacy of local governments as primary tiers of state-building, of local economic development governance, and as agencies of citizens’ and companies’ involvement in change management.

b)    The empowerment of new actors enabled through expanding market forces and new forms of social organization threatens established political-economic structures. Vested interests are increasingly protected through authoritarian or populist political organization, undermining rule of law, self-determination, account-ability and inclusion.

In this context, the multi stakeholder, transnational nature of LOGIN lends itself to bring together differently mandated institutional actors within and across countries to a common platform. This in turn enables a nuanced understanding of the various push and pull factors that characterize the decentralization processes in the region which is critical for facilitating policy and institutional coherence and for negotiating concerted collective action.

LOGIN adopts a principled position in the complex force field that characterize DLG reform trajectories in the Asia region; it is committed to an explicit link between decentralization/local governance reform and furthering democracy and justice.

• LOGIN’s members’ organizations: 200 by 2023; balancing diversity across types of member organizations including local governments, central governments, influencers (NGOs, think tanks and academia, and training institutes) and private sector institutions with relevant mandates
• Local governance organizations (3,000 by 2023)
• Citizens (1’600’000 by 2023; inclusion: focus on currently underrepresented and underserved groups such as women, ethnic minorities, and the poor)

Outcome 1:      

LOGIN’s members form a vibrant, inclusive, and diverse learning community and change coalition for local governance reform

Outcome 2:     

Local, national governments and enabling organizations further democratic decentralization and local governance policies and processes which enable and enforce accountability, inclusiveness and responsiveness

Outcome 3:     

Capable and resourced local governments ensure equitable access to opportunities, services, and resources to their citizens

Principaux résultats attendus:  

• LOGIN membership enhanced and diversified (target 200 organisations, balancing types of member organisations represented in the network)
• LOGIN association’s structures and processes consolidated (including governance and donor dialogue forum)
• LOGIN’s sponsors diversified and resources increased
• LOGIN’s learning and change approaches diversified (target 15) and service portfolio expanded as per member requests
• LOGIN members actively engage in and contribute to  thematic learning communities and international change coalitions within and beyond the network (target – at least 3 thematic learning communities operational and LOGIN contributing to at least 3 international change coalitions)

The outputs for Outcome 2 and 3 are to be finalized by the network once membership development and consolidation happens by the last quarter of 2019.

Principaux résultats antérieurs:  

• Development of network approach for decentralization reform actors with member-driven peer learning agenda
• Conceptualization, testing and roll-out of 12 learning modalities (capitalization workshops, orientation trainings, experience sharing seminars, study visits, travel workshops, e-courses, experience collations, knowledge curation, peer partnerships, technical assistance, organizational learning pathways, and self-study learning packs)
• Design influence on decentralization policies in Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cambodia, Mongolia
• Creation of more than 450 knowledge products
• LOGIN registererd as independent Swiss association and first General Assembly held (February and April 2019)

• SDC’s Democracy, Decentralization and Local Governance Network (DDLGN)
• Open Government Partnership (OGP)
• Global Task Force on Local and Regional Governments
• Development Partners’ Network on Decentralisation and Local Governance (DeLoG)
• SDC’s governance programs in Asia

Phase 1 01.08.2019 - 31.07.2023   (Completed)