National
Strategies for Sustainable Development (NSSD)
Donor
- Developing Country Dialogues on National Strategies for Sustainable
Development
To
be amended – information as of
27
March, 2001
ISSUES:
National
strategic planning for sustainable development, participatory dialogues
GOALS: Improving
international understanding of the key challenges involved in developing and
implementing nssds, and examining, through good practice examples, how donors
can best assist developing countries in such processes.
PARTICIPATING
STAKEHOLDERS: OECD
/ Development Assistance Committee (DAC), UK Department for International
Development (DFID), EC, IIED, pilot countries & communities
TIME
FRAME: Phase
1 October 1999 – Phase 4 February 2001
MSP
CONTACT DETAILS; URL: www.nssd.net
Classification:
Type:
Level
of MSP: international/national
multi donor initiative
Procedural
Aspects:
Designing
the MSP
Building on previous discussions and agreements made by
OECD/DAC to review good practice to inform donors assisting developing
countries, IIED was approached in 1998 to coordinate and manage the overall
project and provide technical support. The project is a collective effort of all
the participants (developing countries and donors). IIED’s role has been to
coordinate, provide guidance and support, and assist with analysis and
synthesis. A
scoping workshop was held in the UK in 1998 to help shape the project and a Task
Force, led by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the
European Commission was established.
Participating
countries: Bolivia; Burkina Faso; Nepal; Tanzania; Thailand.
Three
other ‘parallel learning countries' are participating through targeted
reviews: Ghana, Pakistan, Namibia.
Identifying
the issues to be addressed in an MSP
In
May
1999, DAC endorsed the definition of an NSSD as “a strategic and participatory
process of analysis, debate, capacity strengthening, planning and action towards
sustainable development.”
NSSDs
are therefore processes or mechanisms which enable better communication and
informed debate amongst stakeholders; seek to build consensus where possible;
facilitate better ways of working, leading to more effective action in planning
for sustainability. An NSSD needn’t be something new.
Identifying
relevant stakeholders
Stakeholders:
Government, private sector, civil society
Identifying
MSP participants
Setting
the goals of an MSP
Setting
the agenda
Setting
the time-table
International
timetable arising from the Programme of Action for the further implementation of
Agenda 21 at the Special Session of the General Assembly (Earth Summit 11) in
New York in 1997. This document states that “by the year 2002 national strategies for sustainable development that
reflect contributions and responsibilities of all interested parties should be
completed in all countries" and
that "Local Agenda 21 and other
sustainable development programmes should be actively encouraged.” The
OECD DAC set a further target of 2005 for NSSDs to be in the process of being
implemented.
The timetable for
the project was agreed by the participants (i.e. developing countries and
donors). They took the view that it was important to get the policy guidance
before aid ministers at the DAC high level meeting in April 2001 for endorsement
– so that the DAC could use the guidance to lever a renewed focus on
strategies and seek convergence around the pricniples in the guidance. Otherwise
another year would have been lost (the High Level only meets once a year).
Preparatory
process
Five dialogues held at the
country level. One regional dialogue, in the Sahel, was planned but was not
undertaken as it was found to be too complex in the available timeframe.
Instead, there was more in-depth focus in the five dialogue countries. Each
dialogue implemented by country or
regional institution. In addition to the status review of all significant
strategic planning processes that are current or recent, there are the dialogues
involving stakeholder consultations, roundtables and workshops.
Communication
process
There was constant communication via an e-mail list and via
the website, and IIED was in constant contact with all country teams and the
donor Task Force. The was also considerable effort to establish in-country
networks (even country websites).
Process uses focus groups, roundtables, national workshops
(varies according to local circumstances).
Three
review workshops during timespan of dialogue process – an initial planning
meeting, mid-term and final workshop.
Decision-making
process: procedures of agreement
Implementation
process
Closing
the MSP
The final workshop focused mainly on the main thrust
and content of the policy guidance. The sourcebook was discussed in outline and
it is to be developed during the balance of 2001 (April-December).
Structural
Aspects:
Structures
/ institutions of the MSP
Facilitation
IIED
to facilitate and coordinate at the international level. Facilitation of the
participatory dialogues in undertaken by local teams, guided by local steering
committees.
Documentation
Material prepared by both IIED and Project participants.
NSSD web site & CD ROM as tools for project management and
information sharing during lifetime of project and beyond; detailed source book
on NSSD processes and case examples; policy guidance for DAC members on good
practice and support for developing countries. Various background and issues
papers have also been produced during project’s lifetime. These inform the
process of developing NSSDs and comment on the processes used.
IIED
developed the NSSD Knowledge Management System – an Internet and CD ROM tool.
The web site www.nssd.net provides a forum for
dialogue as well as background and reference material. The project maintains an
email discussion list to facilitate dialogue and information exchange.
Each
country / region involved will prepare a status report and a dialogue report.
IIED will prepare a rolling Issues paper, updated through process and a final
report. A sourcebook – pulling together all the main issues and lessons from
these reports, and guidelines for donors will also be published at end of
project (OECD).
Relating
to not-participating stakeholders
Relating
to the general public
Linkage
into official decision-making process
The
results from the NSSD will be one of the main outputs from OECD/DAC to Rio+10.
Likely to have other impacts in future national/international decision-making
processes. Results will also go to High Level OECD/DAC meeting in 2001.
Funding
Multi-donor
funded initiative
