Roundtable 3: Enriching the Paris Declaration Democratic Ownership: Alignment, Co-operation and Harmonisation

Paris Declaration: a Starting Point Some sticky issues for CSOs –How “enrich” a Declaration that you would like to see redrafted? –Power imbalances & politics –Paris principles and the PRSPs

Accra: an opportunity No new commitments or targets, but… …an Accra Agenda for Action! AAA

Can the AAA broaden ownership? Democratic / local ownership means recognising the importance of… the private sector… …and paving the way for their participation in the policy process PARLIAMENT LOCAL GOVERNMENTS POLITICAL PARTIES GRASSROOTS ORGS WOMEN’S GROUPS CHURCHESTHINK TANKS FARMERS ASSOCIATIONS AND MANY MANY MORE

What democratic ownership implies Governments should: –improve transparency and access to information, especially around budgets & procurement –support CSO capacity to monitor the policy process (e.g. APRM in Ghana) –work with CSOs to develop alternative policy solutions, drawing on local knowledge “from the base”

What this means for alignment Donors (including CSOs!) should: reduce those conditions that stifle domestic policy space facilitate policies, not design them (e.g. Burundi; IFAD) support Southern CSOs in demanding democratic accountability

What this means for harmonisation All stakeholders (including CSOs) could coordinate better to reduce transaction costs… …but not only around national plans and PRSPs Multi-stakeholder co-ordination works best when it’s sector-specific (e.g. EFA-FTI) and decentralised.

Better monitoring post-Accra? New indicators of democratic ownership? –Quality of participation –Transparency –Use of conditions CSO involvement in monitoring –“Not just the Bank”

Towards HLF-IV “Partner countries commit to take the lead in coordinating aid … in dialogue with donors and encouraging the participation of civil society and the private sector” Paris Declaration 2005 ENSURING BEIJING2010

MERCI ! THANK YOU !