The main goal of the JSDF-funded local governance project was to empower villages in taking control over their resources through strengthening formal and informal local governance institutions and engaging the public in local government decision-making activities.

More specifically, the intervention aimed to:

• Increase effective participation of rural population in budgetary decision-making as well as in the decision making on other issues of public interest;
• Build skills of formal and informal rural leaders in public management and service provision;
• Create incentives and formats for more responsive demand-driven service provision (e.g. public/private partnerships);
• Improve the local legal base for participatory budgeting and effective civic engagement

Key Performance Indicators include:

• Improvements in indicators for governance, in terms of fiscal management and accountability mechanisms, and service delivery at the local level.
• Improvements in levels of community trust, participation, and satisfaction with governance structures.
• Improvements in indicators on access to social services identified as priorities by participating communities (e.g. services to the elderly and the disabled, kindergartens, assistance with youth employment, etc.).