Although developing country governments have offered a wide range of justifications for decentralizing, the results have been mixed. Third World governments have faced myriad problems in designing and implementing programs for decentralizing development administration Even where the programs have been relatively successful, not all of the anticipated benefits have accrued to either central or local administrative units (Cheema and Rondinelli 1983) Ultimately, decentralization is a political decision, and its implementation a reflection of a country's political process. The following sections review decentralization efforts that have been tried in developing countries since the early 1970s, assess the results, describe the basic conditions that affect their implementation, and offer a set of general operational principles to guide governments that are considering decentralization of development planning and management. III. es of Decentralization The concept of decentralization is broad its component parts are many. Definitions and classifications are therefore necessary. De centralization can be defined as the transfer of responsibility for planning, management and resource raising and allocation from the central government and its agencies to: (a) field units of central government ministries or agencies (b) subordinate units or levels of government, (c) semiautonomous public authorities or corporations, (d) areawide, regional or functional authorities, or (e) nongovernmental private or voluntary organizations (Rondinelli 1981a)