Build, deliver, check: What is the true value of citizen-centred monitoring
In this OGP Global Summit side event, Integrity Action is hosting an online and in-person discussion on the value of citizens in monitoring.
Does it benefit project managers, service providers, and their funders to enable citizens to monitor the goods they are delivering?
Initiatives that engage citizens in public service planning, implementation, and monitoring have boomed in the past decades; spanning from monitoring committees to digital tools for citizen feedback, participatory planning, budget consultation and social audits. At Integrity Action, we put this down to the increased understanding that citizen engagement is not only a ‘nice’ thing to do, but, rather essential in building public infrastructure products and services that last.
What is less clear is whether these mechanisms result in tangible returns for both governments and citizens in terms of better value for money and improved quality of services and infrastructure.
Therefore, Integrity Action and its partners have recently commissioned and carried out two pieces of research with the aim of understanding to what extent citizen monitoring delivers value for money for both governments and citizens.
The first piece is a mapping exercise carried out in Kwale County, Kenya, in October 2022 by Kwale Youth Governance and Consortium (KYGC), to understand whether there is a difference in quality between infrastructure projects monitored by citizens and those that were not monitored. The condition of 259 county-funded projects delivered between 2018-22 has been captured and analysed, with lessons for future implementation.
The second is a piece of research conducted in Northern Ghana by INTRAC and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) to explore whether citizen monitoring of projects contributes to public savings. Specifically, it explores the extent to which having active citizen monitors complementing traditional monitoring channels of District Officials can achieve (or hinder) more effective infrastructure delivery.
Join us, online or in-person in Tallinn, for a presentation of findings from both pieces of research, as well as a panel discussion and relaxed Q&A with experts from the accountability space.
To participate in person or online, buy a free ticket here.