- Project Leader : Nagai Fumio (Graduate School of Law, Osaka City University)
- Collaborators : Nishimura Kenichi (Center for International Education and Exchange, Osaka University)
- : Kagoya Kazuhiro (College of Law, Kanto Gakuin University)
- : Okamoto Masaaki (Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University)
Outline of Research
Through research on people’s participation in local governance in Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia, this research expects to identify several patterns which possibly affect the performance of local government. This will be conducted through a large-scale local government survey research in 3 countries which is planned for FY2011.
In regards to Thailand, survey data conducted in FY2006 is already available. So, in this research project, that data will be analyzed and processed in research meetings.
On the other hand, with regards to the Philippines and Indonesia, field research will be conducted to identify important variables which affect local governance. After field research, several meetings will be held to analyze the research results.
Description
The purpose of this research is to find out how people’s participation in local governance affects its quality and, by doing so, identify its factors, patterns and constraints in 3 decentralizing countries, namely Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia. In this research, in-depth interview research shall be done in several localities to find out what factors on the part of local residents possibly determine the quality of local governance.
Past research was roughly divided into 2 types. The first research type mainly focused on the legal aspects of local government and local finance. This type was interested in formal institutions, such as central-local relationships, the internal management of local government and so forth. The second type was mainly interested in more practical issues, such as the role of NGO/NPO in poverty alleviation, people’s participation in local community, and so forth. The latter type of research is also often associated with local government.
While this research is trying to connect these 2 types of research in one sense, it intends to be the preparation for the above-mentioned large-scale local government survey research, which will be conducted in FY 2011. This is due to the hypothesis that the performance of local government is determined by the quality of people’s participation.
With survey research, it is important to identify several patterns of people’s participation. In this research, we hope to identify several typical patterns and variables in Indonesia and the Philippines. With regards to Thailand, un-utilized survey data conducted in FY 2006 shall be processed and analyzed, such as local development plan initiatives, the degree of access of local residents to cope with environmental issues, and so forth.
 Photo of Authors at Solon Branch Office of Pattiro in Solo City, Indonesia July 22, 2010 |
 Photo of author at a dinner after interview with Mr. Chalerm Srimuang. Taken on September 18, 2010 at Pakpun subdistrict of Muang District Nakhon Sri Thammarat Province, Thailand |