At your service: a rights-based approach for CSOs?

How effective are civil society organisations (CSO) at delivering services? CSOs emerged in the 1990s as influential actors in international development. Shifts in donor policy towards a ‘good governance’ agenda have boosted their role whilst many CSOs have found a niche contracting themselves out to governments to provide basic services such as health care, education, and water supply.

What are the issues influencing the performance of CSOs asks this INTRAC report? Should CSOs be looking beyond the narrow focus of service provision? Would, for example, integrating a rights-based approach to service provision improve policy outcomes for disadvantaged groups?

Economic stagnation and the decline in state capacity to deliver social services is another reason for the emergence of this new role for CSOs. Yet, former minimal state and market-based solutions did not work and it is now recognised that the state should play a role in the provision of services. But would access, coverage, quality and efficiency of CSO service delivery be improved by closer partnership with the state?

Findings include:

• Improved co-ordination between state and CSO provision would reduce duplication and improve the effectiveness of CSO services if brought within national policy frameworks.
• Increased direct funding of CSOs by donors has reduced the accountability of CSOs either to their beneficiaries or to the state.
• Working more closely within national policy frameworks would improve accountability of CSOs to the state.
• Scaling up involvement in service delivery has limited some organisations’ ability to advocate on behalf of marginalised groups or to offer alternatives to development policy.

A key challenge for CSOs, the report suggests, is to move from simply providing services to meet people’s needs (needs-based approach) to seeking to strengthen people’s ability to demand such services from the state (rights-based approach). Suggested policy areas for further work include:

• Evaluating CSOs’ role and performance in service provision by international agencies would provide empirical evidence for what has largely been an ideologically based policy.
• Careful study by public authorities of the potential outcomes of contracting CSOs as service providers to avoid unintended negative consequences.
• Government support of pilot efforts by CSOs and joint ventures between CSOs and state service providers to develop alternative, perhaps more appropriate, forms of service delivery.
• Co-operation between governments signing up to the United Nations Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and CSOs to promote awareness among disadvantaged populations of their right to adequate services may foster social and legal action that could improve state accountability in delivering basic services.

Source(s):
‘Civil Society Organisations and Service Provision’, by Andrew Clayton, Peter Oakley, Jon Taylor, UNRISD Programme on Civil Society and Social Movements, Programme Paper #2, (October 2000) Full document.

id21 Research Highlight: 5 June 2001

Further Information:
Peter Oakley
INTRAC
International NGO Training and Research Centre (INTRAC)
PO Box 563
Oxford OX2 6RZ
UK

Tel: +44 (0) 1865 201851
Fax: +44 (0) 1865 201852
Contact the contributor: intrac@gn.apc.org

INTRAC, UK

Other related links:
CCS is dedicated to the study of civil society and social economy

The NGO and Civil Society Unit facilitates civil society involvement in development

IDS examines the interplay between civil society and governments internationally

CCSS seeks to encourage the development and effective operation of civil society organisations

ARNOVA is dedicated to research about nonprofit organisations