6.   At a meeting with all development partners held on 28 February 2003 at CDC, a decision was made to expand the membership of the Working Group. In response to a request from the Chairman, as of 21 March 2003, the following development partners have also indicated an interest in participating in the work of the Group: Canada, Denmark, European Commission, France, Germany, and Sweden.

MANDATE AND ACTIVITIES OF THE WORKING GROUP

7.   The mandate of the Working Group is to examine issues related to Government-Donor Partnerships, make recommendations to strengthen the partnerships, and to follow up and report on progress made at both the CG and the Post-CG Meetings. 

8.   The Working Groups will focus on identifying, analyzing, and making recommendations on issues for which feasible solutions can be agreed to and implemented immediately.

9.   As suggested in the RGC’s paper, “Building Development Cooperation Partnerships: An Update” there are several steps that can be taken in the short term, which could increase the national ownership of the development cooperation activities, lessen the burden on implementing agencies, and minimize the unintended adverse effects of some donor practices, notably those related to capacity building.  The Government-Donor Partnership Working Group will begin its work by examining the issues and making recommendations in the following four areas:
 

A harmonized approach for capacity development: The existing gaps and limitations of capacity within the administrative structures of the Government as well as the implications of these constraints for effectively managing and enforcing reforms are now well recognized. While the current practices of donors of providing salary incentives within the context of the implementation of individual programs/projects may expedite the implementation of these programs/projects, these practices have been detrimental in building sustainable institutional capacities.

There is a need for a study that will: (i) document the existing capacity building practices of the donors; and (ii) outline options and make recommendations on feasible solutions that can be implemented immediately to minimize the existing problems.

A Sub-Committee of the Working Group will be established to oversee the conduct of the study. The UNDP Support Programme for Aid Coordination and Partnerships has allocated resources for carrying out this study.

The Sub-Committee will periodically report to the Working Group on the progress in the conduct of the study.
 

A harmonized approach for program formulation, review, and implementation management strategies: The RGC would like to see a flexible approach adopted in the design of development programs/projects. In the design of the programs, the approach should put emphasis on process and results as opposed to providing a rigid blue print for implementation. As a rule, the program design should include mechanisms that ensure periodic reviews and well-defined processes to realign program/project activities necessary for achieving program/project results in response to changing conditions.  There have been many attempts and successes in formulating programs and projects jointly by the Government and some donors. Many donors have also begun to make long-term commitments to support specific programs and projects. This is encouraging because such long-term commitments enable the RGC to plan for its development activities in a more systematic manner. By documenting the successes and lessons learned in these areas, the successful experiences can be  institutionalized through a collaborative effort.

There is a need to carry out a comprehensive assessment of: (i) the existing practices of the bi-lateral and multi-lateral donors in Cambodia and lessons learned from experiences over the last decade; and (ii) to outline feasible options and recommendations that can improve upon the current situation.

A Sub-Committee of the Working Group will be established to oversee the conduct of the study.  Japan has agreed to field a mission to conduct this study.

The Sub-Committee will periodically report to the Working Group on the progress in the conduct of the study.
 

Preparation of “National Operational Guidelines for Development Cooperation”: The need for giving the ownership of the development processes to the national Government’s is now well recognized in practically all international forums on development cooperation. In Cambodia, a large number of programs financed by various donors are now designated as “nationally executed”. However, at present there are no ”National Operational Guidelines” for managing the implementation of development cooperation programs designated as NEX. To ensure some uniformity in the management of the nationally executed programs across Government ministries/agencies that are funded by various donors, there is a need to develop a manual on “National Operational Guidelines for Development Cooperation” that recognize both Government policies and procedures, and the realities of donor practices in Cambodia. Such a manual should cover all aspects of program implementation management.

A Sub-Committee of the Working Group will be established to oversee the preparation of the manual on “National Operational Guidelines for Development Cooperation”. The UNDP Support Programme for Aid Coordination and Partnerships has allocated resources for carrying out this study.

The Sub-Committee will periodically report to the Working Group on the progress in the conduct of the study.
 

Information sharing between Government and the national and external development partners:

An effective information sharing strategy can significantly enhance the opportunities for participation of all stakeholders in the development processes. The Working Group will provide direction for developing an effective information sharing strategy to enhance the participation of all national and external development partners of Cambodia.
 

OPERATIONS OF THE WORKING GROUP

10. The need for more strengthened and effective donor-donor coordination among bi-lateral and multi-lateral development partners of Cambodia is well recognized. The Government encourages the two Co-vice Chairs to make use of any mechanisms that will enable them to secure the views and concerns of all development partners within their constituencies. For its part the Government’s representative as the Chair of the Working Group will make an effort to keep all bilateral and multilateral development partners informed by circulating the agenda of the scheduled meetings as well as the decisions/conclusions of the Working Group meetings through e-mail and by posting the information on its website (www.cdc-crdb.gov.kh). In addition to the members of the Working Group any donor can attend the Working Group meetings who has an interest in a topic scheduled to be discussed by the Working Group.

 

ANNEX I

RGC’s OVERALL OBJECTIVE, GUIDING PRINCIPLES, AND
STRATEGIC IMPLEMENTATION CONSIDERATIONS IN
BUILDING DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION PARTNERSHIPS

OVERALL OBJECTIVE
The RGC’s overall objective of building development cooperation partnerships is to further support Cambodia’s sustainable socio-economic development with equity to reduce poverty by effectively promoting and supporting the emerging partnership model of development cooperation, based on Cambodian leadership, ownership, and accountability, thus contributing to increased effectiveness of development resources, to increased resource mobilization, and to a sharper focus of development cooperation on human development, poverty reduction, and participatory decentralized development.
 

GUIDING PRINCIPLES