cso development effectiveness & istanbul principles session on transparency & accountability...

CSO Development Effectiveness& Istanbul Principles

Session on Transparency & Accountability and Partnership

CPDE Workshop in Nairobi, 13-14 December 2015Daniel Svoboda, FoRS, Czech Republic

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.

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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.

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CSO Development EffectivenessThe agreed Istanbul Principles are as follows:1. Respect and promote human rights and social justice2. Embody gender equality and equity while promoting women

and girl’s rights3. Focus on people’s empowerment, democratic ownership and

participation4. Promote environmental sustainability5. Practice transparency and accountability6. Pursue equitable partnerships and solidarity7. Create and share knowledge and commit to mutual learning8. Commit to realizing positive sustainable change

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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…

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http://www.csopartnership.org/cso-de-survey-page1/

CSO Development EffectivenessPrinciple 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

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CSO Development EffectivenessPrinciple 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


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CSO Development EffectivenessPrinciple 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


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CSO Development EffectivenessPrinciple 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 issuesNot at all – In a limited extent – In a fair extent – Mostly – Fully

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CSO Development EffectivenessPrinciple 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 stakeholdersNot at all – In a limited extent – In a fair extent – Mostly – Fully

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CSO Development EffectivenessPrinciple 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 bordersNot at all – In a limited extent – In a fair extent – Mostly – Fully

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CSO Development EffectivenessPrinciple 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


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CSO Development EffectivenessPrinciple 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 problemsNot at all – In a limited extent – In a fair extent – Mostly – Fully

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FoRS – Czech Forum for Development Cooperation

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

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FoRS Code on EffectivenessFoRS 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

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FoRS Code on Effectiveness2. 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.

FoRS Code on Effectiveness2. 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)

FoRS Code on Effectiveness3. 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.

FoRS Code on Effectiveness3. 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)

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.

FoRS Code on EffectivenessSelf-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

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FoRS Code on EffectivenessGood 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

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FoRS Code on EffectivenessChallenges 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

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FoRS Code on EffectivenessLessons 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

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FoRS Code on EffectivenessGood 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…)

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FoRS Code on EffectivenessChallenges 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)

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FoRS Code on EffectivenessLessons 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)

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Peer LearningThe 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)

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Example – BOND Transparency Review

1. Transparency policy 1.1 Open information policy1.2 Scope of exclusions from open information policy

2. Organization information2.1 Mission, values and affiliations2.2 Organizational strategy2.3 Contact information2.4 Partners 0 = weak practice 1 = minimum acceptable practice 2 = good practice 3 = best practice

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Example – BOND Transparency Review

3. Governance and finance3.1 Board/trustees3.2 Directors/senior staff3.3 Annual audited accounts3.4 Sources of funding

4. Activities and results4.1 Scope and breadth of information on activities4.2 Quality and depth of information on activities4.3 Scope and breadth of information on results and evaluations

https://www.bond.org.uk/data/files/publications/Transparency_Review_250215.pdf

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Group exercisePlease 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.

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Can similar commitments and peer exchanges of all other development actors contribute to more effective development?

Thank you for your attention!

Daniel Svoboda: [email protected]

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cso development effectiveness & istanbul principles session on transparency & accountability...

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