Approaches to Improving the Delivery of Social Services in Difficult ...
Approaches to Improving the Delivery of Social Services in Difficult ...
Approaches to Improving the Delivery of Social Services in Difficult ...
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<strong>Approaches</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>Improv<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Delivery</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Social</strong> <strong>Services</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Difficult</strong> Environments50. The mapp<strong>in</strong>g is necessarily crude, and is certa<strong>in</strong>ly not meant <strong>to</strong> beprescriptive. It gives an <strong>in</strong>dication <strong>of</strong> how entry po<strong>in</strong>ts and approaches areaffected by <strong>the</strong> type <strong>of</strong> context <strong>in</strong> which <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>ternational communityoperates. Environments that exhibit both capacity and will (what might betermed ‘good’ performers) are <strong>in</strong>cluded for comparison purposes. Onecountry context may exhibit all four characteristics simultaneously (see V.3below). Annex 2 summarises <strong>the</strong> key characteristics <strong>of</strong> each <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se types<strong>of</strong> environment.51. Tools are needed <strong>to</strong> derive relevant contextual <strong>in</strong>formation and <strong>to</strong> agree onways <strong>to</strong> pool and share it. In order <strong>to</strong> programme effectively, managersneed a consistently excellent understand<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> context <strong>in</strong> which <strong>the</strong>yare work<strong>in</strong>g. Arriv<strong>in</strong>g at an understand<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> capacity and will<strong>in</strong>gnessdimensions <strong>of</strong> any particular context will require <strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong><strong>in</strong>dica<strong>to</strong>rs and a methodology for apply<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>m. There are a number <strong>of</strong>efforts currently underway <strong>to</strong> develop assessment <strong>to</strong>ols that can be used<strong>in</strong> difficult environments. These will need <strong>to</strong> be ref<strong>in</strong>ed, field tested, and ifpossible shared between different agencies.V.2 Mak<strong>in</strong>g trade-<strong>of</strong>fs explicit52. <strong>Difficult</strong> environments force trade <strong>of</strong>fs between short and long-termobjectives. The short-term objective <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>ternational community <strong>in</strong>difficult environments is <strong>to</strong> relieve immediate humanitarian suffer<strong>in</strong>g byprovid<strong>in</strong>g life sav<strong>in</strong>g support, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g deliver<strong>in</strong>g services. In <strong>the</strong> longerterm, <strong>the</strong> objective is <strong>to</strong> facilitate social and political change that results <strong>in</strong>an environment where poor people are empowered <strong>to</strong> demand <strong>the</strong>ir rightsand <strong>the</strong> state is responsive <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> voices <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> poor. These objectivesfrequently conflict with each o<strong>the</strong>r. Many <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> trade-<strong>of</strong>fs currently madeare not recognised, or not made explicit. Hav<strong>in</strong>g a framework for mak<strong>in</strong>g<strong>the</strong> trade-<strong>of</strong>fs explicit would improve transparency and <strong>the</strong> rigour <strong>of</strong>analysis.53. The mapp<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> figure 2 shows that where <strong>the</strong>re is political will, <strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong>reis significantly more space for work<strong>in</strong>g <strong>to</strong> streng<strong>the</strong>n state oversight forservice delivery. The k<strong>in</strong>ds <strong>of</strong> approaches that are suggested <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>to</strong>p leftquadrant clearly show that <strong>the</strong>se environments are closer <strong>to</strong> ‘bus<strong>in</strong>ess asusual’ than ei<strong>the</strong>r <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> situations where <strong>the</strong>re is a lack <strong>of</strong> will<strong>in</strong>gness. Themost difficult <strong>of</strong> this group <strong>of</strong> environments are those that are emerg<strong>in</strong>gfrom conflict and where <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>ternational community is seek<strong>in</strong>g <strong>to</strong>legitimate a nascent government. One <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> key issues here is <strong>to</strong> f<strong>in</strong>dways <strong>to</strong> rebuild <strong>the</strong> system <strong>in</strong> ways that do not simply reproduce andre<strong>in</strong>force previous <strong>in</strong>equities, or replicate dysfunctional alignments and<strong>in</strong>stitutions. F<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> right balance between ‘upstream’ reforms andmak<strong>in</strong>g sure that services reach people on <strong>the</strong> ground is also a key issue.This is why <strong>the</strong> role <strong>of</strong> non-state providers is potentially so important.54. In situations where <strong>the</strong>re is government unwill<strong>in</strong>gness but <strong>the</strong>re is strongcapacity, <strong>the</strong>n f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g an entry po<strong>in</strong>t for service delivery <strong>in</strong>terventions <strong>in</strong>partnership with <strong>the</strong> state is extremely challeng<strong>in</strong>g. This situation isThis work<strong>in</strong>g paper is <strong>in</strong>tended <strong>to</strong> stimulate public discussion. It is not necessarily DFID orUK Government policy26