Case Experience - What Makes Local Government Work?
Social Capital, Leadership, Participation and Ownership in Benin
Sef Slootweg
This paper examines the impact of capacity development programmes on the peformance of Benin's municipalities in improving the economy, health, education and living conditions of its citizens. More specifically, the paper looks at the relation between their performance in implementing their municipal plan and the level of social capital, the quality of leadership, the use of participatory approaches and the feeling of ownership.
Using questionnaires and interviews, the researchers collected data from 20 municipalities in the South of Benin to evaluate the correlation between proxy indicators for each of these three concepts and a municipality's performance in implementing its development plan.
The outcomes of the research do not confirm the hypothesis that such a correlation exists.
