Baseline Study on Policy and Governance Gaps for the Local Government Support Fund Assistance to Municipalities (LGSF-AM) Program (Integrated Report)

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One major challenge faced in assessing the impact of the various national government interventions is the lack of baseline data. This study aims to identify policy and governance gaps in infrastructure and planning to provide baseline data on key areas and current planning practices of local governments. The desk review revealed low revenue effort, as well as inadequate utilization of mandated development fund, due to poor planning funds in majority of the municipalities. The study recommends (1) improving compliance of LGUs in the regular updating of their multisectoral development plans, (2) revisiting the basis for establishing the current situation of a locality, (3) improving project readiness and feasibility, and (4) strengthening capacity development programs to address governance gaps in development planning.