Sustained access to effective basic services—including health care, education, water, and basic infrastructure—is of primary importance in the lives of poor people. Improvements in the quality and consistency of services must be approached first of all by addressing institutional and governance models to make them more responsive to the needs of poor people. At the same time, important steps can also be taken at the local level to address the specific needs and goals of each community.
Education is an area in which expanding the involvement of community actors has led to marked improvements—higher enrollments and better quality schools. Examples from around the world show that when communities can hold teachers, administrators, and government officials accountable through formal institutional mechanisms, community members become more interested in school improvement and more willing to commit their own resources to the task. This commitment may include forming partnerships with outside actors. Furthermore, programs that expand the access of excluded groups to education have led to important shifts in mind-set among community members and government leaders regarding the contributions that those groups can make to society. The success of small pilot efforts, often with the inspiration and involvement of devoted "champions" at different levels of government, can lead to fundamental changes in the governance of the education system at the national level. These changes include creating formal channels for the participation of local actors in the management of their schools and widely expanding access to education, with a shared commitment of resources among all concerned actors.
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