Does Implementation of ’Citizen’s Charter Make Any Difference in Service Delivery? Comparing the Performance of Local Councils between Plain and Hilly Areas—A Case of Bangladesh

• Published in: SAGE open Vol. 14; no. 2
• Main Authors: Ahsan, A H M Kamrul, Chakma, Bidhan, Panday, Pranab Kumar, Huque, Ahmed Shafiqul, Prodip, Mahbub Alam
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.04.2024; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC; SAGE Publishing
• Subjects: citizen’s charter; local council; Bangladesh; performance; service delivery; implementation
• ISSN: 2158-2440; 2158-2440
• DOI: 10.1177/21582440241258291

This paper compares the impact of citizen’s charters in delivering services by Union Parishads in Bangladesh in Bengali-majority and tribal areas. Using a qualitative research method, the case study was used to look at CC implementation in a comprehensive and in-depth way. Interview and observation methods were employed to collect data. One hundred interviewees from each union, including service providers, service users, and LG officials, were consulted in equal numbers from May to July 2019. The findings of this study reveal that, although Union Parishads of both areas are implementing charters, their performance differs. Subjects of performance variation are timeliness of service delivery, cost of services and responsiveness of the service providers. Performance variation results from varying degrees of implementation of the citizen’s charter, attributable to several factors that include citizens’ awareness, knowledge and skills, implementation willingness, and performance monitoring of the local officials. Plain language summary Purpose of the paper: This paper compares the impact of citizen’s charters in delivering services by Union Parishads in Bangladesh in Bengali-majority and tribal areas. More specifically, the paper’s overarching goal is to illustrate how the CC’s implementation has affected the local government’s service delivery in Bangladesh. Methods: Using a qualitative research method, the case study was employed to look at CC implementation in a comprehensive and in-depth way. Interview and observation methods were employed to collect data. One hundred interviewees from each union, including service providers, service users, and LG officials, were consulted in equal numbers from May to July 2019. Data were collected from the Hariyan Union Parishad (HUP), in Rajshahi District, in the broad agricultural lowlands, populated mainly by majority Bengalis, and Subolong Union Parishad (SUP), a tribal area in the wild Rangamati Hill Tracts. Conclusion: The study finding suggests that the CC was launched without planning and capacity-building at the citizen-UP staff interface level. The local council functionaries have not been sensitised to what may contribute to or impede the successful implementation of CC. In countries like Bangladesh, policies that seem to have generated intended benefits are either imported or promoted by donors. Accordingly, it launched at a large scale without even minimum feasibility. No exception happened to CC. Behind the success of any particular policy, several factors in the country of implementation may wholly or partly be different from what was expected from implementation in other countries. So, this paper suggests implementing policies, especially those imported, with adjustments appropriate to the context, which may also vary within a country. As in the case of local councils studied in this research, each is located in different regions, which differ in terms of factors including, but not limited to, landscaping, socio-economic and demographic features, language and political situation and transport system. So, there appeared to be variation in the performance of local council functionaries. So, policies like CC, which require adjustment with context, should be implemented incrementally so that experience learnt from areas where policy is being implemented can be applied to common areas of implementation. Typical implementation regions can be made suitable or fertile for intended policy implementation. Such exercise is a valuable way to fine-tune the policy implementation process. Implications of the study: Lessons drawn from this study on the experience of implementing CC in delivering services in local areas in Bangladesh could help successfully implement this or similar policy initiatives in other countries. Citizens need to participate in designing and delivering services as well as reporting. Governments must invest in creating public awareness by various means, creating a skilled, knowledgeable and committed workforce at local councils and overseeing the enforcement of legal provisions. Getting things accomplished by local councils should not be subject to political and criminal constraints. The findings of this research may provide a wealth of fascinating information to a non-Bangladeshi international audience from nations with similar backgrounds to Bangladesh. They might, for instance, investigate whether or not local government service delivery could be enhanced through the use of CC. Nonetheless, identifying the barriers to CC implementation could aid future international researchers in identifying the hindering factors in their research. As a result, it can be argued that the study’s results would pique readers’ interest far beyond Bangladesh. Limitations of the study: This study, however, has some limitations. The first is the generalisation of the findings. Although the results of this study are supported by case study evidence portrayed by Huque and Ahsan (2016), for a better understanding of the research problem, a study with a large case sample would further help generalise these findings. Second is the lack of attempt to study a local council, which shows better performance from an NPM theory perspective. Last but not least is the lack of understanding of how political, social and cultural factors induce citizens not to play their intended role. We hope these issues will inspire prospective researchers in this field.