22 January 2015: “Marginalized persons and/or people living in poverty should be at the center and the owners of their own development processes with all other relevant actors accountable to them regarding progress on said development outcomes,” according to the draft report from the UN Development Group’s (UNDG) Participatory Monitoring and Accountability Consultation. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Women, the co-facilitators of the post-2015 consultation, have released the draft report for comments.

‘Participatory Monitoring for Accountability: Critical Enablers for the Successful Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)’ provides a rationale for a participatory monitoring and accountability approach as a central component of the post-2015 development agenda. It calls for a paradigm shift toward viewing people living in poverty, and the organizations that serve them, as “active, collaborating policy stakeholders rather than as aid recipients.” A participatory monitoring for accountability process is one that encompasses inclusive, transparent practices to monitor the effectiveness and useful of international, national, regional and local policies with people working together in an organized way to identify and track priority issues, with the aim of addressing and solving barriers to development and poverty eradication, according to the report.

The report discusses four themes related to participatory monitoring and accountability methodology: local solutions and ownership; participation in policy-making; increased, inclusive civil society involvement and private sector partnerships; and a human rights framework.

The report recommends: drawing on examples of good development practices and lessons learned on participatory monitoring; creating more space for civil society, grassroots and local organizations and individuals to participate in the planning, implementation and monitoring of the post-2015 development agenda; promoting people-led monitoring; and including intended beneficiaries in decisions about development; and disaggregating data, including by seemingly difficult areas to quantify, such as women and girls who have experienced violence.

It further recommends: tailoring participatory monitoring and accountability targets to country needs and capacities; applying a human-rights-based approach, such as through Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs), to enhance government accountability and transparency; prioritizing social accountability mechanisms to channel grievances; and harnessing technology to increase citizen participation. It recommends scaling up local development solutions and good participatory practices in the post-2015 development agenda, while cautioning that not all successful local practices are appropriate for scaling up.

In addition to the online consultation, the report draws on country-led consultations in Albania, Bangladesh, Guatemala, Kosovo, Montenegro, Peru, Thailand, Viet Nam and Zambia.

Comments on the draft report are being accepted until 5 February 2015. The final report will be released at the culminating meeting of the consultation process, in Peru, in March 2015. The consultation is co-sponsored by the Governments of Canada, Peru, and the Republic of Korea. [Publication: Participatory Monitoring and Accountability for the Post-2015 Development Agenda]