In early 2008, Zubair Bhatti, administrative head of the Jhang district in Pakistan’s Punjab province, recognized the need to reduce petty corruption in the local civil service—a problem that plagued not only Punjab but also all of Pakistan. He began to contact citizens on their cell phones to learn about the quality of the service they had received. Those spot checks became the basis for a social audit system that spanned all 36 districts in Punjab by 2014. The provincial government outsourced much of the work to a call center, which surveyed citizens about their experiences with 16 different public services. The data from that call center helped district coordination officers identify poorly performing employees and branches, thereby enhancing the capability of the government to improve service delivery. By early 2014, the province was sending about 12,000 text messages daily to check on service quality. More than 400,000 citizens provided information between the beginning of the initiative and 2014. Known as the Citizen Feedback Monitoring Program, the Punjab’s social audit system became the template for similar innovations in other provinces and federal agencies in Pakistan.

Mohammad Omar Masud drafted this case based on interviews conducted in Punjab, Pakistan, in January and March 2014. Case published February 2015.

Note: This case study was previously titled "Calling the Public to Empower the State: Pakistan's Citizen Feedback Monitoring Program, 2008-2014."

In the early years of the twenty-first century, aging technology, disorganization, and corruption undermined the effectiveness of Kenya’s customs service as highlighted in a 2002 study by the World Customs Organization of port operations at Mombasa. Growing regional trade and domestic anti-corruption initiatives created pressure to improve customs operations. Neighboring countries had started to upgrade their ports and implement measures that would expand both regional and inter-continental trade. To control revenue loss and maintain a significant role in global trade, Kenya would have to streamline customs processes and improve accountability. In 2002, newly elected president Mwai Kibaki put his political support behind an effort to improve government services, reduce corruption, and boost the country’s financial position. The Kenya Revenue Authority, the agency responsible for customs, was at the center of the nationwide reform effort. Over the next several years, the authority’s new commissioner, Michael Waweru, and a handful of lieutenants reshaped record keeping, upgraded automation, raised the level of staff training, and succeeded in paving the road to future reforms.

Matt Strauser drafted this case study based on interviews conducted in Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya by Kimberly Bothi in June and July 2012. Case published October 2014.

After achieving independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and liberalizing markets, Estonians saw their economy grow and their standards of living rise. But in 2008, a global financial crisis exposed weaknesses in Estonia’s competitiveness and prompted a reevaluation of policies. In 2010, the government saw an opportunity to frame a new national development strategy as part of its participation in the European Union’s 2020 bid to promote growth and jobs. It turned to its own Strategy Unit, which had been created four years earlier, to harmonize priorities and goals and to pay special attention to the policy challenges posed by an aging and shrinking workforce. To frame a coherent set of priorities, the unit had to increase cooperation and consultation among ministries that usually worked independently of each other. The unit consulted with civil servants, experts, and key stakeholders. Less successfully, it also sought to engage the general citizenry. Because of the country’s small population, which fell from 1.57 million to 1.3 million from 1990 to 2012, and its relatively close-knit society, leaders felt social pressure to reach agreement on priorities and policy initiatives. Although the resulting list of 18 national priorities was lengthy, the Estonia 2020 competitiveness strategy provided the country with an effective vehicle for articulating long-term national policy goals.

Elena Lesley drafted this case study based on interviews conducted in Tallinn, Estonia in May 2014. This case study was funded by the Bertelsmann Stiftung ReformCompass. Case published September 2014.

Associated Interview(s):  Katrin Höövelson