Abstract
Executed by Tetra Tech Associates in Rural Development from January 2013 to October 2018, United States Agency for International Development/Haiti?s Limiyé ak ?ganizasyon pou Kolektivite yo ale Lwen (LOKAL+) project sought to increase communal government legitimacy through improved governance and improved service delivery in nine target communes by increasing local government technical and management capacity. This evaluation assessed the project?s: 1) relevance to Government of Haiti concerns and needs; 2) effectiveness in improving three domains: accountability, transparency (see Annex I for definitions), and service delivery; and 3) sustainability of improving governance in target communes. Methods included a document review, 29 key and group informant interviews (involving 50 officials), 35 focus group discussions (involving 162 female and 168 male citizens), and 12 direct observation site visits in target communes. Almost all stakeholders stated that LOKAL+ was very effective in improving accountability, transparency, and service delivery, especially for tax collection and sanitation. However, except for a sizeable minority in St. Marc, Carrefour, and Cap Haitian, respondents felt that communes have no capacity to independently continue improved governance in these three domains. Nonetheless, given Haiti?s historically highly centralized and opaque local governance, it is important to note three fundamentally important changes brought about by the project: 1) LOKAL+ has demonstrated that it is possible for communes to be financially sound and administratively autonomous; 2) it has introduced the notion of transparency to municipal citizens; and 3) it has successfully improved critical administrative systems such as tax collection administration, housing census, and database management.