DGDC Annual report 2008 - Buitenlandse Zaken - Belgium

8. Harmonisation with
non-governmental actors
One of the working principles in the Paris Declaration
is the harmonisation of aid from the various donors,
both the various countries and the various actors, in
other words also multilateral and non-governmental
organisations (NGOs). Over the past year, there has
been quite extensive consultation with the NGO
sector about further harmonisation, with results both
on the ground and in Belgium. The revised co-financing
of the sector (see below) must lead to a qualitative
improvement in the future.
Consultation on the ground –
the example of Ecuador
In Ecuador, the various actors involved did not wait
for the Paris Declaration before starting to work
more closely together – they have already been
doing that since 2000. Lieven De La Marche, international
cooperation attaché, outlines how, in this
partner country, the discussion with and between
the various governmental and non-governmental
partners is proceeding, and what results this has
delivered over the years.
“In Ecuador, we set up FABEC, the ‘Forum of Belgian
Actors in Development Cooperation in Ecuador’ -
www.fabec.org.ec. FABEC seeks to create a local consultation
and cooperation structure which will serve
as a reference for Belgian Development Cooperation
in this partner country. We want, in this way, to
achieve greater effectiveness in the operation of
each of the organisations. FABEC has fifteen or so
members, including the Development Cooperation
Bureau (DGDC) and BTC, ten or so NGOs, VVOB, BIO
and the local representatives of university coopera-
tion. The Forum meets about four times a year. We
exchange information and hold debates about topics
and sectors shared by different members. For example,
in 2008, a workshop was held around specific
agricultural methods and a dialogue with Ecuadorian
policy experts about the new constitution. In that
context, FABEC was involved in the preparation of
strategy notes and governmental cooperation programmes,
a point which will be particularly highlighted
in 2009 in the preparation of the Mixed
Commission in 2010. Likewise, with regard to joint reporting
and positioning vis-à-vis proposals and policy
options from the Ecuadorian government, FABEC
plays a role.
Can you regard the efforts of local and Belgian
non-governmental partners on the one hand,
and government cooperation on the other, as
complementary?
Several cooperation associations have already been
set up. NGOs and VVOB are involved in the framing
and implementation of bilateral projects – in particular
with regard to rural development and agriculture
– and one bilateral project led to a university
training project in the health sector. These intensive
forms of cooperation have generally delivered good
results. The most striking example was the bilateral
project PROLOZA, which works on social and productive
infrastructure in the provinces of Loga and
Zamora Chinchipe, where both Vredeseilanden and
VVOB and their local partners were involved in financial
and supervisory terms. The cooperation associations
can take on various shapes. We are shifting the
focus increasingly on to strengthening the government
institutions. They need to devise an adequate
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