Setting The Foundation: Introductions And Key Concepts

Resources

• Benequista, N. & Gaventa, J. (2011). Seeing like a citizen. In Blurring the boundaries: Citizen action across states and societies (pp. 4-5). IDS.
• Gaventa, J. (2010). ‘Seeing like a citizen’: Re-claiming citizenship in a neoliberal world. In A. Fowler & C. Malunga (Eds.), NGO management: The Earthscan companion (pp. 59-69). Earthscan.
• UNESCAP. (2009). What is good governance?

Analyzing The Context For Citizen-Led Accountability

Required resources

• Country context assessments
  • RTI rating measures the strength of the legal framework for the right to access information held by public authorities based on 61 indicators.
  • Monitor: Tracking civic space is published by CIVICUS.
  • Corruption perceptions index, from Transparency International, scores and ranks countries/territories based on how corrupt a country’s public sector is perceived to be by experts and business executives.
  • Democracy index 2023 is produced by the Economist Intelligence Unit. It provides a snapshot of the state of world democracy for 165 independent states and two territories.
  • 2024 World press freedom index is published by Reporters Without Borders.
• Global Fund for Women. (2015, April 29). How does Global Fund for Women measure social change? [Video]. Youtube. (3:51 min.)
• Koester, D. (2015). Gender & power (Concept brief no. 4). Developmental Leadership Program. (381K pdf)
• National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). (2018, June 22). Kimberlé Crenshaw: What is intersectionality? [Video]. Youtube. (1:54 min.)
• TED-Ed. (2014, November 4). How to understand power – Eric Liu [Video]. Youtube. (7:01 min.)

Additional resources

• Civicus Monitor. (2020). Civicus freedoms under threat during the Covid-19 pandemic: A snapshot of restrictions and resilience (Research brief). Civicus. (934K pdf)
• Gaventa, J. (2006). Finding the spaces for change: a power analysis. IDS Bulletin, 37(6), 23-33. (120K pdf)
• Gender at Work’s framework highlights the interrelationship between gender equality, organizational change and institutions held in place by power dynamics within communities.
• O’Meally, S. C. (2013). Mapping context for social accountability: A resource paper. World Bank.
• Powercube, understanding power for social change.
• Shahrokh, T. (2015). Towards more inclusive strategies to address gender-based violence (Policy briefing issue 104). IDS.
• TEDSalon Berlin. (2014, June). Jeremy Heimans: What new power looks like [Video]. TED Talks. (15 min.)
• TEDWomen. (2016, October). Kimberlé Crenshaw: The urgency of intersectionality [Video]. Ted Talks. (18:42 min.)
• TEDxEuston. (2012, December). Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: We should all be feminists [Video]. Ted Talks. (29:20 min.)

Citizen-Led Accountability And The Public Governance Cycle

Resources

• Action for Empowerment and Accountability Programme (A4EA) explores how social and political action can contribute to empowerment and accountability in  conflict and violent settings, with a particular focus on Egypt, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nigeria and Pakistan.
• Civicus. (2015). Participatory governance toolkit.
• Participedia harnesses the power of collaboration in response to new forms of participatory politics and governance around the world.

Gender-Responsive Citizen-Led Accountability In Practice

Required resources

• Schneider, K. (2006). Handout: Toolkit 1. In Manual for training on gender responsive budgeting (pp. 80-83). GTZ. (796K pdf)
• Stephenson, M.-A. (2018). A guide to gender-responsive budgeting. Oxfam.

Additional resources

• AFD – Agence Française de Développement. (2018, December 13). Ahmed Berrada: Gender responsive budgeting, major importance to achieve gender equality in Morocco [Video]. Youtube. (1:31 min.)
• AFD – Agence Française de Développement. (2018, December 13). Jihane Habti El Idrissi: Make morocco’s experience an international reference [Video]. Youtube. (2:02 min.)
• ANSA-EAP. (2016, January 16). The CSC part 1 [Video]. Youtube. (0:52 min.)
• ANSA-EAP. (2016, January 16). The CSC part 2.2 [Video]. Youtube. (2:30 min.)
• Bradshaw, S., Linneker, B., & Overton, L. (2016). Gender and social accountability: Ensuring women’s inclusion in citizen-led accountability programming relating to extractive industries (Research backgrounder). Oxfam.
• CARE Malawi. (2013). The community score card (CSC): A generic guide for implementing CARE’s CSC process to improve quality of services. Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere. (6.84 Mb pdf)
• Escher, J. (2018, January 17). Community score cards: A powerful tool to improve public services. Civil Society Academy.
• Futurehealthsys. (2017, April 10). DCHSB Social Accountability Event Feb 8 2017 – SSDI Community Scorecard Video Malawi [Video]. Youtube. (4:32 min.)
• Joshi, A. (2019, November 8). How community score cards are helping police in Nepal tackle gender-based violence. Development, Care Insights.
• Kirk, G. (2015, May 6). CARE community score card animation [Video]. Youtube. (2:34 min.)
• Makhulo, J. (2018, August 30). Community scorecard – Mani [Video]. Youtube. (7:52 min.)
• Odinga, R. K. (2019, January 14). Community scorecard challenges [Video]. Youtube. (6:40 min.)
• Stotsky, J.G. (2017). Gender budgeting in sub-Saharan Africa. GREAT Insights, 6(2).
• Talking Drum Studios – SFCG Sierra Leone. (2020, June 4). Community score card impact video [Video]. Youtube. (4:10 min.)
• Talking Drum Studies – SFCG Sierra Leone. (2020, June 4). Community score card process video [Video]. Youtube. (14:16 min.)
• TEDx Talks. (2015, July 29). Gender responsive budgeting: Nicole Farnsworth: TEDxPrishtinaWomen [Video]. Youtube. (15:57 min.)
• TGNP. (2020, September 2). TGNP: Makala… [Video]. Youtube. (13:03 min.)
• TVE Asia Pacific. (2010). People power: Part 2 of 4: health sector community scorecard by CARE Malawi [Video]. Youtube. (3:37 min.)
• UN Women. (2017, February 23). What is gender responsive budgeting [Video]. Youtube. (4:37 min.)
• UN Women. (2012, March 15). Equality path: Planning and budgeting with a gender lens [Video]. Youtube. (15:16 min.)
• UN Women, (2011, July 21). Gender-responsive budgeting: Rwanda [Video]. Youtube. (21:11 min.)
• Unifem. (2009, October 1). Gender-responsive budgeting: Morocco [Video]. Youtube. (7:02 min.)

Transforming Accountability In Your Context

Resources

• Gaventa, J., & McGee, R. (2013). The impact of transparency and accountability initiatives. Development Policy Review, 31(s1), s3-s28. https://doi.org/10.1111/dpr.12017
• Schatz, F. (2013). Fighting corruption with social accountability: A comparative analysis of social accountability mechanisms’ potential to reduce corruption in public administration. Public Administration and Development, 33(3), 161-174. https://doi.org/10.1002/pad.1648 (StFX only)
• Tembo, F., & Chapman, J. (2014). In search of the game changers: Rethinking social accountability (Discussion paper). ODI.

Strategic Citizen-Led Accountability: Negotiating Change And Maximizing Impact

Resources

• Fox, J. (2016). Taking scale into account in transparency and accountability initiatives (Research summary). IDS.
• Malena, C. (2009). Building political will for participatory governance: An introduction. In C. Malena (Ed.), From political won’t to political will: Building support for participatory governance (pp. 3-30). Kumarian Press.
• Safier, C., Wakefield, S., Harvey, R., & Rewald, R. (2019). Oxfam’s guide to feminist influencing. Oxfam International. (25.78 Mb pdf)

Moving Forward: Proposals, Learning, And Looking Ahead

Resources

• CIVICUS. (2010). Transparency. In Turning principles into practice: A guide to legitimacy, transparency and accountability (pp. 10-11). CIVICUS.
• The Global Standard Partnership is a reference standard that civil society organisations can use to strengthen their accountability practices. It focuses on putting people at the center of CSOs’ decision-making processes.
• Mango. (2010). Accountability to beneficiaries checklist: How accountable is your organisation to its beneficiaries?
• Resilient Roots explores whether organizations who are more accountable and responsive to their primary constituents are more resilient against external threats.

Videos: Selected Social Accountability Practices

• Participatory Planning
  • Chavez, E. (2009). Participatory urban planning in the Philippines [Video]. Youtube. Part 1 (4:10 min.) and Part 2 (4:56 min.)
  • ICLEI CBC. (2017). Crafting better cities with nature.
  • ICLEICBC. (2018, June 1). Crafting better cities with nature: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia [Video]. Youtube. (4:19 min.)
• Participatory Budgeting
  • TVE Asia Pacific. (2010). Participatory budgeting in Porto Alegre, Brazil [Video]. Youtube. (5:08 min.)
  • PBP. (2015). Real money, real power: Participatory budgeting [Video]. Vimeo. (4:13 min.)
  • IOPD. (2017). Participatory budgeting for migrant workers.
  • OIDP. (2018, December 18). IOPD award 2018: Participatory budgeting for migrant workers in Taoyuan [Video]. Youtube. (13:11 min.)
• Independent Budget Analysis
  • Fundar Mexico. (2012, August). Citizens’ budgets in Guatemala and Venezuela [Video]. Youtube. (9:53 min.)
  • Social Justice Coalition. (2016, April 26). Kak struggle: Cape Town’s unfair budget [Video]. Youtube. (10:27 min.)
• Social Audit
  • Social Audit Network. (2018, September 4). Engaging government differently: Social audits and service delivery [Video]. Youtube. (10:12 min.)
  • International Budget Partnership. (2019, March 19). Growth and innovation of social audits in South Africa [Video]. Youtube. (11:36 min.)
• Community Scorecard
  • CUTS International. (2010). Using community scorecards to monitor the NGRs in India [Video]. Youtube. (7:49 min.)
• Citizen Report Card
  • ANSA-EAP. (2014, November 27). 03 Citizen report card (English) [Video]. Youtube. (3:28 min.)
  • Kenya Water and Sanitation Program. (2010). Water and sanitation citizen report card in Kenya [Video]. Youtube. (12:53 min.)
  • SDPI Pakistan. (2012, June 26). Social accountability in education through citizen’s report card [Video]. Youtube. (2:27 min.)
• Community-Based Monitoring
  • CutsInt. (2010, September 4). Social accountability in action: Engaging communities in health services [Video]. Youtube. (9:54 min.)

Additional Videos

• ANSA-EAP. (2011). ANSA EAP tales, tools and techniques of social accountability [Video]. Youtube. (30:31 min.). Community monitoring in the Philippines, G-Watch, school building monitoring and road quality monitoring. (First 19 minutes only)
• Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. (2009). It’s our money: Where’s it gone? Social audit by MUHURI in Kenya [Video]. Youtube. (18:09 min.)
• Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. (2011). Ask Your Government! initiative [Video]. Youtube. (5:34 min.)
• ICT Governance. (2011). Participatory budgeting in Democratic Republic of Congo [Video]. Youtube. (6:43 min.)
• International Budget Partnership. (2013). Open Budget Survey 2012 [Video]. Youtube. (4:31 min.)
• International Budget Partnership. (2015). Open budgets: Transform lives [Video]. Youtube. (6:01 min.)
• ISfilmcollective. (2012). What is PBNYC? Participatory budgeting in NYC [Video]. Youtube. (5:44 min.)
• Patel, D. (2010). Participatory planning process [Video]. Youtube. (9:52 min.)
• TVE Asia Pacific. (2010). Social audit by MKSS in India [Video]. Youtube. (7:19 min.)
• World Bank. (2009). India: Citizen report card improves urban transport [Video]. Youtube. (20:37 min.)

Resources

• Ackerman, J. M. (2005). Social accountability in the public sector: A conceptual discussion (Participation and civic engagement paper no. 82). World Bank. (693K pdf)
• Asian Development Bank. (2007). Improving local governance and service delivery: Citizen Report Card learning tool kit.
• Blair, H. (2011). Gaining state support for social accountability. In S. Odugbemi & T. Lee (Eds.), Accountability through public opinion: From inertia to public action (pp. 37-51). World Bank.
• Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. (2024). Alternative federal budget 2024. CCPA.
• Chene, M. (2011). Good practice in strengthening transparency, participation, accountability and integrity (U4 Expert Answer, no. 274). Anti-Corruption Resource Centre.
• Citizens Foundation encourages citizens’ participation in governance.
• Civicus. (2020). National civic space ratings. Interactive world map provides live updates from civil society around the world, track threats to civil society and learn about ways in which our right to participate is challenged.
• Cornwall, A., & Gaventa, J. (2001). Bridging the gap: Citizenship, participation and accountability (PLA notes no. 40). IDS. (22K pdf)
• Das, A. (2013). How do we know we are making a difference? Challenges before the practitioner of community monitoring processes in assessing progress and evaluating impacts. Centre for Health and Social Justice. (1.05 Mb pdf)
• Democracy and governance resources from the Communication Initiative Network.
• Flynn, A. (2016). Participatory budgeting – Not a one-size-fits-all approach. Free and open access from Osgoode Digital Commons. (605K pdf)
• Fox, J. (2014). Social accountability keywords 2.0. Presented to the Social Accountability core course, World Bank, March 5. (240K pdf)
• Fox, J., & Aceron, J. (2016). Doing accountability differently: A proposal for the vertical integration of civil society monitoring and advocacy (U4 issue no. 4). Anti-Corruption Resource Centre.
• Fox, J., & Halloran, B., et al. (Eds.). (2016). Connecting the dots for accountability: Civil society policy monitoring and advocacy strategies. Report from international workshop, Washington, DC, June 18-20. Transparency & Accountability Initiative.
• Freedom House. (2024). Freedom in the world report. Years available: 1978-current.
• Global right to information rating map. (2020). Centre for Law and Democracy.
• Gopal Jayal, N. (2008). New directions in theorising social accountability?. IDS Bulletin, 38(6), 105-112.
• Grandvoinnet, H., Aslam, G., & Raha, S. (2015). Opening the black box: The contextual drivers of social accountability. World Bank.
• Grant, E., & MacArthur, T. (2008). Accountability briefing note. DFID. (353K pdf)
• Guénéheux, D., & Bottomley, A. (Eds.). (2014). Accountability for civil society by civil society: A guide to self-regulation initiatives. CIVICUS. (1.94 Mb pdf)
• “Haz Parte” (Be A Part of It) Project is a participatory budget programme in the municipality of La Serena in Chile. The programme is an instrument for social and citizen participation in identifying needs that are most important to be resolved in the municipality.
• Kafakoma, R., et al. (2005). Local government accountability (Power tools series). IIED. (143K pdf)
• Leavy, J. (2014). How useful are RCTs in evaluating Transparency & Accountability projects? IDS.
• McGee, R. (2011). Apparently transparent: Does accountability deliver? The Broker, 25, 14-18.
• McGee, R., & Gaventa, J. (2011). Shifting power? Assessing the impact of transparency and accountability initiatives (Working paper 383). IDS. (200K pdf)
• McNeil, M., & Malena, C. (Eds.). (2010). Social accountability in Africa: An introduction. In Demanding good governance: Lessons from social accountability initiatives in Africa (pp. 1-28). World Bank. (2.26 Mb pdf)
• Neuman, L. (2016). The right of access to information: Exploring gender inequities. IDS Bulletin, 47(1), 83-97.
• Newell, P., & Wheeler, J. (2006). Making accountability count (Policy briefing issue no. 33). IDS.
• Odugbemi, S., & Lee, T. (Eds.). (2011). Accountability through public opinion: From inertia to public action [eBook edition]. World Bank.
• The Participatory Budgeting Project is being implemented in Kenya by Fahamu, a network for social justice. A documentary and manual are available for viewing.
• Ramkumar, V. (2008). Our money, our responsibility: A citizens’ guide to monitoring government expenditures. International Budget Project.
• Ramkumar, V., & Shapiro, I. (Eds.). (2010). Guide to transparency in government budget reports: Why are budget reports important, and what should they include? International Budget Partnership. (573K pdf)
• Reuben, W., & Levy-Benitez, M. (2003). The role of civic engagement and social accountability in the governance equation (Social development note no. 75). World Bank.
• Shahrokh, T., & Lopez-Franco, E. (2015). Achieving meaningful accountability for people living in poverty and marginalisation (Policy briefing no. 2). IDS.
• Tools4dev.org. (2014). Stakeholder analysis matrix template.
• Transparency International. (2023). Corruption perceptions index 2023.
• UN-HABITAT. (2004). 72 frequently asked questions about participatory budgeting (Urban governance toolkit series). (831K pdf)
• UN-HABITAT. (2008). Participatory budgeting in Africa: A training companion with cases from eastern and southern Africa: Volume I: concepts and principles. UN-HABITAT. (1.42 Mb pdf)
• World Bank. (2012, April 10). World Bank announces Open Access policy for research and knowledge, launches Open Knowledge Repository [Press release].