Report of Child Centered Social Accountability Study in Rumbek and Bor Counties, South Sudan

Context: Social Accountability in South Sudan was implemented in both urban and rural areas where Save the children is implementing mainly humanitarian response programs for floods and conflict affected communities with limited development programs and funding opportunities. Across the SCI movement, there is a gap in data for CCSA programs and demand from the country offices for more learning on the matter. Seven NORAD countries are currently doing CCSA programming. These programs are different in many ways, but all of them have some version of the following three outcomes, the first addressing service delivery and the latter directly addressing the “shifting power” agenda. Study was to assess the impact, but explore effectiveness, best practices and lessons learned from activities, processes, strategies and decisions.
Methods: The study was exploratory employing qualitative methods of data collection, collecting both primary and secondary data through Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with key partners/programme staff, stakeholder’s representatives and FGDs with Social accountability groups such as children and adult groups.
Findings: This study found common views on child participation from both the adult and child groups indicating that all children had equal opportunity to be part of the CCSA processes inclusive of actively participating in CCSA data collection and dissemination in a free and fair gender-balanced way.