This booklet includes a Policy Paper on implementing educational decentralization, followed by Evaluation Guidelines for developing a framework to evaluate progress in the implementation of educational devolution at country level. This framework consists of an extensive check-list of Performance Indicators, for input, process and output, addressing the following four issues: policy, plans & programmes; finance & administration; participation; and access, completion & quality. Furthermore are included a list of relevant international human rights documents for background information and inspiration, as well as for continued advocacy and awareness raising. This is in line with the mandate of UNESCO to view education as first and foremost a fundamental human right for everyone, and to base its work on the human rights approach, which emphasises participation, non-discrimination, transparency and accountability. The elements in the booklet are inspirational in nature and intent, neither are conceived as a stateof-the-art to-do list nor as the last word in the debate on local governance. Aimed at policy makers and officials they should serve as background and resource materials for planning and implementing reform.

Furthermore, they are meant to inspire the development of locally based and locally owned capacity building modules and courses, but this must essentially be a bottom-up process since building local level governance can only succeed if local participation is ensured at all stages, allowing for cultural and systemic diversities to play their natural role, while respecting the rights of all.