A Users' Guide to Measuring Local Governance

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Social Audit of Local Governance (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Producer
The World Bank Institute, the Bank’s ECA (Europe
and Central Asia) Region and the Government of
Austria
History
A questionnaire for conducting a Social Audit of
Local Governance was developed at the end of
2006 for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). It was
applied in twenty municipalities in the country in
order to provide the WBI with information related
to the provision of public goods and services by
local governments and, eventually, to support
the development of baseline measures for local
governance in the country.
Objectives
The Social Audit of Local Governance is the first
step of a World Bank programme aimed at
strengthening the capacity of local governments
in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and improving
the accountability of municipalities to their
citizens. This first phase aimed to obtain specific
information on the degree of citizen participation
and transparency in the public management cycle
and on citizen satisfaction with the delivery of
essential municipal services. The second phase of
this programme will collect fiscal and financial
information in each municipality. The result of the
two phases will contribute to the creation of
baseline measures for local governance indicators
against which progress can be monitored.
Applicability
This tool has been primarily developed for local
governments in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
While helping local governments to design
relevant capacity building programmes, it would
also assist the World Bank in defining lending
operations in the same area. It could also be used
as a template for other countries wishing to
improve the quality of local governance.
Types and sources of data used
Data collection is mainly through household
surveys. Focus group discussions and face-to-face
in-depth interviews are also used. The information
relative to the first part of the programme
(household surveys) is subjective.
Methodology
The Social Audit of Local Governance is conducted
through household surveys organised in three
parts: the first one concerns basic household
information; the second one is related to
respondents’ experience of 10 essential public
services (housing conditions, local roads, transport,
waste removal, water supply, sanitation, heating,
electricity, health facilities, education – including
pre-school education); the third one deals
with local governance while focusing on local
government authorities and citizen participation
in the municipality. The questions relate to the
technical details of various services provided,
citizens’ access and usage, and citizens’ satisfaction
with service delivery. A total of 1997 face-to-face
interviews (one respondent per household) were
carried out in 343 settlements communities across
20 municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Key actors/stakeholders
Citizens are the main stakeholder in this process as
information is collected directly from them
through household surveys. The results of the
audit are expected to be used by the WBI and by
local governments to design a capacity building
programme at the municipal level.
Results reporting format
Boxes 6 and 7 show some results from the
preliminary qualitative survey organised in four
municipalities; and examples of two questions
related to the local governance theme and taken
from the survey questionnaire. Results from the
first survey in the twenty municipalities are not yet
publicly available.
Coverage
20 selected municipalities across Bosnia and
Herzegovina.
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