Community-Driven Development Toolkit: Governance and Accountability Dimensions

The knowledge and tools presented here are drawn from successful case examples as practiced and scaled up in CDD-based projects around the world, on topics ranging from effective participation to social mobilization to financial management and participatory monitoring.

As a “living” document, the Toolkit is expected to grow to include more resources over time. We invite you to share your tools, case studies and experiences so others can learn from your work as well.  To provide feedback on this Toolkit or submit your materials, please contact: cddtoolkit@worldbank.org.

HOW TO USE

The Toolkit is offered as a set of ready-to-use tools that can be adapted by practitioners. It is not meant to be read cover-to-cover; rather, users can download the topics and tools that are most relevant to their projects. The Toolkit is organized into a Guidance Note and three sections: community-, project-, and external level tools. Within each section, information is organized into modules and topics containing related tools, case studies, boxes and figures. The Index on the left provides the overall framework for the Toolkit and lists the contents of each section. Click on the name of any section, module, or topic below or in the Index to download the materials (e.g. overviews, tools, case studies, boxes, and figures) contained therein.

PREFACE | ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS | ABBREVIATIONS | INTRODUCTION

GUIDANCE NOTE

This note is a summary of the governance and accountability issues and concerns that are most likely to arise in CDD-based projects, with suggestions for ways to address them, and project examples. It focuses on five key areas of governance and accountability issues: (i) community engagement, facilitation and mobilization; (ii) sub-project design, selection and implementation; (iii) financial management, flow of funds, and procurement; (iv) monitoring and feedback; and (v) national and sub-national institutional arrangements.

SECTION 1: COMMUNITY LEVEL TOOLS

People are at the center of the CDD approach. They come together to create, articulate and build a common vision of their future and are meant to have control and decision-making authority over resources to make this vision real. Therefore, community level engagement is the starting point for ensuring governance and accountability in CDD-based projects. Since the vast majority of governance and accountability measures rest at the community level, most of the tools and case studies in this Toolkit are focused here. | Section Overview

Module 1.1: Foundations of CDD-Based Project Accountability
Clarity & Ownership of Rules | Inclusion, Social Mobilization & Participatory Targeting

Module 1.2: Effective Participation in Institutions and Planning Processes
Participatory Planning | Community-Level Institutions | Incentives & Rewards

Module 1.3: Implementation Arrangements           
Appraisal, Selection & Implementation of Sub-projects | Community Facilitators | Transparency & Information Disclosure | Financial Management, Procurement & Social Audits

Module 1.4: Monitoring and Feedback 
Participatory Community Monitoring & Learning | Grievance Redress Systems | ICT Tools for Community-Level Accountability           

SECTION 2: PROJECT LEVEL TOOLS

Project monitoring and oversight are the responsibilities of project staff and teams.  While effective oversight is in part a function of having clear “rules of the game”, it is also a function of recruiting, retaining, motivating, and developing the capacity of project staff. By supporting operational systems and project refinement in critical areas such as human resources, appraisals and compliance checks, financial management, and monitoring, the tools in this section help to strengthen participation, transparency, accountability and equity at the project level. | Section Overview 

Module 2.1: A Well-Defined and Operational Human Resources Strategy
Overview | Tools | Case Studies   

Module 2.2: Appraisal Systems and Compliance Checks
Overview | Tools | Case Studies  

Module 2.3: Financial Management Systems
Overview | Tools | Case Studies  

Module 2.4: Participatory and Results Based Monitoring and Learning
Overview | Tools 

SECTION 3: EXTERNAL LEVEL TOOLS

External level (i.e. “third party” or “independent monitoring”) tools complement regular monitoring by the government or project implementing units with more qualitative, process-oriented monitoring by communities, CSOs, research institutes, and other non-state actors. This can benefit CDD-based projects in numerous ways: by improving task team knowledge about project implementation, impacts, targeting, and problems; gaining the support of project beneficiaries/stakeholders; giving credibility to project findings; and ultimately improving project effectiveness and governance. | Section Overview | Tools | Case Studies