Fostering Civic Engagement at the Subnational Level · 2012-10-01 · and Sergelen soums in Tuv...
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Mongolia is experiencing unprecedented growth and change, fueled by revenues from mining. Although the country’s transition to democracy has been relatively smooth, citizen satisfaction is low. The concentration of economic opportunity in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, has created a huge urban migration, with nearly 50 percent of Mongolians now living in the capital city. Meeting the needs of recent arrivals in Ulaanbaatar and creat- ing economic opportunities in other regional cities will be important if Mongolia is to deliver sustainable, broad-based improvements in the welfare of its population. The government of Mongolia is committed to fostering more responsive and capable local governments to improve citizen satisfaction, recognizing that decentralization often contributes to better development outcomes. Policymakers, led by the office of the president, are therefore pursuing an ambitious agenda to revive Mongolia’s decentralization process. PROGRAM GOAL The Asia Foundation’s Fostering Civic Engagement at the Subnational Level (FOCE) program supports efforts by the president’s office to pro- mote urban and rural governments that are democratic, empowered, and accountable to citizens, and which provide services responsively to citizens’ needs. The program will be piloted in 17 selected sites: Erdenetsaagan and Asgat soums (counties) in Sukhbaatar Aimag (province); Delgertsogt, Saintsagaan and Deren soums in Dundgobi Aimag; Jargalant soum in Khovd Aimag; Tsakhir, Erdenebulgan, Tariat, and Undur-Ulaan soums in Arkhangai Aimag; Binder soum in Khentii aimag; Zuunmod, Altanbulag and Sergelen soums in Tuv Aimag; and 8th, 13th and 14th khoroos (neigh- borhoods) of Khan-uul District in Ulaanbaatar. Fostering Civic Engagement at the Subnational Level PROGRAM DURATION October 1, 2012 – March 31, 2015 PROGRAM PARTNERS The Office of the President of Mongolia, the Swiss NGO Agridea, the Independent Research Institute, Mongolia (IRIM), and the local government’s offices of the pilot sites. PROGRAM SUPPORTERS The FOCE Program is generously funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and supported by the Office of President of Mongolia. PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION The Asia Foundation will implement these program activities in close coordination with other related programs and projects, includ- ing the Sustainable Livelihoods Program of the World Bank, the Capacity Strengthening of Local Self-Governing Bodies Project of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the pilot programs for Innovative Service Delivery of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). FACTSHEET
Transcript of Fostering Civic Engagement at the Subnational Level · 2012-10-01 · and Sergelen soums in Tuv...
Mongolia is experiencing unprecedented growth and change, fueled byrevenues from mining. Although the country’s transition to democracy has been relatively smooth, citizen satisfaction is low. The concentration of economic opportunity in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, has created a hugeurban migration, with nearly 50 percent of Mongolians now living in thecapital city. Meeting the needs of recent arrivals in Ulaanbaatar and creat-ing economic opportunities in other regional cities will be important ifMongolia is to deliver sustainable, broad-based improvements in the welfare of its population.
The government of Mongolia is committed to fostering more responsiveand capable local governments to improve citizen satisfaction, recognizingthat decentralization often contributes to better development outcomes.Policymakers, led by the office of the president, are therefore pursuing anambitious agenda to revive Mongolia’s decentralization process.
PROGRAM GOAL
The Asia Foundation’s Fostering Civic Engagement at the SubnationalLevel (FOCE) program supports efforts by the president’s office to pro-mote urban and rural governments that are democratic, empowered, andaccountable to citizens, and which provide services responsively to citizens’needs. The program will be piloted in 17 selected sites: Erdenetsaagan andAsgat soums (counties) in Sukhbaatar Aimag (province); Delgertsogt,Saintsagaan and Deren soums in Dundgobi Aimag; Jargalant soum inKhovd Aimag; Tsakhir, Erdenebulgan, Tariat, and Undur-Ulaan soums inArkhangai Aimag; Binder soum in Khentii aimag; Zuunmod, Altanbulagand Sergelen soums in Tuv Aimag; and 8th, 13th and 14th khoroos (neigh-borhoods) of Khan-uul District in Ulaanbaatar.
Fostering Civic Engagement at the Subnational Level
PROGRAM DURATION
October 1, 2012 – March 31, 2015
PROGRAM PARTNERS
The Office of the President of Mongolia, theSwiss NGO Agridea, the IndependentResearch Institute, Mongolia (IRIM), and thelocal government’s offices of the pilot sites.
PROGRAM SUPPORTERS
The FOCE Program is generously funded bythe Swiss Agency for Development andCooperation (SDC) and supported by theOffice of President of Mongolia.
PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION
The Asia Foundation will implement theseprogram activities in close coordination withother related programs and projects, includ-ing the Sustainable Livelihoods Program ofthe World Bank, the Capacity Strengtheningof Local Self-Governing Bodies Project of theUnited Nations Development Programme(UNDP) and the pilot programs for InnovativeService Delivery of the Deutsche Gesellschaftfür Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
FACTSHEET
HEADQUARTERS465 California Street, 9th FloorSan Francisco, CA 94104 USATel: (415) 982-4640Fax: (415) [email protected]
WASHINGTON, DC1779 Massachusetts Ave., NWSuite 815Washington, D.C. 20036 USATel: (202) 588-9420Fax: (202) [email protected]
MONGOLIAOrient Plaza 3rd Floor G. Chagdarjav Str. 9Ulaanbaatar, 14210 MongoliaTel: 976 (11) 330-524Fax: 976 (11) [email protected]
www.asiafoundation.org
PROGRAM OUTCOMES AND COMPONENTS
The program aims to achieve the following outcomes:
1. Citizens’ (male and female) awareness of thefunctions and responsibilities of subnationalgovernments at the aimag, soum, and bagh (vil-lage) levels is increased.
2. Decision-making processes at the subnationallevel are more participatory and transparent.
3. Experiences and lessons learned from civicengagement activities are documented andshared horizontally with stakeholders.
4. Citizens at the subnational level hold public officials accountable for the quality of publicservice delivery.
1. Civic Education focuses on increasing citizens’understanding of decentralization laws, regula-tions, and approaches and lessons learned fromMongolian pilot projects and internationalexperience. Activities include civic educationcampaigns and support for Freedom ofInformation Act compliance.
2. Participatory Decision-Making focuses on helping local communities establish more participatory policymaking practices, and includes the piloting of participationmechanisms.
3. Horizontal Learning helps disseminate the lessons learned in the five pilot sites of FOCE in order to create a community of practice in Mongolia for methods of decentralization and participation. Activitiesinclude documentation and dissemination oflearning, and building local government andCSO networks.
4. Social Accountability Tools for Monitoring andEvaluation (M&E) aims to institutionalizefeedback mechanisms that allow citizens toexpress their satisfaction and concerns to localgovernment. Activities include the piloting ofsocial accountability tools and the establish-ment of local service complaint mechanisms.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT
Citizens Consultations on Local Development Fund – During 2013, the project successfully support-ed public-private dialogues in all 16 pilot sites on issues including Local Development Fund (LDF) alloca-tion, public services, and policy issues of interest to citizens. Over 1,300 citizens engaged in these discus-sions and a total of 109 project proposals for the LDF were funded in the original six pilot sites.
Training on the Freedom of Information Law – Last summer, 544 people (322 women) were trained inthe Freedom of Information Law by Asia Foundation’s local partner Globe International. The trainingincluded public officials from each site as the central government has not provided any formal training onthe requirements of the Act. Participants from each site developed action plans to apply this informationin their communities and will begin implementing those plans in 2014.
Public Dialogue on Municipal Waste in Zuunmod–FOCE provided funding to the local governmentof Zuunmod soum, Tuv aimag, to conduct a one-day public meeting to discuss the pressing issue of wastemanagement in the soum. More than 82 people attended the meeting and traveled to the local wastedisposal site. A discussion was facilitated by FOCE-trained local government officials and resulted in consensus by participants that the public would be willing to pay increased fees in order to have moreregular waste collection.
As a result of the dialogue, the town prioritized purchasing two more garbage trucks so that each baghhas a truck. Before, one truck served the entire town. This will allow more frequent and regular garbagecollection. In return, rates have been raised as agreed. The town is also furthering plans to create a land-fill at the collection point, another project discussed at the public meeting. This example demonstratesthat a responsive local government can successfully engage citizens and get their feedback on public policy and services in a constructive way.
05/2014
THE PROGRAM CONSISTS OF FOUR MUTUALLY REINFORCING COMPONENTS:
The Asia Foundation
is a nonprofit international
development organization
committed to improving
lives across a dynamic
and developing Asia.
Headquartered in San
Francisco, The Asia
Foundation works through
a network of offices in
18 Asian countries and in
Washington, DC. Working
with public and private
partners, the Foundation
receives funding from
a diverse group of
bilateral and multilateral
development agencies,
foundations, corporations,
and individuals.
