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Effectiveness of Social Accountability Interventions in Low and Middle-Income Countries: An Evidence Gap Map

This evidence gap map study offers the findings of extant empirical research on the effectiveness of social accountability in low- and middle-income countries. The paper focuses primarily on the quantitative evidence of social accountability interventions. Electronic searches were conducted through 12 academic databases, three systematic review databases, and 11 grey literature-based databases. This paper maps the evidence base for 21 interventions, divided into five categories: access to information, citizens’ voice and representation, governance, mobilization actions, and resource monitoring actions. The interventions are organized around eight main outcome groups: performance improvement of public and private actors/institutions, service quality, allocative efficiency, citizen engagement, inclusiveness, responsiveness, quality of life, and project knowledge and learning outcomes. 44 impact evaluations and nine systematic reviews of relevant interventions were discovered after conducting a systematic search. The report examines the trends in the evidence base and identifies the gaps. It was noted that the bulk of research has a similar focus on interventions based on access to information (i.e., information exchange) and citizen voice and representation initiatives. Regarding outcomes, almost all studies primarily focus on service quality and public and private actors’ performance. Furthermore, there is also a strong focus on lower-middle-income nations from a geographical perspective. There are also substantial limitations in terms of demographics, with the majority of the studies being concentrated in rural areas.

Authors: Hassan, Mirza M., White, Howard; Zahan, Iffat; Saran, Ashrita; Ahmed, Shamael; Rahman, Semab; Zubaid, Shabnaz
Type: Report
Year: 2022

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