Sierra Leone receives important aid inflows from the bilateral and multilateral donor community. The Government therefore needs to improve coherence between the different development partners as much as it needs to improve structures for aid coordination, harmonisation and alignment. This requirement stems from both international agreements to which Sierra Leone and many of its partners are a signatory such as the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, the Accra Agenda for Action, the OECD DAC Principles for Good International Engagement in Fragile States, and the Government’s overarching vision for making aid work efficiently for the people of Sierra Leone. It is also consistent with the internal Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Sierra Leone and its multi donor budget support partners (MDBS). Accordingly, this document sets out the first ever comprehensive aid policy of the Government of Sierra Leone. It provides guidelines for the mobilisation and implementation of development assistance in Sierra Leone, in order to improve its effectiveness and assert GoSL leadership over its aid inflows. The document is based on previous work and extensive consultations in country with the various stakeholders in development. The consultative process is outlined in Box I below.

 

It is important to emphasise that although input was sought from all stakeholders in the development process, the final decision on content rested with the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL), as the leader and driver of the process. In the resulting Aid Policy, all the stakeholders now have a practical blueprint to enhance aid effectiveness and monitor progress. The Aid Policy clearly articulates what the Government will do to make aid more effective, and to ensure that it is directed in a manner that provides maximum impact on economic development and poverty alleviation.

This Good Practice paper has been prepared to illustrate how the recommendations of the Civil Society Advisory Group on Aid Effectiveness can be put into practice.  It is based on 76 case studies, some of which are presented in the Paper.  The paper describes the different roles played by CSOs in the development process, including democratisation through civic engagement, social mobilisation and advocacy, public education and research, self-help and innovation and the provision of development assistance.  Its discusses recognition and voice (the importance of CSO participation in the development policy dialogue), and the contribution of civil society to enriching our understanding of the Paris principles.  It discusses the importance of an appropriate enabling environment for CSO effectiveness, and how CSOs themselves can be good donors – particularly in respect of the quality of partnerships between Northern and Southern NGOs.

To date, donor strategies for aid effectiveness have focused exclusively on donor-government relationships. This paper explores whether the Paris principles also apply to CSOs. It notes that CSOs tend to adopt a human rights-based approach in assessing the effectiveness of their activities. It stresses their role as a bridge to the poor and marginalised in developing countries, and as a counterbalance to the commercial, security and political interests of donors, which can limit the policy choices available to partners. The paper argues that the creative tension in these roles is inherent to the democratic process, and should not be constrained by an artificial insistence on harmonisation. Nonetheless, the paper acknowledges that CSO practices must continue to evolve and change.