The three-year GDN Global Research Project (GRP), Varieties of Governance: Effective Public Service Delivery, explores the role of formal and informal institutions, at both country and sector level, in the effectiveness (or lack) of public service delivery in the areas of basic education, water supply and transport infrastructure (roads).

Sixteen multidisciplinary research teams covering 30 countries analyze the effects of governance mechanisms on service delivery through a political economy lens. These teams study the effects of decentralization, citizen participation and participatory budgeting on the quality, costs and availability of education, water and roads in selected countries through a comparative perspective. The use of both quantitative and qualitative data and mixed methods aim to capitalize on the ‘Varieties of Governance’ in each particular context.

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• Contributing to the understanding of the interplay of political and sectoral institutions and incentives, formal and informal institutions, actors and information flows in determining the structure and operation of delivery systems;
• Supporting the development of methodological approaches adequate to data availability and supplementing data collection where needed;
• Analyzing the impact of differences in delivery systems and forms of governance within countries (i.e. different delivery systems and institutional set-ups across states or municipalities in a given country), across countries and over time (major institutional changes); and
• Suggesting the best feasible institutional and policy options for improving public service delivery under different country and institutional contexts.

The three-year, US$2.16 million project is generously funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), Department for International Development (DFID), International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Open Society Institute (OSI), the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, The Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR) and The World Bank.

For further information contact Kaushik Ganguly, Program Officer

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