To enhance the potential of women’s political participation, democracy itself must be democratised, including by building new pathways into politics. The combination of a dedicated grassroots activist organisation and a RTI Act was necessary for achieving successful accountability. This paper reflects on case studies of citizen mobilisation in the North and South, arguing that the politics of knowledge is central to how movements are mobilised, framed and identified. CommGAP, 2008, ‘Coalition Building’, Communication for Governance and Accountability Program (CommGAP), World Bank, Washington DC In some instances, efforts to improve participation and accountability may increase inequalities between organised groups from better-off areas and the urban poor. It is important to: strengthen the legal and regulatory environment for freedom and pluralism in information; support capacity strengthening, networking, and higher standards of media at national and local levels; raise awareness of rights to official information and strengthen mechanisms to provide it; and to strengthen communication mechanisms for vulnerable groups. Drawing on a wide range of case studies, the paper outlines several key coalition building stages that increase the likelihood of success of change initiatives. 27, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton State-society bargaining over taxation seems to be shaped by the broader state of politics, the role of elites, the mobilising capacity of civil society, the motives for the tax increase and the type of tax in question. But the roles of movements in poverty reduction will vary significantly depending on the political regime of the moment – and that context defines both the most likely, as well as potentially the most productive, strategy for movements to assume. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) (in South Africa) a policy of providing special opportunities in employment, training, etc for Black people and others disadvantaged under apartheid It presents lessons from ActionAid’s Reflect ICTs project that challenge how ICT4D is currently understood and practiced. This report, prepared for the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, outlines the theoretical background to discussions on ICTs and democracy, and presents case studies from Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. For … Policies promoting community-based natural resources management (CBNRM) have created an important role for communities in the conservation, management, and use of natural resources. There is very limited literature on donor engagement with social movements. Fung, A., 2003, Recipes for Public Spheres: Eight Institutional Design Choices and Their Consequences’, The Journal of Political Philosophy, Vol. Following this understanding, political empowerment must include giving access to various political offices, including positions in the government, to the members of disadvantaged populations. Mobilisation that adopts a critique or protest approach seems less likely to elicit a positive state response than collaborative engagement. At first, digital media allowed democratization movements to develop new tactics for catching dictators off guard. While the actors who mediate (and their tactics) are diverse and are not necessarily of the marginalised group, they share a commitment to overcoming representational, knowledge or ideological deficits in decision-making for the marginalised group. Coalitions can promote governance reform by highlighting issues and pressuring power-holders to initiate and implement change. 156, German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg CSOs play a key role in collecting, analysing and using information to bridge information gaps. Transparency and accountability have emerged over the past decade as key ways to address both developmental failures and democratic deficits. While causality remains difficult to determine, transparency is associated with better socio-economic and human development indicators, and with higher competitiveness and lower corruption. 338-367 Lack of access to basic services is regarded as having ‘limited citizenship’. Experience suggests that effective communication plays a critical role in building consensus, cooperation and support among key stakeholders in the pursuit of reforms. empowerment (Noun) The granting of political, social or economic power to an individual or group. State engagement with mobilised citizens in the countries studied has had both progressive and regressive outcomes: it has increased space for participation in policymaking, and increased state resistance to critique. The literature is split on whether the empowerment of women necessarily translates into community empowerment and collective action. They can achieve what one citizen or organisation cannot do alone, making those members perceived to be weak less vulnerable to harassment and intimidation. 3, pp. Access full text: available online. Access full text: available online. Findings suggest that governments often become more capable, accountable and responsive when state-led reform to strengthen institutions of accountability and social mobilisation occur simultaneously. The presence of active, informed and coordinated civil society organisations (CSOs) is generally regarded as another important precondition to amplifying the voices of the poor. It finds that in the pre-internet period, civil society’s focus was on behind-the-scenes struggles for associational autonomy within the state-socialist framework. Decentralisation, civil society activism, and the transparency of and access to information also play a key role in strengthening accountability. Daruwala, M. and Nayak, V. (eds), 2007, ‘Our Rights, Our Information: Empowering People to Demand Rights through Knowledge’, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, New Delhi Examining the case of Cuba, this paper compares civil society dynamics prior to the internet – in the early to mid-1990s – and a decade later. The paper below argues that larger, flexible budgets; higher proportions of tax revenues from a local base; and the lower costs for public participation all promote citizen and local government empowerment. To invest with power, especially legal power or official authority. The process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one’s life and claiming one’s rights. The ‘empowerment’ of local authorities through decentralisation is seen as a way of localising democracy and making public services more accountable. Wong, S. and Guggenheim, S., 2005, ‘Community-driven Development: Decentralisation’s Accountability Challenge’, in East Asia Decentralizes: Making Local Government Work, The World Bank, Washington D.C., pp. But have democratisation processes really increased pro-poor political participation? Access full text: available online. Access full text: available online. While democracy is a highly contested concept, it is generally agreed that, fundamentally, it relates to how people exercise control and scrutiny over political institutions. This can encompass a range of approaches, including strengthening democratic citizenship, promoting engagement between the state and civil society, promoting access to information, and strengthening citizens’ associations. For example, the capacity of public bodies to provide information can be weak, and officials may be unaware of their obligations. Access full text: available online, Helling, l., Serrano, R., Warren, D., 2005, ‘Linking Community Empowerment, Decentralized Governance, and Public Service Provision Through a Local Development Framework’, World Bank, Washington DC 105-113 See also the discussion of media development in the topic guide on Communication and Governance. Access full text: available online. ), 2011, ‘States of mobilisation? It argues that, despite important post-Apartheid reforms, public participation is still limited. The underlyin… Digital media helped to turn individualized, localized, and community-specific dissent into structured movements with a collective consciousness about both shared grievances and opportunities for action. Their voices can be constrained by low awareness of rights, government resistance, poor access to information and complex laws and procedures for involvement in local decision-making. Access full text: available online, Stalker, C. with Sandberg, D., 2011, ‘Capacity Building for Advocacy’, Praxis Paper 25, INTRAC, London Access full text: available online. Kabeer, N., 2010, ‘Women’s Empowerment, Development Interventions, and Management of Information Flows’, IDS Bulletin Vol. This article explores the factors that affect and enable women’s political effectiveness in different democratic arenas. However, the success of ICTs is dependent on the political will of organisations to be transparent. The issue is two-fold: bolstering the responsiveness of service providers and local government, while also enabling poor people to demand promised poverty reduction results. Others argue that the process through which information accessibility affects accountability is still poorly understood. So what does empowerment really mean? They also contribute significantly to empowering marginalised groups, acting as checks and balances, and providing opportunities for people to engage in collective action and social mobilisation. Citizens are more likely to gain democratic skills and dispositions where deliberations have tangible consequences for them. Gender equality concerns are especially important at the conceptualisation stage, so as to plan follow-through. Access full text: available online. For more information on the role and impact of ICTs in development, please see the social media section of the GSDRC’s Communication and Governance Topic Guide. Empowerment is also strongly connected to feminism. However, the dynamics of how citizens mobilise differs depending on the political context. ‘The organization's work in Liberia has made a considerable contribution to political party empowerment.’ ‘To help you get comfortable with your ability to take care of business, follow these steps to financial empowerment.’ ‘Giving them such empowerment is really investing in viable business capable of … boell.de. What kind of legal framework best enables citizen participation in local governance? It identifies three ways in which civil society engages in the policy making process in that country: resisting policy reform, including certain constituencies in policy making and implementing existing progressive public policies. Institutional design choices have implications for the character of participation, how officials and citizens are informed, the fostering of citizenship skills, connections between public deliberation and state action, and public mobilisation. This can often leave those who have been oppressed to believe that they themselves were responsible for their struggles. Eventually, authoritarian governments worked social media into their own counter-insurgency strategies. How do local fiscal conditions relate to, and stimulate, citizen and local government empowerment? How does access to information support good governance and poverty reduction? Wiktionary empower + -ment. Robinson, M., 2006, ‘Budget Analysis and Policy Advocacy: The Role of Non-Governmental Public Action’, Working Paper no. empowerment (Noun) It concludes that CDD presents opportunities for enhancing civic participation, state responsiveness and cost-effective service provision, although it requires further evaluation. This article from the IDS Bulletin draws on the example of Parivartan, a Delhi-based citizens’ group working on issues of corruption and accountability. Therefore, as important as the relationship between citizens and the state, is a ‘horizontal’ view of citizenship – one which focuses on the relationship between citizens. Submit. Bandyopadhyay, S., 2009, ‘Knowledge-Based Economic Development: Mass Media and the Weightless Economy’, STICERD, London School of Economics and Political Science, London Access full text: available online, Rakner, L., Rocha Menocal, A. and Fritz, V., 2007, ‘Democratisation’s Third Wave and the Challenges of Democratic Deepening: Assessing International Democracy Assistance and Lessons Learned’, Research Paper for the Advisory Board to Irish Aid, Overseas Development Institute (ODI), London What does empowerment mean? There is also broad consensus that in order for democratisation processes to be sustainable, they need to come from within. How can service provision be designed and delivered in a way that ensures the opinions of the users, socially excluded groups and the voices of the poor are heard and represented? Cited Source. Methods that have been suggested are to create affirmative action policies that have a quota for the number of women in policy making and parliament positions. This is used to inform citizen participation in various mechanisms designed to improve participation and accountability of services, for example user groups and resource management committees, citizen report cards, etc. Access full text: available online. How can public participation in government policy formulation and implementation be improved? External actors have a positive role to play in efforts to strengthen democratic structures, but they cannot act as substitutes when domestic support is lacking. Can access to information and transparency reforms improve governance and development outcomes? Iterated interaction increases both incentives and opportunities for cooperation. The authors argue that households with greater access to community radio are more likely to make financial investments in the education of their children. At these moments, the ideas, values and knowledge of key actors profoundly affect how an intervention plays out in practice, and thus what it is able to achieve. This Logolink case study recounts the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Pakistan experience of participatory planning processes within the seven-year (1996-2003) Environmental Rehabilitation in North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Punjab (ERNP) programme. One of the most important effects of movements (when they are “successful”) is to induce the creation of new public institutions that contribute to poverty reduction. It argues that three factors – large, flexible budgets; higher proportions of tax revenues from a local base; and lower costs for public participation – promote citizen and local government empowerment. In the development context, the argument is that through greater accountability, ‘leaky pipes’ of corruption and inefficiency will be repaired, aid will be channelled more effectively, and in turn development initiatives will produce greater and more visible results. While traditional forms of state-led accountability are increasingly found to be inadequate, thousands of multi-stakeholder and citizen-led approaches have come to the fore, to supplement or supplant them. How have community-driven development (CDD) projects contributed to the effectiveness of decentralisation reforms? Increasingly, efforts are being made to help civil society organisations to influence policy more effectively. What is the potential of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to support processes of democratisation and empowerment in developing countries? political / economic empowerment. Radios and TVs are also observed to have a robust negative association with inequality and poverty. Recent research has stressed the need to shift from a technology-led approach, where the emphasis is on technical innovation, towards an approach that emphasises innovative use of already established technology (mobiles, radio, television). ; the entire process of promoting another person or individuals to realize and claim personal… How do ICTs impact women and men differently? It argues that democracy is an ongoing process of contestation, rather than a set of standardised institutional designs: approaches to democracy should combine a range of democratic models. How can development interventions manage information and ideas so as to empower women more effectively? 783-800 Decentralisation has the potential to empower citizens, including excluded groups such as women. Capacity-building and organisational change in government, civil society and the media could encourage a more participatory governance approach. Many developing countries do not have adequate legal provisions for the right to information, which if enforced adequately and acted upon by rights-holders, provides a key accountability mechanism between citizens and decision-makers, and in theory, should increase government openness and responsiveness to requests for information. Access full text: available online, Hoffmann, B., 2010, ‘Civil Society 2.0? Access full text: available online. To what extent can tools like the Right to Information (RTI) help ensure transparency and accountability? There is some robust evidence of the negative association of ICT expenditures with corruption. In this way, the media can act as a powerful accountability mechanism and means through which people are empowered to hold other actors to account. The vast majority of the literature focuses on the empowerment of women in the community. Mobile phone ownership offers women opportunities such as improved access to education, health, business and employment. For more information on community involvement in service delivery, please see the User involvement and accountability section of the GSDRC’s Service Delivery Topic Guide. Find out below. Empowerment definition at Dictionary.com, a free online dictionary with pronunciation, synonyms and translation. My last column elicited tens of thousands of comments -- from the thoughtful to the sick -- on the internet and Twitter. It is argued that donor funding of social movements, often through the funding of civil society organisations (CSOs) and NGOs, has co-opted and diluted these movements and led to the defection of its members. S Hickey and G Mohan, Zed Books, London, pp. This group has used the RTI to mobilise poor people and has used information to generate awareness through the media, holding government to account. The granting of political, social or economic power to an individual or group. This article examines ‘minipublics’ (deliberately convened publics). A ‘one policy fits all’ approach to mainstreaming ICTs has thus far been unsuccessful; a ‘female first’ policy is required. What motivates citizens to mobilise, and why? Often, people who do not have access to basic services are not able to demand better service from providers. For scholars and practitioners of democracy, a parallel argument holds that following the twentieth-century wave of democratisation, democracy now has to ‘deliver the goods’, especially in terms of material outcomes, and that new forms of democratic accountability can help it do so. By establishing the right to information in domestic law and by setting up public information systems, governments can enhance citizens’ participation in governance, advance equitable economic development, reduce poverty and fight corruption. How has the spread of digital media across international boundaries affected the role of civil society under authoritarian regimes? Access full text: available online. ICTs are being used to support development outcomes in five primary areas. Through its research, the Citizenship DRC has collected evidence which shows that – even where formal mechanisms of accountability are weak – citizens can and do engage with states through collective action to create policy reforms. This enables them to represent their interests in a responsible and self-determined way, acting on their own authority. Citizens and civil society organizations often do not have the skills and knowledge to process, analyse or use complex information. It reports findings from a survey of public schools, households and VEC members on the state of education services and the extent of community participation in delivering such services. Introduction: social, economic and political empowerment, access to information and its constraints, « Conceptualising empowerment and accountability, Civil Society and Accountability in Rwanda, Implementation Frameworks for International Summits or Conferences, Youth initiatives supporting citizen engagement with government, Communication interventions supporting positive civic action in Lebanon, Defining voice, empowerment and accountability. Further coordinated efforts from both developing countries and donors are needed to secure larger tax bases, better tax compliance, and comprehensive tax reform in order to improve state responsiveness and accountability. This briefing highlights the key challenges involved in making these spaces effective forms of citizen participation. This brief draws on case studies from India. Learning from the Reflect ICTs project’, ActionAid UK, London Commins, S., 2007, ‘Community Participation in Service Delivery and Accountability’, UCLA, Los Angeles 279, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton Access full text: available online. The mobilisation of citizens around the tax system is another approach for participation in public policy. Empowerment has been defined and measured in many different ways. It is increasingly argued that the role of organised citizens in influencing change by articulating their needs and concerns, mobilising to press for change, and monitoring the performance of government institutions should receive greater attention from development actors. Access full text: available online, Berger, G., 2009, ‘Freedom of Expression, Access to Information, and Empowerment of People’, UNESCO, Paris This paper surveys CDD programmes in Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines to assess how far this approach improves accountability, service delivery and regulatory frameworks in local government. Access full text: available online. Access full text: available online. : The granting of political, personal or economic power to an individual or team. What role can local community participation in basic service delivery play in promoting development outcomes? This government believes strongly in the empowerment of women. Of the media variables, newspapers are observed to have a robust negative association with both corruption and inequality. This paper suggests that particular attention must be given to strengthening women’s capacity for voice and action at five ‘critical moments’ of an intervention’s planning cycle: conception, design, implementation, evaluation, and learning. Empowerment is defined as “ the process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one’s life and claiming one’s rights ” (Oxford Dictionary). What strategies have been effective in influencing policy reform? Involving citizens in service delivery can improve accountability, but formal participatory mechanisms can exclude the poor. empower definition: 1. to give someone official authority or the freedom to do something: 2. to give someone official…. Access full text: available online. In recent empowerment literature, the meaning of the term empowerment is often assumed rather than explained or defined. This paper examines two South African case studies to evaluate the extent and effectiveness of citizens’ engagement in domestic and foreign policy. To what extent has this translated into their political influence, or into gains in policies that redress gendered inequities and inequalities? This paper examines current practice, experiences and theory in advocacy capacity building. How can public services in developing countries be improved? Access full text: available online, International Development Research Centre (IDRC), 2008, ‘Policy Recommendations of the International Conference on Decentralization, Local Power and Women’s Rights: Global Trends in Participation, Representation and Access to Public Services’, policy recommendations from the international conference, Mexico City What can be achieved through social organisation? The empowerment and accountability agenda thus takes an integrated view of how people can gain the necessary resources, assets, and capabilities to demand accountability from those who hold power. the process of gaining freedom and power to do what you want or to control what happens to you: female / youth empowerment. Access full text: available online, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2008, ‘Governance, Taxation and Accountability: Issues and Practices’ OECD DAC Guidelines and reference series, Paris But empowerment can also have many different meanings to different people—depending on their experiences, circumstances, hopes, and dreams. Kommen Frauen ins Parlament und in leitende Regierungspositionen, dann führt dies zu einer Vorherrschaft von Elitefrauen, aber nicht … This paper examines the evolution and political dynamics of Ghana’s central government tax system. The paper below argues that communications can persuade stakeholders to join a coalition through ‘framing for collective action’ – which emphasises their shared purpose, as well as the potential benefits for individual stakeholders. Access full text: available onlinde, Jha, C., et al., 2009, ‘Citizen Mobilisation in Nepal: Building on Nepal’s Tradition of Social Mobilisation to make Local Governance more Inclusive and Accountable’, Report prepared for DFID, World Bank and SDC Putting women in parliament and in senior government posts leads to domination by elite women, but not always political empowerment of women at all levels of society, especially among the70-80 per cent which is non-literate. 38 no. Support involves promoting understanding of the socio-political context, better research communication and use of evidence, and the creation of an explicit influencing strategy. What challenges exist in efforts to promote ‘deeper’ democracy? Gaventa, J., 2006, ‘Triumph, Deficit or Contestation: Deepening the “Deepening Democracy” Debate’, IDS Working Paper 264, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton It finds that several mass media and ICT penetration variables are negatively associated with three development outcomes: corruption, inequality and poverty. Empowerment and accountability are interrelated, with considerable overlap between them. Access full text: available online. The following paper from the Citizenship DRC also highlights the increasingly common, but under-researched, practice of ‘democratic mediation’. And if so, does it do so by increasing government accountability to citizens, or by persuading households to take advantage of publicly-provided services? The underlying logic is that greater empowerment also allows for greater accountability. Keefer, P. and Khemani, S., 2011, ‘Mass Media and Public Services: The Effect of Radio Access on Public Education in Benin’, Policy Research Working Paper, World Bank, Washington, DC Access full text: available online, Katito, G. and Aggad, F., 2009, ‘Strategies for Effective Policy Advocacy: Demanding Good Governance in Africa’, Research Report 3, Governance and APRM Programme, South African Institute of International Affairs, Johannesburg There is limited research available on the role of social movements in development processes. Berdou, E., 2011, ‘Mediating Voices and Communicating Realities: Using Information Crowdsourcing Tools, Open Data Initiatives and Digital Media to Support and Protect the Vulnerable and Marginalised’, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton An emerging layer of activists and initiatives is changing the tools and discourses through which democratic demands are voiced. A common understanding of political empowerment (the transfer of power to those who do not have it) embraces the definition of power in distributive terms. Assessing ICT projects in Kenya, Haiti, Peru, Georgia and Egypt, it notes the challenges of sustaining participation and of governing new information commons in under-resourced and politically contested spaces. Access full text: available online, Haider, H., 2010, ‘Community Empowerment Outcomes – South Asia’, Helpdesk Research Report, GSDRC, Birmingham Empowerment Means. Part of the philosophy of the World … Access full text: available online, Logolink, 2002, Participatory Planning Process IUCN Pakistan Experience with Environmental Rehabilitation in NWFP and Punjab (ERNP), case study, Logolink International Workshop on Participatory Planning Approaches for Local Government, Bandung, Indonesia Learn more. A decade later, digital media has supported the emergence of a new type of public sphere in which the civil society debate involves autonomous citizen action. The vast majority of the available case study material on social movements does not focus specifically on assessing their impact, but rather on describing their goals, tactics and experiences of engagement with the state. What are the main challenges facing incipient democratic regimes in the developing world? empowerment (Noun) The process of supporting another person or persons to discover and claim personal power. A Study of Primary Education in Uttar Pradesh, India’, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 3967, World Bank, Washington, DC The media can play a powerful role in shaping and influencing public debate and opinion. Employee Empowerment in work setting means giving employees the means, ability, and authority to do something. Access full text: available online, Cornwall, A. and Goetz, A. M., 2005, ‘Democratising Democracy: Feminist Perspectives’, Democratisation, Vol. Promoting political participation is an important way of improving state accountability and responsiveness, and empowering the poor. Empowerment is a process that is similar to a path or Journey, one that develops as we work through it. Beall J., and Ngonyama M., 2009, ‘Indigenous Institutions, Traditional Leaders and Elite Coalitions for Development: The case of Greater Durban, South Africa’, Leadership, Elites and Coalitions Research Programme (LECRP) managed by the World Bank and Crisis States Research Centre, London Empowered others to be sustainable, democratisation impulses need to recognise, understand, and dreams evidence of the challenges. Take control of the policies that will benefit their economic standing opportunities such as improved access to community are. A precondition to any form of professionalised NGOs and csos by the latest wave of ICT innovations empirically... 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