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On the Occasion of National Social Service Day
Capacity Building of Nepali NGOs: Agenda of the Day
By Kedar Sharma Badu, President,
Nepal Centre for Development Practice, CDEP
kedarbadu@yahoo.com
Background:
NGOs in Nepal are currently working in a challenging environment created by the continued conflict situation, which is growing day by day. As the government's presence is limited only in the district headquarters and major towns, NGOs have become the only conduit and link to deliver services to the poor and disadvantaged communities in most part of the country. On the external front, Nepal has already been admitted to WTO, and its negative effects on the livelihood of poor and disadvantaged people is going to be felt within a short period of time.
How is Nepal going to deal with internal political instability and the external pressures from the forces of globalization at the same time? The only answer seems to come through increasing the role of civil society organizations, especially NGOs, to safeguard the interests of the people and save the country from further depression and collapse. Take for example the strike of Drug Dealers of the past month that paralyzed the health service in the country. The demands of the drug dealers were so unjustified that even some honest pharmacists opposed the strike, not to speak of the general public. However, the government fulfilled almost all their (11 out of 12) demands. This case clearly shows that, in the Nepalese context, Civil Society should come forward to defend its interests rather than relying on state apparatus or political parties. However, a large majority of civil society organizations in Nepal are still at an early stage of development, and those few NGOs who had the capacity, have been swapped by donor demands and unrealistic expectations, and therefore have no time (or commitment, rather) to take up the real critical issues faced by civil society. Therefore, the need for capacity building of NGOs at a large scale has become a national priority. This article elaborates the meaning of, and rationale for, capacity building of NGOs and provides recommendations to the policy makers for action.
Meaning of and Rationale for Capacity of NGOs
Capacity is a multi-dimensional and complex attribute. In a simple sense, it covers the totality of organized efforts of an organization to fulfill its mission. In other words, it is the awareness and ability of an organization to set goals (Mission) and achieve them. Therefore, the key issue is the elaboration of the identity of the NGO in relation to the Mission and purpose.
In contrast with this generally accepted definition of capacity, most NGO capacity building interventions in Nepal are driven by the Mission and purpose of Donors and INGOs, not local NGOs. Donors and INGOs want to see quick results, and hence they provide technical skills to NGOs to improve their performance, as a result of which, organizational dimensions of NGO capacity is often overlooked. Some agencies understand the importance of organizational capacity, but they provide such capacity to their partners often in an ad-hoc basis, spontaneously. NGOs also think that organizational and managerial capacity will develop automatically as they proceed with donor funded projects. This is a myth! If organizational growth and change are to be managed successfully, they need to be planned. This is particularly true for young NGOs who are experiencing exponential growth and are facing donor expectations of improved performance.
The lessons of development efforts in Nepal and elsewhere have shown that Partners not Projects should be the motto of INGOs and Donors. Making partners more effective institutions should be the focus of external agencies than short-term achievements. INGOs should work to create conditions for equitable development rather than working to eliminate the symptoms of poverty through direct implementation. INGOs and Donors, willingly or unwillingly, are taking the lead role in Nepal's development, which has only created dependency. What they need to do is facilitate the local actors, help them to plan and help implement that plan with resources and advice.
The government accepted NGOs as partners in development since the period of inception of the 8th Plan. But, so far, no serious thinking is going on how to strengthen NGO sector in the country. Just providing policy space is not enough for the empowerment of NGOs. Government in cooperation with donors and INGOs need to provide capacity building services and resource support, so that more than 40,000 NGOs (a formidable resource!) of the country can really make a difference in the lives of the people in the country. The Government and Donors have been shown to use double standards when the issue of capacity building arises. The Government, with the help of Donors, sends hundreds of government officers and bureaucrats to foreign universities each year for study with paid leave and scholarships, and thus spends thousands of dollars per person. At the same time, they hesitate to spend even ten dollars per capita for the capacity building of the cadres of civil society. NGOs need to question this unfair and discriminatory practice.
NGOs however, should not be complacent and should not forget the fact that no external agency can be relied upon to build their capacity if they don?t take the initiative. Commitment and motivation of NGO for self-change is the foundation from which the process of capacity building can move forward. A reluctant NGO is unlikely to make genuine efforts to identify and acknowledge its weaknesses and have the resolve to undergo an often-difficult process of change. Therefore NGOs need to reflect their past experience on capacity building, and make it a major agenda for dialogue with government and donors, rather than "begging" for funds. The simple truth is this: No country has ever developed solely on the basis of external funding, and Nepal cannot be an exception.
Conclusions:
To conclude the article in a positive note, I would like to make the following recommendations to the concerned stakeholders for strengthening NGO sector in Nepal:
The government (SWC) should issue a Policy Paper on capacity building. The government should recognize that capacity is needed not only to NGOs but the whole government machinery as well!
INGOs and Donors should consult with local communities and stakeholders before selecting their partner NGOs,
Selected Partner NGOs should be taken in a process of capacity building for a period of 1-2 years before funding their programmes;
INGOs and Donors should go beyond the rhetoric of "partnership" and think ways of facilitating NGO Networks as well. Partnership and network development should go hand in hand;
Networks of issue-based NGOs should be encouraged rather than the present "kumbh-mela" in the name of NGO Networking;
NGO Networks should work towards improving the image of the sector, rather than implementing donor funded projects, for whatever reasons there may be.
More and more donors are willing to work directly with local NGOs as INGOs are becoming costly intermediaries. The fundamental challenge here is the lack of capacity of local NGOs. Therefore, implementing capacity building programme for local NGOs and at the same time putting a ceiling for INGO operation in Nepal (say 10 years max. for each INGO) can be an effective strategy to empower NGOs. Time has come for INGOs to redefine their role. One of such roles could be to engage explicitly towards capacity building of local NGOs.
The day to day task of capacity building should be given to local professional organisations. Government and Donors should provide policy framework and resources for the Establishment and growth of NGO Support Organisations and Resource centres locally. Lessons of SAARC countries in this regard might be a valuable resource for our Policy makers.
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Sep 20, 2003. Gongabu. Kathmandu, Nepal.
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