Assessing the Governance: Participation and Transparency Perspective

The present study aims to investigate the performance governance of Sansaremai community forest user group (CFUG) of Makanpur district. We considered only two elements to identify overall condition of good governance, which in overall represent governance condition. This study utilized the primary data collected through field visit and other secondary sources e.g. published and unpublished literature. Data were listed, categorized, and scored based on the performance of CFUG on different set of criteria and indicators. Element wise score are then weighted to find the performance of governance in rank scale vary from very poor to very good. The study found the good level of transparency and medium level of participation which, in aggregate, indicate the medium level of governance. The study suggests that long term strategic planning, inclusive decision making and ensuring the functional participation of the users are the key areas that the CFUG should focus on to improve the governance condition. Evaluation of governance of CFUGs considering all other components of good governance and developing criteria and indicators based on the local contextual setting are encouraged to carry out in the days to come.