Citizen engagement has garnered strength in the last 20 years as a response to the shortcomings of government reforms designed to improve governance. Many different forms of citizen engagement and social accountability have been implemented over the years, ranging from institutionalised participatory processes to performing social audits and raising awareness.

The evidence available highlights that there are different types of positive impact in increasing good governance and anti-corruption efforts, such as increased citizen participation, building more responsive states, and identifying and sanctioning cases of corruption. However, the extent of the impact of citizen engagement is influenced by factors that may enable or limit this impact, such as political will and access to information.