Good Governance attempts to lay the foundations for factors like accountability, transparency, effective service delivery and efficiency of processes and outcomes. However to guarantee these features, social accountability becomes an overhauling factor, be it in the context of civil society or political society. The underlying assumption is that the features of democratic governance enable social accountability. These features are parliamentary democracy, representation, constitutionalism and participation respectively.

Enabling environment for social accountability is ensured through various means. The present module underlines and defines the various methods in which environment are created to ensure the existence of social accountability mechanisms. The following points describe the scope of the module.

It is the political regime that paves way for the environment necessary for social accountability. It also means that facilitation of strong accountability mechanisms through local government assemblies, village councils, representation, etc. can transform the existing political regimes which encourage popular participation as a means to achieve environment for accountability. The right to participation is potentially a more empowered form of engagement than participation by invitation from governments, donors, or higher authorities. And to ensure that an encouraging and enabling environment exists for social accountability the role played by the governments is very important. Failure to create good governing institutions can have dramatic economic and political consequences. Hence role played by all the three branches of the government viz., legislature, executive and judiciary is important in this context.

In addition to the creating an enabling environment for social accountability, the success of most such initiatives can be stabilized and institutionalized by creating a Legal and Regulatory Framework supporting social accountability. Legislations can be very conducive for social accountability from civil society as well as government perspective. Laws relating to media, broadcasting, information, health, education, decentralization, public etc., are mechanisms that empower the people to hold public authorities more accountable.

Creating an enabling environment for social accountability with a robust legal framework is not just the responsibility of the government but private sector, civil society and media can also play a key role. Enabling Civic Engagement signifies a set of conditions - often inter-related - that impact on the capacity of citizens and civil society organizations to engage in development processes in a sustained and effective manner, whether at the policy, program or project level. They include legal, regulatory and policy frameworks, and political, socio-cultural and economic factors.

The key learnings to the unit will help the reader to understand the broad concept of enabling environment for accountability and the nature in which political systems make provision for the same, identify the inbuilt mechanism of accountability in the three branches of government and also learn the role of legal framework in ensuring accountability, understand the scope and need for civic engagement in decision making and understanding the role of media, civil society and private sector in ensuring suitable environment for social accountability.

Best Reads

1. The Role of Civic Engagement & Social Accountability in the Governance Equation; World Bank
2. Exploring Partnerships between Communities and Local Governments in Community Driven Development: A Framework; The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
3. Social Reporting and New Governance Regulation: The Prospects of Achieving Corporate Accountability through Transparency, Business Ethics Quarterly

Case Studies

• The Enabling Environment for Social Accountability in Mongolia; World Bank
• Accountability and Gross National Happiness; Dasho Meghraj Gurung, Bhutan Post