Public Affairs Centre

Questionnaire Design | Pre Survey Groundwork | Data Entry | Data Analysis and Report writing

WATSAN CITIZEN REPORT CARD

The following sections will help a first time user to understand the process of carrying out a CRC survey. While a CRC can be implemented for any public services ranging from health, education, transport, communication, electricity, roads and streetlights and even registration services, this learning product focuses on two services only - water and sanitation.

Before carrying out the survey for the CRC for which this Learning Product has been designed, it is imperative to follow certain steps as a prerequisite to the survey.

The steps involved are as follows: helps

1. Assessment of local conditions - issues

This assessment needs to be made to address two basic questions:

a. Are the conditions in the locality suitable for implementing a CRC survey?

The conditions basically comprise of factors also known as the Critical ‘9’. These include among others, freedom by citizens to voice their experience, the political and institutional set up in the locality, presence of CSOs, NGOs and other professional groups, quality of media, degree of openness among service providers and the degree of government interest in local initiatives.

b. Who is going to be the lead institution for carrying out the CRC survey?

A lead institution is the most critical factor to the success of the CRC. The three common types of lead institutions are-

i) Civil Society Organization

ii) Government body

iii) Independent Consortium

In each case, the institution should consider whether it has the skills, resources, independence and commitment to carry out a CRC.

2. Assessment of local conditions - methodology

Assessing the local conditions for implementing a CRC is a qualitative process. Holding a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with individuals who are knowledgeable about the socio-political setting will complete this process.

Using a Rapid Assessment Scorecard and providing points for a focused discussion, such as perceptions regarding support from political institutions, issues covered by media and attitude of service providers and role of NGOs and other such groups in the community.

(For a detailed understanding of these assessments please go to Module 2 in the website www.citizenreportcard.com)

One important aspect that is to be noted is that while CRCs are conducted most successfully in democratic setups, CRCs can and have also been successfully implemented in localities where there are other type of political setups and societal norms.

Demo
The Demo will present three major aspects of a WatSan CRC survey:

1.Designing a questionnaire
A master questionnaire has been provided in this learning product, which can be referred to, while preparing your own WatSan CRC questionnaire. The user mode in the Product will help you in editing questions and categories as per your need.

2.Carrying out Data Entry
Once you have commenced the CRC survey, you can also start the data entry on line. In case of large sample sizes, more than one data entry operator can work to put together the database in this learning product.

3.Conducting Data Analysis
After completing data entry you can analyse data by carrying out basic analysis for which provision has been given in the learning product.

Pointers towards interpretation of data and report writing have been given in the main WebPages of the learning product, while more details can be gleaned from the CRC website as given in the homepage.

Good Luck!