Session 5: Breakthrough to Excellence

Delivery and Governance of Social

Protection Programs
Asia-Pacific Social Protection Week
1-5 August 2016
Gambhir Bhatta
Technical Advisor (Governance)
Asian Development Bank
2 August 2016
to contextualize the role of governance in improving social service
delivery and highlight key examples in Asia-Pacific
DISCLAIMER: This presentation does not necessarily reflect the views of ADB or the Government concerned, and ADB and the Government cannot be held
liable for its contents.

Some key concepts

Community agency
Political articulation
voice & participation
Democratic
accountability

Governance in social protection

the set of incentives and
accountable relationships that
influence the way in which
providers are held accountable
for their ability to deliver services
with quality and efficiency.

Transparency

Predictability
Capacity development

Primary focus on ensuring that

the right benefit gets to the
right person at the right time

Improving public service delivery is an effective entry point toward

wider governance reform
Service delivery and
petty corruption The
wide prevalence of this
kind of petty corruption is
a major challenge for
policy makers in
developing Asia
For more inclusive
growth, effective
delivery of public
services is important
since these are
particularly important
to the poor.

Public Service Delivery - the Face of

Governance
Police charge
motorists with
bogus traffic
violations

Undermine
education and
health services

When
laws are
not
enforced

When
people
are not
aware

Absentee
teachers
and
doctors

Without
voice

Municipal
officials ask
payment for
legitimate
connection

The poor are

denied
entitlements
or benefits

A multi-pronged strategy with 3 specific

policies for improved service delivery
Policies

Implications

Examples of Specific Activities

Empower citizens and

communities

Focus on demand-side
governance

Strengthen:
community groups and civil
society (eg, womens groups
ama samuha in Nepal)
Right to Information Act

Engage sub-national
governments

For subsidiarity principle;

more engaged conversation
around federalism, nature
of revenue and expenditure
assignments, etc.

Support:
local accountability mechanisms
(such as social audits),
Build capacity of local
governments (resourcing, tools,
skills, and organizational culture)

Expand use of ICT as a

catalyst

In addition to increasing
efficiencies in public
administration, this brings
fundamental changes in
service delivery to
disadvantaged groups

Support:
Digitization of land records
real-time information on
effectiveness of service delivery

Examples of specific activities to help improve service delivery

Policies

Examples of Specific Activities

1. Empower citizens Strengthen:

and communities
community groups
and civil society
RTI

democracy
requires an informed
citizenry and
transparency of
information

Examples of specific activities to help improve service delivery

Policies

Examples of Specific Activities

2. Engage subnational
governments

Support:
local accountability mechanisms (such as social
audits),
develop capacity of local governments
(resourcing, tools, and skills)

Social audit
Process of having use of public resources assessed by
community through a public platform; contributes to
enforcement of accountability

Capacity development
Not just with respect to skills but also giving local
governments the right tools and resources, and changing
organizational culture

Social Audits
The entire village of Kalan Guzar
turned out for the social audit
meeting which was held in a big
compound next to the school and
the clinic. - Photo: AKDN

Capacity development
CD is a process of change about
managing transformations,
including through changing
organizational culture

Number of TA projects with GCD as

theme
400

100%
88%

350
75%

80%

300
70%

67%

CD of local governments wrt:

250

60%

200

Resourcing amount of $
Tools eg, study of good
practices in social protection
service delivery elsewhere
Skills of service delivery,
control and accountability, etc.

90%

50%
40%

150

30%
100
20%
50

10%

0%
2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

Total TA

CDTA

Non-CDTA (GCD)

% GCD

2014

Examples of specific activities to help improve service delivery

Policies

Examples of Specific Activities

3. Expand use of ICT Support:

as a catalyst
Digitization of land records
real-time information on effectiveness of
service delivery

Real-time information on effectiveness

of service delivery

(http://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/pu
blication/31238/ewp-391.pdf, p. 4)

Governance mechanisms in social protection

(at both systems and operational levels)

People-centered service delivery in social protection implies:

Giving primacy to needs and concerns of citizens (issues of
targeting, benefit delivery, citizen inputs)
Being accountable to them

Accountability (holding to account resulting from

monitoring) for:
Functions eg, whether mandated work has been
undertaken;
Processes eg, whether mandated work has been done in
accordance with stipulated guidelines and requirements
grievance redress;
Results eg, whether objectives have been achieved;
Fairness eg, whether interests of marginalized groups
have also been taken into account ( inclusiveness).

Frankly, my dear, I dont give a damn

Political commitment as a necessary

and sufficient condition (at all levels
of government)