Delegation and Devolution

Deconcentration was the shallowest form of decentralization and the least ambitious level of decentralization, where responsibilities were transferred to an administrative unit of the central government that was spatially closer to the population where service was to be provided, usually a field or regional office

Delegation was an intermediate level of decentralization, where some authority and responsibilities were transferred to a lower level of government, but there was a principal-agent relationship between the central and sub-national government in question, with the agent remaining accountable to the principal

Devolution was the deepest form and most ambitious form of decentralization, where the central government devolved responsibility, authority, and accountability to sub-national governments with some degree of political autonomy.