Digital Commons Network^™

Not Just A Tool. Taking Context Into Account In The Development Of A Mobile App For Rural Water Supply In Tanzania, Robert Hoppe, Anne Wesselink, Rob Lemmens

Robert Hoppe

The 'eGovernance' hype around the potential of mobile phone and geoweb technologies for enhancing 'good governance' is soaring. In East Africa, the extensive use of mobile telephony adds to the imagined promises of ICT. We reflect on the assumptions made by the proponents of such tools, using our own action research project as an example. We took great care to consider context in the development of software for enhancing empowerment and accountability in rural water supply in Tanzania. However, we found that the rural water supply context in Tanzania is much more complex than the contexts for which successful mApps …

Global Administrative Law And Deliberative Democracy, Benedict Kingsbury, Megan A. Donaldson, Rodrigo Vallejo

Megan A Donaldson

An early framing of ‘global administrative law’ (GAL) provisionally ‘bracket[ed] the question of democracy’ as too ambitious an ideal for global administration. To many, the bracketing of democracy has appeared analytically unpersuasive and normatively dubious. This essay is an initial attempt to open the brackets and bring GAL and democracy into conversation. It addresses two separate observations: first, that democracy currently lacks tools to respond to the globalization and diffusion of political authority; and secondly, that GAL is not presently democratic — it has no room for democratic concerns in its emerging norms. The juxtaposition of democracy and GAL yields …

Cost Control And Accountability For Effective Budget Implementation, Chukwumah Lawyer Obara Dr

Lawyer Obara

Because of the growing complexity of business and business problems and because of the movement toward decentralization in large enterprise, increased attention is being given to better planning and control techniques. Consequently, the use of sound budgeting techniques is becoming more prevalent. Again, corporate restructuring has resulted in a treno toward placing the responsibility for budgeting at higher levels in the organization allowing for a stronger cost control and accountability measures. Consequently, the paper advocate the use of cost control method to monitor, evaluate, and ultimately enhance the efficiency of specific business areas such as departments, divisions, or product lines. …

Fiscal Transparency, Accountability And Corporate Collapse: A Post-Mortem Analysis Of Failure Of State-Owned Enterprises (Soes) In Nigeria, Chukwumah Lawyer Obara Dr

Lawyer Obara

The study investigated through a post mortem research paradigm the extent to which lack of fiscal transparency and accountability accounted the collapse of SOEs in Nigeria without prejudice to other variables identified in previous studies. The study adopted the fiscal transparency and accountability code of good conduct as evolved by the IMF in building the model tested in the study. The paper observed that institutionalization of the tripod of: clarity of roles and responsibilities (which is a cardinal principle of internal control); public availability of information; and open preparation and proper of implementation of budget would have contributed significantly to …

Governance Of The Governing: Accountability And Motivation At The Top Of Public Organizations, Donald Nordberg

Donald Nordberg

Developments in the governance practices in UK public organizations show how ideas from the governance of listed companies have translated into public sectors bodies, government departments and the governance of parliament itself. The use of independent, non-executives directors in public bodies encapsulates the tension in the private sector between the service role of directors and how they control the executives who manage the business. This paper gives a preliminary examination of three public bodies, comparing how reform of their governance mechanisms has affected tensions in accountability and director motivation. What is evident is that the changes involve greater emphasis on …

Accountability In The Church, Professor Ben C Osisioma

Prof Ben Chuka Osisioma

Traditionally, accountability is the obligation to give a reckoning or explanation for one’s actions and responsibilities to a higher authority. However, for the purpose of this paper, we define accountability as the processes through which an organisation makes a commitment to respond to and balance the needs of stakeholders in its decision making processes and activities, and delivers against this commitment. In the church setting accountability involves managing the resources God has entrusted us with, organising for service and mission, and providing programmes to carry out the church’s mandate. The goal is to help people grow in Christ and learn …

Health, Citizenship, And Human Rights Advocacy Initiative: Improving Access To Health Services In Mexico, Almudena Ocejo, International Budget Partnership

International Budget Partnership

When it comes to health care in Mexico, “universal” has never meant equal, particularly when it came to the access to adequate care for the country’s 52 million uninsured. Civil society organization Fundar — a research organization with a background in budgetary analysis — developed a successful advocacy strategy on health policy to change this.

The full version and short summary of this case study are available in English.

LINK: http://internationalbudget.org/publications/health-citizenship-and-human-rights-advocacy-initiative-improving-access-to-health-services-in-mexico/

When Opportunity Beckons: The Impact Of The Public Service Accountability Monitor’S Work On Improving Health Budgets In South Africa, Alta Fölscher, John Kruger, International Budget Partnership

International Budget Partnership

The Eastern Cape Province of South Africa struggles with high poverty, poor public infrastructure, and dysfunctional administrative systems. One result is that the Eastern Cape has the worst health outcomes in the country. This case study illustrates how a South African civil society organization has used its budgetary analysis to advocate for improvements in health service delivery.

The full version and short summary of this case study are available in English.

LINK: http://internationalbudget.org/publications/when-opportunity-beckons-the-impact-of-the-public-service-accountability-monitors-work-on-improving-health-budgets-in-south-africa/

The Art Of Getting In The Way: Five Years Of The Bndes Platform, Peter Spink, International Budget Partnership

International Budget Partnership

When a coalition of civil society organizations began to pry into the finances of Brazil’s powerful national development bank, it challenged the status quo and advanced the call for a more transparent, balanced, and democratic economic policy.

The short summary and full version of this case study are available in English. The short summary case study is available in French and Spanish.

LINK: http://internationalbudget.org/publications/the-art-of-getting-in-the-way-five-years-of-the-bndes-platform-2/

Good Corporate Governance: The Role Of The Accountant, Professor Ben C Osisioma

Prof Ben Chuka Osisioma

Corporate governance deals with the mechanism by which stakeholders of a company exercise control over corporate managers and provide overall direction to the firm, such that stakeholders’ interests are protected. In such a situation, the firm operates more responsibly and profitably, relations are enhanced between the firm and all stakeholders - shareholders, policyholders, employees, suppliers and society at large - the quality of executive and non-executive directors is improved, the firm thinks long-term, information needs of all stakeholders are satisfied, and executive management is monitored properly in the interest of shareholders. The role of the accountant in this setting, is …

Foreign Assistance And Fiscal Transparency: The Impact Of The Open Budget Initiative On Donor Policies And Practices, Linnea Mills, International Budget Partnership

International Budget Partnership

This paper presents research that sought to document how, when, and why three donor agencies — the U.S. Department of State, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), and the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID) — have adopted the Open Budget Index in language and practice; assesses the contributions of the Open Budget Initiative and its partners to achieving these apparent advocacy successes; and analyzes other factors that may have influenced the decision of these three donors to use the language and methodology advocated by the Open Budget Initiative. In conclusion, the analysis of the three donor case studies covered in …

Budget Transparency In Afghanistan: A Pathway To Building Public Trust In The State, Nematullah Bizhan

International Budget Partnership

This case study discusses major improvements in government budget transparency and public engagement in Afghanistan, presenting an analysis of the roles of the following actors in the trend toward more open budgeting: 1) the International Budget Partnership, foreign donors, civil society organizations, and the media; 2) the government; and 3) the legislature. This paper argues that by increasing its OBI score from 8 in 2008 to 21 in 2010, Afghanistan has made important progress, though it still remains below average. But donors, CSOs, and to some extent the media are putting increasing pressure on the government to improve its Public …

The Impact Of The International Budget Partnership's Open Budget Survey And Its Partner Institution's Advocacy On Budget Transparency In Honduras, Hugo Noe Pino, International Budget Partnership

International Budget Partnership

This case study looks at how the preparation and publication of the Open Budget Survey 2010 in Honduras increased awareness of Honduras’ budget transparency problems. The increased attention given to these issues brought together local civil society organizations, the International Budget Partnership, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the government of Honduras to make progress on budget transparency. Also, the IBP’s technical assistance to the government of Honduras played an important role in the recent publication of budget documents, which combined with a strong government will have provided the basis for public finance management reforms. Although the main incentive for the …

Budgeting, Auditing And Governance: Implementing The Accountability Framework, Professor Ben C Osisioma

Prof Ben Chuka Osisioma

Good public governance involves the management of public resources in a manner that guarantees sustainable development in an atmosphere of due process and rule of law, free from wastage and corruption. The goal is to guarantee a people’s right to health, adequate housing, sufficient food and fibre provision, quality education, fair justice and personal security. Good governance is rooted in quality institutions, informed and adequately motivated citizenry, and structures and processes that endure. The budget and audit tools are critical to the process, and within the requirements of accountability framework can bring the so-called dividends of democracy to citizens. In …

The Role Of Brazilian Civil Society In The Tax Reform Debate: Inesc’S Tax Campaign For Social Justice, Evilasio Salvador, International Budget Partnership

International Budget Partnership

When the Brazilian government sent a new tax reform proposal to Congress in 2008 that would exacerbate the already high level of economic inequality, the Institute for Socioeconomic Studies (INESC) came together with other leading civil society organizations to form the Movement to Defend Social Rights under Threat by Tax Reform (MSDR). The coalition was united in advocating for fairer taxes on incomes and assets and protecting funding for social programs for the poor. INESC and MSDR worked with the government and parliament, participated in public hearings, and produced several technical analyses which, in combination with a number of external …

Breve Perspectiva Crítica Sobre El Gobierno Abierto Y El Open Data, Lucas Jolías, Alejandro Prince

Lucas Jolías

Las ciberculturas y sus apóstoles aportan cada tanto tiempo y de forma incremental, nuevos conceptos o memes, es decir, unidades teóricas de información cultural transmisibles entre individuos, mentes o generaciones. Algunos de estos conceptos son vacíos, otros son comerciales, varios son sólo nuevos nombres de viejas ideas, pero todos de alguna manera connotan los cambios o tendencias de lo que en forma general podemos denominar la Sociedad del Conocimiento. Algunos de estos conceptos mueren a poco de nacer, otros cobran fuerza y vida propia (como la “web 2.0”), suman fans o detractores, y hasta se institucionalizan. De estos, y entre …

Freeing Funds To Meet Priorities And Needs: Sikika’S Campaign To Curb Unnecessary Expenditure In Tanzania, Peter Bofin, International Budget Partnership

International Budget Partnership

In 2008 the Tanzanian Prime Minister, Mizengo Pinda, ordered government ministries to reduce unnecessary expenditure on workshops, allowances, seminars, and luxury vehicles. While populist commitments by leaders are not unusual in Tanzania, this particular one seemed to be a direct response to Sikika’s media and advocacy campaign. This case study shows that a focus on media outreach and raising public awareness may not be enough to bring about changes in contexts where budget allocation processes are closed and there are strong internal pressures to maintain the widespread patronage and rents that can be drawn from recurrent expenditures in the budget. …

Ghana: Budget Monitoring By Send-Ghana And Its Partners Helps Improve Nutrition For Children And Support Local Farmers, Tony Dogbe, Joana Kwabena-Adade, International Budget Partnership

International Budget Partnership

Between 2007 and 2010, the Social Enterprise Development (SEND-Ghana) Foundation, one of the IBP’s partners, monitored the performance of the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP, a government program that integrates social protection interventions), engaging with 50 district assemblies, 50 focal civil society organizations (CSOs), and 50 District Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC)/Citizens Monitoring Committees (DCMC) in seven regions across the country. SEND-Ghana used information from this monitoring exercise to promote improvements in the program with district assemblies and officials from collaborating ministries, departments, and agencies directly at the national, regional, and district levels, but also indirectly through the media.

The …

Drones And Democracy: Missing Out On Accountability?, Benjamin R. Farley

Benjamin R Farley

This article examines whether unmanned aerial vehicles (“drones”) allow the U.S. executive branch to make use-of-force decisions that escape accountability. It identifies three accountability mechanisms that should constrain use-of-force decisions: political accountability; fiscal and supervisory accountability; and legal accountability. It examines the effectiveness of these accountability mechanisms in the abstract and how the unique features of drones interact with these mechanisms. Finally, this article suggests that drones exacerbate preexisting weaknesses in the accountability system governing U.S. use-of-force decisions, potentially leading to unaccountable use-of-force decisions which, in turn, are likely to be riskier and may increase the likelihood of policy failure.

Evidence For Change: The Case Of Subsidios Al Campo In Mexico, Guillermo M. Cejudo, International Budget Partnership

International Budget Partnership

The Subsidios al Campo campaign used Mexico’s freedom of information laws to obtain official data on the recipients of agricultural subsidies, and then published the data online. Its analysis brought a large amount of new information into the public domain, and managed to shift the debate about agricultural subsidies from a focus on their overall size to a discussion of how equitably they were being distributed, challenging a powerful agricultural industry in the process. The Mexican Ministry of Agriculture reacted by reforming the system to ensure that subsidies were flowing only to those that needed them.

The full version, short …

Contracting Out To Private Military And Security Companies, Nikolaos Tzifakis

Nikolaos Tzifakis

No abstract provided.

The New Guiding Principles On Business And Human Rights’ Contribution In Ending The Divisive Debate Over Human Rights Responsibilities Of Companies: Is It Time For An Icj Advisory Opinion?, Jean-Marie Kamatali

Jean-Marie Kamatali

ABSTRACT: In March 2011, John Ruggie, the UN Secretary General Special Representative on the Issue of Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and other Business Enterprises (“SRSG”) released his final report on Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The new standards proposed by the SRSG are based on three pillars: the state duty to protect, the corporate responsibility to respect and the access to remedy principle. This report was ordered in 2005 by the then UN Commission on Human Rights (now Human Rights Council) in order to “ to move beyond what had been a long-standing and deeply divisive debate …

Assessing The Cypriot Meps' Performance: 2009-2011, Direnc Kanol

Direnç Kanol

The visibility of what the Members of the Parliaments do has serious consequences for accountability and democratic legitimacy. The Members of the European Parliament from various countries conduct their affairs without much visibility as a consequence of limited media focus on the European Parliament. Among these countries one can name the Republic of Cyprus. By relying on the number of reports, opinions, speeches, amendments, questions, motions for resolutions, written declarations, and attendance, this study aims to provide an assessment of Cypriot MEPs' performance so far. It also reports on the rate of activities motivated by national interest and looks at …

Doctrine Of Legitimate Expectation In Administartive Law: A Bangladesh Perspective, Meher Nigar, Homaira Nowshin Urmi

meher nigar

No abstract provided.

"The United Nations Judicial Tribunals As Tools For Managerial Accountability", Tamara A. Shockley

Tamara A. Shockley

The United Nations General Assembly reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening managerial accountability in the United Nations. One of the essential components of accountability was the importance of managerial compliance with the Charter of the United Nations, General Assembly resolutions, and the UN Staff Regulations and Rules. As the General Assembly and staff members of the UN demand greater transparency in organizational decision-making, a new managerial tool for accountability has emerged in the UN in the form of UN Judicial Tribunals. The emerging jurisprudence from the UN Judicial Tribunals affects how a United Nations manager will make decisions concerning the legal …

Transparency, Scrutiny And Responsiveness: Fashioning A Private Space Within The Information Society., Andrew D. Murray

Professor Andrew D Murray

No abstract provided.

In The Face Of Crisis: The Treatment Action Campaign Fights Government Inertia With Budget Advocacy And Litigation, Neil Overy, International Budget Partnership

International Budget Partnership

At the turn of the millennium the South African government allocated a total of R214 million (US$28.5 million) to the fight against HIV/AIDS, an epidemic that had reached crisis proportions. Less than 10 years later this figure has risen, in inflation-adjusted terms, to R3.96 billion (US$528 million), a real increase of over 1,850 percent. This study looks at how a civil society organization’s ongoing campaigns for treatment access that combined negotiations with the government, mass mobilization of its members (including civil disobedience campaigns), and litigation contributed to this increase.

The full version, short summary, and one page summary of this …

Samarthan’S Campaign To Improve Access To The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme In India, Ramesh Awasthi, International Budget Partnership

International Budget Partnership

In India the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), which guarantees a minimum of 100 days of unskilled work per year to every poor rural family that needs employment, has been ridden with bureaucratic glitches and widespread corruption. This case study examines a civil society campaign to address problems in the NREGA’s administration and mobilize people to demand work under the scheme.

The full version, short summary, and one page summary of this case study are available in English. Summaries are also available in Spanish, French, Arabic, and Chinese.

LINK: http://internationalbudget.org/publications/samarthan%E2%80%99s-campaign-to-improve-access-to-the-national-rural-employment-guarantee-scheme-in-india/

Children’S Right To Early Education In The City Of Buenos Aires: A Case Study On Acij’S Class Action, Fernando Basch, International Budget Partnership

International Budget Partnership

Through a complex litigation strategy that involved “freedom of information” requests, budget analysis, and media dissemination, the Civil Association for Equality and Justice (Asociación Civil por la Igualdad y la Justicia, or ACIJ) pressured the formerly reluctant government of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, to acknowledge a legitimate unsatisfied claim related to school vacancies for initial-level education and commit to making significant policy changes. This case study examines the ACIJ campaign and draws lessons for civil society engagement in public finance processes.

The full version, short summary, and one page summary of this case study are available in English. …

Show Me The Money: Budget Advocacy In Indonesia, International Budget Partnership

International Budget Partnership

In "Show Me the Money: Budget Advocacy in Indonesia," authors from five civil society organizations – IDEA, the Inisiatif Association, Lakpesdam NU, the Centre for Information and Regional Studies (PATTIRO), and the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (FITRA) – present five case studies on their budget work to fight against corruption and improve the allocation of government resources, and five case studies from smaller organizations based in various local districts in the country.

In addition, check out the related two-page summaries that explore the impact of civil society budget work in Indonesia to improve policies and outcomes in school funding, …