What is Development Effectiveness?
What is Development Effectiveness?
What is the relationship between Aid Effectiveness and Development Effectiveness?
BCCIC recently participated at a national Forum on Civil Society Development Effectiveness hosted by the Canadian Council for International Cooperation. I wanted to share some of my thoughts on the current events on the global scene. This is especially relevant as we start our new three year program - and yes, BCCIC has received funding for 2011-2014 from CIDA. We hosted a memberhsip meeting and our first lunch and learn and I wanted to share the discussion and documents presented with all of you.
In the last five years, governments, official donors, and civil society organizations have been attempting to define how to improve the impact and quality of development processes globally. Country governments and donors have signed on to “The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness” (March 2005) and “The Accra Agenda for Action” ( AAA) (September 2008). Civil society organizations were recognized in the AAA and there was a commitment ‘to work with CSOs to provide an enabling environment that maximizes their contributions to development’.
CSOs are broadly defined as “… all non-market and non-state organizations in which people organize themselves to pursue shared interests in the public domain” (A Draft International Framework for CSO Development Effectiveness- Version 2, November 2010). During this same time period, CSOs have been participating in their own process called “The Open Forum on CSO Development Effectiveness”. This is a global and participatory process to determine principles that define and guide development practice. More than 2000 CSOs in 65 countries have participated in national or sectoral consultations. The outcome from this process has been the consensus in Istanbul on September 2010 where 170 CSO representatives from 82 countries agreed on eight Istanbul Principles for CSO Development Effectiveness.
The principles are statements of values and qualities that should inform CSO socio-economic, political, and organizational relationships. They are universal points of reference. The principles are articulated in the documents attached. The following is a summary version:
- Respect and promote human rights and social justice
- Embody gender equality and equity while promoting women and girl’s rights
- Focus on people’s empowerment, democratic ownership and participation
- Promote Environmental Sustainability
- Practice transparency and accountability
- Pursue equitable partnerships and solidarity
- Create and share knowledge and commit to mutual learning
- Commit to realizing positive sustainable change
The documentation notes that these principles are not new, they are “the expression of decades of experience by hundreds of CSOs …” The Open Forum is a process that seeks to deepen the understanding of existing tools. Towards this end, The International Framework for CSO Development Effectiveness documents the principles, guidelines and indicators on each of the eight principles.
What is the role of Canadian CSOs?
The Canadian Council for International Cooperation held consultations with NGOs across the country and hosted a Canadian Forum on May 26th. A resolution was passed by the organizations in attendance: “We as members of Canadian civil society engaged in International development, meeting under the auspices of the CCIC, resolve to adopt the Istanbul CSO Development Effectiveness Principles. We do so with a view to implementing and strengthening existing Canadian accountability mechanisms, including the CCIC Code of Ethics and Operational Standards, and to pursuing ongoing, voluntary efforts to implement these Principles within our own context-specific environments”.
The Canadian government has participated through representation by CIDA with Real Lavergne and Jacqueline Wood on ‘the Advisory Group on Civil Society and Aid Effectiveness”. They have prepared a reference document that illustrates examples of good practice taken from real world experience and is based on case studies. The paper aims to guide implementation of commitments in the Accra Agenda for Action which include specific references to citizen or civil society engagement in development processes. The work of several Canadian NGOs is highlighted in the section on CSO Partnerships where the work of Uniterra and CCIC’s Code of Ethics and Partnership Principles are described (see pages 69, 72). This document may be viewed at:http://www.ccic.ca/_files/en/what_we_do/aid_consult_group_2009-08_cso_experience_good_practice_e.pdf)
The CCIC website lists a number of documents on the Istanbul Meeting. I would strongly recommend you view: (http://www.ccic.ca/what_we_do/osc_e.php)
· Open Forum Country and Sectoral Consultations: A Synthesis of Outcomes by Brian Tomlinson and rose Wanjiru, September, 2010
· Civil Society and Aid Effectiveness Exploration of Experience and Good Practice, by Real Lavergne and Jacqueline Wood, August 31, 2009
These principles may make a significant contribution in informing our work here in Canada and with your partners in the South. We would like to hear from you on how you view the Istanbul Principles. Please share your experience through our workshops or on-line presence. We have some exciting new programming opportunities including an exciting series of learning circles. Let me know how we can do this. Please email: shams@bccic.ca
