In late 1999, the Philippine Center for Policy Studies (PCPS) launched its Governance Project to develop a set of index to measure the performance of local governments in pursuing good governance and local development. Dubbed as the Good Governance for Local Development (GOFORDEV) Index, it aims to provide a quick diagnosis of what ails a locality and what it needs to progress based on the local government's impact in terms of improved development and welfare, as evaluated by its constituents, and in the manner by which it is able to elicit the people's active participation in local public affairs. The paper presents the Project's partial results from the first year of the pilot testing of the GOFORDEV Index in several cities and municipalities in Bulacan and Davao del Norte in 2001.
