THE DAC NETWORK ON GOVERNANCE (GOVNET) A Governance Practitioner’s Notebook: Alternative Ideas and Approaches Alan Whaites, Eduardo Gonzalez, Sara Fyson and Graham Teskey A Governance Practitioner’s Notebook ALTERNATIVE IDEAS AND APPROACHES The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein are those of the authors, andThis are work designed is published to stimulate under discussion the responsibility on a broad of therange Secretary-General of issues. Accordingly, of the theyOECD. should The opinions not be reported expressed as andrepresenting arguments the employed official views herein ofdo the not OECD necessarily or of its memberreflect the countries. official views of OECD member countries. This document and any map included herein are without prejudice toto thethe statusstatus ofof oror sovereignty sovereignty over any territory, territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers andand boundariesboundaries and to the namename ofof anyany territory,territory, city city or or area. area. Please cite this publication as: OECD (2014), Accountability and Democratic Governance: Orientations and Principles for Development, DAC Guidelines and Reference Series, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264183636-en ISBN 978-92-64-18362-9 (print) ISBN 978-92-64-18363-6 (PDF) Series: DAC Guidelines and Reference Series ISSN 1990-0996 (print) ISSN 1990-0988 (online) ThePlease statistical cite this data publication for Israel are as: supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant IsraeliWhaites authorities. et al. The(2015), use A of Governance such data by Practitioner’s the OECD is without Notebook: prejudice Alternative to the statusIdeas ofand the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of internationalApproaches law., OECD, Paris, http://www.oecd.org/dac/governance-peace/governance/ governance-practitioners-notebook.htm. Photo credits: Cover © Roman Dekan | Dreamstime.com. Corrigenda to OECD publications may be found on line at: www.oecd.org/about/publishing/corrigenda.htm. © OECD 20142015 You can copy, download or print OECD content for your own use, and you can include excerpts from OECD publications, databases and multimedia products in your own documents, presentations, blogs, websites and teaching materials, provided that suitable acknowledgment of the source and copyright owner is given. All requests for public or commercial use and translation rights should be submitted to [email protected]. Requests for permission to photocopy portions of this material for public or commercial use shall be addressed directly to the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) at [email protected] or the Centre français d'exploitation du droit de copie (CFC) at [email protected]. Foreword Foreword The OECD-DAC Network on Governance (GovNet) is a forum for practitioners from the development co-operation agencies of Development Assistance Committee (DAC) countries. The members of GovNet work collaboratively with each other and with other bodies and platforms on issues of governance and institutional development. GovNet’s aim is to promote dialogue, knowledge exchange and research and it seeks to advance innovative approaches to these issues. This publication is unusual. GovNet has traditionally produced evaluations, guidance documents and summaries of “good practice”. We are, however, at an interesting time in the evolution of thinking on governance practice – for reasons that we hope become clear in the document itself. This publication takes a rather different approach by articulating the thoughts, aspirations and concerns of a newly inducted governance adviser employed by a fictitious development agency. Rather than offer any definitive answers, it tries to stimulate ideas and thinking. As Govnet is a network of practitioners, it is to them that this “Notebook” is primarily addressed, and it focuses on the challenges and dilemmas that they face. However, we are very aware that improved practice by aid actors is only part of the much broader development story. This always requires us to understand the challenges and dilemmas faced by others. While we have attempted to maintain a clear scope and focus in the notebook we are conscious of the need to engage with other networks such as the Effective Institutions Platform, with its emphasis on peer to peer learning. We have a joint responsibility to take forward the debate on alternative ideas and approaches. Above all this publication continues to stress the golden rule that supporting governance reform is first and foremost about laying aside preconceptions and listening to local counterparts. In offering this publication we seek to encourage debate. The process has been open and informal and has relied heavily on the goodwill and commitment of the many people involved. All of those who have contributed to this publication have done so as a personal contribution to the sector. GovNet is extremely grateful for their willingness to share their time and thoughts with practitioners. Therefore please note that the views expressed A GOVERNANCE PRACTITIONER’S NOTEBOOK: ALTERNATIVE IDEAS AND APPROACHES © OECD 2015 3 Foreword throughout the publication should be attributed to the authors alone. We hope that this Notebook also has resonance with the wider development community – adding to the lively debate that already exists. Graham Teskey and David Yang Co-Chairs, OECD DAC Network on Governance (GovNet) 4 A GOVERNANCE PRACTITIONER’S NOTEBOOK: ALTERNATIVE IDEAS AND APPROACHES © OECD 2015 AcknowledgeMents Acknowledgements The OECD-DAC Governance Network would like to thank the many contributors to this publication – all of whom offered their work as a contribu tion to the debate on support to governance reform. The report was completed under the responsibility of Alan Whaites (OECD). Eduardo Gonzalez and Alan Whaites brought together the work of so many contributors. Thanks are also owed to Cassandra Hendricks and our external editor Sally Hinchcliffe. GovNet is also grateful to the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) which provided support for the design and printing of the publication. The cover design was by Stephanie Coic. Any errors or omissions remain the authors’ responsibility, and any opinions expressed and arguments employed do not necessarily reflect the views of the OECD nor those of its member countries. A GOVERNANCE PRACTITIONER’S NOTEBOOK: ALTERNATIVE IDEAS AND APPROACHES © OECD 2015 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of contents About the authors. 11 Introduction. Lucy in the field with briefings . 15 Alan Whaites, Graham Teskey, Sara Fyson and Eduardo Gonzalez Memo to Lucy. Some reading for your assignment. 19 Alan Whaites Notes to self for my first overseas visit! . 27 Graham Teskey Section One Politics Notes to self – organisational politics . 43 Lucy It’s the politics! Can donors rise to the challenge? . 47 Sue Unsworth Mind the gaps: What’s missing in political economy analysis and why it matters ������������������� 67 David Hudson and Heather Marquette Putting political economy to use in aid policies ������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 83 Wil Hout Practitioner perspective: Politics on Monday morning ������������������������������������������������������������������� 99 Richard Butterworth A GOVERNANCE PRACTITIONER’S NOTEBOOK: ALTERNATIVE IDEAS AND APPROACHES © OECD 2015 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Two The Public Sector and Reform Notes to self – Public sector new institutional complexity action problems . 107 Lucy Achieving governance reforms under pressure to demonstrate results: Dilemma or new beginning?. .111 David Booth Building capability by delivering results: Putting Problem-Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) principles into practice ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 123 Matt Andrews, Lant Pritchett, Salimah Samji and Michael Woolcock Release the pressure on governance practitioners. 135 Frauke de Weijer and Volker Hauck Supporting “small” improvements in government functioning: A rough guide for development professionals. 151 Nick Manning Supporting “big” improvements in government functioning: How public sector management development specialists can harness the growing significance of country choice ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 191 Nick Manning Accountability and service delivery in decentralising environments: Understanding context and strategically advancing reform ������������������������������������������������������� 219 Paul Smoke Practitioner’s perspective: Engaging in public-sector reform. 233 Chiara Bronchi and Marco Larizza Section Three Institutions and Stakeholders Notes to self – Empowered partners and voices ����������������������������������������������������������������������������� 245 Lucy The deeper struggle over country ownership ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 249 Thomas Carothers 8 A GOVERNANCE PRACTITIONER’S NOTEBOOK: ALTERNATIVE IDEAS AND APPROACHES © OECD 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS A force for emancipation: Squaring the circle of ownership and progress in the promotion of better governance ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 257 Jörn Grävingholt Media and communication in governance: