WUNRN
Direct Link to 127-Page Report -
Transform Africa:
Living Gender in African
Organizations & Communities:
Stories from The Gambia, Rwanda,
Uganda & Zambia
This Report, part of a 4-year
process, has increased Transform Africa's understanding of gender issues in
Africa, and knowledge about the difficulties in managing multiple country joint
initiatives, especially when Northern NGO's partner with (Southern) local
organizations in Africa.There was overwhelming evidence from all four African countries
in the study, that there is an inextricable link between culture, religion, and
how people perceive gender.
______________________________________________________________________
A Review of a Report on a
Research Programme Exploring the Dynamics of
North-South Partnerships Between Development NGOs.
By Kathambi Kinoti - AWID
A majority of development projects in the global South involve a
collaboration between a local NGO and an NGO from the global North. The
Northern NGO (NNGO) usually provides funding for the project and may also
provide technical advice. More often than not, it directs how the project
will be run. The Southern NGO (SNGO) is the implementing partner and the
link between the project beneficiaries and the NNGO. The relationship
between the two NGOs is often described as a partnership, but is this an
accurate description?
Transform Africa is a British NGO with partners in several Southern
countries. Between 2003 and 2004, it carried out research on the dynamics
of partnerships between NNGOs and SNGOs. The research was carried out in
the United Kingdom, as well as in Rwanda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. A
literature review was one of the components of the research programme,
which also involved face-to-face interviews and focus group discussions.
The report contains a case study that illustrates the problem that the
research was trying to address. A representative of an NNGO went on a
project visit to Uganda. The Ugandan NGO was at the time hosting a 3-day
workshop at which one of the topics of discussion, interestingly, was the
relationship with NNGOs. The staff of the Ugandan NGO did not attend the
workshop they were to host, opting instead to attend to the NNGO
representative. When this later came out, the NNGO representative was
shocked that the Ugandan NGO staff had abandoned their workshop. The SNGO
staff on their part had not felt able to speak out. This case study
illustrates a fundamental problem in relationships between Southern and
Northern NGOs and shows that the balance of power is clearly perceived to
be in favour of NNGOs, perhaps as they have more financial power.
The main problem that the research programme aimed to address was the
complaint that NNGOs do not listen enough to their Southern partners, but
are influenced by their funders, fellow NNGOs and their own internal
dynamics. This means that the development process is Northern-driven. The
research focussed on three areas, chosen primarily because it is in these
areas that SNGOs feel they encounter problems. The areas of focus were:
1) The extent to which NNGOs consult with their partners on policy change;
2) The manner in which Memoranda of Understanding or contracts between
NNGOs and SNGOs are made;
3) The extent to which NNGOs are open to requests for information from
their partners.
The research came up with interesting findings, some of which are as
follows:
- While NNGOs referred to their SNGOs as their ‘partners’, SNGOs tended to
refer to, and therefore regard, NNGOs as ‘donors’ or ‘funders’ rather than
as partners.
- The perceptions of different partners about the same process vary widely.
For instance, when an NNGO consults with its Southern partner, the NNGO
staff members tends to regard the process as participatory and
consultative, whereas the SNGO staff member sees it as a process by which
the SNGO is told what is expected of them and how they should do things.
- SNGO staff felt that the relationships were not ‘adult to adult’ but more
like ‘adult to teenager or young adult.’
- SNGOs felt that the NNGOs were often out of touch with local culture,
languages and needs as they did not have field offices in their countries
of operation. Contracts or agreements between the partners were usually
written in English, or Spanish in the case of Latin American SNGOs. For
this reason the beneficiaries, who may not speak those languages, were
hindered in understanding the terms of the contract or agreements.
- SNGOs often complained about NNGO administrative capacities. They felt
that there was a lack of organizational memory. Often they had to send and
resend information to the NNGO. The NNGOs rarely gave them any feedback on
their work. Late disbursement of funds was a major complaint made by SNGOs
as this impacted negatively on their ability to effectively deliver
services.
- SNGOs felt that the information flow was largely one-way, with the SNGO
providing its Northern partner with lots of information while the NNGO did
not feel the need to provide the SNGO with much information.
- SNGOs felt that the NNGOs do not listen to them or involve them in the
shaping of development policies and practice. NNGOs on the other hand did
acknowledge inequalities in their relationships with SNGOs, but felt that
they took into account SNGO opinions in creating development policies and
in development practice.
- NNGO staff saw themselves as having to play a balancing act as regards
their donors and their Southern partners. A common complaint was that SNGOs
think that NNGOs have a lot of money whereas the NNGO has to work very hard
in order to raise funds. NNGOs also observed that the nature of development
work has changed, becoming more technical and this limits the ability of
NNGOs to invest in the human relationships that are essential to a
partnership. This may not be fully understood by the SNGOs.
The findings of the research programme would probably be an eye-opener to
most development NGOs, particularly as regards the varying perceptions of
the partnership relationship. It will assist development practitioners to
see their relationships from their partners’ points of view.
The report contains recommendations, mainly from the SNGOs. Most of the
recommendations concern involving SNGOs more in policy-making, such as
having SNGO representatives on NNGO boards, and having systems and
processes that would allow Southern partners to make a contribution to NNGO
strategy.
‘Transforming Partnerships’ is a useful resource for both Southern and
Northern development NGOs. It will assist them to critically analyse and
understand the dynamics of their own relationships with partner NGOs. It
shows what pitfalls to avoid and how they can avoid them.
Resources
Transform Africa. ‘Transforming Partnerships: The Dynamics of North-South
Partnerships between Development NGO's - www.transformafrica.org
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