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CSO Development Effectiveness & Istanbul Principles

CSO Development Effectiveness & Istanbul Principles Session on Transparency & Accountability and Partnership CPDE Workshop in Nairobi, 13-14 December 2015 Daniel Svoboda, FoRS, Czech Republic. CSO Development Effectiveness.

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CSO Development Effectiveness & Istanbul Principles

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  1. CSO Development Effectiveness & Istanbul Principles Session on Transparency & Accountability and Partnership CPDE Workshop in Nairobi, 13-14 December 2015 Daniel Svoboda, FoRS, Czech Republic

  2. CSO Development Effectiveness Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have recognized the challenges of the Paris Declaration and launched their Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness. Through bottom-up multidimensional and multi-actors consultations, they were able to reach a consensus on framework principles of development effectiveness but they also agreed that no development actor can reach the development impact alone.

  3. CSO Development Effectiveness In parallel with the Open Forum, a process of BetterAid continued in advocacy work in order to create, defend and enlarge a space for CSOs in development architecture. Both processes of the Open Forum and BetterAid merged into a global platform CPDE – CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness. This platform is built on two pillars: CSO Development Effectiveness & Enabling Environment Both pillars need mutual capacity building and intensive cooperation among all development actors.

  4. CSO Development Effectiveness The agreed Istanbul Principles are as follows: 1. Respect and promote human rights and social justice 2. Embody gender equality and equity while promoting women and girl’s rights 3. Focus on people’s empowerment, democratic ownership and participation 4. Promote environmental sustainability 5. Practice transparency and accountability 6. Pursue equitable partnerships and solidarity 7. Create and share knowledge and commit to mutual learning 8. Commit to realizing positive sustainable change

  5. CSO Development Effectiveness The CPDE prepared an Organizational Self-evaluation Form on the Implementation of the Istanbul Principles for CSO Development Effectiveness: http://www.csopartnership.org/cso-de-survey-page1/ The survey sets 4 indicators for each Istanbul Principle and provides a space for sharing good examples, challenges, and lessons learned. After piloting the survey, the indicators should be adjusted…

  6. CSO Development Effectiveness Principle 1: Respect and promote human rights and social justice • Our organization explicitly specifies the principles of human rights and social justice in our organizational purpose and/or vision-mission statement • Our organization refers to human rights and social justice in our reports and other documents • Our organization provides a human rights education program for our staff, constituents or partners • Human rights based approach to development is central and is practiced consistently within all our projects and programs, including partnership relationships Not at all – In a limited extent – In a fair extent – Mostly – Fully

  7. CSO Development Effectiveness Principle 2: Embody gender equality and equity while promoting women and girls’ rights • Our organization explicitly specifies the principles of gender equality and/or empowerment of women in our organizational purpose and/or vision-mission statement • The decision-making functions and governance structure are accessible and equitable to all genders • The staff and members of our organization adhere to the principles of gender equality and non-discrimination • Our projects and programs support and advocate for gender equality and the empowerment of women Not at all – In a limited extent – In a fair extent – Mostly – Fully

  8. CSO Development Effectiveness Principle 3: Focus on people’s empowerment, democratic ownership and participation • Our beneficiaries and partners participate as decision-makers in designing, implementation and evaluation of our programs and projects • Our organization assesses the impact of our projects and programs in relation to the expressed interests of most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in the society • Our projects and programs are geared towards empowering people, in particular vulnerable and disadvantaged people, to express their concerns and claim their rights • Our organization advocates for promoting democratic ownership and inclusive participation also by other development actors Not at all – In a limited extent – In a fair extent – Mostly – Fully

  9. CSO Development Effectiveness Principle 4: Promote environmental sustainability • Our staff and members are familiar with and promote the principles of sustainable development in our projects and programs • Our organization applies environmentally sustainable approaches within our operations (reduced use of resources, separation and/or recycling of wastes, less energy consumption, etc.) • Environmental impact is considered in designing, implementation and evaluation of all our projects and programs, and management systems • Our organization is directly engaged in projects, programs or dissemination events focusing on environmental issues Not at all – In a limited extent – In a fair extent – Mostly – Fully

  10. CSO Development Effectiveness Principle 5: Practice transparency and accountability • Our organization has or has subscribed to a written code of conduct, a code of ethics and/or other accountability mechanism, and applies self-regulation mechanism • Our organization has transparent and efficient means of reporting to our constituencies, partners, donors and general public • Our organization has transparent and accessible management structure • Our organization has a clear feedback and complaints mechanism to respond concerns and recommendations from diverse stakeholders Not at all – In a limited extent – In a fair extent – Mostly – Fully

  11. CSO Development Effectiveness Principle 6: Pursue equitable partnerships and solidarity • Our projects and programs are based on grassroots knowledge and expressed needs and priorities of our beneficiaries and partners • Our organization prefers long-term partnerships, which could translate into more sustainable outcomes, and in some cases are institutionalized • Our organization shares all documents related to joint projects and programs with our partners • Our organization through our projects and programs directly supports creating partnerships and solidarity across sectors and geographical borders Not at all – In a limited extent – In a fair extent – Mostly – Fully Go to page 31

  12. CSO Development Effectiveness Principle 7: Create and share knowledge and commit to mutual learning • Our organization has strategies and procedures that assure mutual learning, consideration and application of grassroots knowledge and expertise in our projects and programs • Learning exchanges (trainings, peer-reviews, etc.) are incorporated within our practice and include our partners and beneficiaries • Staff and members of our organization are given trainings in local and international approaches to monitoring and evaluation • Information regarding our projects and programs, including evaluations and assessments of results and impacts, are easily accessible to the public as a reference for future projects and programs Not at all – In a limited extent – In a fair extent – Mostly – Fully

  13. CSO Development Effectiveness Principle 8: Commit to realizing positive sustainable change • Focus on sustainability and further dissemination is integral part of our projects and programs • Projects and programs of our organization consider realistic preconditions, emerging risks and assumptions, and identify the corresponding mitigating measures • Our organization uses indicators of outcomes and impacts of our projects and programs, and applies efficient system of their monitoring and evaluation • Our organization uses the results of monitoring and evaluation for improving future interventions and for solving the emerging problems Not at all – In a limited extent – In a fair extent – Mostly – Fully

  14. FoRS – Czech Forum for Development Cooperation Czech national NGO platform (established 2002), 45 members in 2015 Founding member of CONCORD – European NGO Confederation for Relief and Development in 2003 Associated member of the Czech Council for International Development Cooperation and of the Governmental Council for Sustainable Development Active member of the Open Forum for Development Effectiveness and of its successor platform CPDE Associated member of the Task Team on CSO Development Effectiveness and Enabling Environment

  15. FoRS Code on Effectiveness FoRS Code on Effectiveness agreed in 2011; it covers five key areas: • Grassroots knowledge (IP No. 3 – Ownership & Participation) • Transparency and accountability (= IP No. 5) • Partnership (IP No. 6 and 7 – Partnership & Mutual learning) • Respect to human rights and gender equality (= IP No. 1 and 2) • Accountability for impacts and their sustainability (IP No. 4 and 8 – Environmental sustainability & Commitment to sustainable change) Monitoring system: • 5 indicators for each principle • Annual self-assessment & compiled report for the FoRS Assembly • Sharing good practices & challenges / Peer-review / Peer learning

  16. FoRS Code on Effectiveness 2. Transparency and Accountability (Istanbul Principle No. 5) FoRS Members and observers are fully accountable for the outcomes and approaches of their work and they are ready to publish them. FoRS Members and observers have a transparent management structure and transparent way of financing their actions. They collaborate with their partners to prepare information about implemented projects, and this information is available and accessible to public to the extent as required.

  17. FoRS Code on Effectiveness 2. Transparency and Accountability – Indicators: • The information about activities and the sources of financing is on the website and in freely accessible annual reports • FoRS Members are prepared to put forth the results of realized audits and internal or external evaluations • FoRS Members have a transparent management structure and the contacts of executive staff are freely accessible to public • FoRS Members present truthful and unbiased information about activities, partners and target groups (key indicator) • FoRS Members refuse to use and tolerate corruption practices to obtain financial resources for their projects (key indicator)

  18. FoRS Code on Effectiveness 3. Partnership (Istanbul Principles No. 6 and 7) FoRS Members and observers share with their partners all information regarding joint goals and activities. Partnership is based on shared values and interests, mutual trust and shared accountability towards donors, private sponsors and target groups. FoRS Members and observers respect the diversity of partners´ opinions, attitudes and experiences and they make decisions on joint projects based on consensus.

  19. FoRS Code on Effectiveness 3. Partnership – Indicators • Partner organizations have access to all relevant documentation and reports of joint projects • FoRS Members enhance the mutual exchange of information on cooperation with other organizations active in the fields related to joint activities • Main principles of project and program cooperation are mutually agreed in partner agreements (written or oral) • Sharing of experiences and mutual capacity building is a part of partner projects and activities • Partner organizations prove in all their actions that they do not misuse collective information and know-how(key indicator)

  20. FoRS Code on Effectiveness … FoRS members commit to introduce the agreed principles in their work and to periodically evaluate application of the principles in development practice. The results of self-assessment will be available at FoRS Annual Assemblies. The list of organizations that submitted their evaluation will be available at the FoRS webpage. … A significant breach of the highlighted indicators can lead to cessation of membership in the platform. … All indicators are conceived to be measurable and answerable in categories “no – partially – mostly yes – completely yes”. … Members are encouraged to add information whether the organization strives for improvements, or any other comments.

  21. FoRS Code on Effectiveness Self-assessment results 2015: • 33 FoRS members and observers assessed their performance according to 25 indicators (approx. 72 % of the membership; increase by 9 members since 2014) • The overall results have been very positive: on average, 94 % of all answers have been “entirely yes” or “mostly yes” (91 % in 2014) • Better assessment in the principles Accountability for impacts and their sustainability, Respect to human rights and gender equality, and Partnership • 6 organizations participated in mutual peer-learning

  22. FoRS Code on Effectiveness Good practices related to Transparency (92 % of the answers „entirely yes“) and Accountability (40 % of all answers “entirely yes”, 46 % „mostly yes“): • We follow all transparency principles and we carry out regular project audits and both internal and external evaluations • We publish all annual reports (10 years) and information on both running and closed projects on our website, we also publish the problems we are facing • We closely cooperate with local NGOs • We participated already in 3 peer reviews (plus peer-review between FoRS and Austrian platform Global Responsibility) • We have agreed our Code on Ethics signed by all members

  23. FoRS Code on Effectiveness Challenges related to Transparency and Accountability: • Limited capacities and limited possibilities of co-financing • Governmental pressure on reducing personnel and expert costs • Not all our projects have external evaluations • Still missing English version of our website • We must consider the behavior issues in our partner countries • Insufficiently considered expected impacts of projects assessed in a participatory way; missing opinions of target groups/partners • We cannot accept non-transparent procedures of the Czech Official Development Assistance and we must find other sources of funding until new appraisal criteria for ODA are adopted

  24. FoRS Code on Effectiveness Lessons learned related to Transparency and Accountability: • Investing into proper preparation of project is reflected in evaluations • There are some dilemmas related to the amount of information to be published on our employees (including photos) – consensus is needed • We must strictly follow the security behavior rules in the partner country and avoid potential conflicts • Systemic changes need a long-term effort and iron nerves; but it is better to focus on enforcing these changes than compromising transparency and accountability principles

  25. FoRS Code on Effectiveness Good practices related to Equitable Partnership and Solidarity (65 % of all answers „entirely yes“): • Thanks to EC project we have new partners in Sweden and Denmark • We inform all members about important events via our Newsletter • We share all information and experience with our partners but we still emphasize project ownership by partners • Openness and sharing experience with all partners is enriching and it increases our (joint) know-how • We quote the sources of all published information • Sharing experience, mutual capacity building, and supporting partnerships within and across sectors belong to our key principles (see evaluation training EPDET, FoRS, CONCORD, CPDE, Task Team…)

  26. FoRS Code on Effectiveness Challenges related to Equitable Partnership and Solidarity: • Due to our limited capacities, partnership is key for us • Potential of 45 diverse members is still not fully used for mutual sharing and learning – due to capacities and competitiveness issues • Engagement of partners is limited due to time constraints • Regular communication with partners is sometimes an issue • The different systems sometimes complicate cooperation • Building barricades between CSOs and other actors, and left-wing positions at one side, and power-driven practices from the side of state institutions (but also missing decision-making competencies of some of our governmental partners)

  27. FoRS Code on Effectiveness Lessons learned related to Equitable Partnership and Solidarity: • System of cooperation with partners, including clear procedures and equitable approach, must be set since the very start • In case we use know-how of somebody else, we have to ask for permit and quote the sources • We must continue in eliminating barriers (in particular the mental ones); pragmatic and realistic solutions must be proposed instead of pure criticism • We must create new spaces for more intensive networking and we must collect and actively use the feedback from partners participating in our events (workshops, seminars, conferences)

  28. Peer Learning The Czech platform FoRS and the Austrian platform Global Responsibility piloted the Peer Learning System in January 2015: • The monitoring system on development effectiveness was tested on the FoRS Code on Effectiveness (FoRS applies annual self-assessment form plus system of peer-reviews / peer learning) • Both platforms shared the challenges regarding the work with members (information exchange, capacity building, joint advocacy, etc.) • Both platforms shared the successes in advocacy (e.g. Membership of FoRS in the Council on International Development Cooperation) • Both platforms discussed the enabling environment for CSOs (grant schemes, consultations, cooperation with other development actors)

  29. Example – BOND Transparency Review 1. Transparency policy 1.1 Open information policy 1.2 Scope of exclusions from open information policy 2. Organization information 2.1 Mission, values and affiliations 2.2 Organizational strategy 2.3 Contact information 2.4 Partners 0 = weak practice1 = minimum acceptable practice 2 = good practice3 = best practice 29

  30. Example – BOND Transparency Review 3. Governanceand finance 3.1 Board/trustees 3.2 Directors/senior staff 3.3 Annual audited accounts 3.4 Sources of funding 4. Activitiesand results 4.1 Scope and breadthof information on activities 4.2 Quality and depthof information on activities 4.3 Scope and breadth ofinformation on resultsand evaluations https://www.bond.org.uk/data/files/publications/Transparency_Review_250215.pdf 30

  31. Group exercise Please answer the CPDE survey questions for Istanbul Principles 5 & 6 (see slides 10 and 11): • Not at all – In a limited extent – In a fair extent – Mostly – Fully Please share with the group your concrete: • Good examples • Challenges and problems • Lessons learned Please share your concrete plans regarding Istanbul Principles after your return from this workshop.

  32. CSO Development Effectiveness Can similar commitments and peer exchanges of all other development actors contribute to more effective development? Thank you for your attention! Daniel Svoboda: svoboda@dww.cz

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