Tracking External Donor Funding.pdf - NDC

esearch could be fed back into the policy making
machine and, hopefully, allow for more relevant and
effective policy-making in the future.
Furthermore, such a database could provide an important
source of institutional memory for the NGO sector. It
would allow PNGOs to track, more effectively than
before, their past activities and how their objectives and
structure has changed over time. Perhaps more
importantly, this information could then be compared to
similar organizations and used to learn from the
successes of other PNGOs. Improved access to data
could also allow for more effective and relevant project
planning. Likewise, the collated data and information
could be used to educate and train incoming staff, not
only to help create a cohesive organizational structure
and a common understanding of the organizations role,
but also, to educate staff in past mistakes and lessons
learned.
4.4 Evaluation of the Proposal by Key
Stakeholders
On November 18th, 2009, a focus group was held at the
MAS Institute to discuss this proposal. Attendees
included Representatives from the MoP PAMS
department, the World Bank and the Local Aid
Coordination Secretariat as well as a small number of
PNGO donors. We asked them if they thought the
database was relevant, whether it endangered donors or
their local partners and whether real implementation was
feasible.
Those in attendance agreed on the utility of such a
database. However, it was argued that the peculiarities of
the occupation would render mandating the use of the
database nearly impossible. INGOs and donors located in
Jerusalem are not required to register with the PA MoI
nor do those headquartered in the rest of the WB&GS.
As the PA’s authority does not extend to East Jerusalem,
tracking these institutions would prove difficult.
Moreover, donors are encouraged to headquarter in
Jerusalem, as opposed to Ramallah, in order to receive
work permits from the Israeli Government.
Consequently, publically disclosing the whereabouts of
their work may endanger their legal status. Without the
PA being able to mandate the use of the database to all
PNGOs and INGOs, the data that it would collate may
not be relevant to either policy makers or development
professionals.
During the focus group concerns were also raised over
whether the PA was ‘trust worthy enough’ to be given
access to the financial data of the nongovernmental
sector. The rocky relationship between the PA and
PNGOs culminating in the 1999 ‘public fight’ between
the two, was cited as a reason and justification for the
nongovernmental sector maintaining its independence
from central authorities. Others argued that, regardless of
the performance of the PA, it has a right to know, and
that INGOs and international agencies should not be
choosing when they should or shouldn’t be acting in
accordance with Palestinian law or the principles of the
Paris Declarations. It should be noted that it is not only
the PA that poses a potential threat to PNGOs. In the
aftermath of the September 11th attacks in New York, a
number of NGOs from the region have come under
intensive scrutiny for their supposed or possible links to
organizations or individuals designated as terrorists by
the US Government. Following the closure of a number
of high profile organizations for precisely this reason,
PNGOs are much more cautious about revealing the
sources of their finances.
The proposed project would depend on securing
adequate funding for it. At present, funding for PAMS is
insufficient to fulfill its stated mandate. Further
extending the scope of that mandate or creating an
entirely new data collection system, as is being suggested
here, would require a significant increase in funding for
PAMS. It may well be the case, however, that the
changes in funding priorities that resulted from the
PRDP and the Paris Declaration would allow for funds to
be allocated to such a project.
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