Document Abstract
Published:
26 Jan 2009
Civil society and the new aid architecture
Supporting southern CSOs in their engagement with aid issues
This is a Summary Report of a Panel Discussion on 'Civil Society and the New Aid Architecture' and an Expert Workshop on 'Budget Support and Civil Society Participation' held in Vienna in January 2009. The Panel Discussion focuses on the ‘political' aspects of civil society engagement particularly the new roles emphasising supplementary social accountability measures. The Expert Workshop focuses on the operational side of social accountability in the context of budget support.
In the report, both discourses focus on 'social or political accountability' - challenging the traditional role of civil society whilst taking into account the Millennium Development Goals, the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action.
The following is a summary of the issues discussed:
The report concludes that an enabling environment for CSOs in the South is crucial for successful monitoring of budgetary decisions and for holding governments accountable. It adds that CSO participation, legal frameworks, adequate time and genuine political will are required for social transformations. It advises that donor agencies should rethink existing and new funding mechanisms that include cooperation between CSOs in the North and the South.
In the report, both discourses focus on 'social or political accountability' - challenging the traditional role of civil society whilst taking into account the Millennium Development Goals, the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action.
The following is a summary of the issues discussed:
- A multi-stakeholder approach should be taken whereby Northern CSOs listen to the needs of Southern CSOs and international organisations to make successful partnerships. Donors should assess the performance of partner governments checking for poor performance
- Governments’ roles in development must be clearly defined, taking into account the varying social change processes in the respective country. North and South CSOs should define their roles in this new development environment
- Although legal frameworks allow their participation, CSOs working on the advocacy level fear being de-registered for being too critical of government
- Donor support for CSOs should be mainstreamed into certain sectors and they should push for quality indicators to evaluate programmes to check their aid effectiveness
- The selection of CSOs that should receive core funding should be judged on adequate level of experience, citizen engagement, strategic orientation, and constructive and solution-oriented engagement.
The report concludes that an enabling environment for CSOs in the South is crucial for successful monitoring of budgetary decisions and for holding governments accountable. It adds that CSO participation, legal frameworks, adequate time and genuine political will are required for social transformations. It advises that donor agencies should rethink existing and new funding mechanisms that include cooperation between CSOs in the North and the South.
