This issue of Development in Practice marks the journal’s expansion from five to six issues a year. With this new issue, the last of each volume, we will focus on a single topic that is at the cutting edge of development thinking and practice, exploring it through a series of innovative features not usually included in the journal’s regular issues. The theme of our inaugural issue is the relationship between democracy and decentralisation, with an emphasis on local participation and empowerment. The special features introduced here include an interview with Rosemary Thorp, an expert on the political economy of Latin America and currently Oxfam GB Chair of Trustees, two review essays to provide an overview of the research and literature that has emerged in the field, as well as an annotated resources list. The issue also includes four case studies on democratic decentralisation to offer a perspective on how decentralisation projects work in practice.