Development and Cooperation


	Contributions from the Column Media Giving victims a say in reconciliation Few new insights into human-rights protection Civil society should engage in policy-making 01/2007		Civil society should engage in policy-making Julius Court, Enrique Mendizabal, David Osborne und John Young: Policy engagement. How civil society can be more effective. Overseas Development Institute, London 2006, ISBN 0-85003-814-6. Download at: http://www.odi.org.uk/rapid/Publications/Index.html Developmental projects run by civil-society organisations are already making a difference in many poor countries. However, their impact can grow to the extent that non-governmental bodies become able to influence their nation’s policy-making on matters such as agriculture or social affairs. Admittedly, doing so is difficult if a country is ruled by an authoritarian government. According to this report, however, democratisation and the spread of modern communication technologies have improved the conditions for civil-society involvement at policy level. Many organisations fail to exploit these opportunities, however, because they only have a poor understanding of governmental decision-making, because they do not think strategically (concerning their choice of whom to talk to, for instance), and because their data are unreliable. The ODI document therefore recommends that donors make more funds available for enhancing such capabilities in civil society and promoting a culture of governmental openness in poor countries. The authors are also in favour of more effectively engaging policy-makers – irrespective of political systems and the strength of civil society in the countries concerned. (bl)