Special Initiatives
Special Initiatives
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Public Administration Reform and Anti-Corruption in Asia and the PacificPromoting Participation in GovernmentParticipatory governance is a necessary part of representative democracy. This requires a public administration that is responsive, transparent and accountable to the people that it is meant to serve. The public administration is the main vehicle through which the relationship between the state, civil society and the private sector is realized. Hence, public administration reform is not only about modernizing institutions, but also about fostering dynamic partnerships with civil society and the private sector, improving the quality of service delivery, enhancing social responsibilities and ensuring the broad participation of citizens in decision-making and feedback on public service performance and service delivery. Accountability to the public and involvement of citizens in the decision making process is in itself likely to result in a more efficient and effective public service. A public administration that, as a duty bearer, seeks to ensure that the rights of citizens – in particular those of women and disadvantaged groups – are safeguarded, is furthermore critical to ensuring the sustainability of development efforts, and therefore also the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Participation of the public in the decision-making and throughout the development process is a political right and States are obligated to create an enabling environment for such participation to take place.UNDP promotes the development and implementation of home-grown and sustainable participatory monitoring systems of public sector management and performance as a means to monitor the efficiency of service delivery and to empower citizens to engage in decision-making on public issues that impact on their livelihoods. Comparative Study on Participatory Monitoring of Service DeliveryToday a variety of tools and methodologies with the aim of ensuring popular involvement exist e.g. participatory audits, participatory budgeting and report cards. But there are differing opinions on the cost-effectiveness and sustainability of some of these systems, and replication of success stories form one country to another remains difficult. Hence, despite important amounts of resources spent on developing, refining and implementing various models of social accounting, a lot of questions remain and governments appear to be in need of practical information that allows them to make an informed decision on the kind of performance measurement system that best suits their needs and that is affordable, in terms of human and financial cost. In light of this, the RCB is currently conducting a Comparative Study on Participatory Monitoring of Service Delivery. More information on this study is provided in the Decentralization and Local Governance service line webspace. In addition to the study, a regional consultation will allow for bringing together lessons learned and codify our existing knowledge on the subject. |
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