Civil Society & Governance

March 2008

Dr. Rajesh Tandon, President42 Tughlakabad Institutional Area, New Delhi – 110 062Tel: +91-11-29960931/32/33; Fax: +91-11-29955183

Email: rajeshtandon@pria.org; Web: www.pria.org

Governance & Social Accountability

Governance is what governments do? Governance is structure & process of decision-

making about mobilization and use of public resources for common public good

Public Goods are responsibility of governments But governments alone are not able to ensure

satisfactory delivery Specially delivery to the marginalized households

Accountability is Responsibility and answerability for satisfactory

delivery Generally ensured through vertical reporting, And internal checks & balances horizontally How about accountability to clients?

Beneficiaries? Citizens? Electoral accountability through citizens’ vote

periodically Then, why another type of Accountability?

Social Accountability

Beyond electoral, vertical and horizontal accountability in government

For ensuring timely delivery of services already committed

For proper targeting of programmes for whom meant

For fuller and efficient utilization of resources already budgeted

For preventing leakages, corruption and willful wastage

For realizing rule of laws already on statutes

For claiming rights already government obligated to

Social Accountability is

Downward to citizens, beneficiaries Demanded from below Uses Voice of citizens Makes citizens stakeholder in governance Complements and stimulates other forms of

accountability Embedded in civil society

Civil Society: What is it?

Forms of associationsCivil Society Mapping Unique to contextsWhat is the map in Cambodia?

Civil Society—State—Market

Independent actionsJoint actionsCross-sectoralTri-sectoralCivil society as public sphere

When civil society interacts with government?

Cooperation: Sharing knowledge, mobilizing resources, designing programmes/policies

Contestation: Asking questions, seeking information, voicing grievances publicly, using media to amplify

When cooperation & contestation both happen?

Government officials ask legitimacy of civil society

Irritation with public defiance ‘insubordination’

Reforms & innovations happenPublic-citizen partnership emerges

Civic Engagement is

About active citizenshipNeither voter, nor beneficiary, but citizensResponsibility to ensure effective use of

public resourcesCitizen-centric view of democracy, not

state-centric

Effective civic engagements require

Citizenship Education: learning to becomeCitizen leadership among the marginalizedCollectivisation of voice—unequal powerGovernment is very powerful vis-à-vis

individual citizenCollectivisation around a need or grievance

becomes demand

CoalitionsMany groups of citizensMany voices—media, academia,

social/religious eldersSympathetic insiders in government

includedLocal/district, provincial, national, global

levelsIntermediation & leadership of coalitions

Exemplars -A

Land redistribution for tribals Tribal groups, Ekta Parishad, National CSOs Petitions, documentation, scrutiny of land records Report to Tribal Commission Revenue department officials in dialogue Land records & possessions regularized

B Planning of water systems Gram Sabha meets to identify priorities NGO does topographical mapping Youth group asks for annual budget from officials Graduate students attend meeting to observe Reported in the local news paper next day District administrator calls local officials to

confirm allotments

C Land Improvement Programme Local farmers join an NGO training workshop Express complaints as they do not get seeds,

inputs from govt depot Ngo convenes a meeting in the village to gather

information for past three months Analysis of data sent to district agriculture

officer with demand for meeting Complaint to higher authority with report to local

TV channel Meeting takes place with delivery schedule

D Tree plantation on common property Local youth hear an announcement on radio

about govt funds for planting trees Youth group members go to forest officer to find

out how much funds spent where When denied information, seek it under RTI Conduct a public hearing near the ground where

funds spent Records of expenditure do not match trees on the

land Official reprimanded, supervisor transferred

E Girls education in primary schools Women’ group complains to officials about

teacher absenteeism Local NGO gathers women’s groups from 5

villages Identify indicators of satisfactory school

functioning Women monitor schools, teachers and girls for

two months on random days

Data analysed by them Meeting with Inspector of School to share data Assurance of regularity in functioning Women become monitoring group for school

functioning

Broader Contextual FactorsSpace for association & organisingCivil society willing to engage Access to information possibleSensitive public officials do not feel

threatenedMedia is active, freedom of speechSocial relations relatively violence-free