First, I would like to say most of the projects I have been involved in during the last forty years or so are funded by external donors.
I am often asked what have been the lessons learned from this experience of working in donor-funded projects. Well, my stock answer has always been the same: it often takes the patience of a mule to manage or implement externally-funded project. A positive spin can be that donor-funded projects can teach us to be patient and tolerant and flexible in dealing with all sorts of characters we meet at various stages of a project.
You will agree these are virtues one needs to cope with life, most especially in difficult circumstances. Which is to say it's a little bit more difficult to be part of a donor-funded project than a project that relies solely on local funding for support.
Let me show some examples:
-In the late 70s, I held the record for the most number of times to revise a project proposal. If I recall correctly, I had to revise it 20 times. One reason was that there were just too many experts looking at my masterpiece. I had to revise the document each time a consultant from either the Government or the donor reviewed it. The other reason was, according to a friend from the donor agency, I kept forgetting to put in the child focus. She said jokingly: "You must put the child every fifth sentence in your proposal." That's the moral - you must always be guided by the donor's mandate or bias. Forgetting this basic thing will mean you are in for a rough ride starting at the planning stage.
-Sometimes the price of success in donor-assisted projects is to give up your peaceful and quiet life. Donors would arrange visits to your project both from foreign and in-country projects or offices. Sometimes you wonder when will you have time to implement the activities of your own project.
-More often than not, your life gets complicated when your Government and the donor agency do not see eye to eye on certain project matters. You are caught in a tug-of-war between the two which can take months to unravel. I have experienced this a number of times both as a project adviser operating under Government mandate and as a consultant representing the donor's interest. In some cases, it is no longer the technical issue that is difficult to resolve, but how to save the face (or preserve the self-esteem) of the persons you are dealing with in the stand-off.
-It may happen that the conflict is between two donor agencies that support your project. Things can get so petty that you wonder whether you are still in college involved in some kind of fraternity rivalries. I had the experience of being told that I was not doing my duty just because I happened to position the official vehicle with the door displaying the other donor agency's logo!
-I have worked in a project where the donor seemed not to trust anybody from the projecr or the Government, whether it is about technical or funding matter. Staff from the donor agency will arrive in the morning by plane from Manila and leave in the afternoon to fulfill tasks which can be assigned to local counterparts, e.g. giving an overview of the workshop; introducing the participants; announcing each session; and doing a wrap-up of the activity.
-Too much centralization is still present mong some donor agencies perhaps of some sad experiences in the past, but there should a healthier outlook regarding relationships with project staff. In finances, the same donor insists on paying everything from the central office, including for the cartolina used in training. The same donor required that a copy of the marriage certificate of the hotel owners be provided before the processing of payment to show a document supporting the joint bank account where the payment will be deposited.
-The other extreme can also happen. The donor is virtually non-existent during the first or two years of a project, not issuing any guidelines, and it only appears when the project is about to end. Naturally, there will be problems created by this laissez fair approach. Then when the blame game starts, you will expect this type of donor to quickly pass the blame to the locals of course.
The foregoing are some of the things which can complicate your life in donor-assisted projects. I often find myself wishing that we go back to just working out projects on our own, utilizing local resources, and not complicating our lives and those of the people we try to help.
But this may be too simplistic a solution. The other way is for donors and their counterparts to have an honest appraisal of what they do and do not do together under the overarching theme of poverty reduction and sustainable development.
Just a reflection.
I am often asked what have been the lessons learned from this experience of working in donor-funded projects. Well, my stock answer has always been the same: it often takes the patience of a mule to manage or implement externally-funded project. A positive spin can be that donor-funded projects can teach us to be patient and tolerant and flexible in dealing with all sorts of characters we meet at various stages of a project.
You will agree these are virtues one needs to cope with life, most especially in difficult circumstances. Which is to say it's a little bit more difficult to be part of a donor-funded project than a project that relies solely on local funding for support.
Let me show some examples:
-In the late 70s, I held the record for the most number of times to revise a project proposal. If I recall correctly, I had to revise it 20 times. One reason was that there were just too many experts looking at my masterpiece. I had to revise the document each time a consultant from either the Government or the donor reviewed it. The other reason was, according to a friend from the donor agency, I kept forgetting to put in the child focus. She said jokingly: "You must put the child every fifth sentence in your proposal." That's the moral - you must always be guided by the donor's mandate or bias. Forgetting this basic thing will mean you are in for a rough ride starting at the planning stage.
-Sometimes the price of success in donor-assisted projects is to give up your peaceful and quiet life. Donors would arrange visits to your project both from foreign and in-country projects or offices. Sometimes you wonder when will you have time to implement the activities of your own project.
-More often than not, your life gets complicated when your Government and the donor agency do not see eye to eye on certain project matters. You are caught in a tug-of-war between the two which can take months to unravel. I have experienced this a number of times both as a project adviser operating under Government mandate and as a consultant representing the donor's interest. In some cases, it is no longer the technical issue that is difficult to resolve, but how to save the face (or preserve the self-esteem) of the persons you are dealing with in the stand-off.
-It may happen that the conflict is between two donor agencies that support your project. Things can get so petty that you wonder whether you are still in college involved in some kind of fraternity rivalries. I had the experience of being told that I was not doing my duty just because I happened to position the official vehicle with the door displaying the other donor agency's logo!
-I have worked in a project where the donor seemed not to trust anybody from the projecr or the Government, whether it is about technical or funding matter. Staff from the donor agency will arrive in the morning by plane from Manila and leave in the afternoon to fulfill tasks which can be assigned to local counterparts, e.g. giving an overview of the workshop; introducing the participants; announcing each session; and doing a wrap-up of the activity.
-Too much centralization is still present mong some donor agencies perhaps of some sad experiences in the past, but there should a healthier outlook regarding relationships with project staff. In finances, the same donor insists on paying everything from the central office, including for the cartolina used in training. The same donor required that a copy of the marriage certificate of the hotel owners be provided before the processing of payment to show a document supporting the joint bank account where the payment will be deposited.
-The other extreme can also happen. The donor is virtually non-existent during the first or two years of a project, not issuing any guidelines, and it only appears when the project is about to end. Naturally, there will be problems created by this laissez fair approach. Then when the blame game starts, you will expect this type of donor to quickly pass the blame to the locals of course.
The foregoing are some of the things which can complicate your life in donor-assisted projects. I often find myself wishing that we go back to just working out projects on our own, utilizing local resources, and not complicating our lives and those of the people we try to help.
But this may be too simplistic a solution. The other way is for donors and their counterparts to have an honest appraisal of what they do and do not do together under the overarching theme of poverty reduction and sustainable development.
Just a reflection.
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