Most accountability in the Humanitarian Sector is upwards to donors rather than downwards to the beneficiaries. PSO organised a workshop how accountability towards beneficiaries in humanitarian assistance can be improved on the 10th of December 2009.
On the 24th of November, in collaboration with IDS (Institute of Development Studies), HIVOS, ICCO and Kerkinactie, PSO organised a workshop on ‘local governance in fragile settings’.
This is the report of the PSO workshop on Capacity Development in Fragile Environments, Strengthening Civil Society Organisation in Peace Building, which was held in The Hague on 7 April 2009.
In February 2009 there was the first World Conference of Humanitarian Studies in Groningen, the Netherlands. PSO contributed to this conference with a panel on the capacity development of civil society during crises. The report from the panel contains three papers.
In 2007 and 2008 PSO experimented with a peer review approach focusing on improvement and learning about partnership in humanitarian aid, in response to conflicts and natural disasters. A peer review approach builds upon a learning instead of accountability atmosphere. This report examines how such an atmosphere was created and what we would do differently a next time.
Out of a Peer Review emerged that PSO member organisations and partner organistions work well together in times of crises. The research examined the opportunities and challenges of partnership.
Over the past few years, there has been a marked increase in the interest in capacity development in fragile states or regions. Civil society has an important role to play there where government capacity is low. PSO has a learning path with member organisations and other Dutch NGOs aimed at improving the quality of support to partner organisations. The learning path consists of two tracks.
Many international NGOs prefer to work in partnership with local organizations, not only in development but also in crisis-related interventions. But how do they deal with the specific challenges of partnerships in crises? And what do Southern organizations think about these partnerships? These are the central questions that this report tries to answer.
Ian Smillie first arrived in Africa 40 years ago. The author of ‘Freedom from Want' and research coordinator in Partnership Africa-Canada's 'Diamonds and Human Security Project', participated in the World Conference on Humanitarian Studies that was held in Groningen last week. PSO presented a panel on which Smillie presented his paper ‘Back from the Trees.'
