Public Disclosure Authorized

Paper No. 76 December 2004

31042
Public Disclosure Authorized

SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY
An Introduction to the Concept and Emerging
Practice
Public Disclosure Authorized

Carmen Malena, with

Reiner Forster
Public Disclosure Authorized

Janmejay Singh
Abstract

This paper highlights the World Bank’s growing interest and involvement in social accountability
initiatives, which derive from its core goals of promoting poverty reduction and effective and sustainable
development. It addresses five fundamental questions: (i) what is social accountability; (ii) why is it
important; (iii) what are its core features; (iv) what are the key applications; and (v) what are the factors
that underpin its success. The paper also explores the linkages between the concept and other key issues
such as governance, gender, participation, empowerment and rights.

Social accountability is defined as an approach toward building accountability that relies on civic
engagement, i.e., in which it is ordinary citizens and/or civil society organizations that participate directly
or indirectly in exacting accountability. In a public sector context, social accountability refers to a broad
range of actions and mechanisms that citizens, communities, independent media and civil society
organizations can use to hold public officials and public servants accountable. These include, among
others, participatory budgeting, public expenditure tracking, monitoring of public service delivery,
investigative journalism, public commissions and citizen advisory boards. These citizen-driven
accountability measures complement and reinforce conventional mechanisms of accountability such as
political checks and balances, accounting and auditing systems, administrative rules and legal procedures.

Evidence suggests that social accountability mechanisms can contribute to improved governance,
increased development effectiveness through better service delivery, and empowerment. While the range
of social accountability mechanisms is wide and diverse, key common building blocks include obtaining,
analyzing and disseminating information, mobilizing public support, and advocating and negotiating
change. Critical factors of success include: access to and effective use of information, civil society and
state capacities and synergy between the two. Ultimately, the effectiveness and sustainability of social
accountability mechanisms is improved when they are “institutionalized” and when the state’s own
“internal” mechanisms of accountability are rendered more transparent and open to civic engagement.
Social accountability mechanisms to be effective on the long run need to be institutionalized and linked to
existing governance structures and service delivery systems.
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT PAPERS
Participation and Civic Engagement
Paper No. 76 December 2004

SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY

An Introduction to the Concept and Emerging

Practice

Carmen Malena, with

Reiner Forster
Janmejay Singh
This publication was developed and produced by the Social Development
Department of the World Bank. The Environment, the Social Development, and the
Agriculture and Rural Development Departments are part of the Environmentally and
Socially Sustainable Development (ESSD) Network. The Social Development
Department is made up of World Bank staff working on social issues.

Documents in the Social Development Working Paper series are not formal
publications of the World Bank. They are published informally and circulated to
encourage discussion and comment within the development community. The
findings, interpretations, judgments, and conclusions expressed in this paper are those
of the author(s) and should not be attributed to the World Bank, to its affiliated
organizations, or to members of the Board of Executive Directors or the governments
they represent.

For additional copies of this paper, please contact:

Social Development
The World Bank
1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433

Fax: 202-522-3247
E-mail: [email protected]
Printed on Recycled Paper
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements

I. Introduction: The Accountability Challenge ....................................................................... 1

II. Social Accountability: A Conceptual Framework ........................................................... 2

What is accountability? ..................................................................................................................2
What is social accountability? .........................................................................................................3
Why is social accountability important? ..........................................................................................4
Links between social accountability and other key concepts/agendas.................................................6

III. Social Accountability: Building Blocks ............................................................................. 8

Mobilizing around an entry point ....................................................................................................8
Building an information/ evidence base ...........................................................................................8
Going public ..................................................................................................................................9
Rallying support and building coalitions ..........................................................................................9
Advocating and negotiating change .................................................................................................9

IV. Social Accountability: Applications and Tools............................................................... 10

Participatory policy and budget formulation ..................................................................................10
Participatory policy and budget analysis ........................................................................................10
Participatory public expenditure/input tracking ..............................................................................11
Participatory performance monitoring and evaluation .....................................................................11

V. Social Accountability: Critical Factors of Success......................................................... 12

Political context and culture..........................................................................................................12
Access to information ..................................................................................................................12
The role of the media ...................................................................................................................13
Civil society capacity ...................................................................................................................13
State capacity ..............................................................................................................................13
State-civil society synergy ............................................................................................................13
Institutionalization .......................................................................................................................14

VI. Concluding Remarks ........................................................................................................ 14

Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 16

Figures:
Figure 1: Why is Social Accountability Important?……………………………………………………….. 6

Figure 2: Social Accountability Building Blocks………………………………………………………….. 9

Figure 3: Social Accountability: Examples of Applications throughout the Public Policy

and Budget Cycle……………………………………………………………………………….11
Acknowledgements
This paper was written by Carmen Malena, with Reiner Forster and Janmejay Singh of the Participation
and Civic Engagement (P&CE) Group in the Social Development Department of the World Bank.
Important contributions came from members of the P&CE Group including, William Reuben, Jeff
Thindwa, Annika Silva-Leander, Carmen Monico, Mariana Felicio, Ulrik Birk Petersen, Yuki Niimura
and Yumi Sera.

Valuable comments and feedback on the paper were gratefully received during a review meeting from
John Ackerman, Ruth Alsop, Nina Bhatt, Jose Edgardo Campos, Karen Hudes, Marcos Mendiburu,
Stephen Ndegwa, Veronica Nyhan, Frederick Stapenhurst, Dana Weist, and Alex Widmer, as well as
from Demba Balde, Kossi Eguida and Judith Edstrom. The paper was written under the supervision of
Jeff Thindwa and William Reuben.

The authors would also like to thank Monica Lindo, Erik Mollel, Aditi Sen and Evelyn Crystal Lopez for
their editorial and administrative assistance in preparing the paper for final publication.

The paper forms part of an initial step to build the conceptual foundation for the growing body of work
being done on social accountability and the demand side of good governance, and it reflects the ongoing
efforts of the various teams in the World Bank who have been working on this issue.
 Social Accountability:
An Introduction to the Concept and Emerging Practice

I. Introduction: The Accountability Challenge

The crucial importance of government accountability to citizens has featured in the World Bank’s policy
discourse for some time now. The 2001 World Development Report and the World Bank’s empowerment
framework1 recognize accountability as an integral component of ‘empowerment’ and hence poverty
reduction. The need for strengthening accountability relationships between policy makers, service
providers, and clients is at the core of the 2004 World Development Report’s argument for “making
services work for the poor.”2 Moreover, accountability of institutions is one of the three conceptual
pillars of the emerging Social Development Strategy of the World Bank. 3

Traditionally, efforts to tackle the challenge of accountability have tended to concentrate on improving
the “supply-side” of governance using methods such as political checks and balances, administrative rules
and procedures, auditing requirements, and formal law enforcement agencies like courts and the police.
These “top-down” accountability promoting mechanisms have met with only limited success in many
countries – be they developed or developing. 4 As a result, newer measures such as the setting up of
independent pro-accountability agencies like vigilance commissions and ombudsman have been tried, and
in other cases, public institutions have been privatized or services contracted to the private sector in an
attempt to bring market-based accountability into the public sector.

More recently, increased attention has been paid to the “demand side” of good governance – that is to
strengthening the voice and capacity of citizens (especially poor citizens) to directly demand greater
accountability and responsiveness from public officials and service providers.5 Enhancing the ability of
citizens to engage with public servants and politicians in a more informed, direct and constructive manner
is what the social accountability practices outlined in this paper are all about. The World Bank’s interest
and involvement in the area of “social accountability” derives from its core goals of promoting poverty
reduction and effective and sustainable development. It reflects a growing attention to issues of
governance, empowerment and rights-based approaches to development.

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the concept of social accountability and to briefly explain its
significance, key elements and applications on the basis of learning from emerging experience with such
initiatives across the world. 6 The paper does not provide a detailed description of social accountability

1
See Empowerment and Poverty Reduction, A Sourcebook, World Bank, 2002.
2
See World Development Report 2001: Attacking Poverty, and World Development Report 2004: Making Services Work for
Poor People, The World Bank, Washington DC.
3
See Transforming Institutions to Empower People – Social Development in World Bank Operations, World Bank, 2004.
4
This issue is discussed in Ackerman (2004).
5
This shift can clearly be seen in the case of World Bank operations, where an increase in policy based lending, as well as
community-driven development projects has meant that the role of citizen-driven monitoring and accountability is becoming
more central.
6
More information on practical experiences with social accountability mechanisms can be found at
www.worldbank.org/participation/sdn/sdn.htm.
 2

tools nor does it seek to provide an exhaustive conceptual analysis.7 Instead the goal here is to provide a
concise overview of the notion of social accountability, its importance and features.

The next section of the paper defines and outlines a conceptual framework for social accountability. The
importance and relevance of the concept and its links with other important development themes is also
discussed in this section. Section III identifies some of the key elements or “building blocks” of social
accountability initiatives. Section IV describes selected applications and tools of social accountability,
while section V goes on to list some of the critical factors that contribute to the success of social
accountability initiatives. Finally, section VI provides concluding remarks.

II. Social Accountability: A Conceptual Framework

What is accountability?
In order to explain the concept of social accountability it is important to first start with a concrete
definition of accountability.

Accountability can be defined as the obligation of power-holders to account for or take responsibility for
their actions. “Power-holders” refers to those who hold political, financial or other forms of power and
include officials in government, private corporations, international financial institutions and civil society
organizations.

This paper focuses specifically on the accountability of government actors toward citizens and, in
particular, toward poor people.8 This accountability is a consequence of the implicit ‘social compact’
between citizens and their delegated representatives and agents in a democracy. A fundamental principle
of democracy is that citizens have the right to demand accountability and public actors have an obligation
to account. As Mulgan (2000) has stated, “those calling for an account are asserting rights of superior
authority over those who are accountable”.

Government officials and bureaucrats are accountable for their (i) conduct and (ii) performance..9 In other
words, they can and should be held accountable to (i) obey the law and not abuse their powers, and (ii)
serve the public interest in an efficient, effective and fair manner.

All states have some form of mechanisms in place to promote or ensure accountability of public servants.
Systems of accountability that are internal to the state are often referred to as “horizontal” mechanisms of
accountability (Schedler et al. 1999). These include: (i) political mechanisms (e.g., constitutional
constraints, separation of powers, the legislature and legislative investigative commissions); (ii) fiscal
mechanisms (e.g., formal systems of auditing and financial accounting); (iii) administrative mechanisms
(e.g., hierarchical reporting, norms of public sector probity, public service codes of conduct, rules and

7
For a deeper conceptual discussion of social accountability and how it relates to other notions of accountability, see
Ackerman(2004). Similarly, for a more practical guide to different social accountability tools and applications see the
forthcoming Social Accountability Sourcebook, currently being developed by the Social Development Department of the World
Bank.
8
Although this paper specifically focuses on the contribution of social accountability initiatives to public sector accountability it
is worthwhile mentioning that similar principles and approaches can be applied and in fact have proven effective to increase the
accountability of private sector, civil society and community leaders and representatives.
9
Behn (2001) further distinguishes ‘fairness’ and ‘financial’ from performance accountability.
 3

procedures regarding transparency and public oversight), and; (iv) legal mechanisms (e.g., corruption
control agencies, ombudsmen and the judiciary) (Goetz and Gaventa, 2001).

There is considerable difference of opinion among scholars of accountability as to how narrowly or

broadly the concept of accountability should be defined. Some, for example, see accountability as an
essentially ex-post phenomenon while others argue that principles of accountability should ideally be
applied before, during and after the exercise of public authority (Ackerman, 2004). Related to the ex-
ante/ex-post debate, some observers have argued for making a clear distinction between government
responsiveness vs. government accountability – the former referring to whether governments respond to
citizens’ expressed needs, and the latter to whether citizens are able to hold governments to their
promises. Other scholars, while acknowledging the difference between the two concepts, understand
them as going hand in hand and see less of a need for treating them distinctly. This paper, for both
conceptual and practical reasons, views the two concepts as inextricably linked. It therefore describes
mechanisms that promote both responsiveness and accountability at various stages throughout the
formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of government policies and programs.

What is social accountability?

Social accountability can be defined as an approach towars 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.10 Mechanisms of social accountability can be initiated
and supported by the state, citizens or both, but very often they are demand-driven and operate from the
bottom-up.

Social accountability mechanisms are sometimes referred to as “external” or “vertical” mechanisms of

accountability (in contrast to the more conventional “internal” or “horizontal” mechanisms of
accountability discussed above). One important “vertical” mechanism of accountability in democratic
states is elections. Elections in and of themselves, however, are a very blunt instrument with which to
hold government accountable. Even if citizens were fully and accurately informed of the views and
actions of every political candidate (which of course is far from the case), elections still only allow
citizens to select among a limited number of individuals or political parties. They do not offer citizens
the opportunity to express their preferences on specific issues, to contribute in a meaningful way to public
decision-making or to hold public actors accountable for specific decisions or behaviors.

For this reason, social accountability is here used to refer to the broad range of actions and mechanisms
(beyond voting) that citizens, communities, civil society organizations (CSOs) and independent media can
use to hold public officials and servants accountable. Traditionally, these have included a variety of
citizen or civil society-led actions such as public demonstrations, protests, advocacy campaigns,
investigative journalism and public interest lawsuits. In more recent years, the expanded use of
participatory data collection and analysis tools combined with (in many country contexts) enhanced space
and opportunity for citizen/civil society engagement with the state, have led to a new generation of social
accountability practices that emphasize a solid evidence base and direct interaction with government
counterparts. 11 These include, for example, participatory public policy-making, participatory budgeting,
public expenditure tracking, citizen monitoring and evaluation of public service delivery. They also

10
The term social accountability is, in a sense, a misnomer since it is not meant to refer to a specific type of accountability, but
rather to a particular approach (or set of mechanisms) for exacting accountability.
11
A well cited example of this are the ‘citizen report card’ surveys pioneered by the Public Affairs Center in Bangalore, India,
that sought to assess the quality and effectiveness of public services in the city. See Paul (2002).
 4

include efforts to enhance citizen knowledge and use of conventional mechanisms of accountability (for
example, through public education about legal rights and available services) and/or efforts to improve the
effectiveness of “internal” accountability mechanisms, for example, through citizen involvement in public
commissions and hearings, citizen advisory boards and oversight committees.

Social accountability mechanisms are therefore intended both to complement and enhance conventional
mechanisms of accountability. “Internal” (state) and “external” (social) mechanisms of accountability can
and should be mutually reinforcing. It has been argued that impact is greatest and most sustainable when
social accountability mechanisms are “institutionalized” or when the state’s own “internal” mechanisms
of accountability are rendered more transparent and open to civic engagement. This can lead to what
some scholars have termed “transversal”, “hybrid” or “diagonal” accountability (Goetz and Jenkins,
2001).

Another key feature of social accountability mechanisms is their use of a range of both formal and
informal rewards and sanctions, including public pressure. The strategy adopted depends on a number of
factors including: the nature and purpose of the social accountability initiative; whether compliance is
forthcoming; the expertise and means of those seeking accountability; and the availability of formal
means of enforcement. Informal mechanisms of reward or sanction usually rely upon creating public
pressure, for example, through (positive or negative) press releases, media coverage, public displays of
support or protest, “interface” meetings between citizens and public officials, petitions, etc.12 When
necessary, citizens’ groups can appeal to formal means of sanction or enforcement to effect change, for
example, by presenting evidence to a corruption control agency, appealing to a public ombudsman or
filing a legal claim through the court system. Often, however, such means are absent, ineffective or
inadequate to effect real change. In such cases, citizen actions might aim to reveal the inadequacies of
these mechanisms, lobby for their (legal, administrative or institutional) reform or seek to improve their
effectiveness through enhanced public participation. Again, these types of actions can potentially lead to
the creation of new hybrid (i.e., “partially formalized”) mechanisms of enforcement including, for
example, citizen oversight committees or grievance redress mechanisms (with varying degrees of
formality and legal authority). 13

A wide range of actions and instruments are used to achieve social accountability goals. Section III of
this paper, for example, categorizes some selected social accountability tools according to the stage of the
public policy/budget cycle at which they are applied. As experience accumulates, efforts are being made
to develop criteria for distinguishing and categorizing different social accountability practices. Social
accountability mechanisms can be distinguished, for example, according to: (i) whether they are initiated
by citizens or the state; (ii) the extent to which they are “institutionalized” vs. “independent”; (iii) the
extent to which they are “collaborative” vs. “conflictive”; (iv) whether they employ formal or informal
sanctions; and (v) whether they occur at the local, regional or national level, etc.

Why is social accountability important?

There are three main arguments underlying the importance of social accountability – improved
governance , increased development effectiveness, and empowerment. Each is discussed below.

12
The highly publicized ‘jansunvais’ or public hearings to reveal corruption in use of local government funds organized by the
Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) in Rajasthan India is a well-known example of such an approach. See Jenkins and
Goetz (1999).
13
Compare for example the introduction of a grievance redress mechanism by the World Bank supported Kalahi Community-
Driven Development Program in the Philippines. See World Bank (2002).
 5

First, the issue of governance. Accountability of public officials is the cornerstone of good government
and a prerequisite for an effective democracy. At the present time, when notions of citizens’ rights and
responsibilities are evolving and expanding, relations between citizens and their governments are
characterized by what some have termed “a crisis of legitimacy” (Gaventa, 2002) or simply a
“governance crisis” (Paul 2002). Citizens in both the North and South express growing disillusionment
with their governments – citing a lack of responsiveness, abuse of discretion, corruption, favoritism and
weak accountability on the part of public officials and bureaucrats. (Commonwealth Foundation, 1999,
Narayan et al. 2000). Especially in developing country contexts, the effectiveness of conventional
“horizontal” mechanisms of accountability has proved limited. As discussed above, elections, the
principal traditional “vertical” mechanism of accountability, have also proved a weak and blunt
instrument for holding government officials and employees accountable for specific actions. 14 Social
accountability mechanisms allow ordinary citizens to access information, voice their needs, and demand
accountability between elections. Emerging social accountability practices enhance the ability of citizens
to move beyond mere protest toward engaging with bureaucrats and politicians in a more informed,
organized, constructive and systematic manner, thus increasing the chances of effecting positive change.

Social accountability also contributes to increased development effectiveness. This is achieved through
improved public service delivery and more informed policy design. In many countries, especially
developing ones, the government fails to deliver key essential services to its citizens due to problems such
as: misallocation of resources, leakages/corruption, weak incentives or a lack of articulated demand. 15
Similarly, governments often formulate policies in a discretionary and non-transparent manner that goes
against the interests and actual priorities of the poor. 16 These problems are perpetuated because the three
key groups of actors in the public policy and service delivery chain-policy makers, service providers and
citizens have different (sometimes conflicting) goals and incentives, compounded by information
asymmetries and lack of communication. By enhancing the availability of information, strengthening
citizen voice, promoting dialogue and consultation between the three groups of actors and creating
incentives for improved performance, social accountability mechanisms can go a long way toward
improving the effectiveness of service delivery and making public decision-making more transparent,
participatory and pro-poor. Since poor people are most reliant on government services and least equipped
to hold government officials to account, they have the most to gain from social accountability initiatives.17

Finally, social accountability initiatives can lead to empowerment, particularly of poor people . While
there is no single definition of empowerment, at its broadest, it can be understood as the expansion of
freedom of choice and action. 18 Research shows that poor people’s dissatisfaction with government
relates largely to issues of responsiveness and accountability. Poor people report that state institutions are
“often neither responsive nor accountable to the poor” and “not accountable to anyone or accountable
only to the rich and powerful” (Narayan et al. 2000, pp. 172 and 177). By providing critical information
on rights and entitlements and soliciting systematic feedback from poor people, social accountability
mechanisms provide a means to increase and aggregate the voice of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups.
This enhanced voice empowers the poor and increases the chance of greater responsiveness on the part of
the state to their needs.19 That said, reaching out to poor people with the support they need to initiate their
own social accountability actions and ensuring that social accountability mechanisms are designed in the

14
See World Bank (2004a) for a discussion of the weaknesses of elections as a mechanism of accountability.
15
For a more detailed account of the problems in service delivery, see the World Development Report 2004: Making Services
Work for Poor People, World Bank.
16
Examples of such policies include regressive tax exemptions, laws that invade on civil liberties, etc.
17
See, for example, Singh and Shah (March 2003).
18
See Empowerment and Poverty Reduction, A Sourcebook, World Bank, 2002 p.14
19
Empowerment of the poor and disadvantaged has been recognized as one of the three key pillars of poverty reduction by the
World Development Report 2001, “Attacking Poverty”, World Bank, 2001.
 6

interest of the poorest (and not “captured” by more powerful groups) are key challenges of effective, pro-
poor social accountability.

Figure 1: Why is Social Accountability Important?

Social
Accountability

Governance Empowerment

Development
Effectiveness

Links between social accountability and other key concepts/agendas

The notion of social accountability is linked to a number of key concepts and agendas. As described
above, social accountability mechanisms have a key role to play in improving governance and deepening
democracy.20 Social accountability is sometimes referred to as the “demand side of good governance”, as
it is based upon the active involvement of citizens in exacting accountability from their elected
representatives and leaders.

Social accountability also has strong potential to contribute to poverty reduction through more-pro-poor
policy design, improved service delivery, and empowerment. Some social accountability mechanisms
have specifically been developed for use by poor (and/or illiterate) populations and many focus on issues
of priority importance to poor people (such as public health, education, water and sanitation services).
However, as mentioned above, constant effort is required to ensure that social accountability initiatives
effectively serve the priority needs of poor people, include mechanisms to overcome potential barriers to
their effective participation and, ideally, allow poor people to be “in the driver’s seat”.

Social accountability also has important gender implications. Women are systematically under-
represented at every level of government in almost every country around the world. This situation of
political marginalization weakens women’s capacity to promote their interests and defend their rights vis-
à-vis government. Social accountability mechanisms, due to their bottom-up, inclusive and demand-
driven nature, enhance the ability of women to make their voices heard. A number of social
accountability tools (such as gender budgeting and gender disaggregated participatory M&E) have been
specifically designed to adress gender issues. As stated in the above paragraph, social accountability
initiatives often target those public sectors of greatest importance to poor people, of which women
constitute a significant part. Similarly, social accountability initiatives have great potential and have
already been used to draw attention to the needs of vulnerable groups in society, whether disabled
people, children or youth. In light of the intense focus on the plight of children by CSOs around the

20
See, for example, Reuben (2002 and 2003).
 7

world, the Convention on the Rights of the Child has become the main basis for children’s budgets and
related policy work.

According to political theory, a core function of civil society is to hold government accountable. Social
accountability, in fact, refers to this essential role of civil society. Social accountability can also be
understood as a particular form of civic engagement, one in which citizens engage with the state for the
purpose of holding public officials accountable. The concept of social accountability is closely related to
evolving notions of citizenship that give added emphasis to citizens’ rights, roles and responsibilities and
lead to enhanced citizen expectations and engagement.

Social accountability is closely related to rights-based approaches to development. The obligation of

government officials to be accountable to citizens derives from notions of citizen’s and information
rights, often enshrined in constitutions, and the broader set of human rights. Social accountability offers
mechanisms to monitor and protect these rights.21 The concept of social accountability underlines the
right of citizens to expect and ensure that government acts in the best interests of the people.

The concept of social accountability is closely linked to that of participation. It is the participation of
citizens that distinguishes social accountability from conventional mechanisms of accountability. In
many cases, citizens, communities and CSOs do not merely participate in social accountability activities
but initiate and control them. While many participatory approaches focus exclusively on the individual
community or micro-level, social accountability mechanisms expand opportunities for participation at the
macro-level. This may include, for example, citizen involvement in the analysis and/or formulation of
national or local budgets or linking the findings of local le vel participatory monitoring and evaluation
exercises to budgetary, administrative or governance issues at higher levels of the public service delivery
chain.

By monitoring government performance, demanding and enhancing transparency and exposing

government failures and misdeeds, social accountability mechanisms are also powerful tools against
corruption. Indeed it has been argued by some that the only true safeguard against public sector
corruption is the active and on-going societal monitoring of government actions and the evolution of more
open and participatory anti-corruption institutions.

Social accountability mechanisms can complement public sector reforms , by addressing the demand-
side aspects of public service delivery, monitoring and accountability. Social accountability mechanisms
have proved particularly useful in the context of decentralization, helping to strengthen links between
citizens and local- level governments and assisting local authorities and service-providers to become more
responsive and effective.

21
Simply disseminating information about entitlements or soliciting citizen feedback about public sector performance, for
example, can facilitate the fulfillment of rights of access to information, food, housing, social security, education, freedom of
association and speech, etc.
 8

III. Social Accountability: Building Blocks

As described above, social accountability encompasses an extremely broad array of actions that citizens
can potentially take to hold government officials and bureaucrats accountable. These actions may be
carried out by a wide range of actors (e.g., individual citizens, communities, parliamentarians, CSOs,
media), occur at different levels (e.g., local to national), address a variety of different issues (e.g., public
policy, political conduct, public expenditures, service delivery) and use diverse strategies (e.g., research,
monitoring, participatory planning, civic education, media coverage, coalition building). Despite this
diversity, social accountability approaches regularly feature processes of collective interest articulation
and negotiation. Beyond mere advocacy, they often also try to build a convincing evidence-base for
public engagement. They normally comprise several (and, ideally, all) of the following key elements or
‘building blocks’.

Mobilizing around an entry point

The first step of almost any social accountability initiative is the identification of an entry point and the
development of a strategy whereby a priority problem can be addressed. The problem may be of a
specific or general nature and may be identified at a local, regional or national level. For example, in the
case of poor health service delivery, potential entry points might include national health budget
allocations, corruption/inefficiencies within the national distribution system or the performance of local
service providers or village health management committees. Each of these could be a serious bottleneck
to delivery of health services. Potential strategies for addressing these issues could include, for example,
budget analysis/advocacy activities, tracking of health inputs and/or expenditures, participatory evaluation
of local health services, etc.

Building an information/evidence base

Accessing or generating relevant information and building a credible evidence base that will serve to hold
public officials accountable is a critical aspect of social accountability. Social accountability initiatives
often involve obtaining: (i) “supply-side” data/information (from government and service providers) and
(ii) “demand-side” data/information (from users of government services, communities and citizens). In
accessing “supply-side” information (e.g., policy statements, budget commitments and accounts, records
of inputs, outputs and expenditures, audit findings , etc.), the transparency of government and its capacity
to produce and provide data and accounts are crucial. 22 With regard to “demand-side” information, a wide
variety of participatory methods and tools (e.g., community scorecards, citizen report cards, participatory
monitoring and evaluation techniques) have been developed to generate data, while simultaneously
serving to raise awareness and promote local-level mobilization and organization.

Relevant data/information, once obtained, must be interpreted and analyzed in order to be rendered
operationally useful. This may involve working with trained specialists (e.g., who can help to
“demystify” budgets or disaggregate financial accounts) or using participatory methods to help
community members or user groups analyze local data or collectively evaluate public services. In either
case, the goal of the analysis is to produce meaningful findings that can be understood by all stakeholders
and used to move beyond mere protest to evidence-based dialogue.

22
In many country contexts, the initial focus of social accountability interventions has in fact been to lobby for enhanced
information rights and public transparency.
 9

Going public
Bringing information and findings into the public sphere and generating public debate around them are a
key element of most social accountability initiatives. Be it budget details, the findings of public
expenditure reviews, audits or project evaluation results, this information takes on new significance and
impact when made accessible to the public at large, serving both to inform and to create an impetus for
action. Effective communication strategies and mechanisms are, therefore, essential aspects of social
accountability. These may include the organization of public meetings and events as well the strategic
use of both modern and traditional forms of media. Transmitting relevant information to government
officials who are in a position to act on it (and, ideally, interacting directly with those decision-makers on
an on-going basis) is also an essential aspect of social accountability.

Rallying support and building coalitions

Informing citizens of their rights and responsibilities, engaging their interest and mobilizing them to build
coalitions and partnerships with different stakeholders (like bureaucrats, media, parliamentarians, etc.) is
a core aspect of social accountability. Ideally, every step of a social accountability initiative contributes to
informing/engaging citizens and mobilizing support. The ability of citizens to organize for collective
action and the capacity of CSOs to facilitate and support such mobilization are crucial to the success of
social accountability initiatives. Again, reaching out to poor and marginalized segments of the population
requires specific effort and remains a principal challenge.

Figure 2: Social Accountability Building Blocks

Advocating and negotiating change

Rallying support and building coalitions

Going public

Building an information/evidence base

Mobilizing around an entry point

Advocating and negotiating change

The most crucial and challenging element of a social accountability strategy is to be able to elicit a
response from public officials and effect real change. The most effective strategies usually involve direct
interaction and negotiation with the concerned government counterparts and, in some cases, the
institutionalization of mechanisms for ongoing consultation and dialogue. As discussed above, in
negotiating change, citizens’ groups employ a range of both informal and formal means of persuasion,
pressure, reward and sanction. These include, for example, creating public pressure (e.g., through media
campaigns and public meetings) or when necessary, resorting to formal means of enforcement (e.g.,
through legal and judicial processes). The space and opportunity for negotiation as well as the possibility
of appeal to formal means of sanction obviously vary greatly from one country context to another. In
 10

many developing country contexts, citizen’s groups have found that legal and/or institutional reforms are
necessary to facilitate meaningful negotiation.

IV. Social Accountability: Applications and Tools

A variety of strategies and methods (comprised of some or all of the above elements) have been
developed to promote social accountability. In the context of World Bank support to social
accountability, key areas for the use of these methods have been: (i) the preparation, implementation,
monitoring and evaluation of poverty reduction strategies; (ii) public sector reform and public expenditure
management processes; (iii) community-driven development projects; and (iv) sectoral interventions (e.g.,
in the areas of health, education, transport, water and sanitation). Among the wide range of mechanisms
that can be used to build social accountability, those that seek to directly involve ordinary citizens in
processes of allocating, disbursing, monitoring and evaluating the use of public resources have proved
very effective since it is these resource flows that put policy into action. The following is a brief
description of such selected social accountability methods that have been used as entry points at different
stages of the public policy and public expenditure management cycle.

Participatory policy and budget formulation

This involves direct citizen/CSO participation in formulating public policy and budgets (i.e., in proposing
projects and allocating funds). Participatory policy formulation has become an increasingly common
trend, particularly with the introduction of the poverty reduction strategies at the national level and
community driven development initiatives at the local level. Participatory budget formulation is less
common and usually occurs at the local level (as in over 100 municipalities in Brazil) 23 but is also
theoretically applicable at higher levels. Another approach to participatory budget formation is when
civil society actors prepare alternative budgets (such as South Africa’s Women’s Budget or Canada’s
Alternative Federal Budget) with a view to influencing budget formulation by expressing citizen
preferences.

Participatory policy and budget analysis

Here, CSOs review budgets in order to assess whether allocations match the government’s announced
social commitments. This may involve analyzing the impact and implications of budget allocations,
demystifying the technical content of the budget, raising awareness about budget-related issues and
undertaking public education campaigns to improve budget literacy. At the local level, whether or not
citizens have participated in budget formulation, efforts to publicize and encourage debate around the
contents of local budgets can serve to enhance public understanding of budget issues and constraints and
encourage civic engagement in its implementation and monitoring. CSOs also play a key role in
reviewing, critiquing and building public awareness about policies in key areas such as poverty reduction,
gender equity, environmental protection, employment and social services. 24

23
See, for example, Wagle and Shah (2003).
24
See Wagle and Shah (2003).
 11

Participatory public expenditure/input tracking

This involves citizen groups tracking how the government actually spends funds, with the aim of
identifying leakages and/or bottlenecks in the flow of financial resources or inputs. Typically, these
groups employ the actual users or beneficiaries of government services (assisted by CSOs) to collect and
publicly disseminate data on inputs and expenditures. This approach often involves the triangulation of
information received from disbursement records of finance ministries, accounts submitted by line
agencies and information obtained from independent enquiry (using, for example, tools like socia l audits).
Information is disseminated through the use of media, publications and public meetings. The
participatory tracking of primary education expenditures in Uganda and the social audit techniques used
under Bolivia’s social monitoring initiative are examples of such an approach.25

Figure 3: Social Accountability: Examples of Applications throughout the Public Policy

and Budget Cycle

SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY
STAGES IN POLICY AND B UDGET
APPLICATIONS AND TOOLS
CYCLE

Policy/Budget Preparation Participatory policy/ budget

formulation

Policy/Budget Analysis Independent policy/ budget

analysis

Policy/Budget Implementation Participatory public expenditure/

input tracking

Participatory performance
Monitoring & Evaluation monitoring

Participatory impact
evaluation

Participatory performance monitoring and evaluation

This entails citizen groups or communities monitoring the implementation and performance of public
services or projects and evaluating their impact, often according to indicators they themselves have
selected. This is achieved through the use of participatory monitoring and evaluation tools (such as
community scorecards) and, at a more macro level, through the use of public opinion surveys, public

25
Wagle and Shah (2003).
 12

hearings or citizens’ report cards, for example, as carried out in India and the Philippines.26 The findings
of participatory M&E exercises are presented at interface meetings (where users and service providers
come together to discuss the evidence and seek solutions) or, as in the case of citizen report cards, are
publicly disseminated and presented to government officials to demand accountability and lobby for
change.

Early experience has shown that each of these methods has the potential to produce significant
operational results (e.g., improved performance, the introduction of corrective measures) as well as
process outcomes (e.g., institutional, behavioral and relational changes). Experience also suggests that
impact is enhanced and synergies created when a systems approach is adopted and social accountability
initiatives are supported at various stages throughout the public policy and expenditure cycle. In the
context of a social reform programmatic loan in Peru, for example, several of the above methods have
been applied, accompanied by efforts to build capacity and promote an enabling environment for social
accountability – moving toward what has been termed a social accountability system.27

V. Social Accountability: Critical Factors of Success

The evolution of most social accountability initiatives has been far from systematic. For the most part,
measures by citizen groups to promote accountability have been opportunistic responses to particular
situations. Their success has therefore also been heavily dependent on several factors. Some of these are
discussed below.

Political context and culture

The parameters for social accountability are largely determined by the existing political context and
culture. For example, the feasibility and likelihood of success of social accountability initiatives are
highly dependent upon whether the political regime is democratic, a multi-party system is in place, basic
political and civil rights are guaranteed (including access to information and freedoms of expression,
association and assembly) and whether there is a culture of political transparency and probity. The
existence of these underlying factors, and the potential risks that their absence may pose, must be taken
into account when planning social accountability initiatives. Legal, institutional and socio-cultural factors
will also have an important influence on the success of social accountability activities. An unfavorable
context does not mean that social accountability activities should not be pursued. In such circumstances,
however, an analysis of the key factors influencing the environment for social accountability (and the
risks they entail) must be undertaken and appropriate strategies for addressing potential barriers
developed.

Access to information
As described above the availability and reliability of public documents and data is essential to building
social accountability. Such information is the basis for social accountability activities, and thus its quality
and accessibility 28 is a key determinant of the success of social accountability mechanisms. In many
cases, initial social accountability efforts may need to focus on securing freedom of information

26
Wagle and Shah (2003).
27
See Felicio and John-Abraham (2004).
28
Accessibility here has two connotations, physical access to documents, and their availability in a format that is understandable
to inquirers. Because not all information is in documents, access also means to people (officials) and places.
 13

legislation, addressing a lack of political will to disclose or strengthen the technical capacity of public
institutions to record, manage and make available relevant data.

The role of the media

The media plays a critical role in promoting social accountability. In many countries, independent media
is a leading force in informing/educating citizens, monitoring government performance and exposing
misdeeds. Local-level media (in particular, private and community radio) provide an important means
whereby ordinary citizens can voice their opinions and discuss public issues. The extent to which media
is independent and ownership is pluralistic (versus concentrated in a few hands) are important factors that
can contribute to the accountability of the political system. A common element of almost all successful
social accountability initiatives is the strategic use of both traditional and modern forms of media to raise
awareness around public issues, disseminate findings and create a platform for public debate.

Civil society capacity

The capacity of civil society actors is another key factor of successful social accountability. The level of
organization of CSOs, the breadth of their membership, their technical and advocacy skills, their capacity
to mobilize and effectively use media, their legitimacy and representativity and their level of
responsiveness and accountability to their own members are all central to the success of social
accountability activities. In many contexts, efforts to promote an enabling environment for civil society
and to build the capacity (both organizational and technical) of CSOs are required.

State capacity
The success of social accountability initiatives also depends upon the capacity and effectiveness of the
state. Social accountability initiatives make little sense, for example, where the state machinery has
collapsed or is entirely ineffectual. A functioning public administration that has some capacity to respond
to citizen demands is, therefore, a prerequisite. Other aspects of state capacity that influence the success
of social accountability initiatives (and that may require capacity development investments) include: the
ability to produce records and accounts; the existence of conventional (“horizontal”) accountability
mechanisms; the effective devolution of authority and resources; the willingness and capacity to build
partnerships/coalitions; and, a political or administrative culture that values notions of public sector
probity, accountability and equity.

State-civil society synergy

Ultimately, the success of social accountability initiatives depends on some form of effective interaction
between civil society and the state. Meaningful results are most likely to be achieved when citizens,
politicians and bureaucrats all have an incentive to act. Ackerman (2004) points out that “unilateral state
action normally ends up in manipulation, while unilateral social action often ends in repression and
violence by the state” and that “the most productive results arise when both sides actively participate”.
He clarifies that such mutual participation does not necessarily depend upon agreement, nor trust and that
even “conflict and suspicion” can lead to effective state-society synergies. The lesson is that social
accountability initiatives must include both state and societal actors and focus on the interface between
them (Ackerman, 2004, p.7).
 14

Institutionalization
While ad hoc or one-off social accountability initiatives can make a difference, experie nce shows that
impact is greatest and most sustainable when social accountability mechanisms are “institutionalized” – in
other words, embedded within and systematically implemented by a civil society, state or “hybrid”
institution. As discussed earlier, “external” mechanisms of social accountability can be particularly
effective when combined with accountability mechanisms “internal” to the state. According to Fox
(2000, p. 1), “civil society demands for state accountability matter most when they empower the state’s
own checks and balances.”

As a result, beyond seeking specific operational outcomes, social accountability initiatives should also
pay attention to institutional factors and seek opportunities for influencing longer-term institutional
development and/or reform. Social accountability initiatives often identify the need for institutional
changes in government agencies and public services (e.g., changes in the behavior and attitudes of
frontline staff, of the incentives and sanctions of a partic ular organization, its management style or
decision making processes, etc.). They can go further and also play a catalytic role in bringing these
changes about (e.g., by engaging with staff of health centers to regularly seek and embrace client
feedback systems, setting up citizen transparency committees for local government decision-making or
introducing social monitoring groups to evaluate performance of national programs or policies on an on-
going basis). Where possible, the legal institutionalization of participatory mechanisms from the level of
individual programs and agencies through to the overall system level should be considered as a means to
enhance long-term effectiveness and sustainability.

VI. Concluding Remarks

A growing body of evidence shows that social accountability efforts on the part of citizens and civil
society organizations can serve to create new effective vertical mechanisms of accountability and to
strengthen existing horizontal ones.29 This in turn will result in better governance, improved public
service delivery and enhanced development effectiveness.

The paper has attempted to introduce the concept of social accountability, which is emerging as a
promising area for the World Bank in terms of both investment lending and knowle dge management
activities. With the shift toward budget support and policy based lending that the World Bank and many
other donors are encouraging, solid domestic accountability systems are a key prerequisite for the
viability of this form of development assistance. In this context the role of direct citizen and civil society
involvement in monitoring and accountability will become even more critical to ensure development
effectiveness. It is precisely here that social accountability mechanisms can play an important part.

The World Bank is therefore increasingly promoting and supporting social accountability initiatives in a
number of countries including Argentina, Armenia, Benin, Ghana, Honduras, India, Malawi, Peru,
Philippines, Russia, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Uganda and Vietnam. These interventions include support to
independent initiatives undertaken by CSOs, local government sensitization and capacity building,
sharing of experiences and lessons learned, and the introduction of social accountability mechanisms
within World Bank supported projects, programs and policies. As mentioned above, the long-term aim is

29
Compare, for example, Ravindra (2004), a formal evaluation of the impact of citizen report cards on the quality of health
services is currently being undertaken in Uganda by the Development Economics Research team and the Social Development
Department of the World Bank.
 15

that social accountability mechanisms are institutionalized as part of existing governance and service
delivery systems, thus ensuring greater accountability of governments to their citizens in all sectors.
 16

Bibliography
Ackerman, John (2004). Social Accountability for the Public Sector: A Conceptual Discussion. Draft
paper prepared for the World Bank.

Behn, Robert (2001). Rethinking Democratic Ac countability. Washington: Brookings Institute.

Commonwealth Foundation and CIVICUS (1999) Citizens and Governance. London: Commonwealth
Foundation.

Felicio, M., and I. John-Abraham (2004). Peru: Towards a System of Social Accountability, En Breve,
No.39, Civil Society Team, Latin America and Caribbean Region.

Fox, Jonathon (2000). “Civil Society and Political Accountability: Propositions for Discussion,”
presented at the conference Institutions, Accountability and Democratic Governance in Latin America,
The Helen Kellog Institute for International Studies, Notre Dame University, May 8, 2000.

Gaventa, John (2002). “Introduction: Exploring Citizenship, Participation and Accountability”, IDS
Bulletin , Vol. 3, No. 2. Brighton: Institute of Development Studies.

Goetz, Anne Marie and John Gaventa (2001). Bringing Citizen Voice and Client Focus into Service
Delivery. IDS Working Paper No. 138. Brighton: Institute of Development Studies.

Goetz, Anne Marie and Rob Jenkins (2001). “Hybrid Forms of Accountability: Citizen Engagement in
Institutions of Public Sector Oversight in India,” Public Management Review, Vol. 3, Issue 3, pp. 363-
83.

Jenkins, Rob and Anne Marie Goetz (1999). “Accounts And Accountabilit: Theoretical Implication of
Right to Information Movement in India.” Third World Quarterly, vol. 20, no. 3 (1999), pp. 603-22.

Mulgan, Richard (2000). ‘Accountability’: An Ever-Expanding Concept?, Discussion Paper No. 72.,
Graduate Program in Public Policy, Australian National University.

Mulgan, Richard and John Uhr (2000). Accountability and Governance. Technical Report Discussion
Paper no.71, Graduate Program in Public Policy, Australian National University.

Narayan, Deepa, Raj Patel, Kai Schafft, Anne Rademacher and Sarah Koch-Schulte (2000). Voices of the
Poor: Crying Out for Change. Washington: World Bank.

Norton, Andy and Diane Elson (2002). What’s Behind the Budget? Politics, Rights and Accountability in
the Budget Process. London: ODI.

Paul, Samuel (2002). Holding the State to Account: Citizen Monitoring in Action. Bangalore: Public
Affairs Center.

Ravindra, Adikeshavalu (2004). An Assessment of the Impact of Bangalore Citizen Report Cards on the
Performance of Public Agencies. ECD Working Paper Series No.12. World Bank Operations Evaluation
Department.
 17

Reuben, William (2002). Civic Engagement, Social Accountability and Governance Crisis. Paper
Presented at the ISS 50th Anniversary Conference: Globalization, Poverty and Conflict, The Hague.

Reuben, William (2003). The Role of Civic Engagement an Social Accountability in the Governance
Equation. World Bank, Social Development Note No. 71.

Schedler, A., L. Diamond and M. Plattner (eds.) (1999). The Self -Restraining State: Power and
Accountability in New Democracies. Boulder, CO: Lynne Reinner.

Shah, Parmesh and Deborah Youssef (eds.) (2002). Voices and Choices at a Macro Level: Participation
in Country-Owned Poverty Reduction Strategies – A Workshop Report. Washington: World Bank.

Singh, Janmejay and Parmesh Shah (2003). Making Services Work for the Poor: The Role of
Participatory Public Expenditure Management. World Bank, Social Development Note No. 81.

Songco, Dan (2001). Accountability to the Poor: Experiences in Civic Engagement in Public Expenditure
Management – A Synthesis Paper. Paper prepared as part of the Action Learning Program on
Participatory Processes for Poverty Reduction Strategies. Washington: World Bank.

Wagle, Swarnim and Parmesh Shah (2001). Participation in Public Expenditure Systems: An Issue Paper.
Washington: World Bank.

Wagle, Swarnim and Parmesh Shah (2003). Case Study 1 – Bangalore, India: Participatory Approaches
in Budgeting and Public Expenditure Management. World Bank, Social Development Notes No. 70.

Wagle, Swarnim and Parmesh Shah (2003). Case Study 5 – Uganda: Participatory Approaches in
Budgeting and Public Expenditure Management. World Bank, Social Development Note No. 74.

Wagle, Swarnim and Parmesh Shah (2003). Case Study 2 – Porto Alegre, Brazil: Participatory
Approaches in Budgeting and Public Expenditure. World Bank, Social Development Note No. 71.

Wagle, Swarnim and Parmesh Shah (2003). Case Study 3 – Gujarat, India: Participatory Approaches in
Budgeting and Public Expenditure Management. World Bank, Social Development Note No. 72.

World Bank (2001). Filipino Report Card on Pro-Poor Services: Summary. Environment and Social
Development Unit, East Asia and Pacific Region. Washington: World Bank.

World Bank (2001). World Development Report 2001, “Attacking Poverty.” Washington: World Bank.

World Bank (2002). Empowerment and Poverty Reduction, A Sourcebook. Washington: World Bank.

World Bank (2002). Project Appraisal Document: Kapitbisig Laban Sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and
Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAE-CIDSS) Project. Environment and Social Development
Unit, East Asia and Pacific Region. Washington: World Bank.

World Bank (2004). World Development Report 2004: Making Services Work for Poor People.
Washington: World Bank.
 18

World Bank (2004a). State-Society Synergy for Accountability: Lessons for the World Bank. World Bank
Working Paper No. 30, Washington: World Bank.

World Bank (2004b). Transforming Institutions to Empower People – Social Development in World Bank
Operations. Washington: World Bank.