Bulgaria's local governments now have a new way to measure their own performance.

Bulgarian local governments will now be assessed on their capacity to deliver services. This means officials will have a clearer picture of where they are falling short and what needs improvement.

This World Bank working paper introduces a new set of metrics for evaluating the performance of local governments in Bulgaria. For years, the capacity of these governments to actually deliver services has been a black box. This new measurement tool aims to shine a light on that. It could lead to more targeted investments in local administration and potentially better public services, but only if the data is actually used to drive change.