Bangladesh - Belgium

Citizens’ Voice and Accountability Evaluation – Bangladesh Country Case Study
All of the above cumulatively suggest a healthy pursuit of expanding or creating
mechanisms for CVA for a wide range of stakeholders. Our only caveat here is the
weak evidence of the institutionalisation and therefore sustainability of these
mechanisms beyond the life of the lead taken by external project staff.
Donors are also concerned to make sure that professional groups of citizens are
supported in CVA activities through existing or new mechanisms. The comparative
advantage of working with these actors is their influence with government
stakeholders and their ability to move between the national and the local. A notable
example from the case study interventions evaluated is TIB’s Concerned Citizens’
Forums which use commissioned studies and report instruments to monitor local
health and education services while also pursuing monitoring and advocacy activities
at the national level (see Box 4.7).
Both TIB and “We Can” draw on their international links and experience to support
social mobilisation. On one hand this association can bring credibility, clout and
international interest and scrutiny but on the other hand can be threatening. The
activities and profile of TIB, for instance, typically invites very mixed reactions. TIB
does not have any of its own grassroots projects in any country other than
Bangladesh and we wonder, in the context of country blessed with a plethora of
NGOs and CSOs, whether it should be involved in social mobilisation itself at all. On
the other hand it was clear during a fieldwork visit to speak with the youth volunteers
of the TIB YES campaign, that these young people felt validated by their association
with TIB.
Box 4.7.
Evidence-backed advocacy: Transparency International
Bangladesh (TIB) “Making Waves”
TIB is funded by a group of donors (including DFID, Sida and Norad) in its Making Waves
campaign. The goal of the campaign goes the heart of the CVA objective: “Increased demand
by men and women for transparency and accountability in public, non-profit and private sector
transactions”.
At the local level, the campaign establishes Committees of Concerned Citizens (CCC) as anticorruption
watchdogs. The CCCs have introduced report cards as a research instrument for
assessing the quality and accessibility of local services. TIB has also established advice and
information desks at CCC and satellite offices. TIB’s local campaign also includes a voluntary
initiative with groups of young people. These are called the YES (Youth Engagement and
Support) groups, which aim to reach young people and schoolchildren through theatre and
outreach work. The YES volunteers are largely drawn from a pool of middle class university
students and are highly committed to breaking what they see as a culture of corruption. This
sense of responsibility derives from their self-perception as leaders and professionals of the
future.
At the national level, TIB also conducts research and advocacy at the macro level,
maintaining a corruption database, publishing analytical studies on specific service providers,
providing recommendations for various guardianship organisations (the Public Service
Commission, Anti–Corruption Commission and Election Commission) and conducting a
national household survey of corruption experience. TIB also monitors activities of parliament
through Parliament Watch initiative, in particular focussing on the work of the parliamentary
committees, although this activity has changed in nature under the restrictions imposed by the
Caretaker Government.
Source: Authors’ analysis
In addition to advocacy activity, professional groups are also able to play an advisory
role with government stakeholders, backed by evidence and analysis. The Campaign
for Popular Education (CAMPE) Education Watch initiative has earned an important
reputation as a research and advisory body with the Ministry of Education. Its
supportive approach has enabled it to take on an advisory function, providing
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