CRR Training Manual

Promoting Good Local Governance, Social Accountability and
Effective Delivery of Basic Social Services in Rural Cambodia
A Training Handbook
A publication of the
Commune Council Support Project
Phnom Penh, June 2007

The Citizens' Rating Report project is administrated
by the Commune Council Support Project under the
support of CAFOD.
Additional copies of or further information on this

handbook can be obtained from the Commune
Council Support Project:
1st floor, VBNK No. 28, Street 80/75

Sangkat Srass Chak, Khan Daun Penh
PO Box 50, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Tel/fax: +855 23 427 197
Email: ccsp.info@online.com.kh
Website: www.ccspcambodia.org
Mr. Murari Upadhyay

Executive Director
Commune Council Support Project
ccsp.ed@online.com.kh
Mr. Phan Sothea

National Consultant
sotheacam@gmail.com
CCSP is co-managed by Church World Service, DPA,

COMFREL, Concern WorldWide, Oxfam GB, NGO
Forum, SEDOC, World Vision Cambodia and PACT
Cambodia.
June 2007
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Citizens' Rating Report
Abbreviations and Other Terms
BATF Bangalore Agenda Task Force

BDA Bangalore Development Authority
BESCOM Bangalore Electricity Company
BMP Bangalore Municipal Corporation
BMTC Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation
BSNL Bangalore Telecom
BWSSB Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board
CAR Council for Administrative Reform
CBO Community-based organization
CC Commune council
CCSP Commune Council Support Project
CDP Commune Development Plan
CDRI Cambodia Development and Research Institute
CIP Commune investment program
CRR Citizens' Rating Report
CRT Commune research team
CSO Civil society organization
D&D Decentralization and deconcentration
Deika Resolution/ordinance
DoLA Department of Local Administration
GAP Governance Action Plan
ICT Information and communication technology
LAMC Law on Administration and Management of Commune/Sangkat
LDC Local Development Council
MDG Millennium Development Goal
MEF Ministry of Economy and Finance
MOU Memorandum of Understanding
NCDD National Committee for the Management of D&D
NCSC National Committee to Support Commune/Sangkat
NGO Non-governmental organization
NPAR National Program for Administrative Reform
NPRS National Poverty Reduction Strategy
NSDP National Strategic Development Plan
PAC Public Affairs Centre
PIP Performance improvement plan
PLAU Provincial Local Administration Unit
PMG Priority mission group
PPA Participatory poverty assessment
Prakas Regulation issued by minister
RGC Royal Government of Cambodia
SMEs Small and medium-scale enterprises
ToT Training of trainers
UNDP UN Development Program
USAID US Agency for International Development
i
Foreword
In keeping with its mission of strengthening civil society capacity to influence

and participate in the decentralization and local governance reform process, the
Commune Council Support Project (CCSP) in 2004 pioneered the
implementation of the Citizens' Rating Report (CRR) to bring people closer to
governance through their direct participation in monitoring of services at
commune level, and thus provide direct inputs from citizens into decision
making in commune councils and other sub-national entities.
The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) adopted in 2005 the Strategic

Framework for Decentralization and Deconcentration Reforms. This offered a
new opportunity for greater civil society participation in local governance
processes. Its basic principles call for the promotion of people’s oversight
mechanisms to promote local government transparency and overall social
accountability.
This new opportunity reaffirmed the relevancy and significance of continuing the
CRR exercise. Despite noticeably positive results in past implementation, the
CRR required independent evaluation in order to assess the appropriateness of
project methodology and outcomes. Likewise, it was important that a well
defined curriculum and training design be developed to facilitate its better
replication.
Therefore, CCSP in February 2007 contracted Mr. Phan Sothea, an

independent consultant, to carry out an evaluation of the CRR, to refine the
CRR methodology using recommendations from the evaluation study, and to
develop a CRR training manual (handbook) for wider replication by NGOs and
other civil society actors.
I would like to thank Mr. Phan Sothea for his successful completion of the CRR
training handbook and to express my sincere gratitude to CAFOD of the United
Kingdom for its invaluable resource support for this important work.
Numerous people, including commune chiefs, commune councillors, members

of CRR-implementing NGO partners, members of commune research teams,
representatives of various organizations in Phnom Penh, and commune
citizens, contributed greatly in terms of enriching the content of this CRR
training handbook, by freely and frankly sharing their opinions and perceptions.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation and
thanks to all of these.
Last, but not least, I would like to thank CCSP staff members Mr. Youk
Senglong, Mrs. Yin Sundarinet and Miss Chak Solyneth for their diligent
program and logistics support in successfully completing the CRR handbook
project.
Murari Upadhyay
Executive Director
Phnom Penh, June 2007
ii
Table of Contents
Abbreviations and Other Terms..........................................................................i

Foreword ..............................................................................................................ii
Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1
Module 1: Understanding decentralization and commune councils ............. 6

1.1 Current status of decentralization in Cambodia ........................................ 6
1.2 The meaning of decentralization................................................................ 8
1.3 Objectives of decentralization and commune administration
and management..................................................................................... 12
1.4 Powers, roles and functions of commune/sangkat councils..................... 13
1.5 Structure of the commune/sangkat council.............................................. 14
1.6 Roles and responsibilities of major actors in commune
development ............................................................................................ 16
1.7 Support network for commune/sangkat .................................................. 18
1.8 Important tasks of councils ...................................................................... 20
Module 2: Legal frameworks for public service delivery in Cambodia........ 27

2.1 Government perspective on public service delivery................................. 27
2.2 Government policy on public service delivery.......................................... 29
2.3 Key challenges in public service delivery at local level ............................ 40
Module 3: What is the Citizens' Rating Report? ............................................ 41

3.1 Introduction.............................................................................................. 41
3.2 Legal provisions for social accountability and basic service
delivery at commune level ....................................................................... 43
3.3 The Citizens' Rating Report ..................................................................... 44
3.4 Concept and strategy of the CRR............................................................ 45
3.5 Objective, outputs and methodologies..................................................... 47
Module 4: Implementation of the CRR............................................................ 52

4.1 The CRR process .................................................................................... 52
4.2 How is each activity carried out? ............................................................. 53
Activity 1 Conduct rapid assessment of communes on
suitability for CRR........................................................................ 54
Activity 2 Identification and selection of target communes ......................... 54
iii
Activity 3 Negotiation and lobbying for endorsement and launch ............... 55

Activity 4 Identification, selection and validation of basic services ............. 57
Activity 5 Design of questionnaires............................................................. 57
Activity 6 Selection of local implementing organization .............................. 59
Activity 7 Organizing the commune research team (CRT).......................... 59
Activity 8 Preparing official MOU and contracts ......................................... 60
Activity 9 Conduct ToT on concept and methodology ................................ 61
Activity 10 Promotion of the CRR in the commune and in public.................. 61
Activity 11 Prepare action plan for field rating survey ................................... 62
Activity 12 Sampling of respondents............................................................. 62
Activity 13 Conducting training, coaching and orientation ............................ 63
Activity 14 Conducting the field survey ......................................................... 65
Activity 15 Validation, analysis and production of report .............................. 65
Activity 16 Monitoring and continued technical assistance........................... 66
Activity 17 Meeting with CCs and service providers ..................................... 66
Activity 18 Advocacy..................................................................................... 67
Activity 19 Institutionalizing and strengthening local networks
and maintaining sustainability ..................................................... 69
Activity 20 Evaluation activities..................................................................... 70
Activity 21 Dissemination and replication ..................................................... 70
4.3 Some advice for success......................................................................... 71
Module 5: Readings in social accountability ................................................ 73

Reading 1: Concept of social accountability ....................................................... 74
Reading 2: What is social accountability?
Reading 3: Building blocks of social accountability ........................................... 75
Reading 4: Dimensions of social accountability.................................................. 77
Reading 5: Social Accountability: critical factors of success .............................. 78
Reading 6: Tools for promoting accountability…………………………………… 80
Reading 7: Experiences from various countries……………………………… 82
Reading 8: Case study: Bangalore, India; citizen report card………………… 84
Reading 9: the context of social accountability in Cambodia…………… 92
iv
5
Module 1:
Objectives of the module

To provide participants with a basic knowledge on decentralization and CCs so
that they can see the whole picture regarding the responsibilities of CCs.
Expectations of the module
It is expected that by the end of this session participants will have a basic
understanding of:
The meaning of decentralization and the objectives set for decentralization
and commune/sangkat management and administration;
The powers, roles and functions of commune/sangkat councils;
The structure of commune/sangkat councils and the roles and
responsibilities of major stakeholders in commune/sangkat development;
Issues related to the administration and management of
commune/sangkat councils;
The financial management and planning system of commune/sangkat
councils;
How to ensure citizen participation in the development process.
1.1
Current status of decentralization in Cambodia
Decentralization is a new policy for

governance in Cambodia. Putting it
into practice is a challenging task!
The National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) 2006-2010 outlines the

RGC’s development priorities and its Rectangular Strategy to reduce poverty
and attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Good governance is
central to the Rectangular Strategy, and D&D (decentralization and
deconcentration) is considered key to improving sub-national governance
6
and development. These, in turn, are expected to enhance the wellbeing of

Cambodian citizens, particularly the poor.
The NSDP explicitly states eight specific Key Actions for D&D. These include:
1 Draft organic laws to guide the devolution process.
2 Delegate line ministry responsibilities, development and operational funds to sub-
national levels in accordance with laws and regulations.
3 Define a framework for deconcentration of existing initiatives of line ministries,
including education, health, agriculture and rural development, land management,
urban planning and construction.
4 Institutionalize the allocation mechanism for transfer of block grants and sector
grants to sub-national levels.
5 Increase and better target funds to remote areas and other regions with high poverty
levels.
6 Explore how sub-national levels can develop their own sources of revenue.
7 Steadily implement a commune decentralized accounting system.
8 Build institutional capacity at all sub-national levels.
The RGC has adopted the Strategic Framework for D&D (2005) and a
preliminary Implementation Framework for Sub-national Democratic
Development (2006). It has initiated the organic D&D law drafting process;
established the National Committee for the Management of D&D (NCDD) 1
(2006); and started preparatory work for a national D&D reform program.
The RGC’s Council of Ministers adopted on 17 June 2005 a vision, basic

concept and principles and overall strategy for D&D reform to give a framework
to guide all other reforms related to management systems at provincial, district
and commune levels. The vision that the RGC has set on D&D states that: “The
Royal Government will develop management systems of provincial, district,
khan and commune levels based on the principle of 'Democratic Participation'".
This system will operate with transparency and accountability in order to
promote local development and delivery of public services to meet the needs of
citizens and contribute to poverty reduction within respective territories.
A five year national program is being introduced to implement D&D reforms with
the aim of achieving the following three major outputs: policy and regulations,
institutional arrangements and sectoral functions. The RGC intends to devolve
more responsibilities to local level. Transfer of powers and resources is
expected to be made in ways that create incentives for councils to improve
service delivery, natural resource management and employment
opportunities; increase accountability and social inclusiveness; and
promote positive pro-poor, gender and environmental outcomes.
Some important progress on D&D has been made:

1 The Strategic Framework for D&R reforms was approved by the Councils of
Ministers on 17 June 2005. This defines the goal of D&D as "democratic
development", and outlines objectives, priorities, phasing and arrangements to
achieve this.
2 Drafting of an organic law for sub-national administration has begun.
3 A preliminary draft Implementation Framework for Sub-national Democratic
Development (Preparatory Phase, 2006-2007) was released on 2 June 2006.
4 Joint government-donor commitments on harmonization and alignment have been
made, including the Declaration by the RGC and Development Partners on
Harmonization and Alignment (December 2004); the RGC Framework for
1
NCDD is established by a Royal decree No. 0806/355 Kingdom of Cambodia
7
Harmonization, Alignment and Results Management; the Action Plan for 2006-2010;
and RGC endorsement of key recommendations of the Independent Study on Donor
Support for Decentralization and Deconcentration on 24 May 2006.
5 A Royal Decree established the NCDD to take charge of D&D until a successor
agency is created by the organic law. The NCDD is now responsible for drafting
D&D laws and regulations, preparing a national D&D program, donor harmonization,
and coordinating a wide range of donor-financed projects, including those that fall
under the Seila Taskforce.
6 Preparatory work has begun for the national D&D program to support the
development of organic laws and regulations and to establish and resource new
sub-national political and administrative structures, systems and procedures.
1.2
The meaning of decentralization
Decentralization means that certain rights,

responsibilities and resources are
transferred from the national level of
government to democratically elected
commune/sangkat councils.
i. Political decentralization
Political decentralization is often referred to as transfer of power and functions
from central to local government. Local government in Cambodia is based on
political representation. Commune councilors are locally elected on a
proportional basis, which means that more than one political party can be
represented by local people who live within the area of territorial jurisdiction of
the local government.
Political decentralization also refers to devolution (Conyers, 1983) 2 . Stoop

“The devolution of power carried out through decentralization and
deconcentration will shift the focus of development towards the
people with the view to implementing structural adjustment,
strengthening grassroots governance, reducing poverty and
inequality and promoting gender equity at all levels: commune,
district, provincial and national level”.
(2002) 3 has pointed out that devolution is a more advanced level of

decentralization, whereby resources and political decision powers, and thus
empowered decision making, are transferred to a separate lower tier of
government. Devolution thus refers to decision making by a semi-autonomous
government authority with its own juridical status and resources. More recently,
United Nation Development Program (UNDP) has referred to political
decentralization as democratic decentralization. Erickson et al. (1999) 4 see
2
Diana Conyers 1983, IDS: decentralization: the last fashion in development administration?
3
Patrick Stoop 2002: assessment of the recent decentralization policies of the Lao PDR gov't
4
Paul Erickson et al.1999: devolution and electoral politics
8
devolution as a more real form of decentralization of power, which local people

can use through elected representatives to solve local problems.
In Cambodia there are two major laws covering political decentralization. The
first is the Law on the Election of Commune Councils and the other is the
LAMC. These laws provide citizens and those who are elected to represent
them (commune councilors and village chiefs) more power in public decision
making (Rondinelli, 1999) 5 .
When defining decentralization, United State Agency for International

Development (USAID) refers to political decentralization. Stated at the
workshop on perspective for decentralization, in year 2000, Prum Sokha 6 has
also referred to decentralization in Cambodia as political decentralization when
he pointed out that: “There is a grow[ing] understanding throughout Cambodia
that people must take a greater part in decision[s] affecting their affairs. There is
also a greater understanding that government and administration must be more
sensitive and more responsive to its citizens”.
According to Ayres (2001) 7 , political decentralization is preferred by those who

argue that participatory decision-making processes will be better informed and
local government will be more responsive to local needs and circumstances.
ii. Administrative decentralization

Driven by political rational, decentralization reforms in Cambodia are still not
guided by a clearly stated vision that makes explicit their broader objectives and
how the RGC intends to approach devolution of administrative and service
delivery responsibilities and related fiscal resources. On the administrative front,
however, a major critical question is what could actually be the role of local
councils in the provision of public services,
Administrative decentralization occurs
particularly in major sectors crucial for the
with authority, responsibility and
financial resources for providing public national poverty reduction strategy.
services distributed among different
tiers of government (Ayres, 2001). In Cambodia, the public sector set-up is
Administrative decentralization refers reflected at provincial and district levels
to the transfer of responsibilities for
through line offices such as health and
planning, financing and managing
certain public functions from the education departments. At the moment,
central government and its agencies to the province and district are not locally
field units of government agencies, representative institutions, meaning that
subordinate units or levels of they are not elected by the people but are
government, semi-autonomous public
employed by sector ministries. In essence,
authorities or corporations, or area-
wide, regional or functional authorities. deconcentration may allow locally placed
Administrative deconcentration means government officials to make decisions on
the delegation of state responsibilities provisioning and production of public
to lower-level units within a unified or goods and services. They may also
single government system or single
establish important links between local
juridical identity (Stoop, 2002).
and national government.
iii. Fiscal decentralization

Fiscal decentralization involves transfer of funds and tax-raising powers from
5
Rondinelli 1999: democratic decentralization and local participation: a review of recent
research
6
Prum Sokha: Secretary of State of Ministry of Interior, Cambodia
7
David Ayres 2001: literature review on decentralization
9
higher to lower levels of a political system (Rusten et al. 2004) 8 . Ayres (2001
considers fiscal responsibility one of the most important components of
decentralization. This is because local governments must have adequate
revenue, which is locally raised or transferred from the central government, to
make expenditure decisions. Presently, the transfer of funds to communes from
central government is the only source of local government revenue. This
funding is limited and not always distributed fairly. In order to provide incentives
to CCs to generate revenues and control expenditures, the RGC must establish
a law on "commune own source revenue" as soon as possible.
The existing fiscal system and financial management are reportedly weak. The
local government fiscal system needs to be reformed in order to make it
consistent with overall reform policy, by improving the system of revenue
mobilization and management and creating a solid, efficient, viable and
sustainable system of financial management. It is also crucial to set up an
appropriate mechanism to support accountability in planning and budgeting at
the provincial and district levels. A study by El Mensi (2003) 9 on communes'
own sources of revenue provides a good overview, analysis and policy options
for further development of the local revenue system.
Decentralized commune councils must have the capacity to exercise the

powers and fulfill the responsibilities devolved to them. In the context of rural
development in Cambodia, capacity means the ability to do the job and improve
service delivery.
Lack of capacity, according to Parker (1997) 10 , may be reflected in any of the

following:
Inadequate funding to meet minimum standard of service and provision;
Inability to mobilize fully all available financial resources;
Failure to deliver cost-effective goods and services; or
Inappropriate mix of services in relation to local preferences.
Fiscal decentralization takes many forms, summarized below (Rondinelli, 1999) 11 :

Self-financing or cost recovery through user charges;
Expansion of local revenues through taxes and indirect charges;
Intergovernmental transfers;
Authorization of local borrowing.
Some major identified challenges related to fiscal D&D include:
¦ The overall structure of sub-national governance contains very unequal and some small and financially non-viable
communes;
¦ Unclear division of expenditure assignments across levels ( vertically and horizontally) and lack of realistic
standards and guidelines for service provision;
¦ Lack of clear relationship between expenditure and revenue assignments, both in terms of size and type and
composition of revenues;
¦ The intergovernmental fiscal transfer system needs to be reformed in light of the new structure and functions of
each tier of government;
¦ The current fragmentation of the budget at the P/M level limits options for a consolidated overview of entire
resources utilized at the provincial level and poses risks of double counting and lack of coordination and high
fiduciary risks;
¦ Lack of regulatory and legal framework for revenue mobilization (user charges, taxes, co-funding/matching
contribution for C/S fund etc);
¦ Inappropriate organization of financial management at the Provincial/Municipal level with numerous actors of profit-
oriented micro-finance schemes and banking, and many formalities of control procedures but weak coordination,
control and clear lines of accountability to the users of micro-finance services;
¦ Lack of incentives to improve performance in the prevailing revenue mobilization and financial management
procedures;
8
Caroline Rusten et al. 2004: the challenges of the decentralization design in Cambodia
9
El Mensi: a study on communes' own source revenue in Cambodia
10
Parker 1997: Promoting Good Local Governance through Social Funds and Decentralization
10
According to the RGC’s Rectangular Strategy for Growth, Employment, Equity

and Efficiency, 2003-2008, the RGC will try its best to strengthen the collection
of revenue by strict implementation of fiscal laws, enforcing anti-corruption and
anti-tax evasion measures, eliminating unlawful tax exemptions, introducing
appropriate management of state assets, and sustainable management and
exploitation of nature resources. Official rules will govern all budget operations.
This is exemplified in the area of health services, where official user fee
schemes are designed with community participation.
Currently, communes have already started assessing and collecting fees and
levies associated with some of the (essentially administrative) services that they
perform. However, this is largely regarded as illegal activity since there is not
yet a clear legal framework to regulate this. At the same time, CCs are
requested to mobilize local resources to meet required counterpart funding to
transfer funds. This practice also needs to be further regulated.
The design for fiscal D&D system is closely connected with current and future
organizational refinement and improvement at sub-national level. This is especially true
in the case of division of expenditure assignments and the extent to which functions are
decentralized through “devolution” or deconcentration (delegated as “agency” functions
for the lower tier of government).
It should be noted that, based on experiences of pilot projects and initial

activities, a fiscal decentralization strategy is being planned under the Fiscal
Decentralization Support Program of the Ministry of Economy and Finance
(MEF). This was to be completed during 2005-2006.
iv. Main features of decentralization in Cambodia

Citizens are given the right to elect the members of commune/sangkat
councils.
Citizens are given the right and the responsibility to play an active role in
communal life and local development processes.
In total, there will be 1,621 communes/sangkats with elected councils
covering Cambodia. The councils represent the citizens of their
commune/sangkat.
The councils will have a mandate of five years.
Commune/sangkat councils are given a range of responsibilities and
duties. These differ completely from those of the former
communes/sangkats. The first and foremost task of the councils is to
support the development of the commune/sangkat and the wellbeing of
the citizens.
In the performance of their duties, council members are fully responsible
and accountable to their citizens.
Commune/sangkat councils must ensure that local communities
participate in a proper manner in the decision-making process. This is very
important because councillors will make decisions that have an impact on
the lives of their citizens. For example, they will make decisions on how
they spend the resources that are available to them.
In order to be able to carry out their duties, commune/sangkat councils will
have their own financial resources and staff to support them. They will
have a clerk appointed by the Ministry of Interior.
11
Rondinelli 1999: concept of fiscal decentralization a worldwide overview
11
1.3
Objectives of decentralization and commune administration
and management
The objectives of decentralization and

commune/sangkat administration and
management are:
To give ordinary people a chance to take
greater part in decisions affecting their life and to
determine their future;
To promote democracy, good governance
and quality of life;
To ensure sustainable development,
including delivery of basic services.
Objectives of decentralization and commune/sangkat administration and

management are wide ranging.
Decentralization is to give citizens chance to take greater part in

decisions affecting their life: Under the system of local governance at the
commune/sangkat level all citizens have the right and responsibility to play an
active role in communal life and local development processes. Everyone,
including women and men, old and young, poor and rich, needs to be heard and
involved. Citizens are entitled to make their needs and interests known and to
participate through the established procedures and mechanisms.
There are various ways and means for citizens to get involved. They can elect
the councillors who they feel best represent their interests. They can contact
councillors on issues relating to the development of the commune. Citizens can
express their problems and interests in village meetings and workshops. They
can monitor the implementation of projects in their area. Citizens have the right
to demand and obtain information from the council office.
Promotion of citizen participation is an important duty of CCs. It helps them to

find out the needs and interests of their people and to develop programs that
address these needs. If citizens are involved they will feel ownership and
responsibility for the development of their area.
Decentralization is seen as an effective way to promote good

governance: There are four major elements that must be complied with to
achieve good governance:
1. CCs and their members have to operate in accordance with the law.
The law spells out their powers, roles and functions.
2. CCs have to be democratically elected and mandated by the local
population. Therefore, CCs are fully responsible and accountable to
12
their citizens. This means that they have to plan in a way that meets the
needs of the people; they have to provide information on how resources
have been spent and whether this was really for the benefit of the
population.
3. CCs have to be transparent in all that they do. This means that they
should not hide anything from the public. They have to inform the public
on issues or subjects they discuss or decisions they have take. For
example, they have to inform the public and also seek their comments on
development plans and budget. Minutes of meetings and resolutions
adopted by CCs have to be posted on notice boards.
4. Participation as explained above is another core element of good
governance.
Commune/sangkat administration and management is to support

sustainable development, including the delivery of basic services.
How can that be? CCs are close to the citizens of the area and therefore are
in a good position to get to know what the needs of the people are. They can
design programs that seek to improve living conditions. Therefore, resources
can be spent more effectively. The local population can watch how resources
are spent and whether they are really spent for the benefit of the people. If
citizens are involved in the planning of projects in their area they will feel more
responsible.
1.4
Powers, roles and functions of commune/sangkat councils
LAMC Article 41: "A commune/sangkat administration shall have

roles to uphold and support good governance by using all available
resources to address the basic needs of its commune to serve the
interests of citizens and respect the national interest in accordance
with the general policy of the State."
The CC is a body of people democratically elected within each particular

commune. The second election of CCs was held on 1 April 2007. 11,353
councillors were elected to 1,621 CCs. They are given powers, roles and
functions.
Commune/sangkat councils are given powers:

CCs are given powers to govern and manage communes/sangkats. They have
to serve the general interests of the commune/sangkat.
CCs are given legislative powers. They can formulate and issue deikas
(resolutions) within the framework of the roles and responsibilities given to
them. These resolutions are only effective within the territory of the respective
commune/sangkat. Resolutions must not be contradictory to the Constitution,
laws, royal decrees, or international treaties and conventions, otherwise they
will be null and void.
13
CCs are given executive powers. They are given the power and authority to
implement their decisions within the framework of the roles and responsibilities
given to them.
Commune/sangkat councils are given roles and functions:

The foremost role and responsibility of a CC is to actively promote the
development of the commune/sangkat and the wellbeing of its citizens. The CC
has to make proper use of all resources available in serving the needs of the
commune and its citizens. CCs have to serve local duties. Some of these are:
1. To manage necessary public services and to ensure that these services
work well, for example, local garbage and rubbish collection;
2. To protect the environment and natural resources; this means, for
example, supporting citizens to keep the rivers and the environment of
the village or town safe and not exploited;
3. To promote social and economic development; this means, for example,
CCs can facilitate good cooperation with CSOs; they can encourage
businesspeople to settle in their area and carry out business;
4. To improve the living standards of the people; this means, for example,
CCs need to plan for the implementation of what the people see as their
priority needs; this may be safe drinking water, various educational or
health services, etc.
5. To promote tolerance and good understanding among citizens; this
means, for example, CCs should help in settling disputes among citizens;
6. To maintain security and public order; this task can only be done in a
non-violent manner. CCs cannot establish a police force or army.
In addition, CCs have duties which they carry out on behalf of the national
government. These duties are called agency functions and include, for
example, civic registration in the commune/sangkat. In case the CCs do
something on behalf of the state, they will be supported by the state. For
example, they will be given training, materials or finances to carry out the tasks.
Limits of powers:
CCs can only act within the framework of powers, roles and functions given to
them. This means they can not act against the principles and orders laid out in
the Constitution or other laws, sub-decrees, etc. For some issues, those of
national interest, CCs have no power to act. Such issues are beyond the
responsibility of CCs. A CC has no power in the following areas: forestry, postal
and telecommunications services, national defence, national security, monetary
affairs, foreign policy, and fiscal tax policy.
1.5
Structure of commune/sangkat councils
As per provisions of LAMC, each CC shall have a specific structure:
14
Structure of the commune administration

Commune
council
Commune
residents
Commune
Chief
Deputy Chief Deputy Chief
Advisory Advisory Advisory Advisory

Committee Committee Committee Committee
Commune
Cler
Village Village Villag
Chie Chie Chie
Article 28: A commune chief
Commune Planning and Budgeting shall have the power to appoint
Advisory Committee various committees to provide
advice and to assist affairs as it
is necessary.
Depending on the size of the area and the number of residents, CCs have
five, seven, nine or 11 council members. The actual number of
councillors for each commune/sangkat is determined by a sub-decree.
Each commune/sangkat has a commune/sangkat chief. The chief has to
perform additional duties as seen below.
Each CC has a chairperson, called the presiding councillor. The
commune/sangkat chief performs the role of presiding councillor.
The commune/sangkat chief has two deputies, a first deputy chief and a
second deputy chief.
The CC selects a village chief in each village within its commune
boundary. Women or men can be village chiefs. The village chief is the
formal link between the village and the council.
The commune/sangkat chief can also appoint advisory committees. A
committee is a group of at least three people that provides advice and
assistance to the CC on specific subject matters or issues. Members of the
committee can be councillors, but also other citizens who are entitled to
vote can be nominated. They can be of either sex. When councillors
perform as members of a committee the commune/sangkat chief must
ensure as far as possible that composition reflects the political composition
of the council.
Each commune/sangkat has a commune/sangkat clerk who is appointed
and employed under the administrative framework of the Ministry of
Interior. The commune/sangkat clerk is answerable and accountable to the
CC. In the performance of his/her functions, the commune/sangkat clerk
must be absolutely neutral and impartial and act equally towards all
residents of the commune/sangkat, councillors and political groups of the
CC and committees. This means also that the clerk has to treat all
councillors equally, irrespective of which political party they belong to.
A CC may also employ other staff not in the state framework. These are
to assist in the affairs of the CC depending on the specific needs and the
decisions of the council. Their employment may be extended following a
decision of the council for the next mandate.
Women and men can obtain all positions mentioned above.
15
1.6
Roles and responsibilities of major actors in commune
development
Commune/ Ensure CC performs powers, roles and functions

sangkat council Participate in meetings of the CC
members Liaise with electorate
Commune/ Ensures that CC decisions are put into practice

sangkat chief Reports monthly on work performance to CC
Provides advice and assists CC in planning, finance
and exercise of functions and powers by CCs
Other duties as assigned by the CC
Presiding Presides over the meetings of CC

councillor Ensures that CC meets at least once a month
Ensures that the meeting is held in conformity with
rules and regulations
First commune/ Acts as commune/sangkat chief in case of absence of

sangkat deputy the commune/sangkat chief
chief Assists commune/sangkat chief in matters related to
financial and economic affairs of the CC
Other duties as assigned by commune/sangkat chief
Second Acts as commune/sangkat chief in the case of absence

commune/ of commune/sangkat chief and first commune/sangkat
sangkat deputy deputy chief
chief Assists commune/sangkat chief in administration,
social affairs, public services and public order
Other duties as assigned by commune/sangkat chief.
Council Provide advice and assist in the affairs of the CC in

committees specific subject matter areas, e.g. planning, budgeting
Reports monthly on progress
Recommends actions to be undertaken concerning its
respective subject matter
Village chief Makes submissions or representations to CC on behalf

of village
Puts into practice tasks given by CC
Ensures village social and economic development
Ensures public order
16
Commune/ The commune/sangkat clerk is a staff member within the

sangkat clerk administrative framework of the Ministry of Interior, but in
performing his/her work the clerk is under the leadership of
the CC.
Assists the CC and representatives in exercising
powers, roles and functions in accordance with law
Performs administrative duties
Ensures that CC decisions and implementation are in
accordance with law
Assists CC in preparation and implementation of CC
and committee meetings
Attends every meeting of the CC or committees unless
there is prior permission from CC or commune/sangkat
chief to be absent
Advises the commune/sangkat chief on the
requirements and procedures to be followed in
selection of village chiefs
Assists CC to establish one or more notice boards
accessible to public at least during office hours
Displays all notices that the CC requires or wishes to
display, for example, CC decisions
Informs the provincial/municipal governor immediately
in case the CC decides to take disciplinary action
against a councillor or to dismiss a councillor
Informs the CC and the commune/sangkat chief
immediately about the name and election date of a
new councillor in case the National Election Committee
has replaced a councillor
Elect the CC General public

Participate in village and communal affairs through
established procedures, for example in the
development planning process
Demand information, responsiveness and
accountability from the CC
Pay taxes, duties and fees as provisioned in law
Get involved in the monitoring of implementation of
development projects
Mobilize local communities Local NGOs and

Promote social and economic development of local self-help groups
communities
Advocate for interests of people they represent
Liaise with the CC on important issues related to
development of villages and commune/sangkat
Build public awareness about decentralization and
commune/sangkat management and administration
Liaise with CC on issues related to the economic Private sector,

development of the commune/sangkat local
Promote economic development of commune/
entrepreneurs,
sangkat
Provide employment opportunities to citizens etc.
17
1.7
Support network for commune/sangkat
Commune/sangkat management and

administration is a challenging task.
There are, however, many institutions
and organizations that are in support of
CCs that help to make decentralization
successful.
National level The NCDD has been established. Its composition, powers
and functions have been defined by royal decree. The
NCDD is responsible for policy direction and oversight of
D&D reform and is comprised of the Minister for the
Interior (chairman) and ministers of the Council of
Ministers and the ministries of: Economy and Finance,
Rural Development, Planning and Women’s Affairs, as
well as Secretary of State of the Secretariat of Public
Works, and Secretary of State of the Ministry of Interior.
The NCDD’s mission (Article 3) in summary includes:
• Assuming the functions of the NCSC and Inter-ministerial
committee for drafting the organic law
• Preparing and implementing strategies for transition,
integration and phasing out of Seila program at the end of
2006
• Developing and implementing a national initial-phase
program for democracy development at sub-national levels
• Developing and implementing an initial-phase framework,
components, timeframe and temporary activities of D&D
reforms until the organic law is promulgated
• Designing and making recommendations for establishment
of a fund for D&D reform, and mobilizing and allocating
donor assistance
• Preparing agreements between the RGC and donors on
supporting D&D reform to promote harmonization and
alignment of donor support
• Ensuring coordination among NCDD and central
ministries/institutions in delegation of functions, powers
and resources to sub-national level entities
• Organizing appropriate forums for RGC and donors to
coordinate cooperation and mobilizing resources to
support D&D reform
Based on the mandate of two departments, the
18
Department of General Administration and the Department

of Local Administration were merged to form a General
Department of Local Administration. This has been
upgraded to serve as the Secretariat of the NCDD to
function with full capacity.
The Department of Local Administration (DoLA) is the

focal point for all matters relating to decentralization and
commune/sangkat administration and management within
the Ministry of Interior. DoLA has responsibilities to
monitor, evaluate and report on capacities and resources
of CCs and appointed officials, such as the clerk. DoLA
has to ensure that appropriate measures for training and
capacity building, including public education, are
implemented.
National ministries assist in policy formulation for

decentralization and commune/sangkat management and
administration.
There is broad-based commitment among donor
organisations, national and international NGOs
regarding support to the process of decentralization and
commune/sangkat administration and management.
These actors assist in many ways, for example in training
and capacity building.
Provincial/district
level
Provincial administration and technical departments:
the Ministry of Interior has given the provincial governor
the authority and responsibility to support CCs and to
supervise their performance. S/he has to ensure that
technical departments provide support and guidance to
CCs.
The Ministry of Interior will establish provincial and
district offices of DoLA to support CCs.
A range of development programs and NGOs have
branches at provincial and district level. These are
expected to give support through training or public
education on issues related to CCs.
Commune/sangkat
level
The commune/sangkat clerk is appointed by the Ministry
of Interior to assist in the affairs of the commune/sangkat
and to ensure sustainability in administrative affairs
Local organisations (development programs, local
NGOs, self-help groups) can support CCs in the
mobilization of local communities.
19
1.8
Important tasks of councils
Holding meetings
Meetings provide an opportunity:

To get everyone’s idea about a subject
To get support for an idea
To brief on things that will happen or have happened
To discuss and reflect on important issues
To get advice from people who are knowledgeable
To make a decision
A well organized meeting leads to well thought-out decisions and good

communication among councillors, staff and others invited to participate. A
meeting that actively involves and values the contributions of everyone present
encourages a sense of ownership for the outcomes of the meeting.
What sort of meetings do CCs have?

Internal rules and regulations stipulate that CCs can have two types of
meetings: regular meetings, which should be held at least once a month; and
special meetings, held to discuss special issues that require special or urgent
attention by CCs.
Remember! All important details for the preparation and conduct

of CC meetings are described in the “Internal Rules and
Regulations for Meetings of the Commune/Sangkat Council and its
Committees”
The commune/sangkat clerk and other CC officials have the right to attend
CC meetings. To discuss specific issues, it may also be required to invite
people with special knowledge, skills or experience, for example technical
knowledge for the design of a project the council seeks to undertake. The
clerk and ordinary citizens who are not members of the council are not
allowed to take part in the decision-making and voting process.
Order of business during a meeting: There is a given procedure and
sequence according to which CCs have to conduct their meetings:
1. Confirm legality of a CC meeting
20
2. Discuss and adopt agenda of meeting

3. Review and adopt minutes of previous meeting; signing of the minutes by
presiding councillor
4. Deal with documents and correspondence submitted for consideration
and decision making
5. Other matters
Decision making:
Every councillor is entitled to vote at every CC meeting. Voting is done by
raising hands. The number of votes in favour and the number against the tabled
proposal have to be announced immediately and recorded in the minutes.
Record keeping and filing
What is record keeping?

Record keeping means safekeeping of all information for future use and
reference. Most documents will be in a written style but there could
also be audio or video tapes. Record keeping is an important aspect of
the administration of CCs.
What are the benefits of record keeping?

Easy access to information to guide CCs in deliberation
Continuity, so that information remains available even after officials
move out and new ones move in
A record of history
Improved transparency of the operations of CCs
What are examples of the types of records to be kept?

Minutes of meetings
Incoming and outgoing correspondence
The commune/sangkat development plan and budget
Financial records
Inventory of properties of the CC
Address books with names, addresses, phone and fax numbers, locations,
email addresses of collaborators and partners, e.g. NGOs, donor
agencies, sector departments
Contract proposals or fundraising activities
Existing business links in the district or region and so on
Village data books
Commune deikas
Record keeping must be done in a new and open way, making public access
and knowledge of information and records a high priority, as opposed to
secrecy. If CCs are making efforts to enhance transparency and
21
accountability, they can do many things to ensure that the public are made
aware of key decisions and other pieces of information that affect them.
They can arrange spots at council offices where people feel able to come
and find out whatever they want to know.
They can make people aware of records and information in the office that
are open to the public.
Councils can work in an open way, offering information and responding
promptly and positively to requests for information. Information is a key
tool for democracy and development.
Print documents can be arranged in files so that people have easy access
to them.
Records should be kept in the office as long as stipulated in the respective
regulation.
Delegating and segregating

tasks and responsibilities
CCs have many tasks to perform. If they delegate tasks and responsibilities to
others this enables many people to participate in development activities. This is
good for two reasons:
More work can be done – which means more positive developments in the
commune/sangkat.
More people are involved and participating – which means that they will
feel a sense of ownership.
Delegation of tasks is not easy: it is not just a matter of passing on the work.
This is a set of skills that most people have to learn in order to do it well.
What needs to be considered to ensure that delegation is well done?

Define the • What exactly is the task a person is asked to do?
task clearly • What standard is required?
• Have you given the person all the information and
material needed to do the job?
• Set a time limit on when to accomplish the task
Define exactly • How many people are required to do the job?
who should be • What level of knowledge, skill or experience is
doing the task needed?
• Are there enough people with the right level of
knowledge, experience or skills?
Supervision • What and when do the people have to report to you?
• How much freedom are you giving them to do it their
way? Or has the task to be accomplished in a particular
way?
Check • Ensure the person knows exactly what to do
understanding • Allow them to ask questions.
22
Coordinate commune/
sangkat planning system
LAMC Article 60: "Commune/sangkat councils must

prepare, approve and implement a commune/sangkat
development plan in the purpose of determining the
perspectives, programs and the development of the
commune/sangkat."
Every CC has to develop the commune development plan (CDP) in the first
year of its mandate and every year must prepare a three-year rolling commune
investment program (CIP). It is up to CCs, local communities and citizens to
decide and implement what shall happen in each area. Participation of citizens
and local communities is an important feature of commune/sangkat
development planning. This means reaching out to women and men, poor and
rich, old and young, employed and unemployed.
When it comes to the implementation of projects and programs, CCs have to

ensure that beneficiaries are adequately involved in the detailed design and
supervision of all projects of the development plan.
Six months before the end of the mandate of the CC, the results and impacts of
the implementation of the development plan have to be evaluated.
The changing commune planning processes

Process of commune development planning Cycle of CDP
Phase 1: Data analysis and needs assessment Step 1: Draft development framework
Step 1: Data analysis and commune/sangkat and budget
level needs assessment Step 2: Consultation meeting on
Step 2: Participatory needs assessment commune development
Step 3: Prioritization of development issues Step 3: Draft CDP
Step 4: Approve CDP
Phase 2: Identification of strategy Step 5: Evaluate implementation of CDP
Step 4: Identification of strategies and projects
Phase 3: Projects formulation

Step 5: Formulation and costing of projects
Step 6: Medium-term revenue forecast
Step 7: Selection of projects Cycle of CIP
Step 8: District integration workshop
Step 1: Commune project formulation
Phase 4: Program formulation and budgeting
Step 9: Formulation of integrated programs Step 2: District integration workshop
Step 10: Drafting of CDP and CIP Step 3: Dissemination and consultation
with commune residents
Phase 5: Approval formulation Step 4: Approve CIP
Step 11: Approval of CDP and CIP Step 5: Monitoring and evaluation of CIP
23
Ensure public participation

in the planning process
LAMC Article 64: "The commune/sangkat

development plan must determine the methods and
means to provide opportunities for participation by
the citizens of its commune/sangkat throughout the
whole process."
What are the benefits of participation?

Participation ensures that projects really address the interests and needs
of the people; they are therefore more successful.
Citizens will feel more responsible for projects in their area when they are
involved in the decisions, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of
development activities.
Participation makes people more independent from outside assistance
because they start thinking of doing by themselves, finding solutions to
their problems and initiating action.
Participation supports poverty reduction efforts because poor people also
get involved.
Participation therefore helps CCs to use their resources effectively and
efficiently.
What might be the difficulties in public participation?

The concept of participation is new to everybody; councillors have to learn
how to facilitate participation; citizens have to learn the processes for
getting involved.
People who are directly involved in decision making may dominate others.
There may be people, for example, women, the poor, the disabled, etc.,
who are afraid to speak out about their needs and are not, because of
prevailing social taboos, able to stand up to defend their interests.
What might be possible ways to improve public participation?

In village meetings, citizens are to be given an opportunity to discuss their
needs and interests. It has to be ensured that all sections of the population
– women and men, old and young, rich and poor etc. – are given an
opportunity to express their needs and concerns.
CSOs can contribute in the preparation of the CDP and CIP by
representing the interests of local communities and specific groups of the
population, e.g. poor people, women, ethnic minorities, etc.
CSOs can impart knowledge and ideas in the preparation of the CDP.
The people should be given an opportunity to comment on the CDP.
Citizens should be involved in monitoring implementation of the CDP.
24
Manage commune/
sangkat finances
LAMC Article 73: "Communes/sangkats must

have their own financial resources, budgets and
assets."
LAMC Article 82: "Communes/sangkats shall

establish a system for management, monitoring
and control of its finance."
CCs are given the power to manage their financial resources. They are given
the responsibility to manage these reliably and responsibly, so that the public
can trust them. Nothing can arouse public mistrust like question marks over
money spent.
What are the major sources of income of CCs?
CCs have three major sources of income.

They are empowered to collect direct revenue, e.g. to fix local taxes for
land or for buildings. They are allowed to charge fees when they deliver
services. The law also states that details will be spelled out in a separate
law.
They will also receive a share of the Commune/Sangkat Fund. This Fund
shall be established to transfer resources from the national level to the
CCs. The Fund will have a component for administrative expenditures and
a component for development expenditures of councils. The share of the
Commune/Sangkat Fund that will be received by each CC will be
determined by means of a transparent formula.
They are entitled to accept fees when they perform duties on behalf of the
national government. This is termed "agency functions".
CCs have to apply a range of procedures to ensure that resources are spent in
a transparent and accountable manner.
1. The commune/sangkat budget

2. The commune/sangkat accounting system
3. Financial reporting
4. Expenditure cycle
5. Procurement rules
6. Commune/sangkat durable assets
7. Audit of commune/sangkat accounts and operations
25
Developing action plan
An action plan is a document which shows in a detailed way how

people want to make something happen. It is a list of activities
that they intend to do over a period of time. It shows what they
intend to do, when they intend to do it and who will do it.
CCs have many tasks to accomplish. These need to be put in order so that
everyone knows what will happen in the future. It is important to know who is
responsible for different tasks and who will do what and when. An action plan:
Guides future activities

Reminds people about activities so that they can prepare in advance
Helps new staff and outsiders to know what everyone is doing
Monitoring and evaluation
Monitoring is a process of gathering information about the progress

of work and using this information so that decisions and planning
for the future are well informed. Monitoring helps see what is going
well and what needs to be changed or improved.
CCs are particularly requested to monitor the following:

Implementation of plans, programs, projects and services delivered for the
wellbeing of citizens
Finances, e.g. accounting practices, asset management, audit
management and financial management
Monitoring helps
In observing how things are progressing
In identifying problems and matters that are not going correctly
In making decisions for appropriate changes to get things back on track
In using resources more effectively and efficiently
In maintaining good quality
26
Module 2:

To provide legal knowledge and understanding on the overall meaning of public
service delivery as perceived by the government, and the government
perspective and policy on public service delivery.
It is expected that by end of this session participants will have a basic

understanding of:
Perspectives, objectives and commitments of the government on public
service delivery;
Meaning of public service, different methods and mechanisms for
providing public services;
Legal frameworks and coordination for effective provision of public
services;
Challenges in public service delivery at local level.
NOTE: This module is adapted from the Cambodian government

policy on public service delivery (serving people better)
adopted by Full Session of Council of Ministers, Cambodia
on May 5, 2006.
2.1.3
Government perspective on public service delivery

Strategies and programs adopted in recent years, such as the NSDP and the
Governance Action Plan (GAP II) have demonstrated a clear objective and
acted as a compass towards the implementation of the priority reform areas of
the RGC as stipulated in the Rectangular Strategy.
27
Cambodia has no better choice than to reform while it is within a context of

gaining benefits from peace and stability. The current public administration is
motivated towards comprehensive and deeper reform, so as to become an
efficient and effective “service provider” and a trusted development partner to
fulfill the mission of “serving people better”, as stated by Prime Minister
Samdech Hun Sen. In this environment, all ministries/institutions and public
administration actors are obligated to works towards entrenching sustainable
change and strengthening leadership and ownership of Cambodia.
Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen on 6 June 2006 said that the public
administration had to have four main characteristics, as follows:
Encouragement and strong motivation to work: the public
administration must be devoted to working and should encourage the work
of civil servants.
Loyalty: the public administration that is the assistant of the RGC and
state institutions have to be loyal to the state and the people.
Focus on service: the public administration has to be transformed from
“the administrator” to respectful “service provider” and be fair in serving
and responding to the real needs of the people.
Professionalism: the public administration has to perform its duties with
transparency, capacity and effectiveness.
The characteristics of the public administration outlined above can not be

achieved unless the behaviors and the working habits of civil servants are
changed. The success of reform will depend on the speed of this change in
terms of the way of thinking and working behavior of civil servants, from
administrator towards service provider, in a manner that is more effective and
focuses especially on the following:
Accessibility for the consumer;
Politeness, friendliness and close attention to consumers’ needs;
Timely, effective and user-friendly service provision;
Explanation and response to all questions on services and complaints.
In addition to the text of GAP II, which the

The RGC has developed and Council of Ministers adopted on 3 February
launched the five-year National
2006, the Council for Administrative Reform
Program for Administrative
Reform – NPAR (2004-2008) in (CAR) has been developing many policies to
which it sets clearly the main broaden and deepen the areas of reforms and
objective as being : “serving to ensure the success of the Rectangular
people better”. The strategy of Strategy. These are the Policy on Public
this program is based on the four
Service Delivery; the Common Principle on
main pillars: (1) improve service
delivery; (2) enhance pay and Public Service Delivery through the mechanism
employment; (3) develop of the One Window Office; the Policy on Human
capacity; and (4) promote ICT. Resource Management; the Policy on Human
The priority mission groups Resource Development; the Policy on the
(PMGs) are the core of the
Remuneration; the Policy on Employment
strategy.
Management; the Management Framework for
Capacity Development; and the Promotion of
ICT. These policies will assist in improving public service delivery.
The Policy on Public Service Delivery is the result of participative discussion

and exchange of ideas among ministries/institutions on many occasions, such
28
as inter-ministerial meetings. These led to its adoption by the Council of

Ministers in a full session meeting on 5 May 2006. The policy sets out
definitions and categories of state public services; objective and strategy;
mechanism of implementation; improvement in legal frameworks; and
coordination of implementation. It not only guides senior management and civil
servants but also shows the range of priority actions that the RGC should take
for administrative reform in order to enable the public administration to be
capable of serving the people better.
2.2 .3
Government policy on public service delivery
Definition and kinds of public service delivery

The Policy on Public Service Delivery sets out definitions and categories of
state public services; objective and strategy; mechanism of implementation;
improvement in legal frameworks; and coordination of implementation. In
addition, the policy is to be the principal document for the implementation of
various reforms with a view to improving service delivery based on good past
and recent experience.
Competent agency: Public service:

refers to the state defined in the following
institutions or state way: “All activities
agents or all levels of undertaken by the
state authorities working DEFINITION competent or delegated
within their areas of agency with a view to
competent jurisdiction. serving the public interest
are public services”.
Delegated agency:
refers to private sector or CSOs
delegated particular responsibilities
and duties by state but stay under
control of state and state agents.
Control by state or state agents of
the private sector or CSO is based
on clauses in the defined
agreement or contract including
work activities, results to be
achieved, objectives and other
intended social impacts.
Public services, as defined above and falling under this policy are divided into
seven categories, depending on sectors and responsibilities of
ministries/institutions.
29
z Services relating to state sovereignty

z Services relating to security, public order and social safety
z Services relating to justice and arbitration
z Services relating to enhancing trade matters, SMEs, the investment environment
and the participation of the private sector in construction and maintenance of
infrastructure
z Social services, culture and women’s affairs
z Services related to the development of physical infrastructure
z Services related to revenue collection, expenditure rationalization and
disbursement
Services Services relating to state sovereignty are the exclusive

relating to state responsibility of the state and are provided by state agencies
sovereignty or legal entities to which, under public law, the state has
delegated the power to implement them. Services relating to
state sovereignty include: permits, licenses, civil status
certificates, birth certificates, vehicle identification cards,
certificates of title, Khmer citizen identity cards, family
registration, legalization, etc. In relation to these services, the
organization and execution of delivery are the responsibility of
the state or state agents.
Services These are services relating to security, public order,

relating to accommodation, travel, communication and social safety.
security, public These are within the competency of the competent authorities,
order and social police, gendarmerie and armed forces. These services are
very important for protecting the environment for the
safety
development of the country; poverty reduction; people’s
happiness and tranquility; and stability and certainty for
investors and businessmen in doing business. With regard to
these services, their organization and execution of delivery
are the responsibility of the state or state agents.
Services These are services relating to justice and arbitration of

relating to conflicts between citizen and citizen or citizen and civil service
justice and or citizen and private sector or civil service and private sector
arbitration etc. These services are provided by two bodies:
(a) The arbitration council: coordinates resolution of minor
litigation in order to bring together both parties outside the
court system and reduce overload of litigations within the court
of law.
(b) The court of law: In case litigants do not accept the
resolution made by the arbitration council they approach the
court of law.
The confidence of service consumers and other stakeholders
is dependent on the law’s execution with effectiveness,
quality, morality, justice and transparency in the context of
maintaining the rule of law. Therefore, all activities for work
improvement have to be organized step by step and carefully,
with a view to enhancing the quality and effectiveness of
judicial services.
Services Enhancing trade affairs

relating to The RGC, as the strategist and manager of the development
enhancing trade process, responsible for creating an environment conducive to
matters, SMEs, enhancing private enterprise, considers the private sector as
30
the investment the engine of growth. A particular priority is given in the

environment, preparation of measures that establish an overall environment
and the conducive to private sector development through various
participation of concrete steps:
i. Strengthening both public and corporate governance;
the private
ii. Reducing bureaucracy and red tape within
sector in ministries/institutions concerned with import-export;
construction iii. Eliminating the overlapping works of ministries/institutions
and by promoting effectively the process of one-stop control;
maintenance of and
infrastructure iv. Improving the implementation of the One Window Office
mechanism at the international border gateway.
SMEs
The RGC continues to promote the development of SMEs
through the following policies:
i. Encourage the development of SMEs, especially through
the provision of medium and long-term finance;
ii. Suppress all kinds of smuggling;
iii. Reduce registration and start-up procedures for
companies;
iv. Facilitate import-export activities by simplifying procedures
such as licensing and other letters of permission;
v. Reduce time consumed and prices charged for services for
approval for SME production operations through the use of
One Window Office mechanism;
vi. Provide protection support to select enterprises for an
appropriate period of time;
vii.Promote alliances between SMEs and large enterprises,
etc.
To achieve the above objectives, the RGC focuses on:
i. Encouraging domestic production to replace imports, and
to respond to the strategy for the establishment of local
production bases to conform to the prevailing environment
of regionalization and globalization;
ii. Developing a strategy to upgrade the competitive capacity
of SMEs; and
iii. Developing an action plan and regulations to support and
monitor the work of SMEs.
Investment environment and private participation in

construction and maintenance of infrastructure
Related to this task, the RGC will implement the necessary
measures to improve the investment and business
environment. Measures include an incentive policy; directive
regulations; and promoting the private sector’s participation in
construction and maintenance of infrastructure. The structure
of these services clusters that have not yet adequately
responded to the necessary demands for facilitating business
operation, investment and private sector development has to
be changed appropriately and immediately to conform to the
real situation and existing resources.
Services of These services include: education services (enhancing quality

social affairs, of education for all; learning materials; and the right of access
culture, and to basic education); health and sanitation services
women’s affairs (accessibility, quality and effectiveness in providing equitable
and sustainable basic health services to the people, especially
31
to the poor and most vulnerable); entertainment services;

social services; services providing protection for orphans,
vulnerable children, the handicapped; services that enhance
the participation of women in economic development; and
other services that assist in reducing poverty.
Services related Services related to physical infrastructure development are a

to development major priority of the RGC in promoting and speeding
of physical economic growth and reducing poverty. The development of
infrastructure physical infrastructures has to focus on further construction of
transportation system such as: roads, bridges, railways,
waterways, ports, airports; and hospitals, schools, wells, clean
water systems, irrigation systems, electricity, power,
information technology, and post and telecommunications,
etc. In regard to these services, the RGC promotes incentive
policies to encourage participation from all stakeholders,
especially the private sector.
Services related These services relate to the improvement of revenue

to revenue management, more transparent and efficient expenditure and
collection, disbursement system and procedures in order to reduce
expenditure difficulties of service consumers. In order to facilitate
implementation, ministries/institutions responsible for any of
rationalization
the above seven categories of services must prepare and
and properly compile the list of these services. In case, there is
disbursement any progression in the market economy, modern technology
and other real demand as a result of the evolution of the
society; the public service will be redefined conducive to that
evolution. The provision of all categories of public service
delivery, regardless of mechanisms, places and
circumstances, has to pay attention to the possible ways of
supporting the access to the poor, the handicapped, old
persons and children within both urban and rural areas.
Objective and methodology
Objectives
The strategic objective of the RGC in public service delivery is to “serve people
better”. This means the public administration has to:
1. Ensure accessibility to service
Provide sufficient, clear and understandable information; reduce bureaucracy

and red tape with a view to reducing the difficulties of service consumers in
seeking services by themselves and reduce extra payments being made for
unofficial operational processes.
2. Focus on real needs of service consumers
In the past, the civil servant, as the administrator, predefined the type of service
to be delivered to consumers, even though some services might not meet their
needs. Now, as the service provider, the civil servant has to change working
32
behavior and define the category of services based on the consumers’ needs
and market demand.
3. Provide Services to Where Needed
The public administration has to deliver services to places where they are
needed except in those cases where this can not be done. For example, the
specialized and very costly service offered in a heart surgery operation can be
made available only in a very few places, say Phnom Penh. For all general
cases, the public administration should be people-centered in providing
services. For example, where the people require some kinds of services in
some places, the administration should define such kinds of services to be
offered in such locations. This will avoid consumers seeking services far away
from their community.
4. Transparent and accountable service delivery
The service provider has to provide comprehensive and open information

without discrimination and focus on timely delivery based on quality and with
high responsibility. Meanwhile, the service provider has to give information and
opportunities to consumers to monitor and understand the procedures, criticize,
complain or seek improvements in service delivery to meet their demand and
upgrade the efficiency, effectiveness and transparency and thus uphold the
principles of good governance.
5. Quality, efficiency and effectiveness of services
The service provider has to meet the defined standards of service. This means
what is delivered to consumers has to conform to set standards in price, time
and quality. The quality of service has to be determined based on the
consumers’ satisfaction, where the services respond to the demand and are in
the general interest of the consumers. If the public administration can not
provide or afford to produce some services, the state can find development
partners who are able to help meet the needs of the consumers.
Methodology
In order to achieve above stated objective, there are two main strategies for the
implementation process:
First, change the attitude and the work behavior of the civil service from being
the administrator to being the service provider. This is a key point because, in
spite of having good paradigms and good procedures for implementation, if civil
servants do not want to change attitude, the quality of service delivery can not
be made efficient and effective. The service provider has to serve consumers
with good behavior, covering language used and general work communication
behavior. To deliver services with quality, efficiency and effectiveness primarily
requires that civil servants possess a clear understanding about the concept of
“service provider” and “service consumer” so as to be able to change the way of
thinking with the aim of reducing bureaucracy and red tape in service delivery.
The change in the way of thinking and the attitudes of civil servants, away from
ideas deeply rooted in the concept of “administrator”, is time consuming.
33
Second, change work processes from the “functional structure” to the

“operational structure”. This approach is focused on the improvement of working
behavior within the public administration toward results. Currently, the work
behavior in the functional structure follows the defined procedures and
regulations without thinking about results, efficiency and effectiveness and
satisfaction of service consumers. The operational structure is implemented
through two concepts: “front office" and "back office”.
Front office
The front office communicates directly with consumers. In order to make the
front office more capable in providing a service to the people and to its clients,
the civil servants or agents employed in this section should have good
understanding and competencies related to public services; have a good
attitude; concentrate on the needs of the clients; and explain the particularities
of their services and be able to solve the problems of consumers. The front
office has the duty to provide information; explain the procedures for procuring
and delivering services; send necessary documents on specialized areas;
receive service fees; and provide results and decisions made in relation to the
service requests filed by the consumers. Where necessary, additional
instruction and assistance should be provided on getting and filling up required
application forms for consumers who do not know how to fill forms or can not
read and write.
Back office
The back office is the main area supporting the success of the front office. The
back office has duties of checking application forms and other documents,
making suggestions and forwarding files to those who make decisions and then
sending them back to the front office. The organization of the back office should
be based on five main factors:
Human resources: The civil servant has to understand the new concept
of delivering public services by meeting standards related to quality,
efficiency and effectiveness, by changing work attitudes, habits and
behavior from “administrator” to “service provider”; s/he has to receive
training to increase capacity, strengthen professionalism, and enhance
knowledge and know-how. S/he should be responsible for service delivery
that meets the market demand. In the context of human resource
management, priority should be given to civil servants who make good
achievements in grade promotion, medal awards and other incentives.
Financial resources: These should conform to the annual work plan and
action plan of each domain. In addition, cash transactions should take
place as per schedule.
Planning: The back office should develop strategic and operational plans
for timely, quality and effective delivery of services. The plans include:
work plan, action plan, budget plan, financial plan, expected result and risk
assessment.
Audit and evaluation: The implementation of the action plan for public
service delivery has to be managed, monitored, evaluated and audited in
order to compare with expected results defined in the action plan.
34
ICT: The usage of ICT is a modern method for making important changes
in communication behavior between the public administration system and
service consumers. ICT can be used to reduce bureaucracy and time
consumed; to increase transparency, effectiveness and efficiency; and to
ensure there is access to information and services when and where
needed.
In summary, there should be smooth interaction between front office and back
office operations, coordinated at all stages in order to achieve the ultimate
objective: “serving the people better”.
Mechanism of implementation
The implementation mechanisms outlined below aim at facilitating the work of
ministries/institutions in improving and establishing standards. However,
implementation of mechanisms is dependent on circumstances and real
situations within the public administration system of Cambodia. The success of
public service delivery is based on processes and mechanisms; timing of
implementation; and the price charged for services delivered to the people. The
following mechanisms are possible for public service delivery.
Improvement in the process of public service delivery

Improving process of service delivery is one basic mechanism to improve public
service delivery. This is to be done within all ministries/institutions and state
agencies by eliminating overlapping functions or removing uncertainties about
duties and procedures. Focus should be given to work procedures and process;
time consumed; cost of service; efficiency and effectiveness; quality of public
service; and public trust.
One Window Office

The One Window Office is a mechanism for public service delivery which
facilitates access of the people to the services through simple procedures,
transparency, efficiency and effectiveness, and attends views and needs of
consumers. This mechanism combines clusters of public services and provides
access at one single place for applying and receiving services, by setting a
standard period for delivery and use of services and setting specific prices for
services. Good practice learned from earlier implementation is to be used as a
model for countrywide replication. The One Window Office should be organized
on the basis of a clear division of roles, duties and comparative competencies.
The organization, function, framework, principles, procedures and structure of
the One Window Office are to be based on the decision of the RGC.
Deconcentration of public services

The organization of the public administration system is a strategic and priority
task, as stipulated within the Strategic Framework on D&D Reforms adopted by
the RGC at the plenary session of the Council of Ministers on 17 June 2005.
However, “deconcentration” in this policy determines public service and public
service delivery within public administration authorities at the sub-national level
through a unified administration system. The unified administration of the
provinces/municipalities and districts/khans will assist in coordinating all public
administrative activities in respective territories with a view to encouraging
development and service delivery to meet peoples’ needs.
35
Decentralization of public service

As provisioned in LAMC, the commune/sangkat administration has two roles to
perform:
i. Manage local affairs to serve the interest of the commune/sangkat and its
people; and
ii. Function as the state agent representative under the designation or
delegation of the State authority.
LAMC Articles 43 and 44 state the duties of the commune/sangkat

administration in performing the above two roles. Communes/Sangkats have to
manage their delivery of public service step by step. This should be based on
the real situation of development of the economy and consumer demand.
Public establishments with administrative characteristics

Public establishments with administrative characteristics are another form of
mechanism for public service delivery. These are accorded financial or
administrative autonomy and are legal entities under public law, mainly
responsible for providing administrative, social, health, cultural, scientific or
technical services. Such public establishments possesses following criteria:
i. Nomenclature and office;
ii. Objective of activity (mission statement);
iii. Board of Directors directing and managing operations with own kind of
management;
iv. Own budget;
v. Resources for executing activities as planned in the mission statement;
vi. Capacity to sign contracts and to bring suits or defenses under the law in a
court of law; and
vii. Responsible under penal law and civil law for activities of legitimate
representatives or employees working for the establishment.
A public establishment with administrative characteristics is created by sub-
decree, following the joint proposal of ministries or the technical curatorial
authority and the MEF. The public establishment has to define mission,
privileges, obligations, composition of Board of Directors, and special rules for
executing the management and control of the establishment, and has to specify
also the curatorial ministry/institution or authority. The conditions and principles
for creation of public establishments with administrative characteristics have to
conform to the Royal Degree NS.RKT, dated 31 December 1997 on the legal
statute of public establishments with administrative characteristics.
Public enterprises
Public enterprises are another kind of mechanism for public service delivery by
the state, established under private law and public law. A public enterprise is a
legal entity with financial autonomy, and the majority or all of its capital belongs
to the State. A public enterprise as per its mission is established to foster the
country’s economic and social development, namely by increasing the value of
natural resources and creating jobs. The public enterprise has the institutional
form of:
i. Public establishments with economic characteristics;
ii. State companies;
iii. Joint ventures where the state directly or indirectly holds more than 51% of
capital or the right to vote.
36
The public enterprise shall be under the technical responsibility of a ministry or

public authority, depending on the type of the enterprise’s activities.
i. Public establishments with economic characteristics: These are legal entities

under public law and possess financial autonomy. These institutions
produce goods or sell services for the market. They are created by sub-
decree, following a joint proposal of the MEF and the responsible ministry or
authority. The sub-decree determines duties, capital, responsible ministry or
authority, composition of the Board of Directors, administrative and financial
management, and the rules of operations of the establishments.
ii. State companies: A state company is one whose total capital belongs to the
state. It has to compete in the market and operates independently. The state
company is created by sub-decree following a joint proposal by the MEF and
the responsible ministry or authority. This sub-decree specifies objective,
legal status, responsible ministry or authority, applied system of control, and
composition of the Board of Directors. The ministry or authority with
technical responsibility is responsible for completing the following
procedures for the establishment of such a company:
• Preparing the statute of the company with the agreement of the MEF;
• Conducting commercial registration; and
• Filling in all forms according to the principles and procedures provided for
under the Law on Commercial Companies.
iii. Joint ventures: The joint venture is created under the principles and
procedures specified in the law relating to commercial companies in which
the capital is jointly owned by a legal entity or private natural person and the
state legal entity. If public participation is more than 51% of the capital or the
right to vote, the joint venture is considered a public enterprise.
Representatives of the state or the public establishment are appointed by
the decision of the RGC following a proposal by the MEF. The
representatives of the state enterprise who are on the Board of Directors of
the joint venture are appointed by decision of the Board of Directors of the
said company after an agreement with the MEF.
The civil liabilities of those representatives in the fulfillment of their duties shall
fall under the state, public establishment and the state company, but they shall
personally be liable for any criminal offense.
The conditions and principles of the creation of public enterprises that have the
form of public establishment with economic characteristics, state companies
and joint ventures in which the state directly or indirectly holds more than 51%
of the capital or the right to vote shall conform to the Law on the General
Statute of the Public Enterprise, promulgated by Kram No. CS/RKM/0696/03,
dated 17 June 1996 and Anukret No. 41 ANKR.BK, dated 6 July 1997 on the
implementation of the Kram on the General Statute of the Public Enterprise.
Contracting
Contracting is another mechanism for the delivery of public services in which
the state itself can not afford to bear the cost of service delivery. The contract
mechanism should have clear conditions of work based on expected results, the
conditions of implementation, necessary resources for the process, and
monitoring and evaluation. The contracted party has to employ civil servants in
37
its workplace and provide them allowances based on their capacity, functional
responsibilities and achieved results. In case of necessity, the contracted party
can recruit more staff apart from those from the state civil service in order to
meet the demand for additional manpower. The decision to provide public
service delivery through the contract mechanism has to be made by initiative of
concerned ministries/institutions and to be approved by the RGC.
Special operating agency

The management and delivery of public service through the mechanism of a
special operating agency is a new concept which needs to be further
developed. The special operating agency is an entity of the ministry/institution
appointed to achieve particular objectives of the RGC. It is set up under the
conditions for conducting the mission that are most favorable and flexible in
organization and functioning, including in human and financial resources
management. It is different from other entities even within a ministry/institution.
The aim of developing the special operating agency is to enhance the efficiency
and effectiveness of the work, strengthen accountability and promote innovation
and initiative to improve the culture of paying attention to service consumers.
The conditions of the mission to implement the special operating agency

depend on the following four basic points:
i. Concentrate on the needs of the service consumers by clearly determining
category, quality and price of delivered services;
ii. Define clearly the expected result and all necessary resources;
iii. Define clearly the organization and functioning of this agency; and
iv. Define precisely the mechanism of monitoring, control and evaluation.
Privatization
In necessary cases, privatization may be selected as a mechanism for
facilitating service delivery to consumers. Privatization should conform to the
regulations that are promulgated and disseminated to the public concerning the
process and the operation. The privatization has to follow a decision of the RGC
in relation to the proposal of concerned ministries/institutions.
Improvement of legal frameworks and implementation coordination
Improvement of legal frameworks

In order to improve public service delivery through successful and effective
operation, improvement in existing legal frameworks or establishment of newer
legal frameworks that address real needs is necessary. Therefore, the following
tasks are to be performed:
i. Check for overlapping functions and contradictions that constrain and lead to
uncertainty in the public service delivery, and harmonize procedures to
make the service delivery more streamlined;
ii. Simplify complicated modalities and procedures;
iii. Modify existing regulations in order to conform to real need; and
iv. Develop new regulations according to category and type of public service.
In the modification of the existing legal frameworks or establishment of newer

legal frameworks, concerned ministries/institutions should cooperate closely
38
with the CAR to ensure that improved legal frameworks are consistent and
compatible with the Policy on Public Service Delivery.
Coordination of implementation
The CAR has been delegated by the RGC with duties and roles related to
taking initiatives, coordinating, promoting and observing technical
implementation and experiences in order to successfully implement the Policy
of Public Service Delivery.
The ministries/institutions and provincial/municipal authorities must cooperate

closely with the CAR to make implementation effective, fruitful and successful.
Moreover, ministries/institutions and provincial/municipal authorities must
accept responsibility for the quality of public service delivery within their
competent jurisdiction. The CAR and ministries/institutions are to cooperate with
each other in disseminating policy and in training civil servants to make them
aware of and understand the policy. The policy is to be included in the
academic curriculum of the Royal School of Administration.
The implementation of the Policy for Public Service Delivery requires active
participation of all ministries/institutions, all levels of territorial authorities, civil
servants, civil society, armed forces and all stakeholders, as well as various
development partners of Cambodia with a view to serving people better.
Meaning of key words

Good refers to the satisfaction of the service consumer, when the
quality: service delivered to the people meets defined criteria
(procedures, timing and price), needs and expectations of
consumers.
Inexpensive: refers to the price of service to be paid: has to be set at an
appropriate rate conforming to the place and the affordability for
consumers.
Short: refers to the procedure of service delivery through the
operational structure that eliminates unnecessary bureaucracy.
Simple: means that the conditions under which the service consumers
seek to access services are comprehensible, both in terms of
modality and procedure.
Reliable: the service delivery has to follow the predefined and publicly
explained procedures and regulations. If the service provider in
fact performs contrary to what is expected, consumers will lose
confidence.
Responsive the category of services, the procedures and timing of the
and timely: service delivery are defined based on the demand of the
consumers under priority frame.
Accessible: the service provider facilitates the service consumers with
communication, forms or application and in receiving required
service.
39
2.3 .3
Key challenges in public service delivery at local level

Although a variety of public services are delivered at commune level, the
institutional arrangements used to deliver them are not well understood.
Furthermore, more direct involvement of CCs in the supply of services has not
been sought systematically. Some lessons from research on local service
delivery and the roles of the CCs demonstrated that the delivery of local
services may be improved through more effective involvement of CCs. Any
effective local public service delivery involves a number of related activities,
including planning and budgeting, financing, production and monitoring and
evaluation. There are both “demanders” and “suppliers” for the delivery of public
services. Rather than each individual expressing own demand for a public
service, there must be an arrangement whereby the demands of a variety of
consumers are determined collectively. One role that local governments can
play is to aggregate the demands for public services of local residents. Since
local governments are closer to the people than provincial or central
governments, they can more effectively assess the particular need of a locality.
Major challenges related to public service delivery are summarized as follows:

There is a general lack of clarification and delineation of mandatory and
optional tasks in service delivery. This has made negative impacts on
accountability and possibilities of establishing proper linkages between
functions and funding arrangements.
It is difficult for each government tier to be responsive and provide efficient
services given great disparities in size and capacity of units in each tier.
Provinces do not have incentives to develop well coordinated development
programs owing to lack of funds. Provincial public infrastructure depends
on central government finances and maintenance plans through the
sectors. Transparent and approved service delivery plans are nonexistent.
The centralized and delegated system of service delivery is considered not
sufficiently demand driven or based on local priorities, and flexibility and
adjustments are not ensured.
Quality of service delivery is difficult to judge and sometimes it is just
unacceptable. Performance monitoring systems are weak.
Payment of unofficial fees is common in many sectors. There is a need to
clarify areas and sectors where user payments and charges are applied
formally and informally and where services are provided free of charge.
40
Module 3:

To allow participants to obtain a full understanding of what the CRR is all about
so that they can elaborate during its implementation.

understanding of:
Rationale and legal provisions for social accountability and basic service
delivery at the commune level;
What the CRR is, what it provides, and what to do after the CRR;
Concept and strategy, objectives and expected outputs, and
methodologies of the CRR;
Other dimensions of the CRR.
3.1 .3
Introduction
A minimum participation right of citizens in a democratic society is to vote for
leaders and representatives in periodic elections. In Cambodia, for instance,
citizens vote for CC officials and representatives to the National Assembly. The
expectation is that, once elected, government leaders will formulate policies,
design programs and make decisions in accordance with broad public opinion,
or at least based on expressed needs of the population. The reality, however, is
that political participation through voting in elections provides citizens with very
little influence over decision makers. The effectiveness of elections perceived
traditionally as the principal mechanism for accountability has also proved
weak; they are seen as a blunt instrument for holding government officials and
employees accountable to their
The World Bank Development Report 2001 particular actions.
concludes: "From the perspectives of poor
people worldwide, there is crisis in
governance. State institutions, whether Poor people see little recourse to
represented by central government ministries justice, criminality, abuse of
or sub national government structures are authority and corruption by
often neither responsive nor accountable to institutions. Not surprisingly, poor
the poor; rather the report details the men and women lack confidence in
arrogance and disdain with which poor people
are treated. the state institutions even though
41
they still express their willingness to partner with them under fairer rules"
(Narayan, et al, 2000: 172) 1 .For most citizens, the direct face of the state and
of the government is public services, and poor people’s dissatisfaction with
public service institutions relates largely to issues of voice and accountability.
Poor people believe that state institutions – whether delivering services,
providing police protection or justice, or as political decision makers – are either
accountable to nobody or accountable only to the rich and powerful (Narayan:
2000: 177) 2 . As a result of a growing interest in civic participation in local
governance worldwide, direct democratic mechanisms are now increasingly
applied to facilitate active participation of citizens in local decision-making
processes and to hold governments accountable and responsive to citizens.
In Cambodia today, there is growing concern regarding the performance and

accountability of governmental agencies that deliver services, formulate policies
and make decisions, particularly for the poor and the marginalized. Most
performance indicators focus on input and expenditure levels; beyond these,
there is scarce information on quality of services delivered, on the
appropriateness of policies and procedures formulated, and even on the
perceived strengths and weaknesses of the internal functioning of local
government units. Beyond the arithmetic, such as literacy rates, not much is
known on the outcomes of public service delivery in the country, particularly on
whether it meets the needs of those it intends to serve.
Cognizant of this, the recent Cambodia National Poverty Reduction Strategy

(NPRS) Progress Report posed a challenge to NGOs to help monitor poverty
reduction in Cambodia. An option recommended by the report is for NGOs to
prepare report card surveys to feel the public pulse on certain important
issues, such as decentralization, and convey concerns to policymakers.
Moreover, the report considers it critical to determine how to involve the poor
and vulnerable groups in the process because, first and foremost, these
problems are affecting them 3 .
"People whose lives are

There is a need for a fundamental rethinking of the
affected by a decision must ways in which citizens’ voices are articulated and
be part of process of arriving represented. That is why we need now to build a
at that decision" strong local network in communities to be able to
(Trasmonte Jr, 2004: a demand pro-poor, equitable and accountable
presentation paper).
responses.
Meaningful participation of citizens should result in increased demand for

services and increased expectations from and pressures on the political and
administrative systems. Unless the system responds, increased participation
will give rise to dissatisfaction, leading to either apathy or withdrawal, or even
serious challenges which could result to political instability.
Corresponding to its assignment to strengthen civil society and citizen

participation and influence in decentralization and local governance reforms
process, CCSP pioneered in Cambodia the implementation of the CRR, a
methodology patterned on the internationally acclaimed report cards that were
1
Narayan 2000: Voice of the poor
2
ibid
3
Royal Government of Cambodia, 2004: progress report on implementation of national poverty
reduction strategy
42
first implemented in Bangalore, India, and citizen satisfaction survey carried out
in the Philippines. In international practice, report cards and surveys are usually
applied as a national exercise, with external enumerators gathering data at the
village level. However, a unique feature of the CRR is that it localizes the report
card exercise, with commune citizens collecting, analyzing and acting on the
results exposed by the initiative. It allows citizen to measure CC work. It is also
a tool for people to participate in monitoring and evaluating good local
governance, which is it a basic mandate of NGOs to promote.
3.2 .3
Legal provisions for social accountability and basic service

delivery at commune level, Cambodia
Passed by the National Assembly on 12 January 2001, Law on Administration
and Management of Commune/Sangkat (LAMC) determines the administration
and management of all communes following the Cambodian government’s
policy of decentralization.
Article 1 of LAMC clearly states that a commune council shall be accountable

to all residents of its communes.
Article 12 stipulates that a commune council shall actively promote and

coordinate the process of democracy in the commune by setting up a process
for consultation with residents, civil society and communities. The deliberations
and administration of the CC shall be open and transparent. Thus, citizens in
communes can participate in CC meetings, and participate in development
planning initiatives.
Article 66 states that "Commune/sangkat councils shall monitor, control, and

evaluate the implementation of plans, programs, projects, and the provision of
services with transparency and strong accountability."
All CSOs may participate in the preparation of the CDP and CIP and shall be
responsible for representing the interests of local communities and specially
targeted stakeholders such as women, youth and minority groups, among
others. These organizations may also contribute knowledge and ideas in the
preparation of CDPs. As stated in inter-ministerial Prakas No. 98 of the Ministry
of Interior and the Ministry of Planning on Commune Development Planning, a
preliminary step in the development planning process is the assessment of,
among others, the current level of people’s access to basic social services
(Article 13).
Article 26 of the same Prakas stipulates that at the end of each fiscal year, the
commune chief and the planning and budgeting committee should submit an
annual report to the CC. This should include a description of the problems
encountered in providing basic social services to citizens in communes as well
as recommendations to improve their delivery. Article 30 stipulates the right of
every commune resident to attend every CC meeting, even though they cannot
participate in the voting.
43
In the preliminary steps of the commune development planning process,

CCs have to assess the current level of people’s access to basic social
services. At the end of each fiscal year, they must review and report on
problems encountered in providing basic social services to citizens in
communes as well as make recommendations to improve delivery.
The National Poverty Reduction Strategy of the RGC emphasizes the

improvement of rural livelihoods as one of the priority actions of effective
service delivery at local level. This is seen as a crucial factor to the success of
this initiative. LAMC envisages local councils playing a leading role in service
provision and local development. This vision is crucial to the development of
local accountability because only when the councils are given clear service
delivery responsibility and adequate resources can they justly be held
accountable for their performance. The law, however, remains broad in terms of
mandates for specific responsibilities. It is, therefore, important to understand
how local services are currently delivered and how CCs can intervene to
improve service delivery flow.
3.3 .3
The Citizens' Rating Report

What is the CRR?
Documented , systematic assessment of social services and other
governance matters through citizen feedback
Appraisal of people’s satisfaction of service delivery; identification of key
constraints
Collecting and organizing citizen feedback; results as take-off point for
grassroots advocacy
Credible collective feedback for service providers on issues as experienced
by ordinary citizens
A simple evaluation tool, structured for simple communication
Facilitates citizen participation in improving governance at the commune
level
Starting point for reflective and corrective action
Organizing public feedback as a form of voice to demand greater public
accountability
An aid to improving service delivery and governance in the commune
Not intended to embarrass or praise service delivery providers and other
local governance players
Unlike other international experiences with parallel initiatives (such as the
report cards of India and the Philippines), the Cambodian model CRR is a
localized version, where citizens themselves generate, package and act on
the CRR results
44
What does the CRR provide?
• Level of citizen satisfaction on the quality of service or performance in any

governance issue
• Comparison in terms of user satisfaction among service providers
• Causes of poor service delivery or performance
• Recommendations on improving service delivery or enhancing performance
in a given governance issue
• Enables civil society at the commune level to assess key governance issues
as experienced by the ordinary citizen
• A significant feature of the emerging Cambodian model is that it localizes
the report card process. Local citizens generate, understand and act on the
data they have gathered. This is a significant deviation from all other
international experiences with report cards which are mostly nationally
initiated exercises, with external researchers conducting the exercise. The
Cambodia CRR can rightfully claim to be the first international attempt to
localize the report cards on a nationwide scale
What to do after the CRR?
• Discuss results with concerned service delivery agency or

organization/or with the CC
• Disseminate information through media, including folk media
• Mobilize commune-based organizations to disseminate
findings and generate social pressure for reforms and changes
• Monitor actions to improve services or issues being addressed
in the CRR
3.4 .3
Concept and strategy of the CRR
Concept
The CRR is a trailblazing innovative mechanism that gathers user perceptions
on the accessibility, satisfaction and adequacy of services, and on quality of
participation in CC meetings, and aggregates these as a rating report. These
rating reports, particularly data and information on citizen’s dissatisfaction, are
used as a take-off point to generate collective pressure and prompt commune
officials and social service providers to respond positively to the civic call for
improvements in service delivery and in conducting CC meetings. It provides an
alternative form of public engagement between citizens and the government; it
challenges the convention in representative democracy whereby citizens obtain
an exclusive opportunity to express their preferences during periodic elections
through vote, then leaving the public officials accountable to elected
representatives.
45
The CRR also puts citizen participation in decentralization into a broader human
rights framework. Through the CRR, citizens participate by generating
information and using this to influence planning and policy. This goes beyond
the preferred form of participation in project implementation and development
planning only.
The results of the CRR can serve as a basis for critical dialogue with local
government officials and other decision makers. Results are also shared with
citizen bodies, other NGOs and the media. NGOs or NGO groups using report
ratings are expected to educate and mobilize the media, other public interest
groups and the citizenry at large to facilitate mechanisms for citizens' voices to
develop and express themselves. The initial rating reports also serve as
benchmarks to measure improvements and performance over time. The results
of CRR can be used as a take-off point to advocate for reforms and changes.
Indeed, the CRR can also be seen as a catalyst to build consciousness for
responsive governance. In the beginning, external actors could use this initiative
to provoke and activate local CSOs and citizens to demand effective and
accountable service delivery. Through the knowledge transfer, local CSOs can
work independently with citizens. Then, citizens themselves, as understanding
and then ownership is gained, can actively interact or negotiate with their local
government for desirable basic services that meet their needs. Eventually, CCs
will have sufficient information not only to respond appropriately to citizens’
demands also to be able to effectively monitor and coordinate service delivery
responsibilities of deconcentrated (line) agencies of the government responsible
for public service delivery within its territory.
The desired outcomes of the CRR intervention can take a longer or shorter time
to materialize. This depends primarily on the level of capacity and
consciousness of local citizens or local government.
Level of capacity and consciousness
The CC itself is conscious and responsive in facilitating and delivering Commune council
basic public services in its locality
Citizens have strong sense of activism in demanding Citizen groupsÎ Commune council
effective service delivery and can independently interact
with CCs
Local NGOs can independently Local NGOsÎ Citizen groups Î Commune council
work with citizens and CCs on
service delivery
Required National NGOsÎ Local NGOsÎ Citizen groups Î Commune council
external trigger
Intervention trail
Strategy
The CRR advocated by CCSP is an innovative strategy of increasing citizen
influence, improving the responsiveness of service delivery agencies and
ensuring greater government accountability, starting at commune level. It
implies not merely consultation of citizens in development planning but also
their collaboration in decision making, requiring their influence and power. It
46
strengthens the capacity of the demand side as a major force in hauling out the
responsiveness of local government.
Briefly, the CRR gathers user perceptions on the awareness, accessibility,

satisfaction and adequacy of services, and on quality of participation in local
governance, and aggregates these to create a rating report. These rating
reports are discussed by citizens themselves with the concerned provider or
decision makers. This lays fertile ground in providing lessons and insights to
citizens to demand basic services.
Implementation of the CRR can raise citizen awareness of social services

existing in the commune and provide opportunities to make an overall rating of
the performance of CCs regarding levels of citizen satisfaction on key social
services available in the commune. Citizens then express their perceptions on
how things can be improved and suggest facilitating factors to enable commune
citizens to have better access to social services. A very important step taken by
CCSP NGO partners in CRR implementation is to orient CCs, key informal
leaders and citizens on the rationale for implementing the initiative. This is
deemed very important considering that the support of the local government
and the citizenry is instrumental to the success of the CRR. In the course of this
exercise, commune residents express their satisfaction or dissatisfaction
regarding social services and infrastructure projects, reveal reasons for their
dissatisfaction, highlight deficiencies, weaknesses and interruptions in service
delivery, and then offer recommendations on how could these be improved.
The implementation strategy is to train NGOs which are working with commune-
based organizations through various learning events spread throughout the
project life. These local NGOs will be trained on the rationale, concepts and
methodology of the CRR. In turn, they will train and assist commune residents
to implement the CRR, covering data collection, analysis and ratings
presentation through meetings and forums. Likewise, NGOs will train and coach
commune-based organizations to engage with CCs through dialogue and other
forms of grassroots advocacy. Aside from building capacity of local
implementers and the formation and coaching of commune research teams
(CRTs) to implement research and lead advocacy initiatives, the implementer of
the CRR project collaborates closely with CCs.
3.5 .3
Objectives, outputs and methodologies
Objectives and outputs

The CRR aims primarily to provide a systematized and documented
assessment of basic social services, administrative services, infrastructure
projects, budget expenditures, performance etc. in the communes, as well as on
the capacity of CCs to promote citizen participation in CC meetings. Likewise,
the CRR strives to develop a corps of practitioners at the commune level to
engage in the promotion of social accountability. At its highest level, the project
is evaluated on how it results in better or improved government policies through
citizen campaigns and lobbying. Finally, it seeks to promote constructive
47
dialogue and engagement between citizens and commune-based groups on the

one hand and CC officials and service providers on the other. It is also hoped
that the CRR can influence sectoral initiatives for improved service delivery.
Ultimately, the CRR hopes to increase people’s understanding regarding
participation as the key factor for a healthy democracy in Cambodia.
The CRR project has three objectives, as follows:

1. To develop a system for gathering documented and systematic
assessment of social services and other aspects of good governance
using citizen’s feedback;
2. To create a database and formulate benchmark information to measure
progress and performance over time;
3. To promote civil society – government dialogue on critical issues with the
objective of instituting reforms.
The expected outputs of the CRR are:

1. Increasedunderstanding of popular participation as a key element in
democracy;
2. Quantified ratings of public service delivery and other key dimensions of
local governance (participation, for instance);
3. Organized local civil society groups creating pressure to prompt rated
agencies, units of government and other stakeholder groups to respond
positively to civic calls for improvement in services and other reforms.
Methodologies
The CRR basically involves four major stages:
Training,
preparation and
orientation
Evaluating the Actual field

progress and if no progress activities and
improvement rating survey
Presentation,
forum, dialogue
and advocacy
campaign
The CRR methodology constitutes the following simple points:

Rapid assessment on suitability
Identify and select commune and basic service/s
Identify scope and purpose
Select and organize local implementer and CRT
Design questionnaires
Conduct training and coaching
48
Develop sampling frame

Conduct CRR survey
Process and analyze CRR data
Dissemination of CRR results: submission to CC, public meeting, media
Advocate reforms/changes based on CRR results
Institutionalize local pressure groups
Provide technical assistance/monitoring of CRR implementation
Initiating learning events on grassroots advocacy
There are many entry points for the CRR project. It could be initial probes into
basic social services, administrative services, infrastructure projects, budget
expenditures, performance etc. whichever are of more relevance to citizens at
local level, regardless of who is doing or providing the service. A participatory
process for the selection of target communes is carried out using a rapid
assessment tool to gauge the suitability of the commune for CRR.
Practical approaches of project operation

1. Random survey of households to obtain a rating of service across
various measures of awareness, access, satisfaction;
2. Assessment of citizens’ perceptions on the performance of CCs in
general;
3. Assessment of citizens on the improvement of their lives under local
governance reforms.
In the field application phase, local NGOs, CSOs or citizen groups will actually
implement the CRR by organizing and preparing a CRT through field-based
training on CRR processes, facilitating actual data gathering, organizing and
analyzing the data and converting them into rating reports, presenting the rating
report to key decision makers at the commune level, and launching an
advocacy campaign to address the issues identified in the CRR.
At the commune level, the CRR can be Within each commune during actual field
implemented with the assumptions that: application, the implementer will facilitate
a. There will be active commune-based the selection and organization of a group
organizations that will work with the of local residents as collaborators in the
partner NGOs in the field application CRT, with the task of implementing the
phase. If not, there should be at least
10 commune citizens interested to commune rating survey. In every
conduct the field survey. commune, a CRT will receive echo
b. A CRR facilitation team will move trainings from local NGOs in the
around the target provinces or provinces. The idea of forming the CRTs
communes during the field research is to institutionalize local people as
phase in order to provide technical
assistance and facilitate problem pressure groups in each commune to
solving relating to field issues and keep alive relevant issues affecting them
concerns that people may face and conduct grassroots advocacy work
during actual work. to demand solutions and improvement.
c. Implementing partners, communities
or citizen groups will be encouraged
Local NGOs, together with CRT
to program their work in such a way
members, will facilitate the assessment
that the series of activities to be
conducted is completed on time.of basic services in the target
communes. The assessment includes a
mapping of existing local services, identification of service beneficiaries or
users, and key constraints or problems in the delivery of targeted services.
49
Based on these inputs, implementers and surveyors can develop a draft

interview schedule, to be subject to pre-testing prior to its actual use in the
exercise.
Implementers National and provincial NGOs, local CSOs and citizen

groups could facilitate and implement the CRR.
These organizations are encouraged to implement
the CRR initiative based on their willingness to do so
where they work.
Target areas The target area of this initiative includes communes.

For the selection of target communes, CC officials,
local NGO representatives, CRTs and other local
leaders are invited and encouraged to take part in a
participatory process assessing the suitability that
leads to the identification of target communes. The
assessment will be guided by a rapid assessment
scorecard. The selection process will look into
preconditions, consisting of willingness of CC officials
to respond to feedback, levels of civic dynamism in
the commune, and presence and strength of local
CSOs in the commune. Implementers could choose
their existing target communes or new communes
where they plan to work with by starting from one
commune and building up to an adequate number
they feel is manageable.
Beneficiaries and Ultimately, the target beneficiaries of the project are

target groups ordinary citizens (service users) in the communes,
whose awareness and understanding of rights and
responsibilities as citizens have to be either changed
or enhanced through information and education and,
consequently, by implementing initiatives to demand
responsiveness and accountability from those they
voted into power.
The CRR also targets local NGOs based in the

provinces and districts whose capacity to promote
social accountability can be enhanced through
various learning events.
Local government and service providing agencies are

advocacy targets for social accountability initiatives.
Finally, the mass media are targeted as a support
mechanism and are expected to play a critical role in
articulating advocacy issues identified by the CRR.
Action plan
To facilitate the smooth implementation of the field research and advocacy
activities, the CRR implementer must prepare a generic action plan to guide
operation in target areas. Local NGOs must allocate enough space in
developing very flexible action plans, considering the unpredictability of field
50
realities. However, it is strongly recommended that all implementers in their

action plans must include at least the following tasks:
1. Conducting rapid assessment of communes on the suitability of the

CRR initiative.
2. Identification and selection of local implementer or CRT or citizens
group in the commune to implement CRR initiative.
3. Identification and selection of target communes and negotiation and
lobbying with CC for endorsement to launch the CRR initiative.
4. Identification, selection and validation of basic services and design of
questionnaires.
5. Preparing MOU for sub-contractor if necessary.
6. Orientation trainings on the concept and methodologies to
implementers – NGOs, CRTs, CCs and service providers.
7. Involvement of CCs in all stages of the process.
8. Promotion of the CRR in the commune and to the public.
9. Plan for actual field rating survey includes orientation on survey and
sampling method, orientation to respondents, task assignment among
CRT members, validation and consolidation of data and information
etc.
10. Field-level technical assistance, coaching and advice to local
implementers regarding questionnaire orientation, field survey
application, data analysis, validating results and packaging CRR results
for presentation during the implementation.
11. Presentation, forum and dialogue to present and validate results or
findings of the CRR survey.
12. Dissemination of CRR findings to relevant stakeholders and the media.
13. Grassroots advocacy training and utilization of CRR results as take-off
point for advocacy campaigns to address issues identified in the CRR.
14. Disseminating methodology and experiences of CRR implementation to
a broader constituency to encourage replication of the process to
relevant stakeholders and the media, and conducting general assembly
meeting in the commune.
15. Monitoring and evaluation activities and maintaining sustainability.
16. Strengthening network of local groups.
17. Work with media and other local NGOs on policy advocacy.
51
Module 4:
Module 4:

To make participants aware of processes and activities in CRR implementation.
understanding of:
The cycle of the process in implementing the CRR and the flow of
activities required to carry it out;
A detailed description of how each activity will work ;
Some advice for success;
Management and implementation of the CRR.
4.1 .3
The CRR process
Training,
preparation and
orientation
Evaluating the Field activities and

progress and if no progress rating survey
improvement
Presentation,
forum, dialogue
and advocacy
campaign
52
Phases and sets of activities

Sets of activities in each phase are not necessarily put the order of execution:
this can be flexible. Some activities take place continuously and therefore
crosscut all phases and some others can be carried out simultaneously. The
number of these activities depends very much on who undertakes the process.
Phase 1: Training, preparation and orientation

Conducting rapid assessment of communes on suitability for the CRR
Identification and selection of target communes
Negotiation and lobbying for endorsement and launching
Identification, selection and validation of basic services
Designing of questionnaires
Selection of local implementing organization
Organization of CRT
Preparing official MOU and contracts
Conducting training of trainers on concepts and methodology
Promotion of CRR in CCs and in public
Phase 2: Citizens’ rating survey (field activity)

Prepare action plan for citizens’ rating survey in the field
Design sampling of respondents
Conduct training, coaching and orientation
Conduct field survey
Validate results, analyze data and produce rating report
Monitor and provide ongoing technical assistance
Phase 3: Presentation, forum, dialogue and advocacy campaign

Conduct assembly meeting with CCs and service providers
Organize advocacy work
Institutionalize and strengthen local networks, maintaining sustainability
Phase 4: Evaluating the progress and improvement

Evaluation activities
Dissemination and replication
4.2 .3
How is each activity actually carried out?
Activities that are described below are not in

sequence!
Activities do not necessarily need to be carried out in order. It
can be flexible. Some activities take place continuously and
therefore crosscut all phases and some others can be carried
out simultaneously. Implementing organizations can decide
which activity they want to start with according to their
convenience. The number of activities depends very much on
who undertakes the process.
53
Activity 1: Conduct rapid assessment of communes on

suitability for CRR
The implementing organization of the CRR initiative should conduct a rapid
assessment in order to check the appropriateness of implementing the CRR in
the commune. This assessment will be an opportunity to observe and appraise
perceptions of CCs, commune residents and other local development players
regarding selection of the proposed commune for CRR implementation. This
requires a participatory approach to allow commune councilors, local leaders,
civil society representatives and residents to assess the suitability that will lead
to identify the target communes undertaking the CRR initiative. The assessment
is guided by a rapid assessment scorecard and will look at whether the
following preconditions prevail or not:
Willingness of CC officials to respond to feedback
Level of civic dynamism in the commune
Presence and strength of local CSOs in the commune
Existence of basic social services
Appropriateness
Timing
Acclamation
Other facilitating factors
Staff must be proactive in preparing scorecards and questions and making

appointments in advance. The implementing NGO should arrange meetings
with individual CC officials separately or a joint meeting can be arranged. Aside
from the staff, commune0based implementing organizations can request village
chiefs, CCs, local CSOs or citizens to assist in the arrangements.
Activity 2: Identification and selection of target communes
The commune is the primary target and the entry point for this initiative. After
rapid assessment, the implementing organization could identify which
communes are suitable for implementing the CRR. The selection will be based
on the set criteria. The implementing organization may consider choosing
communes where it works or may decide to select new communes. This way it
can start from one commune until it is satisfied with the number of desired
target communes. The maximum number of desired target communes depends
on appraisal of manageability. Three to five communes should be manageable
for one implementing organization. Calibration could be based on results of the
rapid assessment or baseline information that the implementing organization
has related using simple preferred criteria. In case of the need to choose new
communes, the implementing organization can approach CCs for endorsement
or district authorities or the Provincial Local Administration Unit (PLAU) for
assistance. It is advised that the implementing organization takes a large
number of communes for consideration and then, following a proper screening
process, selects the number it wishes to administer. The selected communes
must meet at least half of the prescribed of criteria.
54
Some criteria for selecting target communes
• Willingness of CCs to respond to feedback
• Leadership orientation of CC chief
• Level of civic dynamism or high level of commune activism
• Presence and strength of NGOs etc.
• Existence or availability of basic social services
• High local demand
• Very low level of development
• High level of dissatisfaction
• Appropriateness
• Timing
• Acclamation
• Accessibility of media
• Other facilitating factor/s
NOTE Identification and selection of target communes are

resolutely connected to the simplicity or difficulty of the CRR
operation. The number of communes selected should fit the
ability of the implementing organization, its staff, financial
resources, time and managerial capacity.
The implementing organization must clearly state that political

representation is not a criterion for selection!
Activity 3: Negotiation and lobbying for endorsement and

launch
Negotiation and lobbying
Rights of citizen for participation are guaranteed in the Constitution, law and
government policies on decentralization being adopted by the government.
Since its pilot phase, the Ministry of Interior has provided authenticity and
encouragement to the CRR initiative. At the local level, however, the
implementing organization needs to make consultations with CCs or commune
chiefs regarding launching the CRR activity in their respective commune. The
implementing organization should set a formal special meeting with the CC or
make a request to propose the CRR subject on the agenda in the regular CC
meeting. Following a maximum of half an hour of presentation on the proposed
CRR initiative, lobby with the councilors for their support. In some areas, the
implementing organization can speak to the commune chief before formally
bringing the issue to the meeting. If needed, the implementing organization may
seek approval from the district authority or PLAU.
Explain about the project clearly: note that it simply aims to score the quality of
services, disregarding whom these are provided to. The project should be seen
as a support mechanism for the service provider rather than, for example,
investigating wrongdoing. Be clear that the CRR initiative is similar to any other
local development activity, and make it very clear that this has nothing to do
with politics and as such has no affiliation with any political party or group.
Promote the initiative as a good mechanism for collecting public opinion which
provides constructive reflection on what CCs have done, to help CCs in
designing better plans and projects. Make sure commune councilors welcome
55
the initiative fearlessly and with interest and do not look at it as an instrument
for public embarrassment and insult.
In what ways does the CRR initiative support the CC? Some relevant explanatory
points for implementing organizations:
• It helps CCs be aware of the needs and concerns of people
• It provides a link to connect people with CCs
• It supports CCs to achieve success through constructive monitoring and reflection,
the best way to ensure success
• It tells communes what is right, what is wrong
• It breaks the cultural passivity of people, builds consciousness and encourages
them to take active part in commune activities
• It helps improve performance of commune councilors which can help them be re-
elected in the next mandate
• It gives CCs constructive ideas from the citizenry
• It helps CCs to make decisions based on public opinion
• It builds the strength of CCs to monitor and coordinate activities of other service
providers
CRR is not a tool of conventional resistance to local government but it helps

improve its performance not only in administrative affairs but also in the delivery
of basic services. It also enhances its reputation as responsive government.
The specialty and importance of CRR is promotion of transparency,
responsiveness and participation.
NOTE How easily CCs accept the CRR also depends on history of
partnership between the implementing organization and the
CC. A good record of cooperation and trust relieves the CC
and builds a favorable environment for CRR operation. In the
beginning, CCs may feel the project comes to criticize and
interfere in council activities, and to pump up the people to
investigate the “doings” of the CC. CCs may also worry about
the unpredictability of CRR results, which may criticize them,
or become confused about whether it is supportive and
instigative. A proper explanation of the purposes of the
project can clear up such confusions.
Launch
The CRR launching ceremony is normally organized at the national or provincial
level if the implementing organization feels it necessary to do so. In most cases,
organizations just start the process. Following CC endorsement, for
coordination purposes and to get the CC fully on board, the implementing
organization needs the CC’s informal confirmation, verbally or by letter, of the
schedule of CRR activities.
Mobilizing and using media, here!

During the initial phase of CRR implementation, it is important to
mobilize the media. This helps inform the government at national
and local levels about the CRR and convince officials of the
sincerity, good intentions, importance and usefulness of the CRR.
The media helps build a conducive environment and disseminate
56
the CRR to the public. This could raise public awareness and
prepare people to take part enthusiastically in the CRR process.
Activity 4: Identification, selection and validation of basic

services
There are many entry points for the CRR project. It can probe into basic social
services, administrative services, infrastructure projects, budget expenditures,
performance etc. that are relevant to citizens at local level, regardless of who is
doing or providing the service.
The primary purpose of the CRR is to rate a number of basic social services
and some subjects related to CC performance. The kind of services to be
evaluated must be identified and selected in a participatory way. It is advisable
to hold consultation meetings with CCs, village chiefs and citizens. In fact,
selection of services should be based on existence in communes, especially in
rural areas. In this regard, existence of services is a precondition to selection.
Example of services that could be selected for the rating survey

• Health services
• Primary education
• Potable water systems
• Small scale irrigation
• Rural road projects
• CC meetings
• Administrative services etc.
In each commune, the implementing organization may select two to three

services for the rating survey. The selected services can vary from one
commune to another depending on existence and availability. In some
communes, selected services may be the same but they may differ with respect
to size and other measures.
The identification and selection of service must be relevant and match the
needs of local residents as well as communes. Services should also be in the
mandate or under the management provision or supervision of the CC. For this
reason, selection requires participation of CCs and citizens, especially women.
NOTE: In most cases, services are not delivered by CCs, but these
hold the authority to coordinate and facilitate provision.
Therefore, CCs are also accountable to people with respect to
service delivery even where they do not directly provide a
service to residents.
Activity 5: Design of questionnaires
For simplicity's sake, questionnaires should be designed individually for each

service. The number of services selected in each commune determine the
number of different sorts of questionnaires to be used in each commune.
57
For example:
If one implementing organization selects three communes to implement the
CRR and in each two services are identified and selected for evaluation, some
services may overlap and some may be different. The number of different sorts
of questionnaires depends on the number of different kinds of services.
Commune Service in each commune Total of different kinds of services

Commune A • Health services
• Primary education • Health services
Commune B • Health services • Primary education
Total
• Potable water systems • Potable water systems
Commune C • Primary education • Rural road projects
• Rural road projects
There are 4 different kinds of services totally in this case so the implementing organization
needs to design 4 different questionnaires for the rating survey. The amount of questionnaires
used depends on the total number of respondents selected for each service.
A good way of designing the questionnaire is to involve partners and CRTs in

the process and discussion so that they are familiar with it and can easily
elaborate during the field survey. A good questionnaire should consist of
questions which are easy to understand and to ask, relevant to the issues it
probes. A set of guiding points to consider during design of the questionnaire
survey is below.
Guiding points to consider during design of the questionnaire survey

• Prepare in a simple way and format
• Start with proper introduction and clear purpose
• Use local language which respondents can easily understand
• Questions should be simple and easy to understand, ask and explain
• Technical and strong words should be simplified
• Using open questions where possible
• All questions should be relevant and useful for the issues probed
Questions should probe reasons for people's displeasure, highlight deficiencies,

weaknesses and interruptions in service delivery and seek recommendations on
how these could be improved. Questionnaire design for particular services must
be in accordance with targets. The table below looks at targets for the
assessment according to each basic social service.
Basic service Consideration targets

Primary education Quality and adequacy of classrooms, adequacy of
books and other learning materials, conduct and
punctuality of primary school teacher
Potable water system Hand pumps and wells: installation, distances from
homes, efficiency, preferences of people,
maintenance and management
Basic health service Immunization, maternal and childcare consultation
services, family planning services, provision of free
medicines by health center in communes
Small-scale irrigation Culvert, canal, pumping stations: management,
distribution, mechanisms for sharing, design,
construction, usage, maintenance and fee collection
Rural roads Farm-to-market roads or roads from communes
leading to major roads: construction, local
contribution, roads passable, maintenance
58
Activity 6: Selection of local implementing organization
The local implementing organization simply refers to provincial local NGOs

which work in the area of decentralization, local governance or public sector
reforms and are familiar with the issues of CCs and local affairs, especially in
social service delivery. Local implementing organization also refers to CSOs,
CBOs and citizen groups in districts or communes or villages. Who selects
whom in this regard depends on what level the CRR will be introduced at and
who will start it. Some criteria must be set to select local implementing
organizations or implementing partners. Those criteria should be:
Some criteria to select local implementing organizations or implementing partners

• They must be small local NGOs, CSOs, CBOs or citizen groups
• Based in province, district or commune where the CRR will be anchored
• Working on decentralization, local governance, public sector reform
• Familiar with issues of CCs and local affairs, especially on social service delivery
• Work with CCs
• Willing to implement the CRR
• Have enough resources to carry out the CRR activity
Activity 7: Organizing the commune research team (CRT)
CRT members are the surveyors during the actual field rating survey. The
selection and formation of the CRT is important. Questionnaires are just tools to
seek answers but do not in themselves guarantee that answers will emerge.
The quality of information depends on the capacity of CRT member to quiz,
explore and probe. The selection of CRTs should be flexible, based on the real
situation of the respective commune. Implementing organizations could set up
selection criteria and processes according to their preferences.
Ordinary permanent residents in each commune are the most suitable CRT
members because they know the situation in the commune. In particular, they
know each other and it is easy for them to make contact during implementation.
Respondents will feel familiar with the interviewers and will be quicker to
answer. Women should be considered a priority in selection and formation of
CRTs. The involvement of CC members and the members of planning and
budgeting committees of CCs should be considered carefully, as this could
restrict the self expression of respondents during field interviews; respondents
may answer positively but the reality may be different.
CCs can help in identifying potential people for selection and interview. There
are different ways to identify and select CRT members. Implementing
organizations could announce general application, or base this on the
recommendation of CCs, or look for people in implementing organization
communities. After selection, implementing organizations could sign a contract
59
with members for official recognition. Some points to consider during the
selection of CRT members are indicated in the table below.
CRT members should be Some people are suitable There are different
selected based on at for consideration as methods for selecting
least some of the criteria members of CRTs CRT members
below
• Knowledge of commune • Group leaders within each • Announce general
and village village of the commune application, interview, select
• Volunteer based • Members of CC and and sign contract
• Can read and write planning and budgeting • Commune chief joint
• Women as priority committee interview and selection of
• Competency based • Community activists CRT members
• Not in public position • Women • CC help to identify and
• Actively involved in • Teachers implementing organization
development work • Active ordinary citizens selects CRT member from
• Age 20-40 years old list recommended by CC
• Good interpersonal skills • Candidate comes to test
• Willingness exam to write essay
• Ordinary citizen • Identify and invite candidate
• Permanent resident in to interview
commune • Select large number of
people from commune and
interview
CRTs should include around 10 people as collaborators or researchers. Among

these 10, there must be a vote or selection of a team leader. Women should be
encouraged to be members. Forming CRTs aims to institutionalize local people
as groups of force in each commune to work on local issues which affect them
and to carry out grassroots advocacy to demand solutions and improvements.
CRTs can make up a strong local network of local citizens within each
commune.
Activity 8: Preparing official MOU and contracts
After agreement, if needed, a MOU should be

A MOU with CCs and a
prepared and signed between the CC or commune contract with CRTs is
chief and the implementing organization for each optional. Whether or not
commune. If the implementing organization is a you want to have this
national NGO, it could work directly with CRTs in depends on the nature of
the field by itself, or sub-contract local provincial your implementing
organization. Sometimes,
NGOs to do this. In this regard, they need to too much formality can
prepare a MOU and contract such local NGOs as restrict natural ability and
implementing organizations. In case the starter is a productivity.
local NGO, these also need to have a MOU with
target communes and contracts with individual CRT members. After selection,
implementing organizations can sign contracts with CRT members for official
recognition.
As mentioned previously, implementing organizations need to prepare official

MOU and contracts accordingly. The contract must be clear and MOUs should
be simple, clear and not too complicated, so that they can be agreed upon by
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both parties. The documents could include information on purpose,

responsibility, financial support, timeframe, scope of work, etc.
Activity 9: Conduct ToT on concept and methodology
A key condition for the success of the CRR is proper training and orientation to
implementing organizations, CSOs, CRTs, CCs and service providers. This
requires all actors involved in the process to participate in training of trainers
(ToT) on CRR concepts and methodology. This could entail one long training
session or a series of trainings at national or regional level. Learning events
could include lectures, role play, workshops, film showings, survey exercises
and field practice.
Before conducting ToT, the following points should be considered:

Training must be conducted in an appropriate time span and in a
participatory way in order to increase levels of cognition and absorbance.
Time and topics must be appropriate for ordinary people who have never
been involved in such activities.
Commune councilors and commune chiefs must be invited to attend
trainings and preside over the opening to benefit from their enthusiasm
and acknowledgement.
Training should take place close to the field survey schedule to keep
information clear in trainees' minds.
The orientation training schedule should be flexible, as people in different
places may busy at different times.
The training should be broad in content or should represent continuing
capacity-building activities. Content should include: knowledge of local
affairs, research and survey techniques, orientation for ordinary people,
media mobilization, and coordination of advocacy work,
Activity 10: Promotion of the CRR in the commune and in public

There are different tools and activities to
promote the CRR, such as:
Promotion of the CRR regards
z Seminars
ongoing activities, taking place z Workshops
across the process. This is about z Informal talking
explaining the positive purpose, z Public meetings
advantages and usefulness of the z Focus group meetings
z Mixed group meetings
CRR to all stakeholders. Promotion
z Village, commune or provincial meetings
increases people's levels of z Information dissemination
acceptance and internalization, and z Use of commune administration: CC
gains the recognition of the people, meetings, councilor visits, village chief
of CCs and of service providers. dissemination
z Campaign activities
This allows people to value the
z Performance
CRR as a mechanism to promote z Mobile spokesman and
public participation and to enable z Media
citizen feedback on service
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delivery. It also allows people to become acquainted with the CRR's

methodologies.

Although there are different ways to promote the CRR, the most
effective one requires the implementing organization to work
closely with the media. Using the media can help the
implementing organization reach a larger population and attract
more attention than using other means can. Working with the
media allows for different forms of information, which could
include bulletins, newspaper articles, radio broadcasts, TV spots,
etc. This can also help implementing organizations to document
and keep records of people's perceptions and feedback on the
project.
Activity 11: Prepare action plan for field rating survey
Preparing the action plan for actual field survey is about arrangement of the
time frame for surveying, sampling respondents, task assignment among CRT
members, validation, and consolidation of data, etc. Time allocations for each
activity during actual field implementation for each commune might follow the
table below.
Activity Average timeframe Remarks

Selection of CRT members 1 week Include announcement,
identification, interview and
selection
Orientation training 2-3 days In-class training and field
exercise
Field rating survey 2-3 days Could be more flexible
depending on
implementing organization
Consolidation of data and 3 days Include tabulation, analysis
information and report writing
Conduct assembly meeting 1 day Present and validate
or dialogue with CC findings
The preparation and execution of each activity during field work should be
based on the actual situation. The schedule for field activities should be
regulated to coincide with times when people are free from their work in the
fields. The gap between one activity and then next should not be too long,
otherwise those involved in surveying might lose concentration.
Activity 12: Sampling of respondents
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The number of respondents per commune varies from commune to commune,

depending on the size of commune and the number of villages within each
commune. The implementing organization should look to work 20-30 families
per village, so that the total number of respondents in each commune equals
20-30 families multiplied by the number of villages within each commune.
Methods for selection of respondents may differ according to the implementing

organization. These could include random selection, accidental selection,
simple selection, representation selection, geographical selection and lucky
draw selection. The table below reflects the different numbers and methods in
CRT selection and CRT activities.
Size of CRT 10 people

Respondents interviewed per CRT member 15-20 people
Time spent with each respondent 30 minutes
Number of respondents per commune 20-30 families/village
¯ # of villages/commune
Methods for selection of respondents 1. Random selection
2. Accidental selection
3. Simple selection
4. Representation selection
5. Geographical selection
6. Lucky draw selection
Activity 13: Conducting training, coaching and orientation
Orientation training for CRTs and others should take two to three days.
Knowledge of research techniques, roles and responsibilities of CCs and
decentralization, and communication skills, is of great importance for CRTs,
who need to be confident to explore people's idea on basic services. Training
could be in groups or one-on-one. After training, the implementing
organization should organize a meeting to introduce CRTs to commune
chiefs and councils.
Content of training for CRTs should cover:

Basic knowledge about decentralization, roles and responsibilities of CCs
How to use questionnaires
Data gathering skills
Field interviewing
Note taking, organization
Data analysis
Organizing and facilitating general assembly meetings
Communication
Who should attend the orientation?

CRTs
Ordinary citizens
CCs
District officials
Provincial officials
Service providers
Media actors
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NGOs and CBOs

Elders and monks
There are three different stages for orientation for ordinary citizens:
1. Obtaining information about the CRR through different kinds of media.

Some may not have time or lack of access to media.
2. Some may learn from public meetings or other promotion activities.
Orientation to ordinary citizens

Orientation to ordinary citizens, especially those in villages where basic services will be rated,
is very important for the field rating survey. If people do not have a full understanding of the
CRR purpose and objectives, they can not provide meaningful answers to the survey.
Implementing organizations have to make sure that ordinary people, who will be the
respondents, clearly understand:
z Purpose, objectives and what the CRR is about
z Local basic services and targets to be rated
z How information will be collected
z How information will be used
z Right to express themselves
z Importance and benefits
z Integrity and nonpartisanship of the organization or groups
z Authentication and legitimacy
z Other positive aspects
Orientation to ordinary citizens could be done through:

z Public meetings
z Focus group meetings or mixed group meetings
z Village meetings, commune meetings or provincial meetings
z Media and information dissemination
z Use of commune administration: CC meetings, councilor visits, village chief
dissemination
z Campaign activities
z Mobile spokespersons
Organizers could invite ordinary citizens separately or mix them with others. This depends on
the actual situation or own preference.
3. During the field survey, surveyors should give a good introduction to

orient the respondents to understand the purpose clearly.

The media always plays an important role in raising public
awareness so keep them informed about activities. Write
articles or invite them to orientation. This can add value to
transparency and openness. With media coverage or
involvement, people can see that the issue is an open one. As
well as being educational, then, the media can help make the
64
project more attractive. It is important that the media knows

the schedule.
Activity 14: Conducting the field survey
The size of the CRT is on average 10 persons, although this can vary
depending on the size of the commune. In the actual survey, the CRT can
divide itself into small teams of three to four people, responsible for different
villages. Each member of the group is responsible for interviewing 15-20
respondents. This, too, can vary from commune to commune and village.
In one commune, around three kinds of social service are selected for rating. As
such, each CRT member should bring all relevant questionnaires. CRTs should
ask about each service in turn to avoid confusion. They can speak older people
or children in the family, depending on the kind of service and purpose of the
questions. The most important thing is that they ask those who are the primary
users of the particular service. Try to match the service to the user or the user
to the service to enable quality and meaningful results. To encourage
respondents, CRTs should start with a proper introduction. They must be good
at asking questions in a happy environment. Make sure that respondents
understand the purpose of the questions, which should be elaborated clearly.
CRTs could make appointments in advance or go to meet respondent by

chance. They need to prepare enough copies of the questionnaires and have
sufficient access to other necessary materials.
NOTE: Women should be encouraged to provide answers.

Remember, however, that women tend to be good at
providing feedback on health and education services
whereas men may have more experience of being the primary
user of small-scale irrigation or rural roads. Not all
respondents are primary users of all services.
Activity 15: Validation, analysis and production of report
Consolidation of results
Implementing organizations are responsible for producing survey results with
the involvement and assistance of the CRTs. After the field survey, the best way
to consolidate results is to allow the CRTs (surveyors) to tabulate the completed
questionnaires. The team leader sends information to the implementing
organization for consolidation. The implementing organization, CRT members,
and CC members organize a meeting. They could all be involved in counting,
checking, validating and correcting data. This can ensure that there is less
suspicion and increase levels of recognition.
Results of tabulation are to be calculated into percentages and the requests and
suggested solutions are to be summarized. In general, survey results will be
65
divided into three parts: satisfaction, dissatisfaction and requests, according to

each individual social service and subject.
CRTs should be involved in the whole process of tabulation, summarizing,

analysis and interpretation of data into the rating report, so that they can be
familiar with the way data and information are organized and converted into
rating reports.
Writing the report

A report format must be developed for report writing. After results are
consolidated, the implementing organization has to produce a report on the
findings and translate results into recommendations. During report writing, the
implementing organization may seek advice from others on how to interpret
findings. The rating report should be publicly disseminated after validation with
CCs and service providers.
NOTE: It is good to involve CCs and service providers in

consolidation of result, so that they can see results for
themselves. This encourages for trust among CCs and
service providers and can assure them that results are not
fabricated.
Activity 16: Monitoring and continued technical assistance
Monitoring helps to keep implementation on track, so this activity should be

properly planned and implemented at all stages in the process. Monitoring is an
ongoing activity.
Field monitoring and visits should be set periodically in order to coach and
advise local implementing organizations regarding questionnaire orientation,
field survey application, data analysis and report writing, preparing for
presentation, advocacy etc.
Activity 17: Meeting with CCs and service providers
Before the assembly meeting, the

implementing organization should Conduct formal assembly meetings at
answer the following questions: commune offices to present the rating reports
1. Is the report ready? and people's requests to CCs and service
2. Appointment with CCs?
3. All relevant people invited? providers.
Councilors, service providers,
media, etc. Service providers, citizens, CSOs, CBOs,
4. Are all invited people coming?
5. Who is presiding over the CCs, village chiefs and key decision makers
meeting? should be present, along with those working
6. Who will take the minutes? at commune level. The composition of and
7. Do we have good tactics for
presentation? number of participants in the meeting must
8. Do we know clearly what people be clearly identified. Details of the assembly
want? meeting must be properly recorded and
9. Do we have arguments prepared?
10. Do we have instruction and rules disseminated to those attending and to other
for the meeting? relevant actors.
11. Are the time, place, number of
people, logistic arrangements and
documents in place?
66
Findings in the rating report and comments of commune residents

should be presented gently. In the meeting, try to argue for
consideration of points to be improved by CCs or service
providers. Keep records of all promises.
CCs can use information for commune development planning.

This reflects on the individual roles and responsibilities of
commune chiefs, first deputy chiefs, second deputy chiefs and
others in the commune administrative structure, as their functions,
roles and responsibilities are separately assigned. In this exercise,
councilors can constructively work with each other and strengthen
mutual performance.
After the meeting, the implementing organization should have

a clear follow-up plan and keep good communication with
CCs, service providers, people and media.

The media can be very important in terms of witnessing the
assembly meeting. The media can capture and document
such events and helps record all that occurs, such as
discussion, elaboration, agreement and promises, as well as
acting as a witness to future actions. The presence of the
media can ensure that CCs and service providers present
formal responses to issues arising rather than avoiding
replying.
NOTE: Make sure that participants in the assembly behave properly.

Avoid personal attacks, shouting, irritation or scolding. Do
not connect specific issues to government leadership. Such
interpretations and attitudes could lead to tension or nullify
the results of the assembly, leading to undesirable outcomes.
Meetings should start with a good introduction and
instruction, and then get to the point.
Activity 18: Advocacy
Conduct grassroots advocacy training

Immediately after the survey is finished and the rating report has been
produced, grassroots advocacy training should be conducted to equip the local
network with the knowledge and tactics to lobby local government and service
providers. This should be conducted at a level whereby ordinary people can
learn.
The targets of the grassroots advocacy training are CRT members, local NGOs
and CBOs. Trainings on grassroots advocacy can be conducted by
implementing organizations or be jointly organized by a variety of implementing
organizations. They should focus on practical activities which people can
67
actually use; people could help carry out the training rather than the training
being purely theory based. Training might be organized by province or by
region, depending on the number of participants in each province. Active CRT
members or potential community leaders should be a priority for attendance.
Initiate grassroots advocacy campaign

CRTs or citizen groups must be encouraged to Grassroots
initiate grassroots advocacy campaigns or activities advocacy
using the results of the CRR. The results of the should be well
CRR can be used as a source for many advocacy coordinated
activities. Activities initiated by local people, and
however, must be well coordinated and backstopped!
backstopped.
How to use the results of the CRR?
CRR results can be used for advocacy in the following ways:

z Involve CCs and service providers in consolidating results, so that they can
read the rating results by themselves. In essence, this provides CCs and
service providers with trust and confidence that rating results and reports are
not fabricated.
z Conduct assembly meetings with CCs and service providers to present
demands and negotiate for change.
z Organize forums to inform people and discuss issues affecting them,

forming a force to demand effective service delivery.
z Send report to relevant people, CCs, service providers, PLAU, district
authorities or provincial actors and media, who may have influence on the
improvement of services.
z In other circumstances, make
appointments with CCs and/or service
The results of the CRR will serve as a basis providers for critical dialogue towards
for critical dialogue with local government improvements.
officials and other decision makers. Results
are also shared with citizen bodies, other z Results could be use for making
NGOs and the media. NGOs or citizen presentations to decision makers, at
groups using the rating reports are commune level or to competent
expected to educate and mobilize the
media, other public interest groups and the authorities.
citizenry at large to facilitate mechanisms z Propose issues from the report on the
for to enable citizens to develop a voice and
be able to express themselves. Initial rating
agenda of CC meetings, district
reports can then serve as benchmarks to meetings or technical sector meetings.
measure improvements and performance z Keep the report as a tool for comparative
over time. The results of the CRR will be
used as a take-off point to advocate for checking and gauging and monitoring
reforms and changes. the level of improvement.
z Use issues in the report as entry points
for form partnerships among CCs,
service providers and citizens for dealing with common issues.
z Use results as proof to demand people's participation in monitoring or taking
part in decision making in local basic service delivery.
68
z Use the report as evidence to support policy advocacy or as a source of

evidence for sector advocacy.
z Rather than just blaming and demanding, the report could be a basic source
for developing lessons or learning materials for capacity building for CCs
and service providers.
z The report is evidence to make a statement or petition letter to mobilize
support to advocate for change.
z Moreover, results can be used:
o To write formal letters to CCs and/or service providers
o As baseline information for the evaluation of services
o To form benchmarks for service providers
o As a source for producing articles for the media
o As information to organize press conferences to present issues to the
public
o As strong evidence for campaigning, demonstration or protest to demand
change and improvement
o To form recommendations for improvement of performance of CCs and
service providers, of policies for better performance, or of quality of
services
Work with media and other local NGOs on policy advocacy to improve
the policy framework.
At national level, the implementing organization should work with the media and
other NGOs by translating findings into evidence for policy advocacy.
The results of the rating survey are envisaged to serve as a basis for critical
dialogue with CCs, service providers and other decision makers at commune
level. Results are also to be shared with citizen groups, other NGOs and the
media, in the assumption that these will use them to educate and mobilize other
public interest groups and the citizenry at large to facilitate mechanisms to help
citizens develop voice and express themselves towards advocating for change.

Whatever advocacy activities you carry out, you should make
sure the media is informed and involved, as a powerful
instrument which could help hold CCs and service providers
accountable. This can add pressure and make positive
outcomes more realistic.
Activity 19: Institutionalizing and strengthening local

networks and maintaining sustainability
To make advocacy stronger, encourage the people to speak out on their own
behalf. There will be a need to institutionalize and strengthen local networks
and activate them as a local movement for the demand of good governance and
good service delivery. For this reasons, meetings, capacity building and
coaching should be continuously provided to the local network, and members
should be involved in all activities related to local governance in their respective
area, in order that they keep motivated and learn to work as a team. Try to
69
equip networks with a sense of constant monitoring of service delivery and

performance of CCs.
Activity 20: Evaluation activities
Mid-term and final evaluation must be in place to measure success and

impacts, and to identify best practice and lessons learnt.
Activity 21: Dissemination and replication
To popularize this initiative, there is a

z Seminars, workshops, meetings
need to disseminate and replicate the
z Presentations, informal talks
CRR methodology, experience, z Publications and distribution
findings, lessons learnt and best z Information dissemination
practice to a broader group of z Campaign activities
stakeholders for replication. There are z Mobile spokespersons
many ways to disseminate the CRR. z Media

The media will help with wide dissemination of the CRR. This can
be through printed articles on lessons learnt, best practice,
experiences, methodology etc., access to radio and TV, etc.
When to use the media throughout the CRR process

A number of CRR activities really need the media.
Negotiation and lobbying for endorsement and launch

During lobbying and launching, it is important to get the media involved.
This helps inform the government at both national and local level, about
the positive factors involved in the CRR. The media can help to persuade
officials and CCs and convey the sincerity, good intentions, importance
and usefulness of the CRR. This can help make CCs and other
government officials feel more comfortable with the process, which can
lead to their quicker endorsement of the project. The media can also
capture the launching event and disseminate the message more broadly
to the public. This can raise public awareness and allow local people to
become aware that the project is to be implemented on their behalf.
Promotion of CRR in the commune and in public

There are different ways of promoting the CRR. This requires that the
implementing organization works closely with the media, as the media
can help the implementing organization to reach a larger population and
attract more attention than it might do so by other means. Working with
the media means allowing for different forms of information, which could
include bulletins, newspaper articles, radio or TV spots, etc. Furthermore,
this can help the implementing organization to document and keep
records of people's perception and feedback regarding the project.
70
Training, coaching and orientation

The media always plays an important
role in raising public awareness so keep
them informed about activities. Write
articles or invite them to orientation; this
is good for adding value to transparency
and openness. With media coverage or How to mobilize the media?
involvement, people can see that the z Look for local and national media
issue is an open one. Aside from actors and connect with them
helping with education, this can make z Make friends with media actors
z List and keep all contacts of media
the project more attractive. Most actors you have met
importantly, the media need to know the z Write articles for the media
schedule involved. z Make appointments for interview
z Keep media informed clearly about
Meeting with CCs and service providers the CRR
The media can be a very important z Provide media with time schedule
of activities
witness to assembly meetings. They can z Keep good communication and
capture and document the event. They relations
will help to record all issues, such as z Know about different kinds of
discussion, elaboration, agreement and media
promises, and be a witness for future z Make information and documents
action. The present of the media can available and easy to access
z Invite them to parties as well as
ensure that CCs and service providers work.
give a formal response to issues arising
rather than avoiding replying.
Advocacy
Whatever activities you carry out in advocacy, you should keep the
media informed and involved, as this is a powerful instrument which can
help hold CCs and service providers accountable. This adds pressure
and makes outcomes more realistic.
Dissemination and replication

The media can help with wider dissemination of the CRR. They can
produce printed articles on lessons learnt, best practice, experiences,
methodology etc, or information for radio and TV, for example.
4.3 .3
Some advice for success

Below is some advice for success, from which CRR implementing
organizations might benefit.
Involve CCs in trainings or formal project orientation to allow them to

become familiar with activities and willing to participate, and then to fully
endorse the project. Provide proper orientation to CCs and citizens.
71
In the sampling of respondents, if possible, match the rating of a particular

service with respondents who are primary users of that service, so as to
gain more meaningful information from the rating survey.
The assembly meeting for presenting rating reports should include the
participation of service providers according to the services identified in
each commune. The meeting should be properly documented.
Data and information from rating surveys are converted into rating reports.
Apart from using results as a basis for critical dialogue at local level and
for advocacy purposes, they should serve as a root for developing
education materials to improve on weak points discovered by the rating
survey and to build the capacity of CC. Identification of issues and
capacity building should happen simultaneously.
Ultimately, the impact of the CRR will depend on the strength, commitment
and persistence of the implementing organization and the CRT. Of urgent
importance is the development of CRT skills, to enable them to negotiate
with service delivery agencies at district and provincial levels, to meet and
negotiate with elected leaders in the communes, and to mobilize their
respective communities to support the CRR.
The CRTs should be formed more formally to enable the creation of a
grassroots movement that might increase influence on local councils and
keep alive people's participation. It must be clear that political affiliation is
not taken into consideration during the selection of CRTs. CRTs must be
involved in the design and preparation of the project, especially the design
of practical tools for actual field rating surveys, such questionnaires and
report formats, etc. In the field, CRTs must have the confidence to carry
out the research survey and, as such, must be well trained.
Questionnaires and materials must be adequately supported
The CRR should not be taken as a standalone initiative. The tool is
effective in monitoring the performance of government policy in terms of
service delivery. However, there are social accountability initiatives in
existence at each stage of the development process in the commune, and
these should be explored. For instance, people’s participation in
development planning should be increased to ensure that people’s needs
are prioritized. Furthermore, citizens should make organized efforts to
ensure that people’s priorities as reflected in the plan can be implemented
through budget allocations. In many cases, plans remain plans because
they are not translated into budgetary priorities.
Article 26 of LAMC stipulates that the commune chief and the planning
and budgeting committee must submit an annual report to the CC that,
among other things, should include a description of the problems in basic
social service delivery and options for improvements. In practice, however,
CCs lack a clear methodology for gathering information along these lines.
The CRR offers the potential to generate the information required,
particularly regarding options for improvements in service delivery. The
model should be shared with international aid agencies and other donor
organizations to enable it to be embedded in development aid
interventions.
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Module 5:
Module 5:

To familiarize and provide participants with a broader understanding of social
accountability mechanisms and experiences internationally.
It is expected that by reading the contents put in this module participants will
have a broader understanding of:
Concepts and definitions of social accountability and mechanisms and
dimensions;
Legal context of social accountability in Cambodia;
Tools for promoting accountability;
Experiences from case study: Bangalore, India: Citizen Report Cards
Towards the end of the training program, participants are to study these
reading materials as home work. In the next day session they are asked
what they understood from. A classroom discussion is organized to share
learning.
NOTE: The reading and learning materials presented in this

module are internationally recognized for wider
dissemination. They are extracted here with due
acknowledgement to the writers and publishers.
Reading 1:
Concept of social accountability 1

Around the world, increased attention to decentralization and democracy has
brought to the fore issues of strengthening citizen participation in local
governance. While at first glance the theme may seem straightforward, in fact
each of the core notions contained within the notion of social accountability is
contentious. The two propositions below are intended to provoke some of this
1
Narayan 2000: Voice of the poor
73
debate in order to establish the rational, benefits and risks of social

accountability.
A key challenge for the 21st century is the construction of new relationships
between citizens and their local governments. This means working both sides of
the equation – that is, going beyond "civil society" or "state-based" approaches,
to focus on their intersection, through new forms of participation,
responsiveness and accountability.
Enhancing accountability of local governments to citizens may seem to be

another passing fad of donors and western democracy theorists. These
concepts often have little grounding in the realities of many developing
countries’ political and cultural contexts. The risks of these newer forms of
accountability and participation outweigh the benefits. Moreover, there is little
evidence of pro-poor development and governance outcomes.
Poor people’s dissatisfaction with public service institutions relate largely to

issues of voice and of accountability. Many poor people believe that state
institutions – whether delivering services, providing police protection or justice,
or as political decision makers – are either not accountable to anyone or
accountable only to the rich and powerful.
Reading 2:
What is social accountability? 2
Social accountability 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.
Social accountability 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. Social accountability mechanisms include many actions and tools
that citizens, NGOs and media can use to hold public authorities accountable.
Social accountability refers to a broad range of actions and mechanisms that

citizens, communities, independent media and CSOs can use to hold public
officials and public servants accountable. These include, among others,
participatory budgeting, public expenditure tracking, monitoring of public service
delivery, public commissions and citizen advisory boards. Evidence suggests
that social accountability mechanisms can contribute to improved governance,
increased development, effectiveness through better service delivery and
empowerment.
How does social accountability make a change?
From coping to “voices” by citizens
From “shouting’ to “counting” – need to quantify voice
and feedback
From reaction to informed action
From episodic responses to organized action
From confrontational to “win-win” situations
Source: World Web Page: Participation and Civic Engagement
2
Source: Accountability International 2004
74
Reading 3:
Building blocks of social accountability mechanisms 3
Negotiating change
Building public support
Going public/disseminating information
Analyzing information
Building and obtaining information /evidence base
Mobilizing around an entry point
Social accountability encompasses an extremely broad array of actions that

citizens can potentially take to hold government officials and bureaucrats
accountable. These actions may be carried out by a wide range of actors (e.g.
individual citizens, communities, parliamentarians, CSOs, media), occur at
different levels (e.g. local to national), address a variety of different issues (e.g.
public policy, political conduct, public expenditures, service delivery) and use
diverse strategies (e.g. research, monitoring, participatory planning, civic
education, media coverage, coalition building). Despite this diversity, social
accountability approaches regularly feature processes of collective interest
articulation and negotiation. Beyond mere advocacy, they often also try to build
a convincing evidence base for public engagement. They normally comprise
several (and, ideally, all) of the following key elements or "building blocks".
Mobilizing around an entry point

The first step of almost any social accountability initiative is the identification of
an entry point and the development of a strategy whereby a priority problem can
be addressed. The problem may be of a specific or general nature and may be
identified at a local, regional or national level. For example, in the case of poor
health service delivery, potential entry points might include national health
budget allocations, corruption/inefficiencies within the national distribution
system or the performance of local service providers or village health
management committees. Each of these could be a serious bottleneck to
delivery of health services. Potential strategies for addressing these issues
could include, for example, budget analysis/advocacy activities, tracking of
health inputs and/or expenditures, participatory evaluation of local health
services, etc.
Building and obtaining information /evidence base
3
Source: Enhancing citizen voice and client focus in governance and service delivery, a
presentation by Reiner Forster, SDV of World Bank 2005
75
Accessing or generating relevant information and building a credible evidence

base that will serve to hold public officials accountable is a critical aspect of
social accountability. Social accountability initiatives often involve obtaining: (i)
“supply-side” data/information (from government and service providers) and (ii)
“demand-side” data/information (from users of government services,
communities and citizens). In accessing “supply-side” information (e.g. policy
statements, budget commitments and accounts, records of inputs, outputs and
expenditures, audit findings, etc.), the transparency of government and its
capacity to produce and provide data and accounts are crucial. With regard to
“demand-side” information, a wide variety of participatory methods and tools
(e.g. community scorecards, citizen report cards, participatory monitoring and
evaluation techniques) have been developed to generate data, while
simultaneously serving to raise awareness and promote local-level mobilization
and organization.
Analyzing information
Relevant data/information, once obtained, must be interpreted and analyzed in
order to be rendered operationally useful. This may involve working with trained
specialists (e.g. who can help to “demystify” budgets or disaggregate financial
accounts) or using participatory methods to help community members or user
groups analyze local data or collectively evaluate public services. In either case,
the goal of the analysis is to produce meaningful findings that can be
understood by all stakeholders and used to move beyond mere protest to
evidence-based dialogue.
Going public/disseminating information

Bringing information and findings into the public sphere and generating public
debate around them are key elements of most social accountability initiatives.
Be it budget details, the findings of public expenditure reviews, audits or project
evaluation results, this information takes on new significance and impact when
made accessible to the public at large, serving both to inform and to create an
impetus for action. Effective communication strategies and mechanisms are,
therefore, essential aspects of social accountability. These may include the
organization of public meetings and events as well the strategic use of both
modern and traditional forms of media. Transmitting relevant information to
government officials who are in a position to act on it (and, ideally, interacting
directly with those decision makers on an ongoing basis) is also an essential
aspect of social accountability.
Building public support

Informing citizens of their rights and responsibilities, engaging their interest and
mobilizing them to build coalitions and partnerships with different stakeholders
(like bureaucrats, media, parliamentarians, etc.) are core aspects of social
accountability. Ideally, every step of a social accountability initiative contributes
to informing/engaging citizens and mobilizing support. The ability of citizens to
organize for collective action and the capacity of CSOs to facilitate and support
such mobilization are crucial to the success of social accountability initiatives.
Again, reaching out to poor and marginalized segments of the population
requires specific effort and remains a principal challenge.
Negotiating for change

The most crucial and challenging element of a social accountability strategy is
to be able to elicit a response from public officials and effect real change. The
76
most effective strategies usually involve direct interaction and negotiation with
the concerned government counterparts and, in some cases, the
institutionalization of mechanisms for ongoing consultation and dialogue. As
discussed above, in negotiating change, citizens’ groups employ a range of
both informal and formal means of persuasion, pressure, reward and sanction.
These include, for example, creating public pressure (e.g. through media
campaigns and public meetings) or, when necessary, resorting to formal means
of enforcement (e.g. through legal and judicial processes). The space and
opportunity for negotiation as well as the possibility of appeal to formal means
of sanction obviously vary greatly from one country context to another. In many
developing country contexts, citizens' groups have found that legal and/or
institutional reforms are necessary to facilitate meaningful negotiation.
Reading 4:
Dimensions of social accountability 4

Social accountability mechanisms can be characterized along six different
dimensions: punishment vs. reward-based mechanisms; rule following vs.
performance-based mechanisms; level of institutionalization; depth of
involvement; inclusiveness of participation; and branches of government. Each
of these dimensions is important for planning purposes and for assessing how a
feasible and sustainable a particular mechanism may be for a particular country
and institutional context.
Six different dimensions of social accountability

Incentive structure: punishments or rewards?
To what extent is the accountability mechanism oriented towards rewards or
sanctions? Mechanisms relying too heavily on sanctions may threaten officials and
cause paralysis. Rewards may not correct the behavior of bad apples. Some of the
strongest accountability mechanisms rely on a balance of punishments and rewards.
Accountability: rule following or performance-based?
A focus on rule following is linked to the so-called “Old Public Management” grounded
in traditional notions of bureaucracy and rational action. Mechanisms that seek to
stimulate performance improvement are characteristic of the “New Public
Management” and focus on accomplishing results through performance evaluation.
Some of the best pro-accountability strategies focus citizen participation both on
enforcing rules and on improving performance.
Institutionalization: low or high?
Many accountability mechanisms are ad hoc initiatives designed by well meaning
public servants without being permanently embedded in the structure of the state. To
what extent are participatory accountability mechanisms inscribed into law, requiring
individual agencies or government as a whole to involve societal actors at specific
moments in the public policy process?
Involvement: external or internal?
Many accountability mechanisms involve consultations and workshops with societal
actors but few involve inviting actors “into the kitchen” to observe the step-by-step
process of government planning. To what extent does the mechanism encourage
deeper, internal involvement versus shallow participation?
Inclusiveness: elitist or inclusive?
4
Source: Ackerman: Dimensions of Social Accountability 2004
77
There is a tendency of accountability mechanisms to only involve a small group of “well

behaved” NGOs, middle-class professionals, and centrist politicians. To what extent
does the mechanism actually promote participation of groups with less voice or groups
with alternative interests and ideological perspectives?
Branches of government: executive, judicial or legislative?
Accountability mechanisms often tend to be directed towards the executive branch.
Though reforming the executive branch is an important challenge the legislative and
judicial branches are equally important. The judiciary may be very difficult to penetrate
while the legislative branch is often an untapped “gold mine” for pro-accountability
reform.
Reading 5:
Social accountability: critical factors of success 5

The evolution of most social accountability initiatives has been far from
systematic. For the most part, measures by citizen groups to promote
accountability have been opportunistic responses to particular situations. Their
success has therefore also been heavily dependent on several factors. Some of
these are discussed below.
Political context and culture

The parameters for social accountability are largely determined by the existing
political context and culture. For example, the feasibility and likelihood of
success of social accountability initiatives are highly dependent upon whether
the political regime is democratic, a multi-party system is in place, basic political
and civil rights are guaranteed (including access to information and freedoms of
expression, association and assembly) and whether there is a culture of political
transparency and probity. The existence of these underlying factors, and the
potential risks that their absence may pose, must be taken into account when
planning social accountability initiatives. Legal, institutional and socio-cultural
factors will also have an important influence on the success of social
accountability activities. An unfavorable context does not mean that social
accountability activities should not be pursued. In such circumstances, however,
an analysis of the key factors influencing the environment for social
accountability (and the risks they entail) must be undertaken and appropriate
strategies for addressing potential barriers developed.
Access to information
As described above, the availability and reliability of public documents and data
is essential to building social accountability. Such information is the basis for
social accountability activities, and thus its quality and accessibility is a key
determinant of the success of social accountability mechanisms. In many cases,
initial social accountability efforts may need to focus on securing freedom of
information legislation, addressing a lack of political will to disclose or
strengthen the technical capacity of public institutions to record, manage and
make available relevant data.
The role of the media
5
Source: World Bank, Social development paper, an introduction to the concept and emerging
practice,
78
The media plays a critical role in promoting social accountability. In many

countries, independent media is a leading force in informing/educating citizens,
monitoring government performance and exposing misdeeds. Local-level media
(in particular, private and community radio) provide an important means
whereby ordinary citizens can voice their opinions and discuss public issues.
The extent to which media is independent and ownership is pluralistic (versus
concentrated in a few hands) are important factors that can contribute to the
accountability of the political system. A common element of almost all
successful social accountability initiatives is the strategic use of both traditional
and modern forms of media to raise awareness around public issues,
disseminate findings and create a platform for public debate.
Civil society capacity

The capacity of civil society actors is another key factor of successful social
accountability. The level of organization of CSOs, the breadth of their
membership, their technical and advocacy skills, their capacity to mobilize and
effectively use media, their legitimacy and representation and their level of
responsiveness and accountability to their own members are all central to the
success of social accountability activities. In many contexts, efforts to promote
an enabling environment for civil society and to build the capacity (both
organizational and technical) of CSOs are required.
State capacity
The success of social accountability initiatives also depends upon the capacity
and effectiveness of the state. Social accountability initiatives make little sense,
for example, where the state machinery has collapsed or is entirely ineffectual.
A functioning public administration that has some capacity to respond to citizen
demands is, therefore, a prerequisite. Other aspects of state capacity that
influence the success of social accountability initiatives (and that may require
capacity development investments) include: the ability to produce records and
accounts; the existence of conventional (“horizontal”) accountability
mechanisms; the effective devolution of authority and resources; the willingness
and capacity to build partnerships/coalitions; and, a political or administrative
culture that values notions of public sector probity, accountability and equity.
State-civil society synergy

Ultimately, the success of social accountability initiatives depends on some form
of effective interaction between civil society and the state. Meaningful results
are most likely to be achieved when citizens, politicians and bureaucrats all
have an incentive to act. Ackerman (2004) 6 points out that “unilateral state
action normally ends up in manipulation, while unilateral social action often
ends in repression and violence by the state” and that “the most productive
results arise when both sides actively participate”.
He clarifies that such mutual participation does not necessarily depend upon
agreement or trust and that even “conflict and suspicion” can lead to effective
state-society synergies. The lesson is that social accountability initiatives must
include both state and societal actors and focus on the interface between them.
Institutionalization
6 Ackerman (2004): Dimension of social accountability
79
While ad hoc or one-off social accountability initiatives can make a difference,

experience shows that impact is greatest and most sustainable when social
accountability mechanisms are “institutionalized” – in other words, embedded
within and systematically implemented by a civil society, state or “hybrid”
institution. As discussed earlier, “external” mechanisms of social accountability
can be particularly effective when combined with accountability mechanisms
“internal” to the state. According to Fox (2000) 7 , “civil society demands for state
accountability matter most when they empower the state’s own checks and
balances.” As a result, beyond seeking specific operational outcomes, social
accountability initiatives should also pay attention to institutional factors and
seek opportunities for influencing longer-term institutional development and/or
reform.
Social accountability initiatives often identify the need for institutional changes in
government agencies and public services (e.g. changes in the behavior and
attitudes of frontline staff, of the incentives and sanctions of a particular
organization, its management style or decision making processes, etc.) They
can go further and also play a catalytic role in bringing these changes about
(e.g. by engaging with staff of health centers to regularly seek and embrace
client feedback systems, setting up citizen transparency committees for local
government decision making or introducing social monitoring groups to evaluate
performance of national programs or policies on an ongoing basis). Where
possible, the legal institutionalization of participatory mechanisms from the level
of individual programs and agencies through to the overall system level should
be considered as a means to enhance long-term effectiveness and
sustainability.
Reading 6:
Tools for promoting accountability 8

Participatory budgeting:
Participatory budgeting is emerging as an important mechanism to enable civic
engagement in budget formulation. It involves getting civil society to actually
partake in the making of a public budget – citizens and CSOs propose spending
projects, set priorities and decide which projects get funded.
Participatory planning:
Decentralization can be viewed as a process with varying degrees of devolution
of functions and finances to the local bodies. Participatory planning is part of the
decentralization process and it aims to identify the critical problems, joint
priorities, elaboration and adoption of a socioeconomic development strategies.
Citizen report cards:

Citizen report cards are a tool to facilitate improvements in public service
delivery. The citizen report card is an assessment of public services by the
users of public through survey methods. It reflects the actual experience of
people with a wide range of public services.
Community scorecards:
7 Jonathan Fox (2000): State-Society Synergy for Accountability

8
South-Asia Social Accountability Network: www.sasanet.org
80
The community scorecard process is a community-based monitoring tool that is

a hybrid of the techniques of social audit, community monitoring and citizen
report cards. Like the citizen report card, the scorecard process is an instrument
to exact social and public accountability and responsiveness from service
providers.
Social audit:
Social audit may be defined as an in-depth scrutiny and analysis of the working
of any public utility vis-à-vis its social relevance. It is a tool through which
government departments can plan, manage and measure non-financial
activities and monitor both internal and external consequences of the
department/organization's social and commercial operations.
Social impact assessment methodology:

Social impact assessment can be defined in terms of efforts to assess or
estimate, in advance, the social consequences that are likely to follow specific
policy actions (including programs and the adoption of new policies), and
specific government actions. It is a process that provides a framework for
prioritizing, gathering, analyzing, and incorporating social information and
participation into the design and delivery of developmental interventions.
Survey methodology:
In the light of changing aspirations of the citizens, it is incumbent on the state to
provide ways and means to enhance the role of citizens in the decision-making
process and facilitate better state-society articulation. Citizens' surveys assume
importance in this context.
Citizen's charters:
The citizen's charter is a written, voluntary declaration by service providers that
highlights the standards of service delivery that they must subscribe to,
availability of choice for consumers, avenues for grievance redressal and other
related information. Citizen's charters can thus be used as a tool for enhancing
standards of service delivery and fostering greater public accountability.
People's estimate:
The people's estimate is an estimate that can be prepared in local language
through a participatory process by using similar standard specifications but
based on local market rates and local units. Execution of public works through
the people's estimate entails a participatory process whereby public works can
be undertaken at the local level through people's participation in estimate
design, execution and monitoring of works.
Other social accountability mechanisms include …

Independent budget analysis
Public expenditure tracking surveys
Citizen juries
Citizens' forum
Citizens' hours
Investigative journalism
Right to information movements
81
Reading 7:
Experiences from various countries 9
Women’s Budget Initiative: South Africa

This initiative analyzes public expenditure patterns in terms of their likely impact
on the economic and social conditions of women. The aim is to monitor central
government commitments to gender equality by tracking expenditures spending
on gender-sensitive policy measures and public services. A civil society
initiative, which replicates the state-based budget analysis initiative in Australia,
it has inspired other similar programs in Canada, Croatia, Jamaica,
Mozambique, Russia, Tanzania and Uganda. The focus is on ex-post budget
analysis since there is limited access to government budgets before they are
published.
Participatory Municipal Budgeting: Brazil

Participatory budgeting is a process through which newly created regional
assemblies and the Participatory Budget Council participate in allocating
resources and monitoring how they are used. The Council is composed of
delegates elected from municipal unions, neighborhood associations and local
government. The Councils are responsible for organizing ongoing consultation
meetings, representing district priorities to the municipal governments, and – in
collaboration with government representatives – establishing and monitoring the
local budget. Originally started in Porto Alegre, participatory budgeting is now
established in some 80 cities. The process is currently being applied to the state
level, covering some 500 municipalities.
Civil Service Performance Improvement Program: Ghana

Ghana’s district assemblies, set up in 1989, provide two key mechanisms for
improving the responsiveness and performance of government. The first
enhances popular participation in local government through both direct and
representative methods. The second seeks to create a more "service conscious
and responsive" public service through civil service reforms. The reforms
involve government agencies in designing their own performance improvement
plans (PIPs), which form the basis for performance agreements between staff
and management. The PIP process uses self-appraisal and participatory
management methods, supplemented by client satisfaction surveys, to
encourage staff to confront problems and design their own solutions.
Report Cards: Mumbai, Bangalore, Calcutta, India

Formal, quantitative surveys of client satisfaction with public services have been
conducted by NGOs in low-income neighborhoods in several Indian cities. The
surveys generate ‘report cards’ on the perceived quality and appropriateness of
a range of urban services. They are used to put pressure on elected officials by
demonstrating the extent of public dissatisfaction, with the hope that this will
result in greater responsiveness on the part of public servants responsible for
services. The surveys are also used to educate the media, other public interest
groups, and citizenry.
Citizens’ Information Centers: Romania
9
Source: Narayan 2000, Voive of the poor
82
As part of general public administration reform in Romania, the government

established a national public relations unit and citizens’ information centers in
eight local councils with the aim of creating a more open, accessible and
"citizen friendly" public service. The overall results have not been very
encouraging owing to continued patronage appointments in government, low
pay and staff demoralization, excessive "legalism" in civil service attitudes and
high turnover in top levels of management. However, the centers greatly
improved the transparency of local government and encouraged citizen
involvement through contacting and petitioning officials.
Law of Popular Participation: Bolivia

The Law of Popular Participation of 1994 empowers democratically elected
municipal councils to design and implement local development policies and
programs, with finance transferred from the local government. In addition, the
law empowers community organizations to participate in the development of
five-year municipal plans. These groups are given jurisdiction over a given
territory and assigned rights and duties covering a range of social,
infrastructural, productive and environmental matters. In addition, vigilance
committees act as watchdogs on the municipal council, and ensure that
community priorities are reflected in municipal budgets/expenditures.
Participatory Local Government: Philippines

The Local Government Code of 1991 establishes a Local Development Council
(LDC) for each province, city, municipality and barangay. The primary
responsibility of LDCs is to draft comprehensive, multi-sector development
plans, including a land-use plan for each local government. A least one-fourth of
the total membership of the LDCs should come from NGOs, people’s
organizations and private sector. LDCs have become vehicles for these CSOs
to mobilize people in the barangays to claim from government minimum basic
services and to prioritize local projects. A national network of NGOs (known as
BATMAN) has worked to strengthen planning and local government/civil society
interaction.
Community Radio: Karnataka, India

This community radio show – initiated by citizens – aims to educate
marginalized groups about how local government structures should work,
especially in light of India’s 73rd Amendment providing greater representation of
women in local government. With characters and story lines relevant to people
in the district, the show weaves themes about the roles, responsibilities and
functions of local government into the plot of each episode. Radio can reach
98% of the population, including those who cannot read. Women especially are
targeted. They can listen while they are at home doing chores and obtain
information on issues such as the role of local forums, women’s rights and
service delivery.
Assembly of the Poor: Thailand

This loose farmers’ network organizes mass agitation campaigns and sit-ins to
demand response from government officials on issues affecting poor rural
communities like dam displacement and access and rights to local resources
such as land, water and forests. Campaigns target policymakers continuously at
the local level and reached the national level during a mass mobilization of
20,000 farmers in 1997 for a 99-day sit-in. Objective media coverage and
83
leadership that bridged the urban-rural cultural divide were essential elements
of this movement’s awareness-raising capacity.
Participatory Poverty Assessment: Uganda

Participatory poverty assessments (PPAs) involve the use of participatory and
qualitative research techniques for national-level consultation on local people’s
perceptions of poverty and priorities for poverty reduction. The Ugandan PPA is
an extensive consultation exercise that has generated nuanced qualitative
information about the experience, depth and breadth of poverty. It has sought to
build a national system to integrate quantitative and qualitative poverty
monitoring and to inform poverty alleviation policy. It was initiated by bilateral
donors (with some World Bank support) and NGOs and is managed by Oxfam.
The PPA has focused on building government ownership and is housed in the
Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.
Reading 8:
Case Study: Bangalore, India: Citizen Report Cards 10

Civil society working in tandem with government for the greater good of all” 11
BACKGROUND
In Bangalore, three report cards were prepared through a civil society initiative
in 1994, 1999 and 2003. The first report card gave very low ratings to all major
service providers of the city, creating a sense of shame. However, this did not
make an immediate impact; only a few providers acknowledged their problems
and took corrective actions. The second report card showed that partial
improvement had occurred in some services, probably owing to actions taken
by providers and pressure from civil society. The third report card revealed
substantial improvements in almost all the service providers. There was not only
a significant increase in citizen satisfaction with services, but also some decline
in corruption. The big question is, what caused this surprising turnaround?
Bangalore was a growing industrial city with a population of over four million in
1993, rapidly turning into India’s hub of information technology. A quarter of its
population was poor, most living in slums spread throughout the city.
Bangalore’s residents depended on several public agencies established by the
provincial (state) government for their essential services such, as the city’s
municipal corporation, which provided roads, street lights and garbage removal.
While electricity was supplied by another large agency, water, transport,
telecom, healthcare and urban land and housing were the responsibility of other
large public service providers. A common feature of all these services was that
they were monopolistic or dominant supply sources. People had little choice in
terms of alternative suppliers. This mattered even more to the poor as they
could not afford some of the high cost options that richer people could use in
the event that public service providers failed. Thus, when electricity failed, the
rich could turn on their generators. They might use private vehicles when public
transport failed. Such options were seldom feasible for the poor. The poor
suffered from yet another handicap, namely, their lack of influence and voice to
10
Source: by Samuel Paul, "Citizens Report Cards: Case Study", Public Affairs Center, 2005.
11
Source: The Times of India, "On the citizen report card process", Bangalore, 8 November 1999.
84
get their problems solved at the agency level. Collective action by citizens to
address these problems was also difficult to organize and costly in terms of time
and resources.
PROCESS
In 1993, a small citizens’ group in Bangalore launched a survey of citizens to
gather feedback on the public services in the city. The actual survey work was
carried out by a market research firm, Marketing and Business Associates and
costs were met through local donations. The survey was launched after the
group assessed problems people faced through focus group discussions.
Structured questionnaires were designed and pre-tested to ensure their
relevance and suitability for field-level interviews. The survey covered nearly
1,200 middle-class and low-income households, with separate questionnaires
for each. Objectives of the survey were to find out: 1) how satisfactory were the
public services from users' perspective; 2) what aspects of services were
satisfactory or not; and 3) what were the direct and indirect costs incurred by
users for these services. Satisfaction was measured on a rating scale (1 to 7)
and aggregated to yield averages for different dimensions. Trained investigators
conducted the field interviews. Results obtained from an analysis of the data
were used to rate the different service providers in terms of quality of service,
corruption, and overall user satisfaction. A structured summary of ratings across
agencies was called the “citizen report card on public services”. The survey
covered only households with direct experience with services and interaction
with agencies, to be sure of meaningful answers. The representative nature of
the sample, the professionalism and neutrality in the conduct of the survey, and
the large number of respondents ensured credibility of findings.
Steps in planning and organizing a report card
I. Planning a report card: What do you want to know? About whom? How will you
use the information? How can data be obtained? How do you plan to collect the
data? How will you fund the project?
II. Choosing an approach: Qualitative and/or quantitative research?
III. Sampling: Major steps are: defining the population, census of sample, sample
design, sample size, fixed vs. sequential sampling, costs of sampling, execution of
sampling process.
IV. Designing questionnaires: specify and rank order the information objective of the
survey from most important to least important; enumerate the kinds of information
needed from respondents that relate to each information objective; rank the items in
each topical group in the order of their importance to the study; for each item in the
group answer: why, who, how, and what; place the most interesting item at the
beginning of the questionnaire by using either open-ended or close-ended
questions.
V. Piloting, coding and analysis: Pre-test the questionnaire in the form of a pilot
survey for quality control; many quantitative questionnaires can be pre-coded and
can be completed by the fieldworker at the time of the interview. Use strict
guidelines for data collection which must be articulated to the field staff through
group training and manuals. Data can be analyzed using several techniques
including: averages, data ranges, frequency and mid-point. Processed data will be
presented in a series of tables. The interpretation of the analysis should bring
together the findings from multiple perspectives and help the audience understand
the issues and problems identified.
85
VI. Dissemination of findings: Communicate the research findings through: 1) a

survey report which outlines the objectives, methodology, major findings and
implications of findings; 2) media releases; and 3) interface meetings between
citizens, service providers and government officials.
VII. Institutionalizing: from theory to action. Three common models are: 1)
independent CSOs undertake the initiative (India); 2) service providers themselves
seek client feedback directly (UK); and 3) an oversight agency undertakes the
initiative (US).
RESULTS
First report card (1994)

The first report card on Bangalore revealed several interesting patterns about
the city’s public services. It showed that the satisfaction levels of the middle-
income respondents did not exceed 25% for any of the seven service providers
covered by the survey. Dissatisfaction levels, on the other hand, were much
higher, and in the case of the Development Authority were as high as 65%.
Public satisfaction with staff behavior in these agencies was a mere 25% and
over a quarter of the people had to make three visits or more to the agencies to
solve their problems. The problem resolution was 57% when all agencies were
taken together. On average, 14% of respondents had paid bribes.
Second report card (1999)

A second report card provided new evidence on the state of public services in
Bangalore after a lapse of five years. The survey methodology used was
essentially the same as in 1993, but the sample size was increased to 2,000
households. The results showed a partial improvement in public satisfaction
with most of the agencies, but the satisfaction level was still only below 50%,
even for the better performers. A disturbing finding was that corruption levels in
several agencies had increased. The low-income respondents continued to visit
agencies more often than their middle-income counterparts to solve their
problems. The report cards indicated a clear link between petty corruption and
inefficient service provision. The finding on corruption showed how difficult it is
to root out non-transparent and arbitrary procedures and mindsets.
The follow up actions in 1999 differed significantly from those in 1994. Well
before public dissemination of results, mini report cards were presented to
major service providers in the city on a one-on-one basis. This was followed by
a seminar for the management teams from selected agencies to exchange their
experiences with reforms since the first report card. The objective of this
exercise was to learn from each other. The deliberations showed that agencies
other than those who sought its help were also engaged in improving their
services in different ways. The final event was a public meeting with citizen
groups and media where the report card findings were presented to both
leaders and staff of all the service providers. Leaders of the agencies
addressed the gathering and explained to the public their plans to deal with the
problems highlighted in the report card. This event and the report card findings
were widely covered in the news media.
Though the report card of 1999 showed only partial improvements in the city’s
services, it was clear that several of the service providers had initiated action to
improve service quality and respond to the specific issues raised in the first
report card. One example is the improvements in some agencies' billing
86
procedures. Another is the increasing use of joint forums with users to improve
the responsiveness of staff.
Within a few months of the second report card, the new Chief Minister of
Karnataka, of which Bangalore is the capital, announced the creation of the
Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF) to improve the services and
infrastructure of the city with greater public participation. He set up BATF as a
public-private partnership with several non-official and eminent citizens as
members along with the heads of all service providers. In contrast with the more
limited agency responses, this move by the Chief Minister raised the level to
systemic responses across agencies. It created a forum where all the
stakeholders could be brought together both to solve the city’s problems and to
tap ideas and funds from the private sector. It was the first time that a chief
minister had launched an initiative to improve services in response to citizen
feedback.
Third report card (2003)

A comparison of these findings with the earlier report cards will show
improvements in the city’s public services. A person’s satisfaction with an
agency’s services reflects his/her overall assessment of that agency. Full
satisfaction with an agency implies a higher rating of its services than partial
satisfaction. Satisfaction can be measured for different dimensions of the quality
of a service or agency. Four measures of agency responsiveness were taken:
problem incidence, staff behavior, time taken to attend to problems and bribes
paid or demanded. These measures reflect different aspects of quality as
experienced by the users of services. An increase in the proportion of users
who are satisfied with a service/agency is an indirect indicator of an
improvement of that service/agency.
User satisfaction among general households ranged between 96% for

Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and 73% for Bangalore
Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), Bangalore Municipal Corporation
(BMP) and government hospitals. Agencies did vary, however, in respect of the
proportions of people who gave a rating of “completely satisfied”. While BMTC
had the largest proportion of satisfied users, it was Bangalore Electricity
Company (BESCOM) which had the largest segment of users expressing “full
satisfaction”. The fact that a number of agencies have significant segments of
users who are partially satisfied suggests that much could be done to improve
upon what has been achieved till now. It also signals that improvements in
services are being experienced by larger proportions of people (greater spread)
even though the quality standards achieved by agencies may not be anything
close to perfection.
A comparison of the performance of these agencies over the past 10 years

revealed a significant improvement in the satisfaction of users of services. Of
the nine agencies on which citizens of Bangalore provided feedback, all
received satisfaction ratings above 70% this time, in contrast with less than 40%
in 1999 and much lower ratings in 1994. The improvement was the greatest in
the case of Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) where citizen satisfaction
moved up from 16% to 85%. In the cases of BWSSB and BMP, the
improvement in citizen satisfaction has been less impressive. Maintaining the
high levels of satisfaction that has been achieved by agencies such as BMTC
and BESCOM are a challenge.
87
The improvement was the greatest in the case of BDA where citizen satisfaction
moved up from 16% to 85%. In the cases of BWSSB and BMP, the
improvement in citizen satisfaction has been less impressive. Maintaining the
high levels of satisfaction that has been achieved by agencies such as BMTC
and BESCOM are a challenge. An important next step for them is to increase
the proportion of users who are completely satisfied (see chart above).
While the poor (slum dwellers) also indicated substantial improvement in

satisfaction with services, their ratings are significantly lower, with four of the six
agencies receiving satisfaction ratings above 70%. The poor do not use the
entire range of services shown against the general households (middle income).
This is not to suggest that quality of services in the slums has not improved
much. Feedback from slum dwellers indicated that service quality in terms of
availability of water in public toilets and regularity of garbage clearance had
improved substantially. Problem incidence has also declined and compared well
with that reported by general households (see chart above).
Slum dwellers encountered problems in the course of their interactions with

agencies most often while dealing with the Bangalore police. This was the case
in 1999 also. The most significant decline in problems with service has been in
relation to BMTC. It is in relation to BWSSB that the decline has been of a small
order, since there were a number of institutional issues that affected its service
provision in the slums.
DRIVERS OF CHANGE
The drivers of change in Bangalore can be divided into two categories: One set
of factors operated from the demand side, and the other from the supply side.
Demand for better services tends to operate from outside the government
88
system. Citizen demands and media pressure are some examples. In a real
sense, all demand factors act as external catalysts. They have no direct role in
the design or delivery of services. These external pressures can be sustained,
however, only in open, democratic societies that tolerate dissent and debate.
Demand side interventions

I. The glare effect of citizen report cards pressured city service providers
in three ways: performance was under the “public scanner”; 2) inter-agency
comparisons worked as a surrogate for competition; and 3) the chairmen of
some of the agencies saw the report card as an aid and a catalyst in their
efforts to reform their agencies to be more transparent and accountable and
to deliver on their promises.
II. Pressure from civil society groups. Advocacy work was carried out
through a network of civil society groups (neighborhood groups and civic
and service-related NGOs) in Bangalore which participated in: 1) public
meetings and seminars where report cards or other civic issues were
discussed; 2) engaging service providers in active dialogues; and 3) citywide
campaigns.
III. Reinforcement of pressure by the media. The media has been a driver
of change by: 1) publicizing the negative findings and improvements of
service providers; 2) devoting more space to reports on the different wards
of the city, highlighting their problems and focusing on those elected; and 3)
organizing interactive meetings with citizens and senior officials from
selected groups of public agencies.
IV. The role of donor dialogues. Donor agencies have confirmed how, in
their dialogues with the government, they have lent support to the
importance of user feedback and to the need to view civil society pressure
as an aid to accountability.
Supply side interventions

The supply of services, on the other hand, is the business of government itself.
The factors that cause supply responses to happen therefore tend to be linked
to government and are largely within its control. They could take action on their
own, or they may act in response to demand side drivers of change. The
interaction between the demand side and supply side factors that caused
positive service outcomes has been a special feature of the past decade in
Bangalore. In terms of sequence, demand side forces were first to appear on
the city scene. The supply responses came later.
I. Bangalore Agenda Task Force: A State Initiative. BATF began its work
in earnest in 2000 and catalyzed a number of reforms in a number of
agencies. Important reforms were on property tax that resulted in increased
revenues and reduced hassles for the citizen and on solid Market
competition has so far affected only one service provider, namely, Bangalore
Telecom (BSNL). Cell phones had begun to make inroads by the late 1990s,
along with waste management, sanitation and roads. BATF also prepared a
simpler version of the report card to monitor the progress of the different city
agencies. Over a three-year period, its report cards (based on public
feedback through interviews) showed a positive response from the people to
89
the reforms and some improvement in the workings of most of the city’s
public agencies and their services.
II. Resource mobilization by the agencies. A parallel development since

the BATF was set up was a visible improvement in the resources available
to the seven service provider agencies. New projects and expansion of
infrastructure called for more resources. There is clear evidence that the
leaders of the different agencies mobilized additional resources through a
variety of sources. In the case of BMP, its roads and related infrastructure
programme was financed by a loan from the Housing and Urban
Development Corporation. Similar loans were accessed by BMTC, BWSSB
and BESCOM from other sources. BDA was a unique case where most of
the funds required for new infrastructure projects were raised from its own
internal surpluses. These agencies budgets had increased by 50-100% over
a three-year period from 2000. Upgrading of services and infrastructure
through increased borrowing could have been attempted in the preceding
years too. But it took the proactive support of the state government and the
catalytic role of the BATF to make this happen in a short period of time.
III. Role of the Lok Ayukta (ombudsman). The ombudsman (“Lok Ayukta”)
in Karnataka played an indirect role in enhancing accountability in the
agencies. He has powers not only to investigate grievances from the people
about public agencies, but also to initiate investigations into the operations
of the agencies on his own. In Bangalore, the ombudsman has been active
on both fronts, even since his appointment in 2000. His raids on offices and
the subsequent actions taken to penalize public officials who indulged in
corruption have given much adverse publicity to many agencies and
departments of the state government. His integrity and courage have been
lauded by civil society, the media and political leaders. Moreover, many
observers believe that the ombudsman’s actions have had a “deterrent
effect”, even on agencies not investigated. Strong support from the Chief
Minister was a major factor that made it possible for the ombudsman to
function fearlessly. Through the BATF, the Chief Minister stimulated public
agencies to perform better. Through the ombudsman, he created a sense of
fear among the agencies that corruption and sloth would not be tolerated.
These two approaches were mutually reinforcing.
IV. Political commitment and support. The common thread that runs
through the different supply side interventions discussed above is the
political commitment and support of the Chief Minister. This was a weak
factor during the period 1994-9. The 1999 change in leadership made a
decisive difference. The new Chief Minister was a leader committed to
improving public services and infrastructure. He was determined to find
answers to citizen dissatisfaction with essential services and industry’s
dissatisfaction with infrastructure. This is why he took the initiative to set up
the innovative partnership of BATF. He then allowed public agencies to
mobilize more resources and facilitated their efforts. He appointed a new
ombudsman known for his integrity and willingness to deal with corruption
and other abuses of power in government. These were wide ranging actions
that could not have been achieved without political commitment at the
highest level. The boldness of the Chief Minister owed in no small measure
to his strong majority. That political commitment can vary with changes in
90
leaders and governments raises questions about the sustainability of

reforms.
KEY CONCERNS
The improvement in services reported above did not happen overnight. Starting
with the first report card in 1994, the spotlight on public services set in motion a
series of actions by different stakeholders, which converged and cumulated to
produce these results. Some agencies took remedial steps to improve their
services as is evident from the report card of 1999. How these and other factors
interacted and cumulated to achieve this turnaround in Bangalore is not easy to
measure and explain. Nor is it possible to attribute the precise contribution of
each of these factors to the turnaround. Needless to add, the same
constellation and sequence of factors may not be required in other settings. It
may not perhaps be easy to replicate the drivers of change that worked in one
context in another. Nevertheless, the contributions made by the different
interventions in Bangalore may have some lessons to offer reformers in other
settings.
The foregoing discussion highlights the contributions made by a variety of

interventions that reinforced one another in the Bangalore context. It is their
joint influence that is reflected in the report card of 2003. As noted above, the
precise influence of each of the factors is difficult to quantify. An agency head,
for example, could take credit for the turnaround in his/her services. But the fact
remains that without the support or pressure from the other factors mentioned
above, the agency head may not have taken the necessary actions. The
political commitment of the Chief Minister would have worked as an enabling
condition. The assistance provided by BATF may have brought better ideas and
more citizen friendly practices to the agency (e.g., improved solid waste
management, simpler tax system, improved billing procedure, etc.). Report
cards and media publicity would have acted as external catalysts and speeded
up the change. The service improvement for which the agency takes credit may
not have happened in the absence of the joint influence of all these drivers of
change.
Some preconditions need to be in place to ensure the acceptability of report

cards. The credibility of those who use the tool and engage in advocacy is
extremely important. The exercise should be seen as impartial and
independent. The conduct of the survey and the interpretation of its findings
should be done with utmost integrity. In general, competent and professionally
managed organizations need to act as intermediaries for this to happen. These
conditions apply irrespective of whether the initiative comes from civil society or
the government.
Report cards are likely to be used by civil society groups in relatively open and
democratic societies that respect dissent. This is not to say that non-democratic
settings cannot benefit from this tool. But its proper use is unlikely to happen
unless there is strong interest on the part of the political leadership to listen to
public feedback and use the findings to improve public services or other aspects
of governance.
The feedback from the sample of low income households was also similar. Over
70% had to make three or more visits to the agencies to solve their problems.
Nearly a third of them had to pay bribes. Their problem resolution rate was
91
much lower than that of the middle-class households. Yet, their satisfaction with
the service providers was not as low as in the middle-income sample, perhaps
because of their low expectations from services.
The report card findings were widely publicized through the press in Bangalore.
The government and service providers were also kept informed of the full report
card. Citizen groups were invited to debate the findings and propose ways and
means to deal with the problems being highlighted by the report card.
Newspapers played a major role in creating public awareness about the findings
of the report card. A leading paper, the Times of India, published the findings
about each of the agencies every week, a feature that continued for a few
months.
Beyond the publication of the report card, the citizen group that started the
initiative did not take any other follow-up action. But inquiries began to reach the
leader of the group on how this work along with advocacy for reform could be
scaled up. The growing public interest in this endeavor persuaded the leader of
the group to establish a new non-profit body called the Public Affairs Centre in
Bangalore in 1994 to expand and strengthen this work in the country. One of its
early activities was to respond to the requests for advice from three of the city’s
service providers covered by the report card. One of them was the worst rated
agency which sought the PAC’s help in further probing into its problems and
finding remedies. Though the report card did not provoke all the service
providers to take immediate steps to improve their services, it is creditable that
three out of eight agencies initiated action and sought help from PAC on their
own.
Reading 9:
The context of social accountability in Cambodia 12

Accountability is one of the underlying principles for successful decentralization
(Blunt and Turner, 2005). Since the first local elections in 2002, the government
and donor agencies have expended a great deal of effort improving
accountability, specifically in relation to good governance, better service
delivery and improved social outcomes. Accountability is therefore emerging as
a crucial concern and is gaining more significance in Cambodian governance
reforms. The government, donor community and civil society commonly
acknowledge that good governance cannot be achieved and sustained without
a workable system of accountability that fits Cambodia’s historical, cultural,
governance and institutional contexts.
Cambodia Development and Research Institute (CDRI)’s recent review of D&D

reform suggests that staffing and accountability structures within commune
administrations need to be improved by deepening and expanding capacity and
clarifying the roles and status of commune chiefs. Local participation and
downward accountability are crucial areas, although it is generally recognized
that there are no easy solutions. The report notes that there is no mechanism
currently in place for CCs to express satisfaction or dissatisfaction to provincial
departments. Nor do the central ministries have mechanisms to incorporate
external evaluation into their monitoring and evaluation. It concludes that this
12
Kieng Sochivy, 2006: Assessment of current decentralization in Cambodia
92
problem has hindered the accountability of service providers to consumers.
Blair (2000) notes that the major promise of democratic decentralization is that
“by building popular participation and accountability into local governance, local
government will become more responsive to local demands and more effective
in delivering services”. In this regard, Rusten et al. (2004) indicate that the
major goals of decentralization in Cambodia are “promoting pluralist democracy,
promoting a culture of popular participation and contributing to reduction of
poverty”. Likewise, Cohen and Peterson (1999) emphasize that accountability is
one of the most important underlying principles to achieve these goals.
Rudengren el al. (2005) conducted Seila mid-term review and suggested a

need for promoting social and financial accountability. They argue that there is a
need for more checks and balances both within and outside the current Seila
system. The report describes downward accountability from CCs to their
electorates as weak, especially in the absence of information about commune
performance. Similarly, downward accountability at the provincial level is
hindered by lack of coordination in planning and implementation between line
departments and CCs. The provincial level of government is expected to be the
major focus of reform in the new D&D strategic framework (Royal Government
of Cambodia, 2005).
The concept of accountability is not easily understood by the person in the street. Local
people tend to understand the Khmer translation of “accountability” as something
similar to “accounting”. They do not link the word with traditional Khmer values for
governance, such as responsibility (kar totuol khos chom pos mok), honesty (smos
trong), helpfulness (jes jouy tok tu-reak), or serving people (bom-reu pro-chea-jon).
Considering this difficulty and the huge range of definitions offered, it is useful to focus
accountability in the Cambodia context on two core aspects – answerability and
enforceability – without which accountability cannot be maintained (Schedler, 1999).
The differences between the notion of accountability in the wider literature and
accountability as practiced in Cambodia are critical to understand. Political, personal,
subjective and patronage-driven relationships of power, kinship ties and influence drive
informal processes that directly influence an individual’s ability to be accountable. The
desired state of accountability that the reforms seek to foster is a practical departure
from the latter toward the former.
Source: CDRI (2005).
In Cambodia, the delivery of basic social services remains primarily the

mandate of national government ministries. However, the LAMC delegated
monitoring or oversight functions on basic service delivery to the CC. By
gaining the support of this body for the CRR, the CRT has a strong ally in
articulating CRR results and pushing for service delivery reforms. In this sense,
the CRR is an alternative form of civil society-CC partnership.
Accountability is defined as the obligation of power holders to account or take

responsibilities for their actions. Power holders are not limited to government
officials alone; they also include those who hold political, financial, or other
forms of power. Accountability is a consequence of the implicit social compact
between citizens and the people they vote into power. Government officials and
bureaucrats should thus be held accountable not only for their performance but
also for their conduct. In most cases, the supply side of accountability has been
long over-emphasized as the mainstay of monitoring and evaluation. However,
93
the demand side of accountability, involving citizens assessing performance

and holding service deliverers and rights bearers accountable, has been weak
at best, ignored at most.
Social accountability refers to the broad range of actions and mechanisms,

aside from voting in elections, that citizens, communities, CSOs and
independent media can use to hold government officials and bureaucrats
accountable. Among these mechanisms are citizen participation in development
planning, participatory budgeting, public expenditure tracking, and citizens
monitoring of public service delivery (World Bank, 2003).
Social accountability, then, means processes whereby citizens are engaged in

the assessment of performance of public policies and thereby influence the
process, outcomes and impacts of these policies and the corresponding
expenditures that are allocated to implement them. Social accountability
mechanisms promote good governance, improve public service delivery
through improved policy design, and are seen as an empowering process for
ordinary citizens.
There are numerous reasons for the failure of governments to deliver adequate
social services to the people. These includes lack of funds, misallocation of
resources or distorted priorities, corruption and other forms of leakages, or the
lack of an articulated demand. Social accountability mechanisms are useful in
improving delivery of basic services by generating and providing information or
articulating a demand, strengthening citizen voices, and promoting dialogue
and other forms of engagements with the government. Through social
accountability initiatives, chances are greater for decision making to be more
transparent, participatory and pro-poor.
Social accountability initiatives begin with people’s understanding of their rights

and responsibilities in a democracy. For instance, in all its learning events for
NGO partners and CRT members, CCSP always emphasizes the importance of
citizens exercising their rights and responsibilities, particularly in the context of
the new governance reforms in Cambodia. These “rights awareness” efforts
then are triggers for moving into implementation of social accountability
initiatives such as the CRR. Social accountability is an empowering process
brought about by people’s awareness and understanding of their rights to
demand and obligation to hold government officials and agents accountable. By
giving voice to ordinary citizens in the communes, social accountability
improves the chances of government being responsive to poor people’s needs.
Accountability of public officials is the cornerstone of good government and a

prerequisite for effective democracy. Conversely, people’s trust and respect for
the government quickly erodes when government officials are unresponsive to
their needs and claims. Nothing happens, however, if people merely shout and
protest in the streets. Social accountability mechanisms are concrete actions
which enhance the ability of citizens to move beyond protests towards engaging
with government officials and service providers in a more informed, organized
and constructive manner, thus increasing chances of effecting positive change.
94

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Promoting Good Local Governance, Social Accountability and

Effective Delivery of Basic Social Services in Rural Cambodia

Phnom Penh, June 2007

Additional copies of or further information on this

1st floor, VBNK No. 28, Street 80/75

Mr. Murari Upadhyay

Mr. Phan Sothea

CCSP is co-managed by Church World Service, DPA,

Abbreviations and Other Terms

BATF Bangalore Agenda Task Force

In keeping with its mission of strengthening civil society capacity to influence

The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) adopted in 2005 the Strategic

Therefore, CCSP in February 2007 contracted Mr. Phan Sothea, an

Numerous people, including commune chiefs, commune councillors, members

Phnom Penh, June 2007

Abbreviations and Other Terms..........................................................................i

Module 1: Understanding decentralization and commune councils ............. 6

Module 2: Legal frameworks for public service delivery in Cambodia........ 27

Module 3: What is the Citizens' Rating Report? ............................................ 41

Module 4: Implementation of the CRR............................................................ 52

Activity 3 Negotiation and lobbying for endorsement and launch ............... 55

Module 5: Readings in social accountability ................................................ 73

Objectives of the module

Expectations of the module

Decentralization is a new policy for

The National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) 2006-2010 outlines the

and development. These, in turn, are expected to enhance the wellbeing of

The RGC’s Council of Ministers adopted on 17 June 2005 a vision, basic

Some important progress on D&D has been made:

Decentralization means that certain rights,

Political decentralization also refers to devolution (Conyers, 1983) 2 . Stoop

(2002) 3 has pointed out that devolution is a more advanced level of

devolution as a more real form of decentralization of power, which local people

When defining decentralization, United State Agency for International

According to Ayres (2001) 7 , political decentralization is preferred by those who

ii. Administrative decentralization

iii. Fiscal decentralization

Decentralized commune councils must have the capacity to exercise the

Lack of capacity, according to Parker (1997) 10 , may be reflected in any of the

Fiscal decentralization takes many forms, summarized below (Rondinelli, 1999) 11 :

According to the RGC’s Rectangular Strategy for Growth, Employment, Equity

It should be noted that, based on experiences of pilot projects and initial

iv. Main features of decentralization in Cambodia

The objectives of decentralization and

Objectives of decentralization and commune/sangkat administration and

Decentralization is to give citizens chance to take greater part in

Promotion of citizen participation is an important duty of CCs. It helps them to

Decentralization is seen as an effective way to promote good

Commune/sangkat administration and management is to support

LAMC Article 41: "A commune/sangkat administration shall have

The CC is a body of people democratically elected within each particular

Commune/sangkat councils are given powers:

Commune/sangkat councils are given roles and functions:

Structure of the commune administration

Deputy Chief Deputy Chief

Advisory Advisory Advisory Advisory

Commune/  Ensure CC performs powers, roles and functions

Commune/  Ensures that CC decisions are put into practice

Presiding  Presides over the meetings of CC

First commune/  Acts as commune/sangkat chief in case of absence of

Second  Acts as commune/sangkat chief in the case of absence

Council  Provide advice and assist in the affairs of the CC in

Village chief  Makes submissions or representations to CC on behalf

Commune/ Ensure CC performs powers, roles and functions

Commune/ Ensures that CC decisions are put into practice

Presiding Presides over the meetings of CC

First commune/ Acts as commune/sangkat chief in case of absence of

Second Acts as commune/sangkat chief in the case of absence

Council Provide advice and assist in the affairs of the CC in

Village chief Makes submissions or representations to CC on behalf

Elect the CC General public

Mobilize local communities Local NGOs and

Liaise with CC on issues related to the economic Private sector,

Based on the mandate of two departments, the

The Department of Local Administration (DoLA) is the

National ministries assist in policy formulation for

Guides future activities