BUILDING CITIZENS' VOICE IN THE MONITORING AND EVALUATION PROCESSES OF KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA

Towards Citizen-Centric Governance

April 2011

Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Planning and Development Department Directorate General of Monitoring and Evaluation PAKISTAN

Contents
List of Abbreviations Forward by the Secretary P&D Acknowledgment by the Director General M&E i ii iii

Ta b l e o f

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Introduction What is Civil Society? Government-Civil Society Engagement: An Overview Issues and Challenges Voices from the Field Framework for Building Citizens' Voice in M&E Recommendations Endnote

1 2 5 8 11 12 15 24

Table 1: Defining Civil Society Table 2: Examples of Government-Civil Society Engagement in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

2 6

Box 1: Box 2: Box 3:

Thematic Focus of CSOs in Pakistan CCBs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tehsil Accountability Committees

3 4 7

Annex 1: List of Resource Persons Annex 2: ToRs for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Civil Society Forum Annex 3: Citizen Report Cards Annex 4: Public Expenditure Tracking Annex 5: Phasing Plan for Implementation Glimpses of the Consultations

25 27 30 33 35 37

List of Abbreviations
CCB CDS CIVICUS Citizen Community Boards Comprehensive Development Strategy This is a Latin term meaning of the town or of the community (CIVICUS is an international alliance working for the growth and protection of citizen action throughout the world) Citizen Report Card Civil Society Forum Civil Society Organisation UK governments Department for International Development Directorate General of Monitoring and Evaluation Devolution Trust for Community Empowerment Freedom of Information Interactive Voice Response Local Government Ordinance London School of Economics and Political Science Monitoring and Evaluation Member of Provincial Assembly Non-Governmental Organisation Output-Based Budgeting Planning and Development Public Expenditure Tracking Survey Provincial Reforms Programme Parents-Teachers Council Short Message Service State Owned Enterprises Terms of Reference United Nations Development Programme

CRC CSF CSO DFID DG M&E DTCE FoI IVR LGO LSE M&E MPA NGO OBB P&D PETS PRP PTC SMS SOE ToRs UNDP

Citizens Voice Study of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Foreword

by the Secretary P&D

Traditionally there has been state's monopoly over the public sector planning, monitoring and evaluation processes. However, this trend is breaking now and governments are becoming more open and responsive to the citizens' needs and choices in the ever changing world. The current and last year's Annual Development Programmes of the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (2010-11 and 2011-12) were formulated with the inputs of the civil society stakeholders. With the commissioning of the Citizens' Voice Study, the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has taken a step forward and will include civil society voices (NGOs, academia, media and the private sector) in its monitoring and evaluation practices. The Citizens' Voice Study is a part of the M&E Framework implementation, which was approved by the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in January 2011. The study suggests a number of institutional means and mechanisms through which civil society can be meaningfully engaged in the public sector monitoring and evaluation processes at the policy, service delivery and grievance redressal levels. The Directorate General M&E of the P&D Department has already started working on the implementation of the Citizens' Voice Study recommendations in consultation with the relevant government departments and civil society organisations. I will expect all departments of the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to support this process to foster meaningful institutional reforms for improved service delivery. There is a dire need to close gap between the government initiatives and the private enterprise, and this study precisely addresses this issue and provides very useful recommendations for creating complementarities. Finally, I would like to thank the UK government's Department for International Development (DFID) for providing technical assistance for this pioneering reform initiative of the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through their Provincial Reforms Programme (PRP). I would also like to appreciate efforts of the Directorate General M&E and all those civil society organisations which contributed for the finalisation of this study.

(Muhammad Salim Khan) Secretary to the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Planning and Development Department
Citizens Voice Study of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

ii

Acknowledgments

by the DG M&E

The Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has taken some important initiatives under the Provincial Reforms Programme (PRP) to improve governance in the province in order to make the system more transparent for better service delivery. Therefore work on the Citizens' Voice Study was started immediately after the approval of the M&E Framework by the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in January 2011. The objective of this study was to assist the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in identifying institutional mechanisms for civil society engagement within the M&E Framework, including the tools which can be used for such engagement and the manner in which this engagement can be strengthened. Under the leadership of Mr. Attaullah Khan, Additional Chief Secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Mr. Muhammad Salim Khan, Secretary P&D, and with the help of the Reforms Management Group (Monitoring and Evaluation), the Directorate General M&E has developed an Implementation Plan to execute selected recommendations of the Citizens' Voice Study report on a pilot-basis during the fiscal year 2011-12. However, this is just a beginning and there is much to be achieved for improving government-civil society relationship for improved public sector service delivery in the province. My sincere appreciation goes to all members of the Reforms Management Group (Monitoring and Evaluation), the civil society organisations which participated in this study, Dr. Ihsan Ul Haq, the Director, Reforms Management and Monitoring Unit (Chief Secretary's Office), Mr. Shahid Sharif, PRP Team Leader and Mr. Mohammad Fayaz, PRP M&E Advisor, for their hard work and efforts in completing work on this key milestone reform initiative of the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. I also appreciate the efforts of both the M&E Directors, Engr. Sher Azam Khan and Mr. Muhammad Ayaz, IT Wing of the Directorate General M&E, Mr. Akhtar Shahzad and Mr. Asim Riaz, and Mr. Sher Muhammad Khan, PRP IT Assistant, for facilitating printing work of this report. My deepest gratitude to the UK government's Department for International Development (DFID) and Oxford Policy Management (OPM) for providing technical and financial assistance for commissioning the Citizens' Voice Study and its printing. The Directorate General M&E looks forward and welcomes any comments, feedback and suggestions from stakeholders on implementing recommendations of the Citizens' Voice Study report. We hope that high quality technical support from the DFID will remain available for the implementation of the recommendations of the Citizens' Voice Study report by the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

(Dil Nawaz Khan) Director General M&E Directorate General of Monitoring and Evaluation Planning and Development Department Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

iii

Citizens Voice Study of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Introduction
The Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has taken important initiatives in the recent past to improve governance and development outcomes in the province. The launch of the Comprehensive Development Strategy (CDS), the introduction of Output-Based Budgeting (OBB), and the development of the Health Sector Strategy, Education Sector Plan and Social Protection Strategy, as well as the establishment of the office of the Provincial Ombudsman, all point to a desire to reform the way the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa conducts its business. As part of these reforms, the provincial government recently approved a comprehensive Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Framework. This Framework seeks to consolidate and streamline M&E processes in the public sector and, as part of this effort, aims where possible to incorporate citizens' voice in the assessment of the impact of development programmes and projects. The objective of this report is therefore to assist the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in identifying institutional mechanisms for civil society engagement within the M&E Framework, including the tools which can be used for such engagement and the manner in which this engagement can be rolled out and strengthened. Within the limitations of the time available for conducting this study, an effort was made to consult with a diverse group of stakeholders (nearly 100 people were consulted individually and through three focus-group discussions and one provincial workshop). The recommendations contained in this report are based on the discussions and focus-groups conducted with several civil society organisations, informal jirga, academia and senior officers in the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (see Annex 1 for a full list), as well as an analysis of current practices and systems for government-civil society engagement.

Citizens Voice Study of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

What is Civil Society?

The diversity of issues civil society deals with, and the many roles it performs, makes understanding what it comprises and its perceived benefits a complex matter. As economies mature and societies begin to appreciate the benefits of the 'multipluralism of society'1 the importance of civil society has grown. Policy makers, development practitioners and other stakeholders use different definitions for civil society, each of which mirror their respective perceptions about the role, significance, motivations and performance of civil society (see Table 1). However, for the purposes of this report, a broad view and definition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) is taken, including Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), academia, media and the private sector.
Table 1: Defining Civil Society Source UNDP* Definition Civil society organisations are non-state actors whose aims are neither to generate profits nor to seek governing power. Civil society organisations unite people in order to promote shared goals and interests. Civil society is located between the state, the private sector, and the family or household, where society debates and negotiates matters of common concern and organises to regulate public affairs. It embraces institutionalised groups, local organisations and social movements and networks. Civil society refers to unforced collective action around shared interests, purposes and values. In theory, its institutional forms are distinct from those of the state, family and market, though in practice, the boundaries between state, civil society, family and market are often complex, blurred and negotiated. Civil society commonly embraces a diversity of spaces, actors and institutional forms, varying in terms of degree of formality, autonomy and power and including registered charities, developmentfocussed non-governmental organisations, community groups, trades unions, social movements, business associations, and advocacy groups.

DFID**

Centre for Civil Society, LSE***

* UNDP and Civil Society Organisations: A Toolkit for Strengthening Partnerships. UNDP 2006 ** http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Global-Issues/Emerging-policy/Civil-Society/ *** http://www2.lse.ac.uk/CCS/home.aspx

Sen, Amartya. Identity and Violence: The Illusions of Destiny. Penguin, 2006

What is Civil Society?

Despite a long history of dealing with CSOs, the public-sector in Pakistan tends to equate civil society with NGOs. This view combined with a suspicion about CSOs' motives hampers efforts at purposeful engagement. However, civil society in Pakistan has increasingly found space for working in various modes and for a variety of purposes. Several legal frameworks exist under which CSOs have been registered, including the Societies Act (1860), Companies Ordinance (1984), the Trust Act (1882), the Charitable Endowments Act (1890), the Cooperatives Act (1925), the Voluntary Social Welfare Agencies (Registration and Control) Ordinance (1961) and the Local Government Ordinance (LGO) 2001. According to CIVICUS (a leading international NGO working on civil society issues), as of 2001, more than 12,000 CSOs were registered across Pakistan,2 focused across a range of social sectors (see Box 1).
Box 1: Thematic Focus of CSOs in Pakistan Thematic Area Education Health Child Development Community Development Proportion of Total CSOs 56% 39% 15% 12%

Source: Directory of NGOs, NGO Resource Centre (A Project of the Aga Khan Foundation), 2000 Note: The total exceeds 100% because one CSO often works in more than one thematic area

Poor regulation of CSOs by government, the absence of a comprehensive database of CSOs, and inadequate reporting by CSOs makes it difficult to determine the exact number of CSOs active in Pakistan. However, the number is likely to be greater than the 12,000 identified in the CIVICUS report (2001). To illustrate this point, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone more than 6,000 Citizen Community Boards (CCBs) were established under the Local Government Ordinance between 2001 and 2010, although these were primarily focused on infrastructure and municipal services (Box 2).

Sattar, Adnan and Baig, Rabia. Civil Society in Pakistan. CIVICUS, 2001

What is Civil Society?

Box 2: CCBs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CCB Registration and Project Summary (DTCE Partner Districts Only)
CCB Registration Summary (Based on Available Membership Details) 100% Male 100% Female Mixed Total At Least 33% Female 5,396 89 949 6,434 110

CCB Projects Summary (Based on Available Project Sectors) 98 Agriculture 36 Community Development 63 Education 8 Health 3,405 Infrastructure and Services 7 Literacy 3,617 Total

Source: UNDP Pakistan Country Office, 2011

Citizens Voice Study of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Government-Civil Society Engagement: An Overview

Governments provide a range of services to citizens. Often, the processes steering the provision of services become an end in themselves, with beneficiary views on the composition, quality and relevance of services either not sought or not given due consideration. This is in contrast to the private sector, which is client oriented and adopts systems for client-engagement and feedback to improve its services. The majority of public services are offered through arrangements that offer little or no choice to the public. While acknowledging that the provision of public services may be more complex than the delivery of goods and services in the private sector, the fundamental difference in approach of the two service delivery streams towards clients forms part of the explanation for differences in results achieved and the variation in level of client satisfaction between the two. In Pakistan, governments at the federal and provincial levels have, from time-totime, taken steps towards citizen engagement. For example, involving the business community at the level of the federal Economic Advisory Council, having civil society represented on the boards of state-owned enterprises, and involving parents in the Parents-Teachers Councils (PTCs). In the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa there are several forums and initiatives for civil society engagement (see Table 2). The 2010-11 and 2011-12 Annual Development Programmes of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were formulated with the inputs of the civil society and political representatives, ensured through organisation of the workshops at the provincial level. In addition, the government has adopted a Post Crisis Needs Assessment (PCNA) in which steps towards embedding citizens voice is included as a major indicator for improved governance. However, there is a widespread public perception that engagement between government and CSOs is infrequent, and often tokenistic. From the perspective of social accountability and ensuring transparency in development activities, the role of these forums is either weak or non-existent. Despite there being a large number of CSOs working in the development sector in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, traditionally they are not involved in government M&E processes, with no systematic mechanism for regular and timely feedback from citizens or community groups to support public sector monitoring and decision-making.

Citizens Voice Study of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Government-Civil Society Engagement: An Overview

Table 2: Examples of Government-Civil Society Engagement in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Parents-Teachers Councils Primary Health Care Management Committees Village Development Organisations
Established at the school level, with an elected chair, chosen by and from amongst the PTC members. There are more than 27,000 PTCs in the province, though the exact number of functional PTCs is not known.

Formed at the Basic Health Unit (BHU) level, comprising of local beneficiaries, CSOs, and Health Department staff. These committees have been established on a pilot basis in only a few districts, and form part of the Health Sector Strategy for the province.

Established to oversee water and sanitation projects in province.

Citizen Community Boards

Womens Organisations, Community Organisations, Village Organisations

Established under the provisions of the Local Government Ordinance 2001. There are more than 6,000 CCBs registered in the province.

Leverage community support through in-kind contributions, rights-based advocacy and platforms for collective decision-making and action.

Musalihat Anjumans

Established under the provisions of the Local Government Ordinance 2001 for local dispute resolution through arbitration and mediation.

Representation of Civil Society on Boards of SOEs Local Government Associations

On the Board of Directors of organisations such as the Sarhad Development Authority and the Sarhad Small Industries Development Board.

Formed with membership spread across Nazims of District and Town Municipal Administrations, aimed at providing a platform for learning and sharing for elected heads of the local governments.

Agriculture Think Tank

Under establishment by the Agricultural University (Peshawar) at the behest of the P&D Department, with representation from the academia, private sector and government.

Jirgas

Based on the age-old tradition of community-based decision-making and on a community-driven, self-help groups basis.

While there are models of successful civic engagement in planning and social accountability in the province, these examples tend to operate outside government (see Box 3 for an example). Furthermore, a low premium is placed on research and analysis, thus hampering the ability to integrate evidence in government decisionmaking. The recently approved M&E Framework aims to bridge these gaps. However, several issues and challenges remain, as noted in the next section.

Citizens Voice Study of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Government-Civil Society Engagement: An Overview

Box 3: Tehsil Accountability Committees SUNGI Development Foundation has established a community-based mechanism for a planning and monitoring system, in the Hazara division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is based on community needs and feedback. Communities are organised at the village level in the shape of Village Committees, for identifying local needs and developing a Village Development Plan. Clusters of villages that form part of a Union Council have the Area Coordination Committee that oversee the functioning of the Village Committees. At the Tehsil level, Accountability Committees are formed which carry out monitoring of infrastructure development in the area and provide feedback to local Members of the Provincial Assembly (MPAs) as well as to the communities on their findings. All Committees are elected by the local communities themselves and capacity building is provided by SUNGI. However, there is no formal linkage between these Accountability Committees and the Tehsil administration and MPAs, and interaction is based on personal rather than institutional relationships. At present, there are around 60 functional Accountability Committees, which present a model for social accountability at the local level.

Citizens Voice Study of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Issues and Challenges

In moving towards a more citizen-centred governance model the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has several issues to consider. These include: l Credibility. Although government talks of commitment to build citizens' voice its track record is not strong. Civil society is unlikely to support such efforts unless the credibility of outreach by government is established. Government needs to bridge gaps in its communication and coordination with civil society in order to re-establish this credibility. l The incentives void. There are few incentives for the civil bureaucracy to adopt more inclusive M&E processes. Policy documents or administrative instructions that call for multi-stakeholder engagement cannot, by themselves, deliver effective civic engagement. There must be incentives in place for the bureaucracy to engage with civil society. l Weak government-private sector nexus. Despite the fact that Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's policy documents highlight the importance of a private sector-led development model, the involvement of the private sector in M&E is negligible. The Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa organised pre-budget seminars while formulating Annual Development Programmes of 2010-11 and 2011-12, including the private sector representatives, there is a scope for further strengthening this collaboration. l Local engagement, without local government. Following devolution reforms, the challenges of ensuring institutional civil society engagement have increased significantly. The draft Local Government Act 2010, currently under submission to the Provincial Assembly, does away with CCBs, internal audit functions, and grievance-redressal mechanisms such as District Ombudsmen. Critics of the LGO 2001 will point out that these institutional arrangements enjoyed only mixed success. However, the existence of legal provisions at least provided a basis to build on and continuity could have helped iron out the deficiencies. l CSO accountability. Government officers often raise the issue of the accountability of CSOs, and question the validity of their standpoint on government accountability and transparency. The Pakistan Centre for

Citizens Voice Study of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Issues and Challenges

Philanthropy has put in place an accreditation system for CSOs. However, questions over CSO accountability and suspicions over their motives still need to be addressed. For example, CSOs are often accused of promoting 'donor-sponsored agendas', although donor funding constituted only 7 percent of CSO financing in 20023. l Bridging information gaps. The route to civil society empowerment begins with access to information. With information access now a constitutional right4, there is an obligation on the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to promulgate a Freedom of Information (FoI) Law and to ensure its implementation. Information flows from civil society to the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also need to be strengthened, and CSOs need to reach out to government to share their experiences. l Effective grievance-redressal mechanisms. Effective citizen-friendly grievance-redressal mechanisms are an important element in establishing more accountable and transparent services. At present, such mechanisms are largely absent. As mentioned earlier, District Ombudsmen offices were not established under the LGO 2001, and the Provincial Ombudsman is not yet fully functional. l The risk of co-option. The need to define appropriate roles and responsibilities of both the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and CSOs in the M&E process is important. The choice of partners from CSOs for oversight needs to be carefully managed to avoid a conflict of interest between service providers and monitors. Moreover, even within the internal accountability mechanisms in the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, there is a need to ensure that the roles of implementation and oversight should not be vested in the same person. l Absence of benchmarks and baselines. The weaknesses of government's M&E processes are underscored by poor or non-existent benchmarks and baselines. As a result, service delivery processes are not output-oriented. The introduction of output-based budgeting in the province, however, does provide an opportunity for setting this right.

Pasha AG, HA Pasha and MA Iqbal. Non-profit Sector in Pakistan: Government Policy and Future Issues. Social Policy and Development Centre Working Paper 2, The Johns Hopkins Comparative Non-profit Sector Project 2002 4 This provision was introduced in the recent Eighteenth Amendment

Issues and Challenges

l Overcoming a weak culture of engagement. In Pakistan, the governmentcivil society relationship is weak, marked as it is by a mutual suspicion nurtured by a lack of information about each other's actions. The prospect of enhanced CSO engagement and making M&E more inclusive requires focused interventions aimed at bridging this gap. This would entail addressing capacity needs on both sides of the divide, improving communication and coordination, and overcoming attitudinal barriers that have traditionally marred government-civil society relations.

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Citizens Voice Study of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Voices from the Field

During interaction with stakeholders, feedback was received on different impediments to effective government-civil society relations. While this has been reflected in the previous section, a 'word cloud' representation of this feedback is instructive in helping understand the major challenges, as perceived by civil society (see below). The size and boldness of the font used indicates the frequency of their being cited as major issues and challenges, as voiced by civil society during several interviews, focus-group discussions and workshops. As a visual map of challenges, this presents an alternative view of people's perceptions about government's accountability and transparency.

Citizens Voice Study of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

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Framework for Building Citizens' Voice in M&E

Building citizens' voice in the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's M&E systems and processes needs to be guided by the principles of sustainability, consistency, relevance and trust. l Sustainability. Improving M&E through CSO participation and building citizens' voice in government processes needs investment in building bridges, careful planning, and overcoming preconceptions. There is therefore a need to institutionalise arrangements and develop incentives so as to provide a sustainable platform for engagement. l Consistency. Government-civil society engagement is often undermined by a lack of consistency. Initiatives that are launched with much enthusiasm often are not carried through, usually because they are personality, rather than system, driven. Consistency of effort, rooted in systemic change, is important. l Relevance. Given the diversity of expertise, experience and nature of CSOs, appropriate matching of CSOs for engagement at different levels and processes of M&E is important. Research organisations may not be appropriate for the task of community mobilisation, while organisations involved in managing social-accountability processes may not have the requisite skills for technical evaluation of development projects. l Trust. Partnerships flourish when they are based on mutual trust. This can be addressed through improved communication and clarity in roles and responsibilities, expectations, intended outcomes and institutional arrangements that enable and facilitate each partner in performing their roles. The opportunities for building citizens' voice in M&E processes can be optimised, provided the following changes take place: l The Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa moves beyond tokenism. The government-civil society engagement needs to be meaningful, institutionalised and based on a shared and genuine concern for improving public services, driven through incentives and embedded as part of regular Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa operations, not ring-fenced in donor-

12

Citizens Voice Study of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Framework for Building Citizens' Voice in M&E

funded projects. l The distinction between citizen-centric government and citizen-centric governance is grasped. In theory, all governments ought to be citizencentric. However, in practice the degree to which they actually are varies considerably. In building citizens' voice in M&E processes it is critical not to lose sight of the fact that citizen-centric governance encompasses the roles and contributions of stakeholders other than Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa itself. Citizen-centric governance implies allowing space for civil society to develop social-accountability systems, empower communities through facilitating access to relevant information, and building requisite capacity and alternative service delivery and oversight mechanisms. l The feedback loop is completed. Mobilising communities for engagement in the M&E process and strengthening social-accountability mechanisms serves little purpose if the results of such engagement are not communicated back to communities. Engagement is a two-way process and communication is necessary to bridge the trust deficit, build credibility, and ensure sustainability. l A push and pull strategy is employed. Reforms are sustained where there is public demand and an enabling environment. Embedding citizens' voice involves pushing for principles, practices and processes outlined above, and a pull strategy that is based on effective community mobilisation, access to information and requisite institutional arrangements. l The benefits of information technology are leveraged. The use of information technology to facilitate citizens' access to information and sharing of knowledge amongst stakeholders is amplified both by the growing 'teledensity' (number of landline telephones in use for every 100 individuals living within an area). In Pakistan, teledensity has increased from 4.31 percent in 2003 to over 64 percent in 2010, with cellular service density accounting for 61 percent5. Broadband subscriptions have also increased from just 26,000 in 2003 to over one million in 20106.

5 6

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority Ibid

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Framework for Building Citizens' Voice in M&E

l Innovation is encouraged, facilitated and rewarded. The M&E is a dynamic process that can benefit from innovative practices employed both in government and in the civil society. There are opportunities for government to learn from the private sector with regard to research and analysis functions, the way in which client feedback can drive change, and the extent to which innovation is valued and rewarded.

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Citizens Voice Study of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Recommendations
The following actions are proposed for embedding citizens' voices in the M&E processes of the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. However, it is up to the provincial government how they select and implement these recommendations to improve their monitoring and evaluation practices in collaboration with the civil society organisations. A phased Implementation Plan is proposed under Annex 5 for the consideration of the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A. Establish Platforms for Policy Engagements This may include: 1. Establishing a Civil Society Forum (CSF) for providing regular policy advice to the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on issues related to social accountability, strengthening of grievance-redressal mechanisms, improving and streamlining of M&E processes and overall developmental planning and implementation. This forum should consist entirely of CSOs with broad-based membership to ensure representation of different types of CSOs. The Chair would rotate amongst members, with a fixed tenure. A similar Forum was established in Sindh province as part of the Sindh Reforms Programme and proved a success in mobilising policy-oriented dialogue amongst CSOs. Proposed Terms of Reference (ToRs) of CSF are provided at Annex 2. Representation on the M&E Committees in the office of the Directorate General M&E to ensure that direct advisory input of CSOs is available to assist the DG M&E in its efforts to deliver effectively on its mandate under the M&E Framework. In addition, inclusion of civil society in two other management forums proposed to be established in the office of the DG M&E especially at the level of Divisional Review Committees headed by the Commissioners would help ensure that the community's voice is embedded in an institutional arrangement at the local level, allowing for collation of experiences, concerns and suggestions for improving oversight received from a variety of local, community-based mechanisms (including Parents-Teachers Councils, Village Organisations, Women's Organisations etc).

2.

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Recommendations
3. Setting up of multi-stakeholder sectoral Think Tanks and Commissions as is being done for the agriculture sector. In keeping with the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's focus on social service delivery and aligned to the rolling out of its CDS and OBB initiatives, it is proposed that, initially, these Think Tanks be established for the education, health and social protection sectors. Since the idea of these Think Tanks is to provide independent advice and feedback on implementation of the sector strategies, the majority of the members should be from civil society, including the private sector. Prioritise Improved Access to Information To bridge the information gap and promote transparency, it is recommended that: 4. Freedom of Information (FoI) legislation is enacted, drawing upon best international practice and including subordinate legislation in the form of rules and regulations. Every department at provincial and local level should be asked to nominate Information Officers, their contact details should be widely publicised and their capacities built. Subsequent to the enactment, a sustained public awareness campaign should be run in the media and local community, mobilised through the help of CSOs engaged in rights-based advocacy, highlighting the rights of the common citizen in this respect, how they can exercise this right and the procedure for grievance-redressal in case they are denied this right. The Provincial Ombudsman legislation is amended to vest in this office the powers of an Information Commissioner7, to whom citizens denied access to information can appeal. Publicity should be given and CSOs used to create awareness and understanding of the role of the Information Commissioner and the procedure to follow for approaching him for redressal of any grievance related to access to information. The principles of open budgeting are embraced with budget information including development budgets made available to the public in a concise and simplified form, with multilingual versions in Urdu, Pashto and other local languages. These can be made available through websites and printed

B.

5.

6.

16

This proposed amendment would follow the enactment of appropriate FoI legislation

Recommendations
copies available on demand at departmental and local levels. Progress on the utilisation of budgets should also be made available through the same channels, including on the website of the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and mid-year budget utilisation seminars organised throughout the province in collaboration with CSOs to apprise the public about issues in implementation and results achieved. Furthermore, research organisations can be engaged to carry out independent budget analysis covering resource allocation and utilisation and their findings shared through the arrangements mentioned above, in order to ensure that this analysis is moved into the public domain. 7. Facility-based public information made available through notice boards at service delivery level (schools, hospitals etc) and at the District Coordination office. At the facility level where services are being delivered, these notice boards (in Urdu or local languages) can provide information about the project, including the investment being made, the time of completion, the contracted agency carrying out the works and the contact details of officers in case of any complaint or feedback the public may wish to give. In the District Coordination office, these boards can provide information about the overall development budgets, major investments, progress on these investments and contact details of officers for complaints or provision of feedback. Push text messages and SMS-based information services are used to send summarised, targeted information in Urdu and local languages to mobilephone users on major development initiatives in the region and who to contact for further information. Similarly, as is being done for a range of other services (ticket booking, banking etc), an SMS information service, enabling anyone with a mobile phone to text specific codes to receive summary information on budgets, grievance-redressal officers etc, could be established in partnership with the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) and major mobile service providers. The recently launched public accountability campaign of DJuice (a spinoff of Telenor, targeting youth) is an example of how this SMS service could work and also points to the fact that the technology for such services exists and is already being used in the country.

8.

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Recommendations
9. Establish Awaaz: a Provincial Call Centre to serve as a one-stop shop for sharing information, guiding citizens with respect to any governmental procedures, receipt of complaints and enabling tracking of complaints, providing budgetary information or receiving suggestions. Awaaz should be a toll-free service offered to the public, established under a public-private partnership, offering multilingual IVR-based services and linked to the Ombudsman office as well as departmental databases, Information Officers and grievance-redressal systems. An example of such a service is the Call Centre established by the Federal Ombudsman's office. Institutionalise Social Accountability Mechanisms Tools to use in this respect include: 10. Citizen Report Cards (CRCs) developed for key service-delivery sectors such as education, health and municipal services, starting with pilots carried out in select districts on either education or health service delivery. CRCs have been used in other provinces in Pakistan, including by the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board8 and the Town Municipal Administration of Dunya Pur in the Lodrhan district of Punjab province9 (please see Annex 3 for further details on CRCs). Expanding on the concept of community-based Tehsil Accountability Committees to serve as an independent forum for public accountability linked with departmental information and accountability systems through quarterly meetings. In particular, they could be used to monitor procurement and contracting at tehsil and district level, providing feedback on the integrity and efficiency of the process as well as information on market costs. Accountability focus for facility-level participatory forums with a conscious effort made to ensure that the Parents-Teachers Councils at the school level, Primary Health Care Management Committees in health and Village Development Organisations in the water and sanitation sector become less like rubber-stamping forums and focus more on their functions as accountability and transparency forums. This can be achieved through

C.

11.

12.

18

See the World Bank Water and Sanitation website at http://www.wsp.org/wsp/node/231 for more information Mid-Term Report on Citizen Report Card Methodology and Continuous Improvement Benchmarking. ADB 2008

Recommendations
ensuring members' understanding of any standards (such as those set for the health sector), their role in monitoring those standards and for checking issues such as doctors' absenteeism, availability of medicines etc and through regular performance audits carried out by CSOs as well as detailed evaluations of their performance by the Directorate General M&E in collaboration with CSOs. 13. Use Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys (PETS) to map the flow of public resources from the source to the beneficiary and, in doing so, assess the deficiencies, impediments and transparency of the process. To ensure linkage with the OBB process, it is proposed that the PETS be initiated for the education, health and social protection sectors (please see Annex 4 for details). Institute Effective Grievance Redressal Mechanisms Issues of voice and accountability cannot be addressed fully unless an effective grievance-redressal mechanism is instituted at various levels of service provision. The following interventions are proposed: 14. Develop standards for departmental-level grievance-redressal to cover roles and responsibilities, procedures for grievance-redressal and ensure wide dissemination and public awareness of these standards and systems. Prioritise the full functionality of the Provincial Ombudsman and establish a Civil Society Advisory Committee to assist the Ombudsman in its work and provide a civil society perspective on public accountability issues. A similar Forum has been functional in the office of the Federal Ombudsman of Pakistan for more than two years now and provides a useful model to follow. Publish and ensure wide dissemination of a Complaints Directory listing all grievance-redressal focal points and Information Officers (once the FoI legislation is enacted), their contact details and steps to follow if access to information is denied or a grievance not redressed. Both the Federal and Punjab Ombudsman have published these Directories, with the Federal Complaints Directory available in English and Urdu.

D.

15.

16.

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Recommendations
E. Strengthening M&E Operations The responsibilities assigned to the Directorate General M&E under the M&E Framework are both wide and challenging. To strengthen and support their operations, it is proposed that: 17. An M&E Fund is created with development partners pooling resources to conduct evaluations on priority issues and development initiatives in the province. The fund would be managed by a multi-stakeholder fundmanagement forum that would define eligible uses, criteria for evaluating proposals, and carry out regular assessment of the results achieved. This would also help ensure a streamlined approach towards strengthening public accountability and transparency issues promised under the M&E Framework. Formal reporting formats (PC-III, PC-IV etc) used for M&E are amended to include a section on community feedback, detailing who was contacted for feedback, and their views summarised and assigned a weight in the overall monitoring scorecard. This would institutionalise and integrate the citizens' voice in formal M&E systems. Criteria and guidelines on who can be contacted, when and how can be determined jointly by CSOs and the Directorate General M&E. The guidelines under preparation for the M&E Framework could incorporate the manner in which this interaction can be undertaken and how the results emerging from it can be integrated in the overall report. Following the Eighteenth Amendment, provinces can now change the PC-III (monthly/quarterly monitoring proforma) and PC-IV (endof-project report) originally designed by the Planning Commission of Pakistan. A public call for information and feedback should be issued by the Directorate General M&E for all the major projects it intends to monitor, through the media and through local CSOs. The deadlines, manner of provision of this information and contact details of officers conducting the monitoring can be publicised and this feedback incorporated in the reports generated. This would provide a direct opportunity for the public to contribute to the government's M&E processes.

18.

19.

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Recommendations
20. A Research and Analysis Centre is established in the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry to enable the premier representative body of the private sector to contribute to the accountability process through independent and alternative budget analysis and proposals, and assist the Directorate General M&E in the evaluation of development projects aimed at poverty reduction and private-sector development. Civil Society Engagement Incentivised As mentioned above, unless incentivised, questions may linger over the sustainability of government-civil society relations. To address this issue, the following actions are proposed: 21. Linking performance appraisal of civil servants responsible for service delivery and M&E with their efforts to build citizens' voice this could be done through, for example, social-accountability processes such as CRCs and institution-based mechanisms such as Parents-Teachers Councils and Primary Health Care Management Committees with the former assessing teachers on their performance and the latter para-medical staff. Instituting the Khidmatgaar Mark as a charter mark system that recognises efforts made by public sector agencies to comply with standards set for more citizen-centric governance. Eligibility and selection criteria can be determined jointly by government and CSOs and the evaluation of applications for the mark carried out through an independent agency. Instituting the Chief Minister's Award for Civic Engagement to acknowledge government agencies that have performed well with respect to building the citizens' voice and to serve as an incentive to those who still need to work on their performance. The involvement of the civil society would be through their participation as members of an independent panel of experts who would determine the indicators and also evaluate entries for the Award. Introducing conditional fiscal transfers to reward departments that make efforts to improve government-citizen engagement either through inclusion in the monitoring and evaluation process, tracking use of public

F.

22.

23.

24.

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Recommendations
funds or raising awareness and providing access to information. Departments that meet specified eligibility and performance criteria could have their budgets topped up with special conditional fiscal transfers every year, with the proposed Local Council Finance Commission determining and overseeing the shape, size and implementation of these grants. G. Innovations in Engagement Although a number of the recommendations listed above represent a major departure from the way public accountability processes currently are carried out, there are other innovative ways in which these processes can be strengthened. These include: 25. Partnering with the electronic media to introduce a mobile Meri Awaaz service with an Outdoor Broadcasting van taken to different parts of the province and members of the public invited to send short, direct messages, suggestions and information to the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to be televised and shared with relevant government officers. Some of the private TV channels10 and some mobile service providers11 have piloted similar initiatives and garnered public support. This service could be used to particularly target remote areas in the province to enable local communities living there to establish contact with the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Local CSOs could be engaged to mobilise communities in this respect and the service could be linked with the Directorate General M&E in relation to inviting public opinion prior to undertaking monitoring of major projects as outlined above. Develop a Civil Society Performance Index to address the CSO accountability issue and establish a benchmark for evaluating the performance of CSOs and non-state providers. This evaluation would reflect the relative performance of CSOs within a specified period and provide a benchmark for stakeholders to use and consider when deciding who to partner with. The Index could follow the parameters used by CIVICUS for its own Civil Society Index, and could be established and managed by the P&D Department in collaboration with the NGO Resource Centre (A Project of the Aga Khan Foundation) and the Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy.

26.

10

22
11

News-based TV channels such as Geo and ARY have run special programmes where District and Town Nazims appeared live to respond to complaints by callers For example DJuice Telenor's recent 'Khamoshi Ka Boycott' campaign against corruption

Recommendations
27. Launch a Virtual Kutchery/Jirga service whereby members of the Cabinet including the Chief Minister, MPAs, local councillors and government officers (including provincial Secretaries) become available online at specified times and dates, which are publicised widely well in advance, to listen to complaints, receive feedback and suggestions through moderated sessions. Although this service has its limitations at present given the low teledensity, it would at least provide an avenue for those with Internet access to engage directly with the provincial leadership. Community Advisory Bureaus established at the district level to complement and support the district-level functionaries in their M&E functions, as well as allowing the community to liaise with elected representatives and with the Divisional Monitoring Officers of the Directorate General M&E. These Bureaus can be linked with academia, research institutions and advocacy-based CSOs. The initiative can be piloted in select districts and linked with the OBB priority areas of education, health and social protection. A CSO Knowledge Bank that provides a one-stop online portal for information about CSOs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including their contact details, legal and managerial frameworks, thematic areas of work, areas of expertise and experience, geographical coverage, major initiatives undertaken, key publications, and case studies. This would not only facilitate stakeholders in identifying key partners but also enable sharing of information and knowledge between CSOs themselves. The Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through its Science & Technology and Information Technology Department can provide the portal establishment and management resources, while content could be contributed by CSOs.

28.

29.

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Endnote
While the benefits of building citizens' voice in the government's M&E Framework are plentiful and obvious, the path to achieving this result is a complicated one, as noted earlier in this report. Mindful of these challenges, and the limitations within which this effort to embed citizens' voice in M&E is being undertaken, the recommendations made in the report are intended to: l Build on the political will articulated by the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for improving accountability and monitoring; l Provide a local context as most recommendations are rooted in successful CSO practices and models in the province or in other provinces of Pakistan; l Rely on active participation and reciprocation of commitment by civil society, because while the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will have to take the lead on several initiatives, the engagement process requires full involvement of CSOs; and, l Call for phased implementation that is synchronised with the rolling out of other reforms (particularly those related to improving service delivery, finance management and public accountability), availability of resources and building of capacity in both government and civil society (please see Annex 5 for the proposed phasing plan). The next steps in this respect would include the development, approval and implementation of an action plan, based on the phasing proposed.

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Annex 1: List of Resource Persons

S/No Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Mr. Mian Asim Ismail Mr. Shakirullah Mr. Dil Nawaz Khan Mr. Razaullah Mr. Nadeem Bashir Mr. Iftikhar Ahmad Mr. Siraj Ahmad Khan Focus-Group Meeting with Community Leaders Mr. Sharafat Gul Mr. Adeel Bashir Mr. Mansoor Nasir Mr. Muhammad Tariq Mr. Rizwan Ahmad Dr. Muhammad Zulfiqar Mr. Ismael Afzal Dr. Hamayun Khan Dr. Shahnaz Arifullah Mr. Mir Kalan Shah Mr. Masoodul Mulk Mr. M Salim Khan Mr. Mohammad Farid Qureshi Mr. Hamid Naveed Mr. Hashmat Ali Mr. Hameed Hasan Mr. Ahmed Ali Mr. Akhtar Shahzad Mr. Yasir Qureshi Dr. Shaheen Afridi Dr. Arif Azad Mr. Asad Rehman

Designation/Department/Organisation Chief, Economic Analysis Wing, P&D Department Assistant Director, P&D Department Director General, P&D Department Chief Education, P&D Department Additional Secretary, Finance Department District Planning Officer, Peshawar District Coordination Officer, Peshawar Khattak Qomi Jirga, Pubbi/Nowshera (10 Representatives) District HRD Officer, Nowshera District Coordinator, CESSD Project, Nowshera District Planning Officer, Nowshera Chief Executive Officer, SABAWON Additional Director P&D, Agricultural University, Peshawar Director VC Secretariat, Agricultural University, Peshawar Assistant Director, Agricultural University, Peshawar Director, Institute of Development Studies, Peshawar Professor, Institute of Development Studies, Peshawar Professor, Institute of Development Studies, Peshawar Chief Executive Officer, Sarhad Rural Support Programme Secretary, P&D Department Special Secretary, E&SE Department Deputy Director Coordination ESRU, E&SE Department Senior Planning Officer, E&SE Department Deputy Project Field Manager, CESSD Project Director II, Directorate General M&E Database Administrator, Directorate General M&E Director MIS, Planning Commission of Pakistan Deputy Chief HSRU, Health Department Executive Coordinator, TheNetwork for Consumer Protection Director of Programmes, SUNGI Development Foundation

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Annex 1: List of Resource Persons

S/No Name 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 Focus-Group Meeting with CSOs Workshop with Community Leaders, CSOs, Academia and Press Mr. Shamroz Khan Mr. Usman Gul Mr. Amjad Afridi Mr. Shahid Hayat Ms. Maheen Zehra Mr. Osman Bashir Bilour Mr. Javed Akhtar Focus-Group Meeting with the Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar Designation/Department/Organisation Omar Asghar Khan Development Foundation and Society for Alternative Media and Research (5 Representatives) Community Leaders (11), CSOs (7), Academia (3) and Press (3) Chief SCRU, SW&WD Department Chief Economist, P&D Department Secretary, ST&IT Department UNDP IECD Project The World Bank (Water and Sanitation Programme) President, Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Peshawar Vice President, Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Peshawar Representatives (9)

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Annex 2: ToRs for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Civil Society Forum

A.

Objectives

The Civil Society Forum (CSF) will provide a platform for structured policy dialogue between various stakeholders from civil society to discuss, recommend and advocate for policy changes to build the citizens' voice in monitoring and evaluation of public-sector development programmes and projects and to promote accountability, transparency and integrity in public-sector service delivery and use of public funds. The specific objectives of CSF would be to: l Create a platform for discussion of important policy issues surrounding government-citizen engagement, with a view to building up a broad-based support for such policies; l Discuss the policy and systemic issues and challenges to improve the coverage and quality of accountability and transparency in service delivery; l Identify ways in which the current legislation, policies, systems and procedures can be improved within the context of monitoring and evaluation and to highlight ways in which civil society can supplement, facilitate and support the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in this respect; l Conduct research on critical issues having an impact on the inclusion of the citizens' voice in the monitoring and evaluation processes employed in the public sector, to facilitate informed debate and decision-making; and, l Facilitate knowledge sharing amongst all the stakeholders on accountability, transparency and integrity, and service delivery issues. B. Outputs

The above-stated objectives will be achieved in the form of the following outputs: l Policy papers/briefs recommending new policies or policy changes; l Research reports and studies on various accountability, transparency and integrity, service delivery and inclusiveness issues;

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Annex 2: ToRs for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Civil Society Forum

Knowledge-management systems and practices such as Communities of l Practice and online resource repositories; Annual Report on performance targets and recommendations for future l actions; and, Working groups/task force papers and reports. l C. Strategy

The intended objectives and outputs will primarily be achieved through regular dialogue between civil society organisations, policy makers/parliamentarians, academics/subject experts, civil society members, media and representatives from the business community to stimulate a culture of dialogue and discussion on government-civil society engagement. The dialogue that will take place could range from conferences on broad public policy issues to more focused discussions of the task forces/working groups on issues such as policies to improve accountability and transparency in the delivery of government services. D. Composition

The CSF is proposed to be made up of: Heads of the largest CSOs* working in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa l Chairperson of the relevant Standing Committees of the Provincial l Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (e.g. Committee on Health, Education, Social Protection etc) President, Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Peshawar l Director, Institute of Development Studies, Agricultural University, l Peshawar Director, Centre for Public Policy and Research, Institute of Management l Sciences, Peshawar President, Peshawar Press Club, Peshawar l

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Annex 2: ToRs for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Civil Society Forum

l Representatives of PTV, Geo TV, ARY, Dawn TV, Express News, Khyber TV etc l Subject experts/technocrats (such as on education, health, social protection and governance etc) * This would include international, national and local CSOs. The Directorate General M&E will determine the criteria for selection, which could include the number of projects implemented, years of service in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and specific expertise in relevant areas such as development, advocacy, outreach and research etc. The CSF Chair shall rotate amongst the Heads of the CSOs and the first Chairperson shall be elected through a majority vote. The CSF may establish any sub-committees or working groups, which shall meet as per need. Experts may be co-opted for these sub-committees or working groups. E. Reporting

The CSF shall present its reports and recommendations to the Minister for Planning and Development of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. F. Meetings

The CSF shall be convened at least bi-annually. Minutes of the meeting should be prepared and circulated for information, record and action by the Directorate General M&E. G. Secretariat

The Directorate General M&E shall serve as the Secretariat to the CSF.

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Annex 3: Citizen Report Cards

The Citizen Report Cards (CRCs) are participatory surveys that solicit user feedback on the quality and performance of public services in order to raise citizen awareness and ultimately bring about reforms in the public-service delivery system. A key feature of the CRC method is that survey findings are placed in the public domain through the use of media and public meetings, thus making it an effective instrument to promote transparency, responsiveness and public accountability. A. What is it?

The CRC is a tool to engage citizens in assessing the quality of public services such as primary health care, water supply, public transport, elementary education etc. The survey can be used for an overall assessment of the performance of a public agency based on the customer/client/citizens' experience captured in terms of their satisfaction in relation to specific attributes of services, such as access, availability, quality and reliability, along with agency responsiveness and the transparency of the service provider. When CRCs are applied at regular intervals, they can also help benchmark the changes over a period of time. On several occasions, CRCs have even revealed hidden costs incurred by users/citizens while seeking access to or using a particular service. The World Bank cites the following as crucial requirements for an effective CRC initiative: l A commitment to gather credible data on clients' perceptions; l Constructive and solution-oriented approach on the part of CSOs rather than confrontational advocacy; l Competence, professionalism and credibility of the group that undertakes the CRC exercise; l Commitment by the public agency to engage in the process, listen to critical analysis and initiate reforms based on the findings; and, l Active involvement of the mass media to ensure that the findings are widely disseminated and debated.

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Annex 3: Citizen Report Cards

B. How is it done?

Key steps in implementing a CRC are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. C. Identify scope, actors and purpose Design the questionnaire Sampling Execution of the survey Data entry and analysis Dissemination of findings Institutionalisation of CRC Benefits l CRCs generate experience-driven, scientifically analysed and quantified knowledge that is difficult for service providers to ignore; l CRCs enhance public awareness on issues of service quality (they encourage citizens to pro-actively demand greater accountability, accessibility and responsiveness from service providers); l The CRC process facilitates open and proactive discussion on the performance of public agencies (in many cases it has led to enhanced responsiveness and reforms to improve the quality of services); l Enables federal ministries and planning departments to prioritise budget allocations and monitor implementation; l Facilitates partnerships by bringing together citizens, CSOs and government in face-to-face meetings; and, l Expands 'social capital' by uniting communities around issues of shared concern. D. Challenges and lessons l Conducting a large survey of service users can be costly and time consuming;

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Annex 3: Citizen Report Cards

CRCs require country contexts that are open to civil society/citizen advocacy l and external pressures to engender public service improvements; It is crucial that meetings between users and service providers do not l become forums for personal attacks on service providers; There can be institutional resistance/lack of will to act on CRC findings and l implement reforms; CRCs require support from the media, which must be engaged from the very l outset; and, The CRC process can lead to citizen disillusionment if there is no perceptible l improvement in the quality of services. Key resources Ackerman, JM. Human Rights and Social Accountability. Social Development Department, World Bank (2005)
http://zunia.org/uploads/media/knowledge/Human%20Rights%20and%20Social%20Accountability%20FINAL.pdf

Asian Development Bank, Manila: E-Learning Toolkit on the Citizen Report Card Methodology
http://www.citizenreportcard.com

Public Affairs Centre, Bangalore, India

http://www.pacindia.org

Ramkumar, V. Our Money Our Responsibility: A Citizen Guide to Monitoring Government Expenditure. International Budget Partnership (2008)
http://www.internationalbudget.org/resources/expenditure/IBP-Expenditure-Monitoring-Guide.pdf

South Asia Social Accountability Net

http://www.sasanet.org/aboutsasa.do

Source: CIVICUS

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Annex 4: Public Expenditure Tracking

Public expenditure tracking involves tracing the flow of public resources for the provision of public goods or services from origin to destination. It can help to detect bottlenecks, inefficiencies and/or corruption in the transfer of public goods and resources and is a key tool for the government and CSOs to guard against corruption and work towards ensuring transparent, accountable and effective public financial management. A. What is it?

Public expenditure tracking helps governments, citizens and CSOs ensure that allocated public resources effectively reach their intended beneficiaries. It can help identify and address problems and weaknesses in systems of public expenditure, transfer and service delivery. It is also effective in revealing corruption and detecting the exact location of leakages. Public expenditure tracking usually involves some form of both quantitative research and qualitative research such as, for example, interviewing users of public services about their experiences and assessments of the quality, accessibility and cost of public services. Expenditure tracking can be undertaken at the local, district or sub-national level. B. How is it done?

Key steps in implementing public expenditure tracking are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. C. Determine the scope and purpose of the tracking exercise Identify partners and key stakeholders Design the research/survey Gather and analyse the data Public dissemination of findings and advocacy Explore possibilities for institutionalisation Benefits l Access to expenditure data gives politicians and citizens the ability to engage government on issues of public spending (it creates an incentive for governments to be vigilant in their financial-management practices);

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Annex 4: Public Expenditure Tracking

Increases public financial transparency and reduces the potential for l corrupt practices; Can contribute to improved delivery of public services, by identifying and l addressing problems of bureaucratic bottlenecks, inefficiencies, corruption and leakages; and, Establishes whether expenditures are consistent with budgetary allocations l and whether transfers/services are effectively reaching the targeted groups. D. Challenges and lessons Obtaining access to relevant accounts and financial reports can be a major l obstacle; and, In some cases, accurate expenditure/transfer records may not exist (CSOs l can sometimes play an important role in tracking transfers in collaboration with local level service providers and/or users). Source: CIVICUS

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Annex 5: Phasing Plan for Implementation

Intervention ST MT LT Responsibility

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Annex 5: Phasing Plan for Implementation

Intervention ST MT LT Responsibility

ST MT LT E&SED HD LDs P&DD FD ID DoL ST&ITD DG M&E

Short Term period of up to 12 months Medium Term period of 1-3 years Long Term period of 3 years or longer Elementary and Secondary Education Department Health Department Line Departments Planning and Development Department Finance Department Information Department Department of Law Science & Technology and Information Technology Department Directorate General of Monitoring and Evaluation

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Glimpses of the Consultations

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Glimpses of the Consultations

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Citizens Voice Study of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa