Voice and accountability

Introduction

Page contents

• The changing focus of V&A work
• Tools for citizen engagement
• Measuring impact
• Terms and definitions
• Where is a good place to start?

Poor people and other vulnerable minorities are often excluded from participating in policy design and programmes that have direct impact on their lives. Frequently, central and local government institutions are neither responsive nor accountable to the poor. Citizen and civil society participation in the decision-making processes of the state are key to good governance and pro-poor development initiatives. Traditional accountability work focussed on strengthening state mechanisms such as political checks and balances, administrative rules and procedures, auditing requirements, and formal law enforcement agencies like courts and the police. The assumption was that citizens expressed their preferences through electoral politics, and the candidates they elected made representative policies and held the state accountable.  Because these state-based accountability methods have met limited success, attention has shifted towards strengthening the ‘voice’, or capacity, of ordinary citizens (especially poor citizens) to directly participate in policy-making processes. Citizenship is linked to rights to participate in decision-making processes and to demand greater accountability and responsiveness from public officials.

Increased voice will have little impact if the state is not responsive and accountable to the needs and interests of its people. Traditionally, citizen voice and public sector responsiveness reforms have been undertaken separately. To give poor and marginalised citizens a say in the decisions that affect their lives, programmes should focus both on empowering communities to demand change and on strengthening accountability mechanisms that enable the state to respond to these demands. These interventions are equally important and mutually reinforcing.

Greater emphasis is being given to creating more inclusive spaces for dialogue between citizens and the state, for example in Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRS), Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA), and decentralisation reforms. Citizen-driven accountability measures, such as participatory budgeting, public expenditure tracking, social audits, community scorecards and budget watchdogs, are being implemented to complement and reinforce conventional mechanisms of accountability such as political checks and balances, accounting and auditing systems, administrative rules and legal procedures.

The changing focus of V&A work

Participation and accountability initiatives have traditionally been state-centred, viewing citizens as clients or consumers of services and policies. The active involvement of citizens in the shaping of the policies that impact their lives is now being emphasised. ’Participation’ has changed from citizen involvement in community-level projects to citizen engagement in policy formation and implementation to influence and hold governments accountable. Citizenship is increasingly viewed as a social and political right, simultaneously implying social and political responsibilities.

Cornwall, A. and Gaventa, J., 2001, ‘From Users and Choosers to Makers and Shapers: Repositioning Participation in Social Policy’, IDS Working Paper 127, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton
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Cornwall, A., 2000, ‘Beneficiary, Consumer, Citizen: Perspectives on Participation for Poverty Reduction’, Sida Study, No. 2
Since the 1970s, there have been a series of high-level declarations of support for ‘popular participation’ by international development organisations. But what is actually meant by the ‘participation of all stakeholders’ in policy formulation on poverty reduction? This paper, written for the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), explores the changing perspectives on participation for poverty reduction over the last two decades. It argues that greater attention needs to be paid not only to enabling people to make and shape their own spaces for engagement, but also to enhancing local accountability and global institutions that affect people’s lives.
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Tools for citizen engagement

Engaging citizens in decision-making processes has traditionally been one-way, for example, citizen testimony at hearings. Recently, other approaches have evolved that focus on active dialogue between citizens and the state.

Lukensmeyer, C.J. and Torres, L.H., 2006, ‘Public Deliberation: A Manager’s Guide to Citizen Engagement’, IBM Center for the Business of Government
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Irwin, B., Belay, S. and Macqueen, D., 2005, ‘Speaking For Ourselves: Pastoralist Development Dialogue’ Power tools series, SOS-Sahel Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and International Institute for Environment and Development, London, UK
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Measuring impact

Despite the popularity of participatory approaches to development, also known as community-driven development (CDD) or community-based development (CBD), effective ways of measuring their impact lag behind. Projects that are predicated on community participation are often not effective at targeting the poor or leave out segments of the population. There is little understanding of how to effectively measure the impact of participatory processes.  Evaluations should go beyond merely presenting financial accounts and physical achievements of CDD, towards developing indicators that capture the effect on the poor and their capacity to articulate their ‘voice’.

Mansuri, G. and Rao, V., 2004, ‘Community-Based and -Driven Development: A Critical Review’, The World Bank Research Observer, Vol. 19, No. 1, Pp. 1-39
Does community participation in development projects improve the quality and targeting of public benefits? Does participation lead to the empowerment of marginalised groups and increase the capacity for collective action? What are the effects of external agents on the quality of participation and on project success and sustainability? This review from the World Bank Development Research Group (DECRG) examines the literature on the effectiveness of participatory development and makes recommendations for future research.
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Terms and definitions

Voice
‘Voice’ is the capacity of individuals, communities and civil society to influence the government’s decisions on issues that affect their lives. Initiatives aimed at strengthening voice are intended to move citizen engagement with the state beyond consultative processes to more direct forms of influence over policy and spending decisions. Amplified voice will have little impact if the state is not responsive to the needs of its citizens and upholds their rights. 

Accountability
The World Bank defines accountability as: “the obligation of power-holders to account for or take responsibility for their actions.

DFID’s white paper ‘Making Governance Work for the Poor’ extends this definition to “the ability of citizens, civil society and the private sector to scrutinise public institutions and governments to hold them to account. This includes, ultimately, the opportunity to change leaders by democratic means.”

This includes empowering citizens to check the laws and decisions made by government, encouraging free media and freedom of faith and association, respecting human rights and making sure the ‘rule of law’ is upheld.

Where is a good place to start?

Eyben, R. and Ladbury, S., 2006, ‘Building Effective States: Taking a Citizens’ Perspective’, Development Research Institute
How can a citizen-centred approach to development build effective states by improving relations between state and society? This paper from the Development Research Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability, gives an overview of current debates and analyses citizens’ own views on these issues. It argues that a state’s legitimacy is strengthened by civic participation, which often grows up around local issues, and can be empowered through donor support.
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Malena, C., Forster, R. and Singh, J., 2004, ‘Social Accountability: An Introduction to the Concept and Emerging Practice’, Paper No. 76, World Bank, Social Development Department
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Gaventa, J., 2004, ‘Towards Participatory Governance: Assessing the Transformative Possibilities’, in Samuel Hickey and Giles Mohan, Participation: From Tyranny to Transformation’, Zed Books, Pp. 25-41
The concept of participation is increasingly being related to rights of citizenship and democratic governance. This is apparent in the multitude of programmes for decentralised governance in both Southern and Northern countries. Linking citizen participation to the state at the local or grassroots level raises important questions about the nature of democracy and how to achieve it. This chapter from Participation: From Tyranny to Transformation outlines the importance and potential for assessing the transformative possibilities of citizen engagement with local government.
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