ANNEX 10: EASHD S EXPERIENCE IN IMPLEMENTING GAC PHASE I

Transcription

1 ANNEX 10: EASHD S EXPERIENCE IN IMPLEMENTING GAC PHASE I Over the last three years there has been a greater recognition of good governance and accountability as a central to EASHD s core business: they have been mainstreamed into many of the department s operations and have been the subject of increasing attention in AAA pieces. The department s lending activities and analytical pieces have generally engaged governance issues via the following entry points: (i) encouraging independent monitoring of spending; (ii) increasing local community involvement; (iii) providing better incentives for service providers; (iv) ensuring transparency in the sources and uses of funds to encourage accountability; (v) improving central regulatory oversight; (vi) establishing campaigns to improve access to information; (vii) instituting various redress mechanisms; and (ix) introducing innovative disbursement instruments such as results-based financing. Below are highlights of governance-related aspects of lending operations and AAA outputs by sector, as well as a brief discussion of some of the challenges and future priorities for more effective engagement with the GAC framework that task teams have identified. A. Education 1. Indonesia Knowledge Improvement for Transparency and Accountability (BOS-KITA) Project The objective of this project is to improve the access to quality education in Indonesia for all children of ages 7 to 15 by strengthening school-based management and community participation, improving existing fiduciary arrangements for greater transparency and accountability of the existing government program, and, consequently, bringing about better utilization of BOS funds by providing more information about the BOS program. The governance-related aspects of the project include the following: The project introduces changes to which authorities control school spending from the central Government to local school districts by providing direct transfers to schools from provincial budgets in quarterly installments. To encourage accountability and transparency at the school and district level, transfers to schools are recorded by the Ministry of Finance, and quarterly reports on BOS fund allocations and expenditures by schools are made to district authorities. Schools are also required to post public notices of funds received and expenditure reports on bulletin boards in the schools. To complement these efforts, media campaigns are undertaken to inform and empower communities regarding knowledge and usage of BOS funds. Independent monitoring of the BOS program in all 33 provinces during BOS-KITA s implementation at all levels of government and schools has been set up to identify good practices and address systemic problems. A recently approved additional financing to the project aims to strengthen the supervision and monitoring mechanisms between schools and district education offices and simplify the complaint resolution mechanism.

2 2. Cambodia Higher Education Quality and Capacity Improvement Project The recently approved IDA financing for higher education in Cambodia places special emphasis on upgrading institutional management for higher education, attempting to make it more systematic and transparent by providing a framework for strategic planning, fund allocation, and reporting that supports the whole system rather than individual departments. Component 1 of the project focuses on staff development within the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport to improve their capacity to offer practical guidance and support to HEIs as well as their capacity to monitor and support research activities. Additionally, a scholarship scheme for disadvantaged students supported by the project introduces awareness raising campaigns not only to increase knowledge about the program, but also promote retention for those already enrolled in the program. 3. Cambodia Education Sector Support Project (CESSP) One of the key objectives of CESSP is to enhance decentralized quality education service delivery by strengthening the accountability loop between school service providers and community members. Areas of intervention include: Institutionalizing the role of communities in the daily life of schools in order to inspire trust in their capacity to manage human and financial resources and breed confidence about the value of the services they provide. Encouraging community voice in decision-making, through participation in school planning processes, commune councils, and scholarship program local management committees. Promoting accountability for results and transparency in resource allocation by encouraging stakeholder feedback mechanisms, public displays of information and community outreach efforts regarding schooling services, student outcomes, budgets and expenditures. Community contracting for procurement of civil works so as to enable timeliness, quality and efficiency throughout the construction cycle in hard-to-reach areas. Encouraging transparent student targeting/selection mechanisms and usage of scholarship funds at the school level. Monitoring the efficiency of public expenditure management through collaborations with Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys. Increasing information access and opening a channel of complaints during the procurement of goods and services. 4. Mongolia Public Expenditure and Financial Management Review The Bank s Public Expenditure and Financial Management Review for Mongolia called for: a stronger system of monitoring and evaluation for the State Training Fund to determine if financial assistance for higher education is reaching its intended beneficiaries; and a proxy means test to improve poverty targeting of demand-side financing programs in general education for school supplies and textbooks. 5. Mongolia Policy Note on Higher Education The Policy Note on Higher Education in Mongolia highlighted the need for greater information sharing by recommending:

3 the annual publication of TEIs performance indicators and student employment statistics as a way to ensure public accountability and consumer protection. the establishment of labor market observatories to guide students and parents in making a decision about entering tertiary education and which field to pursue. 6. China Policy Note on Rural Compulsory Education Finance Reform This policy note examined the effects on educational outcomes of fiscal decentralization of educational expenditure. In reporting on the effects of reform at the school level, the policy note called for increased efforts to monitor progress, the quality of service delivery, and the effects of program interventions, in ways that increase community participation. 7. Vietnam New Model University Project In developing the new model university (NMU) in Vietnam, the recently approved operation aims to ensure that the university financed by the project is capable of self-governance with appropriate institutional structures and policies in place and that the NMU demonstrates autonomy and accountability in its relationship with the Ministry of Education. In particular: The external charter is being revised and an internal university constitution drafted and implemented. Also, the role, authority, rules of operations, and relations with other bodies will be codified into formal documents for such key university governing bodies as the University Council, Presidential Board, and Senate. This will be done to develop a holistic vision of university governance, as well as to encourage rules-based, impartial, transparent, fair and swift procedures for tenders, contracts and payments during implementation. 8. Vietnam Higher Education Development Policy Program This Development Policy Program aims to strengthen governance, rationalize financing, improve the quality of teaching and research, improve accountability for performance, and enhance transparency in financial management within Vietnam s higher education sector. The operation supports Vietnam to create a more effective regulatory environment, including a common set of rules for the operation of both public and private higher education providers (both domestic and foreign). It helps develop new governance arrangements, both for the higher education system as a whole, as well as for individual higher education institutions. The ultimate aim of the series of three single-tranche operations is to put in place new organization, governance, and leadership policy to expand the capacity and resource base of the higher education system. Some of the governance-related measures the program has already introduced include the: Issuance of a regulation on the charter for first new model university, conferring academic, managerial and financial autonomy; Issuance of a regulation on working conditions of general HEIs teaching and research staff, enhancing HEIs autonomy in HR management; Issuance of a regulation on procedures and criteria for appointment and dismissal of professors and associate professors, enhancing HEIs autonomy in HR management; Issuance of a regulation on ownership arrangements for private HEIs; Issuance of a regulation on the establishment, merger, division, suspension and dissolution of HEIs, providing common rules for public and private domestic investors; and the

4 Issuance of a generic charter for HEIs which stipulates their duties and rights regarding their fundamental mission of education and training, research, and interaction with society. 9. Papua New Guinea READ Project READ PNG, which is currently being prepared, is expected to support improvements to PNG s school subsidy system by directly providing funds to schools through the central budget. The intention is to improve the following elements of the school subsidy program: transparency and targeting of the per student formula; innovations in the distribution of payments to schools through bank transfers and school clustering to promote accountability; linking subsidies with school level planning and community oversight for increased transparency; introducing simple tools to improve financial management at the school level; and promoting better reporting and accountability for funding. 10. Tonga Education Support Project A central aim of the Tonga Education Support Project is to create an environment in which resources available to a school can be used to finance locally (school and community) determined needs. By employing school-based management practices to foster school autonomy, the project supports a school grant scheme that allows schools to receive centrally allocated funds and purchase their own inputs for their quality improvement programs. To ensure the transparency of the sources and uses of funds, a negative list is enforced to ensure that purchases are reasonable and are focused on school improvement objectives. 11. Early Grade Reading Assessment in the Pacific Islands The project aims to help build local capacity to administer and replicate early grade reading assessments in Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. The Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) assesses the basic components of reading acquisition and allows Ministries of Education to report on the share of students who are achieving a country s own standards for reading in early grades. Its results are to be used to refine curricula, curricular materials, and instructional approaches, provide feedback on overall policy and system performance, and monitor progress in student performance over time. Governance-related aspects of the initiative include: Knowledge building of government educational ministries and educators on the EGRA methodology and options for using EGRA results to improve how reading is taught in the future; Training of enumerators and Ministry staff on the implementation of assessment protocols; and Knowledge sharing to government staff and local education partners on various literacy interventions with different degrees of teacher, parental and community participation, to increase accountability and oversight.

5 B. Health, nutrition and population 1. Indonesia Health Professional Education Project The aim of the project is to strengthen quality assurance policies governing the education of health professionals in Indonesia. Specific governance aspects include: Developing a valid, transparent, credible and internationally competitive accreditation system for medical, dental, nursing, and midwifery education; Establishing an independent national competence examination agency of doctors, dentists, nurses, and midwives, improving the methodology and management of the examination, and developing an item bank networking system; Employing results-based grants to encourage the use of accreditation and certification standards in the development of medical school quality. 2. Indonesia Health Sector Reform Agenda TA This TA assesses the governance and accountability for performance of the health sector. Part of this work on Health Insurance Reform focuses on the ways in which the payment and reimbursement mechanisms, the out-of-pocket expenditures, and the management of the health insurance program for the poor, can made more transparent. To improve central regulatory capacity, the TA recommended improvements to: The processes used to develop, debate, pass and enact laws and regulations on health issues. The information available to, and used by, policymakers in formulating policy and monitoring performance. Social participation and system responsiveness, including stakeholder involvement in decision making and health system responsiveness to inputs and demands from stakeholders. The mechanisms used to hold those responsible for running health systems accountable to the public they serve. Regulatory capacity, including enforcement, for oversight and quality of health services. 3. Philippines National Sector Support for Health Reform The activity includes a number of interventions to improve the transparency and accountability of the health sector, including: Better targeting of the poor through collaboration to encourage local government units (LGUs) to scale up community based poverty mapping to identify poor families. Improving actuarial management and modernizing financial management of health insurance companies, including systems for control of benefits fraud. Performance-based allocations of health commodities (vaccines, drugs, laboratory supplies, micronutrients). Improve tracking of inputs by the introduction of bar-coding for vaccines. Use LGU scorecards and community feedback to improve accountability mechanisms of Department of Health and LGUs.

6 4. Philippines Results-Based M&E towards Equity and Effectiveness for the Health Sector Reform Agenda (Formula One for Health) The grant introduces results-based financing, performance-based budgeting, and performance grant agreements in the implementation of the Government s Formula One for Health reform. The governance-related aspects of these efforts include: Develop a template for a performance-based governing agreement between the Department of Health (DoH) and local health providers. Assist DoH to develop systems in tracking and verifying compliance with agreed conditions/provisions of the governing agreement. Finance the development and pilot of innovative tools in the independent verification of the LGU and other M&E-related scorecards. Finance the cost analysis of the budget implications for DoH to regularly conduct the independent verification of the LGU scorecard and other M&E-related scorecards. 5. Philippines Second Women's Health & Safe Motherhood Project Governance-related aspects of the project include: Developing operational and regulatory guidelines, including monitoring and evaluation, for local delivery of women s and maternal health. 6. Vietnam Facilitating Ministry of Health's Stewardship Role IDF Grant The governance-related aspects of the project include the following: Encouraging the Ministry of Health to move from a centralized 'command and control' approach towards a greater stewardship function. Assess constraints on policy implementation including current practices relating to financing, budgeting, training, incentives and motivation in human resource management, the sustainable attainment of universal health insurance, and the government s ability to address preventive health challenges in communicable and noncommunicable diseases. 7. Vietnam Central North Region Health Support Project Governance-related aspects of the project include: A Results Based Financing pilot, involving the testing of performance indicators to monitor and evaluate service provision within district hospitals and preventive health centers. Performance on these indicators will be incorporated into the calculation of the government transfer to district health facilities. The project will set up an adequate independent audit system to verify performance. 8. Vietnam Constraint Assessment-Bottlenecks and Inter-Fiscal Issues for Decentralization ESW The goal of this analytical work is to help the government address critical health systems constraints from the institutional capacity and stewardship point of view. The activity includes analyses of: The way decentralization policies and practices are changing the interaction between the major players in the health system and the distribution of power.

7 9. Cambodia Health Support Project Part of this project focuses on Cambodia s accountability for service delivery, namely by: Engaging local legal consulting services to help the Ministry of Health formulate a legislative program and to draft appropriate legislation with the aim of strengthening its oversight of the policy, legislative and regulatory framework Supporting the progressive decentralization of the planning process and the integration of planning and budgeting activities. Financing the recruitment and training of financial management staff at central, provincial, and district levels and the creation of a strong internal audit function in MoH. Setting up arrangements to increase user participation in decision making and to assess user satisfaction. Managing equity funds to pay for the services delivered to the poor population. Upgrading the National Drug Quality control laboratory to meet international standards. Supporting efforts to improve M&E analytical capabilities to include systematic comparison of the outcomes of various ongoing pilots and experiments (HMAs, contracting in and out, boosting, etc.); surveillance of health service delivery outside the public sector to provide a comprehensive view of sector-wide change; and use of the information to improve health sector governance, in particular at the local level, by increasing information to health center management committees, feedback committees, and NGOs. 10. Samoa Health Sector Management Program Support Project The aim of the project is to improve the government s ability to manage and implement its Health Sector Plan using results from sector performance monitoring. The project includes strong governance elements, including: Improving the forecasting of pharmaceuticals requirements, procurement, storage, distribution, and use through upgraded warehouse and inventory management system. Encourage health promotion activities by involving communities and other organizations via sub-grant mechanisms. Strengthening policy, monitoring and regulatory oversight of MoH by creating a human resource database, a multi-skilled nurses and credentialing system, and a Bachelor of Health Science program. Improved information systems including analysis and reporting, structured survey instruments and annual joint health sector reviews. Establishing a public-private partnership framework for service delivery through competitive contracting with large NGOs and the private sector. Establishing standards quality assurance and regulatory function for the sector. 11. Solomon Islands' Health Sector Support Program Technical Assistance Project The project seeks to improve the institutional capacity of the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) in the areas of public expenditure management and sector performance monitoring. Specific governance aspects include: Contributing technical assistance to complete the first rolling sector Medium Term Expenditure Framework and improve national MHMS and provincial health planning and budgeting systems and procedures so that priorities are set within a known resource envelope and linked to expected results.

8 Improving the sector-wide program's M&E framework to focus on a core set of indicators covering the key dimensions of sector performance. Financing the continuing management education for officers targeted at solving immediate program challenges, such as dealing with community participation in health, streamlining referrals system between health centers and provincial hospitals and the National Referral Hospital. C. Social protection 12. Philippines Social Welfare and Development Reform The objective of the project is to strengthen the effectiveness of Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in implementing the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program and expand an efficient and functional National Household Targeting System (NHTS) of social protection programs. The governance-related aspects of the project include the following: Support to the DSWD in developing a set of uniform, objective, and transparent criteria to select the poor through a NHTS, thus reducing the overall cost of targeting and improving coordination, efficiency, and effectiveness of the social programs. Building institutional capacity of DSWD to strengthen its leadership role in social protection, with a focus on strengthening policy analysis and strategic planning. 13. Philippines Good Governance & Anti Corruption in CCT This TA supports the Department of Social Welfare and Development in designing and implementing the anti-corruption and good governance measures in the roll-out of its Conditional Cash Transfer program. The TA revolved around three components: CCT program (4Ps): integration of risk-mitigating measures within core program design such as proxy means test (PMT) based targeting system, management information system, monitoring and spot check, and process risk mapping; Demand Side: enhance the capacity of beneficiaries and the general public to oversee program implementation through public information campaign and grievance redress system; Supply Side: strengthening of DSWD s governance and anti-corruption capacity through an Integrity Development Review. 14. Mongolia Support to Social Welfare Reform TA This TA supports the Ministry of Social Welfare and Labor in the implementation of a major sectoral reform that involves a consolidation of its system of social transfers, the introduction of poverty targeted benefits, the setting up of a central cross-sectoral database of benefits and beneficiaries, and possible reform plans in the pensions sector. Governance related activities include: Technical assistance for targeting system (supporting the piloting and national roll-out of the system); Development and management of a well functioning MIS to maintain a beneficiary database; Design and implementation of a grievance and appeals mechanism for the social welfare system, including information and communication campaigns; Strengthening of the institutional and governance structures within the Ministry and training of the staff the implementation of the reform system; and

9 Setting-up a system of audits/social accountability 15. Timor Leste Social Protection TA This activity reviews expenditure and cost effectiveness of existing cash transfer interventions managed by the Ministry. It will assess cash transfer programs, including governance related aspects such as an assessment of eligibility criteria (appropriate, consistent, transparent), targeting, and management of beneficiaries databases. 16. Vietnam Social Safety Net Assessment The task will help update the Bank's understanding of existing safety net programs in Vietnam and their ability to help address the impact of the economic crisis on Vietnam's poor and vulnerable populations. It analyzes the coverage and incidence of programs and includes an assessment of the governance and administrative challenges involved with a future scale-up of existing cash transfer programs. 17. Regional AAA: Strengthening the Governance Dimension of Social Safety Nets This piece will include a resource paper for policy-makers as well as an instrument to make informed judgments on the choice of a social safety net and implementation risks in ASEAN. The work will contribute to understanding the constraints on policy implementation (including corruption) and efforts to address those constraints. When complete, the report will: Provide an overall diagnostic based on evidence on how governance challenges have been overcome or are managed in other social safety net programs across the world; and Help operational staff in the ASEAN region to consider the governance aspects of a social safety net and assist them in improving their design. 18. Knowledge Sharing and Learning: Governance and Human Development Workshop (BKK March 2010) The SP team benefitted from a regional workshop, jointly organized by the Governance hub and EASHD, specifically designed to identify sector governance priorities and learn from past and ongoing work in this area. Presentations highlighting international experience centered on lessons learned from the OECD and LAC, on error, corruption, and fraud in social protection, and overall implementation of SP programs. Case studies of governance in EAP operations in Philippines and Indonesia added important knowledge sharing and learning within the region. Challenges and future priorities Perceived challenges For social protection, a particular challenge has been to identify common definitions of governance for the sector, as well as to agree on the relevance and limits of the framework of the WDR 2004 accountability triangle. Also, in some countries governance has proved to be a difficult entry point for dialogue across all HD sectors because of sensitivities on corruption. Some task teams have tried to focus on service delivery instead and have found that discussions on semi-autonomous service arrangements and community scorecards are clear, non-controversial, and, perhaps, better entry points for governance discussions.

10 Key future priorities For social protection, achieve a better understanding of concrete operational challenges such as defining acceptable error levels in targeting, striking a balance when addressing fraud cases around the poverty line, how to apply lessons learned in LAC to EAP regarding mechanisms to increase voice, how decentralization affects checks and balances in program design For social protection, continue work on defining appropriate performance indicators, including ways to look at processes and administrative side of programs (instead of only targeting and coverage) For all sectors, take stock of knowledge, identify concrete examples of global best practices of HD governance, and disseminate them widely within the Bank Consolidate experiences of GAC framework implementation across the regions Share examples of results-based financing aspects of operations more widely Define practical guidelines for operational staff to identify entry points for governance issues when designing programs Provide better guidance on various instruments (e.g., PETS, QSDS) as well as options for mainstreaming governance indicators into M&E systems