CSO Engagement in Governance and the MDG Framework

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CSO Engagement in Governance and the MDG
Framework

• Geoffrey D. Prewitt
• Poverty Reduction and Civil Society Advisor
• CoP Event
• Bishkek - November, 2006

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(No Transcript)
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Outline of Presentation

• Trends
• State/Citizen Relations Manifestations
• Contributions of CSO to Democratic Governance
• Contributions of CSOs to the MDGs
• Challenges to Overcome
• Recommendations
• Remaining Questions

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Discernable Trends

• Growth in numbers
• For examples, a recent study of 26 countries
  (undertaken by John Hopkins University),
  nonprofit organizations as of the mid-1990s
  accounted for 1.2 trillion in expenditures and
  31 million full-time equivalent workers.
• GONGOs and BONGOs?
• Donor Frenzy and Aid Dependent
• Massive influx of resources
• Survival of the Fittest?

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Discernable Trends (cont.)

• Changing Political and Social Landscape
• Public sector has shrunk in size and more frugal
  spending in social services
• Global movements of solidarity (i.e. Jubilee
  2000)
• Shaping national and local agenda (i.e.
  National Development Strategies)
• Inconsistent and Heterogeneous
• Very uneven playing field from the Netherlands to
  Belarus

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State/Citizen Interaction (Manor, James. Civil
Society and Governance A Concept Paper. IDS.
1999)

• Laissez-faire approach
• Combinations of conflictive and harmonic
  relationships
• Repression of all manifestations of citizens
  organized interest
• Co-optation approach
• Patronage approach
• Proactive engagement

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Contributions of CSOs to Democratic Governance

• Empirical Evidence
• Robert Putnams work
• Freedom House Study a strong and cohesive
  nonviolent civic coalition is the most important
  factor contributing to freedom
• Selected Examples of Universal Engagement
• Contribute to public policy and decision-making
• Transparency and information dissemination
• Shaping, financing, and delivering social (and
  other) services
• Advocacy and protective role

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Benefits of CSO involvement to national
development/MDGs

• Adapting the MDGs to the local context and issues
  of ownership
• Poverty focused initiatives and policies
• Calling for additional resources
• Information, data disaggregated, and analysis
• Improved service delivery
• Promotion of Tolerance and Legitimacy

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Benefits (continued)

• Awareness raising and media involvement
• Local-Global linkages
• Improving the quality and effectiveness
• A touch of realism

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Challenges to Overcome

• Capacity
• Representation and Public Image
• Lack of Coalitions or Networks
• Non-conducive Environments
• Financial (and other forms of) Viability

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Recommendations for UNDP COs

• Promote New Strategies for Relations between the
  State and CSOs
• Recommendation One Develop New Strategies for
  Interaction
• Recommendation Two Establish Policy Documents
  on Cooperation
• Recommendation Three - Improve the Legal
  Environment

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Recommendations for Government Officials
(continued)

• Stronger Investment in Social Welfare and
  Delivery
• Recommendation One Demonstrate the Benefit
• Recommendation Two Establish Contractual
  Arrangements
• Recommendation Three Support Citizens to Assess
  the Benefits

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Recommendations for Government Officials
(continued)

• Financial Sustainability, Improved Governance,
  Managerial Capacity and Other Pre-requisites for
  a Healthy CSO community
• Recommendation One Encourage CSOs to start at
  home
• Recommendation Two Consider Alternative
  Financing Strategies
• Recommendation Three Strengthen Capacity and
  Encourage Networking

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Remaining Questions

• Consultation, Implementation, and Monitoring
• Are MDG consultative processes ensured to be
  inclusive and representative? Are Government
  officials willing to allow CSOs to monitor the
  effects of social and economic policies,
  including poverty reduction policies?
• Will maximum use be made of CSO inputs to MDG
  consultation processes and implementation
  activities by permitting their influence on a
  number of policy processes?
• State/Citizen Relations
• What might be the reaction of national and local
  authorities to efforts to promote CSO engagement
  in the socio-economic and MDG processes? Are the
  institutional, legal, and regulatory frameworks
  in place?
• What are the social, political, and cultural
  factors within the country or region which could
  influence peoples participation?
• What are the political orientations and
  activities of different CSOs? Are they
  adversarial or cooperative?
• Civil Society Capacity and Involvement
• What kinds of strategies appear to be most
  effective at promoting high rates and standards
  of civic engagement in achieving the MDGs?
• Do CSOs have the appropriate skill-sets (i.e.
  economic literacy) to make for suitable partners
  in the policy process and to contribute to the
  MDGs?

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• No shift in the way we think or act can be more
  critical than this we must put people at the
  centre of everything we do.
• Kofi Annan, Millennium Report