Public Service Delivery in Bangladesh: Parliament, Public Policy and Local Government

Delivering public services to the satisfaction of the citizens is an important challenge confronted by democratic governments everywhere in the modern world. Unlike authoritarian rulers, who may conveniently ignore public opinion, democratic governments can do it at their peril. As a natural rule, they have to be responsive to legitimate claims and demands of their citizens. It is, however, now widely recognized that the government alone cannot make available different kinds of services that people may need. Although the responsibility for making macro-level policies and legislation regarding different kinds of services rests mostly with the government, there are several other actors such as local government, NGOs, and the private sector that are involved in the delivery of services. Alternative mechanisms such as public-private partnership, government-NGO collaboration, and government and local government cooperation in service delivery are more often noticed now than in the past. The extent to which one is superior to the other is difficult to ascertain. This edited volume explores a number of important issues related to the planning and delivery of public services in Bangladesh. It examines the role of national level institutions in planning and policymaking (e.g. parliament, party, and bureaucracy) as well as institutions directly responsible for delivering services on the ground (e.g., government departments, local councils, and NGOs). The book should be of interest to academics, policymakers, practitioners, researchers, students, donors, and civil society representatives.