This is mostly at the level of positive changes in behaviour and practice, especially in terms of raising citizen awareness, empowering certain marginalised groups, and encouraging state officials.
Some examples of positive impact of CV&A interventions have emerged from the interventions analysed for this study. Donors’ context awareness has not proven sufficient to enable them to grapple with challenges posed by the interaction between formal and informal institutions, the prevalence of the latter over the former in many instances, and underlying power relations and dynamics. Citizens’ Voice and Accountability (CV&A) work has emerged as a priority in the international development agenda from the 1990s onwards. No evidence of a direct contribution can be found within the sample, however. They believe that this combination of voice and accountability will generate outcomes that will contribute to broad developmental outcomes, such as poverty reduction and the MDGs. Some of the main entry points that donors have used for their CV&A work have included existing formal institutional frameworks in countries where these are available, political junctures, decentralisation, sectors and overall poverty and exclusion.ĭonors assume that increasing citizens’ voice will make public institutions more responsive to citizens’ needs and demands and more accountable for their actions. Citizens need effective ‘voice’ in order to convey their views and governments or states that can be held accountable for their actions are more likely to respond to the needs and demands articulated by their population. In the second phase, other independent organisations conducted five country case studies in Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, Mozambique and Nepal.Ĭitizens’ Voice and Accountability are important dimensions of governance. In the first phase of this evaluation, the Overseas Development Institute prepared a literature review, analysed 90 CV&A donor interventions, developed an evaluation framework to assess CV&A interventions and piloted this in Benin and Nicaragua. Donor expectations as to what such work can achieve are too high, and are based on misguided assumptions around the nature of voice and accountability, and the links between the two. The positive impact of CV&A interventions has so far remained limited. What works and what does not work in donor support to citizens’ voice and accountability (CV&A) interventions? Why? This report synthesises the findings of a major joint donor evaluation (2006-2008).
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