Tagged: local government

  • October 14, 2022

    Easing the transition to lower secondary school: Promising approaches from Guatemala

    Written by
    Bridgette Springer, Program Officer, FHI 360

    In Guatemala, 81% of students complete primary school, but only 65% enroll in lower secondary school — the equivalent of grades seven through nine in the United States.1

    This is consistent with the global trend of high dropout rates among students transitioning from primary to lower secondary school. As students progress through the education system, physical, economic and social barriers to attendance and achievement intensify, and the trade-off between employment and continued education becomes more significant.

    The benefits of secondary education extend beyond the individual. At the secondary level of schooling, students develop the critical thinking and collaboration skills to participate in modern economies and democratic institutions. Secondary education also contributes to improved health, lower infant mortality and greater equality.

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  • July 29, 2019

    Good Governance Barometer guides community improvements in Nepal

    Written by
    Joseph Sany, Technical Advisor, Civil Society and Peacebuilding, FHI 360
    Alex Levy, Technical Officer, Civil Society and Peacebuilding, FHI 360

    Development practitioners know that governance matters, but what is good governance and how can it be measured? FHI 360’s Good Governance Barometer (GGB) is a social accountability and development planning tool designed to bring together stakeholders, ranging from local government officials to community members, to jointly identify problems – such as improving the management of a health clinic – and determine the actions needed to resolve them. In addition, the GGB process produces action plans that strengthen and help measure the effectiveness and performance of local governance.

    FHI 360’s Civil Society: Mutual Accountability Project (CS:MAP), funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, partners with civil society and media organizations to foster an accountable, resilient Nepali civil society. The project team is using the GGB to achieve this goal.

    Recently, we traveled to six villages in three rural districts in Nepal – Sindhupalchowk, Rukum and Gulmi – to learn how these communities are using the GGB to improve their public services and achieve this goal. Though the communities we visited were different, we saw some commonalities. Local officials often encountered service delivery challenges for reasons such as limited capacity or resources. When citizens and public officials were empowered to work together using the GGB, however, solutions were more likely to be identified.

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