92206 Cambodia DFGG Learning Note 17 Partnership Partnerships between actors and Typologies: Partnerships III: Empowering Local Actors national and sub-national state non-state actors were a key part of the Lessons from the Field authority or OWSO before conducting an activity, however over the course of the project, they no longer had to 1 Considering partnerships formed for a function or purpose Demand for Good Governance (DFGG) project. They request formal permission. In other cases, a letter of aimed to ensure the transfer of social accountability support from a partner agency helped improve skills and practices, to leverage existing resources to relationships with a wider set of state actors. Mechanisms support accountability and governance activity, and to of partnership, such as ones employed by DND, can lead explore the ways that state and non-state actors could from collaborations to more integrated partnerships, as they provide a mechanism to jointly manage resources. work together. This note draws on the experiences of NGOs that implemented partnerships in the DFGG project, and includes lessons that can be applied in the design of future initiatives. Setting the Stage for Partnerships 1 One of the important contributions of the DFGG project was to establish a network of practitioners among state and non-state actors. Prior to implementing social accountability tools, organizations introduced language on social accountability and associated principles and mechanisms at shared workshops. Such events established a platform on which to develop partnerships, introducing particular governance principles, such as accountability, which traditionally has not been employed in the local discourse. In some instances, activities fostered joint Shared training events on good governance and social accountability implementation, drawing on government resource people in order to implement or facilitate workshops helping to Joint committees are another mechanism for build coalitions by creating a sense of roles and collaboration. Phnom Srey Organization for Development responsibilities and fostering mutual respect. (PSOD), for instance, established a joint committee to review the performance of communes. The committee the Promoting Mechanisms for Collaboration administered grants to communes to improve service delivery. To further strengthen such arrangements, it is Fostering partnership requires a dual strategy. This important to assess the capacities of each of the members, generally includes establishing a defined mechanism for make sure they are aligned with their responsibilities, and partnership as well as informality in day-to-day affairs. One provide ongoing support as needed. local Cambodian NGO, Ponleur Kumar, for instance, conducted joint trainings on good governance concepts Developing Complementary Roles prior to implementing a citizen report card on local water resource management. Ponleur Kumar agreed with the Local level partnerships are effective. State and non-state Provincial Governors’ offices in Banteay Meanchey, Pursat actors alike noted that partnerships that were the most and Battambang to share resources in the provincial office meaningful were those that supported the development of (e.g. sharing facilities). This enabled trust to build between sub-national governance.The DFGG partnership assessment actors as it outlined a parameter for the partnership where noted that many of the activities implemented under DFGG roles and responsibilities were explicitly outlined. enhanced the existing mandates of subnational government, including: (i) better representing the needs of A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) can support local citizens; (ii) coordinating among local service greater informality in day-to-day work. The Democracy providers; (iii) enhancing accountability and transparency; Resource Center for National Development (DND), which and (iv) improving the quality of service delivery. As signed a MOU with the One Window Service Office (OWSO) described above, many of the partnerships were at the noted that a formal framework allowed them to level of coalition-building or tied to particular activities. collaborate with more informality. DND reported that However, as they were directly linked to the mandate of initially they had to seek permission from the municipal sub-national authorities, there is the potential to further the partnership. 1 See LN 15 for a lengthy discussion on the definitions of partnership. The Asia Foundation Cambodia DFGG Partnerships III Hybrid approaches. The evidence from DFGG further actors to interact and a potentially powerful mechanism to suggests that project models that support service-delivery promote integrated partnerships. and accountability functions can create strong partnerships. DND monitoring of the OWSO, created a body Moving forward - empowering Local Actors of evidence regarding unacceptable practices that enabled In order to transform nascent coalitions into meaningful the OWSO to take action. In another initiative in collaborations and integrated partnerships, it is necessary Battambang, school principals followed up on the NGO to empower both state and non-state actors so they are monitoring of primary schools by the local NGO, Amara, by able to develop partnerships without requiring formal ensuring that teachers were punctual, and that teacher platforms. communication with parents was improved. These projects that included these two partnership functions seemed to Although it is difficult to develop trust through short reinforce agendas of sub-national government and non- project activities, some of the strategies used in the DFGG state actors alike, reinforcing the value of constructive grants that had an impact in the context of Cambodia engagement. Based on the DFGG experience, combined included: service delivery and accountability approaches is highly  developing a common language and practices around effective for deepening the nature of partnerships as they social accountability in order to build respect through support the state’s sub-national governance and service mutual roles and responsibilities; delivery agendas, fulfill CSO mandates, and meet the needs  leveraging both formal and informal partnership of citizens. mechanisms;  supporting both service-delivery and accountability partnership functions simultaneously;  promoting multi-sectoral platforms;  strengthening existing local planning mechanisms; and  empowering local actors to pursue more meaningful collaborations and integrated partnerships. To further leverage partnership strategies, future implementation should target key subnational actors who can play substantive roles in leading and facilitating partnerships. DFGG has created a cadre of local NGO staff and citizen volunteers that have facilitated the implementation of monitoring tools, mobilized interface meetings, and liaised between Partnership activities for citizen engagement and government accountability. subnational authorities, citizens, and non-state actors. Future initiatives should build on these experiences Multi-sector activities. Partnerships focused on more than and include specific roles for local state actors, such as one sector also seem to promote a more meaningful form commune chiefs and service providers in activities such of partnership as they focus on the mechanisms of as monitoring and planning mechanisms. District level collaboration as opposed to the ends of a particular project state actors should also be incorporated to effectively or intervention. Those partnerships fostered by multi- support ongoing partnership strategies. Further sectoral projects are often more sustainable over a period developing the capacity of these actors, particularly of time. In order to transform the coalitions developed by through the roll out of the Social Accountability DFGG into deeper collaborations and integrated Framework should enhance the sustainability of partnerships, it is necessary to strengthen mechanisms, partnerships beyond individual projects. such as the implementation of a multi-sectoral community scorecard and to systematize it at the subnational level. The DFGG Learning Note Series provides quick summaries Institutionalization of such mechanisms ensures that the of lessons learned in the DFGG project. implementation of such approaches is not only tied to Learning Note 17 is based on the experiences of the personal connections between non-state actors and their Non-State Actor Component and draws on the consolidated contacts in local government, but also ties these independent evaluation by PRIA and SILAKA. interventions more closely to the local development cycle Written by Mehr Latif and Gavin Murphy. of communes and services. Accordingly, monitoring tools Series editor, Janelle Plummer. such as the community scorecard incorporated in the Implementation Plan for the Social Accountability Framework (ISAF) create space for state and non-state