A ripple in development? - Channel Research

In this evaluation the state is defined to include political and public
sector institutions. The debated term ‘civil society’ is used very broadly
to encompass the groups and organisations which occupy a position
between the household/community, the state and the private sector.
This definition of civil society comprises, among others, all non-governmental
associations, including trade unions, business associations, cooperatives,
employers’ associations, faith groups, trade associations, recreational
groups and think tanks.
For the analysis, stakeholders were divided into six categories:
1. communities and households, 2. sub national state actors, 3. national
governmental actors, 4. local and national civil society organisations,
5. international aid actors, 6. other, including members of the business
community. The quantitative results of the public perception survey
carried out in Indonesia and Sri Lanka were incorporated into this
analysis.
2.2 Perceptions of state and civil leadership in recovery
The March 2005 Asian Development Bank (ADB) conference in Manila
set out the policy of rebuilding devastated areas to a standard higher
than pre-existing conditions (later referred to by the Unicef US Fund as
‘Build Back Better’). This implied a high degree of coordination and
agreement on objectives. The assumption was that the states in the
affected countries would take on the lead, and that significant contributions
would be made by donors and civil society organisations 5 .
Two broad convergent currents of opinion can be detected in the
way in which the state and civil society have then been perceived over
the four year period following the tsunami. On the one hand the official
donor philosophy has been to give increasing support to modalities of
cooperation and co-decision with the state. On the other, the public has
increasingly come to see the state as more deserving of trust.
As interviews and planning documents show, the state is perceived
by donors as the dominant actor in disaster recovery. This has been
reinforced over the four year period by the emphasis given to aid harmonisation
and alignment with the aim of achieving greater effectiveness.
This Paris Declaration 6 philosophy of harmonisation of approaches
and alignment through national ownership was anticipated by the
design of a matrix of responsibilities for development agencies, in early
2005 in Sri Lanka.
5
One could cite the Indonesia Disaster Management Law number 24, which opens with the statement
“Disaster Management is based on Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of
Indonesia” (Article 2), and then goes on to say “Disaster Management activity is carried out by
making available broad opportunity to business organizations and international agencies. Operations
of Disaster Management are carried out pre-disaster, during disaster, and at post-disaster
phases” (Elucidation of Law, Article 1).
6
OECD (2005). Paris declaration on aid effectiveness: Ownership, harmonisation, alignment, results
and mutual accountability.
32