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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) Patel, Darshana; Shah, Parmesh; Chakrabarti, Poulomi; Arya, Om Prakash; Cheriyan, George; Agarwal, SanjayThe 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) Patel, Darshana; Shah, Parmesh; Islam, Moutushi; Agarwal, SanjaySatara 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 Improving Student Enrollment and Teacher Absenteeism Outcomes through Social Accountability Interventions in Nalgonda and Adilabad Districts, Andhra Pradesh, India(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-11) Patel, Darshana; Shah, Parmesh; Lakhey, SmritiAlthough Andhra Pradesh (AP) has high economic growth, the state's public education system, which most poor children attend, faces several structural issues that hinder its quality. Although the public education system offers a structured space for parent and community input into management of schools, these spaces are not systematically used. AP achieved 10.37 percent economic growth for 2007-08 against the national average of 8.37 percent and has a poverty headcount ratio of 16 percent, compared with 23 percent for India as a whole. Despite such growth, AP's public education system, which serves the children of most poor households, faces several structural issues that impair its quality. The quality of education itself is suboptimal, teacher absenteeism rates are high, and teachers lack accountability to parents and the community. As a result, parents who wish to give their children quality education opt for expensive private schools. The AP Community Participation Act also empowered village level school committees to conduct micro-planning exercises and to develop education plans for schools. These school committees consist of teachers and the parents of the children enrolled in the school. Committee meetings are convened by the school's headmaster but presided over by an elected parent. After one year of implementation, this accountability intervention catalyzed the community and service providers to take an active role in public education. It brought about a series of impacts and outcomes, starting at the micro level with behavior changes on the part of students, parents, and the community, as well as school administrators and teachers. These behavior changes iterated over time, triggered changes at the institutional level in the school committees and government functionaries at higher levels.