More about SAM
Social Accountability Monitoring (SAM) is a monitoring methodology developed by Colm Allan at the Public Service Accountability Monitor in South Africa. It offers civic actors a rights-based and evidence-based framework for understanding how government service delivery processes work, as well as the skills and tools to engage with them effectively.
SAM Guide for South African municipal journalists and civic actors
MobiSAM have produced a Guide to Local Government Social Accountability Monitoring in South Africa. The Guide aims to provide municipal journalists and civic actors with an introduction to the SAM methodology in order to help them understand, monitor and effectively participate in local government processes in South Africa, including:
- Resource allocation and strategic planning
- Expenditure management
- Performance management
- Preventative and corrective action
- Oversight
Siyazama Local Municipality
The second part of the Guide explores how civic actors and municipal journalists can practically use the SAM approach to monitor municipal processes and to engage effectively in decision-making and holding local municipalities to account for service delivery. In order to explore this practical application, a fictional municipality has been created: Siyazama Local Municipality. You will need to download the relevant Siyazama Local Municipality documents for the 2010/11 financial year. These documents include:
Online Self-Study Course
Sometimes the most helpful way to learn something is to “learn by doing”. In order to support your practical understanding of how to apply the SAM monitoring methodology, an online course has been designed. This course, which covers all the theory set out in the Guide, also provides opportunities to engage with the methodology through a series of practical activities, using the context of Siyazama Local Municipality. This course will be made available online for free in the future.
