Inclusive Participation & PA Assessments in Kazakhstan Consensus-Building Strategies

1. Inclusive Participation & PA Assessments in KazakhstanConsensus-Building Strategies United Nations Development Programme Regional Bureau for Europe & CIS ●Bratislava Regional Centre

2. Inclusive Participation in PA: Why? • Growing recognition to improve public administration and services, in addition to efforts focused on ‘supply side’ mechanisms, need to capacitate the ‘demand side’ • users of public services informed of their rights and entitlements • exercise their rights by monitoring the quality of public services and holding the government and service providers accountable. • Experiences around the world have demonstrated that generating and using information on the performance of service providers by both government and non-governmental leads to • enhancement of public transparency & accountability which fosters • adherence to higher quality standards in service delivery. • >> Stakeholders to use several tools for one same objective , through consensus-building and mutually reinforcing processes

3. Benefits of Inclusive Participation – Increased Ownership • Benefits : • Increased legitimacy and public trust in the exercise. • Direct and objective user feedback to service providers • Objective knowledge + quantified information >> communities and citizen empowered to hold governments & service providers accountable, increase popular pressure to achieve the targets • - Local stakeholders active participants , not mere sources of information • Results better integrated in planning & improved quality of services and public works • >> Strengthen accountability & consensus-building for one same goal

4. How? Assessment & Social Accountability Agenda UNDP Approach: promoting multi-stakeholder participation aligning governance assessments with national development plans strengthening evidence-based policymaking

5. How? Steps in a nationally owned governance assessment

6. Inclusive CS engagement in PA assessment: Vietnam Public Administration Index (PAPI) • A survey by ruling party, a civil society research institute, and UNDP • • PAPI complements PAR efforts at the provincial level • • Provincial authorities made aware of strengths and weaknesses for improving the performance of the public administration system • Assesses 3 mutually reinforcing processes: policy making, policy implementation and monitoring of public service delivery • >> supports transparency; stimulates reform; enlarges ‘space’ for civil society in  planning, implementation, and monitoring; pool of data • >> managed substantively and technically by a national advisory board and a group of international governance measurement experts

7. Kazakhstan’s considerable potential • Increase in NGO numbers: 400 in the 1990s, 1,600 during 1994 to 1997 (international funding ). • Now: gradual consolidation of NGO sector, and rise of organizations engaged in service provision • President support: has declared repeatedly that he wants civil society to monitor every important project. • Process initiated: 2 round tables for NGOs in 2011 to inform them about PA assessment effort from the onset, of call for feedback and provide initial knowledge on state methodology for assessment. • >> As a result 21 self registered NGOs: tremendous potential!

8. …Areas for further consideration • Key precondition for successful and meaningful involvement of CSOs: Law on Free Access to Public Information. • >> The tool: to support government transparency and facilitate the dissemination of public information is “Access to information monitoring”, developed by OSI. (Macedonia) • Address resources needs (human and financial) for sustainability, which demands some trade off between values and operations. Competition in public funding > available amounts very desirable • >> Cooperation between the government, civil society and the private sector need to be improved and/or explored (PPP, philanthropy?) • >> In the short-term, role of coalitions: pool funds, build join proposals

9. …Areas for further consideration • Capacity : NGOs (esp. in the regions) to benefit from professional capacity development (tools) to evaluate state bodies and their performance • >> Training of CSO on governance assessment, how to conduct own analyses, conduct evidence-based policy making • >> Training of relevant executive authorities on all levels to increase understanding on advantages of cooperation with CSOs. • >> coalition building: NGOs (Armenia) & independent experts • Several tools available to provide complementary information to government assessments: • >> will focus on 2 main areas: public service delivery and IT

10. Public service delivery & participatory monitoring • Would nicely complement GA of Public Service Delivery • Citizen Report Cards (CRC) & Community Score Card (CSC) • >> user feedback on quality and performance of public services • >> Findings placed in public domain through the use of media & public mtgs • Social Audit • >> Like financial audit verifies how money is spent, social audit verifies how programs and services carried out • - whether reflective of social, environmental &community objectives • - involves a systematic evaluation of public records & user feedback • Ukraine - People’s Voice project • Romania – inclusion of users in service delivery

11. Information Technology for participatory monitoring • Would nicely complement GA of use of information technologies • Information-sharing tools: Draft policy documents or progress reports on existing policies shared via • traditional media and websites or stalls in public spaces • or by Gov teaming up with CSOs like citizen groups or unions who can channel the information to their members. • Connectivity with the Government for Dialogue, Participation and Decision-Making -- “Networked Government ” • citizens’ networks voice opinion and proposals through e-polling, online town halls) or more advances input in policy making • >> Estonia - launch of government’s participation portal & E-gov academy • >> An ICT approach to participatory policy-making in Nepal

12. Inclusive Participation In short, GA can very well be carried out without IP... ... yet, IP processes strengthen accountability & consensus-building: >> in addition to executive branch checking on performance of the administration >> citizens, civil society, elected officials and think tanks form a strategic alliance which multiplies ability to ‘watch’ and improve performance Thank you!