Building a Government –Civil Society Partnership at the Local Level: Lessons from Experience

1. Building a Government –Civil Society Partnership at the Local Level: Lessons from Experience Paper Presented to the GINI Conference in Pakistan: December 13 – 15, 2009 Kathleen Lauder

2. About the IOG • Non-profit think tank • In existence since 1990 • Provides an independent source of knowledge, research and advice on governance issues, both in Canada and internationally • Worked in over 37 countries with focus on Asia • Maintained an office in Malaysia, serving south and SE Asia from 1996-2002 – organized conferences, conducted research and published on ‘partnership’

3. Presentation Outline • Governance definition, actors, relationships and principles • Why partnership matters for local governance • Push and pull factors in developing local partnerships • Practical examples of partnership at the local level • Lessons from experience in building a government civil society partnership at the local level • In praise of networks!

4. Governance: What is It? The process whereby societies or organizations make their important decisions, determine who has voice, who is engaged in the process and how account is rendered The Institute On Governance, Ottawa Canada

5. Governance Relationships: Traditions Citizens Citizens Civil Society Private Sector media Cultures Values Government Citizens Citizens History The Institute On Governance

6. Governance Actors: Government (National & Local) Civil Society • NGOs, CBOs, PVOs • Academic & research institutions • Religious groups • Civic organizations • Executive • Judiciary • Legislature Public service Military Police Media Business • Small, medium & large enterprises • Trade & investment associations & coops • Chambers of commerce • MNCs The Institute On Governance

7. Factors Pushing for Partnership • Revised national policies • New political regimes • State of the economy • Traditions or moral values (self-help, promoting a caring society) • Pressing issues which can not be solved without partnership • Compelling leadership

8. Factors Inhibiting Partnership • Lack of trust • Desire for power and control/reluctance to share power • Comfort and security of maintaining the status quo • Lack of leadership

9. Five Governance Principles • Direction: Strategic vision Performance: Responsiveness, effectiveness and efficiency Accountability: Accountability and transparency Fairness: Equity, rule of law Legitimacy/voice: Participation, Consensus orientation

10. Partnershp for Direction:Participatory Budgeting For example, in Porto Alegre in Brazil first done in 1989: Sewer and water connections increased from 75% (1988) to 98% (1997) of households Number of schools quadrupled since 1986 Health and education budget increased from 13%(1985) to 40% (1996)

11. Partnership for Performance:Tracking Education Dollars in Uganda Equiv. US$ per student 3.5 3.0 Public info campaign 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 1990 1991 1993 1994 1995 1999 Intended grant Actual grant received by primary school (means) Source: Uganda Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys

12. Partnership for Fairness: Right to Information • Right to information Act passed in India in 2005 promises to be a powerful tool to promote equal access to resources in India by legislating equal access to information. • For example in Rajasthan: • In three districts local officials apologized for committing fraud and publicly returned public funds after being confronted with evidence at a public hearing • Information on public works expenditure was painted on a village wall leading to mobilization and protest by the people - public hearing exposed fraud and ghost works – a government investigation led to institutionalization of measures to improve transparency and accountabilty

13. Partnership for Accountability:Declaration of Assets Regional Director in the Bureau of Internal Revenue forced to resign; currently facing corruption charges; other officials suspended, also facing charges CAR MODEL BENEFICIAL OWNER REGISTERED OWNER Nissan Patrol Edwin Abella Sulpicio S. Bulanon Jr. BIR Reg'l Director, 1817 Jordan Plains Subd., Quezon City Quezon City (listed address of Abella in his SALs) Merrick Abella (son of Abella) Suzuki Grand Vitara Ditto 24 Xavierville, Loyola Heights, Q uezon City Nissan Cefiro Ditto Elizabeth S. Buendia 152 Road 8, Quezon City BMW Lucien E. Sayuno Limtra Dev. Corp. BIR Reg'l Director, Zone 4, Dasmariñas, Cavite Makati City ses BMW Ditto Marie Rachel D. Mene c/o Metrocor and Holdings, G&F, Makati City Honda Accord Danilo A. Duncano Daniel Anthony P. Duncano BIR Reg'l Director, Quezon City Quezon City Mitsubishi L200 Corazon P. Pangcog Alberto P. Pangcog (husband) Asst. Reg'l Director, B2 L23 Lagro Subd., Quezon City Valenzuela City Honda CR - V Ditto Alberto P. Pangcog 9 Ricardo St., Carmel 1 Subd., Quezon City This slide was taken from a presentation made by Sanjay Pradhan, VP, WBI at a conference in Frankfurt, October 2, 2009

14. Partnership for Legitimacy/Voice: Citizen Report Cards in Bangalore, India 100 94 96 92 85 90 78 77 80 73 73 73 67 70 60 47 Percent Satisfied 50 42 41 34 34 40 32 32 25 30 16 14 20 9 6 5 10 4 1 n/a n/a 0 Police Electricity City council Telephones Public buses Water supply Land authority Public hospitals Transport authority Agencies 1994 1999 2003 Source: Public Affairs Center, India

15. Lessons from Experience: Internal Dynamics within Partnership • Assembling key players, change agents and champions • Making voluntarism work • Combining contributions from different stakeholders • Developing a supporting operating style or ‘culture’

16. Lessons from Experience: Factors External to Partnership • Relation of socio-political and cultural environment – innovative solution to power sharing and decision making • Relation to past experience • Creating a compelling vision and identifying pressing issues within that vision

17. Directions for Building Effective Government Civil Society Partnerships: Enhancing Networks • Building local capacity • Low cost • Make the most of technology • Share resources, approaches, tools, skills • Provide moral support and encouragement

18. Examples of Networks to Promote Government Civil Society Partnership at the Local Level

19. Kathleen Lauder klauder@iog.ca www.iog.ca