Dr. Gopakumar K Thampi, Public Affairs Foundation, Bangalore CITIZEN REPORT CARDS & REFORMS Exploring the Scope

Dr. Gopakumar K Thampi, Public Affairs Foundation, Bangalore Non partisan institution/coalition to manage the initiative Basic skills for survey and advocacy in the institution/coalition taking initiative Tradition in the community to speak up Use of findings by policy makers Adequate time for making the initiative work and get institutionalized – at least five years ENABLING CONDITIONS

Dr. Gopakumar K Thampi, Public Affairs Foundation, Bangalore BENEFITS FROM CITIZEN REPORT CARDS SIMPLE TOOL FOR COLLECTING INFORMATION & BENCHMARKING PERFORMANCE PROVIDES DESCRIPTIVE AND SUMMATIVE FEEDBACK ON PERFORMANCE ENABLES COMPARISON ON PERFORMANCE ACROSS SERVICES USED BY COMMUNITIES ENABLES COMPARISON ACROSS DIFFERENT STRATA PROVIDES SHARED POOL OF INFORMATION FOR ALL STAKEHOLDERS TO PRIORITISE PROVIDES DIRECT FEEDBACK WITHOUT INTERMEDIATION BY LOCAL ELITE

Dr. Gopakumar K Thampi, Public Affairs Foundation, Bangalore VARIETY IN IMPACT OF CRC’S AGENCIES DISCUSS PERFORMANCE WITH CITIZENS IN OPEN FORA IN BANGALORE SYSTEMATIC CITIZEN WATCH DOG ROLE IN LOCAL GOVT. IN TERNOPIL, UKRAINE FINDINGS USED TO BETTER DIRECT BUDGET ALLOCATIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES LOWER LEVEL OFFICIALS CITE FINDINGS TO SEEK FUNDS & SUPPORT IN MUMBAI, INDIA POLITICAL LEADERSHIP ASKS FOR MORE DIRECT FEEDBACK IN KERALA, INDIA

Dr. Gopakumar K Thampi, Public Affairs Foundation, Bangalore THE DRIVERS OF CHANGE DEMAND SIDE INTERVENTIONS  OPERATING FROM OUTSIDE  EXTERNAL CATALYSTS SUPPLY SIDE INTERVENTIONS  OPERATING FROM WITHIN  RESPONSIVENESS TO VOICE

Dr. Gopakumar K Thampi, Public Affairs Foundation, Bangalore DEMAND SIDE INTERVENTIONS THE GLARE EFFECT  Focused information puts agencies under a “public scanner”  Inter agency comparisons works as a surrogate for competition  Impetus for Political/Bureaucratic Accelerators

Dr. Gopakumar K Thampi, Public Affairs Foundation, Bangalore DEMAND SIDE INTERVENTIONS CIVIC ACTIVISM  Emergence of “new generation CSOs”  A range of advocacy initiatives  Monitoring in a systematic manner

Dr. Gopakumar K Thampi, Public Affairs Foundation, Bangalore DEMAND SIDE INTERVENTIONS MEDIA ACTIVISM  Enhanced coverage on civic issues  Interactive meetings with residents in various parts of the city & coverage of their problems  Monitoring public commitments made by agency heads

Dr. Gopakumar K Thampi, Public Affairs Foundation, Bangalore SUPPLY SIDE INTERVENTIONS PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS  Creation of Bangalore Agenda Task Force  Institutional innovations mop up huge resources  Six monthly summits force public agencies to make public commitments and report on progress  Facilitates osmosis of professional expertise into public agencies

Dr. Gopakumar K Thampi, Public Affairs Foundation, Bangalore SUPPLY SIDE INTERVENTIONS Political Commitment  Creation of Bangalore Agenda Task Force  Institutional innovations mop up huge resources  Six monthly summits force public agencies to make public commitments and report on progress  Facilitates osmosis of professional expertise into public agencies

Dr. Gopakumar K Thampi, Public Affairs Foundation, Bangalore SUPPLY SIDE INTERVENTIONS Reengineering Processes  E-Governance  Increased Citizen Interfaces  New Rights for Citizens – RTI Act  Role of the Lok Ayukta (Ombudsman)

Dr. Gopakumar K Thampi, Public Affairs Foundation, Bangalore First they ignore you then they laugh at you then they fight you and, then you WIN! - Attributed to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Dr. Gopakumar K Thampi, Public Affairs Foundation, Bangalore Option for Reforms & Policy Changes A. Service Providers / Agencies Critical information to redesign service delivery processes & approach Relocation of resources to remedy gaps – e.g., increased training of personnel, creation of complaint redress mechanisms Responding to the need of different segments – middle class Vs poor Seeking additional resources or improved policies – information & educational campaigns, new laws like Right to Information

Dr. Gopakumar K Thampi, Public Affairs Foundation, Bangalore Option for Reforms & Policy Changes B. HIGHER LEVEL AUTHORITIES Critical information to Min. of Finance & Planning on the need to relocate resources across areas, services & segments of pop. Intermediate outcomes of MDGs – tracking compliance Design of incentives to better performers & disincentives to poorer ones Opens up space for consultations & participation

Dr. Gopakumar K Thampi, Public Affairs Foundation, Bangalore Option for Reforms & Policy Changes C. DONORS / BI LATERALS Information will enable a more focused policy advisory and reform role Direct relevance to own evaluation processes in projects/programs Major policy implication on allocation of funds to scale up CRCs to generate critical user feedback on many sectors

Dr. Gopakumar K Thampi, Public Affairs Foundation, Bangalore Option for Reforms & Policy Changes D. NGOs/CSOs Sets a base for raising awareness by converting individual issues to collective themes Opens up space for consultations and dialogues Identify priority areas for action Facilitates networking with other stakeholders on common action agenda.

Dr. Gopakumar K Thampi, Public Affairs Foundation, Bangalore REFORM STRATEGIES Identifying pilot projects for partnerships & reforms – manageable, low conflicts & support of high level authorities Learning from pilots & carefully planning for replications and scaling up