Local government institutions in Bangladesh have long faced public scepticism about service delivery. In Dumuria, Union Parishads (UPs) — the lowest tier of elected local government — often operated without meaningful input from the communities they served. The Right2Grow programme’s Transformative Leadership initiative, implemented by The Hunger Project (THP) Bangladesh from 2022 to 2024, set out to change that: building the capacity of both UPs and civil society organisations (CSOs) to plan together, hold each other accountable, and direct public resources toward nutrition, Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), and maternal and child health priorities. 

The initiative began with a community situational analysis and a CSO Strengthening Assessment to identify capacity gaps. Separate training was then delivered to UP representatives and CSO leaders, covering participatory governance, advocacy and lobbying, leadership, transparency, and social auditing through the Citizen Voice and Action (CVA) approach. THP provided ongoing coaching between training cycles. A central mechanism was the Ward Shava — the ward-level community meeting established under the UP Act 2009 — through which residents formally raised service delivery priorities that CSOs then carried into UP planning and open budget meetings. THP also trained UP secretaries and chairpersons on the Budget Monitoring and Evaluation Tool (BMET), a digital platform that makes budget allocations and expenditures visible to both government staff and CSOs in real time. 

The shift in planning practice produced measurable results. UP budget allocation for WASH and nutrition rose from BDT 83,24,000 (~€59,100) in financial year 2022–23 to BDT 1,40,05,841 (~€99,441) in 2023–24 — a 68% increase. The expenditure rate against allocation improved from 90% to 100% over the same period, meaning increased budgets were being fully spent. All UPs in the programme area now use the BMET platform to track their finances, making accountability structural rather than dependent on individual goodwill. 

Ten UPs collectively provided food packs — including rice, pulses, soybean oil, oral rehydration salts (ORS), and Monimix micronutrient supplements — to 680 families identified as having malnourished children, at a total cost of BDT 6,15,045 (~€4,367). The targeting was based on household lists compiled by local CSOs, a practical demonstration of the UP–CSO partnership directing resources to where they were needed. 

Forty-two villages were declared Healthy Villages in ceremonies organised by their respective UPs, with health and nutrition established as standing agenda items at Union Development Coordination Committee (UDCC) meetings. CSO advocacy also produced improvements in specific services: breastfeeding corners were established on all UP premises, menstrual hygiene management corners were set up in schools with sanitary pads distributed by UPs, and health equipment was provided to community clinics through sustained CSO lobbying. Ten of 14 UPs now hold regular meetings with chairpersons and secretaries, and 10 of 14 have implemented Ward Shava participatory planning in line with the UP Act 2009.