Miscellaneous Knowledge Notes
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Publication
One-Stop Shops in Vietnam: Changing the Face of Public Administration for Citizens and Businesses through a Single Door to Multiple Services
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-06)This case study analyzes the development of one-stop shops in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, from inception of the first one in Ho Chi Minh City in 1995 through the full roll out of this model of integrated service delivery across the country, beginning in 2003. Embedded in the spirit of the “Doi Moi” reforms that began in the 1980s, one-stop shops have been an integral part of the government’s public administration reform program, initiated in 2001. Political support, decentralization, clear guidelines regarding organizational structure, and significant capital investment allowed the one-stop shop model to successfully transform the attitudes of civil servants toward the public, reduce bureaucracy, inefficiencies, and rent seeking, and improve the quality of services delivered. -
Publication
Recent Developments and Key Considerations Impacting the Operations of One-Stop Shops for Citizens: A Summary of Major Trends and a Design Guide for Citizen Service Centers
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-06)Countries across the globe are establishing new and improving existing citizen service centers (CSCs) to better serve their citizens. This note provides an overview of recent developmentsimpacting CSC operations as well as a CSC design guide meant to summarize essential issues that managers looking to establish CSCs may wish to consider. Part 1 lays out how four key themes—access, personalization, speed, and interaction—have shaped the latest innovations in citizenservice center design. These themes are linked to the increasing availability and spread of new technologies, which open new channels for governments to provide information and services to their citizens, and expand the potential for multichannel approaches. Based on these trends, part 2presents a CSC design guide which provides an overview of eight key issues to take into account when designing or reforming a CSC: (1) channels of service delivery; (2) depth of service delivery; (3) financing models; (4) organizations involved and breadth of services provided; (5) single or multiple windows; (6) homogeneity/diversity across CSCs; (7) location; and (8) if services are provided by target group, life event or category of service. -
Publication
The City of Pancevo’s Citizen Service Center, Serbia: Streamlining Service Delivery and Fostering Inclusion at the Municipal Level
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-06)This case study provides an overview of the Pan evo Citizen Service Center (CSC), which, since its establishment in 2009, has delivered a variety of municipal services to citizens under one roof. It examines the measures established by the municipal team to guarantee equal access to services for all segments of the population and to improve the quality of service delivery, notably by migrating certain procedures online and providing citizens with rapid feedback mechanisms. While institutional coordination, funding, staff motivation, and capacity to meet demand remain challenges, the CSC has become a key focal point for the municipality, with the number of citizens visiting the center each year almost equaling the city’s inhabitants. Successes achieved through this local-level, one-stop-shop model include easier access, greater efficiency, faster delivery, improved communication, and better quality of information for citizens. -
Publication
Municipal Citizen Service Centers in Southeastern Europe: Survey Results on Success Factors, Challenges, and the Human Rights Approach of Municipal One-Stop Shops in the Western Balkans
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-06)This report presents the results of an online survey administered in six southeastern European countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. The survey was aimed at gathering insights related to the operations and human rights approach of municipalone-stop shops delivering services to citizens. Findings show that the region’s municipal citizen service centers are generally aware of the impact that their activities have on human rights. In addition to complying with legal requirements to guarantee the rights of citizens and avoid discriminatory practices in service delivery, many citizen service centers actively promote universal access to public services. This is mostly accomplished by taking measures that foster theinclusion of vulnerable groups and by offering mechanisms that encourage participation and accountability, such as citizen feedback and complaint-handling mechanisms. -
Publication
A Local Budget Transparency Index for Cameroon's Local Councils : Insights from a Benchmarking Exercise
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-06)Transparent budgets and public financial management processes constitute a key pillar of good governance. However, while this has been increasingly recognized for national budgets, little attention is paid to subnational budget transparency. To fill this lacuna, a World Bank-supported initiative piloted a local budget transparency index (LBTI) in two of Cameroon s ten regions. Thirty-one local councils in the Northwest Region and nineteen in the Adamawa Region self-assessed the openness of their budget processes by filling out questionnaires in 2012. The councils were then ranked, the results were published, and, in Adamawa, discussed in a public meeting called by the region s governor and attended by mayors and the media. Through this exercise, mayors of low-ranking councils were publicly questioned about their low scores, which led to a palpable desire on their part to better perform in the next round of the survey. In 2013, independent nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) gathered the same information in a second round of surveys. This note discusses the methodology, main findings, and results from the LBTI pilot in the two regions and concludes with key challenges and lessons learned. -
Publication
Improving the Public Expenditure Outcomes of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme through Social Accountability Interventions in Sirohi District, Rajasthan, India
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-11)The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), enacted by the government of India in 2006, recognizes employment as a universal legal right for every rural household. Breaking from earlier employment schemes and development programs, NREGA is significant in that it is 'a regime of rights' for poor rural communities. NREGA provides a comprehensive set of entitlements that not only outline judicially enforceable terms for employment but also give citizens a central role in all stages of implementation. The overall objective of this social accountability intervention was to assess NREGS implementation, identify lacunae in program implementation, and build ownership of the findings of this intervention within all levels of government. NREGS has a system of continuous external monitoring and verification to curb corruption and maintain quality implementation. The Citizen Report Card (CRC) survey found that 56 percent of the project worksites were visited fewer than three times by upper level government authorities. -
Publication
Impact of Social Accountability Mechanisms on Achieving Service Delivery and Health Development Outcomes in Satara District, Maharashtra, India
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-11)Satara District Council has an average budget of roughly US$30 million/1,410 million Indian rupees to provide health, nutrition, drinking water, sanitation, and education infrastructure services to its citizens. While social and economic indexes indicate that Satara is one of the better-developed districts in Maharashtra, it still falls short in attaining expected service delivery outcomes. Irregular health services and suboptimal health outcomes such as malnourishment, unsafe drinking water, and lack of sanitation remained major challenges in the district because of the absence of community participation in planning and poor accountability on the part of public functionaries. The overall objective of this accountability intervention was to improve development outcomes by strengthening the delivery of services by key government departments and programs. The micro-planning (MP) aspect of the process allowed communities to set collective priorities and decide on investments while the community scorecards (CSC) part allowed regular monitoring, feedback, and dialogue between service users and providers. -
Publication
Chhattisgarh, India: Performance Rating of Gram Panchayats through Community Score Cards
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2007-09)The World Bank-supported Chhattisgarh District Rural Poverty Reduction Project (CGDPRP), also called locally as Nawa Anjor (New Light), aims at improving opportunities for poor and vulnerable communities in Chhattisgarh State. To achieve this goal, the project creates infrastructure and income opportunities for the rural poor, empowers disadvantaged groups, and helps local governments1 become more responsive and effective in assisting the poor. CGDPRP sought to develop a performance monitoring and rating system to build local government capacity, especially the Gram Panchayats (GPs). In this context the project experimented with the use of the Community Score Card (CSC) for identifying crucial issues that affect local service delivery, measure user satisfaction, empower village citizens (especially the poor and women), and rate the performance of GPs. This note summarizes the findings, processes, concerns, and lessons learned from the Chhattisgarh pilot. -
Publication
Maharashtra, India: Improving Panchayat Service Delivery through Community Score Cards
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2007-08)This note summarizes the experiences from a pilot project undertaken by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, in partnership with the World Bank-sponsored Jalswarajya Project. The current initiative was one of six pilot projects launched by the South Asia Sustainable Development Department (SASAR) of the World Bank aimed at the application of specific social accountability tools in different contexts of service delivery through the trust fund for Capacity Building and Piloting of Social Accountability Initiatives for Community Driven Development in South Asia.