The Implementation of the Social Accountability

The Implementation of the Social Accountability Framework for Sub-National Democratic Development Phase II (ISAF II)

The social accountability framework aims to empower citizens, strengthen partnerships between sub-national administrations (SNAs) and citizens, and leverage enhanced accountability of SNAs to improve local service delivery. The program was introduced as a platform for coordinated action by the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGoC) and Civil Society Organizations’ to operationalize the Strategic Plan on Social Accountability for Sub-National Democratic Development adopted on July 2013. The Strategic Plan and ISAF are important elements of the RGoC’s broader democratic development agenda, as implemented through the second (2015-2017) and third (2018-2020) 3-Year Implementation Plans (IP3). The ISAF Phase II Implementation Plan (2019 to 2023) has been prepared through a consultative process with government and civil society. The goal of ISAF Phase II is to establish permanent systems, within both government and civil society, to ensure that this annual cycle of social accountability activities can be sustained in the long term.

CARE, in partnership with API and In STEDD, has received a grant from the European Union the contribute to the Implementation of Social Accountability Framework Phase II: “Supporting meaningful civic engagement for improved accountability by leveraging digital technologies”.

Main activities:

  • Develop digitized youth-friendly Information for Citizens (I4C) packs.
  • Prepare and update simplified audio visual budget information, disseminate digitized youth friendly I4C packs and CAF’s conduct outreach activities to raise citizen awareness.
  • Select local NGO’s and conduct tailor-made capacity-building in financial management.
  • Train local NGO’s in access to information, community-led monitoring and selection and capacity development of CAFs and local government and service providers on youth engagement, youth and women-friendly services and capacity self-assessment.
  • Develop a “digitized community score card (CSC)” including feedback collection mechanism, and
    dashboard for progress analysis and monitoring.
  • Train local NGO’s and CAF’s in digital storytelling and support community members in digital storytelling
  • Facilitate citizen monitoring of services using digitized CSCs and hold targeted (SC/capacity selfassessment
    dialogues with youth and service providers.
  • Support the production and dissemination of inclusive Joint Accountability Action Plans (JAAPs) and
    form JAAP monitoring committees with quotas for youth, women and ethnic minorities.

 


 

Case study:

Social Accountability at Health Centres and Social Accountability for Youth Empowerment

The implementation of social accountability at health centres significantly improved the standards and services deliveries. Health Center Director, Sophat in Ratanak Kiri province: He feels happy to get constructive feedback from community members so that he can use this as a basis to upgrade the services. “It is very important that we are able to know our weak points and we try to find solutions and improving together, this make us understand each other. This is the better way to improve health services delivery
through implementation of social accountability.” he says. Run Sopheap, 18 years old, Sopheap is a Community Accountability Facilitator(CAF) for ISAF in Koh Kong province. “CARE gives young people the opportunity to participate in the community and educate people about their rights and standards responsibilities at school, the health center, and the commune.” Sopheap mentions “Young people are most interested in learning about budgets. Now, they know how the budgets for the commune, school and health center were spent. They are now able to hold the service providers accountable.”

 

Project funded by:

Implemented by: