Mainstreaming Citizen Engagement in the Middle East and North Africa Region
This brief provides an introduction to the issue of citizen engagement (CE) as well as the piloting of the agenda in the Banks Middle East and North Africa (MNA) region. The objective is to develop sustainable country systems for CE. It includes participation of citizens in all spheres of development, whether the making of policies and decisions that affect citizens, the formulation and execution of budgets, or delivery of public services. At the policy, program, and project level, CE work includes strengthening government-citizen interaction and results through citizen-beneficiary consultation, participation, and collaboration in all aspects of projects, programs, or policies. As part of its new strategy, the World Bank Group (WBG) has committed to mainstreaming CE in country engagements and operations to achieve improved development results through participatory planning, management and monitoring, participatory budgeting, and grievance mechanisms. Citizen movements globally and in MNA have mobilized to demand greater voice and participation in decisions affecting their lives in places where they are not heard or given opportunities to engage. CE brings dividends at the national and subnational, as well as project levels. The WBG is developing a strategy to scale up the use of CE principles, mechanisms, and processes in its engagement with non-state actors, as well as with government counterparts.