Can multi-stakeholder committees create accountability? : lessons from community scorecards in local health services

The non-state actor's component (NSAC) of the demand for good governance (DFGG) project resulted in citizen or community monitoring of over 300 schools, 100 health centers, and 100 communes. This provided a sample to compare approaches to the design and implementation of a well-known social accountability tool. In the early stages of agreeing the scope and content of grants, it was noted that many Cambodian non-government organizations (NGOs) were opting to implement community scorecards - a feedback and dialogue mechanism - through committees comprised of Councilors, service providers and citizens. This learning note considers the experience of multi-stakeholder committees in facilitating citizen feedback processes. It sets out what worked, what didn’t work and why, and presents some simple lessons.