Duration: Oct 2016 – Sept 2021

Budget: $9.5 million

Implementing Partner: DAI

Key Partners: Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, State Agency for Local Self-Government and Inter-Ethnic Relations (SALSGIR), local self-governments, the Union of Local Self-Governments, Development Policy Institute

Activity Locations: nationwide

USAID’s Community and Municipal Governance Initiative is a five-year project that works closely with local self-governments to improve their performance, deliver quality services, increase citizens’ trust and promote peer-learning networks across the Kyrgyz Republic.

MAJOR FOCUS AREAS

After a thorough evaluation of how partner municipalities deliver and manage services, develop local economy, manage finance and operations, and interact with their citizens to identify main performance gaps, the project will focus on the following aspects:

• Effective service delivery. The project will help each partner municipality improve delivery of key services like solid waste management, water supply, or lighting, through improved planning, budgeting, management, and oversight.
• Improve citizen's perception. The project also seeks to reduce the gap in how communities perceive the work of their municipality and how local governments actually perform. The project will work to engage citizen groups including women, youth and minorities, to oversee the delivery of services. As a result, citizens will be able to provide feedback on services while developing more realistic expectations of what local self-governments can deliver.
• Promoting sustainability. The project will support best practices and strengthen cooperation between municipalities to promote sustainability of effective service delivery and citizen engagement.

Starting with the 16 partner municipalities in Issyk-Kul and Jalal-Abad regions in the first year, the project plans to reach 50 rural and urban municipalities in five years.

EXPECTED RESULTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

• 50 targeted municipalities will increase their effectiveness in delivering key services, by improving operational and financial management;
• Up to 25 municipalities will increase their own-source revenues;
• 50 targeted municipalities will increase client satisfaction with more accessible and convenient services, and improve citizens trust in local self-governments;
• 50 targeted municipalities will practice participatory and improved budget procedures;
• A sustained mechanism serving as repository of tools, resources, and best practices will provide direct assistance and platform to help local self-governments engage in dialogue with national government on improving municipal cooperation.