Answer to question #1

[Pok Sokundara]

What are the main needs for local authorities to lead a strategic planning process?

 

 

 

The main needs for local authorities to lead a strategic planning process are capacity building and resource availability

 

A.    Capacity building: usually strategic plan is prepare at the

beginning of the term of the local authorities. Some local councilors are new to their office, so they have no idea about the process of strategic planning. In this regard, it is important to provide capacity building not only to the newly elected councilors, but also to the all locally elected councilors. Failure to provide such capacity building program to all councilors, it would lead to elite capture of local governance and decentralization as only the councilors in the office for quite some time

who know this process and they will dominate the decision making.  

B.    Resource availability: it is important that local authorities now

how much resources are available to them from local taxes and government grants. Without knowing resource availability, they will not be able to prepare strategic plan that can be implemented.