The World Bank Engaging Citizens to Improve Service Delivery Through Social Accountability Project Information Document/ Identification/Concept Stage (PID) Public Disclosure Copy Concept Stage | Date Prepared/Updated: 11-Jul-2019 | Report No: PIDC192228 Jul 16, 2019 Page 1 of 11 The World Bank Engaging Citizens to Improve Service Delivery Through Social Accountability BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data Environmental and Project ID Parent Project ID (if any) Social Risk Project Name Classification Low Engaging Citizens to Improve P171090 Service Delivery Through Social Accountability Region Country Date PID Prepared Estimated Date of Approval EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC Cambodia 11-Jul-2019 Financing Instrument Borrower(s) Implementing Agency Public Disclosure Copy Investment Project NGO To be NGO To Be Determined Financing determined PROJECT FINANCING DATA (US$, Millions) SUMMARY -NewFin1 Total Project Cost 2.45 Total Financing 2.45 Financing Gap 0.00 DETAILS -NewFinEnh1 Non-World Bank Group Financing Trust Funds 2.45 Cambodia - Free-standing Trust Fund Program 2.45 B. Introduction and Context Country Context Cambodia has experienced remarkable economic growth and macroeconomic stability over the past years. The growth rate has averaged 8 percent per annum during the ten-year period (2002–2012), ranking the 14th fastest real GDP growth in the world over that period. Per capita income in current prices has doubled over the past decade, reaching US$1,036 in 2013 from US$367 in 2003. As a result, the poverty rate has halved in seven years from 53.0 percent in 2004 to 20.5 percent in 2011, surpassing all expectations and far exceeding the country’s Millennium Development Goal (MDG) poverty target. This performance has been achieved Jul 16, 2019 Page 2 of 11 The World Bank Engaging Citizens to Improve Service Delivery Through Social Accountability after Cambodia managed a challenging transition from a planned economy toward a market–based economy, and ended a two-decade long devastating conflict. Despite impressive economic progress, Cambodia is still one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia. Vulnerability of falling back into poverty is a significant issue, particularly in rural areas where 90% of the poor live. 2011 data shows this affects a significant proportion of the rural poor: a loss of about $0.30 per capita per day would put about 3 million people back into poverty and double the poverty rate to 41.0 per cent. Nine out of ten of Cambodia’s poor live in rural villages where access to services is still lacking. Non-income dimensions of poverty (as described by access to basic services) are significantly higher in rural areas. In 2011, just over 31% of Cambodian people had access to improved sanitation while rural sanitation coverage is only 18% – the lowest in the region. Only 61% of students are reaching grade 6, making it the lowest in Public Disclosure Copy Southeast Asia, and the quality of the education of Cambodian children and youth is poor. Maternal mortality is still at 206 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2010 and infant mortality rate in 2010 stood at 45, the second highest in Southeast Asia. Of further concern is that a number of key indicators are not changing despite growth and improved livelihoods. Cambodia’s institutions are still emerging and there is much evidence that that the delivery of basic services is not effective or accountable. As a result, living standards remain low for much of the Cambodian population. Sectoral and Institutional Context To strengthen access to, and the quality of public services, and to enable government to be more responsive to the needs of citizens, the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) began subnational governance reforms back in 2001 with passage of the Law on Management of Commune and Sangkat Administration, followed by passage of the Law on Management of Capital, Province, Municipality, Khan Administration in 2008. A National Program for Sub-National Democratic Development (SNDD) 2010–2019, was subsequently created with the intention to establish a “vibrant, democratically-elected and locally accountable sub-national governance system,” supported by local budgets to empower local government councils and effective citizen engagement in local decision-making. The SNDD was broken down into three, three-year implementation plans, each with specific activities, outcomes and annual budgets. RGC is currently in the last of its 3-year implementation plans (IP3-3), and the period of implementation has been extended to 2020. The SNDD reform agenda has seen significant progress in many areas including: the direct election of commune/sangkat councils and indirect election of districts and provincial councils; the establishment of financial management, planning, administration, and council procedures; the directing of financing of local development priorities through a Commune/Sangkat Investment Fund and District/Municipality Fund; the creation of policies for functional transfer from national to subnational levels and permissive functions; and the transferring of primary education, solid waste management and other significant functions to districts/municipalities (DMs). However, many of the goals set out in the SNDD program have yet to be realized, in particular, the transfer of functions (and finances) from central line ministries to DM Jul 16, 2019 Page 3 of 11 The World Bank Engaging Citizens to Improve Service Delivery Through Social Accountability administration. The legitimacy and representativeness of local councils also suffered a major set-back in 2017, when the main opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) was abolished. This led to the replacement of all recently elected CNRP commune council members with ruling Cambodia Peoples Party (CPP) members, creating a one-party local government system. The indirect elections of district and provincial councils by commune/sangkat council members in May 2019 will inevitably conclude with all commune, district and provincial councils being filled with CPP representatives. Despite the many set-backs and obstacles to progress in the SNDD reform agenda, one of the bright spots has been the successful implementation of the 3-year Implementation Plan for the Social Accountability Framework (ISAF), 2015-2018. The preparation and initiation of the ISAF followed endorsement of the Social Accountability Strategic Plan for Subnational Democratic Development by the RGC’s National Committee for Subnational Democratic Development (NCDD) in July 2013. This policy framework was developed through a consultative process involving government, over 80 NGOs, NGO networks and development partners. ISAF Public Disclosure Copy was added to the second 3-year SNDD implementation plan (IP3-2), and has since been included in IP3-3, with the overall aim of empowering citizens to hold government to account for local service delivery and resource allocation covering all primary schools, health centers and commune councils in 120 communes across the country. During its first 3-year implementation period, the four ISAF operational components of: (1) access to information and open budgets, (2) citizen monitoring, (3) capacity building and facilitation and, (4) program management, learning and monitoring were designed, tested, and refined. Partnerships with and between supply-side (state) and demand-side (civil society) actors were established, and, ISAF activities were successfully rolled out to 75% (18 out of 24) of provinces, 62% (98 out of 159) of districts, and 56% (827 out of 1410) of communes across the country. ISAF is a unique and groundbreaking program in the Cambodian context, and the achievements over the first 3-year implementation period (referred to subsequently as, ISAF Phase I, or ISAF I) prompted all of the involved stakeholders to call for a second phase of ISAF implementation, ISAF Phase II, or ISAF II. There is still much to be done to extend ISAF coverage, refine ISAF methodologies and ensure that achievements to date are consolidated and integrated into sustainable systems, behaviors and practices of sub-national service delivery and active citizenship. ISAF II will allow more time for the kinds of social and behavioral changes required for social accountability to be sustainable to take place. A rigorous evaluation of the impact of the first phase of ISAF is underway and will be completed by the end of 2019, with the findings informing the implementation of social accountability and service delivery activities, including this proposed project. Preliminary findings from ongoing monitoring and evaluation indicate that some principal benefits of ISAF I have included:  Enhanced transparency of key public services through the public posting and dissemination of annually updated financial and performance data for all primary schools, health centers and commune services in 827 target communes (referred to as “Information for Citizens” or I4C). Jul 16, 2019 Page 4 of 11 The World Bank Engaging Citizens to Improve Service Delivery Through Social Accountability  Increased awareness of citizen rights and service standards through the direct participation of more than 554,000 people in public outreach and awareness-raising events.  Strengthened citizen voice through the active involvement of more than 270,000 citizens in community scorecard assessments of communes, primary schools and health centers.  Improved relations and trust between citizens, public officials and service providers.  Strengthened capacity for local level social accountability through the recruitment, training and mentoring of approximately 3,700 volunteer Community Accountability Facilitators (CAFs).  Concrete improvements in local public service delivery, as a result of the implementation of actions for improvement (as collectively agreed in “Joint Accountability Action Plans,” or, JAAPs). In response to stakeholder demand, an ISAF Phase II Implementation Plan was prepared in late 2018 by the NCDDS with support from the World Bank, and in consultation with a range of government and civil society stakeholders, outlining the key dimensions of a new five-year phase of ISAF, from 2019 to 2023. The plan was Public Disclosure Copy produced based on an assessment of Phase I strengths, weaknesses, achievements, challenges, and lessons learned. The methodology for preparing the plan included: a desk review (of ISAF Phase I project documents, progress reports and assessments) as well as interviews, consultations and focus groups discussions with key informants and stakeholders. A detailed description of the ISAF Phase II design process, including a bibliography of documents reviewed and a list of stakeholders consulted are attached as an annex to the ISAF Phase II Implementation Plan, 2019 to 2023. Some key features of ISAF II will include:  Expansion of ISAF coverage to all rural communes.  Expansion of ISAF coverage to all urban areas (and adaptation of ISAF methodologies for urban settings).  Extension of ISAF activities to district administrations (DAs) and other selected services (such as water supply, sanitation and potentially agricultural extension services, protected area management, solid waste management, and/or referral hospitals).  Use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as mobile applications (apps) to involve a larger number of citizens in ISAF (I4C, citizen monitoring and JAAP) activities.  Measures to enhance government responsiveness to citizen feedback, particularly to increase JAAP implementation (including possible use of performance-based financing to districts and/or communes, and/or “matching funds”).  Institutionalization and enhanced sustainability of ISAF processes (including the establishment of a national CAF volunteer Community of Practice/Network). Relationship to CPF The recently approved Country Partnership Framework for the Kingdom of Cambodia, 2019-2023, recognizes that public sector capabilities to deliver public services effectively and accountably will be critical to meeting the evolving needs of citizens and the private sector in the future. As such, it includes a “cross-cutting theme” on “Strengthening Governance, Institutions and Citizen Engagement.” As a cross-cutting theme, activities in this area will be applied across all activities in the World Bank portfolio. The CPF specifically Jul 16, 2019 Page 5 of 11 The World Bank Engaging Citizens to Improve Service Delivery Through Social Accountability states, as well, that the Bank will continue to invest in social accountability in health, education and commune administration services, while also expanding to include new public services such as district administration, water and sanitation, urban/municipal services and other areas of support, including through the Bank’s broader support for decentralization efforts. This proposed project as well as the multi-donor trust fund on Social Accountability and Service Delivery (SASD-TF) which would finance it, are listed in the CPF results matrix under CPF Objective 2, “Strengthen public sector accountability and public finance.” C. Project Development Objective(s) Proposed Development Objective(s) To improve the performance of public service providers through the development and institutionalization of national and subnational government systems with improved transparency, strengthened citizen engagement and responsive Public Disclosure Copy action. Key Results  Number of households in communes that are participating in ISAF activities supported by the project  % of communes that complete the full annual ISAF process for at least one service  % of target communes, primary schools and health centers demonstrating improved performance (according to a composite indicator based on several impact survey questions).  % of primary school, health center and commune-related Joint Accountability Action Plan (JAAP) activities completed  Increased voice of citizens in their engagement with service providers (according to a composite indicator based on several impact survey questions). D. Preliminary Description Activities/Components As with ISAF Phase I, an annual cycle of social accountability activities will be clustered into five program components: (1) Transparency and access to information, (2) Citizen monitoring (3) Implementation of Joint Accountability Action Plans (JAAPs) (4) Training and capacity development, and (5) Civil society coordination and partnership support. As the main coordinator and supporter of demand-side ISAF activities, a yet-to-be- selected nongovernmental organization, operating at a national level, will be the main implementing agency for the proposed project, providing overall support and working through partnerships with other local and potentially other international NGOs as well as individual community facilitators working at the commune and villages levels. Component 1: Transparency and Access to Information (US$323,188) This component aims to strengthen transparency and citizen access to, and demand for, public service performance information, budget and expenditure information. The goals are to: (i) strengthen the supply Jul 16, 2019 Page 6 of 11 The World Bank Engaging Citizens to Improve Service Delivery Through Social Accountability and dissemination of relevant public service information (including financial information), (ii) make the information more accessible to the public, and (iii) strengthen the capacity of citizens to understand the information provided so that they may more actively and effectively participate in dialogue on service provider performance and use of funds. Once government agencies make service provider information publicly available through the use of standardized, Information for Citizen (I4C) posters and through newly development electronic platforms, volunteer Community Accountability Facilitators (CAFs) will help to communicate this information to citizens. The CAFs will make use of small village meetings, local radio, printed calendars and other material, awareness raising on the use of the ISAF mobile application (app) and other means. Videos will also be developed and deployed via Facebook, the ISAF mobile App and other platforms, illustrating what quality public service is meant to look like as another means of educating the public. Video, radio and the use of CAFs that speak local, indigenous languages will help to make information accessible to indigenous and other Public Disclosure Copy ethnic minority groups living in Cambodia. An enhanced focus on understanding service provider budgets and expenditures will be developed, including training in budget literacy for CAFs which can then be passed on to citizens. The Implementing NGO will also engage with NCDDS to finalize the systems for sharing information on District Administration services and add this to its I4C activities at the village and commune level. Educating citizens on additional public services (i.e. water supply and sanitation) at the village and commune level may be added as the relevant line ministries make such information available. Sustainable mechanisms for financing I4C dissemination, including through CAFs, will be piloted and integrated into government and civil society support systems such as financing by Commune Councils, District Administrations (including through the District Ombudsman Office), and local civil society organizations (CSOs). Component 2: Citizen Monitoring (US$352,964) This component will empower citizens to monitor and assess public services and propose actions for improvement using a Community Scorecard (CSC) methodology. Community Accountability Facilitators (CAFs), with the support of local NGO partners, as needed, will undertake the groundwork for the citizen monitoring process by identifying and mobilizing community participants and making logistical preparations for assessment meetings. CAFs will then help to prepare (in the case of citizen/community assessment meetings, and in districts organizing self-assessment meetings for the first time) and support separate assessment meetings with (i) the providers and (ii) the users of each service. Service provider (i.e. primary school, health center and commune) assessments are called “self-assessment” meetings. In both the citizen/community and service provider meetings, participants collectively generate and prioritize assessment criteria, score each criterion, describe strengths and weaknesses, and identify priority actions for improvement. Following these separate assessment meetings, users and providers for each service come together in an “interface meeting” to discuss the outcomes of their respective assessments and to collectively agree a set of priority actions for improvement – distinguishing between those actions that they Jul 16, 2019 Page 7 of 11 The World Bank Engaging Citizens to Improve Service Delivery Through Social Accountability can implement themselves with available resources and those that will require additional resources and/or action on the part of other (i.e. higher-level) actors. Through the proposed project, the Implementing NGO will train and support CAFs to organize and facilitate CSC, Service Provider Self-Assessment and Interface Meetings. Via the ISAF mobile App, CAFs will also enter the result of these assessment meetings into a central database so that the results can be seen publicly and by the relevant subnational government and line ministries so that they can take follow-up action, as needed, to improve service quality. The results of the Interface Meeting will also be used to prepare a Joint Accountability Action Plan (JAAP) in print form and electronically (via the ISAF mobile App) for each commune, including actions for each service provider. As participation in CSC meetings is limited to due to space and resources, CAFs will promote the use of the electronic ISAF CSC tool as a way of expanding input by citizens to their respective local service providers. This data will also be factored into JAAP prioritization process, when possible and be aggregated together with data generated from face-to-face meetings so that Public Disclosure Copy the full range of feedback provided is accessible to the public and service providers. As the case of the I4C activities described above, sustainable mechanisms for financing CSC, Service Provider Self-Assessment and Interface Meetings, including through CAFs, will be piloted and integrated into government and civil society support systems. Through separate SASD-TF financing, NCDDS will train district ISAF trainers (one from each line ministry) to conduct self-assessment meetings. The NCDDS will also liaise with relevant line ministries and authorities to ensure that, by the end of ISAF Phase II, the (minimal) direct costs of conducting these meetings on an annual basis are built into government budgets. Component 3: Implementation of Joint Accountability Action Plans (US$348,414) This component aims at supporting the communities, public service providers and subnational government officials to take collective action to implement agreed Joint Accountability Action Plans (JAAPs). In each target community, at the final interface meeting, a joint committee made up of local officials, service providers and community members is formed to support and monitor the implementation of the resulting JAAP. The JAAP Committee prepares a detailed implementation plan for each priority action, mobilizes the resources required, coordinates/supports the implementation of each action, monitors progress and reports publicly on results twice yearly. The Committee also ensures that the JAAP is presented at the annual District Integration Workshop and that JAAP actions are incorporated into Commune Investment Plans, health center and school improvement plans as appropriate. While the primary responsibility for JAAP follow-up is through the JAAP Committee, which is chaired by the Commune Chief, CAFs are also members of the JAAP Committee and they often play an active role in helping to organize and facilitate JAAP Committee meetings. CAFs will also enter JAAP action updates, or support Commune Chiefs or Clerks to update JAAP actions in the ISAF online database, if needed. The Implementing NGO will also aggregate JAAP actions at a line ministry level, identify areas where district, provincial or national level action and investment is needed and advocate for such action, as needed (i.e. provision of additional teachers, books, medicine, health center or school rooms, etc. Jul 16, 2019 Page 8 of 11 The World Bank Engaging Citizens to Improve Service Delivery Through Social Accountability For districts which are implementing ISAF for the first time, CAFs will be supported to engage more actively in JAAP Committee meetings, but this support will be reduced over the course of three years to the point where communes self-finance all aspects of the meetings. Component 4: Capacity Development (US$633,278) This Component will support the review and revision of the ISAF Demand-side Manual, associated forms and documents, incorporating lessons from ISAF Phase I. It will also support the development of new demand- side guidelines for district administration services, and possibly additional services to be identified during implementation. Once such documents are finalized, they will be printed and disseminated electronically, as needed. For CAFs that are just recruited, the Implementing NGO will conduct a modular training leading to a national- level certification based on certification processes applied by NGOs under ISAF Phase I. Certification includes Public Disclosure Copy both theoretical and practical classroom activity as well as demonstrated capacity to implement all ISAF CAF- led activities such as I4C and CSCs. Refresher training will also be provided each year. Under the proposed project, an NGO will be financed through a sub-grant, sub-project to engage the relevant Ministry for professional certification will be engaged (i.e. Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training) to specific the skills and competencies needed and to certify them. A status of “master” or “lead” CAF will also be developed to act as peer trainers/mentors/supervisors for other CAFs. The capacity building NGO will also be tasked with developing a CAF Community of Practice that will promote and support ongoing (face-to-face and online) information sharing, communication and collaboration between CAFs at district level, provincial and national level. One of the roles of the capacity building NGO will be to develop safeguards to ensure the political independence of CAFs, “master CAFs” and Community of Practice. As an incentive for sustainability, one criterion for the selection of the capacity building NGO will be their willingness to continue to support the CAF network and certification process after the conclusion of project financing. The capacity building NGO will also coordinate with the government’s ISAF training activities to ensure that the content is consistent and potentially to support certification of government staff in social accountability practices. Component 5: Civil Society Coordination and Support (US$792,154) As the Implementing NGO will be providing national-level support through both its own subnational offices, where available, and through partnerships/sub-projects with other NGOs, the project would support the required administrative coordination costs. This will include subnational support staff who will play a role in liaising with “supply-side” counterparts, in particular ISAF focal points and working groups at the provincial and district levels. The Implementing INGO will also coordinate civil society organizations in their coordinated input into the joint, government-civil society, national-level Partnership Steering Committee (PSC) be organizing meetings of interested CSOs/NGOs and coordinating and communicating common messages. This component will also include the recruitment and management of CAFs as well as other project consultants, incremental NGO staff time (i.e. financial management, procurement and communications support) and sub- project agreements. Monitoring, evaluation, results and lessons learned documentation and dissemination Jul 16, 2019 Page 9 of 11 The World Bank Engaging Citizens to Improve Service Delivery Through Social Accountability will also be supported through various media. A mid-term and final evaluation will be required, and some funds will also be made available for learning events and small studies on selected topics. Incremental operating costs will also be covered. Environmental and Social Standards Relevance E. Relevant Standards ESS Standards Relevance Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social ESS 1 Relevant Risks and Impacts Public Disclosure Copy ESS 10 Stakeholder Engagement and Information Disclosure Relevant ESS 2 Labor and Working Conditions Relevant Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention and ESS 3 Not Currently Relevant Management ESS 4 Community Health and Safety Not Currently Relevant Land Acquisition, Restrictions on Land Use and Involuntary ESS 5 Not Currently Relevant Resettlement Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of ESS 6 Not Currently Relevant Living Natural Resources Indigenous Peoples/Sub-Saharan African Historically ESS 7 Relevant Underserved Traditional Local Communities ESS 8 Cultural Heritage Not Currently Relevant ESS 9 Financial Intermediaries Not Currently Relevant Legal Operational Policies Safeguard Policies Triggered Explanation (Optional) Projects on International Waterways OP No 7.50 The project will not be located in an area under legal Projects in Disputed Areas OP 7.60 No or international dispute nor competing territorial claims. Summary of Screening of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts The overall environmental and social risk classification is low. The project activities focus on engagement process towards social accountability on delivery of services for social and economic development. Four of the ten Bank's environmental and social standards (ESS) are considered relevant. These are: ESS1 (Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts), ESS2 (Labor and Working Conditions); ESS7 (Indigenous Peoples/Sub-Saharan African Historically Underserved Traditional Local Communities); and ESS10 (Indigenous Peoples/Sub-Saharan African Historically Underserved Traditional Jul 16, 2019 Page 10 of 11 The World Bank Engaging Citizens to Improve Service Delivery Through Social Accountability Local Communities). Project design and the Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP) will incorporate measures needed for benefit enhancement and environmental and social risk mitigation, including for stakeholder engagement. CONTACT POINT World Bank Contact : Erik Caldwell Johnson Title : Senior Social Development Spec Telephone No : 5721+1314 / Email : Borrower/Client/Recipient Public Disclosure Copy Borrower : NGO To Be Determined Contact : tbd tbd Title : tbd Telephone No : 00 Email : tbd@tbd.com Implementing Agencies Implementing NGO To be determined Agency : Contact : tbd tbd Title : tbd Telephone No : 00 Email : tbd@tbd.com FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: (202) 473-1000 Web: http://www.worldbank.org/projects Jul 16, 2019 Page 11 of 11