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District Consultation and Workshop Report on

Citizens Charter andBusiness Processes

October 12-14, 2009

Faridpur District

Ministry of Establishment (MoE)

Civil Service Change Management Programme(CSCMP)


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CIVIL SERVICE CHANGE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME (CSCMP) [2009]

Faridpur District Consultation and Workshop Report

Title: Citizens Charter and Business ProcessesDate: October 12-14, 2009Venue: Faridpur District

I. IntroductionIn accordance with the annual work planof the Civil Service Change ManagementProgramme (CSCMP) project, CitizensCharter and Business ProcessesConsultation- Workshops at the district anddivisional levels shall be conducted within2009. To date, there are three (3) districtconsultation-workshops conducted in

Moulibazar (May 5-6), Coxs bazaar (July22-23) and Panchagarh (August 19-20)and one (1) divisional consultation-workshop at Chittagong division held last(October 4-7). The Faridpur District is the site of the fourth consultation-workshop forthe year.

The Faridpur District Administration has arranged a day long workshop on CitizensCharter and Business Processes at Faridpur district on 14

thOctober 2009. Before

conducting the workshop, the CSCMP project team comprising of InternationalTraining Manager, Training Associate and Admin. & Finance Assistant has visited

different government offices (District Civil Surgeon, Social Services Department, DistrictEducation Office (secondary level) and Government Sarada Sundari Mohila College)including a community-based NGO responsible for service delivery at Faridpur districton 13

thOctober 2009.

In all the consultation meetings, the DeputyCommissioner requested that the departmentheads, officials and staff are present to beengaged in the consultation meeting for morein-depth discussion considering the limited timeavailable for the visit. In two organizations(Social Services and College) visited, an ocular

visit was also made in their centers and officesurroundings. The actual visit and interface withthe direct beneficiaries of the concernedorganizations provided valuable insights on the

nature of services provided and the service delivery systems adopted.

The consultation meetings and workshop aim to: i) make civil servants and citizens atthe field level aware of the existence and the meaning of the Citizens Charter


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initiatives; and ii) start the process of responsive governance and civic engagementbetween civil service and citizens on the basis of Citizens Charter.

Attached are the workshop proposal to the Ministry of Establishment (MoE),programme schedule, and list of participants (Annexes 1-3), copies of the power pointpresentations and handouts given to the participants (Annexes 4-8).

II. Consultation MeetingsA. Deputy Commissioners OfficeUpon arrival at Faridpur district onOctober 12, the CSCMP team visitedMr. Helaluddin Ahmed, DeputyCommissioner (DC) for an introductorymeeting and courtesy visit. The DCdiscussed with the team the

preparatory works done in relation tothe consultation meetings andworkshop at the district. The DCassured all forms of cooperation will beextended by his office to make theconsultation and workshop a success.Also present in this meeting are otherAdditional Deputy Commissioners, NDC, and RDC in the district.

The DC showed to the Team how his office is implementing the Citizens chartersuch as installation of an information assistance desk at the ground floor of the

building to receive letters, complaints, answer queries and provide services topeople seeking assistance from the DC office. He also showed the differentdepartments and sections of the DC office, and the charters of concerned units thatare conspicuously hanged in their bulletin boards. The team was also asked to visitthe workshop venue to see its suitability and other support facilities available forconducting the workshop. Moreover, the DC assigned Mr. Mustafizur Rahman, Asst.Commissioner to accompany the team in the consultation meetings to facilitateintroduction of the team to different offices.

B. RACINERACINE is a community-based NGOoperating in Faridpur since 1994. Itservices 26 community-basedorganizations focused on womenempowerment and campaigns onviolence against women. Its majorprograms and donors are: i) GenderCitizenship and Good GovernanceProgram (Royal Tropical Institute of


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Netherlands; ii) Rural Infrastructure Development Program (Japan Bank forInternational Cooperation and LGED); iii) Promoting Womens EntrepreneurshipProgram (CIDA); iv) Women Entrepreneur and Women Friendly Business CentersProgram (Action Aid Bangladesh); v) Women Leadership Development Program(PRIP Trust); vi) Adolescent Development Program (USC Canada); vii) AdultLiteracy Program (PROSHIKA); and viii) Non-formal Primary Education(PROSHIKA).

Ms. Asma Akter Mukti, Executive Director (ED) with her senior officials was gratefulthat they were included in the organizations to be consulted by the Team onCitizens charter. The ED explained about their organizational activities in relationCitizens charter initiatives to assist the people in the communities and accessservices they need. Aside from their existing programs, RACINE has collaboratedwith the UNOs in the six (6) upazila to set up a May I Help Center, whereingovernment personnel like the agriculture extension personnel and livestockspecialist are available at certain days and time every week to respond to queriesand provide technical guidance to the farmers, other government agencies conduct

awareness building of services they can provide and on womens rights. The natureof the May I Help Center varies from one upazila to another depending on theneeds of the communities.

C. District Civil SurgeonAt the District Hospital, the Teamwas met by the Deputy CivilSurgeon (DCS) with all thedepartment heads, senior staffand consultants of the hospitalsuch as the Pediatrician, Ob-Gynecologist, Radiologist,Anesthesiologist, Pharmacist,Laboratory staff, among others.The DCS welcomed and explainedtheir initiatives to introduce theCitizens charter by hanging theposters in the building of the hospital.

Basically, the meeting highlighted the following major points: i) the charter specifywhat services they can provide (24 hour out-patient/ in-patient consultation,confinement services for a least 100 patients since the hospital has only 100 beds;

radiology, laboratory and surgical operations, free medicines, ambulance services);ii) introduction of users fee for out-patient amounting to 5 Taka per patient, whichcan be used for buying some needed facilities in the hospital. However, the amountcollected are deposited in the central treasury, hence they cannot use the moneyreadily to augment the medicines and equipments requirements of the hospital; iii)the hospital has sufficient number of doctors and consultants but what isinadequate are nurses and nursing aids to service the in and out patients comingeveryday; iv) the hospital has no post for surgeon, hence they are highly dependent


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on the availability of consultants; v) medicines are for free but not sufficient andavailable most of the time; and vi) effective medical services are hampered bylimited budget. The DCS informed the Team that though they are very muchcommitted and sincere to ensure better medical services for the people, they havemany problems in terms of logistics, manpower, budget and policy which need tobe responded.

D. Department of Social ServicesBefore the consultation meeting, Mr. DulalChandra Biswas ,Deputy Director (DD)invited the Team to visit the Children Home,Safe Custody of the District Social ServiceDepartment. We were allowed to interviewthe children living in the home and residingat Safe Custody for the time being.Facilities of the centers were also seen which

are decent, clean and safe for the girls.

Before leaving the center, the team met theDD and other colleagues coming from

different Upzilas. During the meeting, the following were verbalized by the socialworkers and social service staff: i) despite limited resources, they are proud thatmany of their clients who graduated from the centers are able to pursue collegethrough scholarships or as are working students, have good jobs, and are happilymarried. These previous clients of the centers visit them every year and providefinancial support to the centers; ii) services provided by the department are veryimportant in developing the well-being of the destitute, homeless, and abandonedchildren but there are no guidelines for cadres in social service and no careerplanning; iii) they are engaged in 38 services which are dismally delivered becauseof limited resources provided by the central government; and iv) capacity buildingtrainings are also not available to upgrade the skills of the social servicesdepartment. They mentioned that the Social Service departments are maintainingi.e. displaying the Citizens charter very effectively in their premises but theyexpressed their deep concern about insufficient budget and inadequate logistics toprovide the needed services in the district. The charters have not been true to itspromises because of limitation of organizational resources.

E. District Education OfficeMs. Bela Rani Sarker, District EducationOfficer informed the team on whatservices they are giving for the teachingstaffs of the district. She mentioned thatteachers are provided with sometraining to upgrade their skills andknowledge. The children/studentsbenefited from this service, since


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teachers are more motivated and creative in the handling of their classes.However, they do not have a system to monitor the effectiveness of the teachers inrelation to the magnitude of students passing the qualifying exam for tertiary leveleducation.

F. Government Sarada Sundari Mohila CollegeProfessor Md. Abdul Khaleque Miah,Principal, Govt. Sarada Sundari MohilaCollege, Faridpur arranged a formalmeeting with all of the teaching staff ofthe college. In the meeting, theyhighlighted the achievements of thecollege. In fact, there were two (2)students who provided feedbacks onthe effectiveness of the faculties inteaching and motivating students to be

diligent in their studies. The otherstudent also mentioned certain

limitations and challenges that the college is facing in terms of availability ofdoctors to provide medical service to students, especially at night, limited latestedition textbooks and dilapidated classrooms, library and dormitory facilities whichare not conducive to learning. Despite this situation, the faculties of the college arecommitted to meet the nations demand, especially if they are supported with themodern educational facilities and appropriate budget.

What is revealing as highlighted in the consultation, that about 70% of the studentsthat passed the qualifying exam and admitted in the College are students who aregraduates of private schools. Hence, the children of the poor families from publicschools of the district have limited opportunity to pursue tertiary education.

III. Workshop on Citizens Charter and Business ProcessesA. Mechanics of the WorkshopThe workshop was divided into 3 (three) parts: Opening Ceremony; Main WorkingSessions; and the Closing Ceremony. This was attended by 52 participants ( 42 malesand 8 females) coming from different stakeholders like officers from differentgovernment institutions including Joint Secretary, Deputy Secretary, from the Ministryof Establishment, Deputy Commissioners, Deputy District Civil Surgeons, Police Officers,

Social Welfare Officers, UNO, Assistant Commissioner (LAND), Journalists, Lawyers,NGO representatives, Teachers, Business community and other Civil Society memberstook part in the day long workshop. Also in attendance that provided unwaveringsupport are around 10 officers from the District Commissioners Office, Mr. Abu Taj Md.Zakir, Deputy Secretary, Development Wing, MoE, and and Mr. Saiful Islam, FinanceOfficer, CSCMP, UNDP.


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In the opening ceremony Mr. A. M. Badrudduja, Joint Secretary, CPT Wing, Ministry ofEstablishment (MoE) inaugurated the workshop as Chief Guest and the Superintendentof Police, Faridpur and a political leader/local elite served as Special Guests. Mr.Helaluddin Ahmed, Deputy Commissioner of the district, acted as Chairperson of theworkshop. At the beginning of the ceremony, Mr. Helaluddin Ahmed delivered hiswelcome address followed by the speeches of the Special Guests Mr. Awlad HossainFakir, Police Superintendent and Mr. Nurun Nabi, local elite/political leader. Both theSpecial Guests highlighted the demand for proper implementation of Citizens Charter.Mr. Fakir explained briefly the services they are providing to bring the police closer tothe people and encourage public vigilance against irregularities and maintain peaceand order in the district. Mr. Nabi asked government officials and staff to perform theirrole sincerely to meet the public demands.

Finally, the Chief Guest A.M. Badrudduja emphasized in his speech the ministriesendeavors to meet government commitment to build a digital Bangladesh and attainvision 2021 through effective service delivery. At the end of his speech he formallyinaugurated the workshop.

After formal opening and tea break, the main Working Sessions started with adiscussion of Ms. Susana Evangelista-Leones, International Training Manager, CSCMPon the achievements of Bangladesh in meeting the Millennium Development Goals(MDG), the relevance and significance of the workshop in relation to the challengesconfronting Bangladesh at present and how Citizens charter and business process canhelp in effective service delivery. Mechanics and expected outputs were also highlightedbefore the breaking up of the participants into four (4) small discussion groups.

The Workshop was divided into four (4)

sub-workshops tackling specific concerns on Citizens Charter and Business Processes.The participants were divided into small discussion groups comprising of 10-12participants per group. To facilitate the smooth flow of the dialogue and deliberationin the small groups, a facilitator, documenter, and presenter were selected in everygroup by the participants. The outputs were presented in the plenary for clarification,and later were summarized by Ms. Leones, reflecting the recommendations and overallagreements of the participants in the workshop. The following are the sub-workshopsand the guide questions used:


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1. Sub-Workshop I Expectations and Significance As a citizen and/or civil servant, what is/are that you are proud of and value

most (at least five) in your Citizens Charter?

2. Sub-Workshop II Possible Additions If you have 5 wishes to make meaningful contribution to public welfare of

Bangladesh, what potential additions in the Citizens Charter would youpropose?

3. Sub-Workshop III Opportunities and Challenges What opportunities (at least 5) can you see in the implementation of the

Citizens Charter?

What challenges (at least 5) might come your way in the implementation ofthe Citizens Charter?

4. Sub-Workshop IV Innovative Ways and Action Plan to implement and deliverthe Citizens Charter Identify one (1) innovative way/strategy to implement the Citizens Charter

in the most effective manner. What seeds (activities) might we plant together today to deliver the

Citizens Charter, which will serve as your personal commitments andrealistic contributions as an organization?

B. Workshop OutputsThe presentation of workshop 1-3 outputs

started after lunch. Mr. Ahmed, TrainingAssociate facilitated the plenary discussion,with Ms. Leones, International TrainingManager synthesizing the four (4) small grouppresentation outputs of every sub- workshopin relation to the overall objectives of theworkshop. Specifically, in Workshop I, theparticipants started their discussions bydescribing the Citizens charter they brought tomake everybody in the group aware of thecontent of the charters. Workshop I pinpointedwhat they value most or are proud of in their Citizens charters:

opportunity to continuously serve the people, especially the marginalized, slum-dwellers and helpless in a cordial, effective and extensive manner;

right to information to build awareness of the people on services available andfor them to have easy access to these services;

well coordinated and development of better working relationship betweenservice providers and end-users;


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practice good governance in terms of making service providers accountable(delivering services on time), transparent (i.e transparent ballot boxes); and

facilitate the participation of the citizens in defining/prioritizing services.Workshop 2 outputs spelled out potential additions or enhancements in the Citizenschartersnamely:

define clearly the goals and objectives of Citizens charter initiatives in simplelanguage for better understanding and appreciation of the citizens;

define and prioritize services based on the needs of the end-users; set service standards (timeframe and quality of service); treat fairly all end- users regardless of gender, cast and class; build the capability (skills, knowledge and attitude) of service providers to

deliver effective services; budgetary requirements, staff complement and logistic supports are provided

by central government to service providers adequately and on time to delivergood services;

stakeholders participation in defining, implementing and monitoring servicedelivery; develop new services, programs and laws for a responsive service delivery; install information desk for giving information on Citizens charter initiatives; popularize the implementation of citizens charter; strengthen monitoring system of public service delivery to prevent abuse of

power of public officials, political interference and corruption; strict enforcement of public policies such as availability of doctors, teachers and

other public service personnel during office hours by requiring them to livewithin the districts or catchment areas to provide services on time;

implement the Citizens charter and provide services in a transparent manner

Workshop 3 defined the opportunities and challenges in the implementation ofCitizens charters. Specifically, the following are the opportunities identified:

citizens will be informed on available services and may have easy access tothese services;

may foster better working relationship between and among service providersand citizens;


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more realistic, better and needed services can be provided on time and in amore transparent manner;

will make service providers accountable in delivering quality services; can be an avenue for engaging stakeholders to participate in service delivery

and public welfare of Bangladesh; may be able to reduce/eliminate bureaucratic red tapes and corruption; service providers to practice good governance and improve its public image of

civil service in the country; and achieve Citizens satisfaction with the services provided

On the other hand, the challenges listed are the following:

adherence to traditional values and practices (bureaucratic complexity and redtapes) in service delivery by service providers may hamper Citizens access toservices and exercising their rights;

illiteracy and peoples lack of awareness on their right to information and rightto access services;

capacity of service providers in terms of expertise, manpower, financial resourcesand clear plan to deliver the services; political interference and insensitiveness in service delivery; obsolete and unimplemented laws which may obstruct implementation of

citizens charter initiatives; imposition of perceived un-equal foreign treaties and prescriptions; Public service policies not properly implemented by public officials; and Maximize the utilization of information technology to facilitate service delivery

Workshop 4 was focused on identifying innovative ways and defining action plan toimplement the Citizens charter. The enumerated innovative ways to implement

Citizens charters are:

generate awareness on the charter; popularize the Citizens charter; introduce and establish information desk and complaint handling system in

every organizations across levels; install a system of coordination and supervision among service providers; and develop an evaluation and monitoring system.


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The workshop ended with an overall summary of the workshop outputs provided byMs. Leones. The detailed output of the small group discussions is presented as Annex 9.

The Closing Ceremony was presided over by the DC. But before closing the session, theDC solicited feedbacks from the participants - NGO representative, Chamber ofCommerce representative, Mayor of Faridpur, and College Principal. All of them statedthat the workshop was very informative, allowed interactions and participation amongthem to share their views, experiences and recommendations, and learned new thingson the imperatives of change and citizens charter. Mr. Badrudduja, Joint Secretary ofMoE also praised the initiatives and interventions taken by the district administrationas well as the participants. Finally Mr. Helaluddin Ahmed concluded the session with avote of thanks to all the participants including the Chief Guest, Special Guests and therepresentatives from ministry and UNDP.

IV. ObservationsThe report will integrate the outputs of

the workshop in relation to majorpublic service issues: Citizens charterand basic service delivery, businessprocesses and organizational capacity,capacity and change management.The report will also reinforce and/orreiterate similar findings in Moulibazar,Coxs Bazar and Panchagarh Districtsand Chittagong Divisional Workshopsto show emerging trends in terms of theexisting Citizens charterimplementation. Other unique findings in Faridpur Workshop are incorporated in thereport.


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A. Citizens Charter and Service Delivery Issues1. The state of the citizens charter in Faridpur

The Citizens charter was first implemented in Bangladesh two years agowhen the caretaker government initiated the promulgation of chartersof every ministry at the central level. The reason behind this initiative isto make citizens aware of the services that they can access fromdifferent service providers and provide the needed services to thepeople. Hence, it aims to improve quality of public service.

The Citizens charters of the different ministries were written in the locallanguage and distributed at the district level for posting in the premisesof their buildings. CSCMP team consultations in the district revealedthat not all offices have posted their charters but kept them in their files.

The formulation of the Citizens charters was centrally made by the headoffice for distribution at the districts. Widespread dissemination of thecharters was also not undertaken but in compliance with instructionsfrom the central government, many of these charters were posted orhanged in the offices premises. However, when charters are nothanged, a file copy is kept in the office. This is also the reason whymost of the employees are not well oriented on the citizens charterinitiative and much more the citizens in the district.

Seemingly, there are confusions on the substantive content of thecitizens charter. Generally, what is stipulated is a list of services thatthey can provide. In the Civil Surgeon, aside from the services to be

provided, the Citizens charter clearly stipulated that the citizens havethe right to avail of free medical services. In the AC Land, it presents thetimeframe for each step of the mutation process with the fees requiredto be paid, and the name of the officers where to file complaints, asnecessary. However, in the DC office, it reflects the job description of thesection or unit with corresponding person responsible and duration oftime to accomplish certain task.


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2. Relevance and Importance of Citizens Charter

With this state of the Citizens charter initiative in Faridpur district, most oftencitizens are unable to avail of timely and needed services because of lack ofinformation on what services to access, where, when, how, how much it cost,

who can avail of the services and if there are other service providers that aredelivering similar services. The Citizens charter, which is a very simple documentprovide vital information that can empower citizens to use their right toinformation and right to access services.

Citizens charter does not by itselfcreate new legal rights but ithelps in enforcing existing rightsfor as long as citizens are awareof these rights (information andto access services). This is doneby letting citizens know the

mandate of the concernedministry/organization, how theycan get in touch with the officialsof the office, what services to getand how to seek a remedy ifsomething goes wrong.

Citizens charter can also play animportant role in bringing publicservice closer to the citizens bymaking then aware of the

services they can claim fromservice providers. It can buildbetter working relationshipbetween service providers andend-users or build citizens trustto governance by makingdelivery of services transparent and making service providers accountable tothe citizens in terms of the type, quality and quantity of services.

Citizens charter initiative can also be an avenue to motivate civil servants andgive them a sense of purpose and mission for delivering quality services to thecitizens thereby making a meaningful contribution to public welfare of

Bangladesh.

3. Citizens Charter as a Platform for Citizens Orientation

As continuously mentioned in the small group discussions, Citizens charterimplementation should be considered by the service providers, especially civilservants, an opportunity to serve and not to be master of the citizens. Hence,


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Citizens charter must be an on-going initiative between and amongstakeholders, service providers and end-users, where they are given theopportunity to be engaged and effectively participate in drafting/enhancing,implementing, monitoring and evaluating the Citizens charter. Since Citizenscharter is not only a product but more of a process, it then becomes an avenueto institute systematic change for improved service delivery, increased publicaccountability and transparency.

With the abovementioned context, Citizens charter can be a platform forconscious Citizens orientation. As a platform, Citizens charter can engage civilservice and citizens to meet and deliberate possible improvements in servicedelivery. It can be a mechanism for Citizens voice to influence governmentpriorities, governance processes, including demanding transparency andaccountability (Sharma, 2009). This has been proven in many donors assistedprojects in Bangladesh, with the Citizens voices and accountability (CVA)interventions, the citizens have the capacity to influence changes in policy(introduction of new laws, implementing decentralization), changes in practices

(provision of information, improved transparency, access to services, newmechanism to exercise accountability), changes in behaviors ( individually andcollectively-greater awareness, more adequate and timely response to Citizensdemands, greater participation); and changes/redressing unequal powerrelations (CVA evaluation, 2008). Ultimately, the effectiveness of public serviceis predicated upon transparency and the responsiveness of the government andthe ability of the citizens to hold government accountable (Rizvi, 2009).

Internationally, different countries (UK, India, Malaysia, Australia, Belgium,France, Portugal etc.) that ventured in Citizens charter implementationrealized that a top-down style of public administration will not yield desirableresults. Rather, through stakeholders engagement and strategic partnering,Citizens orientation was harnessed, and civil service reaches out to the citizensto encourage them to participate in defining effective service delivery system.

Citizens charter initiatives as a platform shall be concerned with establishingdecision making processes that empowers the citizens and communities so theycan manage their resources (defining/prioritizing needed services), demandchanges in policies, systems, procedures, resource allocations, strengtheningaccountability mechanisms that allows the state to respond accordingly.

It should be recognized that by making Citizens charter as platform for Citizensorientation, this would require change in mindset and shifting to new

development paradigm (creating voice, accountability, civic engagement),which may be a tedious and even be a protracted process. The pro-active nextsteps deliberated in this workshop to implement Citizens charter need to bestarted with the cultural change (mindset) in civil service and development ofskills for the citizens in creating voices.

The opportunities and challenges for Citizens charter as a platform for civicengagement to ensure responsive service delivery have been crystallized in the


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workshop. These could serve as guidepost in the implementation andenhancement of the Citizens charter.

4. Essential Elements and Operating Principles of Citizens Charter Many of the people we consulted in the district and those who attended the

workshop have heard about Citizens charter. But only a few are well orientedon its objectives and content. This was actually verbalized by the participantsthat this workshop have provided them better understanding on what Citizenscharter initiatives is all about and how it can be a potent tool for effectiveservice delivery.

Since the Citizens charters brought by the part participants are of differentforms and content, there were suggestions from the workshop. One of thesuggestions was that Citizens charter should spell out the details of what shouldbe done in dealing with clients/end-users and the processes and servicesstandards of a particular office to get away with continuous processes which areusually prone to malpractice. The charter should guide the clients/end-users ofeach government agency in accessing frontline services to promote faster andtransparent service in the bureaucracy.

In order to have a common content of the Citizens charter in everyorganization, the following should include the following basic information: i)name of the organization; ii) location and scope of coverage; iii) mission ormandate; iv) core/specific frontline services; v) each steps or procedures toobtain each services; vi) personnel responsible for each step; vii) maximum timeto complete the process; viii) documents to be presented by the end-users, if

necessary; ix) amount of fees to be paid, if any; x) procedures for filingcomplaints in case of violation of provisions of the Citizens charter; and xii)responsibilities of the citizens.

Repeatedly, the workshop participants mentioned that citizens should betreated fairly regardless of gender, cast, religion and class to avoid socialexclusion. In India, Citizens charter has benefited predominantly the affluentcustomers and majority of those who suffer from various forms of socialexclusion based on cast, gender, religion and class were less likely to access theservices brought about by excessive concern for marketorientation orefficiency, which slowly eroded the traditional public service ethics, detached the

public sector activities from Citizens needs and demands and led to decline inpublic trust in state institutions (Haque ).

Based on experiences of other countries, specifically the United Kingdom, theyhave identified the essential principles that should guide the organizations inthe formulation of the Citizens charter, which may also be taken intoconsiderations by the MoE, Bangladesh such as: i) Quality - the end goal is toimprove the services; ii) Choice-the citizens are given the option to choose the


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service providers that can provide the best services possible on time; iii)Standards - specify what to expect (in terms of time and quality) and how toact if standards are not met; iv) Value- recognition of the importance oftaxpayers money; v) Accountability- both the individual members of theorganization and the whole organization are accountable to the citizens in thedelivery of service; and vi) Transparency rules, procedures grievancemechanisms are identified.

B. Business Processes and Organizational Capacity Issues Business processes and organizational capacity of the government to

implement Citizens charters across the country at different levels are veryimportant issues to consider. As discussed and suggested, the Citizens charterinitiative must be an on-going process to ensure the delivery of servicesbased on quality, promptness, transparency and end-users choice.

The workshop participants have listed important innovative ways toimplement the citizens charter namely: i) generate awareness on thecharter; ii) popularize the Citizens charter; iii) introduce and establishinformation desk and complaint handling system in every organizationsacross levels; iv) install a system of coordination and supervision amongservice providers; and v) develop an evaluation and monitoring system.

With the end goal of generating awareness on the charter, popularization ofthe charter is a vital strategy. The participants have enumerated variousways of popularizing the Citizens charter such as: i) mass campaign usingprint and electronic media; ii) information dissemination involving religious

leaders to be conducted in the mosques; iii) incorporating in the primaryand secondary education curriculum the relevance and importance ofcitizens charter in relation to public welfare of Bangladesh; iv) publicitythrough billboards and distributions of leaflets; v) information disseminationthrough court-yard meetings, community meetings, public hearings, streetdrama, cinema and music program; and vi) slogan making like I know andlet other know. The awareness building and popularization of the charterwill utilize participatory tools and methodologies to win the hearts andminds of the citizens and civil service.

The second innovative way of implementing the charter is to introduce theestablishment of an information desk in every organization of the country

and across levels (central, division, district and upazila). The informationdesk is considered as a May I help Counter. It is envisioned that an officespace will be provided in every organization, manned by personnel who willaccept letters, complaints, answerqueries and will provide technicalguidance to the general public orcitizens. The counter will provideinformation on the charters for


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each frontline service that can be accessed in the organization. Hence, thecitizens will be given information as to which unit (s) and person(s) in theorganization is/are responsible to provide the services needed. Included inthe counter is also an opinion/complaint box, where citizens can write downtheir comments, suggestions, complaint on the nature of services received ornot accessed. This box can also indicate the level of satisfaction of theclients/citizens. With this information desk available, the participants thinkthat corruption may be reduced since rent-seeking behavior throughmiddlemen or fixers may be curtailed. The bulletin board of theorganization will be posted with their charter. Ultimately, participants hopethat committed civil service will enrich the service and regularize them, aswell.

The third innovative way identified was the supervision and monitoring ofthe implementation of the Citizens charter, the participants stated thatsupervision and monitoring teams comprising of civil service, citizens comingfrom the civil society organizations, non-government organizations and

ordinary citizens/end-users shall be formed at different levels. One-stopservice center shall also be introduced at different levels to support thesupervision and monitoring teams. To develop skills and commitment of civilservice, capacity development trainings shall be undertaken to ensureeffective and efficient service delivery.

The fourth innovative way to implement Citizens charter is to install acoordination system between and among service providers and end-users.Specifically, the participants envisioned that the coordination system is asupport mechanism to the supervision and monitoring teams. To have animplementable coordination system, an integrated work plan incorporatingthe strategies with be developed, which will be given to the supervision and

monitoring teams. Capacity building shall also be included in the plan.

All the innovative ways to deliver the Citizens charter initiativesrecommended participatory business processes to be adopted for generationof maximum participation between civil service and citizens, and to instillownership for more sustainable and creative implementation. Theparticipatory business processes may guarantee that the implementation ofCitizens charter initiatives will be on-going to respond to changing needs ofthe citizens and in accordance with capacity of the service providers.

The effective and successful implementation of the Citizens charter is highlydependent on the organizational capacity of the Civil Service to deliver theservices stipulated in the charters. And the organizational capacity includecompetencies of the civil service, expertise to establish strategic partneringwith stakeholders, realistic budget and supportive environment of the civilservice to deliver what is promised in the charters.

Without the capacity, the Citizens charter will remain to be a useless pieceof paper which will increase skepticisms of the public, demoralize civil serviceand the inefficient image of the government will persist. Hence, it is


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imperative that civil service is able to calibrate the desired organizationalcapacity required at every stage of the implementation andcorrespondingly develop these capacities to warrant delivery of responsiveservices. There are numerous recommendations that were surfaced in theworkshop waiting for the administration to consider and implement.

C. Capacity Issues In all the administration offices that we have visited and in the workshop,

the lack of capacity to deliver services has been highlighted as the biggesthindrance in the implementation Citizens charter. Basically, they refer tolack of capacity as meager budget, unskilled personnel, absence of and/orunfilled up vacant post, non-conducive working environment due todilapidated building facilities and equipments, among others. The reasonsbehind the lack of capacity are indeed manifestations of a deeper problemin public administration.

The core problem is the highly centralized administration and managementpractices of civil service which hampers effective and efficient servicedelivery. All major concerns are decided at the center such as budgetallocation which is not congruent with needs/ service requirements at thedistrict levels. The frequent personnel movement either due to transfer orpromotion adds to the disruption in service delivery due to adjustment inlearning process and mismatched expertise based on work demands. Asnarrated by the civil service consulted, almost everything is decided at thecenter, which more often, the decisions are always delayed to the detrimentof performance of the field level personnel. These personnel are alwaysblamed for ineffective service delivery, which is not a good practice in the

existing public service administration.

The capacity issues spelled out in the consultations and workshop is not onlyreferring to knowledge, skills and experiences of individual staff and/or theorganization but it also include leadership, structures, rules, regulations andprocedures, utilization of social capital, the intangible values and informalsystem prevailing in the organization, which are not simple inadequacies.Capacity is not only a summation of individual capacities but covers also theindividual strengths that weave an organization to be strong and resilient torespond to the challenges in its environment. CIDA defines capacities ascomprising of abilities, skills, understandings, attitudes, values, relationships,behaviors, motivations, resources and conditions that enable individuals,

organizations, networks/sectors and broader social system to carry outfunctions and achieve objectives over time.

It was also observed that capacity and capacity development isinterchangeable used by the public administration officers to mean trainingof personnel. It must be clarified that capacity is an outcome while capacitydevelopment is a process, an approach, a strategy and methodology toimprove performance of individuals, organizations, networks/sector and


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broader social system. Training is one of the approaches to build capacityand not sufficient to strengthen capacity of an organization to deal with itschanging environment.

It is also important to recognize that when we develop capacities, we arenot only expanding individual human skills but we need to createopportunities and incentives for people to use and extend those skills fortheir personal growth and professional fulfillment. As observed the publicadministration offices in Faridpur district have numerous potentials to fullyutilize these capacities in implementing Citizens charter initiative.Specifically, the public administration officers are exhibiting people-centeredperspective in service delivery, open to interactions with stakeholders andhave more modern office building and facilities.

The Citizens charter initiative happening not only in Faridpur district butalso in Moulibazar, Coxs bazaar, Panchagarh, Comila, Feni, Chittagongdistricts provided a conducive opportunity to reflect on how the required

capacity of the civil service can be harnessed/developed. The findings in theconsultation meetings and workshops in these districts revealed the variousdimensions of organization change that must be pursued to achieve desiredresults. Definitely, the external environment (conditions for change andvarious stakeholders and citizens claiming for services) are facilitating factorsto push organizational change in civil service.

D. Change Management Issues The Faridur district workshop presented some change management issues.

One of them is whether there must be a change in how Citizens charterinitiative is implemented, and if change is necessary, from whose

perspective. The consultation workshop revealed that many of the civilservice and citizens are not well oriented on the Citizens charter initiativesince this emanated from the central government. The administrationofficers complied with the guidelines by hanging/posting the Citizenscharters in their building premises without conscious dissemination to itsemployees and end-users.

During the workshop, they suggested that Citizens charter initiative needsto be understood well by all the personnel involved in service delivery, end-users and other stakeholders to deliver services to the citizens. But do thecivil servants recognize the need for extensive dialogue and deliberation,

civic engagement, dissemination campaign and other changerelatedactivities are seen as important, relevant and urgent for having citizen-oriented charters than having a plain written guideline, which will not workand will just repeat what is happening at present. It is imperative thatpublic administrators at the central administration are convinced that foreffective service delivery, the Citizens charter initiative is a considered asmore a process than a product. This also reflects that change in mindset


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must emanate from the center since the field administration personnel arereally asking that there suggestions be seriously considered.

The second change management issue is whether the suggestion of makingCitizens charter as platform for civic engagement will be supported by thecentral and field public administration officers. Again, for change to happen,public administration officers need to support the processes, do strategicpartnering with as many stakeholders as possible. With a clear awarenessand understanding on the imperatives of Citizens charter initiative, themotivation to initiate the change must also be well explored. If there is nomotivation to put into actions the suggestions in workshop, then this willremain as just workshop outputs.

The third change management is issue whether there is capacity for theservice providers across levels to initiate the change. Definitely, the presentline of thinking of the public administration officers to look at capacity andcapacity development as training will not be congruent with the processes

and principles of doing civic engagement for Citizens charter initiative. Asmentioned in the early part of the report, capacity is an outcome ofcapacity development. And capacity development is not a summary ofindividuals capacities, knowledge and abilities but more complex involvingboth the formal and informal learning systems of the whole organization,strategic partnering with networks/ sectors and interfacing with broadersystem of its external environment. Hence, what is called for by this changemanagement issue is for CPT Wing/Development Wing, in particular andMinistry of Establishment (MoE), in general be a learning organization todeliver the Citizens charter.

Finally the last change management issue is whether MoE can sustain thechange process. As suggested, Citizens charter must be an on-going processof civic engagement in order to have a responsive service delivery. Thisinitiative may also pave the way for creating the mechanism for sustainingimprovements in service delivery.

V. Recommendations The Faridpur Workshop is the

fifth district workshop onCitizens charter and business

process and similar findings arerevealed in terms of the Citizenscharter implementationstrengths and weaknesses. Thereare many relevantrecommendations that need tobe acted upon by the civilservice in order to respond to


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the demands of the citizens. It may be appropriate that instead of a districtworkshop, divisional workshops are organized to establish the general trendsand corresponding define collective actions.

After divisional workshops on Citizens charter and business processes, anational workshop should be organized to summarize the general findingsof the district and divisional workshops, invite experts to share best practicesin Citizens charter implementation and draw out enhancement guidelinesin implementing the Bangladesh Citizens charter initiative.

Separate events have also to be organized to make citizens aware of theCitizen's Charter initiative, after the National Workshop. These events shouldfocus on providing citizens with information and on facilitating civilianaction. At a later stage, when both the civil service and the citizenry areready (i.e. when citizens have the ability to raise their 'voice' with regards toCitizen's Charter and the civil service has started to address the majorcapacity issues), additional collaborative meetings can be organized.

The Citizen's Charter initiative provides a perfect entry point to addresscrucial capacity issues and could therefore serve as a catalyst in drawing upnew decentralization policies and starting consultative sessions between thecentral and the field administration.

Part of the information dissemination is to publish the documentations ofthe Citizens charter consultations and workshops highlighting therecommendations on the possible additions on the essential elements andoperating principles of Citizens charter initiative.

CPT Wing, MoE starts utilizing the result of the workshop in developing theimplementing guidelines on enhanced Citizens charter implementation,which can be presented in the National workshop.

Prepared By:

SUSANA EVANGELISTA-LEONESInternational Training ManagerCSCMP, UNDP Bangladesh

Documents

3. Faridpur CCI