Behavior Profile: Citizens participate in local governance
Democracy and Governance Goal: Strengthening responsive governance and social systems to support a transformational agenda
Citizens participate in local governance
Percentage of citizens in the focus districts who participated in at least one local governance engagement, in the last 12 months

Behavior Analysis

Strategy

BEHAVIOR AND STEPS

What steps are needed to practice this behavior?

Citizens participate in local governance

  1. Seek information on local plans
  2. Participate in design and preparation of plans
  3. Advocate for the marginalized and vulnerable populations in local governance processes
  4. Give feedback on the plans
  5. Monitor implementation of plans
  6. Participate in the review of plan implementation

FACTORS

What factors may prevent or support practice of this behavior?
Structural
Accessibility: Citizens cannot participate in local governance because sub-district substructures are weak and dysfunctional.
Service Provider Competencies: Citizens cannot engage in local governance because development assistance workers lack interest and do not allow opportunities to engage.
Service Experience: Citizens cannot engage in local governance because there are no systems for citizens to learn about plans and a lack of information sharing capacity.
Service Experience: Citizens do not engage in local governance because they cannot identify any successful community leaders or experienced leaders who have met their expectations.
Social
Family and Community Support: Citizens participate in local governance because their popular assembly is strong and encourages them to participate.
Internal
Attitudes and Beliefs: Citizens do not engage in local governance because they believe traditional authorities and politicians are not looking out for them.
Attitudes and Beliefs: Citizens participate in local governance because they feel their opinion is valued.
Knowledge: Citizens do not participate in local governance because the process is not transparent.

SUPPORTING ACTORS AND ACTIONS

Who must support the practice of this behavior, and what actions must they take?
Institutional
Local Government Members: Organize community fora to inform citizens of the use public resources.
Local Government Members: Justify decisions for expenditures and projects to citizens.
Local Government Members: Seek feedback from citizens on district public resource utilization and spending performance.
Local Government Members: Review accuracy of financial reports and expenditures regularly.
Local Government Members: Display records so that they are publicly accessible.
Local Government Members: Verify and monitor progress of expenditures.
Local Government Members: Share monitoring results publicly.
Local Government Members: Provide regular feedback to citizens that address their questions and concerns.
Local Government Members: Research the needs of citizens.
Local Government Members: Review identified plan needs with key district stakeholders.
Local Government Members: Develop plans based on citizen input and feedback.
Local Government Members: Coordinate the implementation of the plan with appropriate stakeholders.
Media: Educate the public on budgets, investigate and report on financial audit findings, and demand government accountability.
Community
Civil Society Organizations: Lead citizens to demand accountability from local government actors on the use of public resources.
Popular Assemblies: Advocate for citizen involvement and engagement in local governance.

POSSIBLE PROGRAM STRATEGIES

What strategies will best focus our efforts based on this analysis?

Strategy requires Communication Support

Enabling Environment
Institutional Capacity Building: Activate and mainstream the role of revenue collection and access within districts.
Partnerships and Networks: Cultivate private sector engagement with popular assemblies to share information and engage citizens.
Systems, Products and Services
Products and Technology: Invest in technologies that make plans and information accessible to citizens at all levels in all conditions.
Quality Improvement: Make social accountability an integral part of implementation and management system.
Demand and Use
Advocacy: Support regular citizens discussions to share evidence and identify challenges.
Communication: Develop community spotlights to highlight successes and progress of local governance.
Communication: Establish regular feedback mechanisms that are easily accessible to the citizens and demonstrate how citizen feedback is being incorporated.
Collective Engagement: Hold informal meetings with local governance leaders to allow citizens to know who controls their money and how it is used.
Skills Building: Create regular hands on sessions for citizens to learn how to use information sharing technology.
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