The Horizontal Learning Program
HLP - Defined
Horizontal Learning Program is a local government led peer-to-peer learning platform
initiated by the Government of Bangladesh and supported by development partners.
HLP - Process
Horizontal Learning enables local governments to connect with each other to
identify, share and replicate the good practices of their peers.
Identify
good
practices
HORIZONTAL
LEARNING
PROCESS
Prioritize
practices to
replicate
HLP - Principles

Appreciate: To realize our inherent value, strength and potential to
overcome the limits that we often unconsciously impose on ourselves.

Connect: To break down the distinctions that separate us from the
essence of our peers and detract from our collective well being.

Adapt/Replicate: To start with those things that are already working
and enable learning through exposure to good practices within their
local context.
HLP - Value Added
The bottom-up process complements top-down capacity building
What to teach?
Cascade Training
Horizontal Learning
Starting Point?
Deficiency
Capacity
What?
Should be …
Is working …
Who teaches?
Experts
Peers
Who decides?
Program does
Self selection
Why?
To meet standards
To address my needs
Where?
Classroom
Field based
What knowledge?
Codified knowledge
Tacit knowledge
Result?
Increased Capacity
Increased Confidence
What works?
Working Area FY13
The peer-to-peer
learning process is led
by 383 UPs in 37
upazilas and supported
by 32 partners with
presence in over 3000
UPs.
HLP - Results
Sector Outcomes (FY11–FY12)
UP UP UP
FY11 FY12 FY13
Good Practices Replicated
Other
Governance
Water Supply
Sanitation
100% sanitation
Eco-friendly villages
USD USD USD
0.82 0.80 0.71 Child to child behavior change
mill. mill. mill. Disaster resilient latrines
1.9 2.3
# people in families of the children reached
500160
1375506
# people using disaster resilient latrines
Pay-for-use Arsenic screening
# people consuming safer water (chemical)
USD USD USD
0.23 0.28 0.66 Women’s Forum
mill. mill. mill. Union Coordination Committee
FY12
Benef
# people living in verified eco-friendly villages
# people using quality sanitation products
Open Budget
Raising Holding Tax
FY11
Benef
# people no longer practicing open defecation
Sanitation marketing
USD USD USD Protection of tube well casing
0.85 0.77 1.54
Disaster resilient ponds
mill. mill. mill.
Low cost rain water harvesting
USD
0.46
mill.
Good Practice Indicators
# people consuming safer water (bacterial)
# people with resilient drinking water supply
1798456 1672109
# people served with emergency water supply
# people (male / female) participating
# people in new households paying holding tax
# people receiving women’s forum services
234176
547093
# people with improved services via. UCCM
Union Information Centre
# people served with information
# people served with disaster relief
USD Disaster Relief Services
1.33 Birth & Death Registration
# people w/births & deaths registered
mill Ensure Quality Education
# children w/teachers & books
HLP Data collated from >90% of UPs (verified by UNOs)
2.9
NB – # people served through the replication of good practices (in red) is not included in the total.
2756866
2532792 3594708
FY12, #Replications
Social Safet Net
Budget Review Meetings
Ward Taskforce activation
Arsenic Safe Options
Community policing
Upazila Womens Forum
Raising Tax / Tax Book / Tax…
Menstrual /Adolescent…
Village Court
Arsenecosis Patient…
Eco - Friendly Model Village
Ensure quality education
Arsenic Screening of…
Extension of HLP at Ward…
Human Resources…
100% Tubewell Protection
Disaster Relief Services
UISC
100% Birth & Death…
Open Budget/Participatory…
Mini Parliament /…
Tree Plantation
Safe Water Supply
100% Sanitation
0%
FY13, # Replications
Composting / Fertilizer
Improvement of Roads
Eco - Friendly Model Village
Ward Taskforce activation
Menstrual /Adolescent…
Elimination of illiteracy
Eradicate Early Marriage
Village Court
Community Clinics
Extension of HLP at Ward Level
Human Resources Development
Raising Tax / Tax Book / Tax Mela
Arsenic Screening of Tubewells
Disaster Relief Services
100% Tubewell Protection
100% enrollment in school
100% Birth & Death Registration
UISC
Open Budget /Participatory…
Ensure quality education
Mini Parliament / UDCCM/GO-…
Tree Plantation
Safe Water Supply
100% Sanitation
50%
100%
100% FY12 = 303 UPs
0%
50%
100%
100% FY13 = 357 UPs
FY12 UP Budget
Arsenecosis Patient…
Menstrual /Adolescent…
Eco - Friendly Model Village
Handpump registration &…
Arsenic Safe Options
Piped water supply
Extension of HLP at Ward…
Arsenic Screening of…
Open Budget/Participatory…
Mini Parliament /…
Human Resources…
Ensure quality education
100% Birth & Death…
100% Tubewell Protection
Disaster Relief Services
UISC
Tree Plantation
Safe Water Supply
100% Sanitation
0
FY13 UP Budget
Elimination of illiteracy
Improvement of Roads
Community Clinics
Services to Hard Core Poor
Extension of HLP at Ward Level
Arsenic Screening of Tubewells
Human Resources Development
Open Budget /Participatory…
Mini Parliament / UDCCM/GO-…
100% Birth & Death Registration
Piped water supply
Disaster Relief Services
100% Tubewell Protection
100% enrollment in school
UISC
Tree Plantation
Ensure quality education
100% Sanitation
Safe Water Supply
40000
'000 taka
80000
0
40000
'000 taka
80000
UP Outputs Good practices
+ 75 good practices ...
100% Birth & Death Registration
Village Court
Safe Water Supply
Mini Parliament / UDCCM/GO-…
Tree Plantation
100% enrollment in school
UISC
Raising Tax / Tax Book / Tax Mela
100% Sanitation
Eradicate Early Marriage
Open Budget/Participatory…
Community Clinics
+ 58 fact sheets ...
+2 fact sheets
+2 fact sheet
+4 fact sheet
+2 fact sheet
UPZ w/shop <FY12
UPZ w/shop >=FY12
+3 fact sheet
+4 fact sheets
+9 fact sheets
+6 fact sheets
+5 fact sheet
+4 fact sheets
+8 fact sheets
+23 fact sheets
0
20
40
HLP - Limitations
Under HLP, external agents can not impose anything on UPs
“What are the deficiencies in capacity?”
WB
Plan
WA
JICA
PRDP: Link Model
WB/UNDP
NGO / CBOs
Sharique
DANIDA
CBOs
SDC
HYSAWA UPGP LGSP
SIPP
CBOs
NILG
HORIZONTAL LEARNING PROCESS
66
UP
6 upazilas
128
UP
13 upazilas
232
UP
24 upazilas
378
UP
“What has
worked!”
Appreciation
Innovation
Partnerships
Confidence
38 upazilas
“What capacities do we already have?”
E.g. Best practices are determined by UPs and policy reform is proposed by
the peer-to-peer collectives of UPs (not by support partners).
So what are we learning from UPs?
Open Planning / Budgets
Description: Under the Sirajganj Local Governance Development Fund Project (SLGDFP) the
conducting of open budget meetings and the raising of holding tax were initiated in 2003.
Replication: The conducting of open budget sessions and the raising of holding tax was
identified as a good practice under HLP & has been replicated by 303 UPs in 27 upazilas.
FY08
FY09
FY10
10.0
8.0
6.0
4.0
2.0
0.0
Average
Karimganj
Khansama
Mohanganj
Chapainawabganj
Chowgacha
Rajarhat
Manda
Shyamnagar
Kamalganj
Meherpur
Tarash
Palash
Policy: LGD are collating the
audit data on own source
revenue collection of UPs.
12.0
Sreepur
Learning: Local resources
can be increased by linking
revenue raising efforts to
participatory planning.
UP holding tax raised per capita
14.0
Tk per capita
Results: Data from 111 UPs
in 13 Upazilas reveals that
holding tax revenues
increased by 62% and own
source revenues increased
by 52 % from FY08-FY10.
Open Planning / Budgets
Semester ward
shava meeting
to review the
plan & budget
Review plan &
budget
progress on a
quarterly basis
Ward Shava
planning
meeting to
identify
priorities
Participatory
Plan (Open
Budget)
Cycle
Disclose the
approved
budget & plan
to citizens
Send
approved
budget to
UNO for
review &
comments
Approve the
budget & plan
in UP general
meeting
Plan & budget
screened by
Standing
Committees
Draft budget
prepared,
distributed &
hung on the UP
notice board
Citizens
informed &
encouraged to
participate in the
Open Budget
session
Hold open
budget & include
comments in the
draft budget
Raising Holding Tax
Raising
Holding Tax
0.0
2011
Debidwar
Average
Average
Meherpur…
Debidwar
Meherpur Sadar
Babuganj
Babuganj
1.0
Palashbari
2.0
Palashbari
3.0
Kalihati
2012
Kalihati
Own Source Revenue / Capita
Noakhali Sadar
Jamalpur Sadar
Mohanganj
Mithapukur
2011
Noakhali Sadar
Jamalpur Sadar
Mohanganj
Mithapukur
2010
Tala
Titas
Fulbari
Kurigram Sadar
2010
Tala
Titas
Fulbari
Kurigram Sadar
Rajarhat
Manda
Karimganj
Magura Sadar
Rangamati
Chirirbandar
Khansama
2.0
Rajarhat
Manda
Karimganj
Magura Sadar
Rangamati
Chirirbandar
Khansama
Sreepur
Debhata
Palash
Taka / Capita
2.5
Sreepur
Debhata
4.0
Palash
Chapai…
Shyamnagar
Manda
Durgapur
0.0
Chapai…
Shyamnagar
Manda
Durgapur
Taka / Capita
Revenues of 303 UPs (FY10-12)
Holding Tax / Capita
2012
1.5
1.0
0.5
Benchmarking UP Open Budgets






Audit Data from 4500 UPs
Conducted by Private Audit Firms (contracted by LGD)
Entered by Private Audit (contracted by LGD)
Database of UP Finance (FY10) / Population (Census)
Access to data by UPs (via UP Help Line)
See attached …..
Thank you
Harmonizing Development
Description: The Link Model developed by JICA and BRDB sought to improve coordination
between the UP, nation building department extension workers and citizens. The link model
comprised of three components (1) Union Coordination Committee Meeting, (2) Gram
Committee Meeting and (3) Union Development Officer.
Replication: Since the project
ended, the UDCCM has been
replicated by > 200 UPs.
Learning: Strengthening the
social and legal authority of
UPs to coordinate the WSS
services provided by others is
consistent with their dejure
and defacto assignment of
responsibilities.
Policy: LGD issued a circular in
2011 requesting all UPs to
conduct UDCCMs
WSS Functional Assignment
Demand
Provide
Ensure
Staff Bidders
Dept’s Firms
HouseCompanies Joint
Co-ops NGOs CBOs
holds
/ Utilities Ventures
UP /
Poura
Dept’s
Upazila
Dept’s
Enable
GoB
Target