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Foreword
The Americas’ Accountability/Anti-Corruption Project (USAID/AAA), sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and administered by Casals & Associates, Inc., is a regional initiative designed to increase citizens’ understanding of corruption and their re- sponsibilities in a democratic system, including their right to participate in governance with the goal of increasing government accountability and transparency.
For more than a decade, USAID/AAA has provided a wide range of technical assistance, training and support to government institutions and civil society organizations in the Latin America and Caribbean region. Initiatives in the 1990s resulted in implementation of integrated financial management systems (IFMS)—a key accountability mechanism—in most governments in the region. By the end of the decade, USAID/AAA broadened its scope by incorporating into its strategy the design and implementation of programs to address corruption more broadly, across the full spectrum of government service delivery at national and local levels.
Most recently, USAID/AAA has systematically documented and disseminated information on government and civil society efforts, at the national and local levels, to increase government transparency and accountability. Technical Assistance Modules (TAMs) were produced to ad- dress: Civil Society Participation in Country Compliance with the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (ICAC); Social Auditing; Organizational Internal Control; Political-Party Fi- nance Reform and Municipal and Central Government IFMS.
Currently, USAID/AAA responds to USAID’s 2004 Anticorruption Strategy by supporting and complementing USAID country missions’ programs to address corruption as a challenge that cuts across all sectors of society. USAID/AAA staff designs project activities in response to country needs and as requested by USAID missions. During 2004-06, the project will focus on the following areas:
• Expanding citizen participation in social auditing and municipal budget design and exe- cution.
• Strengthening civil society oversight of governments’ ICAC compliance.
• Increasing public dialogue on political system reform, especially political-party finance.
• Supporting USAID missions in the design of crosscutting strategies to reduce corruption in host countries.
• Dissemination of lessons learned and best practices in the fight against corruption.
Background and Acknowledgements
This report is the result of activities that began with a USAID/Bolivia Mission request to USAID/AAA for assistance in strengthening civil society oversight of government. In early 2005, USAID/AAA staff met with Raymond Shonholtz, President of Partners for Democratic Change (PDC), a leading U.S. non-governmental organization (NGO) with expertise in coalition building. USAID/AAA staff proposed jointly designing and implementing a workshop on coali- tion building for eight emerging Bolivian anti-corruption civil society organizations (CSO) and NGOs. The concept involved a two-day workshop, in which actual experiences of anti- corruption and transparency coalitions would be examined and combined with instruction on the more technical aspects of the coalition building process.
Since such a workshop had not been organized before, it provided an important opportunity to pilot a new initiative. PDC proposed that prior to the two-day workshop it conduct a mini- assessment of the eight participant Bolivian CSOs/NGOs, to identify each organization’s capac- ity to function in a coalition and to make preliminary recommendations about future training. In May 2005, PDC conducted the mini-assessments and USAID/AAA and PDC implemented an international workshop for more than 25 participants from Bolivian and regional CSOs and NGOs.
The workshop provided an opportunity for participants to share and analyze three successful anti-corruption and transparency coalition experiences in Latin America. The second day of the workshop focused on skills and strategies for promoting the formation of and encouraging par- ticipation in an anti-corruption and transparency coalition in Bolivia. Building on the three ex- periences and the technical tools presented, participants engaged in an extended discussion about lessons learned, including the benefits of specific approaches and barriers to achieving meaning- ful anti-corruption and transparency coalitions. The results of these discussions are reflected throughout the report.
USAID/AAA wishes to acknowledge the participation of Alvaro Galvez, Team Leader of Ad- ministration of Justice & Anti-Corruption Programs in the Office of Democratic Development at USAID/Bolivia, who provided valuable assistance throughout the entire process.
The workshop and this subsequent report would not have been possible without the excellent team effort in Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.A. and in La Paz, Bolivia, of Casals & Associates, Inc. staff, in particular Margaret O’Donnell, Chief of Party of the USAID/Casals & Associates, Inc. Anti-Corruption and Transparency Project in Bolivia, as well as project staff Ana Michel and Max Chavez. Similarly, USAID/AAA wishes to thank Marianela Sanga and Inga Lorrenti.
From Partners for Democratic Change (PDC), Colleen Zaner and Megan Ryan along with Julian Portilla from Fundación Cambio Democrático (PDC’s partner in Argentina contracted to con- duct the mini-assessment and training workshop) were instrumental in providing inputs for this report. From the AAA Project, Joseph Balcer and Alexandra Holliday also provided valuable assistance.
Executive Summary
Corruption is recognized as the most serious challenge to democratic and economic development today. Successfully tackling this widespread problem demands efforts that bring a number of ac- tors together in a common cause to increase government accountability and transparency. Anti- corruption coalitions can, over time, mobilize the broad-based interests needed for an effective fight against corruption. Indeed, cooperation among groups with shared interests is an effective means to achieve goals as they combine resources, expertise and knowledge to mount an effort that is more powerful than can be achieved by one group acting alone.
USAID/AAA and its partners have consistently supported efforts to identify and replicate effec- tive approaches for establishing anti-corruption coalitions in Latin America—joint efforts that build organizations’ capacity to work together to achieve results beyond what one CSO or NGO could accomplish on its own. Strengthening civil society oversight of government and disseminat- ing lessons learned and best practices is one of USAID/AAA’s key areas of focus.
In this context, and at the request of the USAID/Bolivia mission, USAID/AAA sponsored a two- day international workshop on “Strategies for Building an Anti-Corruption Network,” in La Paz, Bolivia, 24-25 May 2005. The workshop was organized in close partnership with Partners for Democratic Change, a leading U.S. change and conflict management NGO with expertise in coa- lition building.
Based on workshop presentations and discussions and a mini-assessment of eight Bolivian CSOs/NGOs, lessons learned relative to impediments to and strategies for success were identi- fied. Impediments include:
• Dependence on external funding;
• Lack of stakeholder inclusion in coalition decision-making;
• Politicization;
• Personalization;
• Conflict; and
• Poorly defined communication strategies.
Strategies that increase the potential for success include:
• Differentiate the coalition from other networks;
• Focus on local government;
• Strive for early successes;
• Leadership;
• Early development, commitments and follow-through;
• Appropriate structure;
• Technical skills and specialization;
• Complementarity; and
• Membership.
Drawing from the experiences of anti-corruption and transparency coalitions in the region and the common challenges and success they have shared, a number of key lessons were learned:
• Outreach to constituencies and stakeholders throughout the process is crucial to success. iv
• Clear operating structures provide the foundation for coalitions to function more smoothly and effectively and set expectations within the coalition that are needed to facilitate coop- eration among the member organizations.
• Credibility must be established and carefully guarded, because without it a coalition loses the capacity to influence change.
• Strong coalitions establish relationships with individuals and organizations that can pro- vide expertise and other assistance not initially envisioned as being required. Fostering such strategic relationships strengthen a coalition.