This document discusses social accountability and its importance in governance. It defines social accountability as an approach that relies on civic engagement where citizens directly or indirectly exact accountability from power holders. Social accountability mechanisms include social audits, budget analysis by civil society organizations, public budget hearings, and citizen monitoring of government agencies. When implemented effectively, social accountability can improve governance, reduce poverty, empower citizens, enhance transparency, and strengthen public sector reforms. However, it also carries risks such as raised citizen expectations not being met or lack of sustainability. The document emphasizes that social accountability works best when the political context supports citizen participation.

1. Social Accountability
Reiner Forster, SDV
January 25th, 2005
Enhancing citizen voice and client focus in
governance and service delivery
Note: This interactive learning module, designed by Social Impact, was commissioned
by the World Bank’s PREM Poverty Group and developed in collaboration with SDV,
WBI and the PREM Public Sector Group. Supported by a concept paper, it is a generic
introductory-level module which may be adapted to suit different target audiences
and time frames.

2. What is Accountability?
• Accountability is the obligation of power-
holders to account for or take responsibility for
their actions.
• Power-holders: holding political, financial or
other forms of power, e.g. public officials,
private employers, donors, service providers,
traditional leaders, NGOs.
• Key area: government or public accountability
• builds on the implicit ‘social contract‘ between
citizens and public officials.
• obligation of public officials and the right/
entitlement of citizens

3. What are public officials
responsible for?
• Their conduct—they must obey the
law, rules, procedures and not
abuse their powers.
• Their performance—they must
serve the public interest in an
efficient, effective and fair manner.
• All states have some form of
mechanisms to promote or ensure
accountability of public actors.

4. How can accountability be
ensured ?1. Rules and Regulations –
administrative procedures, audits,
code of conduct…
2. Bring in Market Principles –
privatization or contracting out to
private sector and NGOs
3. Independent Agencies –
ombudsman, vigilance committees
…
There has
been vary-
ing success
with these.
What has
been learnt
is that suc-
cess often
depends on
direct parti-
cipation of
the people
4. “Social Accountability”

5. What is Social
Accountability?SAc is an approach towards building accountability
• that relies on civic engagement,
• where ordinary citizens and/or their organizations
participate directly or indirectly in exacting
accountability
SAc mechanisms can be initiated and supported by
the state, citizens or both, but very often they are
demand-driven and operate from the bottom up.
SAc mechanisms include many actions and tools
that citizens, NGOs and media can use to hold
public authorities accountable.

6. Social Accountability
Mechanisms include... Social audits
 Independent budget analysis by CSOs/ Think
Tanks
 Public budget hearings
 Citizen juries
 Civil society monitoring of performance of
public agencies
 Investigative journalism
 Right to information movements
 Election Watch

7. Why is Social
Accountability
important ?
Social Accountability
Good Governance
Development
Effectiveness
Empower-ment

8. WDR 2004: Making
Services Work
for the Poor
Poor people Providers
Policymakers
A framework of accountability relationships
Voice Service
Compact
Client Power
Social
Accountability
Mechanisms

9. Social accountability
Civil
society
Democracy &
citizenship
Participatory
development
Decentralization &
public sector reform
Transparency/
Anti-corruption
Rights
Related Concepts in Democracy and
Governance

10. Expenditure Management
Cycle
Budget Formulation
Porto Alegre, Brazil
Performance
Monitoring
Citizen Report Cards
India and Philippines
Budget Review &
Analysis
Gujarat, India
Expenditure
Tracking Uganda
Civic
Engagement

11. Community Scorecards Process
Community Gathering
Performance Scorecard Self-Evaluation Health Staff
Interface Meeting
Feedback and Dialogue
Immediate Improvements
Issues for Follow-up
Accountability
Transparency More drugs available
Preparatory Groundwork
Better
Services
Instit.
Reforms

12. Building Blocks of SAc
Advocating and
negotiating change
Rallying support
and building coalitions
Going public
Building an information/
evidence base
Mobilizing around entry point

13. SAc Critical Success
Factors1. Political context and culture 
2. Access to information 
3. The role of the media 
4. Civil society capacity 
5. State capacity 
6. State-society synergy 
7. Institutionalization 

14. Potential Benefits and
Risks of SAc
Benefits
• Improved governance
• Poverty reduction
• Citizen voice and
empowerment at the macro
level, especially for the poor
• Enhanced transparency
• Reduced corruption
• Strengthened social capital
• Strengthened public sector
reforms and
decentralization
Risks
• Raised citizen expectations
• Lack of sustainability or
institutionalization
• Mechanisms may not result
in service improvements
• Depth of citizen involvement
may be superficial
• May involve a small group of
“well behaved” NGOs,
professionals and centrist
politicians

15. Final Thoughts
1. Social accountability has potential to improve
the responsiveness of governments and other
power holders to the needs of local people –
especially those with ‘less voice’.
2. There is a wide range of social accountability
mechanisms arising from specific needs, power
relations and a desire for improving services.
All sectors/regions have some relevant
experience.
3. Each social accountability mechanism has a
specific social, political and economic context
with attendant benefits and risks. The success
of one mechanism in a local context in no way