Google Confidential and Proprietary 1 Inform and Empower to Improve Public Services Initiative...

Google Confidential and Proprietary 1

Inform and Empowerto Improve Public Services

Initiative Review 3.31.08

Juliette GimonSalimah SamjiSonal ShahMeryl StoneAleem WaljiAlix Zwane


The quality of public services in developing countries is low


Problem: Top-down Delivery with few feedback loops

Only accountable for amount of money spent

Only accountable for amount of money spent

No measure of quality of services rendered

No measure of quality of services rendered

PolicymakersDecides how much is spent

with little information on what works.

ProvidersDelivers service with few

resources, tools or feedbackfrom recipients.

PeopleReceive services

with little information about rights, entitlements or choices. Little abilityto improve service.

Money Services


People want changeMany groups working in the accountability space- opportunity for scale and coordination

Local Regional National

Independent Budget Analysis

Participatory Monitoring

Budget/Expenditure Tracking

Advocacy

4

5

1 1

4

9

16

14

2

4

NGOs working in Accountability in ten Anglophone African Countries

“The whole can be greater than the sum of the fragmented individual projects.”


An Accountable System

Know choices and influence change

Improve quality of service

Provide information on performance

Change policy to improve services

Give feedback on quality of service and

provider

Reflect citizen voice in policymaking

Informed Decision Makers

ResponsiveProviders

EmpoweredPeople


No Single Solution: Many Paths to Success

Top-down ApproachBottom-up

AccountabilityOutcome

Between 1991-1995, a public expenditure tracking study determined that only about 20 cents of every dollar authorized for instructional materials in Uganda reached schools.

In response to this study, the government began releasing data on monthly education spending to newspapers and radio stations. Schools were required to post notices on monthly transfers of funds

received.

By 1999, an average of 80 cents of every dollar authorized for instructional materials actually used to buy books.

In 1994, only 9% of citizens living in Bangalore India, were satisfied with public services.

In 1994, 1999 and 2003, Public Affairs Centre (PAC) in Bangalore launched a series of Citizen Score Cards to gauge government performance.

By 2003, 49% of Bangalore citizens were satisfied with public services.

Before 2005, the Education sector in India was only focused on outputs (number of schools, enrollment rates).

In 2005, Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) provided data for the first time ever on basic reading and addition/subtraction skills of rural children across India.

Today, we see increased debate around quality of education in India.


But scale is hardScale requires both changing the system and the ability to influence behavior

Ability for partners to influence

behavior

Ability to change system

Policymakers Finance Min. Line Min. Local Gov’t/ Providers People

Actors in the service delivery chain

Ab

ilit

y t

o i

nfl

ue

nc

e

Easy

Difficult

Opportunity for a systems approach


Attitudes towards Interracial Marriage in the US

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

1958

1968

1972

1978

1983

1991

1994

1997

2002

2003

2004

2007

(Jun

e)

2007

(Sep

t)YearPerc

en

tag

e o

f P

op

ula

tion

Percentage of PopulationApproving

And changing attitudes and behavior requires a long-term visionImagine if the civil rights movement quit in 1968 or 1992?

1992

LA riots spurred by tape of Rodney King beating

1963

MLK’s March on Washington

Barack Obama runs for President

of the United States

MLK assassinated

33% increase in approval over 4 years


Implementation

Resource allocation

Priority Setting

How does service delivery work? Many actors, little information, low capacity, and few incentives to perform

Se

rvic

e O

utc

om

es

Development Partners

Elected Policy Makers

Planning Commission/Ministry of

Finance

Line Ministries People

Providers/Local Govt


Making the system workThe KDP story – an opportunity to learn from success



Planning Commission/Ministry of

Finance



Se

rvic

e O

utc

om

es

Priority SettingResource allocation

Implementation


IE Theory of Change

New and existing information made accessible Making transparent to all parties the disparities between needs and service levels

+

New and existing information made usefulBecause of new tools, evidence, and analytic capacity

+

Stronger incentives to perform and fulfill responsibilities

Dissemination and feedback from below leads to increase costs of non-performance

An accountable systemExpectations of quality service and responsive providers- an accountability zeitgeist

Improvement in service outcomes


What is an “accountability zeitgeist?”IE as catalyst for social change

Zeit·geist \tsīt-gīst, zīt-\

n.

An intellectual and socio-cultural norm of accountability and quality in the public service delivery system.

Central to our vision of success


IE Vision of Success

We are working towards:

Measurable improvements in service outcomes. • Improved access and quality for health-related water and sanitation services in East

African countries, and a resulting reduction in water-related morbidity and mortality.

• Improved quality of primary education services in East African countries, resulting in improvements in learning outcomes.

• Improved service outcomes in most districts in at least two Indian States, as measured by a district-level index of human development; sectors in which outcomes will improve will vary across districts.

Accountability zeitgeist. • Policymakers, providers, and people expect the system to function and they hold each

other accountable.


Why E. Africa and India?Fertile ground for zeitgeist

• Ecosystem of local actors (demand for accountability)

• Decentralized

• Democratic/ interested governments

• Other complimentary links/commitments by google.org

• Potential for leveraging Google.com


Our ApproachUnderstand the Problem and Enable Change

Understand the Problem

Invest in baselines and analysis on:

• Service Outcomes

• Budget allocation and expenditures

Identify and create basic platforms from which to build out this effort and measure impacts

Enable Change

Make it easier for all actors to fulfill their responsibilities

• New tools, innovations, evaluations, capacity

• Ways for Google to contribute to our vision of success

Strengthen incentives for performance/increase penalties for non-performance

• Dissemination efforts to stakeholders

• Strengthen/create user feedback mechanisms

Support an accountability “zeitgeist”

• Networks, platforms and media

• Leveraging our “systems approach” to convene all actors


IE Impact Pathway

Changes in health and education outcomes (EA)

Changes in district-level HDI (India)

Inputs

and

activities

Baselines and analysis

Evidence/Tools/Capacity

Feedback from below

Information on rights and responsibilities

Outputs used and adopted

Changes in priorities and priority setting processes

Changes in budget allocations/processes

Changes in implementation processes (citizen feedback)

Changes in social norms

Resources

Google tools and technology

Direct

Outputs

1st

Intermediate

Outcomes

2nd

Intermediate

Outcomes

3rd

Intermediate

Outcomes

Final Impacts


Boundary Partnersin the Impact Pathway



Planning Commission/

Ministry of Finance



Imp

acts

Δ Priority Setting

Δ Resource allocation

Δ Implementation

ZeitgeistΔ in socio-cultural climate

Direct outputs

People


Zeitgeist = scaleSocial accountability movement

Scale means a “social accountability movement” in this context

Make our plans for directly influencing boundary partners in such a way that this helps us support social change

• Working with boundary partners throughout the chain

• Google is a neutral player taking a system approach

• Develop partnerships as an ecosystem

• Regional networks

• Broad-based information dissemination

• Scalable approaches to partner and project selection, platforms

Act as catalyst for social change; not big push

This strategy to be revised and refined

Plan for testing ToC and tracking intermediate outputs is central to this

Google Confidential and Proprietary 1 Inform and Empower to Improve Public Services Initiative...

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