In countries around the world, most of the pro-poor public services that are required to achieve sustainable global development—education, health services, access to clean water, sanitation and so on—are delivered at the local level.

An important -but often overlooked- challenge in public sector governance and public financial management around the world is to make sure that functional responsibilities and resources flow down within the public sector to the local level where public services are actually delivered and where economic development takes place. Instead, in many developing countries, financial and human resources often remain stuck at the central government level, where these resources are frequently used to fund bloated and inefficient bureaucracies.

LPS Associates, LLC engages in evidence-based policy research to determine how the localization of public services and the decentralization of the public sector can help achieve sustainable development outcomes.

LPS Associates further provides technical assistance and policy support to advance the global development community's understanding of the local public sector in order to promote inclusive and sustainable development.