2As maternal health specialists accelerate efforts toward MDG5a, attention is focusing on how to best improve service accountability to target communities as a strategy for more effective policy implementation. We present a case study of efforts to improve accountability in Orissa, India, focusing on the role of local women, intermediary groups, health providers, and elected politicians. We highlight three drivers of success: 1) the generation of demand for rights and better services, 2) the leverage of intermediaries to legitimise the demands of poor and marginalised women, and 3) the sensitisation of leaders and health providers to women's needs. We use the concepts of critical consciousness, social capital, and 'receptive social spaces' to outline a social-psychological account of the pathways between accountability and service effectiveness.

Shyama Kuruvilla and colleagues present findings across 12 country case studies of multisectoral collaboration, showing how diverse sectors intentionally shape new ways of collaborating and learning, using “business not as usual” strategies to transform situations and achieve shared goals

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