At a Glance

Program: Fiscal Decentralization and Local Government Financial Management

Dates: July 8 - 27, 2012

Location: Duke University, Durham, NC, U.S.

Duration: Three weeks

Cost: $8,500 USD

Target Audience: The program has been specifically created for government officials, policy makers, program managers, politicians, and consultants dealing with decentralization and local government reforms. It is expected that participants will include central and local-level elected politicians, policymakers and administrators, economists, lawyers, finance managers, and public sector management specialists from central and local governments, line ministries, international agencies, NGOs, and research and training institutions.

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Testimonial

"The program helped me put into context everything I had dealt with in the past few years with the USAID Local Government Reform Program, and in that regard, I am now able to combine the practical with the theoretical, and be more effective in my job. [The program] broadened my perspectives in the area of intergovernmental finance policy, and helped me approach the policy issues with much confidence."

Liljana Ristovska
Intergovernmental Finance Policy Team Leader, Macedonia Local Government Activity, Republic of Macedonia
Fiscal Decentralization and Local Government Financial Management, 2003

Fiscal Decentralization Training


The Program

The Fiscal Decentralization and Local Government Financial Management training workshop will be held at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, U.S., July 8 – 27, 2012. This comprehensive three-week fiscal decentralization training program focuses on the theory and practice of fiscal decentralization, and local government finance in the movement toward more accountable and efficient governance and public service delivery.

Attention is focused on the economic, administrative, and legal dimensions of decentralization reform, with special emphasis on the role of subnational government revenues and intergovernmental grant systems. The program is designed to better enable professionals to design and implement decentralization policy reforms to improve local public financial management and stimulate efficient and accountable economic and social development.

Download a 2012 Fiscal Decentralization and Local Government Financial Management training course brochure

Program Background

Decentralization reform strategies are being implemented worldwide to improve service delivery, economic governance, and citizen participation. These reforms are rationalizing central-local expenditure and revenue responsibilities, intergovernmental transfers, and local borrowing, while strengthening local financial management, revenue mobilization, participatory planning, and local service delivery.

The Fiscal Decentralization and Local Government Financial Management program (PFD), now in its eleventh year at Duke University, was formerly offered at the Harvard Institute for International Development. The PFD moved to Duke University in 2001. The program is designed specifically for elected politicians and public officials who are responsible for designing and implementing fiscal decentralization reform strategies, restructuring intergovernmental transfers, strengthening local government revenue systems, and enacting local government public financial management (PFM) reforms.

Goals

This program covers the theory and provides practical applications of fiscal decentralization, intergovernmental transfers, local resource mobilization, and debt management. Through a series of lectures, international case studies, workshops, and computer applications, the program focuses on analyzing policy and administrative reforms related to fiscal decentralization, intergovernmental transfers, and the major revenue sources available to local governments.

Methods of Study

As a course participant, you will be engaged in a learning environment of class lectures, case study presentations, discussion sessions, computer-based exercises, and field visits. Throughout the course, you will be constantly rotated into smaller working groups to analyze key decentralization, financial management, and local revenue mobilization issues. Role-playing is used to illustrate differing stakeholder perspectives while group presentations serve as the basis for plenary discussion sessions. During the program, you will have computer and internet access. The program is conducted in English.

What topics will be covered?

Fiscal Decentralization
  • Fiscal federalism and public choice
  • Expenditure and revenue allocation
  • Intergovernmental grants
  • Local government borrowing/ local government debt
  • Local revenue mobilization
    •
Administrative Decentralization
  • Political, administrative, and fiscal decentralization trends
  • Roles of central and sub-national governments
  • Intergovernmental cooperation and administration options
  • Effective decentralization strategies
  • Managing the decentralization process
    •
Intergovernmental Transfers
  • Structuring recurrent and development intergovernmental transfers
  • Designing effective performance-based grants
  • Ensuring a coordinated intergovernmental transfer system
  • Monitoring intergovernmental transfers
    •
Local Revenue Systems
  • Property taxation
  • User charges
  • Business taxation, license fees, and permits
  • Excise taxes
  • Motor vehicle taxation
  • Income and sales taxation
    •
Fiscal Planning and Management
  • Budgeting and local government public financial management
  • Debt management for subnational governments
  • Resource administration
  • Special problems of local revenue administration
    •
Housing and Activities

Local housing accommodations and a daily shuttle to and from campus are included in the program. Group extracurricular activities are organized to offer you the opportunity to socialize with your classmates and enjoy area attractions. Taxis, buses, and other transportation options are available for hire to provide individual access to local destinations.

Faculty

The program is directed by Dr. Roy Kelly, who has over 25 years of international experience designing and implementing intergovernmental reforms in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. Dr. Kelly is joined by other senior Duke faculty members together with experienced practitioners from international organizations representing various disciplines, perspectives, and country experience.

Who should apply to this program?

PFD is for government policy makers, program managers, politicians, and consultants dealing with decentralization and local government reforms. Past participants include central- and local-level elected politicians, policymakers and administrators, economists, lawyers, finance managers, and public sector management specialists.

Admission Policy and Application Process

The program on Fiscal Decentralization and Local Government Financial Management (PFD) is open to individuals working professionally in finance, economics, law, government administration, or other related fields. A candidate’s professional experience is taken into consideration. A first degree (bachelor’s or other undergraduate equivalent) is preferred. The program is conducted in English. Interested candidates should complete the online application form. We strongly recommend that application be made as early as possible to allow sufficient time to obtain a visa for the United States.

Applications will be reviewed as they are received and qualified applicants will be admitted on a rolling basis until all available positions are filled. You should contact the DCID office if you do not receive confirmation of receipt of your application within 5 working days. Applications received after June 8, 2012 may be placed on a waiting list and admitted on a space-available basis.

Tuition and Funding

Tuition for the program is $8,500, which includes housing, emergency medical insurance, course materials, and access to the Duke University Libraries and computer facilities. Tuition does not cover airfare to and from Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU), meals, or incidental expenses, which vary for each participant. Expenses for meals and incidentals are estimated at $50 per day. Additional expenses that may be incurred can include: taxis, other local transportation costs, and excess baggage and/or shipping charges.

Participants are typically sponsored by their employer or a funding organization. Candidates should approach their current employer or other funding organizations as soon as possible in order to arrange financial support. Examples of agencies that offer financial assistance for training include the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the World Bank, regional development banks, bilateral donors such as the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and development-oriented foundations. In most cases, participants’ employers should apply to the branch or mission of the funding agency in their country (not in the U.S.) for training funds.

For the 2012 Fiscal Decentralization and Local Government Financial Management program, scholarships and financial aid are not available from Duke University or DCID. Discounts are available for organizations sponsoring three or more participants in the program. Please contact DCID for more information regarding group discounts.

For more information about Fiscal Decentralization & Local Government Financial Management, please contact us.