Identity, role and values of CSOs

1
Identity, role and values of CSOs

• Antonio Tujan
• IBON Foundation
• Reality of Aid

2
Role of CSOs

• Role and responsibility of csos as development
  actors
• The role of civil society as a pillar of good
  governance
• Its role in providing effective delivery of
  development programs and operations
• Its role in the social empowerment of particular
  groups and the realization of human rights.
  Social transformation
• As donors, as channels of assistance and as
  grassroots actors as watchdogs

3

• BUT WHAT DISTINGUISHES CSOS FROM GOVERNMENTS AND
  DONORS?
• WHY SHOULD THE AID EFFECTIVENESS AND PARIS
  PRINCIPLES APPLY TO CSOS IN A DIFFERENT WAY?
• WHY ARE CSOS CRUCIAL TO THE SUCCESS OF THE PARIS
  PROCESS?

4
Who are CSOs?

• all non-market and non-state organizations and
  structures in which people organize to pursue
  shared objectives and ideals
• Social solidarity as fundamental character of
  CSOs whether defined in various parameters,
  dimensions, concerns or divisions
• Obvious in sectoral, thematic, issue-oriented,
  development csos
• Addresses desired values of social
  responsibility, humanitarianism, volunteerism
• Different dimensions of social solidarity
• How to look at bringos, mongos, bongos, rongos
• This should not be the basis to recognize or
  classify CSOs origin, vested interest and
  performance

5
Who are CSOs?

• General categories of CSOs
• Membership based CSOs
• Cause oriented CSOs
• Various forms and objectives
• Service oriented CSOs
• What defines service?
• Who are targets and beneficiaries?

6
Who are CSOs?

• Commonly held CSOs as essential feature of
  democracy as expression of peoples organized
  action in the public sphere or civil society as
  space
• Solidarity implies diversity and multiplicity,
  expression of diversity of peoples and their
  concerns
• not just tolerated but promoted and defended
  coherence in csos as either paternalistic,
  orwellian or plain uninformed

7
CSOs and democracy

• Civil society as social space for citizen
  participation essential in the functioning of
  democracy
• Civil society as one of key pillars (executive,
  legislature, judiciary and media)
• Solidarity comingle with governance in public
  space this essential feature of democracy as
  citizens/people act in the public interest as
  expression of solidarity as an essential
  interactor with governance, in the process honing
  and creating healthy governance mechanisms and
  practices
• Criticism of csos vs govt as self appointed
  does not understand democratic governance and
  essential role csos play in operationalizing
  democracy

8
Role of CSOs in empowerment

• Perspective from developing countries where
  democracy is not assumed role of csos such as
  peoples movements and social movements in
  building democracy and realizing human rights
  and honing governance through interaction
• Address exclusion - social empowerment of
  particular classes of society, such as the poor
  and dispossessed, women, ethnic groups, or other
  groups
• Democratic ownership and local ownership

9
Role of CSOs in delivery of services and
development programs

• CSOs commonly recognized as auxiliary providers
  of services mobilization of private funds,
  channels of public funds
• But their role as pillar of democracy and social
  empowerment and fundamental responsibility in
  social solidarity is the reason why CSOs actually
  have a distinct role in implementation of
  development programs and in development advocacy
  as a whole

10
Role of CSOs in delivery of services and
development programs

• Varied roles and values principally in promotion
  of human rights and empowered development in
  development policy advocacy and in the actual
  implementation of development projects
• Role in monitoring and ensuring accountability to
  the people by government and donors in ODA and
  specific projects and programs

11
CSOs as part of aid architecture

• 1. Important donors on their own right
• Quantity -Some foundations emerging as
  influential development actors
• Quality rights based approaches to development
• 2. Important channels of development aid
• 3. Key contributions in development assistance
  process
• Monitoring and accountability
• Policy dialogue
• Grassroots participation