| Project Detail |
To improve the quality and responsiveness of selected public services through more informed and engaged citizens.
Key Results
• Percentage of target primary schools, health centers and communes/sangkats demonstrating
improved performance and meeting national standards (according to I4C data).
• Percentage of JAAP actions (to improve primary school, health center and commune/sangkat
services) that are completed or ongoing.
• Percentage of target communes/sangkats that have completed at least three full annual ISAF cycles.
• Percentage of graduated target communes/sangkats where a Community Accountability Facilitator
(CAF) network has been created and is operational.
D. Project Description
13. This project is proposed as support for the “demand-side” of social accountability, enabling civil society
actors to organize and “demand” better public services. It will be complemented by another proposed project
which would enable the NCDDS to implement the “supply-side” of social accountability by providing the
information that citizens need to hold public service providers accountable and by building the will and capacity
of government officials to respond to feedback and demands from citizens. As such, the two projects should be viewed side-by-side as two parts of a whole, financed separately so that the implementing agencies on each side
can act freely to balance each other out and to collaborate and partner on their own terms to achieve their
collective aims of citizens that are more engaged in the delivery of public services and improvements in the quality
of services for the people of Cambodia.
14. There are three main components of this project which comprise the annual cycle of social accountability
activities: (1) Transparency and access to information; (2) Citizen monitoring; and (3) Implementation of Joint
Accountability Action Plans (JAAPs). Component (4) Training and capacity development, and (5) Civil society
coordination and partnership support, provide overarching support to building the capacity required to
implement the planned activities and sustain them beyond the duration of this project.
15. Overall there will be three levels of intervention at the district/municipality (DM) and commune/sangkat
(CS) level. The intensity of effort in each locality will vary depending upon whether ISAF has been previously
implemented in that DM or CS. This differentiated approach is aimed at reducing external support over time as a
way of “graduating” DMs from ISAF external support and integrating social accountability activities into core
government systems and civil society action. DMs/CSs that have had no previous experience with ISAF with receive
the most support as they will need to start from the basic concepts and processes of ISAF. DMs/CSs with ISAF
experience will not need to receive support on the basics of ISAF, and many of them may also have experienced
local NGOs and trained CAFs to draw on, but they will still need support to prepare them to graduate from external
project assistance. Finally, a third package of support will significantly reduce the intensity of the intervention and
aim at leaving behind subnational government, service providers and civil society actors (especially CAFs) that
continue to carry out social accountability activities after project support has receded.
16. World Vision International (WVI) will be the main implementing agency for the proposed project, ensuring
overall coordination and working through partnerships with other local (and potentially other international) NGOs
as well as individual community accountability facilitators working at the commune and villages levels. WV will
focus most of its resources in new DMs as well as the DMs where ISAF was previously active, but which have failed
to sustain activities after ISAF I. The latter DMs will need to be “reactivated” by reengaging the local NGOs and
CAFs if they are available. DMs where WV continues to provide support for CAF networks, and those who
eventually have at least 2 years of ISAF experience, will receive a reduced amount of support with the focus on
establishing sustainable CAF networks and subnational authorities committed to working with CAFs and interested
citizens to continue social accountability activities.
17. In terms of service coverage, this project and the complementary supply-side project in particular, will
continue to focus on the basic services covered in ISAF I: commune councils, health centers and primary schools.
In addition, a new instrument and methodology for holding District and Municipality Administrations accountable
for quality service delivery will be developed, piloted and scaled up over the duration of this project. This
represents a fourth type of service provider that will be covered in ISAF. In addition, this project will also enable
World Vision to contribute to discussions with additional line ministries to help them to eventually develop, pilot
and implement ISAF activities for other services such as water supply, wastewater management, nutrition-related
public services, agricultural extension and protected area/natural resource management
18. The total project financing amount is US$ 6.75 million, with US$ 5.95 million from Social Accountability
and Service Delivery Multi Donor Trust Fund (SASD-TF) and US$ 0.80 million from WVI. Below are summary
descriptions of each project component.
Component 1: Transparency and Access to Information (US$1.50 million)
19. This component aims to strengthen transparency and citizen access to, and demand for, public service
performance information, budget and expenditure data. The goals are to: (i) strengthen the supply and
dissemination of relevant public service information (including financial information), (ii) make the information
more accessible to the public, and (iii) strengthen the capacity of citizens to understand the information provided
so that they may more actively and effectively participate in dialogue on service provider performance and use of
funds.
20. Once government agencies make service provider information publicly available through standardized
Information for Citizen (I4C) posters and through newly developed multimedia and electronic platforms, volunteer
Community Accountability Facilitators (CAFs) will help to communicate this information to citizens. The CAFs will
make use of small village meetings, local radio, printed calendars and other materials, awareness raising on the
use of the ISAF mobile application (App) and other means. Videos will also be developed and deployed via
Facebook, the ISAF mobile App and other platforms, illustrating what quality public service is meant to look like
as another means of educating the public. Video, radio and the engagement of CAFs that speak local, indigenous
languages will help to make information accessible to indigenous and other ethnic minority groups living in
Cambodia.
21. An enhanced focus on understanding service provider budgets, expenditures and procurement activity
will be developed, including training in budget literacy for CAFs which can then be passed on to citizens. World
Vision will also engage with NCDDS to finalize the systems for sharing information on District Administration
services and add this to its I4C activities at the village and commune level. Educating citizens on additional public
services (i.e. water supply and sanitation) at the village and commune level may be added as the relevant line
ministries make such information available.
22. Sustainable mechanisms for financing I4C dissemination, including through CAFs, will be piloted and
integrated into government and civil society support systems such as financing by Commune Councils, District
Administrations (including through the District Ombudsman Office), and local civil society organizations (CSOs).
Component 2: Citizen Monitoring (US$1.69 million)
23. This component will empower citizens to monitor and assess public services and propose actions for
improvement using an adapted Community Scorecard (CSC) methodology. Community Accountability Facilitators
(CAFs), with the support of local NGO partners, as needed, will undertake the groundwork for the citizen
monitoring process by identifying and mobilizing community participants and making logistical preparations for
assessment meetings. CAFs will then help to prepare (in the case of citizen/community assessment meetings, and
in districts organizing self-assessment meetings for the first time) and support separate assessment meetings with
(i) the providers and (ii) the users of each service. Service provider (i.e. primary school, health center, commune
and district administration) assessments are called “self-assessment” meetings. In both the service provider “selfassessment” and user assessment meetings, participants collectively generate and prioritize assessment criteria,
score each criterion, describe strengths and weaknesses, and identify priority actions for improvement. Following
these separate assessment meetings, users and providers for each service come together in an “interface
meeting” to discuss the outcomes of their respective assessments and to collectively agree a set of priority actions
for improvement – distinguishing between those actions that they can implement themselves with available
resources and those that will require additional resources and/or action on the part of other (i.e. external or higher-level) actors.
24. Through the proposed project, World Vision will train and support CAFs to organize and facilitate the CSC
process, including service provider self-assessment, user assessment and interface meetings. Via the ISAF mobile
App, CAFs will also enter the results of these assessment meetings into a central database so that the results can
be seen publicly and by the relevant subnational government and line ministries so that they can take follow-up
action, as needed, to improve service quality. The results of the Interface Meeting will also be used to prepare a
Joint Accountability Action Plan (JAAP) in print form and electronically (via the ISAF mobile App) for each
commune, including actions for each service provider. As participation in CSC meetings is limited due to space and
resources, CAFs will promote the use of the mobile ISAF App as a way of extending information about the process
and its outcomes to a broader set of citizens. This data will also be factored into JAAP prioritization process, when
possible and be reviewed together with data generated from face-to-face meetings so that the full range of
feedback provided is accessible to the public and service providers.
25. As in the case of the I4C activities described above, sustainable mechanisms for financing the annual CAFsupported the Community Process will be piloted - drawing on integrated government and civil society support
systems. Through the complementary “supply-side” project mentioned earlier, NCDDS will train district ISAF
trainers (one from each line ministry) to conduct self-assessment meetings. The NCDDS will also liaise with
relevant line ministries and authorities to ensure that, by the end of ISAF II, the (minimal) direct costs of conducting
these meetings on an annual basis are built into government budgets.
Component 3: Implementation of Joint Accountability Action Plans (US$0.50 million in total, US$0.19 million
from SASD-TF and US$0.31 million from WVI)
26. This component aims at supporting communities, public service providers and subnational government
officials to take collective action to implement agreed Joint Accountability Action Plans (JAAPs). In each target
community, at the final interface meeting, a joint committee made up of local officials, service providers and
community members is formed to support and monitor the implementation of the resulting JAAP. The JAAP
Committee prepares a detailed implementation plan for each priority action, mobilizes the resources required,
coordinates/supports the implementation of each action, monitors progress and reports publicly on results twice
yearly. The Committee also ensures that the JAAP is presented at the annual District Integration Workshop and
that JAAP actions are incorporated into Commune Investment Plans, health center and school improvement plans,
as appropriate.
27. While the primary responsibility for JAAP follow-up is through the JAAP Committee, chaired by the
Commune Chief, CAFs are also members of the JAAP Committee and often play an active role in helping to organize
and facilitate JAAP Committee meetings. CAFs will also enter JAAP action updates, or support Commune Chiefs or
Clerks to update JAAP actions in the ISAF online database, as needed. World Vision will also aggregate JAAP actions
at a line ministry level, identify areas where district, provincial or national level action and investment is needed
and advocate for such action (i.e. provision of additional teachers, books, medicine, health center or school rooms,
etc.) as needed.
28. For districts which are implementing ISAF for the first time, CAFs will be supported to engage more actively
in JAAP Committee meetings, but this support will be reduced over the course of three years to the point where
communes self-finance all aspects of the meetings.
Component 4: Capacity Development (US$1.80 million in total, US$1.73 million from SASD-TF and US$0.07
million from WVI)
29. This Component will support the review and revision of the ISAF Demand-side Manual and Training
Guidelines, associated forms and documents, incorporating lessons from ISAF Phase I. It will also support the
development of new demand-side guidelines for district administration services, and possibly additional services
to be identified during implementation. Once such documents are finalized, they will be printed and disseminated
electronically, as needed.
30. For CAFs that are just recruited, World Vision will conduct a modular training leading to a national- level
certification based on certification processes applied by NGOs under ISAF Phase I. Certification includes both
theoretical and practical classroom activity as well as demonstrated capacity to implement all ISAF CAF- led
activities such as I4C and CSCs. Refresher training will also be provided each year. Under the proposed project, a
specialized capacity building NGO will be financed through a sub-grant/sub-project to develop and support longterm capacity building and, potentially, to engage the relevant Ministry for professional certification (i.e. Ministry
of Labor and Vocational Training) to specify the skills and competencies needed to certify them. A status of “CAF
Leader” will also be developed to act as peer trainers/mentors/supervisors for other CAFs.
31. The capacity building NGO will also be tasked with developing a CAF Community of Practice that will
promote and support ongoing (face-to-face and online) information sharing, communication and collaboration
between CAFs at district level, provincial and national level. One of the roles of the capacity building NGO will be
to develop safeguards to ensure the political independence of CAFs, “CAF Leaders” and Community of Practice.
As an incentive for sustainability, one criterion for the selection of the capacity building NGO will be their
willingness to continue to support the CAF network and certification process after the conclusion of project
financing. The capacity building NGO will also coordinate with the government’s ISAF training activities to ensure
that the content is consistent and potentially support certification of government staff in social accountability
practices.
Component 5: Civil Society Coordination and Support (US$1.26 million in total, US$.84 million from SASD-TF
and US$0.42 million from WVI)
32. As World Vision will ensure the implementation of project activities both through its own subnational offices
(where present) and through partnerships/sub-projects with other NGOs, the project will support the required
administrative coordination costs. This will include subnational support staff who will play a role in liaising with “supplyside” counterparts, in particular ISAF focal points and working groups at the provincial and district levels. World Vision
will also ensure coordinated civil society input into the joint (i.e. government and civil society) national-level Partnership
Steering Committee (PSC) by organizing meetings of interested CSOs/NGOs and coordinating and communicating
common messages. This component will also include the recruitment and management of CAFs and CAF leaders, as well
as other project consultants, incremental NGO staff time (i.e. financial management, procurement and communications
support) and sub-project agreements. Monitoring, evaluation, results and lessons learned documentation and
dissemination will also be supported through various media. A mid-term and final evaluation will be required, and some
funds will also be made available for learning events and small studies on selected topics. Incremental operating costs will
also be covered |
