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Studies & Degrees in Development of Local Power and Decentralization

Development of local power and decentralisation is the study of how public authority, money and responsibilities are shared between a central government and regional and local governments, and of how municipalities and communities use that authority to improve living conditions. It is a specialisation within public administration and political science, close to local development and public policy.

Two ideas run through the subject. The first is local self-government. The European Charter of Local Self-Government, signed in Strasbourg on 15 October 1985, defines it as the right and the real ability of local authorities to regulate and manage a substantial share of public affairs under their own responsibility and in the interests of the local population. The second is subsidiarity: the Charter states that public responsibilities should generally be exercised by the authorities closest to the citizen.

Spain is a common case study, because it is a strongly decentralised country. Its Constitution organises the State into municipalities, provinces and autonomous communities and guarantees the autonomy of the municipalities. The basic law on local government describes municipalities as the basic units of the territorial organisation of the State and as immediate channels for citizens to take part in public affairs.

Students of the subject typically cover:

  • models of the state: unitary, regional and federal systems
  • political, administrative and fiscal decentralisation
  • local government law, powers and finance
  • local public services and urban and social policy
  • citizen participation and community action
  • local economic development
  • design, monitoring and evaluation of public policies and projects

Qualifications and levels

This is almost always a postgraduate subject. There is rarely a bachelor's degree with this name. Students usually arrive with a first degree in political science, law, sociology, economics, social work, geography or a related field, and often with work experience in a local authority or a non-governmental organisation.

  • Master's degrees. Programmes in public policy, local government, community action or local development. A Spanish official master's degree has 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits.
  • Postgraduate diplomas and short courses. Shorter specialised programmes, often part-time, for people already working in local government or development projects.
  • Doctorate. Research on decentralisation and local government is done within doctoral programmes in political science, public administration or development studies.

Where to study

SpainExchange lists 2 active schools for this subject, one in Spain and one in Guatemala. Both present their programmes in Spanish.

In Spain, the Escola de l'IGOP is the training school of the Institut de Govern i Polítiques Públiques of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). It coordinates the Máster en Políticas Sociales y Acción Comunitaria, an official degree awarded by the UAB and run jointly with the universities of Girona, Lleida and Vic. The master's has 60 ECTS credits and is taught in blended form. It covers social policy, mediation, community development and urban planning, and it works with case studies: students visit local projects and analyse them. The school is at Passeig Urrutia 17 in Barcelona. Together with another UAB institute, the IGOP has also created a postgraduate course in local agroecological development (Posgrado en Dinamización Local Agroecológica).

In Guatemala, the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala offers a Maestría en Desarrollo in its Faculty of Social Sciences. The curriculum is built from four specialised postgraduate courses, and a combination of two of them gives the master's degree. Two of the four are close to this subject: local economic development, and population and public policies for development. The university's page gives the 2024-2025 cohorts, so ask for the current calendar.

Careers

Graduates work where public decisions are taken close to citizens. The Universidad del Valle de Guatemala lists government institutions that promote development, national and international non-governmental organisations, international cooperation agencies, private companies and independent consultancy as the fields of work for its graduates. Typical roles are:

  • policy officer or manager in a town council, province or regional government
  • local development agent
  • community action or citizen participation officer
  • project officer in a development agency or non-governmental organisation
  • consultant or researcher on governance and public policy

Permanent posts in public administration are normally filled through each country's own selection procedures, so a master's degree supports an application but does not replace them.

Frequently asked questions

What does decentralisation mean?

It is the transfer of powers, resources and responsibilities from a central government to regional and local governments. The subject studies how this is done and what results it has for public services and democracy.

Is there a bachelor's degree in this subject?

Rarely. It is normally studied at master's or postgraduate level after a first degree in political science, law, sociology, economics or a similar field.

How long is a master's degree in this field in Spain?

An official master's degree has 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits. The master's coordinated by the Escola de l'IGOP has 60 ECTS credits.

In which language is it taught?

Both schools on the list present their programmes in Spanish. Ask the Escola de l'IGOP which sessions are taught in Spanish and which in Catalan, since it is a programme of four Catalan universities.