The National Law School of India University is organising a consultation as part of the ‘Social Accountability Project‘ at the University, in collaboration with several civil society organisations, on February 14 and 15, 2026.

This consultation is to reflect on the practical interventions that strengthen public accountability in governance and access to justice—from social audits, proactive disclosure, and grievance redress to transparency. The event brings together practitioners, researchers, bureaucrats, frontline functionaries, and citizens to share experiences and develop a shared agenda for action and research to strengthen citizen oversight mechanisms.

Context

Civil society organisations and the governments in India have been pioneers in collaboratively designing and institutionalising practical interventions that deepen democratic governance such as proactive disclosure of government information, social audits, transparency in decision making, facilitation support in accessing basic entitlements, and grievance redress. These initiatives have not only grounded social accountability practices in the country, but have also demonstrated possibilities at scale for the rest of the world. It has been twenty years since the Right to Information was introduced and several other legislative mandates for citizen oversight and participation were established. However, practitioners and scholars have scarcely come together to collectively reflect on the progress made so far and develop a shared plan to strengthen these spaces.

Despite the expansion of social accountability initiatives across India, scholarship that examines the multi-dimensional effects of these initiatives on bureaucratic culture, practices and capacity, the field of civic action and local democracy is thin. We know little about the democratic dividends of these intensive participatory platforms and whether they are changing relationships between people and the state. To understand the conditions under which social accountability initiatives deepen democratic governance, there is a need to engage with numerous ongoing efforts to implement and strengthen these platforms for participation and oversight. Conversely, scholarship on the institutionalisation processes and its effects on building the capacities of citizens to assert and access their democratic rights can help strengthen implementation.

Purpose of Consultation

Through this two-day conference we are looking to expand the conversation and bring together practitioners, researchers, bureaucrats, frontline functionaries and citizens to share experiences and develop a shared agenda for action and research. The conference sessions will be organised as round tables, workshops and plenaries with stalls exhibiting the innovative accountability practice and audio visual displays.