Executive Summary: "The State of Local Governance: Trends in Mon - UNDP Myanmar 2014 This report presents the findings from the Local Governance Mapping conducted in Mon State between December 2013 and January 2014. With an estimated population of 1.9 million,1 Mon State is one of Myanmar?s most well- connected and prosperous states/regions. Economic activity is driven by agriculture, forestry, fishing and mining - the state is a major producer of rice and rubber crop. The security situation has stabilised following the ratification of a ceasefire agreement between the Union government and the Mon National Liberation Army - a non-state armed group - in 2012, and the state is now experiencing a new period of stability and engagement between government and non-state actors. Still, pockets of volatility remain, and a long-term political solution towards peace and reconciliation has yet to be achieved. For the Local Governance Mapping in Mon State, Bilin, Chaungzon, Kyaikmaraw, Paung, Thanbyuzayat and Ye townships were selected. 576 respondents from 12 villages across these six townships shared their perceptions and experiences related to local governance.2 Nearly half of them were between 41-60 years of age - researchers highlighted difficulty in sourcing younger respondents across all six representative townships, reportedly due to migration of working-age labour to nearby Thailand and Malaysia. 52% of the randomly selected respondents were ethnic Bamar, 30% Mon and 10% Kayin. Alongside the opinions of the people, multi-stakeholder dialogues at the community and township level and primary research on the functioning of local governance in three townships (Bilin, Chaungzon, and Ye) informed the findings from the Local Governance Mapping exercise, which are structured along the five core principles of good local governance. These form the basis of the mapping framework and methodology adopted in Myanmar, viz. effectiveness and efficiency; transparency and rule of law; accountability; participation; and, equity. In addition, the mapping exercise has also yielded some significant ?process” results, which are also highlighted below."