SOCIAL AUDIT

What is Social Audit?

A process by which people , the final beneficiaries are empowered to audit, the scheme, programme, policy or law. Checking and verification of a programme implementation and its results by the community with the involvement of primary stakeholders. Ongoing process Involvement of stakeholders from planning to monitoring and evaluation

Social Audit in India

TISCO, Jamshedpur first to implement Social Audit in 1979 Social Audit gained significance after 73rd Amendment of the Constitution relating to Panchayati Raj, need for Decentralisation Increasing pressure on Govt for accountability and growing awareness of public Practises of Majdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghthan (MKSS), Parivartan, Action Aid, Govt of AP (NREGA, Mid Day Meal Scheme), citizen groups etc.

Social Audit in Democracy

Governance manner in which power exercised-should revolve around accountability and responsibility towards public actions and policies Social audit means continuous public vigilance under the domain of civil society Participatory auditing in democratic set up, active and empowered society Citizens Charters

Basic Principles of Social Audit

Responsive governance Social objectives Transparency and disclosure Participation and connectivity of stakeholders, polyvocal Bottom up Accountability Regular

Upholding Universal Values of Social Audit

Universal Values

equity, social responsibility, trust, accountability, transparency, inclusive, caring, peoples well being

Comprehensive

Participatory

Comparitive

Verification

Foundation of Social Specific socio cultural, administrative, legal and Audit democratic setting
Source: Centre for Good Governance

Disclosure

Polyvocal

Pillars of social audit

Multi-dimensional

Regular

Relation with other Audits

Government/ Institutional Audit Social Audit Peoples Audit Social Audit conducted jointly by People and Institution/Government Higher levels of acceptability Social audit complements financial audit Gives more comprehensive picture

Objectives of Social Audit

Ensure public accountability Popularise good governance Assess physical and financial gap between needs and resources Awareness among beneficiaries & providers Increase efficiency,effectiveness and ensure transparency Scrutinize various policy decisions Impart responsibilities among citizens

When to conduct Social Audit?

Planning Stage Implementation Stage Post Completion Stage

Who Conducts Social Audit?

Beneficiaries representatives and stakeholders groups

Benefits of Social Audit

Monitoring and Evaluation tool Social benefits accrued Awareness generation Provides critical inputs and assesses impact Grievance Redressal Real time feed back mechanism Redefines strategies Increases transparency & accountability Better allocation of resources

Usefulness of Social Audit at Community Level

Builds peoples confidence and trust in the institutions. Participation and involves various sections of society. Forum where people can demand from ULBs or Implementing organizations Create awareness and spreads accountability Prevents corruption and curtails misuse of funds

Usefulness at Organizational level

Makes organization popular and credible Helps in programme planning and implementation Sensitize Govt, media and community Innovative tool to assess performance and cost effectiveness.

Stages of Social Audit

Preparatory Steps Defining focus, context and objectives Identify stakeholders, indicators Plan and timeline preparation Selection of Audit Committee Creating favourable climate Information gathering, primary & secondary Verification of Information Implementation Stage (Public Meeting ) Introduction/ Inauguration Dissemination Discussion Follow up Post Social Audit

Methodology of Social Audit in BSUP and IHSDP

Defining boundaries of Social Audit Key objectives

Housing & Infrastructure to the urban poor Quality of works Process of implementation Satisfaction of intended beneficiaries Intended benefits reaching the urban poor

Stakeholders Identification and Consultation

Methodology of Social Audit

Identify key issues, data collection, verification and analysis

Secondary data RTI is an important tool

Consolidation of data in a form presentable Public meeting -focus on issues

Methodology of Social Audit

Consultation with stakeholders Data Collection DPR, Administrative Sanction Order of State Govt. , ULBs, Technical sanction, Running account bills, Quality Control report, Agreement with contract agency and Utilization certificate. Consolidation of information Physical verification Public meeting and reconciliation Advocacy and institutionalization of social audit.

Institutional Mechanism at State Level

State Level Social Audit Cell (SSAC) at SLNA

Overall coordinating unit of social audit in State SRP ( State level Resource Persons) to train, plan, manage, mentor and support DRPs (District Resource Persons) and CSAs (Community Social Auditors)

Director, Deputy Director, Social Development Specialist , Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist, Civil Engineer, Support Staff EDP, Finance & Administrative Personnel

Institutional Mechanism at District and ULB level

District Level Resource Persons (DRPs)

Similar structure with lower level experience Bridge between state agency & beneficiaries 7 members- Beneficiaries (4 nos), Civil Society (1 no), Academic/ Technical Institution (1 no), ULB ( 1 no) Possessing knowledge, creating awareness, recording, analysing verifying information, organising public meeting and reporting

Social Audit Committee at ULB level

Community Social Auditors

State level Audit Cell (SLNA) Director, Deputy Director supported by Specialists State level Resource Persons (SRPs) Members of CSOs, NGOs and Academicia District level Resource Persons (DRPs)
Members of CSOs, NGOs and Academicia

Social Audit Committees (SAC) at ULB Level Beneficiaries- 4 (one women member) CSOs 1 (facilitator and nodal person) Technical expert 1 member ULB 1 dealing with social issues Community Social Auditors Facilitator (CSOs)

Community Mobilization

Creating awareness through street plays, puppet shows, group meetings, door to door meetings, media, rallies, human chains etc. Pro-active sharing information through RTI under RTI Act 2005.

Funding Budgeting and Maintaining Accounts for Social Audit

Honorarium for social auditors, travel allowance, photocopy, cost of public meeting (Banner, water, tents, carpets, public address system)

Reporting

Follow-up of social audit funding Training and capacity building Training material Training of other stakeholders Trainees & Refresher training

Institutionalization of Social Audit

Replication of Social Audit on regular basis Internalizing within government Involvement of civic society organizations Formation of social audit committee Legal Support law ordinance rules and guidelines Action taken report

Information Dissemination and Disclosure

Information dissemination & disclosure public hearings, awareness campaign, internet Evaluation of effectiveness of Social Audit Adoption of Social Audit formats

Bibliography

Social Audit Methodology & Operational Guidelines for BSUP and IHSDP Schemes under JnNURM, Version 1, January 2010, Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Govt. of India Social Audit Manual, Part I, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005, Ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India Social Audit: A Toolkit- A guide for Performance Improvement & Outcome Measurement, Centre for Good Governance, Hyderabad.

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