Objectives / § Enable the poor & the marginalized sections of urban society to understand, organize and act upon their needs and priorities to make demands upon the system of service delivery.
§ Enable elected representatives in Municipal governance to develop a clearer understanding of their roles, within a framework of accountability & transparency.
§ Make visible to urban society and polity the contributions of the poor to the continuance of urban/civic life & economy.
§ To inculcate learning on the processes of rural-urban continuum (with special focus on how mechanisms like District Planning Committees function) & urban governance as support for information dissemination & advocacy.
Geographical Spread / Rajasthan, H.P., Haryana, U.P., A.P., M.P., Kerala, Gujarat (India)
Key areas/components / § Project was carried out in phases across urban bodies in the various states
§ Field Action
§ Process documentation of interventions and their impact on each municipality.
§ Dissemination & Advocacy: Use of lessons learnt for wider dissemination.
§ Capacity building.
§ Coordination: Set up an independent team in the centre for local self governance to coordinate and implement this program.
Key outputs / § State wise analysis of the interventions and their impact.
§ Emerging issues for every state covered.
Year/Period / 2000, April 2000 – November 2000
Client / CORDAID
Enhancing Citizen Partnership in Urban Governance in India
Objectives / To strengthen the capacities of citizens and civil society to engage in municipal governance on a range of services like water, sanitation, solid waste management, roads, electricity etc.Geographical Spread / 48 Municipalities in 11 states of India
Key areas/components / § Orientation of citizen groups
§ Training of citizen leaders
§ Organising interface meetings with municipalities and citizen leaders
Key outputs / § PRIA and its other civil society partners catalysed the formation of hundreds of new citizen collectives like Mohalla Samitis (Neighbourhood Committees) and Mohalla Swachchata Samitis (Neighbourhood Sanitation Committees) in 48 Municipalities in 11 states.
§ More than 5000 citizen leaders have been trained on the issues of active citizenship and urban governance, planning and basic services
Year/Period / 2000 – ‘08
Client / The Ford Foundation, India; CORDAID, The Netherlands
Democratizing Urban Governance: Promoting Participation and Social Accountability
Objectives / The goal of the initiative on ‘Democratizing Urban Governance: Promoting Participation and Social Accountability’ is to improve citizens’ access to information, basic services, and institutions of urban governance decision-making. Specific objectives are:
· Institutionalizing citizen participation and social accountability practices in urban governance institutions;
· Enhancing capacities of municipalities to become transparent, accountable and efficient in basic service delivery.
Geographical Spread / 2 cities in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa.
Key areas/components / · Promoting Grassroots Voices through Citizen Mobilization
· Promoting Social Accountability Tools and Approaches
· Promoting Participatory Urban Planning
· Promoting Demand for Greater Devolution
· Generating Deeper Understanding and Knowledge on Urban Governance
· Convening Dialogues and Discussion at the National Level
· Publication and Knowledge Dissemination
Key outputs / · Coalition of civil society groups and other actors to emerge as key instrument to influence inclusive urban reforms and policies;
· Coalition of capable elected leadership to shape authentic devolution and decentralization landscape;
· Empirical evidence and methodological knowledge to influence the practices of inclusive urban planning;
· Emergence of institutional space for citizen participation and social accountability in urban governance institutions.
Year/Period / 2010-12
Client / The Ford Foundation , New Delhi