Engaging with citizens to improve services : overview and key findings

In 2004-05, the Water and Sanitation Program-South Asia commissioned research to identify citizen engagement and social accountability mechanisms that could be adapted to the Indian urban water and sanitation sector to improve service and customer responsiveness. This volume briefly introduces this research, as well as the defining features of accountable service provision. The accompanying volume contains 10 case studies that discuss some of these mechanisms in more detail. From these case studies lessons are derived for civil society groups, policy makers and service providers pertinent to different points in the service delivery chain, including policy-making, planning and budgeting; standard-setting and enforcement; and performance monitoring.

The 10 forms of citizen engagement examined by this study are intended to strengthen citizen voice - direct influence over service design and the making of rules by which public service agencies must operate; and client power - the ability to enforce performance standards upon service providers and penalize those who fail to meet them. They also seek to strengthen the institutional factors that mark successful public service provision, identified in the World Development Report 2004. In conclusion, the study presents a preliminary framework for gauging whether citizen participation platforms make providers more accountable and responsive to citizens. It also proposes more research to develop qualitative and quantitative criteria for such measurement.