In pursuing a decentralization policythat sets out to devolve elements of state authority tomunicipalities, the Government of Timor-Leste faces a keychallenge: how to combine different types of governancesystems that have legitimacy at local and state levels. Inorder to inform this process, this policy note looks at howcommunities and local government currently work together toplan and implement local development initiatives. Itattempts to answer the question, 'what steps might thegovernment of Timor-Leste take to amplify the voice ofcitizens in development planning, and the responsiveness ofthe state to those voices?' This note informs currentdiscussions on community-planning processes,dispute-resolution and complaints mechanisms within localdevelopment programs, and other important aspects of thedecentralization agenda through a perspective informed byin-depth, local-level policy analysis.