The purpose of this guide is to help managers—from CEOs to regional managers to branch managers—think through the many factors involved in deciding whether, how, and to what degree to decentralize certain processes and decisions. The guide is designed to enable managers to adapt the lessons presented here to their particular institutional contexts. It can also be used to communicate the rationale for decentralization to other staff. It attempts to summarize the most important areas of consideration with the intention of prompting a useful institutional introspection. The guide also provides references to specific analytical tools and techniques. Finally, to help the reader better appreciate the processes and decisions involved in decentralization, the guide provides practical examples from PLP participants. These examples demonstrate that there is no one formula for decentralization—decisions must be based on each organization’s unique situation and context.