Urban Governance

Covid in Cambodia has caused household debt to soar. Here are some ways to handle the crisis.

Coalitions for Change (CfC) is a program under the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and The Asia Foundation partnership in the Philippines. CfC’s support for local leaders and organizations has helped introduce policy reforms that improve the lives of Filipinos. The program uses the Development Entrepreneurship approach and provid… Read more

The Asia Foundation and SILAKA with support from the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade launched a three-year project, “Promoting the Transparent and Accountable Management of Local Funds in Cambodia.” The event was presided over by H.E. Ngan Chamroeun, Secretary of State, Ministry of Interior, and Head of National Committee for Sub-… Read more

Coalitions for Change Stories: Gender, Inclusion, and Safeguards features success stories of women who advocated for their rights, challenged stereotypes, and entirely took advantage of opportunities to make significant changes in society. With support from the Australian Embassy and The Asia Foundation Partnership in the Philippines, the publicati… Read more

As Indonesia’s troubled prisons release young offenders to avoid the pandemic, a program managed by The Asia Foundation is helping them rebuild their lives and reconcile with their communities.

After over sixty years of political struggles, including armed conflict, Nepal succeeded in promulgating its new constitution through an elected Constituent Assembly in September 2015—the seventh constitution in as many decades. The constitution restructured Nepal into a federal republic, moving away from constitutional monarchy and a unitary syste… Read more

Solid Waste Management in Kep Province offers a comprehensive picture of waste operations in a secondary Cambodian municipality. To develop an accurate understanding of the current situation, and to establish a solid baseline for future actions to address needed areas in Kep’s municipal waste management operations, NCSD and the Foundation developed… Read more

After 20 years of dazzling growth, Asia is now home to nearly half of the world’s urban population. Now, Covid-19 is revealing how this breakneck growth has left behind the very citizens whose toil has built Asia’s prosperity.

In this publication, authors John T. Sidel and Jaime Faustino look into the Coalitions for Change (CfC), a program of The Asia Foundation and the Australian Embassy Partnership in the Philippines. In looking at CfC’s diverse initiatives–in tax reform, education reform, land governance reform, electoral reform, infrastructure reform, disaster risk r… Read more

The Subnational Governance Program in Nepal (SNGP) (स्थानीय सरकार सबलीकरण काययक्रम) is implemented through a strategic partnership between the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and The Asia Foundation, in coordination with the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration. SNGP aims to generate evidence and da… Read more

The international development community is adapting to the new challenges and opportunities presented by a growing digital ecosystem and digital data. As part of the Global Digital Development Forum virtual conference on May 6, The Asia Foundation hosted the “Not a Drop to Drink: Towards a Political Economy of Data in Asia” workshop. The Global Dig… Read more

The Subnational Governance Program in Nepal (SNGP) (स्थानीय सरकार सबलीकरण काययक्रम) is implemented through a strategic partnership between the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and The Asia Foundation, in coordination with the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration. SNGP aims to generate evidence and da… Read more

In February 2019, President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law the Agricultural Free Patent Reform Act. This new law allows patent holders to sell or use their land as collateral and frees up some 2.5 million agricultural land titles. This publication traces the journey of Philippine leaders, the Foundation for Economic Freedom, and Coalitions for Cha… Read more

संघीयतामा प्रवेशसँगै संविधानबाटै संघ, प्रदेश र स्थानीय तहका सरकारहरूबीच अधिकार र कार्यजिम्मेवारीको बाँडफाँड भएको छ । तहगत सरकारका संवैधानिक अधिकारक्षेत्रलाई कानून अनुसार थप विस्तृतीकरण र व्याख्या गरी कार्यान्वयन भइरहेको छ । ती अधिकारक्षेत्रहरूको व्याख्या र बाँडफाँडमा तहगत सरकारबीच साझा मत बन्ने क्रममा रहेको छ । यद्यपि तहगत सरकारबीच अधिकारक्षेत्रको… Read more

This paper explores the conditions that gave rise to Clark International Airport development, including the subtle but significant role of the Coalitions for Change (CfC) program. CfC and its local partners were able to successfully revive and refine the development of Clark airport as an alternative international gateway to Metro Manila, an issue… Read more

Friday, October 10, 2019. Mingling with the roar of airplanes, Azan, the call to prayer, pours forth from the Jami’ Al Akbar Mosque at the Yogyakarta International Airport complex. Amidst the congregation of Friday worshippers, Bahrul Fuad sits quietly in his wheelchair. Until recently, a scene like this was almost impossible to imagine: Bahrul’s w… Read more

The Subnational Governance Program in Nepal (SNGP) (स्थानीय सरकार सबलीकरण काययक्रम) is implemented through a strategic partnership between the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and The Asia Foundation, in coordination with the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration. SNGP aims to generate evidence and da… Read more

The Subnational Governance Program in Nepal (SNGP) (स्थानीय सरकार सबलीकरण काययक्रम) is implemented through a strategic partnership between the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and The Asia Foundation, in coordination with the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration. SNGP aims to generate evidence and da… Read more

The rapid growth, in our era, of data-driven decision-making offers both a challenge and an opportunity for businesses at every level in Nepal. As government agencies, research institutes, and the private sector apply new quantitative tools and the analytical power of computers to understand human systems and social phenomena of every kind, the opp… Read more

The Subnational Governance Program in Nepal (SNGP) (स्थानीय सरकार सबलीकरण काययक्रम) is implemented through a strategic partnership between the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and The Asia Foundation, in coordination with the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration. SNGP aims to generate evidence and da… Read more

A Policy Dialogue on the ‘Procurement Reform in the Health Sector’ was held on 1st August 2019 at Hotel Shangrila, Kathmandu. The dialogue was co-hosted by Public Policy Pathshala and The Asia Foundation and was attended by health procurement experts, members of parliament, and experts on local governance, donor representatives, civil society membe… Read more

A policy dialogue on the ‘Functional Assignment Across Spheres of Government’ was held on 30 July 2019 at Hotel Annapurna, Kathmandu. The objective of the dialogue was to share findings of the study on Functional Assignment Across Spheres of Governments led by Constitutional Assembly member Mr. Krishna Prasad Sapkota along with Mr. Rudra Sapkota an… Read more

Across the globe, many studies have shown how having good road networks contribute significantly to a country’s development and economic growth. Roads are crucial in facilitating trade, providing access to basic social services, and enhancing people’s mobility. This story describes the efforts that led to the issuance of the new Department of the I… Read more

The Nepal Administrative Staff College conducted this study in collaboration with The Asia Foundation, as part of a groundwork to strengthen subnational governance in Nepal. It adopted a political economy approach by identifying actors and institutions and their incentives in facilitating or constraining the transfer of power on education from the… Read more

Edited by Deepak Thapa In Nepal, the transition to federalism has been met with great optimism alongside increasing ambiguity. All 761 government units work to dispense constitutionally-mandated duties and functions amid high expectations and a still-limited clarity on inter-governmental relationships, amid frequent power struggles. While this is u… Read more

Starting from 1990 when the first major political movement restored multiparty democratic system in the country, to 2017 when the elections at all three levels of a new republic and a federally structured country took place, Nepal has gone through unprecedented socio-political changes. When so many path-changing and historical events take place in… Read more

A Policy Dialogue on the ‘Public Private Partnerships and Emerging Lessons with Municipal Governments’ was held on April 26, 2019 at Nepali Chulo’s conference center. The dialogue was co-hosted by VRock & Company and The Asia Foundation and was attended by the Federalism Working Group’s various donor members, organizations and relevant stakehol… Read more

Devex spotlights The Asia Foundation and the Australian government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s (DFAT) partner programs in Indonesia. The article features Program Peduli and the Rinitisan Desa Inklusi initiative, a program focused on the inclusion of people with disabilities. But the Asia Foundation and DFAT are confident that the mi… Read more

This report is an assessment of the emerging role of the newly formed local governments in post-earthquake reconstruction. Post-earthquake reconstruction has remained in peril for a considerable period with three major bottlenecks. First, the government not only was completely unprepared to handle the massive disaster but also was unable to demonst… Read more

A Policy Dialogue on the Role of Local Government in Reconstruction was held on 1 February 2019 at Hotel Shangri-La, Kathmandu. The dialogue was attended by experts on local governance, the National Reconstruction Authority officials, constitutional and legal experts, donor representatives, civil society members, and stakeholders in subnational gov… Read more

Data has become the oil of the Information Age, and there is now a steadily growing global movement of young people who are passionate about transforming their countries by harnessing the power of data. In Asia, this movement is still small, but it is growing day by day. In Nepal, for example, there is already a large community of civil society org… Read more

As rural Mongolians continue to move to the capital, Ulaanbaatar, in record numbers, the city has struggled to provide needed services, especially in the rapidly growing ger areas. The Municipality of Ulaanbaatar, under new leadership since 2016, has sought to improve public-service delivery and better target available development funds by increasi… Read more

This story traces the efforts of Fully Abled Nation (FAN), a multi-sectoral coalition, towards making Philippine elections more inclusive.

The Asia Foundation’s Philippines office, with the support from the Australian Embassy, recently hosted a two-day Practitioners Forum on Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) in adaptive programming. The forum served as a platform for exchange, collaboration, and network-building to more than 50 MEL specialists from around the world. This repo… Read more

Accurate geospatial information is crucial for planning infrastructure investments, such as roads. In the Philippines, however, not all local governments have the resource to access reliable maps or the capacity to utilize such data. This story traces the contribution of a Coalitions for Change project on local road infrastructure reform. By workin… Read more

In the Philippines, youth unemployment hampers meaningful economic development. The sector’s lack of knowledge, skills, and work experience puts them at a disadvantage. One way to address this is through the Department of Education’s Senior High School (SHS) program, ushered by the K-12 education reform. One of its components, the work immersion pr… Read more

The Nepal Peace Monitor: Annual Review 2017 report prepared by the Collective Campaign for Peace, presents data collected by the Nepal Peace Monitoring Project and is an effort to contribute to human rights and peace in Nepal by monitoring conflict and the nature of those occurrences. It provides a comprehensive overview of incidents documented thr… Read more

The Study on the Election Campaign Finance: Local, Provincial, and Federal Elections in Nepal, 2017 aims to measure the extent and magnitude of financial accountability of political parties in Nepal contesting in the local, provincial, and federal elections. This research study was conducted by Election Observation Committee – Nepal. The findings a… Read more

Local Levels in Federalism: Constitutional Provisions, and the State of Implementation provides an overview of how federalism is currently implemented against the Constitutional provisions. The assessment examines nine federal laws adopted after the promulgation of the Constitution. As a way forward, the assessment makes recommendations for improvi… Read more

The successful completion of local, provincial, and federal elections in 2017 was a historic milestone for Nepal, coming after almost two decades. A record number of women representatives were elected to office in these elections, and this has presented both opportunities and challenges. This increased number of women, especially from marginalized… Read more

Conservation and Prosperity in New Federal Nepal: Opportunities and Challenges documents the historical contribution of conservation to Nepal’s national and local prosperity, identifies several important capacity gaps at national and local levels of government, analyzes the impacts of new subnational government structures on different forms of prot… Read more

The Diagnostic Study of Local Governance in Federal Nepal assesses the extent to which institutional, legal, political, and fiscal frameworks are in place as well as the critical issues that must be addressed in establishing these frameworks to enable local governments to discharge their constitutional mandates. This study examines key challenges t… Read more

The Urban Safety Brief Series aims to provide Myanmar policymakers at national and local levels, and other interested stakeholders, with analysis and examples of policies and practices, which potentially could be applied or adapted to enhance people’s safety in urban areas in Myanmar. The Asia Foundation has a wider policy research agenda looking a… Read more

Given the lack of reliable data in Myanmar as well as government’s lack of experience with city planning, complex urbanization issues are becoming significant challenges to policymakers. This pilot City Life Survey is the beginning of a project that is intended to shine light on what Myanmar’s cities are like as places to work and live. It is the f… Read more

नेपालका २२ नगरपालिकाको आधारभूत विवरण सहित पार्श्वचित्र तयारी Within The Australian Government–The Asia Foundation Partnership, Community Members Interested (COMMITTED) with the support of Bikas Udhyami, have developed 22 basic municipal profiles. These basic profiles were developed using existing government data that came out from the Government of… Read more

This document contains list of the major knowledge products produced by the Partnership in collaboration with its implementing partners.

As Nepal transitions to a federal governance structure, The Asia Foundation plans a series of public opinion surveys documenting views of the Nepali people. These surveys will provide data for policymakers and leaders in government, the development community, civil society organizations, and the broader Nepali public. Infographics 2018 Questionnair… Read more

On March 3, data enthusiasts and advocates convened in Nepal’s historic Durbar Square to mark Open Data Day. Celebrated in many cities across the globe, the day highlights the importance of freely accessible and usable data. Hundreds attended the public event in Kathmandu-from students to curious bystanders and representatives of the open data comm… Read more

The Election Reforms Law of 1987 mandates that Philippine public school teachers oversee the voting and counting processes during elections. While this old law provided a capable and available workforce, it unintentionally made teachers vulnerable to political pressures. This brief traces the efforts of the Coalitions for Change program and its ref… Read more

On March 3, hundreds of groups from around the world will celebrate Open Data Day to showcase the value of open data for communities and to encourage the adoption of open data policies in government, business, and civil society. For Nepal, which is currently undergoing a process of decentralization to a new federal structure, there are high hopes f… Read more

Local representatives gather to share experiences in urban planning and reform efforts The Asia Foundation, together with respected Myanmar policy think tank Renaissance Institute, held a three-day workshop from January 15 to 17 for state, region, and municipal representatives to share their experiences and learn from each other. In attendance were… Read more

Under the Australian Government – The Asia Foundation Strategic Partnership to support Subnational Governance in Nepal, implementing partner COMMITTED facilitated a two-day Municipal Round Table Discussion (RTD) featuring Mayors, Deputy Mayors, and Chief Administrative Officers of 11 partner municipalities from 18 – 19 December 2017 with the agenda… Read more

The Asia Foundation’s Urban Governance Project works in close collaboration with the Municipality of Ulaanbaatar to strengthen sub-municipal governments’ capacity for planning and delivering local public services and respond to the priorities voiced by citizens in the city’s vast, unplanned ger areas. Some of the ways this work has contributed to i… Read more

The Public Policy Dialogue series is an informal forum that includes participants from the government, development partners and civil society to discuss emerging challenges and constraints on sub-national governance Issues as the country goes through federal restructuring. These dialogues provide an opportunity to inform the broader discourse on pe… Read more

Within the Australian Government-The Asia Foundation Partnership, Community Members Interested (COMMITTED) is profiling emblematic municipalities to capture the status of public service delivery for devolved sectors. This will help define and establish a tested planning and development process that will enable a long-term vision and objective to ad… Read more

A summary of activities/partners supported since March 2017 under the Australian Government-The Asia Foundation Partnership in Nepal. Note: The summary is not exhaustive and excludes activities under development.

A summary of activities/partners supported since March 2017 under the Australian Government-The Asia Foundation Partnership in Nepal. Note: The summary is not exhaustive and excludes activities under development.

Within the Australian Government-The Asia Foundation Partnership, the Nepal Centre for Contemporary Studies (NCCS) is implementing a biannual mixed-method audit of the political economy of ongoing governance transition in all seven provinces. The audit will follow the transformation of political settlement strategies sub-nationally, accounting for… Read more

This paper traces four major reforms in Philippine land governance, including their scope, outcomes, and complementarities. It also offers lessons on considering institutional capacity and political feasibility, and the importance of capitalizing on gains. With property rights as an important contributor to economic growth, the paper’s holistic exa… Read more

On March 14, 2017, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council approved new rules administering the use of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Fund. The new Rules represent the culmination of a Coalitions for Change (CfC) effort that began in June 2015 under the Partnership of the Australian Government and The Asia Found… Read more

This paper features a reform in basic education aimed at reducing congestion for public schools in the Philippines. The reform journey covers five years, and examines how Coalitions for Change mobilized a team, listened to local knowledge and experiences, pursued reform conjectures amidst changing political and development landscape, and finally ar… Read more

Since the 1990s, Mongolia has undergone dramatic political and economic transition. Despite the recent economic downturn, following years of unprecedented growth from 2010-2014, significant rural to urban migration persists as employment opportunities and living conditions are perceived to be better in Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar. As a result, a… Read more

The lush banks and rushing waters of the Kelani River served as the indelible backdrop for the 1957 Academy Award-winning movie “The Bridge on the River Kwai” and today, the river remains a vital resource for about 25 percent of the Sri Lankan population who reside in its catchment area. The river is the fourth-longest and second-largest water… Read more

The severe congestion in Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the Philippines’ international gateway, is hampering growth and investments. Designed for 30 million passengers but possessing a single runway, NAIA is prone to flight delays. Using technical analysis and coalition building, Coalitions for Change’s effort contributed to the governm… Read more

Overcrowded classrooms, a prevalent problem for the Philippines, have a negative impact on students’ learning. Almost four million students (about 18 percent of the student population) attend congested public schools. In urban areas, some classes hold as many as 100 students—well beyond the Department of Education’s (DepEd) prescribed 45 students p… Read more

New rules issued: titling Philippine government land now easier and faster Many Philippine national agencies and local governments continue to occupy untitled land, exposing the government facilities to the risk of displacement should there be usurpation or claims of ownership for the lands occupied. The Philippine government issued a policy to fac… Read more

1990-ээд оноос хойш Монгол улсад улс төрийн болон эдийн засгийн томооxон өөрчлөлт, шинэчлэлүүд xийгдэж байна. Монгол уул уурxайд түшиглэсэн эдийн засагтай хэдий ч ядуурлын хэмжээ гэр xороололд өндөр байсаар байна. 2015 оны байдлаар Монгол улсын нийт xүн амын тал хувь нь буюу 1.4 сая орчим xүн Улаанбаатар xотноо амьдарч байна. Орон байрны xангамж, с… Read more

Today, 60 percent of the world’s population lives in Asia – with 40 percent concentrated in China and India alone – and the region will continue to host the majority of the world’s population through 2050. Over the past two decades, economic growth has helped lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, and 56 percent of developing Asia’s po… Read more

A swelling chorus of the development community has been advocating for more flexible and adaptive programming that can respond to the twists and turns of political reform processes. They argue that in order to achieve better aid outcomes, we need to do development differently. As part of this agenda, ODI and The Asia F… Read more

The Australian Embassy and The Asia Foundation, through the Coalitions for Change (CfC) flagship program, hopes to effect policy reform by encouraging civil society, the private sector, the academe, and the government to work together and contribute to transformative change. One of CfC’s key reform agenda is to rationalize infrastructure planning a… Read more

The Australian Embassy and The Asia Foundation, through its Coalitions for Change (CfC) flagship program, hopes to effect policy reform by encouraging civil society, the private sector, the academe, and the government to work together and contribute to transformative change. One of CfC‘s key reform agenda is to support the Philippine Government’s K… Read more

Infrastructure in Ulaanbaatar has not kept up with the rapid growth of unplanned ger areas within the city, leading to harsh conditions for newcomers. 1.5 million people now live in Ulaanbaatar, more than twice as many as the city was built to sustain. Since May 2012, The Asia Foundation has been implementing an Urban Services project in the city o… Read more