Zambia: Voice and Accountability: Community Empowerment for Improved Local Service Delivery Project

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The project has three main components to enable achievement of project development objectives. Component 1: Increasing Community Awareness of the Delivery of Education Services (US$ 0.96 million). The citizens and communities in the targeted district have limited understanding about the responsibilities of local authorities (including PEOs, DEBS, Town Councils and any other relevant local offices), school management and other stakeholders (including PTAs and WDCs) in delivering education services. They are also not aware of their basic entitlements as a citizen to hold public offices accountable and demand improved education services. This has made it difficult for them to have own ‘voice’ and come up with community priorities. 27. The objective of this component is to increase communities’ awareness of the education services provided through primary and secondary schools and improve their capacity to engage with school management and local authorities in the targeted districts. Component 2: Enhancing Community Engagement and Participation in the Delivery of Education Services (US$ 1.38 million). Rural communities in the targeted districts have not monitored public service delivery nor raised community priorities related to service delivery with local authorities or school management. A lack of consultation has resulted in distrust and miscommunication with the local authorities or school management. Since the feedback loop on service delivery does not exist, communities have not been able to hold local authorities or school management accountable for the education service delivery. The objective of this component is to empower communities to monitor education service delivery and engage and participate in having a dialogue with school management and local authorities for improved service delivery and create a feedback loop. Further, this component will pilot innovative social accountability practices in the targeted communities and community-to-community knowledge exchange for empowerment. Component 3: Project Management and Administration, M&E and Knowledge Dissemination (US$ 0.41 million). The objective of this component is to support the implementing agency’s capacity to manage and carry out day-to-day project activities, monitor implementation of activities and results, coordinate with relevant stakeholders, and disseminate project-level knowledge to the Public. It will also institute a project-level grievance redress and complaints handling mechanism.