Influencing Policies to Improve Outcomes through Social Accountability Approaches: Field Experiences from India
Washington DC , June 02-03, 2008

George Cheriyan Director, CUTS Centre for Consumer Action, Research & Training (CUTS CART) attended the Demand for Good Governance (DFGG) Summit organised by the World Bank in Washington DC on June 02-03, 2008. He made a presentation on ‘Improving Public Expenditure Outcomes through Social Accountability Approaches: Field Experiences from Rajasthan, India’ in the BBL event organised by the World Bank, on June 04, 2008. These initiatives have paved the way for the institutionalization of demand side accountability  approaches  in  some  World  Bank  projects and State Government programmes  to  improve  service  delivery,  governance and anti-corruption in the South Asia Region. The discussants and participants appreciated the initiatives made by CUTS.

The event started with introductory remarks by Parmesh Shah, Lead Rural Development Specialist (SASDA); and chaired by Adolfo Brizzi, Sector Manager (SASDA). The discussants were Robert S Chase, Lead Social Development Specialist, SDV; Bhuvan Bhatnagar, Senior Social Scientist, EASSO; and J V R Murty, Water Institutions Development Specialist, ETWSA.

The detail of the event is available at:  http://info.worldbank.org/

Genuine Demand with Social Accountability
Paris, November 01-02, 2007

George Cheriyan, Director, CUTS Centre for Consumer Action, Research & Training (CUTS CART) attended a two-day workshop on ‘Generating Genuine Demand with Social Accountability Mechanisms’, organised by the Communication for Governance & Accountability Program (CommGAP) of the World Bank in Paris, during November 01-02, 2007. He presented a paper on ‘Analysing the Public Sphere/Political Context: Learning from India’.

The workshop drew lessons from the experiences of practitioners, researchers, government officials and policymakers from around the world in using various Social accountability tools. Practitioners from around the world using various SAc tools in their countries; leading scholars and researchers in the fields of communication, political science, social development, social marketing, media development, and governance; and representatives from developing country governments and donor organisations participated in the workshop.

The detail of the event is available at: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/