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Citizen-Led Local Inclusive Planning & Services (CLIPS)


Switzerland supports Cambodia’s decentralization reform to improve inclusive and efficient public service delivery at the local level. The project promotes transparent and accountable management of public resources by strengthening local fiscal governance2 and bringing decision-making closer to citizens. It enhances citizen–authority dialogue and improves access to local budget information through digital and participatory tools, contributing to more responsive governance and better public spending.

Country/region Topic Period Budget
Cambodia
Governance
Public finance management
Decentralisation
Democratic participation and civil society
04.06.2026 - 31.08.2028
 CHF  2’000’000
The project in brief
Background The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), leading the Public Financial Management3 Reform Programme (PFMRP), maintains centralized fiscal control and works closely with line ministries, limiting fiscal decentralisation to sub-national governments (SNAs), which remain dependent on transfers and have limited autonomy. Today, all sub-national entities (provinces, districts, and communes) combined manages less around 19% of the public expenditure4. Although the NP-SNDD Phase II (2021–2030) has transferred 55 functions across 20 sectors to District and Municipal Khans (DMK), reforms are constrained by weak technical and digital capacity and limited citizen participation in budgeting despite formal mechanisms.
Objectives CLIPS: Citizens actively participate in and oversee local fiscal governance, leading to improved transparency, accountability, and responsiveness in public resource allocation and service delivery.
Target groups The project will benefit directly around 5,000 community members, including approximately 1,200 youth participants (aged 18–30). The project also engages with 470 communes, CSOs and their network, district councillors and administrative staff. The project indirectly reaches to around 400,000 people through public awareness campaigns and media engagement.
Medium-term outcomes

Outcome 1: Capacity and Participation

To strengthen the capacity of citizens and subnational administrations to access, understand, and use budget information and digital participatory tools to engage effectively in local budget planning and fiscal decision-making.

Outcome 2: Accountability and Oversight

To strengthen citizen-led monitoring and accountability mechanisms that track local public expenditure, promote transparency, and improve government responsiveness to community priorities.

Outcome 3: Institutionalisation and sustainability

To institutionalise inclusive, transparent, and responsive mechanisms within sub-national administrations that enable sustained citizen participation in local planning, budgeting, and public service monitoring.
Results

Expected results:  

  • Local citizens have knowledge on local fiscal management, budget monitoring, action research, and advocacy to lobby the commune, district, provincial, and national authorities on fiscal decentralisation.
  • Commune and District Councils are equipped with online fiscal management and fiscal decentralization skills.
  • The public uses online and offline platforms (web, mobile app, Telegram, Facebook, forums) to access information on sub-national related to finance, local budget and service delivery.
  • Commune and District Councillors enforce poli-cies on civic engagement and fiscal management.


Results from previous phases:   SDC’s engagement in PFM builds on its ongoing commitment to improving public service delivery through Improved Service Delivery (ISD) project, as well as strengthening citizen participation in social accountability mechanisms at the subnational level through the Implementation of the Social Accountability Framework – (ISAF). CLIPS complements these interventions by focusing on local fiscal governance, reinforcing transparency, accountability, and effective public resource use. CLIPS introduces a stronger focus on local fiscal governance and PFM, through mechanisms such as, community forums, commune/district development and investment plan guideline, com-mune/district council monthly meeting, and other subnational mechanism, such as ISAF (scorecards, and interface meetings), these initiatives have created structured spaces for dialogue between citizens and local authorities. CLIPS leverages these established mechanisms and expands their scope by strengthening transparency, improving citizens’ access to understandable fiscal information, building trust between citizens and local authorities, and enhancing citizens’ ability to meaningfully influence how public resources are allocated and used at the local level.


Directorate/federal office responsible SDC
Project partners Contract partner
International or foreign NGO
  • Other international or foreign NGO North
  • Oxfam Novib (Netherlands)


Coordination with other projects and actors

EU: Strengthening Civil Society Engagement in Public Financial Management (SCOPE-PFM) 

Oxfam: Voice for Changes Programme

GIZ: Improved Service Delivery (ISD)

Other actors: WB, ADB, UNICEF
Budget Current phase Swiss budget CHF    2’000’000 Swiss disbursement to date CHF    675’000 Total project since first phase Swiss budget CHF   0 Budget inclusive project partner CHF   2’000’000
Project phases Phase 1 04.06.2026 - 31.08.2028   (Current phase)
  • Sector according to the OECD Developement Assistance Commitiee categorisation GOVERNMENT AND CIVIL SOCIETY
    GOVERNMENT AND CIVIL SOCIETY
    GOVERNMENT AND CIVIL SOCIETY
    Sub-Sector according to the OECD Developement Assistance Commitiee categorisation
    Public finance management
    Decentralisation and support to subnational government (incl. accountability)
    Democratic participation and civil society
    Aid Type Mandate without fiduciary fund
    Project and programme contribution
    Project number

    7F11708

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Last update 29.07.2025