The Moshi dialogue
29 October 2010
In November 2009, the East African Support Unit for NGOs (EASUN) and PSO, an association of Dutch NGOs, organised a conference in Moshi, Tanzania, that brought together 36 NGOs from the North and the South.
PSO and EASUN organised the Moshi conference as a platform for learning about the relationships between Northern and Southern NGOs, and to provide insights into how to develop more effective capacity-building relationships. The Southern representatives, from Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa and Malawi, were mostly heads and senior programme officers with civil society organisations. Many of the Northern participants, from the Netherlands and Denmark, were programme officers responsible for liaising with and coordinating financial and capacity-building support for Southern NGOs.
One precondition for participation was that the NGOs from the North and South were not connected, in order to create a neutral environment in which participants would feel free to speak out, even on sensitive issues.
The African NGOs exchanged experiences during their preparation meeting about how working with Northern donors often interferes with maintaining their identity as organisations with their own autonomous ways of working. They were determined to table these issues in Moshi. In their preparations, the Northern participants focused on issues related to relationships between North and South, including relationship skills, awareness of attitudes and differences in cultural backgrounds. Case studies that resulted from the preparations set the agenda for the dialogue.
Partnerships
The conference began with participants exchanging ideas about what an ideal partnership should be. As the discussion progressed, the contrast between this ideal and the reality of existing partnerships became obvious. The exchanges were candid, tense and often emotional. One Southern participant exclaimed, in exasperation, ‘Do we actually need these partnerships?’
Some participants suggested a more realistic approach to partnerships. ‘If it is essentially a donor–recipient relationship, we should call it that, until we learn together how to transform it into what we want it to be’. There was support for allowing time in the pre-contract phase to assess the compatibility of organisations. A key question at that stage should be how collaboration can add value to the capacities and growth of the targeted sectors or communities. ‘From the beginning, we have to define our roles. As we work together, those roles will change. But we need to be open about it. A relationship is a process, not a state of being’.
The Southern participants talked about their frustration with the behaviour of their Northern partners, as well as with the inflexibility of the aid system. Both Southern and Northern participants spoke about the ‘pains’ they often experience when working under less than ideal partnership relations (see box). All organisations emphasise issues that are important to them, but this may cloud their ability to see alternatives that are important priorities for their partners.
Difficulties perceived in partnerships
Southern NGOs:
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Northern partners should consider how they give feedback. If a proposal needs to be adapted, for example, a question such as ‘have you thought about this?’ is more acceptable than an instruction.
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When Northern partners do not get what they want, they often just walk away.
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Northern partners often do not believe that we can figure out our own solutions; ’we present proposals, but they are often rejected’.
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Money often comes too quickly, forcing Southern NGOs to act too soon, or move away from their core business and lose their identity.
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Northerners are only interested in immediate outputs, and don’t seem to appreciate that we have to manage long-term development processes.
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Having to attend endless workshops keeps us from our work.
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The Northern aid system is too rigid, with strict standards (e.g. for reporting).
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Reporting using fixed logframes is often difficult. A situation may change over time, then it can be simply self-serving to have to report on the initial planned results.
Northern NGOs:
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When we work with the best of intentions, it is distressing if people ask ‘who is really benefiting?’, and assume it is the Northern partner.
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We are often stereotyped, and generally seen as representing all Northern organisations.
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We try to identify and address the needs of beneficiaries, but sometimes, if we touch on sensitive issues such as sexual and reproductive health, Southern partners don’t want to hear about them.
