Linkages between the Africa Governance Inventory (AGI) and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM)

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1 UNITED NATIONS NATIONS UNIES DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS/ DEPARTEMENT DES AFFAIRES ECONOMIQUES ET SOCIALES Linkages between the Africa Governance Inventory (AGI) and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) New York, 1 December Introduction The Africa Governance Inventory (AGI) is a flexible management tool to assist African governments and their development partners to improve programming, coordination, monitoring, evaluation and mobilization of resources in governance. It is also useful for sharing governance experiences and promoting regional partnerships. It is a dynamic tool evolving according to the needs of its users. The AGI was originally developed in 1999 by the Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM) of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations (UNDESA), to respond to the need for a comprehensive database on governance programmes in Africa expressed by participants at the First Africa Governance Forum (AGF) in The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Italy have been providing financial support to this initiative. Since 2003 following the recommendations of AGI Focal Points, UNDESA has made the AGI available on the Internet ( to facilitate information-sharing on governance in Africa through the World Wide Web. The AGI Portal provides a reliable and cost-effective tool for governance focal points in beneficiary countries to manage their country homepages, to maintain their governance databases and to provide password-protected access to development partners. In view of the strategic decision by UNDP to provide support to the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), during the country consultative processes as part of the review process itself, the linkages between the APRM and AGI have a strong relevance. In particular, the APRM objectives of monitoring countries compliance with agreed standards and identifying areas of need in this process will require reliable

2 and accountable governance related information. The AGI online database will therefore be instrumental in supporting this endeavour. Starting in 2003, UNDESA has in fact been encouraging countries participating in the APRM to collect and insert data on governance in the AGI Portal with the aim of contributing to the APRM process through: a) the availability of quantitative and qualitative data (lessons learned from project implementation) on governance initiatives implemented by the government, development partners, the private sector and civil society as well as success rating reports 1 ; b) the creation of a platform for enhancing exchanges of experiences and best practices and the identification of needs for capacity building activities in specific sub-sectors of governance; c) the provision of statistical data 2 to assist governments efforts to promote donor coordination and monitor alignment of donor funded initiatives vis-à-vis priorities identified by African governments at national, sub-regional and regional levels. To date 30 countries in Africa have availed data on governance through the AGI Portal (18 of which have acceded to the APRM): Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, The Gambia, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. In addition, data collection is ongoing in Lesotho and its findings will soon be posted in the Portal. Moreover, throughout the years, the AGI project has established solid communication channels with government focal points within the African continent. The contribution the latter may bring to the APRM is of crucial importance. Twentytwo African countries were represented at the AGI focal points Workshop, held in The Gambia in April On this occasion, a consensus emerged on the relevance of the AGI to the APRM processes as it is evidenced by the following recommendations made by the Workshop participants: Focal points should lobby governments to recommend that the Africa Governance Forum (AGF) bring the AGI to the attention of the AU. Focal point meetings should take place periodically to ensure that 1) evaluation of initiatives, and 2) lessons learned recorded in the AGI are utilized during regional review processes, such as NEPAD/APRM reviews. 2. Relevance of the AGI in the various stages of the APRM a) Stage 1: Country Self Assessment and Governance Overview Because of its participatory nature, the AGI can play an instrumental role in supporting an objective, credible and equitable assessment. It is in fact managed by 1 That is to say aggregate success ratings results based on the average ratings of individual initiatives. 2 Using an automatic calculation function applied to each initiative recorded for each participating country, the AGI Portal produces aggregate data by governance classification area, by country, by region, by sub-region, by funding source, etc. 2

3 the government but at the same, when it is widely utilized and shared by all stakeholders - including the private sector, civil society, funding agencies and development cooperation bodies - it constitutes an objective information source on governance efforts at country level. The AGI is useful during the preparation of the country background document by the APR Secretariat. By showing detailed information on existing and planned governance initiatives, it provides a quick access to the status of governance in a specific country even before the review mission has visited it. It is also useful during the stage when standard tools and instruments for the assessment are refined according to each context. In this regard the AGI can assist in building consensus, which is based on objective evidence and information, among stakeholders involved in the governance arena in each country. In addition, among other things, the AGI assists to identify: The existence of issues, within specific areas of governance and their components, requiring more in depth analysis. The impact of governance on crosscutting factors (e.g. poverty reduction, gender etc.). This can be obtained through a simple AGI search function. The allocation of resources among various areas of governance and the perceived success ratings of interventions in these areas. The location of initiatives, which helps analyzing the geographical dimension of specific projects/activities. It is important to note that while the APR secretariat can immediately avail itself of the AGI data base, its reports and aggregate data structure could be redesigned in the future according to specific needs of the APRM as the process evolves. During the self assessment phase the country can use the AGI to compare governance targets with results achieved and analyze the lessons learned during project implementation. A focal point in each participating country, responsible for the collection and update of data, could facilitate this analysis to be periodically repeated (the Governance Development Unit of the Ministry of Legal Affairs of the Government of Zambia, for example, already utilizes AGI data for preparing the annual status report on governance). b) Stage 2: Visit by the Country Review Team (CRT) The AGI can be consulted while the CRT prepares for its discussions with the government counterparts. Within this context, some working tools will be set to serve as reference for the review. The AGI can be used for this purpose. During the country review visit the AGI can also be used, throughout the consultation process, as a quick reference tool to enhance debate on progress made towards the achievement of objectives in each focus area and to build consensus and joint ownership with regard future actions. c) Stage 3: Drafting of the Team s report The AGI can assist in analyzing ongoing governance programmes during the drafting of the Country Report and when the National Programme of Action (NPA) is being finalized. In particular, it can serve as a base for assessing whether existing programmes are in line with the identified needs. It is also useful in ensuring a 3

4 coordinated reprogramming of existing resources as well as identifying and addressing funding gaps. In terms of the governance actors, the AGI allows to have access to information on the track record of each stakeholder in terms of respective implementation results compared with the initial commitments made. This will assist in identifying good practices and in facilitating the allocation of roles to be assumed by various stakeholders in the future implementation of the NPA. It will also assist in spotting areas in which partnerships can be initiated or strengthened. Concerning the team s report, the AGI could serve, on the one hand, as governance reference source of data, and, on the other, to identify funding trends for each development partner. The AGI can finally assist in the final programming phase by providing an overview of specific initiatives planned by each actor in each country (through the availability of information on pipeline activities). d) Stage 4: Team s report and final Programme of Action Process The report and Programme of Action are sent to the APR Secretariat and Panel. (There is no need for the AGI except as a reference tool) e) Stage 5: Follow up The AGI has a crucial role to play in terms of the post review phase in so far as it can support the monitoring of implemented project activities and the respective resources deployed to achieve their goals. It will in fact provide objective information instrumental for verifying whether actions undertaken are in line with commitments and with the recommendations made during the review process. Another important use of AGI is related to information-sharing. This has two dimensions. The first one entails keeping stakeholders continuously involved by providing a feedback mechanism and updated information on governance undertakings at national level. The second one involves facilitating the sharing of experiences at regional workshops organized during the continental review process. Governance trends at continental level, as well as initiatives showing interactions and partnerships at sub-regional and regional levels, can also be recorded and monitored trough the AGI. 3. Recommendations Based on the above analysis, we wish to make the following recommendations supporting the need for a collaboration framework between the APRM and the AGI: a) Reliable governance information should be accessible in a transparent manner and shared among Government focal points in charge of NEPAD, APRM, AGI and donor coordination. It would be advisable to invite the NEPAD, APRM and AGI focal points to participate in workshops aimed at raising awareness on 4

5 management tools and analysis of governance data as well as stimulating the exchange of experiences at national, sub-regional and regional levels. b) All national stakeholders involved in governance initiatives (i.e. government, development partners, the private sector and civil society) should be encouraged to actively participate in providing and updating information to be accessible through the AGI. This integrated information system would become a powerful planning and monitoring tool at the disposal of the NEPAD and the APRM. c) The AGI needs to be owned by each African government within the context of transparent and coordinated information sharing on governance. This is essential for its recognition as an information, coordination and reference tool by the APRM, NEPAD and the AU on the one hand and the development partners on the other. d) The establishment of regional platforms for exchange of experience and information on governance, within the context of NEPAD, needs to be supported by the AGI. e) The APRM should champion the process of exchanging information aimed at reinforcing partnerships and collective ownership of governance issues and priorities. This can be supported through the utilization of the AGI. f) The systematic use of the AGI could support each government s leadership in developing a clear vision focused on performance, enhancement of human resource capacities and oriented to results aimed at the welfare of the population. This will assist countries in achieving the commitments contained in the Declaration on Democracy, Political, Economic and Corporate Governance, which the APRM seeks to promote. 5