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Demanding Good Governance : Lessons
 from Social Accountability Initiatives in AfricaThis is a challenging time for Africa.
 The combined effects of the global economic crisis, the need
 for equitable allocation of natural resource assets, and the
 ever-changing balance of influence and power between the
 developed and developing worlds are requiring African
 countries to re-evaluate their governance structures.
 "Social accountability," as defined in this book,
 is an approach to enhancing government accountability and
 transparency. It refers to the wide range of citizen actions
 to hold the state to account, as well as actions on the part
 of government, media, and other actors that promote or
 facilitate these efforts. Social accountability strategies
 and tools help empower ordinary citizens to exercise their
 inherent rights and to hold governments accountable for the
 use of public funds and how they exercise authority. Global
 experience has shown that such initiatives can be catalytic
 and that they increasingly play a critical role in securing
 and sustaining governance reforms that strengthen
 transparency and accountability. The case studies presented
 in this book represent a cross-section of African countries,
 drawing on initiatives launched and implemented both by
 civil society groups and by local and national governments
 in countries with different political contexts and cultures.
 Over the past decade, a wide range of social accountability
 practices- such as participatory budgeting, independent
 budget analysis, participatory monitoring of public
 expenditures and citizen evaluation of public services-have
 been developed and tested in countries such as Brazil,
 India, the Philippines, and South Africa. In less developed
 Sub-Saharan African countries, civil society and government
 actors are also actively creating and experimenting with
 social accountability approaches (and tools), but these
 experiences, their outcomes, and lessons have received less
 attention and been less documented, studied, and shared.
 This volume aims to help fill this gap by describing and
 analyzing a selection of social accountability initiatives
 from seven Sub-Saharan countries: Benin, Ghana, Malawi,
 Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.
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Demanding Good Governance : Lessons from Social Accountability Initiatives in AfricaThis is a challenging time for Africa. The combined effects of the global economic crisis, the need for equitable allocation of natural resource assets, and the ever-changing balance of influence and power between the developed and developing worlds are requiring African countries to re-evaluate their governance structures. "Social accountability," as defined in this book, is an approach to enhancing government accountability and transparency. It refers to the wide range of citizen actions to hold the state to account, as well as actions on the part of government, media, and other actors that promote or facilitate these efforts. Social accountability strategies and tools help empower ordinary citizens to exercise their inherent rights and to hold governments accountable for the use of public funds and how they exercise authority. Global experience has shown that such initiatives can be catalytic and that they increasingly play a critical role in securing and sustaining governance reforms that strengthen transparency and accountability. The case studies presented in this book represent a cross-section of African countries, drawing on initiatives launched and implemented both by civil society groups and by local and national governments in countries with different political contexts and cultures. Over the past decade, a wide range of social accountability practices- such as participatory budgeting, independent budget analysis, participatory monitoring of public expenditures and citizen evaluation of public services-have been developed and tested in countries such as Brazil, India, the Philippines, and South Africa. In less developed Sub-Saharan African countries, civil society and government actors are also actively creating and experimenting with social accountability approaches (and tools), but these experiences, their outcomes, and lessons have received less attention and been less documented, studied, and shared. This volume aims to help fill this gap by describing and analyzing a selection of social accountability initiatives from seven Sub-Saharan countries: Benin, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.
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The Enabling Environment for Social Accountability in MongoliaThe purpose of this study on the enabling environment for social accountability in Mongolia is: 1) to analyze conditions that influence the ability of citizens and their organizations to promote accountability of public institutions in Mongolia; 2) to identify priority areas for policy, legal, regulatory, and institutional reforms to improve these conditions; and 3) to identify areas in which the capacity building of civil society organizations and the Government of Mongolia may be promoted to enhance social accountability for improved governance, social and economic development, and poverty reduction. The study applies a civic engagement analytical framework to assess the enabling environment: the factors and conditions that would allow Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to promote public accountability. This framework, represented by the acronym ARVIN, recognizes five enabling elements of civic engagement, namely, the ability of citizens to: Associate to further their purposes; mobilize appropriate Resources; exercise their Voice; gain access to Information that is relevant, timely, and accessible; and Negotiate with government through established mechanisms and rules of engagement. The study concludes that while impressive strides have been made since the transition from socialism, particularly in comparison with other governments in the region, Mongolia continues to face significant institutional, legal, and sociopolitical obstacles to effective social accountability. Since middle- and lower-level public officials are often more resistant to civic engagement, Government of Mongolia and political leaders must lead reform not only of the legal structure and governmental institutions but also of Mongolia's political culture to promote an enabling environment for social accountability.