This report serves as a background and introduction to the 14 State and Region “State of Local Governance” reports prepared by UNDP Myanmar in collaboration with the General Administration Department (GAD) under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It aims to contextualise the state- and region-specific information provided in each of the individual reports and introduces a framework to look at local governance structures in Myanmar. It also aims to look at local governance comprehensively through various prisms such as historical context and legacies, the constitutional and legal parameters, and service delivery, participation and accountability. In addition, this report introduces and briefly describes the main institutions of local governance, as their specific composition, performance and interrelations are ‘mapped’ in the State and Region specific reports.