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Results for Development Institute

Governance at R4D

Unlocking citizenship

A teacher attendance ledger at the Akanabala-Bulanga Primary School, outside of Iganga, Uganda. Teacher absenteeism dropped from 43 percent to 10 percent, thanks to the ledgers, which the school adopted after an R4D-supported study by the African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse & Neglect. (Photo: R4D)

 

Every individual is entitled to basic human rights including health and education, and all governments have the responsibility to provide their citizens with these rights.

In many places individuals are denied access to these fundamental rights due to inefficiencies in public spending and service delivery. Governments may not allocate sufficient funds to priority sectors and issues, there may be delays or leakages in the transfer of financial and other resources between the government and the ultimate beneficiaries, or resources may not be utilized efficiently by teachers, doctors, and other service providers on the ground.  These problems are exacerbated by the fact that governments do not have adequate monitoring systems that would allow them to identify and address these problems when and where they arise.  In recent decades, however, those outside of government (citizens, civil society organizations, and others) have made progress in filling the gap left by government with civil society-led accountability efforts - monitoring spending and services and advocating for improvements.  

R4D’s Governance Program believes that the key to improving the efficiency and quality of public spending and services, and thus people’s access to basic rights, is to strengthen citizens’ ability to hold their government accountable. R4D’s work to enhance accountability is based on three main approaches: 

  • Strengthening non-governmental organizations’ and citizens’ capacity to undertake accountability work
  • Developing and disseminating tools and lessons to support accountability work
  • Strengthening government’s capacity and political will to work with civil society in a way that improves spending and services

R4D's governance projects

Key R4D governance resources