CSA: an Unauthorized French View

1. CSA: an Unauthorized French View François GAULME AFD-Direction de la Stratégie PRS/CMO Washington CSA Conference . 18/05/2006

2. I. Minding the French context: Progress and Some Road Ahead • No compulsory social assesment yet into the project cycle. • Harmonisation process bringing fresh air into the French system. • At every level, an obvious capacity gap (and math elitism). • A changing relationship between Foreign Affairs-DGCID and AFD. On the whole, France beingat the crossroads.

3. Talleyrand vs Jefferson: cautious social behaviour against rational politics. • The Rouch and Balandier era: CSA at the time of late colonialism. • The modern way: no more than acccepted wisdom among practitioners and technical excellence mixed with insiders’ information for producing a CSA by proxy.

4. II. Learning from experience:The Case with Sao Tome • Reform in the 90s: political succes vs social and economic shortcomings. • Two deceptive programmes: agriculture and micro-credit. • Behind limits in outcomes, a deep lack of CSA as a preliminary stage for action. • Shortness in warning: the costs and capacity issue.

5. III. Coping with Risk: A Few Points • Do it on an early stage…yes, but what early stage, while a new holistic approach would overlap with former sectorial/technical projects templates (cotton in Afghanistan, ASS)? • The time constraint: urgency of policy decision vs CSA pace and methods (introducing VAT in Niger). • The organisational issue: the delicate matter of development mingling with diplomacy. • Collecting and publishing: never miss the dark side of the force (the informal, the unspoken, secrecy).

6. Conclusion • CSA being paramount. • Has to be completed by a Regional Social Analysis (RSA). • In worst cases, huge constraints again as to carry on or implement on time. • No prospect for C/ RSA outside including genuine local ownership, which means both willingness and capacity.