Networking and civic engagement in policy
process monitoring
Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET)
info@wougnet.org
SPIDER ICT for Democracy :
By: Brenda A. Otika
Email: botika@wougnet.org
Out line
1. Public policies
• Factors to consider in policy development
2. Civic engagement-forms and levels of
engagement, challenges and solutions to
citizen engagement
3. Networks
• What are they?
• Importance of net works in the policy process
• Keys to successful networks
Public Policy
• It is an attempt by a government to address a
public issue by instituting laws, regulations,
decisions or actions pertinent to the problem
at hand.
• It is a purposive and consistent course of
action produced as a response to a perceived
problem of a constituency, formulated by a
specific political process, and adopted,
implemented and enforced by a public agency.
Public Policy
Characteristics of public policy
• made in the “public's” name
• made or initiated by government
• interpreted and implemented by public and
private actors
• what the government intends to do
• what the government chooses not to do
Key factors to consider in public
policy development
• Public interest: What is in the best interest of
society as a whole? How is the common good
balanced against any private or special
interests? Is the process fully inclusive,
especially of those who are often overlooked
or unable to participate?
• Effectiveness: How well a policy achieves its
stated goals.
• Reflective: Of other values of society and/or
the community, such as freedom, security,
Key factors continued
• Efficiency: How well resources are utilized in
achieving goals and implementing policy.
• Consistency: Degree of alignment with
broader goals and strategies of government,
with constitutional, legislative and regulatory
regime.
• Fairness and equity: Degree to which the
policy increases equity of all members and
sectors of society. This may link directly to
consideration of public interest.
Civic engagement
Definition
It refers to the multiple ways the citizen can
engage with the state.
Refers to Individual and collective actions
designed to identify and address issues of
public concern.
Refers to processes through which governments
seek to encourage deliberation, reflection, and
learning on issues at preliminary stages of a
policy process, often when the focus is more
on the values and principles that will frame
the way an issue is considered.
• Civic engagement in public policies means the
involvement and participation of citizens in
decision-making policies through different
processes, mechanisms and techniques.
Civic engagement
Forms of civic engagement
• Individual volunteerism- efforts to directly
address an issue
• organizational involvement- work with others
in a community to solve a problem
• electoral participation- or interact with the
institutions of representative democracy
Levels of civic engagement
1.Citizen Access to Information
2. Consultation
Why is focus on civic engagement?
• enhances effectiveness-participation yields
higher quality decisions
• meet a growing demand for public
participation-need for greater openness of
decision processes, mistrust of expert advice
• resolve conflicts-set priorities, negotiate
tradeoffs and seek consensus
• increase fiscal responsibility-establish
priorities and find partners
Continuation
• enhance public knowledge, understanding,
and awareness-share information,
opportunities for stakeholders to hear each
other and better understand the range of
views on an issue
• meet legal and policy requirements
• establish/solidify legitimacy
• allocate scarce resources
Importance of civic engagement
• To increase the level of participation of target
groups, stakeholders and partners in engaged
governance for public policies, pro-poor
policies, social justice and equity
• To strengthen the impact of public policies
and support pro-poor development based on
the principles of sustained economic growth,
equity and social justice
• Establishes channels for voice towards a more
responsive and accountable state.
Importance continued
• Provides a chance that people’s preferences,
opinions and views will be reflected in
government priorities and policies
• through increased voice and with a focus on
accountability, has the potential to contribute
to poverty reduction through more pro-poor
policy design, improved service delivery, and
empowerment of groups previously denied a
voice.
Continuation
• civic engagement can be a valuable tool in
fighting corruption-by monitoring government
performance, demanding and enhancing
transparency and exposing government
failures and misdeeds
Pre-requisite for citizen
engagement
• Political will and involvement of political
decision-makers in the process
• The power of influence of actors involved in
the process and of those not involved
• Inclusiveness, equality, non-discrimination and
diversity of the actors represented
• A right-based approach towards engagement
• Voluntary basis of engagement
Continuation
• Clarity of the process, objectives, expected
outcomes, roles and rules
• Commitment towards transparency and
accountability throughout the process
• Resources and capacity
Challenges to civic engagement
• imbalances of power, inequality and prejudice
(elite capture of power)
• Limited resources-civic engagement as a
process needs to be managed and requires
resources
• Limited access to important information
• Political interference and patronage
• Bureaucracy
Solutions
• Political will
• CSOs raising awareness about issues at stake,
helping citizens and communities organize
themselves and advocate for more
participatory policy making
• Forming strong networks
• Commitment and sacrifice on the side of
citizens
• Increasing information flow
What is networking?
• Networking- developing and maintaining contacts
and personal connections with a variety of people
who might be helpful to you and your career.
Networks, what are they?
They are structures that link individuals or
organizations who share a common interest on a
specific issue or a general set of values.
• E.g. Policy network-The individuals, groups,
government departments, organizations and
agencies that dominate decision making in a
specific policy field
Importance of networks
Help improve policy processes through better
information use.
Increase the influence of good quality
evidence throughout the policy processcarefully coordinated networks may also help
to boost the credibility of an advocacy
campaign
Build consensus amongst diverse actors;
Bring civil society resources and expertise into
the policy process
Importance of networks
Broaden and sustain the pro-poor impact of a
policy.
networks offer a key tool to bridge the divide
between policymakers and those at grassroots
level- the opportunity for those with few
other avenues to powerful decision makers to
gain access through the networked
relationships.
help to build credibility by sustaining a
campaign over a wide geographical area and a
long period of time
Networks, CSOs and Policy
Influence
Stage of the
policy process
Key objectives for
actors aiming to
influence policy
How networks can help
Agenda setting Convince
policymakers
that the issue does
indeed require
attention
• Marshall evidence to enhance the credibility
of the argument
• Extend an advocacy campaign
• Foster links among researchers, CSOs and
policymakers
Formulation
• Collate good-quality representative
evidence and act as a
‘resource bank’
• Channel international resources and
expertise into the policy
process
• Build long-term collaborative relationships
with policymakers
• Bypass formal barriers to consensus
Inform policymakers
of the options and
build a
consensus
Continuation
Stage of the
policy process
Key objectives for
actors aiming to
influence policy
How networks can help
Implementation
Complement
government capacity
• Enhance the sustainability and reach of
the policy
• Act as dynamic ‘platforms for action’
Evaluation
Collate quality
• Provide good-quality representative
evidence and channel evidence and feedback
it into the policy
• Link policymakers to policy end-users
process
Underlying
Capacity building for
CSOs aiming to
influence policy
• Provide a dynamic environment for
communication and
collaborative action
Ten keys to success
i) Clear coordinated structure and objectives-a
successful network is one that actively
creates an atmosphere of interaction and
exchange, with the participation of all
members, but at the same time retains good
coordination and clear objectives.
ii) Strength in numbers-By linking large numbers
of actors through shared interests or values,
networks can rally support to boost the
political clout of an argument.
continuation
iii) Representativeness-A key issue relates to
managing power dynamics within a network
so as not to misrepresent the weaker
members.
iv) Quality of evidence-this can range from
formal research findings to grassroots
testimony. For both ends of this spectrum,
networks can help to improve the quantity
and quality of the evidence, and hence also
improve the credibility and legitimacy of
arguments put forward by CSOs attempting to
influence the policy process.
Continuation
v) Packaging of evidence-grassroots testimony
itself comes in a language that may differ from
the academic discourse of high-level
policymakers, and as such it risks being
overlooked.
vi) Sustainability-the key factors in maintaining
member involvement is the facilitation role
played by an innovative and efficient network
coordinator and stable funding.
Continuation
vii) Presence of key individuals-involving
influential individuals in the network
viii) Making use of informal links
ix) Complementing national governments-By
networking across sectors, CSOs can take
advantage of this opening and use their links
to channel evidence and expertise into the
policy arena.
x) Improving communications through ICTsmodern ICTs are opening up vast new
potential for CSO networking.
AFOYO MATEK