Of 29 ethiopia social accountability program (esap2) midterm review (mtr) final report

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Annex 4: ESAP 2 Impact Evaluation Baseline Study - Summary of Main Findings 
Strengthening the relationship of accountability between service providers and citizens is increasingly 
viewed as critical for improving public service delivery. But even as some recent experimental studies 
find that community monitoring can significantly improve both the quality and quantity of service 
provision,
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a broad evidence base on the effectiveness of different forms of such interventions is yet to 
be established. Preliminary results suggest that social accountability interventions vary in their 
effectiveness, and that the most effective interventions have the potential to significantly enhance service 
delivery and human development outcomes in targeted communities.
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The ESAP 2 impact evaluation aims to rigorously measure the impact of the ESAP 2 intervention, as well 
as to contribute to the emerging literature on the effectiveness of social accountability interventions. The 
findings of the ESAP 2 impact evaluation baseline study provide a benchmark against which to measure 
changes on key indicators in both treatment and control communities over the duration of the ESAP 2 
program. The survey questionnaire, which was administered to over 17,000 citizens in 4,400 households, 
focused in on three outcome areas: citizen engagement, service delivery, and human development. What 
follows is a brief summary of key findings at baseline in each of these thematic areas.
This summary intends to summarize some basic tabulations in each of the major outcome areas. The more 
voluminous baseline report prepared by Selam Consultants provides an exhaustive list of tabulations on a 
larger set of indicators captured in the survey questionnaire. The project team at the World Bank is also 
working on a more detailed synopsis of the baseline findings which will build on the present document by 
providing (i) a detailed comparison of means on a comprehensive set of indicators across treatment and 
control groups, and (ii) detailed regression analyses examining other analytical trends in the baseline data 
set.