OGC and Civil Society
OGC's civil society project builds on the recognition in UNDP's Strategic Plan that vibrant and vigorous democracies are developed and sustained through inclusive participation, as well as strong responsive governance institutions. It is anchored in the belief that for poor people to be fully empowered, change is needed at a number of levels and through different actors.
In 2008, OGC completed the global inventory exercise on UNDP's engagement with civil society, in partnership with Civil Society Division . 102 country offices (72%) responded to the survey which focused on assessing the expanse of country offices engagement with civil society in all sectors. The inventory informed the development of the UNDP's Global Strategy to Strengthen Civil Society and Civic Engagement, "Voice and Accountability for Human Development". OGC collaborated with the CSO Division to produce the strategy which provides UNDP with a framework to revitalize its engagement with civil society and deliver on its Strategic Plan outcomes and achieve greater accountability and human development.
In 2009, OGC will take the lead in advancing civic engagement for voice and accountability, which is a key priority area of the global strategy. OGC commissioned the discussion paper on 'Voice, Accountability and Civic Engagement: A Conceptual Overview' (April 2009) to provide an overview of the current thinking on voice, accountability and the role of civic engagement in promoting more responsive democratic governance.
OGC is specifically focusing on social accountability, as it is one form of accountability that refers to the direct engagement of citizens to hold their government to account and increased responsiveness of the government to such engagement. Thus, Social Accountability emerges through the actions by citizens and civil society organizations aimed at holding the state to account, as well as efforts by government and other actors to support these actions. OGC will also produce the Guidance Note on Social Accountability. The Note will provide UNDP staff guidance on using social accountability approach as an analytical lens to achieve more effectiveness in UNDP programming.
Further resources on civil society:
Introductory Primer on the Role of Legal Reform in Supporting Civil Society
This Introductory Primer on the Role of Legal Reform in Supporting Civil Society was commissioned by UNDP from the International Centre for Not-for-Profit Law to respond to the increasing demand on UNDP to engage with or advise governments to develop civil society legal frameworks. The primer will guide UNDP in facilitating state-citizen relations through a better understanding of the normative and practical aspects of the often sensitive issue of legal and regulatory framework allowing and governing the establishment of civil society organizations, and their space and scope to function in public life.
The primer was finalized after an extensive review process by the Bratislava Regional Centre, the Civil Society Division/PB and the Oslo Governance Centre/BDP.
|
|
|
|
Global Inventory of UNDP Engagement with Civil Society (2009)
The inventory provide a global overview and analysis of the ways in which UNDP engages with civil society.
The inventory is the result of the global survey carried out in 2007-2008 to which 102 country offices (72%) responded.
The survey focused on assessing the expanse of country offices current engagement with civil society.
|
|
Promoting Civic Engagement in a Post-Totalitarian and EU Accession Context: A Case from Bulgaria (2008)
This paper looks at UNDP experience in Bulgaria in promoting civic engagement in a post-totalitarian and EU accession context. It concludes that scaling up of participatory approaches requires the establishment of mechanisms for voice and accountability within the state. This in turn requires a deeper process of political development to embed democratic values and culture in all parts of society as enhancing citizens’ voice and creating demand for participation does not automatically lead to increasing the receptiveness of the state to citizens involvement.
|
|
|
|
Mobilizing Poor People for Active Citizenship: A Discussion Paper
Explores the potential of civil society to promote active citizenship for marginalized groups, and outlines possible programming options. Drawing on the cases of Malawi and Tanzania, the paper emphasises the importance of power structures and the relationship between citizen, state and civil society in determining the nature of active citizenship, and outlines how the concept of active citizenship can mutually reinforce the link between Democratic Governance and the MDGs |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Experiences from the Field: UNDP-CSO Partnerships for Conflict Prevention (2005)
This report highlights innovative partnerships between UNDP and CSOs in conflict prevention. |
|
Practical Guidance Note on Civic Education (2004) (Also in Russian)
This note, published by the Oslo Governance Centre in April 2004 is aimed at providing practical information and guidance for civic education programming and includes definitions, tips on programming, possible partners, issues to be aware of, UNDP case studies and links to additional resources. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
UNDP’s Civil Society Organisations Division
UNDP's Civil Society Organisations Division
The CSO Division at UNDP headquarters provides policy and advisory support to UNDP staff and engages actively with CSO partners. More on this Division
Contact:
Thierno Kane
Director, Civil Society Division, Partnerships Bureau
thierno.kane@undp.org
Bharati Sadasivam
Policy Advisor, Civil Society Division, Partnerships Bureau
bharati.sadasivam@undp.org
Contact:
Paavani Reddy
Programme Associate
Paavani.reddy@undp.org
