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that Somaliland has “achieved more with less,”
94
that civil society continues to focus more on
how the international community should function, rather than more fully devoting itself to
examining ways in which it could wean itself from international donors.
Based on these observations and the priorities expressed by civil society representatives through
the participatory workshop and interviews, opportunities for future donor support to Somaliland
civil society include:
Opportunity 1: Support programming that focuses on advanced skills such as policy
development/ engagement and government oversight.
Workshop participants and stakeholder interviewees universally expressed a belief that civil
society has reached a saturation point with regard to basic capacity building. Many also believe
that the time has come to move civil society to a more sophisticated level, although few were
able to articulate what specific steps this may entail. As noted above, deeper examination
would be necessary to accurately detail the kinds of skills that would be appropriately
responsive to needs. Based on discussions, such skills might include policy development,
government oversight, legislative drafting and budget analysis. Importantly, a shift towards
more advanced skills should take care not to neglect whether newer, smaller, or more rural
organizations may still need basic technical assistance. In this case, stronger local organizations
should be empowered to take a leadership role in transferring their knowledge and experience to
their peers.
Opportunity 2: Conduct and/or fund research on the development of civil society
programs and to base decisions on how aid is allocated.
A number of civil society participants and interviewees emphasized the importance of research
as the basis for how aid allocations are made. The absence of solid data or analysis on civil
society itself underscores the difficulty of grasping nuances across the sector – urban versus
rural, large organization versus small, advocacy versus service provision, etc. – as well as
uncovering more concrete needs towards the consolidation of knowledge, skills and
specializations. A greater focus on research – including organizational and/or sector
assessments prior to funding, and project/impact evaluations post-funding – could also serve as
a basis to advocate for independent priorities that may differ from the government’s stated
agenda. Devolving research to local organizations to the degree possible, or conducting
research in partnership with local organizations when not, may contribute to a stronger sense of
local ownership over the results, and help build the capacity for local organizations to assume
responsibility for such efforts in the future.
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Eubank, Nick. "In Somaliland, Less Money Has Brought More Democracy." Web log post.
Poverty Matters Blog
.
The Guardian, 26 Aug. 2011. Web. <
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matters/2011/aug/26/somaliland-less-money-more-democracy>.
