Transparency and Accountability Program

1. Transparency and Accountability Program

2. Improving Developing Country Public Expenditures • Historically, public expenditures have been tracked from “the outside in” (IMF, World Bank) – well developed over 40 years or more • With occasional in-country reviews and checkups • Resulting in wide-ranging technocratic reform programs • Democracy building in the past 20 years has opened the possibility of “bottom up” accountability (domestic demand) – now in its infancy • TAP is designed to help IMOs (Independent Monitoring Organizations) strengthen their capabilities to analyze budgets, expenditures, and service delivery – and to argue effectively for improvements • IMOs have monitors on the ground 24/7 • Proposed reforms tend to be specific, simple, actionable • But IMOs need to get beyond single-issue activism to be effective • Ideally external and internal pressures would be complementary

3. TAP’s Experience • 2006 to 2009 Program • Developed an Analytic Framework [How to Improve Governance] • Reviewed Public Expenditure Reviews, Country Financial Accountability Assessments, Country Procurement Assessment Reports, Public Financial Management Reports, Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability Data, and programs to support IMOs. [Lives in the Balance: Improving Accountability for Public Spending in Developing Nations] • Piloted an IMO Support Program [Improving Government Performance from the Ground Up: How Independent Monitoring Organizations Assess and Improve Local Education and Health Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries] • IMO Support Program: Pilot on Expenditure Analysis and Reform Advocacy • Two Rounds of Requests for Proposals • Round A: Program Budgets • Round B: Public Expenditure Tracking and Absenteeism Studies • Average $50,000 for each IMO plus $20,000 for peer learning • 19 studies financed between June 2007 and November 2008

4. BIGS Indonesia BIGS Indonesia PATTIRO CIPPEC IDPMS India CDD Ghana CIEN Guatemala CADEP Paraguay CBPS India

5. Choose What to Do • Round A IMOs (6): health or education program budget study, yielding: • Results-based budgeting • Decentralized budgeting • Sector-specific budgeting • Round B IMOs (13): PETS or absenteeism • IMOs adapted the technique to their own needs: • Education expenditure tracking (6) • Health expenditure tracking (4) • Teacher absenteeism (2) • Health worker absenteeism (1)

6. Gather Budget Data • The IMOs gathered data to understand problems in transparency and inefficiencies in budgeting. • Examples: • BIGS Indonesia (decentralized budgeting with minimum spending requirements from national to district government)

7. Bandung Institute for Governance Studies (BIGS) - Indonesia • To discover how well local governments are doing in health and education service delivery, BIGS examined budgets for 3 cities in West Java • By simply examining 2004 - 2007 budget data, BIGS found that local officials (like national officials) are not reaching the spending targets for health and education

8. Follow the Money • The IMOs uncovered resource delays, leakages, and perverse incentives caused by allocation. • Examples: • PATTIRO (transfer schemes)

9. Centre for Regional and Information Studies (PATTIRO) - Indonesia • Evaluated specific education funding schemes • Central, Provincial, and District • Schools Receive Money from 7 Different Funds (2 Operating Funds and 4 Investment Funds from Various Levels, plus 1 Textbook Fund) • Following money from Source to Ground in 38 schools uncovered problems • Delays in Operating Funds up to 3 Months • Unplanned Cuts in Allocated Funds (For District Operating Funds, Unplanned Cuts in Every School)

10. Examine Spending on the Ground • IMOs analyzed insufficiencies in resources or problems with civil-service execution, such as absenteeism. • Examples: • CIPPEC Argentina (High School Teacher Absenteeism in Buenos Aires) • IDPMS India (How Does Health System Function With High Levels Of Absenteeism and Low Funding?)

11. Center for Implementation of Public Policies Promoting Equity & Growth (CIPPEC) - Argentina • Found 40% Greater High School Teacher Absenteeism in a Poor District of Buenos Aires • Evidence of causes, school responses, and trends in absenteeism, used to shape recommendations

12. Indo-Dutch Project Management Society (IDPMS) - India • Focused on service delivery in primary health centers in 2 districts of Karnataka (CR Nagar, Bellary) • Results • Often no doctor is available for official and unofficial reasons (37% of days PHCs are open) • Replenishment of 6 common drugs can be delayed 6 to 8 months • Pharmaceutical budget of 100,000 rupees/PHC insufficient

13. Recommend Solutions • The IMOs used information gathered to propose remedies. • Examples: • CDD Ghana • CIEN Guatemala

14. Finding Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) - Ghana • Found 47% of teachers were absent at least once during 5 school visits Absenteeism peaks on Fridays (40% of teachers) Weekend long-distance education lectures should be moved (time or location) Salaries should be paid to teachers, near schools, or on Saturdays Education officials should actively encourage formation of PTAs in schools Recommendation Evidence that teachers miss class to collect salaries Absenteeism and active PTA negatively correlated

15. Finding Recommendation National Center for Economic Research (CIEN) - Guatemala • Investigated 6 spending programs in 30 primary schools in Guatemala City (scholarships, meals, milk, textbooks, supplies, teaching kits) Schools should start after the fiscal year to give time for money to flow, improving chance that resources get to schools on time Ministry of Education announced that school start would move from January to February in 2009 28% of primary school students had books and only 7% had school supplies in the first school month of 2008 Impact

16. Disseminate and Advocate • The IMOs publicized their findings and/or developed and advocated for solutions. • Examples: • CBPS India • CADEP Paraguay

17. Centre for Budget and Policy Studies (CBPS) - India • Evaluating health and education budgets in 2 districts, CBPS found that spending decisions are do not reflect local needs • Analysis, findings, and video are being used by advocacy NGOs that could not do this work themselves, one of the goals of CBPS. • Video showed some government officials explaining away the problems and other successfully acting to solve them.

18. Centro de Análisis y Difusión de la Economia Paraguaya (CADEP) - Paraguay • Investigating education spending and service delivery, CADEP found that budgeting is too opaque to be monitored by civil society • Researchers utilized the high interest and engagement of parent associations to develop posters for schools outlining how parents and students can start to monitor education services and to whom problems should be reported

19. Lessons Learned 1: The Program • Competitive Request for Proposals Worked • Inexpensive Way to Solicit Organizations Globally • Good Mix of Income Levels, Geographic Location, Capabilities, Experience vs. Promise • Repeated Rounds Allow Losing Organizations to Propose Again • Similar Task (e.g. PETS) on Same Schedule for All Organizations • Quickness Important • Startup + Analysis + Advocacy: 1 + 5 + 3 = 9 Months Elapsed Time • Allowed Quick Impact Beginning about the Fifth Month • Made Peer Review Possible with Spectacular Impact • Created Firm Deadlines • Created Global, Friendly Competition on Quality of Work • Narrowing of Capability Gaps and Learning from Each Others’ Skills • Practical Application of an Analytical Tool for this Type of Work • TAP’s Small Grants Adequate for the Work • Adjusted Study Size to Budget in Consultation with IMOs • No IMO Failed to Deliver

20. Lessons Learned 2: Successful IMOs Success in Having Impact (in Short Run): If Topic Chosen is on Organization’s Critical Path Focus on Level of Government Appropriate to the Problem Concerned from Start about Feasibility of Recommendations Success with Audiences Design Study with Target Audience in Mind Involve Target Audience from Start Pursue Alternate Strategies for Dissemination More Success if Organizational Strengths Followed Design Study With IMO Strengths in Mind And/Or According to Long Term Plan of the IMO

21. Lessons Learned 3: Strengthening TAP Work with Other Donor Organizations Partnerships Possible Based on Expertise, Efforts to Improve Public Financial Management? Multilaterals: Ongoing Public Expenditure Work Help IMOs Gain Access to Data Provide Expertise for Analytical Work Expose IMOs to Decision Makers Development of Tools Such as PETS The RFP/Peer Learning Approach Works – Could It Achieve Other Kinds of Institutional Strengthening and Skills Development? Exposure/Dissemination Dissemination of IMO Work Develops Their Reputations International Exposure of Work Shows other IMOs What Can Be Done Benchmarking is Needed Across Borders Develop Expenditure and Service Delivery Indicators Create Global Database of International Comparisons Encourage IMOs to Contribute and Use Benchmarks Develop Tools from Grants Program and Make Widely Available to Nongrantees Monitoring and Evaluation Can Be Built into the Program