9/6/2015 Social Accountability | Global Partnership for Social Accountability

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Social Accountability

Our Approach to Social Accountability

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9/6/2015 Social Accountability | Global Partnership for Social Accountability

Our Approach to Social Accountability

Whatissocialaccountability?Recentdecadeshaveseengrowingcivilsociety
engagementinmonitoringgovernmentperformanceandaccountabilityaswellasin
providingfeedbackforimprovinggovernanceanddevelopmentreforms.Thiskindof
engagementalsoreferredtoassocialaccountability(orSAcc)enablescitizensand
civilsocietyorganizations(CSOs)toengagewithpolicymakersandserviceproviders
tobringaboutgreateraccountabilityforandresponsivenesstocitizensneeds.

Ourapproachtosocialaccountabilityreliesonthestrengthofthenetworkof
governments,civilsocietyorganizationsanddonoragenciesorganizedwithinGPSA,
tofosterenablingcontextsthatcangenerateconcretesolutionstocomplex
governanceanddevelopmentchallenges.Assuch,theGlobalPartnershipforSocial
Accountabilitysupportssocialaccountabilityprocessesthatarebuiltonanumberof
keyelements.

Elements of our Approach to Social Accountability

1. Solutiondrivenapproachsocialaccountabilityisunderstoodasameanstoaddressing
specificgovernanceandservicedeliveryproblemsthataffectcitizenswellbeing.The
startingpointisthereforetheidentificationofproblemswherebycitizenfeedbackisneeded
tobetterunderstandtheircausesandtodevelopappropriatesolutions.
2. Contextbasedtheproblemissetwithinanunderstandingofthecontextoftheactors,
institutionsandprocessesthatarealreadyinvolvedinresolvingit,includingthosethathave
aninterestorareaffectedbytheissue.
3. Constructiveengagementboththeprocessandtheactualfeedbackthatisgenerated
throughsocialaccountabilitymustbeshared,discussedandcoordinatedwiththepublic
sectorinstitutionsinvolved,primarilythosethathavethedecisionmakingpowertotranslate
thefeedbackobtainedintoactualchangesaimedatimprovinggovernanceanddevelopment
processes.
4. Multistakeholdercoalitionsandpartnershipsthecomplexityofgovernanceandservice
deliveryproblemscallsfortheconcertedactionofactorsthathavedirectandindirect
interestsinsupportingtheirresolution.Italsorequiresthecombinationofdiversetypesof
expertise,outreachcapacities,andinfluenceinordertoworksimultaneouslyontherangeof
dimensionsinvolved.

Byprovidingfinancingandcapacitybuildingforcivilsocietyorganizations,wefocus
ontakingtheworkofCSOsonestepfurtherandpushingtheboundariesofwhatis
neededtoensurethatsocialaccountabilitybecomesacriticalingredientof
collaborativegovernance.Thisrequiresstrategicandsustainedfundingtosupport
CSOswork,coupledwiththeabilitytobrokerknowledgeexchangeandnetworking
opportunitiesamongsttheactorsinvolved,includingCSOs,publicsectorinstitutions
andotherkeygroups,suchastheprivatesector,unionsandthemedia.Ourapproach
tocapacitybuildingisthusdynamicandactionoriented,andseekstooffersolutions
tothecomplexitiesinvolvedinbuildingcapacitiesforcollaborativegovernance.

Socialaccountabilityprocessescanbeembeddedintoawiderangeofpublicissues
andproblemsrelatedtodemocraticgovernanceandpublicservicedelivery.GPSAs
programmaticworkisbasedonprioritiesidentifiedbylocalactorsinGPSAs
participatingcountries,includinggovernments,CSOsanddonoragencies.
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9/6/2015 Social Accountability | Global Partnership for Social Accountability

Tolearnmoreaboutsocialaccountability,checktheResources
(https://www.thegpsa.org/sa/Knowledge)availableonourKnowledgePage.

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TheGlobalPartnershipforSocialAccountabilty(GPSA)supportscivilsociety,governments,andtheprivatesectoracrossthe
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