The role of Zambian civil society in evaluation

Without active civil society and their evaluations, Zambia would still be a colonised nation. It is the welfare societies and cultural groups of indigenous Africans that were the foundation for the political movements that fought for its independence from the British. After political independence, civil society grew because of the 1970s global oil and financial crises. This was to mitigate the adverse effects on ordinary citizens of the conditionality of borrowing from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and developed nations. The increase in foreign development assistance led to an increase in development projects and programmes along with their associated internal management requirements for monitoring and evaluation (M&E). Government, during this time, also started to formulate plans and programmes that required components of M&E (for example, poverty reduction strategies). After the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, M&E rose to prominence in Zambia’s national development processes. Civil society played a major role in the return to multi-party democracy politics of Zambia in 1991. Post 1991, it began to also play a major role in M&E governance and ensuring that the democratic gains of 1991 were protected. Part of the demand for external M&E capacity development was to enhance its watchdog role over the Zambian government. Though the government recognises civil society as a partner in national democratic processes, it is sometimes mistrustful and hostile to evaluation revelations that are critical of government. There remains a need to strengthen this partnership to ensure that national evaluation capacities are developed. Improved capacities will in turn lead to good governance and public service delivery in Zambia. In this way, sustainable development goals will be attained, and no one will be left behind.

Governance and tax revenue: does foreign aid matter?

This study seeks to explores the relationship among governance, foreign aid, and tax revenue. A common notion on governance is that it is a multifaceted factor, it may affect from other factor that is foreign aid. Foreign aid can hamper the governance situation and thus can reduce tax collection. To test these theoretical assumptions, we collected the numerical data from Asian economies for the years 2001–2019 and employed the panel FMOLS (fully modified ordinary least square) test to estimate the regression. The empirical findings first reveal that governance and foreign aid have a positive association with tax revenue in the long run. However, a negative trend in tax collection was observed following the interaction of foreign aid and governance. Foreign aid deteriorates the governance situation, which has a negative spillover impact on tax revenue. Our empirical analysis suggests that policy officials should focus on exercising governance and foreign aid effectiveness to meet the objective of more tax collection. Points for practitioners Policy officials should focus on better governance exercises. They should carefully decide on the volume of foreign aid receipts. However, if it becomes necessary to receive foreign aid, then they should focus on aid effectiveness. Such steps can benefit the practitioners to collect more tax.

Ownership, Decentralization and Development in Papua New Guinea: Sub National Participation in Aid Effectiveness

<p><b>The debate on aid effectiveness and ineffectiveness continues to remain as a core issue for international development. The endorsement of the Paris Declaration on the principles of aid effectiveness in March 2005 by states and international agencies was a significant milestone in this regard. This declaration involved specific commitments for donors and partner countries and marked a paradigm shift for improving aid effectiveness. The overall aim was to improve the quality of aid and its impact on development and, in particular, recipient countries taking ownership of their development. The ownership principle has been echoed and reaffirmed in the subsequent series of high level forums on aid effectiveness.</b></p> <p>This thesis provides a critical examination of Papua New Guinea’s commitment to aid effectiveness. It examines and analyses aid and development effectiveness at the subnational levels of government. It finds that there is a substantial disjunction between national and subnational levels of government with regard to development ownership. This is demonstrated in current policies and practices, and it largely echoes studies elsewhere in the Pacific region on aid and development. However, in this wider literature, there is little evidence on important policy issues regarding leadership and effective aid and development coordination in a decentralized system of government, and this is where Papua New Guinea (PNG) offers some important new insights. This thesis argues that the subnational levels of government continue to remain isolated from the aid effectiveness discussion despite development ownership efforts and government objectives to practice ownership and leadership through all tiers of government.</p>

Ownership, Decentralization and Development in Papua New Guinea: Sub National Participation in Aid Effectiveness

<p><b>The debate on aid effectiveness and ineffectiveness continues to remain as a core issue for international development. The endorsement of the Paris Declaration on the principles of aid effectiveness in March 2005 by states and international agencies was a significant milestone in this regard. This declaration involved specific commitments for donors and partner countries and marked a paradigm shift for improving aid effectiveness. The overall aim was to improve the quality of aid and its impact on development and, in particular, recipient countries taking ownership of their development. The ownership principle has been echoed and reaffirmed in the subsequent series of high level forums on aid effectiveness.</b></p> <p>This thesis provides a critical examination of Papua New Guinea’s commitment to aid effectiveness. It examines and analyses aid and development effectiveness at the subnational levels of government. It finds that there is a substantial disjunction between national and subnational levels of government with regard to development ownership. This is demonstrated in current policies and practices, and it largely echoes studies elsewhere in the Pacific region on aid and development. However, in this wider literature, there is little evidence on important policy issues regarding leadership and effective aid and development coordination in a decentralized system of government, and this is where Papua New Guinea (PNG) offers some important new insights. This thesis argues that the subnational levels of government continue to remain isolated from the aid effectiveness discussion despite development ownership efforts and government objectives to practice ownership and leadership through all tiers of government.</p>

Paris in Niue: An Analysis of the Aid Effectiveness Agenda in Niue

<p>The rise of critical thinking about aid and aid effectiveness has shifted development practice towards promoting an active role for aid recipients in their development. The Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness and the five principles for effective aid sits at the core of this development agenda. The aim of this study is to investigate how the aid effectiveness agenda has influenced Niue’s development policy and practice. The Government of Niue aspires to be financially self-sufficient. It is an ambitious goal for a small nation that is heavily reliant on aid from the Government of New Zealand. Using primary and secondary sources the results suggested that the Government of Niue asserts a moderate level of effectiveness. To further improve and strengthen the delivery of services the Niue Government undertook a transformation process of the public sector. The major change resulting from this transformation was the amalgamation of over fifteen different departments into five ministries with an added layer of management. The transformation had not yielded the expected results at the time of the research but it has uncovered critical areas for the government to strengthen. These are capacity constraints within the public service, a requirement for a coordinated approach for communication internally and externally, harmonisation of development efforts, transparency and accountability, and the political backing to achieve it all. The New Zealand assistance to the Government of Niue is also analysed using the principles of the Paris Declaration. The results indicated a positive change, considerable improvements from the historical dominating tactics experienced in earlier days. The relationship between the two governments is now recognised as a partnership. The flexibility and the clear communication and dialogue has solidified the partnership which has given confidence and certainty for the Government of Niue to work towards its goal of a prosperous Niue.</p>

Paris in Niue: An Analysis of the Aid Effectiveness Agenda in Niue

<p>The rise of critical thinking about aid and aid effectiveness has shifted development practice towards promoting an active role for aid recipients in their development. The Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness and the five principles for effective aid sits at the core of this development agenda. The aim of this study is to investigate how the aid effectiveness agenda has influenced Niue’s development policy and practice. The Government of Niue aspires to be financially self-sufficient. It is an ambitious goal for a small nation that is heavily reliant on aid from the Government of New Zealand. Using primary and secondary sources the results suggested that the Government of Niue asserts a moderate level of effectiveness. To further improve and strengthen the delivery of services the Niue Government undertook a transformation process of the public sector. The major change resulting from this transformation was the amalgamation of over fifteen different departments into five ministries with an added layer of management. The transformation had not yielded the expected results at the time of the research but it has uncovered critical areas for the government to strengthen. These are capacity constraints within the public service, a requirement for a coordinated approach for communication internally and externally, harmonisation of development efforts, transparency and accountability, and the political backing to achieve it all. The New Zealand assistance to the Government of Niue is also analysed using the principles of the Paris Declaration. The results indicated a positive change, considerable improvements from the historical dominating tactics experienced in earlier days. The relationship between the two governments is now recognised as a partnership. The flexibility and the clear communication and dialogue has solidified the partnership which has given confidence and certainty for the Government of Niue to work towards its goal of a prosperous Niue.</p>

Cultivating Ownership of Development Aid: The Role of Civil Society in the Pacific

<p>The principle of ownership and the idea that development aid should be owned by recipients has emerged within the last two decades in key statements from a series of international meetings between major donors and partners, most prominently since the 2005 Paris Declaration when ‘ownership of development aid’ became the first Principle of Aid Effectiveness. The principle was applauded particularly by the governments of rich donor states, but also by their specialist aid agencies and representatives of civil society. However, despite the endorsement and praise of the principle of ownership by all donors and stakeholders, confusion and lack of clarity remains as to what exactly ownership of development aid means especially in terms of policy and practice in the work of development actors. The core proposal of this thesis is that the principle of recipient ownership of development aid, apparently so important at the highest international levels of discussion, must be defined, broken down into relevant ingredients, taken into consideration in terms of policy and practice, and measured. Otherwise, the principle is nothing but empty rhetoric. It is logical to suggest that to have any policy value political concepts should be definable and measureable. Hence, the thesis argues that if one can formulate the relevant ingredients of ownership, one can carefully investigate factors that increase or decrease those ingredients. This is the focus of this thesis. Field research in the Pacific Islands used a mixed methodology that included gathering data on completed development projects and interviewing government officials, major donor officials, other deliverers of aid – particularly the civil society organisations (CSOs) – and especially the project beneficiaries at the grassroots. Projects where CSOs demonstrated particularly close engagement with the communities and beneficiaries were chosen as case studies. Analysing and deconstructing these mechanics and ingredients of ownership produced a new definition for ‘ownership of development aid’ and a range of variables for an Ownership Index and for Ownership Guidelines. These combined tools presented in this research should assist professionals to promote, cultivate and measure ownership of development outcomes that project beneficiaries will maintain, protect and improve over time.</p>

The Influence of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) on Primary Education Policy in Laos

<p>Laos is a poor and aid-dependent country in South-East Asia. Its primary education development has depended heavily on external assistance, which has caused some scholars to argue that education policy is shaped by this influence. While major donors have played a significant role in driving Lao primary education development, NGOs are increasingly engaging in the process since Laos has adopted global commitments, particularly the Education for All goals of the Millennium Development Goals. While the Government of Laos values NGOs’ contributions as equally to those of major donors, it commonly views NGOs as ‘service providers’ and major donors as ‘policy counterparts’. The government is wary of NGOs’ mission and this has also shaped NGOs’ space in the policy arena. This thesis has examined the extent to which NGOs have influenced Lao primary education policy since the adoption of the Vientiane Declaration on Aid Effectiveness in 2006. This research draws on a social constructivist epistemology, and data collection employed qualitative methods including semi-structured interviews, analysis of relevant policy documents, and participant observation. The interviews involved 24 participants representing government agencies, NGOs, donor organisations and education specialists. The main focus of interviews was to explore the degree of NGOs’ influence on primary education policy, the mechanisms and strategies that NGOs use to exercise their influence, and how such mechanisms and strategies have impacted on their role at policy level. The findings indicate that NGOs have limited influence on Lao primary education policy. Although they have some influence through participating in policy dialogues, they have minimal influence on the outcomes of policy development. The fact that NGOs have limited influence on policy outcomes is attributed partly to their limited financial capacity and partly the limits of their specialised expertise to support and convince the government for policy change. The deciding factor, nevertheless, is the government’s reluctance to integrate NGOs’ advice and recommendations into Lao primary education policy due to its wariness of NGOs’ influence, particularly on politically sensitive issues.</p>

The Influence of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) on Primary Education Policy in Laos

<p>Laos is a poor and aid-dependent country in South-East Asia. Its primary education development has depended heavily on external assistance, which has caused some scholars to argue that education policy is shaped by this influence. While major donors have played a significant role in driving Lao primary education development, NGOs are increasingly engaging in the process since Laos has adopted global commitments, particularly the Education for All goals of the Millennium Development Goals. While the Government of Laos values NGOs’ contributions as equally to those of major donors, it commonly views NGOs as ‘service providers’ and major donors as ‘policy counterparts’. The government is wary of NGOs’ mission and this has also shaped NGOs’ space in the policy arena. This thesis has examined the extent to which NGOs have influenced Lao primary education policy since the adoption of the Vientiane Declaration on Aid Effectiveness in 2006. This research draws on a social constructivist epistemology, and data collection employed qualitative methods including semi-structured interviews, analysis of relevant policy documents, and participant observation. The interviews involved 24 participants representing government agencies, NGOs, donor organisations and education specialists. The main focus of interviews was to explore the degree of NGOs’ influence on primary education policy, the mechanisms and strategies that NGOs use to exercise their influence, and how such mechanisms and strategies have impacted on their role at policy level. The findings indicate that NGOs have limited influence on Lao primary education policy. Although they have some influence through participating in policy dialogues, they have minimal influence on the outcomes of policy development. The fact that NGOs have limited influence on policy outcomes is attributed partly to their limited financial capacity and partly the limits of their specialised expertise to support and convince the government for policy change. The deciding factor, nevertheless, is the government’s reluctance to integrate NGOs’ advice and recommendations into Lao primary education policy due to its wariness of NGOs’ influence, particularly on politically sensitive issues.</p>

Cultivating Ownership of Development Aid: The Role of Civil Society in the Pacific

<p>The principle of ownership and the idea that development aid should be owned by recipients has emerged within the last two decades in key statements from a series of international meetings between major donors and partners, most prominently since the 2005 Paris Declaration when ‘ownership of development aid’ became the first Principle of Aid Effectiveness. The principle was applauded particularly by the governments of rich donor states, but also by their specialist aid agencies and representatives of civil society. However, despite the endorsement and praise of the principle of ownership by all donors and stakeholders, confusion and lack of clarity remains as to what exactly ownership of development aid means especially in terms of policy and practice in the work of development actors. The core proposal of this thesis is that the principle of recipient ownership of development aid, apparently so important at the highest international levels of discussion, must be defined, broken down into relevant ingredients, taken into consideration in terms of policy and practice, and measured. Otherwise, the principle is nothing but empty rhetoric. It is logical to suggest that to have any policy value political concepts should be definable and measureable. Hence, the thesis argues that if one can formulate the relevant ingredients of ownership, one can carefully investigate factors that increase or decrease those ingredients. This is the focus of this thesis. Field research in the Pacific Islands used a mixed methodology that included gathering data on completed development projects and interviewing government officials, major donor officials, other deliverers of aid – particularly the civil society organisations (CSOs) – and especially the project beneficiaries at the grassroots. Projects where CSOs demonstrated particularly close engagement with the communities and beneficiaries were chosen as case studies. Analysing and deconstructing these mechanics and ingredients of ownership produced a new definition for ‘ownership of development aid’ and a range of variables for an Ownership Index and for Ownership Guidelines. These combined tools presented in this research should assist professionals to promote, cultivate and measure ownership of development outcomes that project beneficiaries will maintain, protect and improve over time.</p>