Organisational Review of The Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS)

Introduction
This study is an organisational review focusing on KS' ability and capacity to deliver results in line with the objectives that are based on Norwegian developmental policies. The cooperation between Norad and KS is centred on Municipal International Cooperation (MIC). The primary objective according to the Review's Terms of Reference (ToR) is to assess KS' capacity to manage the programme and the association's general competence in carrying out democratisation projects in the South. The review also considers KS' ability to adapt and revise working methods, and recent amendments are accounted for even if results of the changes have not yet been registered.

The review does not focus on results as such. Neither does it focus on the involved actors' individual performance, but rather KS' administrative and professional capacities to deliver. Whether KS is able to deliver is contingent upon MIC as a practicable, viable programme. The review has looked into the MIC programme theory and the realism of the assumption it is based on. This review also provides recommendations on how Norad and KS can follow-up the findings. The report has been written with the ambition to be of concrete use for a possible further development of Norway's support to local democracy in the South.

MIC has been carried out for almost ten years. The review is focusing on the most recent three-year period (2007-2009). In order to reach an understanding of MIC and its encounters with local realties in the South, the study is going close-up in case studies of some specific MIC partnerships. Malawi was chosen as case country because of its high number of partnerships, two well-established and one fresh. Malawi's system of local government of today has its roots in the decentralisation policy from the late 1990's. One of the reform pillars - the elected assembly - was shelved in 2005 after one term. In other words, in Malawi MIC has taken place without local councillors involved. Instead, the cooperation has been carried out between Norwegian municipal authorities and Malawian government officials at local level. This fact has been taken into consideration in the analysis, and there is no evidence from comparisons with reports from partnerships in countries with an elected municipal body that Malawi's reception of MIC is unique.