On May 27 I had the pleasure of serving as a panelist at an event organized by the Governance Thematic Group of 1818 Society of the World Bank Group (WBG) Alumni. The panel discussed the proposed Sustainable Development Goal Number 16 on Governance and the implications for the World Bank Group …
National Workshop on the CARTA Program Concludes in Bangladesh
A workshop on “Improving Development Outcomes through Citizen Engagement,’ to review the lessons learned through the Citizen Action for Results, Transparency and Accountability (CARTA) Program, concluded today at the Lakeshore Hotel in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Hosted by the Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) and the …
Promoting Accountability Through Independent Third Party Monitoring: Results and Lessons from South Asia
2015 World Bank Spring Meetings: Civil Society Policy Forum Friday, April 17, 2015 2:00p – 3:30p World Bank – I Building 1850 I St NW Room: I 2 – 210 Washington, DC 20431 Donors are increasingly recognizing the benefits of citizen engagement, social accountability and independent beneficiary monitoring as a means to improve implementation of government projects and programs and fight against corruption. This PTF-sponsored session at the 2015 World Bank Civil Society Policy Forum will focus on strategies for participatory third party monitoring and direct and independent beneficiary feedback to help improve project outcomes. The presentation will be based on the experience of the Citizen Action for Results, Transparency and Accountability (CARTA) Program. The recently completed program supported CSOs’ use of independent third party monitoring and other social accountability tools to help improve the results of World Bank-financed projects in Bangladesh and Nepal. The session will show that civil society engagement in development programs helps achieve better development results and develop inclusive, accountable and responsive public institutions. Chair: Vinay Bhargava, Chief Technical Officer, Partnership for Transparency Fund Speakers: Badri P. Manandhar, Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation Nepal Shahin Kauser, Manusher Jonno Foundation Jeffrey Guttman, Senior Fellow of Global Economy and Development, The Brookings Institution Fred Temple, Project Advisor, Partnership for Transparency Fund Tjaarda Storm van Leeuwen, CARTA Program Manager, Partnership for Transparency Fund
Education project by PTF’s Mongolian partner, Globe International, becomes GPSA finalist
The World Bank supported Global Partnership for Social Accountability (GPSA) has selected eight final development projects proposed by civil society organizations from a total of 428 proposals that were made. One of the accepted projects, which will now be subject to a GPSA due diligence review, is from the Partnership for Transparency Fund’s partner in Mongolia, Globe International (GI). GI’s proposed $650,000 project, which will involve PTF as the implementer of a knowledge and learning component, will address the poor quality of Mongolia’s education services in 20 areas of the country where corruption is seen as high and which contain nearly 90% of the country’s ethnic and other minorities who are the most disadvantaged in terms of access to quality education. GI noted that overcoming the existing problems will need enlightened citizens participation. Thus the project will create a civil society advocacy network to use freedom of information and other existing laws to demand transparency and accountability in school budgetary processes; make evidence-based assessments of educational services; and, participate in providing immediate solutions to citizen feedback for improving education services at local levels. The GPSA supports civil society and governments to work together to solve critical governance challenges in developing countries. As a GPSA Global Partner, PTF provides lessons learned and technical expertise on citizen engagement to remove corruption in the public sector. On May 14th and 15th, PTF and its regional affiliate PTF Asia will participate in the 2014 GPSA Global Partners Forum to connect, exchange, and share knowledge on social accountability. Sign up for our newsletter, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter for updates on PTF’s work with the GPSA.
Stimulating Demand for Good Governance
This study focuses on the World Bank’s recent “Governance and Anti-Corruption” (GAC) policies. The report stresses that the Bank’s goal to significantly scale-up its work in the anti-corruption area with civil society organizations (CSOs) has been hampered by: its approaches that first seek host government executive branch consent; poor publicity by the Bank of opportunities for civil society to receive funding; CSO concerns that receiving funds from their governments will undermine their independence; and, “there is an inherent conflict of interest in a CSO accepting funds from a government agency or the World Bank and then engaging in independent monitoring of that same agency in a Bank-financed project.”
New Program in Bangladesh and Nepal Takes Off
Building on over a decade of experience around governance and anti-corruption programming, PTF has launched a new program to enhance the development impact, sustainability and local ownership of World Bank-financed projects in Bangladesh and Nepal.
Stimulating Demand for Good Governance
This report examines the impact that citizen demand for good governance (DFGG) can have on development effectiveness. It analyzes World Bank and other donor experience with support for DFGG; constraints to intensifying support for DFGG within the World Bank; and possible ways to enhance the impact of DFGG on development outcomes.
