Effective Institutions Platform Supreme Audit Institutions and Stakeholder Engagement Practices: A Stocktaking Report

The report is based on analysis of 32 SAIs, with the sample cutting across different regions and income levels and covering a wide range of political contexts as well as a diverse range of engagement instruments and tools. The goal of the project is to provide SAIs, policy makers and other public management practitioners with a clear and comprehensive synthesis and analysis of progress to date in the approaches SAIs use to engage with citizens and other external stakeholders; the project aims to help understand SAI engagement approaches and instruments. The research shows that: (1) the model of SAI could be related to the form and venue where participation takes place; (2) political culture and tradition of social accountability may condition the legitimacy and acknowledgment of the need to engage stakeholders and citizens’ willingness to cooperate with SAIs; (3) SAIs with more autonomy and capacity are more likely to adopt and implement transparency and participation mechanisms, while SAIs with less capacity may have more incentives to do so; (4) strong commitment by SAIs authorities will likely strengthen engagement but also creates institutionalization challenges; (5) the incentives, willingness and relative capacity of other actors can also influence the adoption and results of engagement practices; (6) the quality of linkages with other accountability institutions often dictate the forms of SAIs engagement and with which actors; (7) donors and SAI organizations can promote specific forms of engagement through knowledge sharing and technical support.