Better Aid Civil Society And Aid Effectiveness Findings Recommendations And Good Practice

This book is a resource for implementing the recommendations on civil society and aid effectiveness emerging from the Accra High Level Forum and its preparatory process.

This book is a resource for implementing the recommendations on civil society and aid effectiveness emerging from the Accra High Level Forum and its preparatory process.

'This book is valuable for and beyond the international development industry. It deftly leads a non-specialist through the maze of ideas and arguments plaguing the concept of civil society, and critically examines how and what happens, when the international aid system tries to turn confusing and complex political theory into effective development policy and practice fitting the individual preconditions and historical trajectories of the worlds varied nations. The comparative evidence, analysis and recommendations on offer are essential reading for anyone attempting to understand or ''build'' someone else's - as well as their own - civil society, especially when justifying the use of tax payers' money to do so.' ALAN FOWLER, CO-FOUNDER, INTRAC 'This book will be really useful to numerous readers, 011 a subject becoming ever more topical in the world of development and beyond. It puts order into the deeply confused debate about civil society, describes what the aid donors are doing to pursue their new goals, offers four penetrating case studies, and concludes with sensible suggestions for future policy. The authors have made a practical and lucid assessment of the huge civil society literature; they have also contributed valuably to it, and deserve to he listened to.' PROFESSOR ROBERT CASSEN, LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS Northern governments and NGOs are increasingly convinced that civil society will enable people in developing countries to escape the poverty trap. Civil Society and the Aid Industry, the product of extensive research by the prestigious North-South Institute in Canada, makes a critical appraisal of this new emphasis in the aid industry. It explores the roles of Northern governmental, multilateral and non-governmental agencies in supporting civil society, presenting in-depth case studies of projects in Peru, Kenya, Sri Lanka and Hungary, and gives detailed policy recommendations intended to improve the effectiveness and appropriateness of future projects. Originally published in 1998

Designed to strengthen and deepen implementation of the Paris Declaration, the Accra Agenda for Action (AAA) takes stock of progress and sets the agenda for accelerated advancement towards improving the quality and impact of aid.

The increased focus on aid effectiveness has led to a growing interest in how to make the work of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) more effective. There is a growing demand for more knowledge on the results of CSO work beyond the achievement of individual organizations, towards the collective contribution of civil society to development. This evaluation was commissioned to gain a better understanding of how CSOs engage in policy dialogue, identify the enabling and disabling factors affecting the ability of CSOs to play an effective role in policy dialogue, and provide recommendations on how donors can best support them in their work.

Developing countries want to join in the globalisation process. However, the increasing complexity of global markets, the new challenges of the multilateral trading system and the competing demands of regional, bilateral and multilateral trade agreemen

There is growing recognition of the need for new approaches to the ways in which donors support accountability, but no broad agreement on what changed practice looks like. This publication aims to provide more clarity on the emerging practice.

Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) can make a vital contribution to public health and health systems but harnessing their potential is complex in a Europe where government-CSO relations vary so profoundly. This study is intended to outline some of the challenges and assist policy-makers in furthering their understanding of the part CSOs can play in tandem and alongside government. To this end it analyses existing evidence and draws on a set of seven thematic chapters and six mini case studies. They examine experiences from Austria Bosnia-Herzegovina Belgium Cyprus Finland Germany Malta the Netherlands Poland the Russian Federation Slovenia Turkey and the European Union and make use of a single assessment framework to understand the diverse contexts in which CSOs operate. The evidence shows that CSOs are ubiquitous varied and beneficial and the topics covered in this study reflect such diversity of aims and means: anti-tobacco advocacy food banks refugee health HIV/AIDS prevention and cure and social partnership. CSOs make a substantial contribution to public health and health systems with regards to policy development service delivery and governance. This includes evidence provision advocacy mobilization consensus building provision of medical services and of services related to the social determinants of health standard setting self-regulation and fostering social partnership. However in order to engage successfully with CSOs governments do need to make use of adequate tools and create contexts conducive to collaboration. To guide policy-makers working with CSOs through such complications and help avoid some potential pitfalls the book outlines a practical framework for such collaboration. This suggests identifying key CSOs in a given area; clarifying why there should be engagement with civil society; being realistic as to what CSOs can or will achieve; and an understanding of how CSOs can be helped to deliver.