Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. Naimur Rahman & other external resources persons have been very useful for us to broaden the knowledge on Social Accountability (“Good day!”) Presentations from Bangladesh speakers very interesting and impressive Participants & facilitators s could be shared with all Background on guest organisations shows good response to participant feedback Dinner should be arranged outside this place Participant feedback – day III

CARE NEPAL THURSDAY 21 JUNE 2012 Forward Accountability Understanding the concept; recognising challenges and options for action Governance Learning Event, Kathmandu, 13 June 2013

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. Practice what you preach!

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. CARE as power-holder

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. Accountable to whom? CARE family members impact groups donors partners government peers supporters

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. AF Accountability Framework HAF Humanitarian Accountability Framework CI’s Accountability Frameworks

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. Accountable to whom? CARE family members impact groups donors partners government peers supporters

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. impact groups ‘Forward’ Accountability This means…  The responsible use of (our) power (source: HAP)  The means by which we enable our ‘impact group’ to understand and influence our work (source: GALI) Terminology & definitions

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. Why do we want to be accountable? 1.To respect our vision, mission, values and principles 2.To improve quality, effectiveness and relevance of our work 3.To promote ownership & sustainability 4.To maintain legitimacy and credibility (especially in governance work) 5.To empower, to fulfil rights 6.To be gender responsive/sensitive 7.To be conflict-sensitive 8.To increase staff security 9.To be timely informed: early warning and corrective measures 10.To reduce the risk of fraud

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. Why do we want to be accountable? Accountability is… a means to an end  It helps us to improve the relevance, quality and impact of our work an end in itself  those whose lives we affect have a right to hold CARE to account

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. What can we do to be more accountable? 4 dimensions (or ‘pillars’) of accountability Transparency & info sharing Feedback & complaints Participation & representation Enabling (org.) environment 4 dimensions of FA

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. Transparency as a necessary condition for accountability Key questions: what, to whom and how? Based on communication & information needs (assessment) Mind: sensitive information & management support Transparency & info sharing Some of the tools available: Radio; newspapers; noticeboards; community visits; open-office hours; text messages; internet; IEC materials; liaison officersIEC materials (written or verbal; in words or in pictures)

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. Solicited & unsolicited Collection, documentation, analysis & response /report-back Safety & accessibility Raising awareness and understanding of the mechanism Raising awareness understanding Learning and adapting (beyond ad-hoc response) Resources, roles & responsibilities Feedback & complaints Some of the tools available: hotline; suggestion boxes; committees; liaison officers; feedback journals; feedback database; ; community visits; FGDs; (exit) surveys; peers feedback database(exit) surveys …and all social accountability mechanisms?? (see Malawi & Nepal)

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. Across all stages of the project cycle, including M&E Technical roles in activities (e.g. outreach, training) Representation in decision-making Consider: capacity; opportunity costs; risk of elite capture Participation & representation Example: Participation in school rehabilitation – CARE Pakistan (and many others)

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. Enabling environment: conducive to accountable practice Accountability is everyone’s responsibility Might include but not be limited to: 1.Leadership commitment, backed up by policies/guidelines 2.Incentives, roles & responsibilities (e.g. JDs, ToRs, appraisals) 3.People’s attitudes & behaviour (underpinned by support/training) 4.Allocation of resources (both human and financial) 5.Lead by example: internal decision-making procedures and culture Enabling (organisational) environment

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. Any questions/comments so far? Transparency & info sharing Feedback & complaints Participation & representation Enabling (org.) environment 4 dimensions of FA

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. ACCOUNTABILITY IN PRACTICE AN EXAMPLE FROM CARE NEPAL

Practice of Community Score Board Forward Accountability CARE Nepal

Context Forward Accountability Seeking effective tool for “feedback, dialogue and response” domain of Forward accountability “Community Score Board” is one of the strong tools which serve all three aspects. Piloted in one of the projects “Community Support Program” to promote forward accountability

Context CARE Nepal has experience of using “Community Score Board” in its health projects to promote accountability at health facilities. Same methodology and process adopted from health project with modification of indicators. Indicators were generated solely for the purpose of promoting forward accountability of CARE Nepal and implementing partners towards impact groups.

Process Meeting with impact groups and key stakeholders to: Orient the process identify indicators Interface meeting with: impact groups, users groups, government line agencies, CSOs, other peer organizations and members of the selected VDC to: rank/mark indicators develop action plan to address gaps

Indicators impact group & users committee participation in project/activities selection, implementation and monitoring users committee formation process transparency in program budget and its expenditure timely fund release and settlement capacity building of impact groups/users committee behavior of staff towards impact group spaces for dialogue between impact group and CARE Nepal/implementing partners.

Example of Score/Rating in Khuwathok, Dhankuta Indicators Present Score Main 3 reasons for present score Target score Action Plan summary Users participation in project selection and execution 45 - Active participation of users committee - Participation from excluded and marginalized groups - Participation of women is higher 50 - Increase people’s participation in ward level. - Continue workshop, training for increase awareness. Timely fund release and settlement 15 - Incomplete documents (receipts and vouchers) - Lack of knowledge in the process - Layers in the structure (hold of documents) 35 - Orientation on proper documentation and process to the users groups - Delegate the responsibilities during absence of the responsible person

Learning/Effectiveness of tools Improvement area identified Initiative is highly praised by impact group Increased trust of impact groups towards CARE Nepal and its partners Space created for dialogue between CARE Nepal/partners and impact group

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. TEATEA TEATEA

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. Why might it be difficult to be accountable to those we work with?

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. ? The diversity of impact groups

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. ? risk of elite capture & poor representation

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty.

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. Accountable to whom? CARE family members impact groups donors partners government peers supporters

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. What should we be aware of? 1.The diversity of impact groups & the risk of elite capture 2.Balancing various accountability commitments 3.Complexity of large INGOS: working through partners 4.Information can be highly (conflict) sensitive 5.Opportunity costs of participation 6.Fear of criticism: staff resistance to feedback? 7.Cultural barriers to feedback: To complain or not to complain 8.Practical: resources; competing demands; language; access; etc.

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. How accountable are you? Identifying good practice 4 groups Focus (initially) on 1 of the dimensions Identify good practice within your COs/programmes Prepare a brief presentation (5-10 minutes) You only have 30 minutes for this! Also see hand-out with instructions!

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. Just to wrap up…

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. CARE UK and Accountability CARE Nepal: pilots / towards a CO framework West Africa – GALI: Regional learning initiative CARE Peru: Documenting / sharing lessons learnt CARE Rwanda:Forward Accountability & partnership (Not exhaustive…)

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. CIUK support Orientation + training for partners and CARE staff Support development of appropriate tools Piloting tools in new and existing initiatives Facilitate reflection, learning & documentation Translating lessons learnt into systematic approach to acc. Support alignment with CI Accountability Framework

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. THANK YOU!! Remember…. “The relationship between an NGO and its intended beneficiaries is a foundation stone for effective interventions.” (Listen First 2010)

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. EXTRA SLIDES….

Defending dignity. Fighting poverty. Donors impact groups upward downward Forward impact groups Internal