As a part of Niti’s commitment to strengthening federalism, in the interest of determining the best course for local governance, Niti conducted a study on the evolving practices of Joint Service Arrangements (JSAs). Joint Service Arrangements (JSAs) are sector-specific (infrastructure, disaster management, sanitation, etc.) supply-side arrangements between institutional actors for service delivery. The study showed that while infrastructure projects have primarily led the evolving practice of JSAs at local levels in Nepal, it has broadened to include other sectors such as vegetable farming and marketing, firefighting services, flood management, and sharing of river resources. However, JSA is still, not a widespread practice and is largely limited to infrastructural projects. A total of 25 KIIs were conducted with local government officials (mayors, deputy mayors, chairpersons, vice chairpersons) and non-government organization (NGO) staff. Field visits were carried out in Jhapa, Morang, Kapilvastu, Salyan, and Kailali. In multiple discussions leading to publication of the report all stakeholders have highlighted JSAs as a way to decrease state’s fiscal burden without compromising on service delivery at the local level. The study recommends that a federal policy framework that promotes JSAs should be drafted including measures of social accountability and also provides a framework for this policy.
