POLICY FOR DANISH SUPPORT TO CIVIL SOCIETY - June 2014

 
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POLICY FOR DANISH SUPPORT TO CIVIL SOCIETY - June 2014
POLICY FOR DANISH SUPPORT
TO CIVIL SOCIETY

June 2014
POLICY FOR DANISH SUPPORT TO CIVIL SOCIETY - June 2014
CONTENTS

FOREWORD                                                       3

INTRODUCTION                                                   4

OBJECTIVE AND TARGET GROUPS OF DANISH CIVIL SOCIETY SUPPORT    7

CURRENT GLOBAL CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES                   10

CIVIL SOCIETY AND DEVELOPMENT                                 14

MAIN ELEMENTS OF DANISH SUPPORT TO CIVIL SOCIETY ACTORS       17
PARTNERSHIPS                                                  18
CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT                                          21
ADVOCACY                                                      24
FRAGILE CONTEXTS                                              26

COOPERATION MODALITIES                                        29

POPULAR SUPPORT BASE AND INFORMATION ACTIVITIES               34

MONITORING AND REPORTING                                      36

Photo, front cover:
Mozambique – women’s meeting
POLICY FOR DANISH SUPPORT TO CIVIL SOCIETY - June 2014
FOREWORD

As a development partner, Denmark wishes to promote solidarity         This Policy introduces a number of new features in our approach
between people. Solidarity creates trust and hope for a better         to supporting civil society.
future. The work that civil society actors do all over the world is
an important expression of solidarity.                                 The Policy offers direction on support to civil society across all
                                                                       cooperation modalities with civil society, not only the support
Because civil society often represents the voice of rights-holders,    provided through Danish civil society organisations but all Danida
support to civil society is at the heart of the human rights-based     support whether at country level, through thematic programmes
approach to development cooperation. Civil society often plays         or through regional and multilateral organisations. The Policy will
a pivotal role in fighting for the basic human rights of poor and      inform policy dialogue at all levels.
excluded groups, and in building the capacity of these groups to
advocate for their rights. Participation, inclusion and an enabling    Denmark remains committed to supporting an independent,
environment for civil society action are key elements in the           diverse civil society through a wide range of cooperation
struggle for respect for human rights and poverty eradication.         ­modalities. This includes support to traditional civil society
                                                                        ­associations as well as new emerging civil society actors.
Danish support to civil society has been guided by the Strategy          Danish support to civil society will be adapted to the reality
for Danish Support to Civil Society from 2008. The Strategy was          on the ground and will include support to innovative modalities.
recently evaluated and while the evaluation did not recommend
substantial changes in the Danish support to civil society, it did     Denmark will continue to develop strategic partnerships with
point to some issues which must be further developed, if Denmark       Danish civil society actors who will be expected to innovate and
is to maintain, and make use of, the high level of credibility         demonstrate their added value to civil society in the global South
Denmark has achieved as a strong development partner for civil         in delivering development outcomes. Equal partnerships are
society.                                                               a prerequisite for this.

The evaluation gave three main recommendations: 1) Replace             Capacity development, advocacy and networking remain the
the Civil Society Strategy with a Civil Society Policy that supports   ‘pathways to change’ through which Denmark will support civil
Denmark’s development cooperation strategy, The Right to               society.
a Better Life; 2) Support Danish civil society organisations to
develop innovative, effective partnerships with Southern civil
society organisations that reflect the changing dynamics of            Mogens Jensen
civil society in developing countries; and 3) Maintain a mix           Minister for Trade and Development Cooperation
of funding windows to respond to the diversity of civil society
in developing countries.

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POLICY FOR DANISH SUPPORT TO CIVIL SOCIETY - June 2014
1
    INTRODUCTION
    Denmark will fight poverty with human rights and economic growth.
    This is the overall message of the Strategy for Denmark’s Development
    Cooperation, The Right to a Better Life. The Strategy places a strong
    emphasis on continuing Denmark’s active partnership with civil
    society. It underlines that Denmark will work for and support a vibrant,
    diverse civil society in the global South through partnerships with
    civil society organisations, and international and local organisations
    and movements.

    Civil society contributes significantly to sustaining public support
    for and engagement within development cooperation, both in
    Denmark and in the global South. Denmark requires transparency,
    participation, cooperation and results from its civil society partners.
    Denmark will strengthen partnerships with civil society organisations
    to help make them more strategic and effective in order to promote
    civil s­ ocieties that are legitimate, diversified and human rights-based.
    The Right to a Better Life emphasises that Denmark will continue
    to support small and ­medium-sized civil society organisations.
    This will be done increasingly through direct support to civil society
    organisations in the global South.

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POLICY FOR DANISH SUPPORT TO CIVIL SOCIETY - June 2014
THE RIGHT TO A BETTER LIFE’S PRIORITY AREAS:

                                                                Priority areas

                                                  Human rights and democracy

                                                      The human rights-based approach

                                             Participation                               Non
                                                                                    discrimination

                                                                  Fighting
                                                                  poverty
                     Stability and                                                                            Green
                                                                  MÅL
                                                                OBJECTIVE
                      protection                                                                              growth
                                                                 Promoting
                                                                human rights

                                               Accountability                    Transparency

                                                             Social progress

The Right to a Better Life introduces a      cooperation engagement: participation;                  combat poverty and promote human
human rights-based approach to Danish        accountability; non-discrimination; and                 rights, democracy, sustainable develop-
development cooperation. This means that     transparency.                                           ment, peace and stability in conformity
United Nations human rights conventions,                                                             with the United Nations Charter, the
standards, norms and instruments will        These four principles are fundamental                   Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
serve as a compass to guide Denmark’s        standards and values in the international               the United Nations’ nine core human
political dialogue, development interven-    human rights framework, and are also                    rights conventions.
tions and partnerships, including those      highlighted in the Danish International
with civil society. The human rights-based   Development Cooperation Act (2012)                      As illustrated above, The Right to a Better
approach is based on four main principles    which states that the objective of                      Life focuses Denmark’s development
which will inform all Danish development     Denmark’s development cooperation is to                 cooperation on poverty reduction on four

                                                                                                                                                   5
POLICY FOR DANISH SUPPORT TO CIVIL SOCIETY - June 2014
strategic priority areas: Human rights and    struggle for changes in society, respect for     associations, cooperatives, faith-based
democracy; green growth; social progress;     human rights and poverty eradication.            organisations, informal groups (without
and stability and protection.                                                                  boards and formal constitutions), social
                                                                                               movements, including online activists,
This Policy outlines how Denmark will         HOW IS CIVIL SOCIETY DEFINED?                    academia, think tanks, international
support civil society actors as part of                                                        non-governmental organisations (INGOs)
its implementation of the International       This Policy defines civil society as the         and media. Civil society is fluid and
Development Cooperation Act and               arena between the state, the market and          dynamic; people come together physically
The Right to a Better Life.                   the family/household in which people can         and virtually to promote change on a wide
                                              debate and take individual and collective        range of issues and people move from one
Important changes in societies have been      action to promote change or issues of            issue or topic to another and then back
brought about through civil society action.   shared interest. This includes civil society     again.
Participation, inclusion and an enabling      in all its forms – civil society organisations
environment are key elements in the           (CSOs), community based organisations,
                                              community groups, trade unions, business         SCOPE OF THE POLICY

                                                                                               This Policy provides direction for all
                                                                                               Danida support to civil society. This
                                                                                               includes all support modalities i.e.
                                                                                               country programmes; regional support
                                                                                               programmes i.e. the Danish-Arab Partner-
                                                                                               ship Programme and the ­Neighbourhood
                                                                                               Programme; support through multilateral
                                                                                               and regional organisations; joint civil
                                                                                               society funding mechanisms; different
                                                                                               thematic programmes; as well as support
                                                                                               through Danish civil society actors, INGOs
                                                                                               and think tanks.

                                                                                               The Policy also provides direction on how
                                                                                               to promote enhanced, invited spaces and
                                                                                               an enabling environment for civil society
                                                                                               to operate in through, for example, policy
                                                                                               dialogue with partners, i.e. governments,
                                                                                               multilateral organisations (e.g. UN, the
                                                                                               World Bank), regional organisations (e.g.
                                                                                               EU), fund managers, private sector and
                                                                                               others.

Zimbabwe – education

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POLICY FOR DANISH SUPPORT TO CIVIL SOCIETY - June 2014
2
OBJECTIVE AND TARGET GROUPS
OF DANISH CIVIL SOCIETY SUPPORT

OBJECTIVE
The objective of Denmark’s support to civil society is to:

Ensure that civil society in the global South has the space
and capacity to gain influence to combat poverty and
inequality, promote human rights as well as sustainable
development in an accountable, inclusive and transparent
manner, in particular in favour of poor and excluded groups

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POLICY FOR DANISH SUPPORT TO CIVIL SOCIETY - June 2014
Denmark has a long history and tradition       Danish support to civil                       • Advocacy work of civil society actors
of promoting and defending the space for       society will aim to:                            in the global South at local, national,
civil society to engage in local, national                                                     regional and international level.
and international debates, and for civil       • Contribute to the development of a
society representatives to be included           strong, independent, vocal and diverse      • Networks through capacity develop-
in decision-making processes. Denmark            civil society as a prerequisite to long-      ment of civil society actors in the
will maintain this role and build on lessons     term poverty reduction; respect and           global South to establish, develop
learned from many years of experience            protection of human rights; and the           and participate in networks at local,
in this field.                                   promotion of equality, democracy and          national, regional and international
                                                 sustainable development.                      level to promote their agendas for
The strength of the Danish approach                                                            change.
to supporting civil society focuses on         • Promote a vibrant, inclusive and open
­partnership, capacity development,              debate in which civil society takes         • Mutually contributing and benefitting
 ­advocacy and networking. The present           active part as interlocutors in their         partnerships between civil society
  Policy will continue to place the primary      own right and on behalf of the rights-        actors.
  focus on these areas of support as             holders whom they represent.
  ­experience shows this approach can                                                        • South-South initiatives to promote
   enable change that benefits poor,           • Promote the rights to association and         capacity development, advocacy and
   marginalised and excluded groups.             assembly, enabling environment as             networking.
                                                 well as create more invited space for
                                                 civil society’s participation in national   • Civil society engagement with duty
                                                 legislation processes, cooperation and        bearers, including the efforts of civil
                                                 decision-making processes; national           society to enhance the responsiveness
    ’Global South’ refers to
                                                 and local policy making; social               of duty bearers, the private sector and
    all countries where Danish                   dialogue and dialogue on the distribu-        institutions of democratic control to
    development cooperation                      tion of resources.                            the rights of the poor and excluded.
    is implemented either
    directly through Danish                    • Promote a representative, accountable,      Limited strategic service delivery, capacity
    missions or through                          and locally based civil society working     development and advocacy combined
    partners, including                          according to the principles of participa-   may reinforce each other, but stand-alone
                                                 tion, accountability, non-discrimination    service delivery should not be considered
    in the Middle East and
                                                 and transparency with regard to its         outside a humanitarian context.
    Eastern Europe
                                                 target groups/beneficiaries.

                                               In order to reach the goals mentioned
                                               above, Denmark will support:

                                               • Capacity development of civil society
                                                 actors in the global South to promote
                                                 their agendas for change.

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POLICY FOR DANISH SUPPORT TO CIVIL SOCIETY - June 2014
Zimbabwe – women’s workshop on rights

                                                                                            • Be flexible and responsive to risks
                                                                                              in order to promote innovation and
                                                                                              new partnerships, including with the
                                                                                              private sector.

                                                                                            • Be based on the “do-no-harm”-­
                                                                                              principle.

                                                                                            • Be provided through a mix of coope­
                                                                                              ration modalities in response to the
                                                                                              diversity of civil society, local context
                                                                                              and identified needs e.g. long-term
                                                                                              support for advocacy and targeted
                                                                                              support to promote policy change
                                                                                              outcomes.

TARGET GROUPS                                This dialogue will address how rights-         • Reduce as much as possible the
                                             holders and civil society actors can be          transaction costs for civil society
The main target groups of Danish             included in decision-making processes.           associated with donor funding and
support to civil society are civil society   The role of civil society as representatives     reporting e.g. through harmonised or
actors in the global South, in particular    of excluded groups is important in crea­         joint support and by providing more
poor, marginalised and excluded groups       t­ing interfaces between rights-holders          ­strategic and programmatic funding.
i.e. rights holders who are constrained      and duty-bearers to help secure increased
in claiming their rights and in fully        respect for human rights and hold duty-        In fragile situations, the context analyses
influencing their own lives. By placing      bearers accountable.                           will include localised fragility assessments
an emphasis on marginalised and                                                             and conflict analysis. Danish support to
excluded groups, Denmark wishes to                                                          civil society in such situations will involve
reach out to people who suffer discrimi­     PRINCIPLES OF ENGAGEMENT                       and be accountable to the local population
nation on the basis of e.g. gender, age,                                                    as much as possible through a clear
disability, ethnicity, sexual orientation    All Danish support to civil society must:      communication strategy that describes
and religion such as women and girls,                                                       the values and principles for engagement
indigenous peoples, migrants, and people     • Be based on a political-economy              and ensures that both beneficiaries and
with ­disabilities, among others. Some         ­analysis of the local context, including    other actors are as well-informed as
target groups, especially women and             drivers of inequality; drivers of change,   possible. The classic distinctions between
youth, may play significant roles as            power relations, gender and legitimacy      the roles and responsibilities of state,
drivers of change in a society.                 aspects.                                    civil society and private sector, or between
                                                                                            duty-bearer and rights-holder, may not
Duty-bearers are also a target group.        • Be based on dialogue with civil              be straight forward in fragile contexts and,
Denmark will promote the space for civil       society actors and communities,              therefore, require more detailed analysis.
society actors to claim their human rights     to respond to identified needs and
in its policy dialogue with duty-bearers.      focus on achieving results.

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POLICY FOR DANISH SUPPORT TO CIVIL SOCIETY - June 2014
3
     CURRENT GLOBAL CHALLENGES
     AND OPPORTUNITIES
     This chapter will outline some of the main global trends vis-à-vis
     international development policy and the changing conditions
     for civil society.

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SOCIAL MOVEMENTS                               More informal and transitory forms of           legal frameworks formally provide space
AND SOCIAL MEDIA                               organisation and expression challenge not       for civil society while de facto the space
                                               only Governments, but also development          to claim the rights of excluded groups is
New media, including social media, and         partners and traditional forms of collabo-      limited by social and economic conditions
social movements are increasingly playing      ration with civil society actors. INGOs         and political constraints. Space may be
the role of CSOs in representing communi-      and local civil society actors need to learn,   genuinely shrinking or it may be that civil
ties, especially in middle-income coun-        listen and participate in such social           society is challenging governments more
tries. Populations currently under the age     networks acknowledging that they are            than before and has, therefore, tested
of 30 will be the dominant force in many       not always the first movers in new social       the boundaries for civil society engage-
developing countries in the coming years.      manifestations where new social media           ment to the limit. Country-specific analysis
INGOs and local civil society actors do        and ICT play a prominent role. An impor-        is needed to determine where space for
not always have a lot of ‘street credit’ in    tant role for INGOs can be to facilitate the    civil society is shrinking, stagnant or
certain ­environments. New and social          sharing of experience among new social          growing and what form Danish support
media present an opportunity for civil         movements and between them and other            can and should take.
society actors to engage with younger          actors without hijacking the agenda.
‘wired’ generations wanting to make their
imprint on the society in which they live.                                                     ECONOMIC GROWTH, INEQUALITY
The increased use of Information and           SPACE OF CIVIL SOCIETY ACTORS                   AND DEVELOPMENT FINANCING
Communication Technologies (ICT) offers
an opportunity for moving towards more         Securing space for civil society is often the   The number of very poor countries is
equality between generations as the older      first challenge for developing civil society.   decreasing, but inequality is increasing,
generation needs the knowledge and             It is important to distinguish between          especially in urban areas and in middle-­
advice of the younger generation in order      invited space and claimed space. Denmark        income countries. Danish development
to be able to navigate in ICT systems.         and other development partners can              cooperation continues to focus on poverty
ICT also allows for greater transparency       support the creation of invited space for       reduction in poorer countries. Some civil
in terms of improving access to public         dialogue between civil society and local        society support will be channelled to civil
information. A more informed population        and national authorities. In such invited       society actors in middle-income countries,
offers an improved platform for holding        spaces, it is possible for civil society to     but only through programmes targeting
government accountable. The growing            raise sensitive issues in specific areas,       specific geographical priority areas e.g.
urbanisation of poverty in the global South    such as thematic area policies and budget       the Neighbourhood Programme and the
makes it increasingly relevant to cooperate    tracking. In claimed spaces, local stake-       Danish-Arab Partnership Programme, or
with urban civil society actors repre-         holders in alliance with media may seek         specific thematic areas such as indige-
senting poor and excluded groups, and          to force an issue to be debated in public       nous peoples1.
to explore opportunities to create alliances   to assert the claims of rights-holders.
between middle-class youth and the rising                                                      Economic growth in developing countries
demands of the poor and excluded for           Political and legal conditions for civil        and emerging economies has been the
democratic and social change.                  society to flourish are deteriorating in        main driving force of poverty reduction in
                                               some countries although civil society           the past decade – not official development
                                               activism continues to grow. In some cases,      assistance (ODA). The relative importance

1 Country income limits are updated annually

                                                                                                                                        11
of ODA vis-à-vis other forms of finance has             social partners, develop new markets                    on Business and Human Rights. Moreover,
declined particularly in middle-income                  and business models in collaboration                    civil society can take part in raising
countries while lower-income countries                  with businesses, and devise solutions                   consumer and public awareness of CSR.
still remain more dependent on aid.                     capable of creating jobs, fostering growth
­Traditional ODA is increasingly comple-                and reducing poverty in the global South.               One example where governments,
 mented by ‘non-traditional assistance’                 In addition, civil society can play an                  ­businesses and civil society, and particu-
 such as South-South cooperation, climate               ­important role in promoting Corporate                   larly trade unions, work together to
 finance, remittances, philanthropy ­                    Social Responsibility (CSR).                            combine economic growth that generates
 and global funds. Sources, types and                                                                            opportunities for investment and entre­
 conditions of funding for civil society                CSR is the responsibility of companies                   preneurship with creation of decent jobs
 in the future may be quite different from              for their impact on society. To fully meet               and sustainable livelihoods, is the
 today. For example, the proportion of                  this responsibility, companies should                    ­International Labour Organization’s
 ODA to civil society in the global South               have in place a process to integrate social,              Decent Work Agenda3. This initiative
 channelled through CSOs in DAC countries               environmental, ethical, human rights,                     focuses on job creation, rights at work,
 has declined significantly since 2009.                 including worker’s rights, and consumer                   social protection and social dialogue
                                                        concerns into their business operations                   between social partners, with gender
                                                        and core strategy in close collaboration                  equality as a cross­cutting objective.
ENGAGING THE PRIVATE SECTOR                             with their stakeholders. They should aim
                                                        at 1) maximising the creation of shared
The trends described above call for new                 value for their owners/shareholders and                 SHIFTING BALANCES OF POWER
collaborative partnerships among govern-                for their other stakeholders and society at
ments, businesses, social partners and                  large and, 2) identifying, preventing and               Changes in global economic and political
civil society in which ODA can catalyse                 mitigating their possible adverse impacts.              power, combined with patterns of
new solutions and the scaling up of funds.                                                                      ­development financing, will change the
The private sector will play an increasing              Civil society can play a significant role                power relationships between Northern
role not only as a driver of economic                   as watchdog by holding companies                         and Southern development partners.
growth in the global South but also in                  accountable for taking appropriate steps                 South/South relationships will become
the promotion of inclusive green growth                 to identify, prevent and mitigate adverse                increasingly significant. Governments
contributing to environmentally, socially               impacts of business activities on human                  in the global South will have more choice
and economically sustainable develop-                   rights, labour rights, non-discrimination                and different sources of funding for
ment in both the North and the global                   including gender equality, environment                   ­development. This helps strengthen
South.                                                  and anti-corruption2. Civil society can                   the negotiating power of governments and
                                                        also contribute to raising awareness with                 may make it more difficult for traditional
Civil society has an important role to play             regard to the duty of companies to respect                ­development partners to influence policy.
in pushing forward an inclusive green                   human rights, and the duty of states to                    There has been a huge growth in civil
growth agenda as an opportunity and                     protect against human rights abuse and                     society actors in the global South in recent
not a constraint in the global South. Civil             to ensure access to effective remedy                       years (approx. 3.3 million NGOs in India;
society can promote dialogue between                    as stated in the UN Guiding Principles                     440.000 in China)4. This should encourage

2	For example in accordance with ILO conventions, the UN Global Compact, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,
   and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Corporations
3	The International Labour Organization (ILO), http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/decent-work/lang--en/index.htm
4 The Future Role of Civil Society, World Economic Forum 2013 http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_FutureRoleCivilSociety_Report_2013.pdf

12
civil society actors in the North to play      Conflicts are more frequently handled         ­ ocument than, for example, the delivery
                                                                                             d
stronger roles as facilitators, networkers,    violently and, in some situations, fuelled    of services.
conveners and innovators in addition to        by uncontrolled spread of small arms.
more traditional roles as advocates and        Fragile situations are thus characterised
service providers.                             by multiple stakeholders with competing       NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LEVEL
                                               claims to national or local governance        DEBATE AND POLICY CHANGES
                                               presenting particular challenges in regard
FRAGILE SITUATIONS                             to their relationship with civil society.     Denmark will promote the engagement
                                               The emergence of trust in and reliance        of civil society actors from the global
Basic human rights are particularly under      on traditional governance structures such     South in, and influence on, international
pressure in fragile situations where the       as clan, tribe, religion, or “newer”          processes. Many Danish CSOs are part of
state is either unwilling or unable to         non-state structures such as political,       international networks, and can facilitate
protect and provide basic services to its      criminal or ideological movements             linkages between local and national
citizens. Consequently, fragile situations     are common c­ haracteristics in such          levels; input into international level fora;
call for particular attention to the basic     circumstances. In many cases fragility        and feed back to national and local level
rights of the individual human being.          and political tensions are exacerbated        partners. With many strong and vibrant
                                               by climate and environmental factors such     networks and coalitions among civil
The state in fragile situations is often       as drought, floods and extreme weather,       society actors, the world is much better
­characterised by:                             leading to food i­ nsecurity and increased    equipped to link rhetoric and reality in
                                               tensions over natural resources.              international agreements, such as conven-
• Lack of legitimacy, such as lack of                                                        tions and declarations. Civil society has
  democracy, absence of civil and                                                            been able to use its knowledge base to
  ­political rights, dominant role of the      EMPHASIS ON RESULTS                           influence international agendas such as
   military, suppression of opposition,                                                      the United Nations Framework Convention
   control of media, exclusion of              Demonstrating the results of support          on Climate Change, the Rio+20 Conference
   ­significant groups from power etc.         to civil society is important to the people   on Sustainable Development and its
                                               CSOs represent, to domestic constitu-         follow-up processes including the work
• Shortcomings in provision of basic           ences and to development partners.            in the UN Open Working Group on
  services characterised by partial or         Danida will strengthen its emphasis           ­Sustainable Development Goals, the UN
  complete inability to ensure access          on the d ­ ocumentation of the effects of      Commission on the Status of Women,
  to basic services to all citizens.           the mutual partnership and support             and the Commission on Population and
                                               provided to Northern and Southern CSOs.        Development. Civil society has also been
• Lack of authority, characterised             This is both an opportunity and a chal-        a driver behind important updates of
  by insufficient authority to uphold          lenge. The b ­ enefits of the partnership      existing frameworks such as the Conven-
  ­territorial control and protect its citi-   between a Danish and a Southern CSO            tion on Biological Diversity. Nonetheless,
   zens from violence of various kinds,        in terms of capacity strengthening and         Danida will require more robust
   including organised crime and               increased access to international fora         ­documentation on the effectiveness
   political violence.                         can be more difficult to measure and            of increased cooperation among civil
                                                                                               society networks.

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4
     CIVIL SOCIETY AND DEVELOPMENT

     THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY ACTORS
     IMPLEMENTING THE HUMAN
     RIGHTS-BASED APPROACH
     The Right to a Better Life emphasises a human rights-based approach
     (HRBA) to Danish development cooperation. States from all over the
     world have ratified human rights conventions and, as a result, assume
     obligations and duties under international law to respect, protect
     and fulfil human rights. Support to civil society is at the heart of HRBA.
     The point of departure is the vision of responsible and responsive
     governments in charge of development efforts and active, engaged
     citizens with the ability and space to assert their rights. HRBA aims
     to address the underlying structures and power ­relations that cause
     poverty, discrimination and exclusion. Partnership is central to HRBA.
     Development cooperation should aim at enabling rights-holders to
     claim their human rights and duty-bearers to develop their capacity
     to fulfil their o
                     ­ bligations.

14
The HRBA principles5 of participation,                        in ensuring the implementation of HRBA                         Nevertheless, the ToC below aims to
accountability, non-discrimination and                        principles, they must implement these                          ­illustrate in part how Denmark perceives
transparency (PANT) are at the core of                        principles in their own operations.                             civil society’s contribution to broader
Denmark’s work with civil society partners.                                                                                   ­societal change. There are also other
The principle of participation translates                     The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is                           ways in which civil society may contribute
into promoting systems and procedures                         a process which involves a review of the                         to change. A basic assumption is that
that allow for a strong and independent                       human rights records of all UN member                            when strengthening civil society actors
civil society to ensure that citizens are                     states. The UPR takes place under the                            representing rights-holders, and enhan­
able to access information and influence                      auspices of the Human Rights Council,                            cing the space in which they can partici-
government decisions affecting them.                          and provides an opportunity for each state                       pate, rights-holders and communities
This is equally important when ensuring                       to declare what actions they have taken                          are able to claim their rights provided
that duty-bearers are held to account.                        to improve the human rights situations                           they work in a society with a reasonably
Rights-holders, including excluded groups                     and to fulfil their obligations as duty                          responsive government. In fragile contexts
who may rely on civil society organisations                   bearers. Civil society plays an important                        and in other situations where responsive
as intermediaries, need access to informa-                    role in the process submitting alternative                       governments are absent, other assump-
tion about opportunities to obtain their                      information and reporting.                                       tions need to be considered and the ToC
rights. These rights include the protection                                                                                    will have to be adapted to the specific
of the rights of girls and women, certifi-                                                                                     context.
cates of land ownership, business                             THEORY OF CHANGE
­registration, information and access                                                                                        The central change Denmark wishes to
 to services they are entitled to etc.                        A Theory of Change (ToC) is what it says                       promote through its support to civil
 Combating discrimination requires                            on the tin: a theory or system of ideas                        society is that civil society has the space
 a strong and independent civil society                       to explain how change is perceived to                          and capacity to combat poverty and
 with the ability to fight for and give voice                 happen, and how we – through our                               inequality, promote human rights as
 to c­ itizens, especially the most excluded                  ­organisation or programme – intend to                         well as sustainable development, in an
 population groups. Civil society can                          work to influence these changes. A ToC                        accountable, inclusive and transparent
 play a significant role representing and                      will always depend on the specific context                    manner in favour of poor and excluded
 empowering the most discriminated                             and should involve a thorough context                         groups.
 groups. The promotion of transparency                         and stakeholder analysis. Each initiative,
 is ensured through support to more open                       therefore, will need its own ToC based
 practices by all stakeholders and support                     on an analysis of stakeholders influencing
 to channels of communication. If civil                        or hindering change which will shift from
 society actors are to be key partners                         one situation or country to another.

5	The most general reference point for a HRBA is the UN Common Understanding on “The Human Rights Based Approach to Development
   ­Cooperation” from 2003. Denmark’s approach is informed by the UN Common Understanding but also takes into account lessons learned by
    multi- and bilateral agencies. The four principles are derived from international core human rights treaties. Others use a broader set of criteria
    and include for example “empowerment” as a principle, which in the Danish approach is more regarded as an outcome and not a principle.

                                                                                                                                                                           15
16
     THEORY OF CHANGE FOR THE CIVIL SOCIETY POLICY
                                                                                                               LONGER TERMS IMPACTS...
             DANIDA funding,   Improved              Stronger           Poor and excluded
             support and       awareness             international      groups’ voices
             policy dialouge   of development        advocacy for       represented
             in Denmark and    issues in                                at national and                         Duty bearers
                                                     human rights                                               respond
             internationally   Denmark                                  international fora
                                                                                                                positively to
                                                                                                                pressure from
                                                                                                                rights holders

                                                                        Improved
                                                                        evidence based
                                                                        advocacy used                           Enhanced space
                                                                        at all levels                           for CS actors to
                                                                                                                participate in       EVIDENCE
                                                                                                                decisionmaking       OF PROGRESS
                                                                                                                                     IN TERMS OF:
                               Effective, mutually   Stronger CS
                               benefitting,          partners and       Accountable                                                  • POVERTY
                                                                                             Rights holders
                               accountable           networks with      inclusive and                                                  REDUCTION
     Diplomatic                                                                              and communities
                               CS partnerships       improved skills,   transparent
     efforts in support                                                                      – especially
                               South/North           resources and      CS actors
     of enabling                                                                             the poorest and                         • RESPECT FOR
                               & South/South         capacity to        combat poverty,
     environments                                                                            most excluded                             HUMAN RIGHTS
                               which share           represent rights   promote HR,
                                                                                             – demand their
                               learning for          holders and        equality and
                                                                                             rights
                               more effective        advocate for       sust. dev.                                                   • DEMOCRACY
                               development           their rights
                                                                                                                Communities          • SUSTAIN
                                                                                                                monitor gvt and        DEVELOPMENT
                                                                        Issues are                              service providers
                                                                        highlighted                             and hold them
                                                                        effectively                             to account
                                                                        through a variety
                                                                        of media
                                                                                                                Communities
                                                                                                                take increased
                               More capable CS                                                                  responsibility for
             DANIDA funding,                         Rights holders
                               actors develop                           Private sector                          ensuring access
             support and                             and communities
                               capacity of and                          involved as                             and enjoyment
             policy dialouge                         aware of their
                               accompany                                partners of and                         of rights for all
             in priority                             rights and with
                               rights holders        capacity to        in supporting
             countries         to engage in                             civil society
                                                     engage
                               advocacy
5
MAIN ELEMENTS OF DANISH SUPPORT
TO CIVIL SOCIETY ACTORS
The building blocks of Danish support to civil society actors are
partnerships, capacity development and advocacy. Capacity
development, advocacy and strategic service delivery is often
referred to as the “Change Triangle”. Support to limited strategic
service delivery may be needed in order to make advocacy and
capacity development efforts effective by demonstrating new,
innovative and cost effective methods. Stand-alone service delivery
should not be considered outside a humanitarian context.

The challenges and opportunities are different in fragile contexts
and more stable situations. A special section in this chapter, therefore,
is dedicated to describing how Denmark will work with civil society
in fragile contexts.

                                                                            17
PARTNERSHIPS

DENMARK WILL:

• Form strategic partnerships with civil society actors and focus on the delivery
     of results and on encouraging innovation in partnerships.

• Continue to support partnerships between Danish CSOs and CSOs in the global South
     emphasising the gradual transfer of responsibility to partners in the global South and
     implementation of HRBA in the partnership.

• Support efforts to promote the financial sustainability of CSOs in the global South.

• Support South-South CSO co-­operation.

• Promote innovative models of partnerships and the inclusion of social m
                                                                        ­ ovements,
     private sector, youth organisations, and traditional a
                                                          ­ uthorities as partners.

• Continue its strong political and a
                                    ­ dvocacy partnerships with civil society in Denmark,
     in the global South and internationally.

                                                                                              Mozambique – local fishermen
                                                                                              in a meeting

18
Meaningful partnerships between               agendas or manifestations of injustice.       OECD based and international civil society
civil society actors in Denmark and           It remains a challenge how to do this         organisations will continue to have a role
in the global South, including countries      in practise as such organisations by their    to play, collaborating and networking
neighbouring Europe, remain an i­ mportant    nature are loosely organised, without         with civil society in the global South and
priority for Danish development coopera-      formal procedures and accounts.               globally.
tion and for Danish civil society organisa-   Both Danida and the Danish CSOs need
tions.                                        to approach this with flexibility aiming      In choosing partners, efforts must be
                                              to find practical solutions in specific       made to:
Partnerships must be mutually commit-         contexts. Partnerships with traditional
ting. Openness, trust, mutual respect         authorities – where these are trusted by,     • Promote diverse and broad participa-
and learning lie at the core of effective     and accountable to their communities            tion, including partnerships with
partnerships in support of development        – can be an effective way to reach the          excluded groups.
goals, recognising the different and          most excluded, marginalised and poor
complementary roles of all actors.            people. Civil society actors should           • Conduct a political economy analysis
­Partnerships involve commitments on          prioritise partnerships with organisations      to identify drivers of change and assess
 both sides with regard to what they bring    formed by poor and excluded groups              capacity constraints.
 to the p ­ artnership; these commitments     themselves, with o  ­ rganisations repre-
 should be monitored and discussed.           senting them or w ­ herever there is the      • Cooperate with informal movements
 The mutual learning benefits and             potential to work for the benefit of            with the determination, ability and
 complementary strengths of the partner-      the poorest and most excluded groups            popular legitimacy to influence
 ship, should be documented. Mutual           including with national and local authori-      ­decision-making processes, as well as
 ­partner­ships imply that both Danish        ties as well as with private sector. Also        with formal organisations/movements
  ­partners and their global South partners   civil society actors representing urban          representing marginalised groups.
   are equally informed about the funding     poor and youth will be included as part-
   of activities, and the decisions behind    ners. Empowerment of local communities,       Partnerships can be constructed in many
   this. Both ­partners should aim for full   whether urban or rural, is essential.         ways, but the following preconditions
   transparency in the use of resources.                                                    must be met:
   Most importantly, all partners should      Readiness to change is key in order to
   document their accountability towards      respond to new challenges and to adapt        • The partners in the global South –
   beneficiaries.                             to local circumstances. Danish partners         and not the Danish partners – must
                                              worldwide will increasingly relate to new       assume primary responsibility for
The HRBA entails that partnerships are        types of civil society actors, who may          management and implementation of
forged with a variety of actors involved      represent opportunities for a new, more         interventions and activities.
in promoting human rights and fighting        democratic and open society. Such
poverty. In a rapidly changing world and      ­incipient ‘drivers for change’ will need     • Danish and international organisations
shifting power balances, partnerships          support and accompaniment to grow              must provide partners in the global
need to be innovative and flexible,            and evolve to respond effectively to local     South with opportunities to participate
for example, in order to support social        and national challenges.                       in international networks.
movements responding to ad hoc political

                                                                                                                                     19
Khmers receiving teaching in growing rice and in prevention of diseases

• Keep an open mind to combine partner-                     • professional and administrative              Denmark will work through non-financial
  ships with local civil society, the private                 knowledge,                                   support, e.g. diplomatic initiatives,
  sector and local authorities.                                                                            to improve an enabling environment for
                                                            • popular contacts, membership                 civil society actors, and against regulatory
• Efforts must be made to ensure that                         and information activities.                  frameworks permitting governments
  partners receiving Danish support                                                                        to inhibit debate. It will also support civil
  secure their financing from several                       Civil society is changing worldwide and        society actors at various levels in joint
  different sources so that the financial                   a wide variety of civic actors are working     advocacy activities in common priority
  sustainability is not solely dependent                    to promote human rights and combat             areas, participation in official delegations,
  on Danish contributions.                                  poverty. These range from well-estab-          and inclusion in policy processes.
                                                            lished, capable institutions to nascent        This will help strengthen the capacity
The Danish CSOs must contribute to                          initiatives in the early stages of organisa-   and ­legitimacy of civil society partners.
strengthening their partners’:                              tional development. Danish support will
                                                            reach out across a continuum of civil
• capacity to represent poor and                            actors, from the newly organised to
  excluded groups,                                          the well-established, offering both short
                                                            and long term cooperation. The diversity
• knowledge about human rights                              of Danish partners will contribute to
  and HRBA,                                                 greater diversity in the global South.

20
CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT

DENMARK WILL:

• Support organisational and capacity development and encourage                OECD defines capacity
  civil society actors to apply the five p
                                         ­ rinciples for addressing capacity   as “the ability of people,
  development in Danish development cooperation described below.               organisations and society
                                                                               as a whole to manage
• Support civil society to access advisory support and guidance on
                                                                               their affairs successfully”.
  systematic capacity development approaches.                                  Capacity includes a wide
• Encourage Danish CSOs to engage actively in capacity development             range of factors from skills
                                                                               to systems, processes,
  related to HRBA.
                                                                               ability to relate to others,
• Promote capacity development processes that include building                 leader­ship, values, formal
  ­legitimacy, constituency and internal democracy and accountability          and informal norms,
  in ­organisations and movements.                                             loyalties, ambitions and
                                                                               power. C ­ apacity is the
• Support more systematic monitoring and reporting of capacity                 ‘ability to’ and ‘power to’
  development processes and outcomes.                                          do some­thing and to be
                                                                               something/someone.

                                                                               Egypt - project for children with disabilities

                                                                                                                                21
Capacity development is an integral part       Civil society actors engage in capacity     teach, coach and shape incentives for
of mutual partnerships. It can help deliver    development when they support and           learning – that is all. Change processes
results, for example in terms of strength-     accompany relevant institutional, social    are rarely linear; they take longer time
ening organisational performance,              or political changes. Accompaniment is      than expected. To be successful, they
contributing to evidence based advocacy        the process where one civil society actor   require strategic thinking, planning and
and change; and enabling civil society         follows and guides the other through        management. This involves the scoping
actors to participate in networks and          important change processes providing        and sequencing of change, as well as the
­coalitions. Denmark will focus on moni­­to­   professional and strategic input. It is     power and technical resources behind the
 ring and reporting more system­ati­cally      fundamental that these change processes     change, and the strength of the resistance
 on the results and outcomes of these          are owned and led by those whose            it may meet.
 processes.                                    capacity is developing; outsiders can

     FIVE PRINCIPLES FOR ADDRESSING CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT (CD)

                                                Apply a strategic development perspective,
      Strategic perspective
                                                not only an aid effectiveness perspective

                                                The point of departure is where the partners
      Start where the partners are
                                                are and what they can and will do to promote CD

                                                CD dialogue is driven by a focus on results
      Focus on tangible results
                                                in terms of effectiveness and efficiency

                                                Joint donor approaches to CD dialogue
      Joint as default
                                                and support is the default

                                                Recognise dilemmas openly when
      Recognise dilemmas
                                                balancing policy and CD ambitions

22
CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT AND CAPACITY BUILDING

   Capacity Development                                                   Capacity Building

   Capacity development is a process of capacity change,                  Capacity building is a ‘catalyst’, being the purposeful,
   rather than a deliberate act to strengthen skills, introduce           conscious effort to bring about capacity development.
   new systems, contract new people.
                                                                          Capacity building refers to technical assistance (TA) inputs
   Capacity development can be catalysed through diverse                  in the form of training and sharing of technical tools.
   means – exposure to new contexts, engagement in new                    It is a structured process that is framed around the answer
   types of work, a change in funding etc.                                to the question ‘capacity for what?’

   Capacity development should be seen as a mutual                        Capacity building has a clear purpose and set of specific
   process e.g. Northern civil society actors should define               objectives.
   and document the benefit they get from working closely
   with partners in the global South.

CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT                            When preparing capacity development
AND CAPACITY BUILDING                           initiatives, civil society actors should
                                                ensure that there is:
Both capacity development and capacity
building can operate at different levels –      • A shared perception of change
individual (competencies); organisational;        ­readiness among the civil society
sub-sector (networks, platforms, coali-            ­partners.
tions etc.); and sector-wide (civil society
sector as a whole). Learning is a key           • Agreement with partners about
element in capacity development, and              the strategic scope of capacity
integrates thinking and doing. Denmark            ­development ambitions and processes
will support capacity development where            over the next period of support.
capacity building can be one element
supplemented with other elements such           • Details of how capacity development
as accompaniment.                                 and capacity development support
                                                  issues will be addressed in the
The emphasis is on getting processes and          general planning process.
results right. This implies reporting results
in the “missing middle” between what
civil society actors do, and the long-term
outcomes and impact that are the focus
of organisational plans. This would report
on how capacity development initiatives
have resulted in improved capacity and
performance.

                                                                                                                                         23
ADVOCACY

DENMARK WILL:

• Support advocacy efforts that are informed by evidence and based           Advocacy is defined as
                                                                             a process by an individual
     on knowledge of the processes and decision-makers that need to
                                                                             or group, which aims to
     be i­ nfluenced, often in relation to invited space opportunities.      influence public policy
• Support advocacy and lobbying in relation to claimed space mainly          and resource allocation
     through capacity development on campaigning which is planned and        decisions within political,
                                                                             economic, and social
     implemented in a coordinated manner, and which has a clear target
                                                                             systems and institutions.
     of addressing injustice and promoting human rights, as well as aiming
                                                                             Evidence based advocacy
     to create changes in policies, practice, laws and systems based         has strong potentials.
     on HRBA principles.

• Be willing to take risks and not demand a certain outcome
     of advocacy efforts.

                                                                               Guatemala – demonstration, maya population

24
Mutual partnerships between civil society
actors in the North and the global South
increasingly focus on advocacy and
lobbying. Advocacy should involve the
relevant civil society actors and empower
them. It is crucial that advocacy is a
­democratic effort based on the concerns
 of and inputs from those affected by the
 issues advocated on.

Lobbying is a form of advocacy targeted at
persons who can act as drivers of change,
for example a direct approach to legisla-
tors on an issue. Lobbying efforts can be
key to promoting the desired changes in
law making processes and in relation to
the formulation of international treaties.
­Advocacy can be directed at all relevant
 decision-makers, including non-formal
 authorities such as traditional authotiries.                                    Honduras – poster on social justice

Advocacy and lobbying can also be               Lobbying and advocacy partnerships
targeted towards the private sector,            can be directed towards international
for example, extractive industries.             processes, negotiations, development
­Advocacy in this context is different from     of strategic frameworks, resolutions,
 CSR activities, which are often a result       for example, pressure on member states
 of an invitation from the private sector       from civil society. Advocacy work requires
 to assist in improving and implementing        careful social and political analysis as
 CSR policies. Advocacy may also include        it often entails taking explicit sides in
 raising awareness e.g. against stigma­         a conflict or competition for resources.
 tisation of certain groups.

Advocacy efforts should be monitored
for quality, accountability, results and
learning, and should be useful for guiding
efforts of capacity development.
­Monitoring advocacy is often based
 on self-assessment and monitoring
 processes, rather than focusing
 ­exclusively on the end results.

                                                                                                                       25
FRAGILE CONTEXTS

DENMARK WILL:

• Engage with partners with documented skills and experience of work in fragile
     situations and who operate on the basis of a solid and careful situational analysis,
     including political and political-economy aspects identifying drivers of change;
     gender, power and legitimacy aspects; localized fragility assessments; conflict
     analysis and systematic risk assessments.

• Encourage partners to pay particular attention to opportunities for building/
     rebuilding community level structures and establishing a culture of participation,
     accountability, non-discrimination and transparency.

• Support interventions aimed at strengthening the voice of poor, vulnerable and
     excluded groups, including that of girls and women, in local and national policy and
     planning processes.

                                                                                          Nepal – internal refugees caused by flooding

26
In fragile situations, critical societal func-             SERVICE DELIVERY                                           BUILDING CAPACITY
tions are often handled or mishandled by                                                                              AT COMMUNITY LEVEL
a complex set of actors, including private                 Fragility and conflict usually leads to
and civil society entities with differing                  extreme poverty and more or less chronic                   In fragile environments with weak state
goals and levels of legitimacy. Frequently,                humanitarian needs with a negative                         structures, the immediate needs of people
this results in an uneven quality of social                impact on individual opportunities as well                 are typically catered for at the community
services as well as exclusion of parts of                  as development potential. The delivery                     level. Building on these capacities is a
the population from even very basic                        of humanitarian assistance has an impact                   critical entry point not only for improved
services as education, water and primary                   on longer term development, and every                      service delivery and communal safety,
health care; either due to ethnicity, faith                opportunity should be used to support                      but also for building resilience, creating
etc. or due to scarce resources. Across                    the transition from emergency to recovery                  livelihoods, income generating activites
all poor and marginalised groups, children                 and development. In this case, civil society               and hopefully also longer term stability.
are the most vulnerable and need special                   actors should focus on building local                      Doing this can also be a way to establish
attention. Civil society is often weak,                    capacity and avoid development of perma-                   and strengthen local CBOs and to infuse
­fragmented and less well defined in fragile               nent dependency on external assistance                     a culture of cooperation and more
 environments. Often it includes traditional               for service provision. Thus dialogue with                  ­democratic and peaceful ways of solving
 structures, including small community                     government authorities on their responsi-                   conflicts. Through such approaches,
 based organisations, religious groups,                    bility to ensure or facilitate access to basic              communities can achieve a stronger voice
 clan structures etc. as well as more                      services is an important element of longer                  vis-á-vis higher level structures; either
 “modern” civil society actors.                            term state building.                                        as watchdog over poor governance and/or
                                                                                                                       as a demander of better governance.
In times of conflict or major disasters,                   In fragile contexts, service delivery, such
the international actors play a crucial                    as health care or water, may be an impor-
role in providing immediate life-saving                    tant tool in not only addressing immediate                 SUPPORTING LOCAL CIVIL SOCIETY
assistance as well as basic services, which                needs but also in creating important
are not provided by the state. Thus UN                     invited space to begin working with much                   When planning interventions and
organisations, INGOs, national CSOs,                       more sensitive issues – such as protection                 designing mechanisms for “accountability
­religious organisations among others will                 of vulnerable groups and advocacy for                      for affected populations”, the civil society
 take on the role as “proxy duty bearers”.                 human rights.                                              actors should always look for opportuni-
 They will often continue to play this role                                                                           ties for supporting or establishing local
 for years before national government                                                                                 civil society structures. Basic principles
 ­institutions are able to fully take over                                                                            and mechanisms for participation,
  their responsibility as duty-bearers6.                                                                              non-discrimination, inclusion and
                                                                                                                      ­transparency should be introduced.
                                                                                                                       This may help in building a more resilient
                                                                                                                       and peaceful society.

6 Please refer to Danida’s “Strategy for Danish Humanitarian Action 2010-2015” for more detail on humanitarian interventions in general.

                                                                                                                                                                27
Kenya – distribution of food

PROMOTING INCLUSIVE DIALOGUE                    CONTRIBUTING TO STATE BUILDING

In some fragile states, state building          Civil society actors may complement more
processes serve as a framework for              regular state-to-state support or UN driven
national policy dialogue, but the process       institutional support by engaging in
may fail to be fully inclusive. Civil society   ­institutional strengthening of strategic
also has a role as mobilising the voices of      government institutions, such as health;
the poor and marginalised and facilitating       education; agriculture; social ministries
their input into wider policy processes.         and even, when opportunities are right,
Securing an inclusive dialogue is a              with more core state institutions such as
critical role for civil society and crucial      the justice sector, for example, the police.
for more sustainable and lasting policy          A particular relevant area, apart from
solutions.                                       ­technical capacity, is to develop skills and
                                                  approaches for government institutions to
                                                  engage with civil society in participatory
                                                  and inclusive planning processes.
                                                  Such engagements should however
                                                  only be undertaken in full respect of
                                                  the humanitarian principles.

28
6
COOPERATION MODALITIES
DENMARK WILL:

• Actively encourage priority country governments and other relevant parties
  to provide the space for civil society to play its role in all sectors and at all levels.

• Engage civil society in the planning, monitoring and evaluation
  of the Danish Country Programmes.

• Use the engagement with civil society at country level to better inform policy dialogue.

• Promote tripartite dialogue between the social partners of employers’ organisations,
  trade unions and government in order to protect workers’ rights and settle disputes at work.

• Support Danish CSOs to develop the capacity of their civil society partners
  and add value to their programmes.

• Work to promote funding opportunities of international civil society actors
  and coordinate with other donors on this issue.

• Apply innovative measures to strengthen the collaboration between
  Danish CSOs and companies under Danida Business Partnerships.

                                                                                                 29
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