30 accountability r balasubramaniam
TRANSCRIPT
Public Services and Social
Accountability Accountability
Dr. R Balasubramaniam
Founder, Swami Vivekananda Youth
Movement
Definitions
• “A proactive process by which public officials
inform about and justify their plans of action,
their behavior and results and are sanctioned
accordingly.” accordingly.”
• “An approach towards building accountability
that relies on civic engagement, i.e. in which it Is
ordinary citizens and/or civil society organizations
who participate directly or indirectly in exacting
accountability.(World Bank)
Dr. R Balasubramaniam,
SVYM1/12/2012
• Relies on Civic Engagement, in which ordinary
citizens or CSOs participate directly or
indirectly to exact accountability.
How does it function
indirectly to exact accountability.
• Eg: Participatory budgeting, social audits,
citizen report cards, community score cards.
Dr. R Balasubramaniam, SVYM1/12/2012
Benefits
• Improved Governance, Increased development
effectiveness through better service delivery, effectiveness through better service delivery,
and empowerment
Dr. R Balasubramaniam,
SVYM1/12/2012
How can this be achieved
• By enhancing the capacities – skills, attitudes • By enhancing the capacities – skills, attitudes
and behaviors of Government and civil society
actors.
Dr. R Balasubramaniam,
SVYM1/12/2012
A practical approach
• Need a careful understanding of the political,
administrative, historical and social context
• Take into account appropriate entry points• Take into account appropriate entry points
• Explore possible synergy between state and
society
Contd..
Dr. R Balasubramaniam,
SVYM1/12/2012
• Have the right mix of social accountability
tools
• See how these new practices integrates with • See how these new practices integrates with
formal accountability mechanisms,
institutional arrangements and incentive
structures for public servants
Dr. R Balasubramaniam, SVYM1/12/2012
Parameters to think about when designing a
social accountability initiative:
• Incentive structure – punishment vs reward-
based approaches
• Accountability for what? Rule following versus
performance orientationperformance orientation
• Level of Institutionalization – the extent to
which the participation of citizens is
institutionalized in the law or by other formal
means
Contd…Dr. R Balasubramaniam,
SVYM1/12/2012
• Depth of involvement – the degree to which
citizens are permitted to observe and
participate in areas of government normally
kept secret or out of reach or society
• Inclusiveness of participation – the extent to
which participation is limited to only “well which participation is limited to only “well
behaved” or socially acceptable groups from
civil society or opened up to a wide variety of
actors
Dr. R Balasubramaniam, SVYM1/12/2012
• Branches of Government – whether target of
effort is executive, legislature, or judiciary.
• Accountability is limited to merely a negative
connotation – desisting from corrupt
practices. It needs to be seen in the light of
the affirmative task of effective performance
and proactive decision making.
Dr. R Balasubramaniam,
SVYM1/12/2012
Final words
• To be accountable is to work with society and
accounting agencies to improve government
honesty and performance instead of doing
one’s best to hide from scrutiny. one’s best to hide from scrutiny.
• This proactive behavior that accountability
demands requires dialogue, explanation and
justification.
Dr. R Balasubramaniam,
SVYM1/12/2012
Thank you!
Dr. R Balasubramaniam,
SVYM1/12/2012