The CPDE ICSO sector has published a document called the Equitable Partnership Report, which looks at the implications of Istanbul Principles and DAC recommendations on enabling civil society. Download it here.
The ICSO sector of the CPDE has been steadily looking into the extent to which the sector aligned itself with the effectiveness principles that CSO community agreed to more than ten years ago, the Istanbul Principles. This study takes place at a time when the donor community has positioned itself by adopting the DAC Recommendations on Enabling CSOs and when there is a new wave of public discussions on key dimensions such as decolonization and localization of development cooperation.
This report offers a very powerful instrument to connect all these dots and help navigate the on-going debate. It addresses the systemic factors that generate imbalanced relationships between CSO partners. It reflects how difficult it can sometimes be to sort out definition issues as to what is global or genuinely local. It offers best practices and lessons to start building from on more solid foundations. To CPDE, creating the space for a well‑informed discussion on equitable partnership is a priority concern for the years to come.
We are indebted to Chilande Kuloba-Warria for steadily leading on this effort. We would also like to thank Brian Tomlinson for his relentless commitment. Our thanks go to all those that have made this report possible, including the Reference Group that accompanied this work in making available their expertise.