Promoting Civic Engagement Through Analytical Work in the The World

Bank

Meeting of the External Advisory Group on the Enabling Environment for Civic Engagement Work Program

June 7 & 8 2004

Jeff ThindwaSocial Development Department

Role of Civil Society in Development

Service Delivery-Low Cost - Quality

Consensus for reforms

Institutional Transparency and Accountability

Social Mobilizn, participn of poor

Resource Manag & Env. Protection

Human Rights – Equity Econ. Growth

Prioritizing Participation and Civic Engagement

• 1996 Participation Sourcebook: provided conceptual and operational framework

• Participation embodied in Comprehensive Development Framework; PRSP approach

• Empowerment framework: access to information, inclusion and participation, accountability, local organization capacity

• 15 Operational policies and directives • OED, QAG, DEC studies highlight benefits

of participation

Conclusion: Engagement of citizens and citizens’ organizations in public policy debate, or in delivering public services and contributing to the management of public goods, is a critical factor in making development policy and action responsiveness to the needs and aspirations of the people and potentially of the poor.

Operationalizing Civic Engagement

• Tools, resources, capacity building, for social accountability

• Tools, resources to facilitate diagnostic work on civil society– ARVIN– CSAT

• Tools, resources to promote PM&E of poverty reduction strategies

• Corporate advocacy and institutional guidance

Analytical Work on Civil Society

Attempts to answer four questions: • How can civil society fulfill these functions?• What kind of laws, regulations, policies,

capacities, other institutional factors are necessary?

• How can stakeholders deepen understanding of these factors

• What actions can the Bank, partners, clients, other stakeholders, take to improve conditions for civic engagement?

Embracing Analytical Approaches to Improve Environment for Civic Engagement

NGO Law Handbook

NGO Focus

Focus on Regulation

Participatory Diagnostic Tool

Focus on Civic Engagement

Focus on Broader Reforms

Stakeholder driven

Alignment with Bank Operations

Expert driven

General audiences

Characteristics of the Tools and Methodology

• Participatory and inclusive

• Multi-stakeholder approaches

• Action-Research orientation

• Integrative (with other SD tools) and adaptive

• Outreach/collaboration with peers

• Focus on learning

ssociation

oice

nformation

egotiation

A

V

I

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R esource Mobilization

Legal & Regulatory Framework

Political & Governance Context

Socio-Cultural Characteristic

s

Economic Conditions

“ARVIN” Framework

Civil Society Assessment Tool - CSATA tool – derived from ARVIN- to assess the nature of civil society’s internal and external dynamics; Type of engagement and roles; Strengths and weaknesses; Enabling factors; Opportunities and challenges …….So that advice and strategies can be designed to enable it to play an effective role as a development actor, in different country contexts.In the case of failed or weak states experiencing conditions of widespread conflict and social ungovernability, civil society organizations usually offer the institutional basis for public service delivery. Their links are vital gateways.

Application in Low Income Countries Under Stress - LICUS

Priority for the Bank in LICUS: Give attention to

-understanding the social and political economy

factors,

-transferring knowledge

-to build capacity

Focus on analysis of civil society as part of the

governance assessment of the CAS in LICUS or feed

into TSS.

CSAT tool derived from the ARVIN framework

Some Key Issues

• Are these approaches responding to the needs that you see in your work?

• What are we missing?• What other actors should the Bank be

engaging as part of the process to improve these tools?

• What are the Bank’s comparative advantages, and how can we better play to them?