Not Forgetting the Public Servants

Abstract

This chapter draws attention to the importance of the public service as a key agent in the implementation of subnational governance and development initiatives. A framework for teaching-learning and capacity-building more broadly is provided that builds on a model of decentralization implementation. This gives rise to a program of training that focuses on helping public servants: to improve their understandings of decentralization and on the country and its goals; to consider the design of the system of multi-level governance; to focus on both central and local capacity; and to adopt flexibility, supported by feedback mechanisms, in the process of decentralization. Each element is discussed in some detail, and illustrated by means of examples from the author's experience as an educator in Australia as well as contributor to initiatives in countries adopting federal systems of government, including Nepal, Indonesia, and Pakistan.