Can collective action improve service delivery outcomes for the poor? Can donors more effectively support collective action to stimulate improvements in service delivery where formal accountability structures fail? This research draws on case studies from Brazil, Mexico and India to argue that there are opportunities for collective action to bring about social accountability. However, thorough analysis of the state and civil society actors, their relationships and the historical context is vital. Analysis of sector policy networks can give donors a deeper understanding of how to target support more effectively.
Poor people can fail to achieve a ‘voice’ through the formal structures of complaints procedures and citizens charters or through elections and the political process. However, collective action around shared interests by a broad-based coalition can bring about immediate user-level accountability, termed social accountability. Past donor experience has focused too much on an over-simplistic approach to civil society strengthening or on supporting projects with a single recipient organisation.
The case studies in health and social assistance programmes in urban areas in Brazil and Mexico highlight striking differences in the context of reform and institutional structures. These include the range of points of contact between the service users and deliverers. There are also surprising findings; for example, health professionals, traditionally seen as likely to block reform, played a significant role in stimulating reform.
The research undertakes a networks analysis of relationships between actors in policy networks in the health and social sectors in Sao Paolo and with reference to the Public Distribution System in India. This indicates that broad-based coalitions with some vertical reach across the public-private interface prove most effective. The research finds that:
- Different service delivery models create different opportunities for a range of actors to organise collectively and hold policymakers to account
- Policy development that includes user groups in the process is more likely to produce models that subsequently allow collective actors to hold service providers accountable
- Local collective action can bring about social accountability where formal mechanisms are weak; this is more likely where networks exist with public actors
- The configuration of networks across the public-private divide is what is most influential in understanding the effectiveness of policy networks, rather than the characteristics of key individuals.
Policy implications for donors considering designing programmes seeking to promote collective actions include:
- A thorough and sensitive analysis of the historical and political context is vital, as is an open mind and an avoidance of pre-determined models
- Analysis of public policy networks may be more effective than simple ‘civil society strengthening programmes’
- Networks with ‘vertical’ (grassroots to policymakers) coverage could be a promising area of focus for engagement in improving social accountability
- In certain circumstances, civil society organisations can remain effective watchdogs of implementation without losing their autonomy
- There is scope for working on strengthening the accountability of civil society organisations towards those who they claim to represent.
