Institute of Development Studies

Cross-country analysis on citizen engagement helps inform development policy making

9 July 2010 - Nicholas Benequista

Supporters of bottom-up policy approaches to development have been bolstered by a recent study that identified a range of positive outcomes - many previously unrecognised - that result when citizens get involved in the institutions that affect their lives.

The study, from the Development Research Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability (Citizenship DRC) at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), has been well received by policy makers at a time when international donor agencies are under increased pressure to justify their budgets to the public.

At a gathering earlier this month organised by Oxfam, International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said, 'To the British taxpayer I say this, our aim is to spend every penny of every pound of your money wisely and well. We want to squeeze every last ounce of value from it.'

Linking 'outcomes' to engagement

This environment places a new onus on researchers. Despite 20 years' experience of development policies focusing on issues of inclusion, participation through collective action and building democratic institutions with a sense of obligation to protect and promote rights, rigorous research in support of the link between citizen engagement in policy making and developmental outcomes has remained patchy.

Now, evidence from the Citizenship DRC, which has worked with universities, research institutes and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in nearly 20 countries to explore new ways in which citizens are shaping states and societies, helps fill this knowledge gap.

In a recent synthesis study, 'So What Difference Does It Make? Mapping the Outcomes of Citizen Engagement' (pdf), Citizenship DRC researchers reviewed the results of 100 original, qualitative case studies, largely from the developing world. Using a meta-case study approach, the researchers coded over 800 'outcomes' linked to various forms of citizen engagement.

Benefits accumulate over time

It was found that, overall, 75 per cent of the outcomes recorded can be classified as 'positive', though many of these beneficial effects are ignored by the broad targets set by donors and other international actors. In this sense, the research supports an Overseas Development Institute (ODI) evaluation which reviewed 90 donor interventions and case studies.

According to Max Everest-Phillips, Senior Governance Adviser at the UK Department for International Development, which funds the programme, 'This research is highly policy relevant and topical for DFID and all the donor community. It demonstrates conclusively that active citizenship is important for building effective states and other development outcomes. Indeed, a central theme emerging from all DFID-funded research programmes is that the impact of citizen engagement on building capable, responsive and accountable states is more important that previously thought.'

The Citizenship DRC paper describes some intermediate outcomes from people's political activity, including the discovery that benefits can accumulate over time. For instance, one result of citizen engagement is that it strengthens people's knowledge and awareness, or what may be called their sense of citizenship. In turn, this can be seen to bolster the efficacy of participation as citizens learn skills such as how to file complaints and organise meetings. In other words, citizen engagement may not succeed at reducing poverty at first, but over time it can create the conditions for its own success.

The shadowy side of citizen engagement

Still, the research also warns that in some cases citizen involvement can lead to a sense of disempowerment and a reduced sense of agency, and participation can be perceived as meaningless, tokenistic or manipulated. New skills and alliances can also generate complications with accountability and representation, serving corrupt or discriminatory ends, or allowing for elite capture.

The fact, however, that the vast majority of the outcomes found in the studies are positive provides strong evidence on the contribution of citizen engagements for achieving development goals, building responsive and accountable states, and realising rights and democracy.

For donors and policy makers, therefore, the core question is not whether citizen engagement makes a difference, but how to understand the conditions and pathways under which it does so.

Nicholas Benequista is the Research and Communications Officer in the Citizenship DRC

Related Projects

• Development Research Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability - Exploring approaches that work to strengthen rights and meaningful citizenship for poor people (Ongoing)