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This proposal outlines the establishment of a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting transparency and accountability among local governments in Nepal. By focusing on automating data collection and evaluating data availability, the organization will empower citizens, improve service delivery, and strengthen citizen-government relations.

Problem:

Nepali law mandates local governments to publish information of public interest on their websites. However, data is :

• Inaccessible: Uploaded in non-standard formats (e.g., photos of excel sheets)

• Outdated: Uploaded months or years late, or not at all

• Unresponsive: Ignored “Freedom of Information” requests

This lack of transparency hinders citizen engagement, informed decision-making, and effective policy implementation.

Solution:

Accountability Nepal will:

• Develop a data collection platform: This automated system will extract required data directly from government websites, eliminating manual intervention and inconsistencies.

• Establish data accountability metrics: Metrics will assess data availability, timeliness, format standardization, and “Freedom of Information” responsiveness.

• Publish regular reports: Accountability Nepal will publicly share detailed reports detailing each municipality’s performance on data availability metrics.

• Recognize and incentivize: Best performing municipalities will be recognized and promoted, while others will receive targeted support and capacity-building resources.

Methodology:

• Phase 1 (Pilot): Focus on a subset of municipalities and data categories for initial testing and refinement.

• Phase 2 (Expansion): Scale up to include all municipalities and expand data categories based on success and feedback.

• Technology & Collaboration: Leverage existing platforms and APIs wherever possible. Partner with relevant government agencies, civil society organizations, and media outlets for wider reach and expertise.

Impact:

• Increased transparency: Citizens will have easy access to timely, reliable data, leading to informed decision-making and participation.

• Improved accountability: Municipalities will be held accountable for data availability, promoting responsible governance and service delivery.

• Improved engagement: Transparency will build trust and encourage citizen engagement in local government processes.

• Empowered citizens: Citizens will be able to monitor local government performance and hold them accountable.

Sustainability:

Accountability Nepal will seek funding through diverse sources, including:

• Grants from national and international development agencies

• Crowdfunding campaigns

• Private sector partnerships

• Fees for capacity-building services

Conclusion:

Accountability Nepal offers a sustainable and effective solution to address the data accountability gap in Nepali local government. By empowering citizens, strengthening transparency, and supporting responsible governance, this initiative can contribute significantly to Nepal’s democratic development.

7-Step Implementation Plan for Strengthening Local Government Accountability in Nepal through Data-Driven Transparency

Step 1: Stakeholder Engagement & Needs Assessment (2 months)

• Engage: Conduct meetings with government officials, civil society organizations, media outlets, and citizens to understand their needs and concerns.

• Assess: Identify priority data categories (e.g., budgets, service delivery metrics, development projects) and preferred reporting formats.

• Map existing resources: Evaluate availability of existing government data portals, APIs, and technological infrastructure.

Tools: Online surveys, workshops, stakeholder meetings, government websites, API documentation.

Step 2: Develop Data Collection Platform (3 months)

• Technical solution: Choose a platform based on needs, scalability, and budget. (e.g., Web scraping tools, open-source crawlers, API integration)

• Data extraction & standardization: Develop scripts or tools to automate data extraction from government websites in designated formats.

• Data quality assurance: Implement procedures to verify data accuracy, completeness, and consistency.

Tools: Python libraries (Beautiful Soup, Scrapy), API integration tools, data validation tools.

Step 3: Define Data Accountability Metrics (2 months)

• Establish clear criteria: Define metrics for data availability, timeliness, format standardization, and “Freedom of Information” responsiveness.

• Weighting system: Assign weights to each metric based on stakeholder feedback and importance.

• Develop scoring algorithm: Create an automated system to calculate and update performance scores based on collected data.

Tools: Data visualization tools, dashboards, scoring algorithms (e.g., Python libraries like NLTK for analyzing FOI responses).

Step 4: Pilot Testing & Refinement (3 months)

• Select pilot municipalities: Choose a representative sample of municipalities for initial testing.

• Implement data collection & analysis: Collect and analyze data using the developed platform and scoring system.

• Gather feedback: Solicit feedback from stakeholders on the platform, metrics, and reporting format.

• Refine platform & metrics: Based on feedback, improve data collection processes, refine metrics, and update the scoring algorithm.

Tools: Data dashboards, reporting tools, feedback surveys, technical communication platforms.

Step 5: Launch & Public Outreach (1 month)

• Official launch: Publicly announce the project and its goals through press releases, media outreach, and stakeholder events.

• Website & communication: Develop a user-friendly website with data visualizations, reports, and clear explanations of methodology.

• Capacity building: Offer training workshops and resources to government officials on data management and compliance.

Tools: Website development tools, communication platforms, social media, training materials.

Step 6: Dissemination & Recognition (Ongoing)

• Publish regular reports: Issue quarterly or bi-annual reports highlighting municipality performance and overall trends.

• Recognize high performers: Publicly acknowledge and display best practices amongst top-performing municipalities.

• Engage media & civil society: Partner with media outlets and civil society organizations to amplify the project’s impact.

Tools: Reporting tools, data visualization tools, communication platforms, media outreach strategies.

Step 7: Sustainability & Expansion (Ongoing)

• Secure funding: Seek diverse funding sources (grants, crowdfunding, partnerships) to ensure long-term sustainability.

• Expand data categories: Gradually add new data categories based on stakeholder feedback and capacity.

• Scale up to all municipalities: Gradually expand the project to cover all local governments in Nepal.