application of social accountability mechanisms in community driven development and decentralization...
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Application of Social Accountability Mechanisms in Community Driven Development and Decentralization
Programs in South Asia: Experiences from Pilot Projects
Hyderabad, India March 13-14, 2007
Stocktaking of Social
Accountability Initiatives
Karen Sirker World Bank InstituteMarch 13, 2007
Objectives of Stocktaking
Extend the knowledge base on social accountability tools and mechanisms for possible strategies for Bank and non-Bank operations because in the past ten years, CSOs capacity to undertake social accountability initiatives has
been strengthened dramatically, particularly in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
In Asia and Latin America, there is an increased capacity and willingness of government to undertake SAc initiatives.
Create a network of practitioners
Document initiatives
Create a platform for disseminating information on social accountability (SAc) initiatives
WhereRegion Countries No. of Initiatives
Central Asia Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan 36
The Caucasus Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia 21
Western Balkans Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia
18
Asia Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Sri Lanka
53
Anglophone Africa
Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
40
OECD Australia, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, EU, Greece, Hungary, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, UK
40
Latin America Ecuador, Peru 30
The Asia Region
Tool No of Initiatives
Budget Analysis National: access social expenditures and pro-poor policies; need for CS participation, transparency in relation to implications of budget proposals on different sectors. State; transparency of budget, circulate budget before presentation, and publish information about subsidies. Sectoral: impact of education and health allocations at district level; housing policy, on poor living in slums, women Demystification: information on budget structure and cycle, timing and sequencing of the budget process, and institutional roles and responsibilities.
12
Participatory Budget Expenditure Tracking - Sectoral expenditure tracking – allocations and expenditures on the health, education, food security, drinking water and tribal development. - -Lifestyle checks – unexplained bank deposits, excessive spending, grand displays of wealth, travel abroad.
9
Participatory Performance Monitoring --Citizen Report Cards and Community Score Cards, Project Monitoring
15
Other Types of SAc -Integrity Pacts – no taking of bribes, make decision making simple and transparent, have realistic construction budgets, be open and responsive to complaints by citizens-- Citizen’s Charters- spell out and monitor the responsibilities of local governments, hospitals, etc.- Monitoring Procurement - deploys observers with checklists to official bidding sessions. When anomalies discovered, CSOs them to agency management’s attention. Those who continue to rig bids are reported to civil society watchdogs.
10
Information and Communication Technology 7
Asia RegionSAc Tools Used in the Asia Region
Budget ExpendTracking
17%
Other Types of SAc19%
Participatory Performance
monitoring28%
Budget Analysis23%
ICT13%
Budget Analysis - National/ local/ state/ sectoralbudget analysis - Budget Demystif ication
Budget Expenditure Tracking - Social Audits - Sectoral expenditure tracking - Lifestyle checks
Participatory PerformanceMonitoring - Project Monitoring - Citizen Report Cards - Community Score CardsOther Types of Sac - Citizen's Charters - Integrity Pacts - Citizen Jury
ICT
Asia RegionType of Target Sector in SAc Initiatives
99
88
53
22222
111
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Social welfare (women, poor, marglinalized, youth)
WSS
P ublic works (roads, railways)
Health (HIV AIDS, hospitals, clinics)
Education
Agriculture (access to credit, etc )
P ower (electricity)
Environment
J udiciary
P olice
Labor
P rivate sector
Neighborhood safety
Bureau of customs
P ostal and telegraph services
Number of Initiatives
The Asia Region
0
10
20
30
40
Type of Implementing Agency
number 31 11 6 4 1
NGO or CSO
GovernmentInternational
NGOInternational
OrgPrivate Sector
Asia Region- Information and Communication Technology Text messaging database – using cell phones to report graft
(Philippines) News Databases – scans news articles about corruption cases and
valuable tool for investigative work on expenditure tracking (Bangladesh)
Website for Congress – monitor pork barrel spending by legislators and reprints in-depth articles (Philippines)
Dept of Budget and Management website - posts blacklisted contractors (Philippines)
E-procurement – makes public procurement transparent by providing information on bids, compare prices by different suppliers (South Korea)
On-Line Grievance Redressal Tracking System – facilitate the lodging and monitoring of grievances online, provide information to municipal corporation, to enforce time frame and quality for service delivery. (India)
E-Seva – computerized kiosk to handle 100 services, ranging from utilities such as electricity, transport, water, hospitals, municipal corporations, getting birth certificates, paying examination fees (India)
Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Western Balkans:
Types of SAc tools Applied
At the local level participatory, budgeting and broad participatory initiatives are more common.
There are also examples (although rare) of independent budget analysis and participatory performance monitoring. Independent budget analysis is prevalant at the national level. Why? The challenge of building the capacity of local CSOs to perform more demanding tasks of independent budget analysis and citizen reports cards.
Local NGOs and public associations are clearly leading the process of institutionalizing citizens’voice and promoting good governance in the region.
While local NGOs are the primary implementing agencies; international NGOs and international development organizations have a sizable share in overall program implementation.
Tool Countries No of Initiatives
Participatory Budgeting (PB) Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina
24
PB and Performance Monitoring Georgia, Azerbaijan 3
Independent Budget Analysis Kazakhstan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Albania, Macedonia
16
Participatory Performance Monitoring Albania, Macedonia 3
Budget hearings, use of internet for obtaining citizens feedback, public forums, consultation workshops and policy roundtables, TV and radio broadcasts
Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan
26
Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Western Balkans
Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the
Western Balkans:
City Budget Monitoring (Kazakhstan) Extractive Agency Transparency Initiative, EITI (Kazakhstan) and
Comparative budget analysis: Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Revenue Watch (Kazakhstan) Open Budget Kazakhstan Public Expenditure Monitoring: Economic Governance and Public
Finance (Georgia) Increasing Budget for Education (Albania) Revenue & Expenditure Analysis (Albania) Financing of NGOs by the Government (Macedonia) Assessing the Implementation of the Decentralization Process in
Albania: The case of Elbasan Municipality (Albania) Tirana Municipality Transparency Program (Albania) Monitoring of Local Authorities (Macedonia)
0
10
20
30
40
50
Institutional Level
number 49 20 4 2
Local National National
and Local Regional
Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Western Balkans
Given the prominence of administrative, political and fiscal decentralization, the majority of civic engagement aimed at strengthening government accountability happens at the sub-national or local level. Among the 75 initiatives, 49 are implemented at the sub-national/local level, and 20 – at national level. About half of the local level initiatives are carried out at the city/town level.
Organization of Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD) OECD and World Bank take complimentary approaches:
World Bank – accountability relies on civic engagement OECD/GOV – approach to building “open” government
Classification: Scrutiny: enhance assessment, analysis and review of
government actions Proximity: aims to reduce the distance between citizen and
government by identifying citizens needs and preferences Engagement: incorporates citizens in the decision making
process
Results: Strengthens government transparency, accessibility and
responsiveness
Charter of Budget Honesty - legislation to increase acct. through improved disclosure of fiscal policy intentions and fiscal development allowing public better access to conduct of govt.
Australia
Ombudsman Board – citizen bring complaints in connection with the public administration system, results in wrong decision being corrected and problem in question being resolved.
Austria, Norway
Municipal Check List – generates a profile of useful information obtained through direction interaction with municipal officials, employees, business and CSOs. The Checklist is a questionnaire on areas of municipal life most subject to abuse and corruption such as municipal ethical framework, dissemination of public complaints, leadership, HR, budget, procurement and audit procedures
Greece
Community Cabinet – minister visit towns to discuss issues with citizens, take action and publicize action in newsletter.
Australia
European Citizens Panel: Engaging Citizens in European policy making. To encourage bottom up contribution from citizens to discuss the future of European policies affecting rural areas.
EU
Interactive City Council – improve communication and transparency of local govt. Citizens propose budget proposals and allocation of resources to city council meeting 15 days prior.
Spain
Participatory Budgeting in Municipalities, Education, Young Citizens, On-Line Dialogue – 1) public officials elected, gather info on priorities of citizens through questionnaires, prioritize propositions, and present demands to the executive branch. 2) Funding given to youth (14-19 years) to develop, fund, and implement projects with municipalities.
Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland
Istanbul Choosing New Ferries – improve service delivery by allowing those taking ferries to debate on local expenditures for ferries. Increased dialogue and decision making between citizens and municipal govt
Turkey
OECD SA INITIATIVES COUNTRY
Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development - Initiator
The majority of the initiatives reviewed are driven by government institutions, and aim at obtaining feedback from the citizens. This is the case of the National Consultation on Education Policies in Czech Republic, or the e-Games in Hungary, a government Internet platform where citizens can interact with public officials. Most of the CSO-led initiatives aim to subject governments to direct public scrutiny, as is the case of the Quarterly Bulletin of Public Finances in Poland.
Initiator of SA initiative
69%
31%
Govt-led
CSO-led
Anglophone AfricaSAc Tools Used in Africa
39%
23%
38%
Budget Analysis - National/ local/ state/ sectoralbudget analysis - Budget Demystif ication
Participatory BudgetExpenditure Tracking - Sectoral expenditure tracking
Participatory PerformanceMonitoring - Project Monitoring - Citizen Report Cards - Community Score Cards
Latin America: EcuadorInitiative Objective Sector
Transparent Municipal Management CARE
To promote transparency in the use of public resources and in public processes, and to establish mechanisms for citizen auditing of municipal management.
Multisectoral
Monitoring of Fiscal Policy To monitor fiscal policy and track spending and income of public agencies, and to demystify public finances.
Public budgets
Observatory of Public Policies of Azuay
To prevent corruption and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government interventions.
Public works
Transparent and Participatory Municipalities: Cotacachi
To increase the coverage of basic services, promote economic development and create the notion of solidarity among citizens.
Multisectoral
Congressional Monitoring To increase the exchange of information between citizens and legislators about Congress’ activities.
Legislative sector
Local Youth Commissions To train youth in designing and implementing projects in benefit of their communities.
Social welfare (youth)
Control of the Use of Highly Toxic Pesticides
To reduce the use of highly hazardous pesticides and train farmers in alternative and safer agricultural mechanisms.
Environment
Latin America: EcuadorInitiative Objective Sector
A Supreme Court with Citizen Participation
To hold the Selection Committee appointed by Congress accountable for choosing Supreme Court judges transparently & based on merit.
Judiciary
Oil in the Ecuadorian Amazon and the Right of Its People
To protect the Amazon’s natural resources and the rights of its inhabitants against the impact of oil company operations.
Environment
Municipal Treatment and Recycling of Garbag, Municipality of Puyango
To monitor the delivery of public services and ensure efficiency, effectiveness, equity, and quality.
Basic services
Participatory Budgeting, Municipality of Pindal
To make public expenditures more efficient by allowing citizens to prioritize projects based on their own needs .
Multisectoral
Coalition Access To ensure access to public information, and to motivate citizens to demand their rights and utilize the available information
Access to public information
Monitoring of Public Services in Guayaquil
To ensure provision of clean water and a quality sewage system.
Basic services
Considerations from StocktakingASIA Encourage regional networking Continue adaptation and contextualization. Continue innovation in Information and Communication Technology Importance of communication and advocacy strategies
AFRICA and LATIN AMERICA Ensure capacity building Ensure financial resources and equipment for sustainability Build partnership with government, private sector and CSOs.
EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA Ensure local ownership Ensure access to information
OECD Choose a topic, clarify objectives, and communicate them effectively to
raise public awareness include relevant and reliable information Ensure feedback and follow-up Learn to evaluate and evaluate to learn
Stocktaking TemplateName of intervention Basic information
Location Primary agency running intervention Sector or level of focus Type of engagement (one time or long term)
Context and scope What is the driving force behind the SA initiative? What are the main objectives and what key accountability
problems does it seek to address? Who is the target audience or demographic focus? What is the political culture or environment?
SA tool used What specific SA tools and methodologies are being used? Briefly describe the methodology(ies) or tools used. What advocacy and media activities support the initiative? How inclusive was the intervention? Other important information or comments
Stocktaking Template Problems and challenges
What has impeded progress or what obstacles and hindrances were encountered?
Results and outcome What (if any) has been the impact of the initiative? What have
been the incentives? What (if any) has been the outcome of the initiative? What have
been the incentives? Is the methodology or initiative institutionalized? Are there any
institutional linkages and have partnerships been established with the government, parliaments, media, nongovernmental organizations, communities, etc.? Describe.
(If applicable) Has the initiative been scaled up? Repeated?
Further references Documents and reports Web sources Resource persons/contacts
Key Websites SASANET
Tools Knowledge Base (Articles, Presentations, Videos) Case Studies Pilot Projects
Social Accountability Sourcebook Quick Access by region, tools and methods, and thematic
applications World Bank and External Websites Manuals/Toolkits/Guides
World Bank Institute SAc Site http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/WBI/
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