At the time of the project’s inception, the town of Ta Khmau, capital of the province of Kandal, did not have much experience with implementing social accountability-related initiatives. This API project (2019-2024), funded by USAID through Family Health International (FHI360), carried out various activities aimed at helping citizens improve their capacity of requesting public information, networking for collective action, and developing solutions to the problems faced by the local communities. Using modern tech solutions, API enabled residents to evaluate and rate the performance of public service providers and to actively participate in developing and implementing joint accountability action plans along with representatives of local authorities. The total budget of the initiative was 550,000 USD.
Results One: Since 2023, all levels of local administration of Kandal province allocated a quota of their local budgets, estimated at $1,750 to $2,000 annually, to implement social accountability (SA) activities per commune/Sangkat by themselves. API supported 130 right to information (I4C) meetings, 176 inception and share vision meetings, 312 scorecard meetings, 40 interface meetings, 20 Joint Accountability Action Plan Committee (JAAPC) trainings, 118 JAAPC meetings, and 60 Joint Accountability Action Plan (JAAP) dissemination meetings conducted.
The implementation of the Innovation for Social Accountability in Cambodia (ISAC) project focused on disseminating information and building the capacity for self-advocacy to help citizens to express their ideas and get better Sangkat services. Citizens had opportunities to raise their voices, local authorities changed their behaviour and improved work performance. Local authorities responded effectively to the citizens’ needs as regards administrative services of the Sangkat, health centres and primary schools. Through the government’s budget allocation, Sangkats delivered better information to citizens (I4C) held dissemination and Joint Accountability Action Plans Committee (JAAPC) meetings and disseminated the Joint Accountability Action Plans (JAAPs). This proved to be a role model for the rest of the Country to ensure social accountability’s sustainability and public ownership of the State.
Results Two: The government addressed around 838 issues raised by the communities and integrated them into the joint accountability and local development plans, to improve health, education, and administration at Sangkat and Municipal levels.
The quality of Sangkat’s services, health centres and primary schools improved. Citizens started sending their children to local schools. They used their health centres and Sangkats’ services. Citizens’ concerns were addressed. The local issues raised by citizens were the real issues that were needed and reflected to the service providers.
118 Joint Accountability Action Plan Committee (JAAPC) meetings and 8 reflection workshops were conducted in Kandal province.
Results Three: API trained and supported citizens who wanted to become Community Accountability Facilitators (CAFs). These citizens learnt how to facilitate social activities and community work professionally, to serve as focus persons for their communities. They are now qualified and employed in different places: 4 of our trained CAFs work for NGOs (3 with API), 5 work for the government, and 19 have become of the private sector.
Twenty-seven training courses were provided to 83 (56F) CAFs on social accountability, information for citizens, budget disclosure, community scorecard, action for change, leadership, Mojo video, etc.
Results Four: These significantly increased active citizenship actions and improve public service delivery through social accountability activities. At least 15,873 (10,417 females) citizens, including 192 persons from religious minorities, 117 people with disabilities, and 26 LGBT, have improved their understanding and actions. They changed from ‘less’ to ‘more’ active citizens in monitoring public services and demanding government officials to change their behaviour in providing public service to citizens in Kandal, actively participating in public local council meetings, providing feedback to address around 1,000 issues about health, education, and administration services to indirectly benefit 146,510 people in Ta Khmau.
Citizens more actively monitored the joint accountability action plan through regular quarterly meetings and participated in Sangkat monthly meetings.
API contributed to raise Citizens’ awareness through 130 I4C meetings, 312 scorecard meetings, and 40 interface meetings.
Results Five: Increased transparency of local government, through budgets and expenditures publicly disclosed and accessed by the public since 2020.
Citizens and local service providers have become aware of their local budget income and spending. They joined and monitored the budget usage of their services. The local service budget increased by the State.
API organized an Inception workshop at Municipality level, collaborating with the National Committee for Sub-National Democratic (NCDD) and Social Accountability focal person of Kandal Province, to provide training data collection and 130 I4C dissemination meetings.
Social Accountability Leads to an Improved Health Center Environment for local citizens.
The Prek Ho Health Center (HC) in Prek Ho village (Sangkat Prek Ho, Ta Khmau municipality, Kandal Province)
The Prek Ho Health Center (HC) in Prek Ho village (Sangkat Prek Ho, Ta Khmau municipality, Kandal Province) is a concrete building with a red roof and a compound wall. At the inception of the API Project, the center provided some services, like general medical consultation (general), birth delivery, pregnancy check-up, wound curing, minor surgeries, health follow-up after maternity, free checks for patients with Equity Card, NSSF card, and people with disability. In fact, there were not any regular monthly meetings with the management and the public, requests to replenish drugs stocks were often late, and the center did not have enough permanent staff to guarantee a 24-hour standby. Therefore, not many patients used to come to this facility to get services, even from very close households. The chief of the health center and the staff did not know how to plan to address these problems, and many local citizens were very dissatisfied with their perceived inaction in addressing the issues.
In late 2020, the Advocacy and Policy Institute (API) started implementing the Innovations for Social Accountability in Cambodia (ISAC) Project, with funds from USAID through FHI360, throughout the Ta Khmau municipality, including work in Sangkat Prek Ho. The Project aimed to help the local citizens to improve their capacity, access to information, and network for collective action, supporting them to build public demand and develop solutions to address community’s priorities. Community Accountability Facilitators (CAFs) accompanied API staff to facilitate I4C dissemination, share vision, self-assessments, community scorecards, and interface meetings between citizens and service providers, including the Sangkat Council, the Health Center, and the local primary school. Through this process, the citizens had the opportunity to score the service providers’ performance and standards, and their feedback was presented to the service providers.
Mr. Hong Savoeun, the Chief of Prek Ho Health Center, actively participated in the ISAC Project. In 2022, he started publicly posting information for the citizens (I4C), the HC’s budget, and JAAPs results. He shared the results of citizen scorecards with all the HC staff, so they could understand their own strengths and weaknesses. He then proposed activities to enhance the performance of HC staff and standardize the HC activities and procedures.
All the service providers (health center, primary school and Sangkat administration) integrated their respective proposed actions into the Joint Accountability Action Plan (JAAP). Mr. Hong Savoeun shared the JAAP with all the citizens and stakeholders. He worked with the Sangkat Prek Ho Councils, Kandal Operational District (OD), charities, NGOs and the Ministry of Health (MoH) to formulate and execute the JAAP.
On September 20, 2022, for JAAP implementation, OD of Kandal and the Ministry of Health mobilized resources to implement its planned actions. As a result, the MoH contributed and funded with 18.90 million Riels ($4,725) the construction of the HC’s yard, repairs to the health check-up room, the purchase of four beds and sanitary materials, the installation of lamps, and the acquisition of office equipment. Some additional services were also added, such as family planning (birth spacing) and modern birth protection. There are now eight staff as HC’s standard, monthly staff meetings are being conducted, medicine requests are issued regularly, and some HC staff are on standby 24/24 hour. Now, around 600 to 700 people, quarterly, come to the Prek Ho HC to use its services.
The I4C dissemination, inception, share vision meetings, community scorecards and self-assessment helped Mr. Hong Savoeun improve his management and leadership skills, and the Center’s communication with the citizens. The process also helped to improve the performance of HC staff. The citizens now say that they are satisfied with HC’s delivery service.
Ms. Ouk Sophat, 61-year-old, a local citizen living in Batachi village, Sangkat Prek Ho, stated: “I am so glad that the HC’s chief has worked hard to improve the quality of HC’s services, management, and the HC environment.”
Mr. Hong Savoeun and all the HC staff plan to continue to work closely with the Sangkat councils, OD and ministry of health to raise more funds to implement further the performance of their facility.
