Social Accountability in Practice: From Tools to Outcomes

By Parmesh Shah

Lead Rural Development SpecialistSouth Asia Sustainable Development

Department24th October, 2007

Context

• Governance and Anti-Corruption Plan• Learning from SAc initiatives in South Asia

– Social Audits (NREGA, India – Andhra Pradesh, Orissa) – Right to Information (India – MKSS, Parivartan)– Citizens’ Report Cards (Public Affairs Foundation) – Other activities being taken up on local governance and

social accountability within the South Asia Region

• Activities under Trust Fund for Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development (TFESSD)– Action Research Projects– Community of Practice of Demand Side Approaches in

Governance – Knowledge Creation and Management

Context: A Framework for Accountability Relationships

Users Providers

Policymakers

Making Services Work for the Poor (WDR 2004)Making Services Work for the Poor (WDR 2004)

Voice Service Compact

Client Power

Demand Side Approaches

Supply Side Approaches

What is Social Accountability?

• SAc is an approach towards building accountability that relies on civic engagement for exacting accountability

• SAc mechanisms can be initiated and supported by the state, citizens or both, but very often they are demand-driven and operate from the bottom up

• SAc complement and strengthen formal accountability mechanisms

Why Social Accountability?

Social Accountability

Good Governance

Development Effectiveness

Empowerment

Social Accountability Initiatives in South Asia under TFESSD

1. Introducing/institutionalizing social accountability approaches in Community Driven Development (CDD) projects (Bangladesh; Sri Lanka; India - Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh)

2. Improving local government service delivery outcomes through social accountability mechanisms (India - Maharashtra)

3. Increasing developmental effectiveness of sectoral approaches by enhancing social accountability mechanisms (India - Andhra Pradesh health sector)

4. Facilitating CSO oversight to improve outcomes of government programs (India – Rajasthan Mid-Day Meal Scheme)

5. Formulating Governance and Anti-Corruption Plans in projects (India – Bihar)

Social Accountability: Tools & Mechanisms

Participatory BudgetingCitizen Report Cards (CRC)

Community Score Cards (CSC)Public Expenditure Tracking SurveysRight to Information (RTI) Compliance

Social AuditsProject WebsitesCommunity Radio

Increasing Transparency &

Access to Information

Grievance Redress

Enhancing Accountability &

Citizen Oversight

Outcome Based Approaches to Accountability

Service Provider (e.g. Primary Health Center)

Local Government(e.g. Zilla Parishad, Satara)

State Government (e.g. Maharashtra)

Feedback

Accountability

Services

Redesign Programs

Reallocate Resources

Improved Quality of Service Delivery

Feedback

SAc Tools Outcomes

Citizen Report Cards (CRC)Community Score Cards

(CSC)Public Expenditure Tracking

SurveysRight to Information (RTI)

ComplianceSocial Audits

Development Outcomes• Improved Quality of Service Delivery (reduction in mortality rates and malnutrition)• Program Redesign and Resource Reallocation to Improve Program Effectiveness and Public Expenditure Efficiency (generation of innovative solutions to local problems through interaction of community and service providers • Improved Governance through Demand Side Approaches in Governance (transformation of social capital to political capital for the poor and their organizations)

Institutional Outcomes• Institutionalization of continuous user feedback mechanisms through demand side approaches in governance of institutions•Creation of a cadre of community monitors managed by community institutions• Formation of community-public-private partnerships for implementation of development programs•Stronger linkages between local governments and CSOs

Example 1 - Institutionalizing Social Accountability Approaches in CDD

Projects: The Gemidiriya Project, Sri Lanka

Results:• Micro-planning, social audits and community assessment

process (CAP) being used by communities to evaluate quality and effectiveness of local service providers in project villages

• Creation of a cadre of grassroots Community Professionals and a Community Professional Learning and Training Center to act as local community monitors on an ongoing basis

Scale Up: • Government plans to scale up CAP to other non-project

villages and local government servicesService Delivery Context: • Numerous local, public and private service providers, such

as - village savings and credit organizations, small infrastructure work committees, private contractors, public service providers and so forth

Example 2 – Improving Local Government Service Delivery Outcomes through Social

Accountability Mechanisms: Satara District, Maharashtra)

Reduction in Malnutrition

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Results: • Reduction in infant, child and maternal mortality rates and malnutrition• Significant mobilization of community resources• Creation of a cadre of community monitors which include NGOs, parents,

teachers and children that assist in local problem solving and improved targeting (special pediatric camps for malnourished children)

• Transparent sharing of data with parents, children and communitiesScale Up: • District Local Government scaling up micro-planning and community

monitoring to 121 villages in Phase 1 and eventually to all 1,500 villages• UNICEF is dovetailing micro-planning with CSC based community

monitoring• YASHADA designing training modules for other local governments

Service Delivery Context: • Child and maternal health including

nutrition; education, water supply and panchayat services

• Being extended to other local government service delivery sectors

Combating Malnutrition Locally: Growth Charts in

Maharashtra

Example 3 - Increasing Developmental Effectiveness of Sectoral Approaches: The Health Sector in Andhra Pradesh

Results: • Formation of public-private-community partnerships for innovative

interventions such as - health insurance, nutrition centers, health risk fund, community managed ambulance services and drug depots

• Institutionalization of a user feedback mechanism by which over 5,000 villagers provide feedback through community score cards annually

• Cadre of community resource persons (CRPs) who facilitate application of social accountability mechanisms on an ongoing basis

Scale-Up: • Community monitoring through community health score cards

being rolled out in about 450 villages in Phase I (1st pilot in 12 villages)

• Potential of gathering user feedback for program implementation in all 1,570 primary health centers covering a total rural population of 5.5 million

Example 4 - Facilitating CSO Oversight to Improve Program Outcomes:

The Mid-Day Meal Scheme, Rajasthan

Context: • Mid-day meal scheme (10.2 million children in 75,000 primary

schools in Rajasthan)• 211 schools in all 14 blocks of Chittorgarh District; feedback from 422

teachers, 2210 students, 2210 parents and 211 cooks• PETS conducted by Consumer Unity and Trust Society – International

to provide third party feedback to improve implementation of government program

Key PETS Findings: • 68% of teachers daily spend more than 1 hour (17% of teaching time) on

meal distribution• Unutilized quantities of food grains have increased over the years• 79% of schools received funds for cooking with delays ranging from 2 to 6

months• 95% schools do not have a kitchen shed and 36% do not have separate

storage space so they store grains in classrooms• 85% of the Gram Panchayats and 84% of the parents are NOT involved in

MDMS

BUT EVEN THEN PARENTS WERE SATISFIED WITH THE MDMS!“Preparing and distributing the mid-day meal to about 60-100 children each day is like managing a wedding lunch every day” - School Teacher

Mid-Day Meal Scheme, Rajasthan

Results: • Dissemination of Expenditure Tracking

Survey results in: – Advance transfer of funds for cooking meals– Improvement in quality of food grains (increase

in number of inspections, immediate redress of complaints)

– Improvement in basic infrastructure (School Grant Facility extended to construct kitchens, food grain storage rooms)

– Increased involvement of teachers and parents (teachers and children not involved in cooking and serving meals; increased parent oversight)

Example 5 - Governance and Accountability Plans in New Projects:

Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project

Transparency & Information Dissemination:• Appointment of a nodal Right to Information (RTI) officer

to adhere to statutory RTI requirements• Public display of all information related to release of

funds, physical and financial progress and expenditures• Training of community organization members in

financial/budget literacy• Project websiteGrievance Redress and CSO/Citizens'

Participation:• Dedicated grievance redress cell with an exclusive hotline

for receiving calls and SMSs and a web interfaceEnhanced Public Oversight & Accountability:• Community Score Cards• Social Audits through sub-committees• Institutional and Service Delivery Report Cards

Progress so Far: Social Accountability in South Asia

• Current and Prospective Centers of Excellence – CSOs, Universities and Government Training Institutions– Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai– Center for Good Governance (CGG), Hyderabad– Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), New Delhi– Yashwantrao Chavan Center for Development Administration (YASHADA),

Pune– CUTS International, Jaipur– BRAC University Centre for Governance Studies, Bangladesh– Institute for Participatory Interaction in Development, Sri Lanka

• South Asia Social Accountability Network (www.sasanet.org)• Technical Advice to Bank Staff, Governments and CSOs

– Social Accountability Sourcebook – Guidance Notes

• Action Research Projects through Government Agencies, CSOs and NGOs

• Knowledge Creation and Dissemination– Stocktaking of Social Accountability Initiatives– Case Studies

• Governance and Anti-Corruption Strategy and Implementation Plan for South Asia

South Asia Social Accountability Network (SASANET)

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Questions? Comments?

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