End of Commitment Report – Use of Improved technology-based citizens’ feedback on all projects and programs to enhance governance

Name of Evaluator

Prof Hauwau Evelyn Yusuf

Email

eveadex@gmail.com

Member Name

Kaduna State, Nigeria

Action PlanAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen... Title

Action plan – Kaduna State, Nigeria, 2021 – 2023

CommitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action...

Use of Improved technology-based citizens’ feedback on all projects and programs to enhance governance

Action

This commitment seeks to improve government responsiveness and engagement of the citizens in public service deliveryTo ensure that citizens of all groups are better supported by the government, OGP participating governments are working to improve the quality of and access to public services. Commitments in this are... More. Mandatory publication requirements secure the right of citizens to information. In the first action plan, the state created feedback tools for receiving citizens’ feedback which is to be improved to include an E-ticketing system for tracking complaints and expanded to all MDAs and LGAs in the second plan. Citizens can be categorized into groups like media, private sectorGovernments are working to open private sector practices as well — including through beneficial ownership transparency, open contracting, and regulating environmental standards. Technical specificat... More, youthRecognizing that investing in youth means investing in a better future, OGP participating governments are creating meaningful opportunities for youth to participate in government processes. Technical ... More groups, women groups, rural and urban communities, traditional institutions, and people with disabilitiesA government is not open unless it is accessible to all, and governments are working to ensure people with disabilities are afforded equitable services and opportunities to participate. Technical spec... among others.  Each can be reached through different channels like information portals, apps, live radio programs, town hall meetings, media roundtables, policy dialogues, focus group discussions, digital dashboards, and others.

Problem

There is insufficient citizens’ engagement, participation, and feedback in the budget implementation through the citizens’ feedback App. This results in citizens not having adequate information and thus, not being able to relate to projects in the budgets which ultimately weakens accountability.

1.1 What was the overall level of progress in the commitment implementation at the time of this assessment?

Limited

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

Based on the status of implementation of each milestone of citizen engagement, we had 3 milestones under this commitment out of which 1 was completed and two in progress at the time of compiling this assessment.

• Commitment Repository 

1.2 Describe the main external or internal factors that impacted implementation of this commitment and how they were addressed (or not).

One of the factors that impacted the completionImplementers must follow through on their commitments for them to achieve impact. For each commitment, OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) evaluates the degree to which the activities outlin... More of the milestones of the commitment is the unavailability of funding. The decentralization required huge capital funding to expand to Phase I (6 LGAs and 4 MDAs) and Phase II 17 LGAs and 35 MDAs)

1.3 Was the commitment implemented as originally planned?

All of the commitment milestones were implemented as planned.

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

All the commitments were implemented as planned with no deviation from the milestones as captured in the action plan.

• Eyes and Ears Expansion
• Contract Agreement for Consultancy Service of Human and Institutional Capacity Strengthening of the Eyes And Ears State Project Support Office

2.1.1. – Did the government disclose more information; improve the quality of the information (new or existing); improve the value of the information; improve the channels to disclose or request information or improve accessibility to information?

No

Degree of result:

Marginal

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

The major component of this commitment focused on restructuring the Citizens feedback app, the decentralization of the Eyes and Ears Project to LGAs and MDAs in the State from the Planning and Budget Commission, and holding town hall meetings. While we got approvals from the Executive Governor to implement this project, funding constraints became a challenge. As part of efforts to ensure that the tools are upgraded to provide feedback to citizens most especially the Citizens Feedback App, we engaged the service of PwC. The idea is to integrate the backend of the Eyes and Ears database with that of the Public ProcurementTransparency in the procurement process can help combat corruption and waste that plagues a significant portion of public procurement budgets globally. Technical specifications: Commitments that aim t... More Agency in the State for Citizens to have real-time updates on contracts that have been awarded. This is in progress at the time of filling this report. The App has been restructured and undergoing quality assurance checks, and the backend API of the Eyes and Ears database has been submitted to the consultant responsible for the integration, and the process is ongoing at the moment.

2.1.2. – Did the government create new opportunities to seek feedback from citizens/enable participation inform or influence decisions; improve existing channels or spaces to seek feedback from citizens/enable participation/ inform or influence decisions; create or improve capabilities in the government or the public aimed to improve how the government seeks feedback from citizens/enables participation/ or allows for the public to inform or influence decisions?

Yes

Degree of result:

Major

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

Despite the slow progress experienced on the decentralization and restructuring of the Citizens feedback app, the organizing of town hall meetings to sensitize citizens and the general public on the Eye and Ears toots and how to use procurement information to track projects was effective. This provided an opportunity to enlighten and gather feedback from end users of the Eyes and Ears citizens engagement tools across the State. Other channels like the Toll-free line, WhatsApp number, Facebook page, and the Gani ya kori Ji Live Hausa Radio programs equally served as the tools used to provide feedback to the government.

• Whatsapp number: +234 810 756 1157
• Kaduna Eyes and Ears Project Facebook Page
• Eyes and Ears Toll-free line: 080001235444

2.1.3 Did the government create or improve channels, opportunities or capabilities to hold officials answerable to their actions?

Not Applicable

2.1.4 Other Results

Not Applicable

2.2 Did the commitment address the public policy problem that it intended to address as described in the action plan?

Unclear

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The expansion of the Eyes and Ears and the decentralization is in progress so at this point, it is not certain if the problem has been addressed despite the sensitization and the opportunity the Government has created to get feedback through the Eyes and Ears tools.

3. Provide at least one lesson or reflection relating to the implementation of this commitment. It can be the identification of key barriers to implementation, an unexpected help/hindrance, recommendations for future commitments, or if the commitment should be taken forward to the next action plan.

This commitment should be rolled over to the third State Action Plan and Expanded to include the desire to get the Freedom of Information Bill domesticated in Kaduna State. The desire is to see the state is opened for access to information that will improve citizens’ engagement.