Call for Nominations for the Expert Council on Citizen Engagement 2017 Briefing Note

Transcription

1 Call for Nominations for the Expert Council on Citizen Engagement 2017 Briefing Note (For Citizen Engagement Websites and Distribution Lists) There is a unique opportunity to serve on the Expert Advisory Council on Citizen Engagement of the World Bank Group (the Council) if you are an expert on the theme and are in civil society, the private sector, foundations, or donor agency or development partner, and are committed to advancing citizen engagement to strengthen governance and improve development outcomes. The Strategic Framework for Mainstreaming Citizen Engagement in World Bank Group (WBG) Operations (the Strategic Framework) defines citizen engagement as the two-way interaction between citizens and governments or the private sector within the scope of WBG interventions that gives citizens a stake in decision-making with the objective of improving the intermediate and final development outcomes of the intervention. Engaging citizens can enhance development results. It can improve the delivery and quality of public services; enhance the management of public finances; and bring about greater transparency, accountability and social inclusion, resulting in tangible improvements in people s lives. There is emerging consensus among scholars that state legitimacy is enhanced not by service delivery per se, but by the opportunities the process provides for citizens to positively interact with the state. And citizen engagement provides exactly that by getting citizens involved in identifying priority needs, registering complaints, voicing disagreements, and providing feedback. The World Bank Group is committed to supporting governments to engage citizens across operations, including in: systematic country diagnostics; country partnership frameworks; development policy loans; investment lending and program for results, as well as in knowledge products and advisory work. Since 2014, we have taken steps to institutionalize citizen engagement across all our programs, based on our commitment to align all public and private sector interventions to our twin goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. An important feature of the Strategic Framework is the Global Partnership for Social Accountability (GPSA). A cornerstone of the WBG s engagement with civil society organizations (CSOs), the GPSA provides grants and implementation support to CSOs for 1

2 collaboration with their governments in solving governance challenges notably in service delivery, and improving development outcomes. CSOs use a range of citizen engagement, social accountability, multi-stakeholder processes and beneficiary feedback to ensure that service provision is effective and responsive to citizens. This is supported by partnerships, knowledge, and learning including the GPSA s global Knowledge Platform. There is a corporate commitment to incorporate citizen engagement in all Investment Project Financing (IPFs) with clearly identifiable beneficiaries by the end of FY18 (June 30, 2018). Beneficiaries are defined in the Strategic Framework as a subset of citizens directly targeted by and expected to benefit from a Bank-financed development project. The commitment to incorporate citizen engagement in all IPFs is measured through the following three indicators: Inclusion of a beneficiary feedback indicator in the Results Framework of the Project Appraisal Document; Evidence of citizen-centric project design; and Measuring, and reporting on, the beneficiary feedback indicator during project implementation. Several elements play an important role in making citizen engagement mechanisms function more effectively, including a well-informed citizenry; an enabling regulatory framework, such as freedom of association, access to information, and petition rights ; as well as institutional structures such as a well-organized media and a dynamic CSO landscape rooted in communities. Implementation of the Strategic Framework is overseen by a joint secretariat led by two of the Social, Urban, Rural and Resilience (GSURR) and the Governance (GGP) Global Practices. The World Bank monitors progress on the corporate commitments on citizen engagement through the Corporate Scorecard and the IDA Results and Measurement System. The Secretariat supports knowledge sharing Bank-wide, collaborating with Citizen Engagement Focal Points located in all the Global Practices. The priority has been on increasing the number of projects with beneficiary-oriented design and beneficiary feedback indicators in results frameworks, and on delivering knowledge and learning events focus ed on enhancing the quality of citizen engagement in Bank-financed operations. The next phase of implementation will comprise monitoring the quality of implementation of citizen engagement mechanisms at the project level; efforts to mainstream citizen engagement in broader governance systems (e.g., public financial management, public procurement, anticorruption); innovations in integrating citizen engagement in fragile, conflict and violence affected settings; enhanced knowledge and learning for World Bank teams; and leveraging strategic partnerships to advance these efforts. 2

3 Composition and Role of the Advisory Council The Advisory Council was established to bring external and expert insights throughout the development and implementation of the Strategic Framework. It was designed to have diverse membership and geographic coverage in an effort to capture a diverse and comprehensive range of global and specific stakeholder perspectives and specialized expertise. From inception, it was composed of representatives from civil society (2), academia (2), private sector (2), governments (2), foundations (2) and donor organizations including the WBG (2). Members of the Advisory Council were selected based on their (i) experience in citizen engagement with a track record in achieving improved development outcomes through citizen engagement, (ii) level of representation of constituencies, (iii) geographic coverage and (iv) knowledge of World Bank Group operations. This year we would like to fill the following seats to restore the membership of the Advisory Council to the level of 12 members, as follows: Private Sector (1) Foundations (2) Governments (1) Donor organizations/development partners (1) In joining this Advisory Council, you will be a part of a dynamic team of members who provide strategic and technical advice and guidance to the World Bank Group as it implements the Strategic Framework. Roles and Responsibilities of the Expert Advisory Council Consistent with the Terms of Reference, the roles and responsibilities of the Advisory Council are advisory in nature. Members contribute guidance and expertise to advance implementation of the Strategic Framework covering such issues as social accountability and the work of the GPSA; evidence and experience from citizen engagement in development interventions; citizen engagement and beneficiary feedback indicators; how, where and why citizen engagement has contributed to improved development outcomes; monitoring mechanisms; analysis of contextual factors for success; and other issues critical to mainstreaming citizen engagement in Bank operations for improved results. Advisory Council members serve in their individual capacity and not that of the organizations to which they belong. In this respect, should they have to leave the Council for any reason before their term expires, there is no automatic replacement from their organization. 3

4 Advisory Council members carry out their work by: Participating in face-to-face or virtual meetings of the Advisory Council, as needed (expected at least every 6 months, less than 2 hours in duration), to advance strategic dialogue with World Bank Group staff; Supporting implementation of the Strategic Framework by providing emerging knowledge, evidence, lessons learned, case studies and experiences on citizen engagement from development programs; and Contributing technical reviews of knowledge products as may be requested by staff. For the Terms of Reference of the Advisory Council, please click here. We look forward to your support in identifying strong, strategic leaders who can effectively support the World Bank Group in advancing citizen engagement to improve development outcomes. Nomination and Selection Process The timeframe and process for nomination will be as follows: 1. Nominations: Nomination of members can be put forward to citizenengagement@worldbankgroup.org until January 12, 2018 using the Nomination Form accompanying this Briefing Note and Terms of Reference, and available on the web page. The complete nominations of all candidates will be published on the Word Bank Group s Citizen Engagement website after nominations close, by January 15, Public Comment: The public will be invited to comment on the list of candidates between January 15 and February 9, This input will inform the shortlisting of candidates. 3. Shortlisting: A Citizen Engagement Expert Advisory Council Selection Committee (the Selection Committee) will process nominations and identify a shortlist using input from public comments. The shortlist will be published on the World Bank Group s Citizen Engagement website by March 2, 2018, along with the criteria, rationale, and scores. 4. Interviews: The shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview by the Selection Committee (via Skype or video conference), to be completed by March 23, Publishing final list: The selected candidates will be informed and announced on the World Bank s Citizen Engagement webpage by April 6, 2018, and the new members of the Advisory Council are expected to be in place by April 30, The Citizen Engagement Expert Advisory Council Selection Committee will comprise 10 members: two from the current Advisory Council, three other external stakeholders, and five World Bank Group staff. It will be supported by the World Bank Group s Citizen Engagement Secretariat. 4

5 Nominations should be submitted by sending the following to Each shortlisted candidate will be requested to provide: 1. At least two references, which the Selection Committee may contact. 2. A Resume of the proposed candidate (maximum 1 page); 3. A Statement of Interest explaining why you or the candidate you are nominating are interested in joining the Advisory Council; relevant experience, skills, and academic qualifications; track record in the citizen engagement space including leadership roles ; and 4. A compilation of publications, videos, blogs, and other writings relevant to citizen engagement. 5