Development Sweden #24. Civil society: How the New Strategy Emerged
A newsletter on Swedish development cooperation and policy
Welcome to Development Sweden #24. In this issue we deliver news on how the Swedish government’s new aid strategy will impact on civil society organizations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs targeting one specific organisation, suspension of Swedish funds to UNRWA and more. If you would like to read the full newsletter you are most welcome to upgrade to a paid subscription. Thank you for joining Development Sweden and supporting our work so that we can continue to deliver insight in Swedish development cooperation and policy.
David Isaksson
Editor in Chief, Global Bar Magazine
Monika Gutestam Hustus
Editor, Development Sweden
What do you think we should write more about? Please give us feedback and suggestions.
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The following are our headlines:
Civil Society: How the New Strategy Emerged
Aid: Does the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Want to Stop Core Funding?
Suspension of Swedish Funds to UNRWA
Cambodia: Parliamentary Question on Aid Termination
The King Ditches Marabou – Will it be Fairtrade Now?
Civil Society: How the New Strategy Emerged
Following harsh criticism from civil society, the government opted for a compromise. The new strategy will only apply for one year. It contains no absolute requirements for increased self-contribution in 2024 nor any strict requirements regarding geographical or thematic limitations. Read more about what this means for Swedish and international organisations.
As we have previously reported, criticism has been harsh from civil society after a draft strategy for aid through civil society was leaked. The strongest criticism came from Christian organisations closely linked to the Christian Democrats. In an opinion piece in the newspaper Dagen, they demanded that the government withdraw large parts of the proposal. The introduction to the article read:
The disparity between the ambition for a strengthened civil society and the actual politics is becoming increasingly apparent.
Likely, this prompted the government to proceed much more cautiously than previous drafts had indicated.
The version of the strategy that Global Bar Magazine originally obtained is sent to the government for decision. A later comparison between the two versions shows that the only changes are corrections.
In the press release sent out by the government on the evening of February 1, Minister for Development Cooperation Johan Forssell stated:
”We now enable a broadening of the circle of civil society organisations and increase the focus on reaching out in the field. Civil society organisations are important partners in Swedish humanitarian aid and development cooperation. With the strategy, we are also preparing for an increased self-financing requirement.”
Lengthy negotiations led to a ceasefire
According to reports, negotiations on the content of the strategy lasted until the evening of March 31. It is not unlikely that the negotiations reached an impasse and that a compromise proposal valid for one year was adopted, if you will, a ceasefire with civil society – and within the government.
The strategy contains many of the apparent points one would expect from a policy document: that civil society is important and that organisations, through their local presence and anchoring, can create opportunities for people to influence and improve their living conditions. And so on.
However, the strategy does not contain precise wording on the major contentious issues: thematic and geographical limitations, increased control, and self-contribution. The controversial issue of whether organisations can pass on funds is not mentioned at all, likely because it encompasses so many other areas besides aid (such as the sports movement).
The strategy emphasises strengthened local ownership so that civil society in developing countries can develop and enhance. However, it does not specify how this will be done.
Vague about geographical limitations
One of the major contentious issues has been whether civil society should be allowed to continue operating in countries and regions not included in Sweden's priorities. The wording in the strategy feels deliberately vague on that point, which is likely also the intention. It states:
”This strategy may include local initiatives, where the situation is of such a nature that there is an increased need for support to civil society, but where opportunities are lacking within the framework of bilateral or regional strategies or where such a strategy is absent.”
More organisations get the chance
Another issue has been whether Sida will abandon the current system of framework organisations/strategic partners. Here, the government opens up a broader definition of organisations and emphasises that even newly established organisations should have a chance. Sida should regularly review the selection of organisations, the government writes, without specifying how this will be done. Nor does it explicitly say that the current system will be scrapped, but there will likely be a review of the model in 2024, with changes taking effect in 2025.
It states:
”Both formal civil society organisations and informal actors such as networks, including democracy movements and human rights defenders, should be able to receive support. Furthermore, the activity should consider new and established civil society organisations.”
”Sida should regularly review its selection of organisations receiving support to contribute to a pluralistic civil society and the emergence of new democracy actors. The review should be based on a changing global context, considering the government's aid policy priorities and in dialogue with the Government Offices (Ministry for Foreign Affairs). Furthermore, Sida should work for transparency in selecting recipient organisations and ensure that organisations fully apply and actively promote democracy and the principles of the rule of law.”
Follow the reform agenda ”as far as possible”
Even regarding the thematic focus, one can sense that a compromise has been negotiated. In the list of what organisations are allowed to do, practically all possible areas of activity are included, even if one should ”as far as possible” follow the reform agenda. It states:
”Contributions to civil society organisations shall, as far as possible, be aimed at activities by the government's aid policy priorities according to [reform agenda].”
Increased self-financing
Another contentious issue has been self-contribution. Now, a compromise has been reached with a threat of an increase for the next budget year, formulated as follows:
”Of the activities that civil society organisations based in countries other than developing countries carry out with support from the strategy, (at least) 10 per cent shall be financed by the organisation's funds in 2024. Sida should, in dialogue, encourage actors to diversify their funding.”
However, in a comment (see below), Gudrun Brunegård announces that there will be an increase in 2025. She also develops this reasoning in a reply in the newspaper Dagen.
The ball lands with Sida
With the reasonably vague wording, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs now passes many of the decisions to the agency Sida, which is tasked with conducting an annual follow-up on many areas, including increased control, reporting, and reporting requirements regarding results. From the strategy:
”Sida shall also ensure that civil society organisations, based outside of developing countries, report on how much of the Swedish support is allocated to activities in partner countries and costs in the home country.”
So far, civil society and their allies within the government can be seen as winners. But soon, the struggle will begin anew.
In a comment to Global Bar Magazine, Gudrun Brunegård, the Christian Democrats' spokesperson on development cooperation, writes:
”We are pleased that the government has now established the long-awaited strategy for Sweden's development cooperation with civil society. Civil society organisations are essential partners in implementing Swedish humanitarian aid and development cooperation. The organisations have added value through their local presence and anchoring and can create opportunities for people to influence and improve their living conditions.”
There are some changes in the new strategy: Organizations with projects under SEK 250,000 will have a simplified reporting format, the self-contribution within the framework of the plan will be raised to fifteen per cent from 2025 instead of the current ten, and we are considering opening the strategy to more organisations than the selected group of ”strategic partners” to increase transparency and efficiency. The main goals of a strengthened civil society and a better democratic societal climate in developing countries remain the primary focus.