Institutional Arrangements for Regional (Subnational) Development Planning

Over the past four decades, as many new, developing countries have emerged, the pressures on their institutional systems, which, on the whole, were inherited from the colonial period have increased tremendously, compounded by limited professional development staff and dwindling resources. Further, while at the national level socio-economic goals emerge from a process of reconciling diverse interests and strategic priorities, at the local settlement level priorities emerge from the need to respond to immediate pressing and unavoidable demands for services and facilities. Reconciling these conflicting objectives remains a central challenge facing government authorities in developing countries. The deconcentration of centralized administrations as a response to this dilemma, so s to be more effective in extending central authority - a common rend in recent national administrative reform - has been ineffective. Many developing countries, therefore, are searching for new mechanisms, legal instruments and methods of work to resolve this situation. It is being increasingly understood that appropriate institutional arrangements must be found at the intermediate level and that they will only be effective if concurrent improvements are made in the skills and working procedures of the personnel who must manage these institutions. The need to establish authoritative institutions for regional (sub national) planning is not limited to one group of countries: it is required in the vast majority of developing countries (UNCHS (Habitat), 1984-A, 1984-B, 1987-B)