Government Accountability through Social Audits

1
Government Accountability through Social Audits

2
A Hypothetical Example.

• Citizens in a community realize that the quality
  of health services is deficient, even though more
  money has been spent on health
• Hospital is in bad shape doctors are not in
  their office waiting time is too long
  medications are not available no one seems to
  care
• A group of citizens organizes to analyze the
  problem, monitor performance, and propose
  alternatives

3
Hypothetical Example

• They conduct a survey to users request
  information to the hospital
• Detect severe inefficiencies and corrupt
  practices
• Communicate results to the authorities and the
  community
• Hospital adopts new practices to reduce
  inefficiencies
• Evidence of corrupt practices are turned to the
  prosecuting office

4
What is Social Auditing?

• Citizen Participation Monitoring and Tracking
  Government Performance
• Different from Institutional forms of External
  Control
• Organized Citizens oversee both processes and
  results (legality and effectiveness/quality of
  government services)
• Information generated by social auditing
  practices may contribute to improve effectiveness
  and efficacy of government performance

5
Social Auditing A Form of Social Control

• Sanctions poor or bad results results may have
  consequences
• Citizens participating in social auditing have a
  stake in what is being investigated
• Seeks to accompany the government, and not to
  substitute or obstruct governments actions or
  activities
• Social auditing contributes to increase
  government accountability

6
Conditions for Success

• Access to Information
• Political Will on the part of the government
  authorities
• Incentives to improve government results

7
Some Examples

• Procurement of Waste Collection Services,
  Municipality of Moron, Argentina
• Monitoring Budget Planning and Execution,
  Municipality Santuario de Quillacas, Bolivia
• Overseeing Military Expenditures, Guatemala
• Monitoring performance of Municipality of Bogotá,
  Colombia

8
Lessons Learned

• Establish cooperative relationship with the
  government neither cooptation nor
  confrontation
• Propose alternatives not only criticisms
• Define clear objectives
• Technical knowledge and Organization are key to
  success
• Design an effective communication strategy
  alliance with the media
• Ensure participation of the community
• Recognize partial, gradual change (not all or
  nothing)

9
Challenges

• Bridge the Gap between Technical Knowledge and
  Citizen Participation
• Sustainability
• Creativity for Generating Information
• Independence Not Working for the Government,
  Against the Government or Instead of the
  Government
• Participation of the Community