Challenges of local government capacity building initiatives: experiences of an UNDP nationally executed programme in Thailand

In 1996 the Government of Thailand, with technical and financial assistance from the UNDP, designed a package of strategies and policies to help sustain the development of the urban centres in the various regions of the country. The package, which focused on strengthening capacity at the local level came to be known as the Regional Urban Development Program (RUDP). This article is an analysis of the process of implementing this capacity building initiative. It summarizes the achievements of and constraints faced by the programme and suggests recommendations that implementing agencies may consider with a view to improve conditions at the local level. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.