Open Forum
Open Forum on Development Effectiveness
What is the Open Forum Process?
The Open Forum for Development Effectiveness is an initiative conceived of and led by a diverse coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) from around the world with the aim of achieving a global consensus around the essential principles of development effectiveness for CSOs. As development actors, CSOs want to focus on development effectiveness in order to improve the lives of the poor and marginalised, and thus promote substantial positive change within a democratic framework.
Summary and Background
As part of a series of on-going processes led by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD DAC), governments and donors confirmed their commitments to increasing aid effectiveness in the 2005 Paris Declaration. However the perspective of CSOs was largely absent from this OECD-led process and therefore preceding the Third High Level Forum in Accra on September 2008, CSOs identified the Declarations limitations in not reflecting CSO priorities and the many diverse roles of CSOs in development and the need to measure themselves against "development effectiveness", and not "aid effectiveness".
In order to address the above flaws, in June 2008, the Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness was therefore formally acknowledged in the Accra Agenda for Action (AAA), endorsed by 130 countries including NZ. Led by CSOs, the Open Forum process throughout 2010 will be conducting consultations on CSO development effectiveness in over 70 countries, including the consultation here in NZ organized by CID for NZ civil society involved in development.
Structure
The Global Facilitating Group (GFG) is the peak body of the Open Forum Process. GFG is an international body composed of 24 members from all regions of the world, coordinating the political leadership of the World Wide Open Forum Process for CSO Development Effectiveness. CID has been invited to become a GFG member due to its active involvement in the global process during the last year, taking over the leadership role from Australia for the Pacific region. GFG ensures that consultation results are synthesized and used to build a commonly owned CSO development effectiveness framework.
The outcome from this year long global process will be to establish an International Framework of principles and guidelines for CSO Development Effectiveness. NZ CSOs are therefore simultaneously given an opportunity to lead and influence the outcomes of the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Seoul, South Korea in October 2011, which will be a working document for years to come influencing millions of people in need around the world.
Finally, as a GFG member, the Open Forum process should be viewed as a significant opportunity for NZ CSOs and CID to take an active role in leading the dialogue globally on development effectiveness.
Pacific Regional CSO Open Forum on Development Effectiveness Follow-Up and Planning Meeting Towards the Busan Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF4)
Suva, Fiji Islands, 25-26 March, 2011
The Pacific meeting was part of worldwide consultations via the Open Forum process on Development Effectiveness in the lead-up to the HLF4 in Busan, South Korea, in November, 2011. In the preparations for HLF4, CSOs are assessing whether or not government and donor commitments on CSO recognition made at the HLF3 in Accra, in 2008, have been achieved and lobbying for commitment to more effective, sustainable development assistance and NGO accountability in terms of its real impact on the lives of all people.
For more Resources and Documents
