Preamble and Objective

Local Governments instituted under President Musharaf's Devolution of Power Plan 2000 are due to complete their first electoral cycle in 2005. This cycle has witnessed many bold experiments at the local level, which have resulted in a number of best practice innovations being tried by district governments and tehsil administrations. Equally importantly, the system has faced many political, fiscal and institutional challenges and strains during its first phase of institutionalisation. Sharing lessons both of successful experiments and of challenges is imperative for the future development of the devolved system.

The LUMS-McGill Social Enterprise Development Programme Workshop on Devolution provided a unique opportunity for local government managers, federal and provincial government officials, political bodies, citizen-based and social organizations, academia and multilateral agencies to come together and analyze the lessons learnt from the first electoral cycle of Pakistan's 2000 local government reforms. This diverse grouping not only brought together a variety of unique experiences but also a plurality of analytical perspectives. It is hoped that these diverse perspectives will richly contribute to the strengthening of the system by providing crucial analytical input and stakeholder feedback for second generation reforms regarding these initiatives, programmes and policies.

Specifically, the Workshop on Devolution focused on analyzing lessons, experiments and challenges in the following areas:

.  Local government finance and budgeting

.  Innovative experiments in local social service delivery and planning

.  Engendering community-based and gender participation

.  The political economy of local administration and service delivery