Search Results: GSAM
Ghana’s Strengthening Accountability Mechanisms Project (GSAM) Baseline
Ghana’s Strengthening Accountability Mechanism (GSAM) project is a five (5) year USAID funded project which focuses on strengthening citizens’ oversight of capital development projects to improve local government transparency, accountability and performance in 100 districts of Ghana. GSAM is designed to strengthen social accountability by improving information to CSOs and the citizenry in the project districts to enhance their capacity to demand accountability. The project seeks to improve accountability by enhancing mechanisms of bottom-up social accountability in MMDAs through increasing the quality and quantity of information available to citizens about the effectiveness of capital projects through extensive CSO monitoring, the production of scorecards, and public information campaigns.
Prior to the rollout of the intervention, the GSAM team collected baseline data in 26 district assemblies in 8 regions of Ghana. The purpose of the baseline study was to establish the situation prior to the roll up of project interventions, document the first measurement of indicators to be used to determine progress, and which will serve as benchmarks for setting targets to be achieved at the completion of the project intervention. Read More...
Prior to the rollout of the intervention, the GSAM team collected baseline data in 26 district assemblies in 8 regions of Ghana. The purpose of the baseline study was to establish the situation prior to the roll up of project interventions, document the first measurement of indicators to be used to determine progress, and which will serve as benchmarks for setting targets to be achieved at the completion of the project intervention. Read More...
Ghana’s Strengthening Accountability Mechanisms (GSAM) Project First Quarterly Report
The Ghana Strengthening Accountability Mechanism (GSAM) project is a five (5) year USAIDfunded project, which focuses on strengthening citizens’ oversight of capital development projects to improve local government transparency, accountability and performance in 100 districts of Ghana. GSAM is designed to strengthen social accountability by improving availability of District Assembly capital project information to citizens to enhance their capacity to demand accountability. The GSAM project interventions directly contribute to the attainment of USAID/Ghana Country Development Cooperation Strategy, - Strengthened Responsive, Democratic Governance under intermediate results; IR 1.2.1 “increased capacity of CSOs to advocate on behalf of citizens for improved government services’’; and sub IR 1.2.2 ‘‘strengthened CSO and National Audit Authority oversight of government services’’. Read More...
Ghana Social Accountability Mechanism (GSAM) Annual Report Year 4
The fourth year of implementation of the USAID-funded Ghana’s Strengthening Accountability Mechanisms (GSAM) project covered the period October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018, during which the GSAM Consortium – CARE, OXFAM and ISODEC – continued with its activities in the 50 districts, known as the Social Accountability Districts. These activities were aimed primarily at strengthening the capacity of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and citizens to monitor and assess capital projects of their MMDAs, using scorecards, and to use the information generated to engage with the MMDAs to demand accountability and improved performance in capital project delivery. Read More...
Ghana’s Strengthening Accountability Mechanisms (GSAM) Project 2nd Year Annual Report
The Ghana Strengthening Accountability Mechanisms (GSAM) Project” is five year social accountability project which was formulated by the Government of the United States of America through its development agency, USAID, in collaboration with the Government of Ghana. The project focuses on strengthening citizens’ oversight of capital projects to improve local government transparency, accountability and performance in 100 districts of Ghana.
The implementation of the GSAM project directly contributes to intermediate results; IR 1.2.1 “increased capacity of CSOs to advocate on behalf of citizens for improved government services’’; and sub IR 1.2.2 ‘‘strengthened CSO and National Audit Authority oversight of government services’’ under USAID/Ghana Country Development Cooperation strategy,- Strengthened Responsive, Democratic Governance. Read More...
The implementation of the GSAM project directly contributes to intermediate results; IR 1.2.1 “increased capacity of CSOs to advocate on behalf of citizens for improved government services’’; and sub IR 1.2.2 ‘‘strengthened CSO and National Audit Authority oversight of government services’’ under USAID/Ghana Country Development Cooperation strategy,- Strengthened Responsive, Democratic Governance. Read More...
Impact Evaluation of the G-SAM Project in Ghana: Midline Report
USAID/Ghana’s Strengthening Accountability Mechanisms program (G-SAM) focuses on the district level of governance in Ghana, the Metropolitan, Municipal, or District Assemblies (MMDAs) democratically elected by residents. The following two activities are currently ongoing:
• Performance audits: The central government collects revenue and shares it with MMDA governments based on a revenue sharing formula. Prior to G-SAM, the Ghana Audit Service (GAS) conducted only a financial audit to ensure that this money was properly spent. Over the course of 2015 and with G-SAM funding, the GAS engaged in performance audits of 50 districts. In these audits the auditors went well beyond checking for receipts for purchases to assess the nature of project planning and contracting, the quality of service delivery outcomes and development
project outputs. This information has been used to develop citizen scorecards that were presented at district assemblies in April and May 2016; the scorecards are now being presented and discussed in public forums across the 50 districts.
• Civil society-led information campaign: Citizens struggle to hold their MMDA officials accountable, partially because they have very limited information about MMDA-level government budgets and activities. As such, a civil society-led effort under contract to CARE International and a coalition of Ghanaian CSOs has been conducting social audits on district capital projects and education and health service quality. This information will be used to develop citizen scorecards that will be presented and discussed in public forums over the course of the summer of 2016.
THE MIDLINE RESEARCH DESIGN
The G-SAM research design involves random assignment of 150 districts into one of three groups: a treatment group that has now received central government performance audits; a second treatment group that is now receiving civil-society led social audit; or a control group that will not receive either intervention. Given delays in the civil society organization (CSO)-led programming, this midline report only covers the 50 GAS performance audit districts and the 50 control districts. Moreover, while the baseline report provided data on citizen attitudes toward district governance and capital projects, the midline was carried out before any of the major citizen outreach efforts that will occur in both treatment arms in Summer 2016. The data collection only occurred among district administrators and politicians with the goal of determining if the GAS audits unto themselves, and without any significant citizen outreach, have had any effect on the planning, contracting and implementation of district capital projects.
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• Performance audits: The central government collects revenue and shares it with MMDA governments based on a revenue sharing formula. Prior to G-SAM, the Ghana Audit Service (GAS) conducted only a financial audit to ensure that this money was properly spent. Over the course of 2015 and with G-SAM funding, the GAS engaged in performance audits of 50 districts. In these audits the auditors went well beyond checking for receipts for purchases to assess the nature of project planning and contracting, the quality of service delivery outcomes and development
project outputs. This information has been used to develop citizen scorecards that were presented at district assemblies in April and May 2016; the scorecards are now being presented and discussed in public forums across the 50 districts.
• Civil society-led information campaign: Citizens struggle to hold their MMDA officials accountable, partially because they have very limited information about MMDA-level government budgets and activities. As such, a civil society-led effort under contract to CARE International and a coalition of Ghanaian CSOs has been conducting social audits on district capital projects and education and health service quality. This information will be used to develop citizen scorecards that will be presented and discussed in public forums over the course of the summer of 2016.
THE MIDLINE RESEARCH DESIGN
The G-SAM research design involves random assignment of 150 districts into one of three groups: a treatment group that has now received central government performance audits; a second treatment group that is now receiving civil-society led social audit; or a control group that will not receive either intervention. Given delays in the civil society organization (CSO)-led programming, this midline report only covers the 50 GAS performance audit districts and the 50 control districts. Moreover, while the baseline report provided data on citizen attitudes toward district governance and capital projects, the midline was carried out before any of the major citizen outreach efforts that will occur in both treatment arms in Summer 2016. The data collection only occurred among district administrators and politicians with the goal of determining if the GAS audits unto themselves, and without any significant citizen outreach, have had any effect on the planning, contracting and implementation of district capital projects.
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Ghana’s Strengthening Accountability Mechanisms (GSAM) Project Third Quarterly Report
The Third Quarter of the USAID-funded Ghana’s Strengthening Accountability Mechanisms (GSAM) project spanned the period April-June, 2017. CARE, IBIS and ISODEC supported 26 CSO partners to complete a number of citizen monitoring and dissemination activities started in previous quarters in the 50 SA districts and to commence another round of citizen monitoring of capital projects. As at the end of June, 88 capital projects had been selected from the 2016/2017 Annual Action Plans (AAPs) in 43 of the 50 social accountability (SA) districts for citizen monitoring, majority of which are education (42%) and health-related (36%) projects. Below is a summary of the key activities implemented during the quarter and the results thereof.
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Ghana’s Strengthening Accountability Mechanisms (GSAM) Project Quarterly Report
The Ghana’s Strengthening Accountability Mechanisms (GSAM) Project seeks to strengthen citizens’ oversight of capital projects to improve local government transparency, accountability and performance in 100 districts of Ghana. CARE International in Ghana, IBIS in Ghana and Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC) are implementing the project in collaboration with twenty-seven Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and other stakeholders.
This report highlights activities carried out in Quarter Two (January-March, 2017) of Year 3 of the project’s implementation. It presents information relating to administration and project infrastructure, programme activities, as well as monitoring and evaluation. Information on project implementation challenges, lessons learnt for the period, conclusions and recommendations are also presented as part of the report. Read More...
This report highlights activities carried out in Quarter Two (January-March, 2017) of Year 3 of the project’s implementation. It presents information relating to administration and project infrastructure, programme activities, as well as monitoring and evaluation. Information on project implementation challenges, lessons learnt for the period, conclusions and recommendations are also presented as part of the report. Read More...
Ghana Strengthening Social Accountability Mechanism (GSAM) final
USAID/Ghana contracted Social Impact, Inc. to conduct an impact evaluation of USAID’s Ghana Strengthening Accountability Mechanisms (GSAM) program, which aims to increase accountability of local District Assemblies in Ghana. This randomized-controlled trial, impact evaluation tests the effect of two distinct efforts to increase accountability and improve service delivery outcomes at the district level. One-hundred and fifty of Ghana’s districts were matched and randomized into one of three groups: a top-down treatment group that received performance audits conducted by the central government Ghana Audit Service (GAS); a bottom-up treatment group that received civil-society organization (CSO) led scorecard campaigns; and a control group that did not receive either intervention.
Through surveys with citizens, local administrators, and local politicians and through a review of administrative data, we find that both CSO and GAS programming generally reduce citizen satisfaction with projects and services, but this is largely driven by districts that receive negative audit reports. That citizens are correctly attributing bad audit performance to poor-performing DAs is encouraging from the point of view of accountability. This progress with citizens has not, however, translated into many substantial changes in how administrators or politicians manage projects or project budgets. Neither GAS nor CSO programming improve transparency or corruption. GAS programming does reduce the incidence of partisan manipulation of public resources by politicians, and it also increases the perception of partisan manipulation among administrators. This is consistent with GAS sensitizing administrators to partisan manipulation and reducing its actual incidence among DA politicians.
CSO programming increases citizen-reported consultation on recent development, and administrators in CSO districts spend, on average, three hours more responding to constituents. Reasons that the intervention did not have a stronger impact on district officials includes (1) natural limits to the number of citizens reached by the intervention, (2) limited district government capacity and frequent turnover, and (3) local government dependence on federal budget transfers. Read More...
Through surveys with citizens, local administrators, and local politicians and through a review of administrative data, we find that both CSO and GAS programming generally reduce citizen satisfaction with projects and services, but this is largely driven by districts that receive negative audit reports. That citizens are correctly attributing bad audit performance to poor-performing DAs is encouraging from the point of view of accountability. This progress with citizens has not, however, translated into many substantial changes in how administrators or politicians manage projects or project budgets. Neither GAS nor CSO programming improve transparency or corruption. GAS programming does reduce the incidence of partisan manipulation of public resources by politicians, and it also increases the perception of partisan manipulation among administrators. This is consistent with GAS sensitizing administrators to partisan manipulation and reducing its actual incidence among DA politicians.
CSO programming increases citizen-reported consultation on recent development, and administrators in CSO districts spend, on average, three hours more responding to constituents. Reasons that the intervention did not have a stronger impact on district officials includes (1) natural limits to the number of citizens reached by the intervention, (2) limited district government capacity and frequent turnover, and (3) local government dependence on federal budget transfers. Read More...