Civil Society & Governance March 2008 Dr. Rajesh Tandon, President 42 Tughlakabad Institutional Area, New Delhi – Tel: /32/33; Fax: Web:

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 associations Civil Society Mapping Unique to contexts What is the map in Cambodia?

Civil Society—State—Market Independent actions Joint actions Cross-sectoral Tri-sectoral Civil 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 happen Public-citizen partnership emerges

Civic Engagement is About active citizenship Neither voter, nor beneficiary, but citizens Responsibility to ensure effective use of public resources Citizen-centric view of democracy, not state-centric

Effective civic engagements require Citizenship Education: learning to become Citizen leadership among the marginalized Collectivisation of voice—unequal power Government is very powerful vis-à-vis individual citizen Collectivisation around a need or grievance becomes demand

Coalitions Many groups of citizens Many voices—media, academia, social/religious elders Sympathetic insiders in government included Local/district, provincial, national, global levels Intermediation & 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 Factors Space for association & organising Civil society willing to engage Access to information possible Sensitive public officials do not feel threatened Media is active, freedom of speech Social relations relatively violence-free