Inspired by a private sector practice ofconducting client satisfaction surveys, a small group ofpeople in Bangalore2, concerned about the city'deteriorating standards of public services3, initiated anexercise in 1993 to collect feedback from users. Userperceptions on the quality, efficiency, and adequacy of thevarious services were aggregated to create a 'reportcard' that rated the performance of all major serviceproviders in the city. The findings presented a quantitativemeasure of satisfaction and perceived levels of corruption,which, following coverage in the media, not only mobilizedcitizen and government support for reform, but also promptedthe rated agencies themselves to respond positively to civiccalls for improvement in services. This exercise wasrepeated in 1999, and has been replicated in at least fiveother Indian cities, as well as the State of Karnataka inthe interim. By systematically gathering and disseminatingpublic feedback, report cards may serve as a "surrogatefor competition" for monopolies - usually governmentowned - that lack the incentive to be as responsive as theprivate enterprises to their client's needs. They are auseful medium through which citizens can credibly andcollectively 'signal' to agencies about theirperformance and pressure for change.
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