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Abstract
Many developing countries assign local governments increasing
responsibilities in fighting poverty. This requires
local social policy to go beyond the execution of centrally
designed and funded education and health programs. Hence,
local governments and their partners have both an opportunity
and a need to analyze key local bottlenecks for poverty
reduction and social development. Drawing on an example
from Cali, Colombia, The author describes a tool for
such policy formulation at the local level-a rapid city
household survey. Although the survey uses pre-coded
and closed- ended questions, it is contextual in the
sense that it is tailor-made to social and economic
conditions in Cali. The survey places particular emphasis
on collecting key quantitative information, such as
household welfare and service access, as well as qualitative
information, such as service evaluations and population
priorities. Combining the quantitative and qualitative
data allows, for example, the mapping of population
budget priorities or service satisfaction levels by
welfare group. Rapid city household surveys could provide
an important tool for the development of local social
policies.
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