The Local Governance Support Programme (LGSP) builds upon the achievements of two previous projects in the area of decentralization and local governance. LGSP has the primary objective of supporting the establishment of a fully-fledged and effective local government system in Timor-Leste, and will do so (i) by providing policy-relevant lessons from pilot activities, (ii) by assisting the Government in formulating a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework for local government, and (iii) by supporting implementation of local government reforms. Through achieving its primary objective, LGSP will thus contribute towards improving infrastructure and service delivery and reducing poverty. The programme will begin in early 2007 and operate until 2011.