Discussants at a workshop on the importance of accountability across institutions said knowledge and input are required with sincerity and effort to fulfill the government’s vision of developing Bangladesh.
Establishing inclusive governance in Bangladesh is a shared agenda of the government, civil society organizations and citizens, observed the discussants at the day-long workshop, held in the capital on Thursday.
The “Inclusive Governance and Social Accountability (IGSA) Forum” was organized by Platforms for Dialogue (P4D), a European Union (EU)-funded project in partnership with the Cabinet Division. It is being implemented through British Council Bangladesh.
Insisting on the importance of accountability across institutions, Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam said: “P4D has targeted both civil society representatives and civil servants to play their role in inclusive governance, which will ultimately benefit the citizens.”
“New knowledge and input are required with sincerity and effort to fulfill the government’s vision of developing Bangladesh,” emphasized Rensje Teerink, EU head of delegation and ambassador to Bangladesh.
A major aim of Platforms for Dialogue is to promote widespread application of social accountability tools.
“Part of P4D’s mission is to support government institutions to deliver on ambitions set out in the 7th Five-Year Plan and policies centered on the National Integrity Strategy, the Right to Information Act, Citizens’ Charters and the Grievance Redress System,” highlighted Barbara Wickham, country director of British Council Bangladesh.
The one-day IGSA Forum was a mixed methodology of plenary sessions, seminars, workshops and presentations. The sessions concentrated on the needs of national and regional civil servants overseeing citizen engagement and quality of service provision, with a particular focus on the effective implementation of Citizens’ Charters and the Grievance Redress System.
P4D is a three-year project that supports the promotion of inclusive governance at local and national levels. P4D emphasizes mutual responsibilities to foster a more collaborative relationship between government and civil society.
As part of P4D’s intervention in 21 districts, CSOs and representatives of local government are receiving training that will inspire effective engagement and dialogue on local policy issues. The project is now developing new tools and policy platforms, both at the regional and national levels, for effective and transparent government-civil society engagement on policy matters.