Civic Engagement in Africa

1. Civic Engagement in Africa Jalal Abdel-Latif UN Economic Commission for Africa GPADCi/vil Society Section GSI UK, 2 December 2009

2. War and Peace • Fragile and collapsed states • Post conflict reconstruction • Civic engagement in R % R • Stable but in transition • Role of authorities • Rules and regulations • Terms of Engagement • Development policy making

3. Forces Shaping the Sector in Africa • Enabling Environment: legal identity • Socio Poli-Econ Context: Stable vs. fragile states • Aid flow: effectiveness & expectations • Emerging governance trends • Transitions, disclosures, access to information • Responsiveness & Volunteerism

4. CSOs and Public Policy • Growth of nonprofit organizations as service providers in developed market economies • Vehicles of developmental and humanitarian operations in developing countries • Intermediaries for good governance in transitional democracies • Primary contractors in post conflict R & R settings • Instruments of government reform in former command economies • Make the central to the public policy agenda

5. Voice & Empowerment • Whose Voice? • Vehicles, intermediaries, coalitions, alliances • Empowering who? • Representation • Legitimacy • Credibility

6. CSO Roles • CSOs play different roles in conflict-affected and fragile states than in other countries. • When public services have broken down due to conflict or a weak public sector, NGOs, religious groups, and other CSOs become more important providers of basic social services. • Communities deprived of basic services too may attach lower priority to advocacy and governance efforts.

7. CSO Governance Function • First, they improve governance from the bottom-up by creating partnerships between CBOs and local governments. • Second, CSOs introduce more participatory approaches to community-level decision-making. • Third, CSOs can play a stabilizing and mediating role in reducing conflict.

8. Opportunities & Challenges • Expanding civic and citizenry space: Engagement • Increasing Aid flow: Responding to service delivery • Donor grant management changing: • Seeking info, data, knowledge • I4M: Critical • ECA serving as the vehicle

9. Impact for Money? • Common concern (Shift in aid flow) • Source of tension (Polarization) • Lack of available tools & techniques (measurement)) • Increased scrutiny by the legislative (Oversight) • Additives are more than Multilateral transfers (Understated social investment)

10. CSO Typology • Orientation: Secular vs. Faith based • Legal Status: Formal vs. informal • Local vs. International • Governance vs. service delivery • Membership based vs. non-membership • Self-help and mutual associations • Support Organizations

11. African CSO networks • Geographic • Sector-focused • Issue based • Passive • Active

12. Principles • Collaboration and transparency • Coalitions with demonstrated reasonable level of alliance building • Have greater potential for leveraging partnership • E-readiness: Data & Information exchange & capacity building • Focus on electronic information networks, raise their capacity to use modern information technologies, and engage in international development partners • Direction: Country – Sub regional - Continental