Promoting Citizen-State Engagement is a key output of ENCISS’ work. To make the engagement effective ENCISS undertakes initiatives that improve citizen’s general understanding of government policies. ENCISS works with both citizens and government to identify the mandated fora where civil society meets with state authorities. Such forums and structures include Local Council-CSO Coordination forums, District Budget Oversight Committees and the Citizen’s Monitoring Group. ENCISS strengthens civil society to use these forums and structures to ensure that people who are normally excluded from decision-making processes play a key role in monitoring and assessing how resources are allocated, and funds spent. ENCISS does this by strengthening the links between citizens’ monitoring Groups and the District Monitoring Teams and investing in capacity building of civil society networks especially those representing marginalised people. The district budget oversight committees are also trained and mentored to be better able to understand and fulfil their roles. These initiatives helps build a kind of active citizenship where people get better understanding of how budgets are allocated and how they can comment on the effectiveness of budgets designed to benefit poor and marginalised people.
At the central state level ENCISS is working on the National Collaboration Strategy (NCS) as a framework for interaction between civil society and the state. ENCISS also ensures that civil society groups are represented in various reform processes i.e. functional reviews of various ministries and the PRSP pillar working groups as open channels for citizens and their representatives to enter into dialogue with government, but also to give citizens and CSO’s the understanding and tools to make dialogue meaningful.