The Asia Foundation and ForestAction jointly sponsored a workshop on Building a Self-Governing Civilisation from Below: Theory, Practice, and Implications for the New Constitution in Nepal on November 20, 2009 in Kathmandu. The workshop brought together a range of participants from civil society, government, and academia to discuss the challenges to effective local governance in Nepal under the current context of globalisation, political instability, government restructuring, the emergence of federalism, and the new constitution-building.