Voice and accountability

Creating participatory spaces

A number of interventions have been designed and implemented by donors to increase national ownership, enable participation in the design and implementation of initiatives and encourage ‘country-led approaches.’ In many cases these have resulted in government-led approaches, rather than giving a voice to the poor. Mechanisms that ensure meaningful participation can enhance the capacity of a government to design appropriate policies and deliver effective and appropriate services.

Page contents:

Poverty reduction strategies (PRSs)
Poverty and social impact analysis (PSIA)
Decentralisation
Service delivery and public sector reform
Other approaches

Poverty reduction strategies (PRSs)

Although Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRSs) are the main framework for ensuring participation of poor people in the current aid architecture, these can give the appearance of country ownership rather than truly empowering the poor.

Rowden, R. and Irama, J.O., 2004, ‘Rethinking Participation: Questions for Civil Society About the Limits of Participation in PRSPs’, ActionAid International, Washington D.C. and ActionAid International Uganda, Kampala
In 1999, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) promised to open their controversial structural adjustment policy reforms to public consultation. These reforms, attached as loan conditions to borrowing countries, have been criticised for failing to raise economic growth or reduce poverty over the last 20 years. This ActionAid International (AAI) discussion paper argues that reform policies have not been meaningfully debated in government-led public consultations in Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) processes. It suggests Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) participate in alternative civic forums in questions of development policy.
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Tembo, F., (ed), 2005, ‘Poverty Reduction: Are the Strategies Working?’, World Vision
How effective are Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRS) in accommodating the voices of the poor and promoting accountability in the decision-making process? This report, published by World Vision, calls for greater accountability to the poor as a means of improving aid effectiveness. The engagement of poor people largely depends on how the PRS is located within the domestic political and decision-making architecture and whether donors can better align and coordinate their development aid. Fundamental improvements to PRSs are required if they are to become the mechanism for poor people to influence national poverty reduction processes.
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Molenaers, N., and Renard, R., 2006, ‘Participation in PRSP Processes: Conditions for Pro-Poor Effectiveness’, Institute of Development Policy and Management, University of Antwerp
What conditions should be in place for participation to make a meaningful contribution to Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs)? Is participation always relevant? This paper from the Institute of Development Policy and Management (University of Antwerp) focuses on the role of participation for poverty reduction. It argues that participation makes sense only under restrictive conditions, and proposes a four-level readiness assessment framework to bring structure and sequencing into donors’ engagement with local civil society.
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Poverty and social impact analysis (PSIA)

PSIA is intended to enable the design of better pro-poor reforms. Results have been mixed and success depends on whether the analysis is carried out in an open and inclusive manner.

Hayes, L., 2005, ‘Open on Impact?: Slow Progress in World Bank and IMF poverty analysis’, European Network on Debt and Development
What is the impact of poverty and social impact analysis (PSIA) in developing countries? Has it strengthened national institutions and improved reform designs? This study by the European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad) examines the effectiveness of PSIA undertaken by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) using case studies from Ghana, Nicaragua, Mali and Vietnam. It finds that PSIA has not had any clear effects on national policy making processes and recommends that the quality of and the process of carrying out PSIAs needs to be improved, taking into account increased country ownership.
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Decentralisation

Decentralisation is often credited with making governments more accountable to their citizens and creating opportunities for participation in decision-making. In reality, decentralisation often empowers local elites rather than the population as a whole.

International Development Research Centre (IDRC), 2008, ‘Policy Recommendations of the International Conference on Decentralization, Local Power and Women’s Rights: Global Trends in Participation, Representation and Access to Public Services’, policy recommendations from the international conference, Mexico City
How can equal, equitable, and effective citizenship be promoted in relation to decentralisation? This conference report defines a global agenda on gender and decentralisation. Decentralisation has the potential to empower citizens, including excluded groups such as women. However, it can also reinforce elite power and discrimination against women. It frequently fails to address not only gender discrimination, but also other structural divisions and inequalities. Women’s effective participation must be facilitated through measures that include quotas and reserved seats in political bodies, and support for women’s capacity development and networking.
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Wong, S. and Guggenheim, S., 2006, ‘Community-driven development: Decentralisation’s accountability challenge’, The World Bank, Washington D.C.
How have community-driven development (CDD) projects contributed to the effectiveness of decentralisation reforms? This paper from the World Bank surveys CDD programmes in Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines to assess how far this approach improves accountability, service delivery and regulatory frameworks in local government. It argues that CDD presents great opportunities for enhancing civic participation, state responsiveness and cost-effective service provision, although, as a new development approach, it requires further evaluation.
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Manor, J., 2004, ‘Democratization with Inclusion: Political Reforms and People's Empowerment at the Grassroots’, Journal of Human Development, volume 5, issue 1, Pp. 5 -29
In recent years, many governments in developing countries have democratised their political systems. However, this process has not automatically benefited poor people. Many governments in developing countries have recently undertaken political reforms to promote the empowerment and inclusion of ordinary people, especially the poor. This Journal of Human Development article reviews these reforms and looks at how they can be measured and facilitated.
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Jha, C., et al., 2009, 'Citizen Mobilisation in Nepal: Building on Nepal’s Tradition of Social Mobilisation to make Local Governance more Inclusive and Accountable', Report prepared for DFID, World Bank and SDC
How can citizen mobilisation be supported to make local governance more inclusive and accountable in Nepal? This report from the Local Governance and Community Development Programme (LGCDP) analyses social mobilisation in Nepal. Transformational mobilisation processes are needed to build peoples’ capacity to actively participate in their own governance. Lessons learned include providing evidence of change in the 'capability to demand' and addressing obstacles in processes that target the disadvantaged by engaging the elites as ‘champions of the poor’.
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Service delivery and public sector reform

Public sector reform is an important strategy to improve service delivery, but it can also provide an opportunity for collective actors to engage with the process (not only in the delivery mechanism and monitoring reform, but also shaping policy).

Joshi, A., 2008, ‘Producing Social Accountability: The Impact of Service Delivery Reforms’, IDS Bulletin, Volume 38, Number 6, pp. 10-17(8)
Which types of state reform improve public services and citizen engagement? How can accountability mechanisms improve service delivery? This Institute of Development Studies (IDS) paper draws on the polity approach, which suggests that the organisation of state institutions influences who engages in collective action and around what issues. Collective action is essential for the poor if direct accountability is to work. Successful cases of social accountability are often the result of alliances that cut across class and public-private divides.
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Mechanisms that ensure meaningful participation can enhance the capacity of a government to deliver effective and appropriate services.

Tadesse, E. et al., 2006, ‘The People Shall Govern: A research report on public participation in the policy processes’, Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) and Action for Conflict Transformation (ACTION), Johannesburg
How can public participation in government policy formulation and implementation be improved? This paper from the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation and Action for Conflict Transformation examines two South African case studies to evaluate the extent and effectiveness of citizens' engagement in domestic and foreign policy. It argues that, despite important post-Apartheid reforms, public participation is still limited and capacity-building and institutional change are required to improve citizens' involvement and government responsiveness.
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In contrast, where the state remains unreformed with few formal accountability systems, citizens can use informal mechanisms to demand accountability (‘rude’ accountability).

Hossain, N., 2009, ‘Rude Accountability in the Unreformed State: Informal Pressures on Frontline Bureaucrats in Bangladesh’, IDS Working Paper 319
How successful are the informal pressures that poor citizens exert on officials to provide services in Bangladesh? This paper from the Institute of Development Studies examines how poor people experience safety nets, schools and health services. Local political and social pressures provide responsiveness to demands for service through shame and the threat of violence. The gains from ‘rude’ accountability are often short-lived, however, and may backfire. It is important to bridge the informal and official mechanisms of accountability.
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Other approaches

Democratic strategies aimed at increasing and deepening citizen participation in the political decision-making process include increasing electoral turnout, informing decision-makers of citizens’ views and bringing citizens and decision-makers together in dialogue on policy issues.

Smith, G., 2005, ‘Power Beyond the Ballot: 57 Democratic Innovations from Around the World’, The Power Inquiry, London
Which democratic mechanisms might increase and deepen popular participation in the political process? This paper for the POWER Inquiry assesses various “democratic innovations” according to their capacity for broadening citizen engagement and deepening participation in agenda-setting and decision-making, as well as their adaptability and cost-effectiveness. It argues that creative approaches can improve democratic engagement, although political resistance and civic suspicion need to be countered through cultural change, well-resourced support and imaginative institutional design.
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Mobilisation of citizens around the tax system is another approach for participation in public policy.

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2008, ‘Governance, Taxation and Accountability: Issues and Practices’ OECD DAC Guidelines and reference series
How can taxation policy help to improve governance and accountability in developing countries? This paper from the OECD's DAC guidelines and reference series argues that taxation systems contribute significantly to shaping accountability relationships and strengthening state capacities. Further coordinated efforts from both developing countries and donors are needed to secure larger tax bases, better tax compliance, and comprehensive tax reform in order to improve state responsiveness and accountability. Donors should combine high-level international efforts with work to improve the enabling environment and with more direct support to organisational changes.
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Other mechanisms for strengthening citizen participation include participatory budgeting, public expenditure tracking, social audits, community scorecards and budget watchdogs. These citizen-driven accountability measures complement and reinforce conventional mechanisms of accountability such as political checks and balances, accounting and auditing systems, administrative rules and legal procedures.

The World Bank, n.d., ‘From Shouting to Counting: A New Frontier in Social Development’, The World Bank, Washington D.C.
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Lunch, C. and Lunch, N., 2006, ‘Insights into Participatory Video: A Handbook for the Field’, Insight
What are the benefits and potential pitfalls of using Paticipatory Video (PV) techniques to empower marginalised people? This handbook from Insight, a company specialising in PV techniques, offers practical guidelines for setting up a PV project. It shows that PV can be a powerful tool for positive social change as long as practitioners receive the necessary training, organisational backing and resources.
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