OCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY SOUTH ASIA SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

Transcription

1 OCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY SOUTH ASIA SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT Social Accountability Initiatives in South Asia Since 2005 a unique effort to initiate and mainstream Social Accountability (SAc) initiatives in various service delivery contexts with support from the Trust Fund for Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development (TFESSD) 1 and one Norwegian supported Trust Fund, 2 has been ongoing in the South Asia Region (SAR).The effort has focused on the following five sets of activities (i) Developing centers of excellence for SAc; (ii) Establishing a community of practice of SAc (SASANET 3 ) with representation from key decision makers and other stakeholders on SAc; (iii) Providing financial and technical assistance for SAc initiatives initiated by Governments, Local Governments and NGOs; (iv) Supporting pilots and building capacity for SAc initiatives in WB projects; (v) Creating and disseminating knowledge about local SAc initiatives through case studies, workshops, training of trainers, curriculum development, a dedicated website ( and a quarterly newsletter (Vox Populi). The initiative has laid the foundation for the institutionalization of demand side accountability approaches and the formulation of governance and anti-corruption plans in World Bank projects and State Government programs. Six case studies, a documentary and a synthesis note distilling lessons learnt from the completed pilot projects have also been prepared. IMPLEMENTATION SO FAR Activities taken up under this initiative fall in the following broad categories and are described below: 1. Pilot Support And Capacity Building for SAc initiatives to WB projects: To supplement supply-side internal or project level accountability systems commonly found in decentralization, local government reform and community driven development (CDD) projects that currently occupy the majority of the Bank portfolio in the South Asia region, demand-side SAc mechanisms such as participatory expenditure tracking, and community based monitoring have been introduced through pilots and integrated into four Bank projects, namely 1. Maharashtra Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project (Jalswarajya), India; 2. Community Development and Rural Livelihoods Improvement Project (Gemidiriya), Sri Lanka; 3. Andhra Pradesh Rural Poverty Reduction Project (Velugu/IKP), India; and 4. Social Investment Program Project, Bangladesh; and are proposed to be introduced in at least another other five projects such as the 1. Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project 1 The TFESSD sponsored windows are Capacity Building and Piloting of Social Accountability Initiatives for CDD in South Asia (FY 05 - TF053870) and Alliance for Demand-side Governance for Social Accountability in South Asia: From Pilots and Projects to Influencing Policy and Programs (FY 07 - TF057340). 2 The Norwegian sponsored Trust Fund window is Procurement and Service Delivery: Establishing effective collaboration between the Government and Beneficiaries on Monitoring Procurement Outcomes. 3 South Asia Social Accountability Network (SASANET)

2 (Jeevika), India; 2.Tamil Nadu Empowerment and Poverty Reduction Project, India; 3. Chhattisgarh District Rural Poverty Reduction Project; 4. Local Governance Support Project, Bangladesh; 5. Orissa Rural Livelihoods Project, India. Most of the WB projects mentioned above have SAc components that entrust financial management and oversight to communities and promote downward accountability. Activities such as project websites and display boards to disseminate project information; social audits through village-level social audit committees; report cards and community score cards to evaluate CBOs/VOs; grievance redressal cells with a help line; and incentive funds to promote timely implementation, transparency and good governance, are common in the above projects. Technical assistance and training has been provided to some of the above-mentioned projects under this initiative. E.g. the community score card exercise conducted in Andhra Pradesh has resulted in active community involvement in health innovations such as fixed health and nutrition days, nutrition cum day care centers, health risk funds, etc.these interventions have improved the health and nutrition status of the poor through community empowerment and creation of an enabling environment. Four TOT (training of trainers) workshops on SAc initiatives have also been conducted by the World Bank Institute under this initiative for the Community Development and Rural Livelihoods Improvement Project (Gemidiriya), Sri Lanka and the Social Investment Program Project, Bangladesh till date. 2. Action research projects on SAc initiatives through Local Governments and NGOs: A total of six pilots have recently been completed under the TFESSD sponsored Capacity Building and Piloting of Social Accountability Initiatives for CDD in South Asia window. These pilots in India and Sri Lanka have successfully demonstrated how various SAc tools such as Public Expenditure Tracking Systems (PETS), Community Scorecards (CSCs) and Citizens Report Cards (CRCs) can improve transparency and accountability through effective civic engagement in a variety of service delivery contexts such as infrastructure (e.g. water supply and sanitation services), local governance, rural development and human development (e.g. health, nutrition and education). Financial and technical support was provided by the SAc team throughout the entire project period. The pilots have demonstrated that SAc mechanisms can influence policy and field outcomes, e.g. the dissemination of the pilot findings have resulted in a number of changes in the implementation of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in Rajasthan such as advance transfer of funds; improvement in quality of food grains and basic infrastructure; increased involvement of teachers and parents, all of which have resulted in better implementation of the scheme. Similarly, results from the Maharashtra pilot have impacted the health and nutrition millennium development goals by reducing infant, child and maternal mortality rates and malnutrition.the encouraging results of the initial pilot have led the district authorities to draw out a plan to scale up to all 1,500 villages in the district in the integrated child development services context. Five pilots/activities are currently being executed/planned under the TFESSD sponsored Alliance for Demand-side Governance for Social Accountability in South Asia: From Pilots and Projects to Influencing Policy and Programs window (Annex 2). Another six pilots/activities are also proposed to be taken up under the Norwegian TF sponsored Procurement and Service Delivery: Establishing effective collaboration between the Government and Beneficiaries on Monitoring Procurement Outcomes window.these activities are expected to lead towards development of a comprehensive approach to shared accountability for public procurement outcomes in subnational processes in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal. 3. Knowledge Creation and Dissemination: A number of institutions have expressed an interest in developing SAc curricula prominent among which were the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai and Yashwant Rao Chavan Academy of Development Administration (YASHADA), Pune.TISS is in the process of designing a 1 year Diploma on Human Development and Social Accountability. Once the curriculum is developed, it will be disseminated to other Colleges of Social Work in India.YASHADA has expressed an interest in launching a certificate course in SAc and including modules on social accountability in all its training courses.these modules once developed with support from the World Bank Institute, will be shared with other Administrative Training and Academic Institutes in the South Asia region. Exposure to successful SAc interventions that have tangible outcomes is a time-tested technique of disseminating knowledge.the successful implementation of and impres- 2

3 sive results from the CSC exercise in Satara district and social audits in NREGA in Andhra Pradesh (AP) have been identified to demonstrate how service delivery can substantially improve by introducing SAc tools. Experiential learning programs to train SAc practitioners are being designed around the Satara pilot in Maharashtra and the NREGA Social Audit process in AP. Five case studies for five completed pilot projects and a documentary distilling lessons learnt from the pilot projects have been prepared.this has helped in creating a body of knowledge of SAc initiatives which was missing in the South Asia region. Case studies on proposed pilots will be written to add to this body of knowledge. 4. Centers of Excellence: Five centers of excellence on Social Accountability are being developed under this initiative.the centers are (i) Center for Good Governance (CGG), Hyderabad; (ii) Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration (YASHADA), Pune (iii) Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai; (iv) Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS), Jaipur; (v) Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA),Thrissur.Two other centers of excellence are proposed to be developed in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.The initiative has strengthened the institutional capacity of the above-mentioned organizations and today they are in a position to act as resource organizations and provide technical assistance on SAc issues to project teams and other organizations. 5. South Asia Social Accountability Network (SASANET): A community of practice for SAc practitioners has been established in the South Asia Region and is currently being strengthened.two South Asia regional workshops (May 16-19, 2005 and March 13 14, 2007) brought together senior policy makers,wb project team members, NGO representatives and key SAc practitioners from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka around demand side accountability approaches.the second workshop was inaugurated by the Chief Information Commissioner of India and attended by prominent decision makers such as the Minister of Nation Building, Sri Lanka; Senior Governance Advisor (South Asia),World Bank; Chief Secretary, Andhra Pradesh; and the Chief Information Commissioner, Andhra Pradesh.The workshop highlighted findings from six recently completed pilot projects that involved the application of social accountability (SAc) tools such as community score cards, citizen report cards and public expenditure tracking surveys in various service delivery contexts in India and Sri Lanka (Annex 1). A dedicated website ( and a SASANET quarterly newsletter Vox Populi have also been launched to further bring this community of SAc practitioners together. SASANET is a unique network that brings various SAc actors and stakeholders together that are likely to be providers of technical assistance for SAc initiatives. The impact of this effort goes beyond World Bank operations and influences public expenditure processes of not only governments but also other donor agencies.the pilots have resulted in increased support and buy-in from both State Governments (Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Sri Lanka) and Bank Staff (Bangladesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Orissa,Tamil Nadu) for SAc initiatives. Prominent donors such as UNICEF, SDC, GTZ, and the Ford Foundation have expressed an interest in being part of and collaborating on this initiative. Please contact Deborah Lee Ricks (dricks@worldbank.org) for further inquiries or case studies from the Social Accountability Series by the South Asia Sustainable Development Department. 3

4 ANNEX 1: SUMMARY OF COMPLETED PILOT PROJECTS Capacity Building and Piloting of Social Accountability Initiatives for Community Driven Development in South Asia (TF053870) Six pilot projects in India and Sri Lanka were initiated through the TFESSD sponsored Capacity Building and Piloting of Social Accountability Initiatives for CDD in South Asia window and they have successfully demonstrated how various social accountability tools such as Public Expenditure Tracking Systems (PETS), Community Score Cards (CSCs) and Citizens Report Cards (CRCs) can improve accountability through effective civic engagement. A brief summary of the pilot projects is attached below. Pilots in the Context of Bank Projects: 1. Adapting the Community Assessment Process in Various Contexts in Sri Lanka: a. Partners The Center for Good Governance, Hyderabad, the World Bank Institute and the Community Development and Livelihood Improvement Project (Gemidiriya) (alternatively referred to as the Community Assessment Process) c. Brief Description Two sub-pilots in two villages have been conducted to assess the performance of the Village Savings and Credit Organization (VSCO) and the Drinking Water Supply Sub-Project respectively. Community/user generated indicators have been identified and the quality and efficiency of service delivery has been measured through these indicators. A project wide scale-up to assess other village level organizations and local governments and programs has been rolled out and is currently being implemented. 2. Assessing Healthcare Service Delivery in Andhra Pradesh, Using Community Score Cards: a. Partners The Center for Good Governance, (CGG) Hyderabad and the Andhra Pradesh Rural Poverty Reduction Project (Velugu/IKP) c. Brief Description - An assessment of 2 Primary Health Centers in 12 villages in Vishakapatnam District was conducted.the data and results from this pilot are being used to develop a sub-district model for health service delivery that can be replicated across other districts in Andhra Pradesh. A number of health innovations such as the health savings funds, health insurance, health and nutrition centers, etc. have taken place successfully at the local level in pilot health Mandals of the IKP. A scale up of the CSC is currently underway in approximately 450 villages in 45 Health Mandals in Andhra Pradesh. 3. Designing a Gram Panchayat Performance Monitoring and Rating System in Chhattisgarh: a. Partners The Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) and the Chhattisgarh District Poverty Reduction Project (CGDPRP) c. Brief Description The performance of 30 Gram Panchayats (GPs) in 7 districts have been rated using Community Score Cards.The objective of the exercise was to develop a performance monitoring and rating system for assessment of Gram Panchayats through user feedback.the comparative assessment of GP performance will be used to identify and award high performing GPs.The system is expected to be replicated across the 2,046 GPs covered under the CGDPRP once it has been developed and tested. Pilots by Resource/Training Organizations in various Local Contexts: 4. Assessing Health, Education,Water Supply and Panchayat Services in Maharashtra: a. Organizations The Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, Maharashtra (TISS) in collaboration with Zilla Parishad, Satara and the Satara District JalSwarajya Project team. c. Brief Description 5 different service delivery contexts were assessed in 14 villages in Satara District of Maharashtra using Community Score Cards.TISS will use the learning from this pilot to develop training modules on social accountability that will be incorporated in the academic curriculum of TISS and other Colleges of Social Work, used for training local government functionaries, NGOS, CSOs, etc. A second pilot 4

5 using the CSC in 41 villages of Satara District in the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) has also been successfully completed.the Zilla Parishad is currently scaling up this initiative to cover all villages in two blocks in Satara district and will eventually extend it to all remaining villages in the district. 5. Evaluating the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in Rajasthan: a. Organization The Consumer Unity and Trust Society, Jaipur, Rajasthan (CUTS) b. SAc Tools used Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys (PETS) and Citizens Report Cards (CRCs) c. Brief Description The performance of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, a national program to provide supplementary nutrition to primary school children, in 211 schools in all 14 blocks of Chittorgarh District, Rajasthan was evaluated using PETS and CRCs. Feedback from a total of 422 teachers, 2210 students, 2210 parents and 211 cooks was gathered for this pilot.the State Government is currently deliberating over the findings from the pilot and is in principle amenable to expanding the pilot to other districts in the State. Resources for scaling up the exercise to 3 other districts of Rajasthan are being sought. 6. Appraising Health, Education, Sanitation Social Welfare & Panchayat Services in Kerala: a. Organizations Kerala Institute of Local Administration,Thrissur (KILA), Public Affairs Foundation, Bangalore b. SAc Tools used A combination of Community Score Cards and Citizens Report Cards c. Brief Description To further develop the participatory planning process launched by the Government of Kerala, KILA has devised a citizen/user feedback mechanism to assess the quality and effectiveness of five services, namely - health, education, sanitation, social welfare and panchayat office services.the model has been tested successfully in four villages.the State Government is scaling up the exercise both geographically and sectorally to all urban and rural local bodies in the State. ANNEX 2: SUMMARY OF PROPOSED PILOT PROJECTS/ACTIVITIES Alliance for Demand-side Governance for Social Accountability in South Asia: From Pilots and Projects to Influencing Policy and Programs (TF057340) Five pilot projects/activities in India are being initiated through the TFESSD sponsored Alliance for Demand-side Governance for Social Accountability in South Asia: From Pilots and Projects to Influencing Policy and Programs window. This window aims to scale up the activities of an earlier initiative, Capacity Building and Piloting of Social Accountability Initiatives for CDD in South Asia (FY 05 - TF053870),by: (i) Strengthening institutions by providing technical support to the established sub-regional centers of excellence; (ii) Broadening the context and depth of demand-side governance pilots in CDD, decentralization and local government reform projects, on the state level and in basic infrastructure projects through field based action learning and research; and (iii) Managing, sharing and disseminating knowledge towards influencing policy and creating a more enabling environment for increasing transparency and improving governance through SAc mechanisms. The pilot projects/activities are expected to demonstrate how various SAc tools such as Public Expenditure Tracking Systems (PETS), Community Score Cards (CSCs) and Citizens Report Cards (CRCs) can improve accountability through effective civic engagement. A brief summary of the pilot projects/activities is attached below. 1. Community Ownership of Village Plans through Micro-planning and Community Monitoring in Satara District, Maharashtra: a. Partner Organizations Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration (YASHADA), Pune in collaboration with Zilla Parishad (ZP), Satara c. Brief Description This project scales up the activities of the previous pilot (Annex 1 - Assessing Health, Education,Water Supply and Panchayat Services in Maharashtra) 5

6 where the CSC was used to assess different services in 14 villages in Satara District of Maharashtra through Community Score Cards (CSCs). Subsequently, the Zilla Parishad, Satara carried out a second pilot in which they used the CSC to improve service delivery under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) in 41 villages.the ZP is now conducting micro-planning and community monitoring (primarily through the CSC) in all 121 villages in Mahabaleshwar and Khandala blocks in Satara District to reduce malnutrition, infant and maternal mortality. ZP, Satara eventually intends to scale up the initiative to cover all villages in Satara district. UNICEF has expressed an interest in dovetailing CSC based community monitoring with micro-planning in the districts in which they focus on micro-planning. 2. Improving Healthcare Service Delivery in Andhra Pradesh, using Community Score Cards: a. Partners The Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP), Hyderabad implementing the Andhra Pradesh Rural Poverty Reduction Project (Velugu/IKP) c. Brief Description This project scales up the activities of the previous pilot (Annex 1 - Assessing Healthcare Service Delivery in Andhra Pradesh, using Community Score Cards) where the CSC was implemented in two Primary Health Centers (PHCs) in Vishakapatnam district. The CSC exercise facilitated the introduction of health innovations such as health savings funds, health insurance, health and nutrition centers that have been introduced in the villages under both PHCs.The response of the health staff also improved substantially resulting in increased transparency and better service delivery. Currently the CSC is being implemented in all 45 Health Mandals in the IKP. 3. Assessing 2Qs (Quality and Quantity) Outputs of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in Sirohi District, Rajasthan: a. Organization The Consumer Unity and Trust Society, Jaipur, Rajasthan (CUTS) b. SAc Tools used Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys (PETS), Community Score Cards (CSCs) and Citizens Report Cards (CRCs) c. Brief Description The pilot aims at assessing the preparedness and planning of State officials and the levels of commitment of service providers for the implementation of NREGS in one district in Rajasthan.The study will cover a large number of gram panchayats, villages, work/task locations, target beneficiaries and other relevant stakeholders in all blocks of the district. Budgetary allocations, releases, expenditures will also be analyzed to comprehensively assess the NREGS. 4. Implementing Social Accountability Mechanisms in the Context of School Education - Piloting Community Score Cards in two Mandals in Andhra Pradesh a. Partners The Center for Good Governance, MV Foundation and OMPLIS, Andhra Pradesh b. SAc Tool used Modified Community Score Card c. Brief Description The proposed project s primary objective is to design, develop and test a performance scorecard based school rating methodology which includes community feedback. In this pilot, five to ten schools will be selected in each Mandal for gathering community feedback.the performance scorecard will be adapted to assess existing official tests (CLIP/CLAP - Child Learning Improvement/Assessment Program) that determine the quality of teaching. 5. Providing Technical Support for SAc Curriculum Development: a. Partners The Tata for Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai,Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration (YASHADA), Pune in collaboration with the World Bank Institute,Washington DC. b. SAc Tools used Numerous (Participatory Budgeting, Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys, Community Score Cards, Citizens Report Cards, etc.) c. Brief Description Realizing the potential and demand of SAc mechanisms both TISS and YASHADA are interested in developing SAc curriculum which can be incorporated in their existing courses.tiss is in the process of designing a 1 year PG Diploma on Human Development and Social Accountability, which it aspires to disseminate to other Colleges of Social Work in India.YASHADA has expressed an interest in launching a certificate course in SAc on the lines of the WBI supported PG Diploma on Urban Governance and including SAc modules in all training courses held in YASHADA.WBI has involved other interested organizations in the South Asia region in this initiative. 6