Findings from the Report

• Better municipal planning—Though planning is a priority in the Bank’s urban strategy and is widely used by municipalities for mapping development, it was not a consistent priority in the MDPs. Municipal information systems are one dimension of planning; M&E is another aspect that, unfortunately, rarely worked well. It generally worked better when countries used more widely available municipal finance data. Relatively few MDPs attempted to strengthen city planning.
  
• Stronger municipal financing—The evaluation found more good results in this dimension than in the planning or service provision dimensions. Half of the MDPs had substantial results in financial management. Good results came through project technical assistance and on-the-job learning that enabled many small municipalities to adopt computerized accounting and financial systems for the first time. Larger municipalities unified accounts and integrated financial management. Less-successful MDPs were hindered by weak municipal capacity before projects began.

  Half of the PPAR MDPs also achieved substantial results in enhancing revenue mobilization. These successful MDPs updated tax records, expanded the coverage of cadastres or land registers, and improved collections. Weaker results arose from political reluctance to raise taxes. Improvement of municipal access to credit was an infrequent priority; municipalities learned about prudent debt management through wholesale MDPs.

  Weak results in stimulating private financing of municipal services might have been averted with more accurate assessment of local financial markets and of the demand for municipal services that are potentially profitable.

• Managing service provision—Management of municipal service provision was a priority in all 24 PPAR MDPs reviewed. In prioritizing investments in services, however, only seven MDPs successfully supported the clients’ application of cost-benefit analysis with estimates of economic rates of return (ERRs). Simple yet robust estimates of ERR included accurate cost figures and realistic assessments of future benefits. Good M&E systems helped produce some of the data needed for ERRs. In all cases, municipalities themselves were involved in the analyses.

  Where municipalities handled procurement, local beneficiaries were better informed about the service improvements. Few MDPs had substantial results in strengthening the municipal management of operations and maintenance, which is necessary to ensure ongoing service provision.