Press Release - DFID: working with non-governmental
organisations and other civil society organisations to promote
development
6 July 2006
The Department for International Development works well with
civil society organisations (CSOs) to help some of the world’s
poorest people, according to today’s National Audit Office report.
But the department needs better information on the effectiveness of
CSOs in developing countries, and on the impact of its assistance,
if it is to ensure aid is used as cost-effectively as possible.
Since 1997, DFID has doubled its funding for CSOs and, in
2004-05, spent £328 million supporting many bodies, both UK-based
organisations and those in developing countries. DFID sees CSOs as
important partners in virtually all the countries in which it
operates, and has a good understanding of the important role which
CSOs can play. Some of DFID’s in-country offices have developed
specific strategies for working with CSOs, although the depth of
analysis of CSOs’ capacity to help tackle poverty is limited, and
doesn’t always provide a sufficient baseline for monitoring
progress.
DFID-supported projects carried out by CSOs in developing
countries have made a positive difference to peoples’ lives in a
range of ways: improving access to basic services such as water and
education, providing humanitarian assistance, protecting human
rights, and increasing the accountability of governments to their
citizens by giving marginalised groups a voice. DFID assessed that
80 percent of the projects reviewed had largely met their
objectives.
Measuring the outcomes of donor support is challenging. Even so,
DFID needs to improve in this area, particularly in respect of its
strategic partnerships and for projects which help build CSO
capacity. All DFID’s projects and funding agreements reviewed had
established objectives, but only half of projects had indicators
which were sufficiently robust for fully tracking progress. More
generally, there was not enough information on, for example, unit
costs or baseline data, to help assess the extent of value for
money achieved.
DFID operates a range of schemes supporting CSOs. These schemes
have a variety of purposes and have evolved over time. While the
department monitors expenditure and results through each funding
scheme, performance information to assess the circumstances in
which each scheme would be most appropriate, or to evaluate the
overall cost effectiveness of the different types of scheme, is
limited. For the Civil Society Challenge Fund, for example, DFID
measures the success of individual projects under the scheme but
does not currently have adequate mechanisms for assessing
performance against the scheme’s wider objectives.
Today's report highlights DFID's constructive engagement with an
increasingly wide range of Civil Society Organisations in the UK
and in developing countries. Its range of approaches has encouraged
innovation as well as delivering direct benefits on the ground. The
report recognises the popularity of the Partnership Programme
Agreements, which offer greater continuity of funding and increased
flexibility. It goes on to recommend that DFID work with other
donors to improve assessment of the capacity of CSOs to effect
change in a developing country. DFID should also develop better
measures of what its funding of CSOs achieves to help assess value
for money.
Sir John Bourn, head of the NAO, said
today:
"Civil Society Organisations play an important role in
many developing countries, helping people get their voice heard and
securing basic necessities and rights. The Department for
International Development has achieved positive impacts at a
project level, but more robust assessment and monitoring needs to
be in place to ensure cost effective, strategic and sustainable
benefits for the poorest people around the world."
Notes for Editors
- Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) are bodies which are
independent of state or the private sector, and are grouped around
shared interests or values. This includes non-governmental
organisations (NGOs), trade unions and faith groups.
- Press notices and reports are available from the date of
publication on the NAO website, which is at www.nao.org.uk. Hard
copies can be obtained from The Stationery Office on 0845 702
3474.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir John Bourn, is the
head of the National Audit Office which employs some 800 staff. He
and the NAO are totally independent of Government. He certifies the
accounts of all Government departments and a wide range of other
public sector bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to
Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which
departments and other bodies have used their resources.
Press Notice 50/06
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