Understanding Local Government Coordination: An Assessment of District Coordination Committees in Nepal

• Date: 01 March 2022
• Author: Thaneshwar Bhusal
• Published date: 01 March 2022
• DOI: 10.1177/0160323X221087909
• Subject Matter: Field Notes

Understanding Local

Government Coordination:

An Assessment of District

Coordination Committees

in Nepal

Thaneshwar Bhusal

Abstract

This observational study of local government coordination brings fresh assessment of institutions

and processes of District Coordination Committees (DCCs) in facilitating horizontal coordination

across local governments and vertical coordination between federal, provincial, and local govern-

ments in Nepal. Necessary qualitative data –observational notes, interview transcripts and selected

off‌icial publications –were generated based on researcher’s two year’s professional experience at

the DCC in a remote district of Rasuwa in Nepal. Analysis is conducted in line with what John

Halligan (2020) has explained as analytical elements of horizontal and vertical coordination.

Findings suggest that although DCCs seem less effective local institutions in fostering both horizon-

tal and vertical coordination, they are increasingly providing the most plausible avenues for politi-

cians, administrators, and ordinary people to get together in materialising the constitutional

thirst to implement cooperative federalism in Nepal.

Keywords

local government, coordination, federalism, nepal

Introduction

Nepal introduced a federalist constitution in 2015,

with a clear outline of federal, provincial, and

local government structures and functions. Each

level of government is empowered with constitu-

tionally guaranteed power, resources, and respon-

sibilities. The constitution exclusively envisions

that each level of government follows the princi-

ple of cooperation, coordination and coexistence

while exercising its power, utilizing resources,

and thus fulf‌illing constitutional responsibilities

(Government of Nepal, 2015). Much of the

efforts to strengthen coordination, however,

appear either at the federal level where focus is

to enhance horizontal coordination amongst

federal ministries and departments, or slightly

downwards at the provincial level where concen-

tration is to balance vertical relationships between

the federal government and provincial govern-

ments. This generates a research opportunity to

Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis, University of

Canberra, Canberra, Australia

Corresponding Author:

Thaneshwar Bhusal, Institute for Governance and Policy

Analysis, University of Canberra, Australia.

Emails: thaneshwar.bhusal@canberra.edu.au; tsbhusal@gmail.com

Field Notes

State and Local Government Review

2022, Vol. 54(1) 68-81

© The Author(s) 2022

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DOI: 10.1177/0160323X221087909

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