Community Monitoring of Project Implementation (JO0069)

What is the public problem that the commitment will address? The process of engaging local communities/stakeholders throughout the different stages of government capital/ investment projects is still modest. This, in turn, (1) weakens the alignment and responsiveness of these projects to the needs of communities, and (2) weakens community members’ sense of ownership of national projects that are determined based on local priorities.

What is the commitment? Engaging local communities/stakeholders throughout the different stages of government capital/investment projects to support the alignment and responsiveness of these projects to communities’ needs and improve the level of public services.

How will the commitment contribute to solve this public problem? Engaging local communities/stakeholders throughout the different stages of government capital/investment projects leads to (1) enhancing the alignment and responsiveness of these projects to the needs of communities; (2) increasing communities’ trust in the government in terms of public resources management; (3) enhancing communities’ sense of ownership towards these national projects; and (4) developing communities’ sense of social responsibility to preserve and support these projects. On top of this, engagement and evaluation contribute to providing the Public Investment Management Unit with results that include the gaps and lessons learned from projects. This will assist them in avoiding any potential negative impacts and improve the process of planning and implementation of future projects.

How is this commitment relevant to OGP values? (1) This commitment is relevant to the value of civic participation as it adopts a participatory approach to developing governmental policies and procedures related to evaluating the government capital/investment projects. In addition, it enhances citizens’ role in decision-making through their participation in project evaluation prior to, during, and post implementation. (2) It is relevant to the value of access to information as it includes the dissemination of information about the capital/investment government projects to citizens to enhance their participation and obtain their feedback. (3) It is also relevant to public accountability value as it enhances citizens’ follow-up on capital/investment government projects and the mechanism of consultations on how to take citizens’ opinions into account. (4) Finally, this commitment is related to the value of technology and innovation for openness and accountability, as it contributes to enhance citizens’ participation in decision-making in a transparent manner through innovative electronic means.

Additional information Milestone Activity with a Verifiable Deliverable Starting date of implementation Ending date of implementation 1. Develop a participatory methodology to conduct an initial evaluation showing the impact of government capital/investment projects on the local community during the planning stage to ensure their alignment with citizens’ needs and to address any potential negative impacts of these projects (a prior social audit). 1/1/2022 30/12/2022 2. Develop a participatory methodology with the local communities/stakeholders to enhance their participation in evaluating these projects during the implementation stage and their potential social impacts on the beneficiaries. 1/1/2022 30/12/2022 3. Develop a participatory methodology to enhance local community/stakeholder participation in evaluating governmental capital/investment projects following the completion of these projects to identify the gaps and lessons learned by the relevant government ministries and institutions. Then, reflect on this knowledge and ensure the Public Investment Management Unit adopts it for future projects. 1/1/2022 30/12/2022 4. Conduct training for public sector employees from the relevant bodies on the procedural manuals and forms of the preparation and planning stages of projects to ensure projects are integrated, implemented, and duly adopted 1/7/2022 31/12/2023 5. Implement mechanisms for the participation and integration of local communities/stakeholders in the evaluation of governmental capital/investment projects prior to and during the implementation process by the Public Investment Management Unit. After completion of the projects’ implementation, the concerned ministries and governmental institutions are required to submit evaluation reports to the Public Investment Management Unit. The reports should include the results, gaps, and lessons learned to improve the process of planning and implementing future projects. 1/7/2022 30/6/2025

Action Plan Review

Commitment 6. Participation in Government Capital Investment Projects

● Verifiable: Yes

● Does it have an open government lens? Yes

● Potential for results: Modest

For a complete description of the commitment, see Commitment 6 in Jordan’s 2021-2025 Action Plan.

Context and objectives:

This commitment intends to engage local community participation in government capital investment projects, consistent with the OGP value of civic participation. These are large-scale government projects run by the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation. The commitment plans for development and implementation of methodologies for participatory social impact assessments during planning of projects, and for participatory evaluations of projects during implementation and after completion. This initiative builds on Government Investment Project National Register Law No. 27 (2021), which stipulates local community participation in government investment projects. [14] This commitment is funded by the World Bank, at the request of the Prime Minister’s office.

Potential for Results: Modest

This commitment is one of the first in the region to apply the open government process to participatory economic development. Prior to this commitment, the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation Public Investment Management Unit notes that there has only been a modest level of opportunity for community engagement on government capital investment projects. [15] According to Hayat-Rased, opportunities for participation in local government have included some participatory budgeting, but these practices were not institutionalized. In recent years, there have been larger gaps in opportunities for participation when local councils were dissolved for elections. Likewise, larger cities reportedly offered fewer opportunities than smaller cities and more remote areas. [16]

Through this commitment, participation will be introduced to government capital investment projects. Preliminarily, the Open Government Unit and Public Investment Management Unit suggest that projects could include those funded by private-public partnerships, [17] and could address sectors like infrastructure (roads, water, education, health). [18] The Open Government Unit reports that the commitment will target at least four pilot projects. [19] However, the commitment does not yet specify the regional allocation of projects, or the particular project areas, [20] which detracts from the measurability of this reform. Based on the information provided, this commitment is coded as having modest potential to open government. During implementation, implementers can deepen impact by leveraging this commitment to institutionalize broad civic engagement across a wide range of capital investment projects.

The Open Government Unit anticipates that social impact assessments and participatory evaluations of projects will adjust projects’ courses to reflect the needs of local residents. It plans to include accountability mechanisms in the methodologies for each of these participation opportunities. [21] The commitment does not identify specific participation and accountability mechanisms. It also does not identify the specific problem that these mechanisms are intended to solve (such as a specific accountability gap or lack of relevant information for monitoring and influencing the design and implementation of capital investment projects). According to the World Bank, effective community engagement in these types of projects has been shown to improve delivery of services valued by local communities, manage costs, maintain realistic community expectations, and reduce project delays. Overall, community engagement can strengthen projects’ sustainability, resilience, affordability, and responsiveness to users. [22] Following implementation of the pilot projects, this methodology may be applied across large-scale government capital investment projects. [23]

Opportunities, challenges, and recommendations during implementation

Incoming elected local governments offer opportunities to institutionalize participation practices introduced by this commitment. To facilitate impact, implementation workshops can develop concrete implementation plans that specify scope, for example on the number and size of projects targeted. This process can draw on the example of Panama’s commitments on open governance of infrastructure projects. [24] The following recommendations can contribute to this commitment’s impact on participation in government capital investment projects:

• Clarify commitment scope in consultation with civil society, identifying an ambitious number of high-impact projects across Jordan to be targeted.
• Initiate community engagement early to maximize the potential benefits of engagement. Invite community contribution to project design, including project identification, focusing on engaging representative groups in the early phases.
• Ensure broad inclusion of diverse community stakeholders, including vulnerable groups such as the elderly, female-headed households, youth, and people with disabilities.
• Open access to timely information on projects and participation opportunities to reduce chances for corruption and build community engagement. Regularly publish information on project costs, progress, community feedback, and responses to feedback. An issue tracking table can document community ideas, concerns, and questions about the project.
• Enshrine mechanisms in policies that specify the role of citizen and civic associations in the process of shaping the impact of capital investments. Fostering institutionalization of participatory mechanisms is the biggest potential legacy of this commitment.