1Information, Communication and Accountability in Local Governance

United NationsCapital Development Fund

Information, Communication and Accountabilityin UNCDF Local Development Programmes

10th Inter-Agency Roundtable on Communication for DevelopmentUN Conference Centre, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

12-14 February 2007

2Information, Communication and Accountability in Local Governance

UNCDF, Local Development and Communications

UNCDF's Local Development Programmes (LDPs) build the capacity of local governments and subnational authorities, and make investments in local communities to improve their access to social services and economic infrastructure.

UNCDF operates under the principle of subsidiarity, ensuring that decision making responsibilities are entrusted to institutions as close as possible to those affected by these same decisions.

These institutions should be accountable and involve, to the fullest extent possible, the broad participation of stakeholders representing different sectors of society.

These stakeholders should be able to monitor, provide feedback and influence the decision-making processes that determine how public resources are allocated.

Effective and efficient Communication is vital to ensuring the viability of this development approach.

3Information, Communication and Accountability in Local Governance

Accountability and Communication in Local Governance

Accountability lies at the heart of any improvements in local government delivery of public goods and services. Accountability is only made possible through effective two-way communication.

The public provision and effective communication of information, by whatever means, enables local citizens and others to track local government activities and increases the extent to which LG officials become more accountable.

When citizens are empowered to participate in the public debate on issues that affect their lives, they are more likely to hold their local authorities accountable.

Challenges: Illiteracy; access; dispersed populations; lack of experience in and trust of Government.

Three dimensions of Local Government accountability:

Downward accountability, of local government to citizens.

Horizontal accountability within local government and administration.

Upward accountability, of local government to central government.

4Information, Communication and Accountability in Local Governance

Local Government Areas of Communication

Type of information Information users Remarks

Basic regulations (citizens’

rights, LG procedures, LG

obligations, etc.).

Community leaders and representatives, general public and LG councils.

People need to know how LGs are supposed to function, what they are supposed to do, and what citizens’ rights (and responsibilities) are in relation to LGs.

Budget ceilings, and amount of public resources.

LG planners, community

leaders and representatives.

Unless people know what annual budget ceilings are, they are in no position to know what can be

funded.

Planning and budgeting

decisions.

LG councils, community

leaders and representatives.

The political choices made about what is to be planned and budgeted for must be approved by representative bodies and made known to the public.

Approved plans and

budgets (projects selected,

expenditure, revenue).

Community leaders and Representatives.

Such general decisions should be public knowledge, both for practical purposes and so that citizens can assess their appropriateness.

5Information, Communication and Accountability in Local Governance

Local Government Areas of Communication

Type of information Information users Remarks

Implementation arrangements

(bid selection, etc.).

LG councils, community

leaders and representatives.

Decisions about contractor

selection need to be made public

to allow for oversight and reduce

opportunities for partiality.

Expenditure, revenue and

outcomes. (Monitoring and Evaluation).

LG councils, community

leaders and representatives.

People need to be informed

about what was actually done,

what it cost, and how well it accomplished its objectives in order to be able to assess LG performance for themselves.

6Information, Communication and Accountability in Local Governance

Local Government Communication Channels

Method of information Advantages Disadvantages

LG public notice board. Inexpensive, can be referred to

several times.

Limited to the literate public,

limited to those who frequent LG

Offices.

Public meetings. Inexpensive, oral and can

therefore provide information to

the vast majority of the public. Invites feedback from public.

Attendance is limited in sparse population zones, transitory

source of information if not documented.

Brochures and pamphlets. Relatively inexpensive, enduring source of information.

Limited to the literate, distribution problems.

Theatre. Attractive and appealing to the public, oral. Can invite public participation to promote Voice.

Limited audience, transitory source of information, message may be submerged by the medium.

Newspapers. Relatively inexpensive, potentially

large audience, enduring source

of information.

Limited to the literate, few local

newspapers in rural areas of

LDCs.

7Information, Communication and Accountability in Local Governance

Local Government Communication Channels

Method of information Advantages Disadvantages

Local / community radio Relatively inexpensive, widely

accessible, oral.

Transitory source of information,

not always available in LDCs.

National radio. Relatively inexpensive, widely

accessible, oral.

Transitory source of information.

Brochures and pamphlets. Relatively inexpensive, enduring source of information.

Limited to the literate, distribution problems.

Video. Visual and oral. Relatively costly, requires audiovisual equipment.

Television. Visual and oral Very costly, likely to be limited to

wealthier households.

Websites. Relatively inexpensive (to set up),

easy to update

Accessible to very few, limited

to the literate, requires relatively

sophisticated ITC

8Information, Communication and Accountability in Local Governance

Challenges and Constraints

Ad hoc approach at present to inclusion of C4D in Prodocs.

Some projects have communications specialists on support team at country level, but mostly focused on external communications with donors and Government.

Not regularly included as a development indicator in evaluations.

No full-time C4D advisors on staff.

9Information, Communication and Accountability in Local Governance

Decentralization Music Video

•End presentation with 3-minute video on promoting participation in Malawi.