Three vacancies at CONCORD, Brussels

CONCORD is the European confederation representing, through its 40 members, over 1800 European NGOs for relief and international development. The Secretariat of CONCORD is looking for:

• An experienced INTERNAL SERVICES MANAGER
  
  The manager will be responsible for the timely provision of statutory information for Belgian authorities and for the Board and General Assembly of CONCORD, managing CONCORD’s overall budget and ensuring the production of timely management accounts, coordinating CONCORD’s fundraising activities, developing and overseeing financial and procurement procedures, developing HR policies, systems and processes, ensuring the smooth functioning of CONCORD’s internal infrastructure and ensuring that CONCORD respects its statutory obligations.
  
  The postholder will manage a small team of experienced and qualified finance and support staff and will join CONCORD’s management team.
  
• A PERSONAL ASSISTANT
  
  The post is a key role within the organization directly supporting the work of the Director, of the Management Team and of the Board and handling sensitive information.
  
  The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate 3 + years similar experience, organizational and planning skills, enthusiasm, energy and discretion, be English mother tongue and fluent in French with an understanding of NGO culture.
  
• A FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION OFFICER (for 30 months, 4 days per week)
  
  The officer will ensure efficient, effective and transparent administration and oversight of the finances, donor relations, core meetings and communications of the Open Forum on CSO Development Effectiveness, a global process of Civil Society Organisations. CONCORD is leading a consortium of 6 regional and global CSO networks supporting the Open Forum. The Finance & Administration Officer will report to the CONCORD Internal Services Manager.

Also check out Euforic's newsfeeds on CONCORD, and on civil society

European InternetWorking for Development: EC-funded Euforic project starts in 2009

In 2009, Euforic starts a new project co-financed with the European Commission (EuropeAid), ICCO and other partners. The action is funded for three years in response to a call for proposals on actions supporting 'Non-State Actors and Local Authorities in Development - Coordination, Cooperation and Networking Activities in Europe.'

The project particularly focuses on the use of social media (see recent projects) by Euforic and its members - particularly in opening up the reporting of meetings and helping information to travel.

The project is led by Euforic and ICCO, with close involvement of other members and partners of Euforic.

The project intends that:

• Euforic members successfully use the Internet to enhance the impact of face to face events they organize to exchange information and experience to advocate and influence policies, or to communicate with wider publics;
• European non-state actors in development commonly and effectively use low cost online social networking tools to collaborate and communicate and that they are supported by a virtual community of specialist-users within their networks.

The project has four components:

1. F2F+ (Face to Face plus) – Through the project, we will help ensure that at least nine significant face-to-face multi-stakeholder events on issues relevant to EU development policies reach virtual audiences at least 10 times the actual number of face-to-face participants.

2. Web2ToT (Web 2 Training of Trainers) – Through the project, at least 50 organizations (both Non-State Actors and Local Authorities) particularly in New Member States will be enabled to actively use free or low cost Internet tools and services to enhance how they create, exchange and communicate knowledge and how they engage in intra-network and multi-stakeholder collaboration.

3. KnowHow2Share – Through the project, Euforic and its ‘network’ members will use social networking tools strategically, having developed new, cross-sectoral network relations.

4. REACT - Through the project, we will compile and disseminate action research findings on the use of Internet and web2 in networking for development among actors in Europe.

The project will be formally launched in April 2009.

More:

• list of Euforic members
• newsfeed on civil society in development
• newsfeed on information, communication and networking in development
• newsfeed on Europe's international cooperation
• European Communicators on Cooperation, Relief and Development blog

Major evaluation of EC aid channelled through Civil Society Organisations

Source: EU News, Issue 1, February 2008

This evaluation, undertaken by a consortium of consultancies, responds to ambitious terms of reference to assess almost all EC aid channelled through civil society organisations (CSOs) in the period 2000 -2006 (except ECHO and CARDS). Over that period, the total amount channelled through CSOs amounts to 5.3 billion €, and a clear increase of CSO channelling can be observed. All in all, 76% of total specified payments have been channelled through Northern CSOs and 24% through Southern CSOs.

The evaluation included 6 field missions to Benin, Cambodia, Georgia, Lebanon, Peru and Somalia with 6 case studies on specific issues. The evaluators interviewed some 350 persons and analysed an estimated 500 documents.

The Evaluation Team found evidence of major gaps between EC policy commitments towards civil society and actual implementation practices in using the CSO channel. In the field, innovative approaches co-exist with traditional ‘top-down’, ‘supply-driven’ and/or ‘instrumental’ approaches to working with CSOs.
These gaps (i) reduce the overall consistency of the EC’s strategy towards civil society; (ii) make it difficult to tap the full potential of CSOs as aid delivery mechanism; (iii) reduce the chances of achieving sustainable impact and (iv) affect the credibility of the EC as a global player and development partner.

Main findings are:

• The EC participatory development agenda is gradually changing the use of the CSO channel
• The EC has not yet developed a clear and consistent strategy to using the CSO channel
• The added value of the CSO channel is not optimally used by the EC who is not well-equipped to properly deal with the question all along the cooperation cycle from the identification phase to the design phase and related choice of modalities.
• There is a mixed record with regard to results, impact and sustainability. Evidence has been collected of positive effects on a project level. However it is less evident to draw firm conclusions with regard to the sustainable impact of these interventions, particularly considering that broader processes of societal change require a longer time span to achieve results.
• The prevailing institutional culture within the EC is not conducive to a strategic management of the CSO channel; the overall EC institutional environment is a major bottleneck for a strategic management of the CSO channel. This contrasts with mere instrumental approaches whereby CSOs are primarily seen as beneficiaries of project funding.

Main recommendations are:

• Provide a clearer political and stronger managerial leadership in pushing for an effective implementation of policy commitments towards CSOs
• Champion space for civil society in the policy and political dialogue with partner governments; the EC should make more effective use of its political position and leverage to stand up in the political dialogue with partner governments for respect of laws and agreements concerning civil society;
• Enhance the quality of the partnership through improving dialogue with CSOs and through more adapted CSO support modalities.
• Enhance, through genuine participatory processes, the overall quality of programming aid through civil society; the EC should improve knowledge of Civil Society within its own institution and develop country-specific strategies to involve them better in order to improve the strategic programming of how to use Civil Society in cooperation.
• The Evaluation findings clearly indicate that the overall relevance, effectiveness and sustainability of the CSO channel is likely to be considerably improved if the EC seriously rethinks and refines its current implementation strategies using existing good practices as starting point.

(Source: evaluation report and summary of evaluation report).

The outcomes of this major evaluation were presented to Member States and civil society representatives on 4 February. CONCORD FDR, invited on short notice, prepared a short response welcoming the report’s main findings and recommendations and making 8 proposals on the way to reduce the implementation gap between EC policy commitments and actual practices towards CSOs, in summary:

• Support CSOs in focussing primarily on their accountability towards the people they work with and for, rather than towards donors
• In evaluating CSOs’ work and funding new projects, reward quality and long-term impact rather than short-term outputs and efficient spending
• Avoid pitching the Northern and the Southern organisations against each other in competition for funds
• Involve CSOs in your programming processes – both geographic and thematic – and in-country policy dialogue
• Support CSOs’ engagement with Local Authorities in governance processes while helping them to protect their autonomy and operational space
• Make the necessary resources available to build vibrant civil societies in partner countries
• Explore alternative (to the call for proposals) methods of funding CSOs
• Support own CSOs initiatives focused on enhancing joint responsibility and mutual accountability for results of all development actors

CONCORD FDR is ready to work on the evaluation recommendations and on these 8 proposals together with EU officials in a constructive way.

Summary and full text of the evaluation report available here.
CONCORD FDR response available on request from Karine Sohet

See also Euforic's newsfeeds on aid evaluation, civil society, CIDSE and APRODEV

Civil Society: One year of Africa-EU Partnership

A year after the Africa- Europe Strategic Partnership Agreement was signed with great expectations, actors in development take stock.

The Joint Strategy was launched in December 2007 during the Lisbon Summit of the Portuguese EU-Presidency. Its aim was multifaceted cooperation between equal partners. A 3-year Action Plan was adopted as well including objectives to carry out until the next summit which is planned for 2010.

A report (pdf-file) by Coordination Sud, Terre des Hommes and Secours Catholique looks at the role of Civil Society within the implementation of the partnership Action Plan. It shows that participation of Civil Society actors in Europe made some progress, although the level of involvement differs significantly within different activity areas.

Additionally the authors look at the implementation within the different policy areas which range from Peace and Security, Governance or Migration to Science or Energy. Hereby the report criticizes among other aspects the use of EDF funds for non-development related issues like security and migration. Furthermore the authors lament that the whole working programme is strongly driven by European interests.

Regarding this, there is the expectation that the EU-ACP Cotonou Partnership Agreement which is due for a revision this year might also be influenced by the new 'spirit' of the EU-Africa Partnership.

See also a recent summary of the European Parliament's Draft Report: 'One year after Lisbon: The Africa-EU partnership at work' (pdf-file), on ECDPM's Europafrica.org.

Here, you also find additional information and documents on the EU-Africa Strategic Partnership.

by Martin Behrens

See also the Euforic newsfeed and dossier on EU-Africa cooperation.

Almost 100 national NGO platforms gather in Paris

Source: Concord Flash, nr. 55, October 2008

During the French presidency of the European Union, in Paris on Thursday 30 October 2008 Coordination SUD, in partnership with CONCORD, organised an international conference entitled “World Views on Europe”. Here, for the first time in history, representatives of national NGO platforms from almost 100 countries came together. The conference, which was open to the press and the public, was an opportunity – at this time of world crisis – to compare the visions of NGOs from all over the world with those of the French, EU and international institutions on four major challenges for the future of humankind: globalisation, sustainable development, building a peaceful world and human rights.

The participants took the opportunity to give Mr Joyandet, French State Secretary for Cooperation with responsibility for the French-speaking World, a road map entitled "Messages from the World to the European Union". This asks the EU for a reform of world governance that would be in the service of the most vulnerable and calls on it to review all its trade, farming, environmental and economic policies, to make them contribute to genuinely sustainable development, north and south, and to the fight against inequality.

According to Bakary Doumbia, President of FECONG (Malian NGO Platform), "European development cooperation focuses on the fight against illegal immigration, promoting the interests of European companies and fighting terrorism, instead of strengthening the policies on education, health and equality between men and women".

Mike Mathias, Chairman of CONCORD’s Policy Forum, explained that "the European model of development must be reexamined from scratch. The planet cannot bear the consumption by the economically privileged populations of the world. The current model, based on economic growth alone, does not allow for a better distribution of wealth".

Click here to see some videos made at "World Views on Europe".

"World Views on Europe" briefing

See also Euforic's newsfeeds on EU cooperation, and on Concord

Coming soon: the 2009 Czech presidency

Source: Concord Flash, nr. 55, October 2008

The Czech government’s main motto for its EU Presidency is “Europe without Barriers” – a reference to competitiveness, the four freedoms and liberal trade policy. Other priorities include sustainable and safe energy, the revision of the EU budget and the Common agricultural Policy, transatlantic relations, enlargement to include the Balkans and Eastern Europe, and progress in the areas of freedom, justice and security.

Development cooperation is not a key priority. But the 18-month programme drafted with the French and Swedish governments does call for work between now and the end of 2009 on: EU development policies and coherence, in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015; aid effectiveness, by implementing the Paris Declaration by the end of 2010; and negotiating and implementing Economic Partnership Agreements in Africa. It also calls for the following processes to be driven forward: enlargement and the Union for the Mediterranean; the implementation of a Common European Asylum System by 2010; the development of a comprehensive EU migration policy and the recognition of the positive link between migration and development; and, finally, ensuring that development aid takes the impact of climate change into account.

FoRS, the Czech national platform of development NGOs, is also planning lots of activities. The main focus of its presidency programme will be the effectiveness of Civil Society Organisationss (CSOs) and promoting them to the public and to political stakeholders. FoRS will therefore contribute to the global CSO Development Effectiveness process established as by CSOs a self-driven process in parallel with the Paris Declaration.

Other priorities for the programme are: good governance; development effectiveness; development education; sustainable technologies for sustainable development; migration and development; agriculture and food security. A symposium, seminar, international conference and experts meetings will be organised to reflect on these themes.

For further information contact Zuzana Sládková, Policy Officer - FoRS

See also Euforic's newsfeeds on Czech development cooperation, the EU presidency, and on Concord

EC Annual Action Plan 2008: bi-annual calls for all NGOs and implications for the New Member States

Source: Concord Flash, nr. 58, 2008

The annual action programme 2008 was adopted on 12 August 2008. After the “Non-State Actors and Local Authorities in Development – NSA-LA Strategy Paper 2007 – 2010" it is the basic document in which the European Commission gives detailed conditions and guidelines for the different calls for proposals sent out under its financing instruments. CONCORD regrets that the budgets for 2008 and 2009 will be combined and that the calls for proposals will be published for a biannual period. The Working Group on Funding for Development and Relief (FDR) hopes that the EC will stick to its line that this is exceptional, and that as of 2010 the calls for proposals will again be launched on an annual basis. It seems, however, that the next Call for Proposals for Investing in People is to be launched for the years 2009-2010. In this way, it will alternate with the Call for Proposals for NSA-LA which would cover the 2008-2009 budgets.

After a lot of lobbying work done by CONCORD over the past year, and thanks to the input of different players, the EC has added 10 more countries to the list of those covered by the new programme (Cape Verde, Djibouti, Haiti, Liberia, Mauritania, Solomon Islands, Togo, Afghanistan, Morocco and Tunisia), while Malawi is no longer on the list.

The European Commission’s Non-State Actors and Local Authorities in Development thematic programme, which succeeded the former NGO Co-financing and Decentralised Co-operation budget lines, aims at supporting small-scale initiatives in the area of development proposed and/or carried out by civil society organisations and/or local authorities from the European Union and partner countries. The programme’s three main objectives are to support:

1. Development actions to be implemented by non-state actors or local authorities in close cooperation with the local communities and most vulnerable population groups, aiming at promoting an inclusive and empowered society in partner countries
2. Actions in the EU and acceding countries aiming at raising public awareness of development issues and promoting education for development (DE) to mobilise greater public support for poverty reduction
3. Actions aiming at achieving more efficient cooperation, facilitating structured dialogue in the area of development.

What is the same as in the previous Annual Action Plan regarding New Member States? In the thematic programme on development education (see the second objective above), the actions proposed by organisations from the 12 New Member States are favoured: the rate of EC co-financing can be as high as 90% of an action's budget and the EC grant can be lower than for old member states, namely EUR 25,000. It also seems that some other eligibility criteria will be kept as smooth as in the last Development Education Call in 2007.

Note that the Calls will be launched in November/December 2008! The EC is preparing the launch of five Calls for Proposals to be issued in November/December 2008 (In-country Actions, Multi-country actions NSA, Multi-country actions LA, Development Education and Networking), while at the same time 70 EC delegations are working to launch their local calls. An overview of all the centralised and local NSA and LA calls and their main objectives will be published on the EuropeAid website.

For more information contact Petra Kreinecker, TRIALOG and An Van Goey, CONCORD

See the Euforic newsfeeds on Concord and on civil society and development education