Mid-Term Review of the AGIR Programme - Sida
Mid-Term Review of the AGIR Programme - Sida
Mid-Term Review of the AGIR Programme - Sida
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2 F I N D I N G S<br />
political participation implies ensuring a basic human right; and finally, for ORAM,<br />
land tenure is at <strong>the</strong> core <strong>of</strong> guaranteeing access to basic rights to many people in rural<br />
areas. These arguments are all consistent, and tend to be used as a justification for<br />
<strong>the</strong> absence <strong>of</strong> explicit mainstreaming <strong>of</strong> this issue in partner organisation interventions.<br />
<strong>AGIR</strong> itself has not dedicated much time to <strong>the</strong> reflection <strong>of</strong> human rights<br />
mainstreaming, which makes <strong>the</strong> overall weakness on <strong>the</strong> interventions in this area<br />
more understandable, or even more critical to <strong>the</strong> understanding <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> meaning <strong>of</strong><br />
human rights mainstreaming among partners.<br />
2.6 SUSTAINABILITY – SUSTAINING <strong>AGIR</strong><br />
2.6.1 Reaching a Sustainable Level <strong>of</strong> Donor Participation in <strong>AGIR</strong><br />
<strong>AGIR</strong> support to identify opportunities for local, national and international funding is<br />
critical. The programme is being implemented in a context <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> financial crisis,<br />
which has considerably impacted <strong>the</strong> availability <strong>of</strong> funding and <strong>the</strong> strategic priorities<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> donors. In this regard, some organisations have had <strong>the</strong>ir sources <strong>of</strong> funding<br />
dramatically reduced; and in some cases <strong>AGIR</strong> is <strong>the</strong> sole source <strong>of</strong> funding or<br />
accounts for a considerable part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> organisations’ core funding. In relation to <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>AGIR</strong> programme, <strong>the</strong>re is real danger <strong>of</strong> increasing donor dependence on partner<br />
organisations that are selected and involved in <strong>the</strong> programme. The addition <strong>of</strong> more<br />
donors in <strong>the</strong> <strong>AGIR</strong> programme could exacerbate this problem, with considerable<br />
funding available to a select few partner organisations, while removing this funding<br />
source from o<strong>the</strong>rs outside <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> programme.<br />
Consequently, since <strong>the</strong> current funding <strong>of</strong> civil society in Mozambique is at a critical<br />
juncture, <strong>the</strong>re is space for additional donors to join <strong>the</strong> programme. From <strong>the</strong> perspective<br />
<strong>of</strong> programme management, additional donors added to <strong>the</strong> <strong>AGIR</strong> programme<br />
could potentially mean more transaction costs, unless principles <strong>of</strong> good donorship<br />
are applied. The progress made in this area in <strong>the</strong> programme through <strong>the</strong><br />
focus on core funding, <strong>the</strong> facilitation and lobbying efforts <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> intermediaries to<br />
convince donors to join common funding mechanisms, and through supported reporting<br />
mechanisms to reduce <strong>the</strong> burden for CSOs, has laid <strong>the</strong> ground for a more effective<br />
management <strong>of</strong> a multiple donor funding mechanism. Perhaps key to <strong>the</strong> discussion<br />
on <strong>the</strong> addition <strong>of</strong> new donors is <strong>the</strong> acceptance by <strong>the</strong>m <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> principle <strong>of</strong> good<br />
donorship as it is implemented within <strong>the</strong> <strong>AGIR</strong> programme. While <strong>the</strong>re can be (as<br />
<strong>the</strong> review team observed within <strong>the</strong> <strong>AGIR</strong> programme) management problems that<br />
are integral to its use (<strong>the</strong> difficulty <strong>of</strong> directed support), <strong>the</strong> <strong>AGIR</strong> intermediaries<br />
have initiated a course <strong>of</strong> action that can be instrumental to promote good donorship<br />
in support to civil society.<br />
The selection process for partner organisations and its link to donor dependency is<br />
also a potential concern. This is mainly dependency to <strong>the</strong> intermediaries, which can<br />
be considered to extend to <strong>the</strong> (external/government) donors, <strong>the</strong> meaning here is<br />
slightly different. As noted earlier, <strong>the</strong> selection <strong>of</strong> long-time CSO partners can help<br />
perpetuate <strong>the</strong> dependency <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se organisations on <strong>the</strong> intermediaries. While finan-<br />
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