INTERNATIONALBANK FOR WORLD BANK R E T C N O E N STRUCTION PM AND DEVELO February 2004 No.40 A regular series of notes highlighting recent lessons emerging from the operational and analytical program of the World Bank`s Latin America and Caribbean Region ARGENTINA'S CARTAS COMPROMISO STRENGTHENING THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY FOR MORE ACCOUNTABLE PUBLIC SERVICES Magüi Moreno Torres Background: the Institutional Reform Loan The Citizen Charters program is initiated with the signature and The Carta Compromiso of an agreement between the public service agency and the Subsecretaría (as the central coordinator of the program) fol- The last institutional and economic crisis in Argentina, with lowed by an implementation plan. The actual Carta is a pub- five government changes in two years, a severe economic lic document that establishes a commitment of the service recession and the collapse of the financial system, resulted agency to uphold a series of standards including: a) provid- in a decline in the credibility of public agencies. This chal- ing public explanations on user's rights and obligations; b) lenging context provided a window of opportunity to sup- informing users about the services and the means to access port more responsive and accountable services to citizens. them; c) informing users about the expected level of quality; d) establishing mechanisms for feed- At the end of 2000, the government of back and complaints; and e) setting Argentina (specifically the Subsecretaría redress processes (including appella- de Gestión Pública, or the Sub-secretary tion and reparation) for cases where of Public Management) initiated a pro- the agency does not comply with its gram of state modernization with the sup- commitments. port of the World Bank. This operation featured a key component around results- The implementation of the CCP based management systems, specifically the creation of a focuses on four main components: Programa Cartas Compromiso, or Citizen Charter Program (CCP). The CCP seeks a new relationship between public 1. Service quality standards. service providers and users by promoting a higher degree of 2. Public information systems. responsiveness and transparency to ensure greater quality of 3. Citizen consultation and participation processes. services, increased information and better monitoring and 4. Monitoring and evaluation of activities and results for evaluation. The Carta Compromiso is a public management further improvements. tool where the highest authority of a service-providing agency makes a public commitment to citizens, laying out a Although the CCP successfully has moved many public number of goals and results to be met within a given agencies towards a results-based management framework, an timeframe. initial assessment of the program shed light on the need to promote a more inclusive and participatory process for the 1 formulation of CCP goals. By doing so, the program can A large component on capacity building for the Subsecretaría help ensure that users' opinions are taken into account in de Gestión Pública will focus on the design, implementation setting standards and measuring indicators. and evaluation of a pilot citizen report card process for several public agencies. Capacity Building for Civil Society and the Additional participatory mechanisms used throughout the Government in the Implementation of the program include public hearings, consultations and the Program creation of an NGO-based technical coordination groups. Additionally, the information component has been In November 2001, a joint assessment on the implementation strengthened through the creation of an email address for of the program was conducted by the World Bank and the comments and queries (compromiso@sgp.gov.ar) and a government. Several challenges in the program were identi- website (http://cartacompromiso.sgp.gov.ar). fied: A pool of 31 national public service agencies so far have · Limited analysis of users and key actors involved in the adhered to the program, including ANSES, which is program. responsible for 50 percent of public expenditures at the national level and the SSS, which regulates health service · The Charters were often too technical and not shared provision for 11 million citizens. Of these, 25 have actually with users and civil society organizations for feedback signed and implemented the Charters. Additionally, a second earlier on. round of Charters have been signed to extend the guarantee of quality services, which brings the total number of legal · Users' and civil society views were not included in the documents to 38 as of May 2003. A total of 1,300 civil quality criteria in a systematic way. servants and over 40 civil society organizations have received capacity-building in various participatory · There were no formal feedback techniques. mechanisms for social accountability. · Civil society organizations (CSOs) Empowering Citizens to Hold had limited capacity to collect data, Service Providers Accountable analyze information and organize col- lective action. The Cartas Compromiso explicitly recognize As a result, improvements were made in the rights that are meant to assist citizens in their dissemination of the CCP and the participa- interactions with public institutions. Greater tion of civil society in the program's activi- access to information, inclusion and participa- ties through the creation of a Civil Society tion, accountability and capacity building are Unit (CSU) within the Subsecretaría, as the main elements for the empowerment of well as the organization of training work- citizens to hold institutions accountable. These shops. elements are also expected to contribute to creating, and in some cases restoring, the level An initial workshop for officials from the of confidence in the public administration and various signatory agencies and civil society to increasing its effectiveness and good gover- representatives was carried out in July 2002 nance. on participation and consultation processes, stakeholder analysis and information cam- The adherence of service agencies to the CCP paigns. Based on the success of the first workshop, two has resulted in substantive improvements in the access to agencies, including the Social Security Agency (ANSES) information. The Charters incorporate a summary version of and the Superintendent of Health Services (SSS), were all relevant information on services provided by public selected to pilot citizen report card initiatives (See Text Box- agencies including objectives, mission statements, services Citizen Report Cards). In November 2002, an implementa- provided, standards, as well as expected improvements. tion workshop on citizen report cards was held in Buenos Additionally, since the creation of the CSU, there have been Aires and Mar del Plata, training officials from the several coordinated events that have promoted exchanges of Subsecretaría, public agencies, consumer groups, CSOs, information between interested parties (CSOs, agency universities and World Bank experts. The planned report personnel, the program's technical staff, the private sector card project will be based on the input from focus group and universities). discussions around social services such as pensions, unem- ployment benefits and cash transfers. The program also features two dimensions that promote inclusion and participation. First, the creation of the CSU 2 Citizen Report Cards Citizen score or report cards are public accountability mechanisms based on citizen surveys of the performance and quality of government services. They allow citizens to monitor state performance. In addition, they: 1. Provide quantitative information from the perspective of public service users which can help government agen- cies make changes and improve service; 2. Can assist in prioritizing reform efforts and allocating public resources; 3. Aggregate and communicate the realities faced by the poor to government officials, decision makers, and the public; 4. Foster voice, discussion, and debate, and build demand for reform; and, 5. Treat users of public services as clients or customers whose voices matter in the design, delivery, and assessment of government services. Source: World Bank (2002), Empowerment and Poverty Reduction Sourcebook, 317. meant a step forward in the inclusion of CSOs in the ment, as well as the allocation of resources and staff, from program's activities. Second, the capacity building compo- the participating agencies. nent has provided the necessary technical support to under- take activities, such as consumer satisfaction surveys, public This points to a very important first challenge that needs to hearings, focus group discussions, etc. be addressed earlier on in this type of initiative: the organiza- tional culture and incentives of agencies and their staff needs Clearly, one of the main objectives of the program has been to be altered as well as, or before, technical, material, and to introduce an element of accountability in the relationship legal components. It is fundamental to change inward- between service providers and users. In this sense, it is of looking practices to understand that there are external clients fundamental importance that the causes for complaints from and that service provision and management should be trans- users are investigated and corrected in order to both promote parent. confidence on the part of users, and ensure the sustainability of the program. Ultimately, it is as much about restoring Currently, and given the improvements in terms of civil public confidence as about ensuring accountability. society involvement introduced to the program, the two main challenges focus around: a) opening up and coordinating Finally, in terms of capacity building, the program has pro- with other civil society actors; and b) generating substantive vided specific training to all organizations that are signatory modifications in the new charters currently being drawn up parties to the citizen charters in the design and application for signature. of varied methodologies to consult and incorporate user's views into the planning, implementation and evaluation of services, as well as on how to communicate effectively. In Lessons Learned this regard, the role of the Bank has been instrumental in providing the financial and technical resources needed, in promoting social auditing mechanisms for greater civil soci- These types of initiatives require sound political commitment ety engagement, and in convening diverse actors to work to- and should be demand-driven to be sustainable. At an early gether. stage, it was key for high-level civil servants to understand the benefits and usefulness of the CCP for better outcomes, and dispel the image that it was a new obligation forced by Challenges the Subsecretaría. Given Argentina's crisis, a major challenge for the CCP Crises can be windows of opportunity for change. Even program has come from the wavering political commitment during crises, where the most urgent prevails, actions can be to push the initiative forward, given the frequent government effectively taken to improve and change institutions and the changes and the inherent limitations (both in terms of way they work. For actions to be sustainable, processes resources as well as decision-making power) of public should be predictable and focused on results. It may agencies during the last couple of years. The key element of therefore be important to have as short an interval as possible the program since its inception has in fact been that it is between the initial show of interest from an agency and the demand-driven: it requires interest and political commit- actual signature of the Carta, particularly in contexts of 3 political volatility. In fact, the CCP survived the many institutional and staff changes and provided continuity to the reform agendas. Conclusion: Towards Participatory Evaluation of Outcomes Investing in capacity is a must. The World Bank's involve- ment in the program has brought an increased focus on ca- Policy changes as a result of the initiative have resulted in pacity-building, particularly for CSOs and public officials improvements in social accountability, increased capacity of on the use of social accountability mechanisms, an impor- CSOs and government actors, the removal of obstacles for tant step to remove obstacles to inclusion and participation. inclusion and participation, and the strengthening of As a result, strategic partnerships have been forged and in- strategic partnerships. An additional policy change that could novative experiences have been promoted. be explored at a later stage might include the dialogue among different levels of government, including national, provincial Internal participation is key for participatory planning and and local levels to coordinate services to users. management, and contributes to the sustainability of poli- cies. Commitment to both internal and external participation In terms of the immediate next steps, the efforts to strengthen is key to ensure a sense of ownership within the agencies in- participation in the program are now looking to: stead of a top-down reform approach. In this regard, the CCP promotes the idea of an external client and a new rela- 1. Implement the pilot citizen report cards initiative. tionship between users and providers. 2. Continue evaluating the participatory processes under- The establishment of an open dialogue among the central taken so far. government, public service agencies and citizens in a struc- tured and systematic way helps create confidence. When 3. Explore the possibility of scaling up these participatory there are sustained processes, there is a higher level of pre- instruments to cover a greater number of users and dictability and confidence is built step by step. But, as previ- agencies. ously mentioned, cultural and institutional changes to in- crease transparency, openness and accountability take time 4. Promote greater participation of users in the design and and create resistance. Therefore, it is also essential to man- content of Citizen Charters. age tensions arising from change. 5. Develop a clearer communications strategy for all While working with heterogeneous actors is key, having an parties involved in the program. integrated approach helps to build partnerships. It is important to develop integral strategies to promote synergies 6. Institutionalize the CCP within the national government between the comparative advantages of each set of actors. to ensure long-term sustainability. This positive tension between the diversity of interests and common goals should be managed carefully. *************** The Program could benefit from a higher degree of horizontal coordination among governmental agencies. Want to Learn More? There is little intra-governmental coordination in the CCP institutional framework. Currently, the Subsecretaría de Gestión Pública handles its relations with each participating See http://www.worldbank.org/laccs agency bilaterally, and there is little coordination or exchange of information among them. It is a radial system About the Authors that may be missing synergies for network building and capacity sharing. This note was prepared by Magüi Moreno Torres, Junior Promote notions of co-responsibility, public confidence, Professional Associate, with inputs from Roby governance. Good governance and democracy are Senderowitsch, Social Scientist, in the World Bank Civil increasingly perceived in many countries as dependent on Society Team for Latin America and the Caribbean Region, the reduction of inequalities and the maintenance of public and Indu John-Abraham, Consultant, and Lisandro Martín, confidence. Argentina's economic, social and institutional crisis is a case in point. Programs like the Citizens Charters Junior Professional Associate, in the same team. help to ensure that the concept, design, and implementation of public programs and projects are done through About "en breve" management processes that involve a variety of actors, including public agencies, the private sector, civil society organizations and multilateral institutions, as well as the To subscribe to "en breve" send and email to central government. "en_breve@worldbank.org" 4