Mid-Term Review of the AGIR Programme - Sida

E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y
effective management of a multiple donor funding mechanism. Perhaps new
donors’ acceptance of the principle of good donorship as it is implemented
within the AGIR programme is key to the discussion of adding them. While
there can be (as the review team observed within the AGIR programme) management
problems that are integral to its use (the difficulty of directed support),
the AGIR intermediaries have initiated a course of action that can be instrumental
in promoting good donorship in support of civil society.
The Embassy of Sweden can contribute to the effectiveness of the AGIR program
by engaging in “environmental” strategies. Environmental strategies are
actions and activities that improve the environment, within which the intermediaries
work with their partners. Perhaps the two most critical strategies for
the Embassy would be to play a more visible role in the donor community regarding
the benefits of a “good donorship’ approach for civil society strengthening.
Helping other donors understand the mechanisms (positive and negative)
of this approach could lead to its use by others and a better understanding
of the AGIR programme. Secondly, the review team from the donor community
constantly heard comments concerning the need for a dialogue between
donors regarding civil society strengthening within Mozambique. There is a
real lack of understanding between donors about what each is doing or the
partners each is supporting. The Embassy should take a lead role in facilitating
this interaction among donors on the issue of civil society capacity
strengthening in Mozambique, using its experiences with the AGIR programme
as the touchstone for ongoing discussions. This lead facilitating role
can only improve the visibility of the AGIR programme and that of the Embassy
of Sweden in the area of civil society capacity strengthening.
In order to increase the visibility of the programme, AGIR should, at a minimum,
create a website. This site could be used to post, for example, the AGIR
platform, case studies including the documentation of campaigns and advocacy
processes, lessons learned and good practices in AGIR. It could also be
used to share guidelines, manuals, and methodologies and highlight how
AGIR makes a difference in strengthening Mozambican civil society.
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