You searched for: “devolve
devolve (verb), devolves; devolved; devolving
1. To transfer power, responsibility, or rights to someone or something; for example, from a central government to a regional government, or to be transferred in this way.
2. To become the duty or responsibility of another person.
3. To deteriorate slowly over time; to degenerate, or to deteriorate, gradually.
4. To be given to someone under the terms of a will or other legal instruction.
5. Etymology: from Latin devolvere, "to roll down"; from de-, "down" or "reverse" + volvere, "to roll".
This entry is located in the following units: de- (page 43) volv-, volu-, -volve, volut-, -volute, -volution (page 2)
evolve, devolve
evolve (i VOLV) (verb)
To produce by natural change and development: The expectations of the residents of the city in terms of services usually mature or evolve over time.
devolve (di VOLV) (verb)
To change the power and authority from a central power or governing body to that of a more local center: The corporation decided to devolve the control of sales from the head office to the local authorities.

It seemed to be a natural process that the authority in the board would evolve to a more democratic process; in fact, it was decided to devolve the power of the board completely in favor of a citizen committee.