This article is written by Vinay Bhargava, Chief Technical Adviser, Partnership for Transparency

When the world’s leaders gathered in New York in the fall of 2015 to sign up to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), they did it with the understanding that governments alone could not achieve them.

Instead, governments, civil society and the private sector had to work together, Today, when so many countries are confronting Covid-19, this is more urgent than ever.

But four years into the implementation of Agenda 2030, the UN Secretary General has reported that, notwithstanding some positive trends, “the shift in development pathways to generate the transformation required to meet the SDGs by 2030 is not yet advancing at the speed or scale required". It urged countries and development partners to "do more, and faster.”

CSOs have stepped up and according to an India Today report, fed more people in 13 states in India during the lockdown than the government did

Governments and civil society need to work together, but this is easier said than done. More often than not, they see one another as adversaries rather than valued partners. This is evidenced in the “The State of Civil Society Report 2020” compiled by CIVICUS, the global alliance of civil society organisation. Contrary to the spirit of the SDGs, the report stresses how governments continue to shrink the space for civil society to operate.

Yet, necessity is the mother of invention. Governments and civil society have found ways to work together when they share the objectives. For example, the Government of India, generally regarded as wary of civil society organisations (CSOs), changed its tune when faced with the challenges posed by the pandemic. It called upon over 92,000 CSOs to do the country a "great service by preparing our communities, especially the rural population, in putting together [the] most efficient response mechanism against this pandemic”. It also noted that “in these emergent times the fight against this pandemic cannot be fought without the active support and collaboration of your organisation”.

Since then, CSOs have stepped up, and according to an India Today report, they have fed more people in 13 states in India during the lockdown than the government was able to.

CSOs and government officials are meanwhile working together in other countries. This is highlighted in accounts of collaboration by the UN and in rapid response projects by  organisations I work with at the Partnership for Transparency.

These joint efforts are supporting trusted and effective CSOs in Uganda, Gambia, Ghana and India. They aim to ensure that healthcare relief programmes fully serve citizens in greatest need and guard against the exclusion of vulnerable people. They also guard against corruption and fraud as part of PTF’s mission to support CSOs in improving governance and control corruption.

For governments and civil society to successfully scale their collaboration for the common good of citizens, we must learn from and scale up collaborative efforts. This is a vital role that donor governments, foundations and international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, can now play.

Eight insights for working together successfully

These personal insights are based on my experience over several decades, first with the World Bank and now with the PTF:

1. Opportunities for working together exist in almost all countries. Governments are not monolithic, and more often than not reform-minded officials and civil society can work together constructively for the common good of communities. An important incentive for both parties is understanding that doing the right things for people often leads to doing well for themselves — generating public trust in government agencies and increasing the impact of civic engagement. One of the insights revealed in the World Development Report 2017 is that such collaboration can “come about through bargains among elites and greater citizen engagement, as well as by international actors supporting rules that strengthen coalitions for reform”.

2. Mutual distrust between civil society and government officials is a key challenge. Bridging the gaps of knowledge (both of subject matter and of each other) improves trust. Trust-building measures include sharing information, keeping promises and having regular dialogue. Examples of successful collaboration were in addition perhaps the most potent arguments I had to persuade the government officials and CSOs to work together.

Engaging with CSOs creates a powerful feedback mechanism for government officials on community needs and concerns and allows them to take actions before it is too late

3. When there is a will there's a way. Government officials and CSOs working together is hard and not part of either one's everyday work. It requires motivation and effort for either to step out of its comfort zone. Sometimes (though rarely) such motivation comes from regulatory or legislative diktat. More often it is by mutual agreement based on mutual benefits. For successful engagement it is important to discuss what each side’s expectations are about benefits and risks, and to find common ground.

4. Capacity to engage effectively is limited on both sides and sustained investment is essential. Civil society and public officials need to develop skills, resources and systems to engage effectively. Training together is more effective than separately and helps build friendships and networks. Donors typically underestimate the amount and length of funding necessary for capacity development.

5. Government officials should not expect all CSOs to speak with one voice or hold consensus on development issues. The CSO community is extremely diverse and find it difficult to develop a consensus. Create space for multi-stakeholder dialogue forums and find interlocutors where there is common ground. CSOs should recognise that it takes time for directives on government openness to travel from the centre to the local government level and should help expedite the process.

  1. Legislative frameworks for civic engagement matter and vary. Mutual goodwill is necessary to work together and can lead to localised actions but for scale legal infrastructure is needed. For example, collaboration between civil society and government officials in many countries have been enabled through provisions in legislations that govern public procurement, social safety net programmes, budget processes, services provisions and multi-stakeholder programmes.

  2. Risk is higher when we don't engage than it is when we do engage. History is full of examples of public officials who suffered their downfall when they fall out of touch with the communities they are meant to serve. In such situations, their actions become less and less responsive to the community's needs and eventually they are forced out of public office. On the other hand, as Edelman Trust Barometer 2020 shows, citizens’ trust in CSOs is higher than in government officials and institutions. Engaging with CSOs creates a powerful feedback mechanism on community needs and concerns and allows government officials to take actions before it is too late.

8. CSOs cannot work for free and need funding. Some CSOs have independent funding from overseas or domestic donors or endowments. They may not need government funding. However, the majority of CSOs will need to be funded for the work expected from them. Government’s development programmes and projects should include funding for roles envisaged for CSO engagement and transparent rules for awarding contracts to CSOs. All internal donors, including the multilateral development banks, welcome CSO participation and are very willing to include funds in project budgets.

The way forward

Let me close this conversation with some tips for government officials and CSOs to work together:

  • Begin by looking for common ground to work together while recognising differences

  • Engage right from the beginning when possible

  • Bring together reform champions in the government and results-focused CSOs

  • CSOs should adopt a soft advocacy approach with an emphasis on regular dialogue

  • Officials should embrace criticism as a normal part of dialogue but keep focus on positives

  • Focus capacity development efforts on both CSOs and public officials

  • Engage in evidence-based rather than ideology-based advocacy

  • Establish and promote official working groups for multi-stakeholder dialogue

  • Adapt engagement approaches and tactics based on experience and results

  • Take stock of successes and disappointments and practice adaptive learning

If we manage to do that, the future envisioned in the SDGs is still within our reach. — Vinay Bhargava

(Photo credit: Unsplash)