FINANCING CIVIL SOCIETY Micro Lessons and Macro Issues

Community Driven Development What are the donor incentives? Does this approach lend itself to local lending schemes? What are the current mechanisms that are employed to partner with local organizations? How are these donor defined and designed?

Local Level Financing of CSOs Does it exist and under what terms and conditions? What have we learned from Community Lending schemes (VIDCOs etc) Municipal and Provincial finance mechanisms (Malawi, Ghana, Zambia Social Investment Fund/ District Incentive Fund) Municipal Investment Plans

Co-Production, Accountability and the Enabling Environment The role of the local government and CSOs or CBOs Decentralization and its relationship to the state (Zimbabwe, Angola, Sierra Leone vs. Senegal, South Africa, Mozambique etc.) Macro constraints are real and matter all the way to the “roots”

Where do we fund local organizations directly? Very few examples within USAID Few Missions provide direct assistance to local groups (OMB-133) Building standards for capacity and organizational change Enabling the environment for CSOs Civil Society and its changing role (Hamas, SPLM, Tajikistan)

International NGOs, Donors and the Locals Methodologies, mechanisms, subcontracts and accountability Building systems and organizational viability - sustainability may not be realistic or needed Deconflicting local level competition over resources and space Locating the “local” - transitional governments/ power systems (Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Sudan)

Donors and Clients Donor and client relationships are critical Donor harmonization is not just a “nice term” but an operational mandate that should also have lines of authority and accountability Mechanisms and monitoring of these matter to partners

Principles of Aid Effectiveness Coordination of donor assistance and transparency on the local level Use local mechanisms, resources, materials, and capabilities Be creative where there are no public expenditure systems, but not at the expense of their creation or necessity

Recommendations Revive social accountability mechanisms Donors must create common methods, mechanisms, and monitor these impacts in context M&E must be dispassionate to help reconcile differences in methods and mechanisms Engage locally - move beyond PRA

Recommendations cont… Create meaningful local partnerships, that move beyond borders (yield local to find skills) Organizational Development before Project Implementation - Who pays? Marry the technical capacity with the absorptive capacity Create real conditions based on an understanding of the context, national systems, and municipal mechanisms