Civil society organisations supporting accountability in cash transfer programmes

This five day rapid review looks at the experiences globally of civil society organisations providing or supporting accountability mechanisms in cash transfer programmes. Bhargava and Raha’s (2015: 12) review of civil society engagement with cash transfer programme accountability found only few studies, suggesting to them that there is a significant knowledge gap. A mixture of academic and grey literature was available. Civil society organisations have supported accountability in cash transfer programmes by: working to improve transparency to help citizens hold authorities accountable; vetting beneficiary lists for errors; encouraging compliance by highlighting benefits; gathering feedback to improve services; assessing programme vulnerability to integrity risks and advocating to improve matters; and gathering grassroots level information on the programmes. Civil society organisations have supported or provided accountability mechanisms a number of different countries around the world. This report looks at case studies from Mexico; Brazil; Philippines; Mozambique; Occupied Palestine Territories; Peru; Kenya; Turkey; and Paraguay.