Transcript Draft Proposal of CDRI Research Programme on

Draft Proposal of CDRI
Research Programme on
Democratic Governance
and Public Sector Reform
2007-2010
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Rationales for a New Programme
CDRI Strategic Plan 2006-2010
 PORDEC Achievements
 Democratic Governance & Public
Sector Reform 3-5 years extended on
PORDEC Work
 The Research Team

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Objectives of Today Discussion

To share CDRI Research Proposal on
Democratic Governance and Public
Sector Reform for 2007-2010

To solicit feedback on the proposed
research framework, capacity building
and policy outreach strategy
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Democratic Governance in
Cambodia after 15 years

Institutional Reforms
– Centralised and decentralised programmes
– New Public Management run into local institution
realities
– Increasing institutionalisation of patronage = neopatrimonialim

Democratic Transition
– Institutionalisation of election
– Responsiveness of State and assertiveness of
society
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Democratic Governance in
Cambodia after 15 years (Cont)

The outcomes: “State is poorly
integrated and detached from society”

This is the condition known as
“hybridity”
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Hybridity and the International
Literature

What is hybridity?
 Why is it useful?
– Because it recognises:
•
•
•
•
Formal and informal systems
Rational liberal and cultural specific practices
Democratic and non-democratic processes
Political and technical issues
– And it explains the mutually entanglement of the
two
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A New Research Agenda
NOT what succeeds and what fails
 BUT what works, and
 What types of actors can make such a
system work?
 What types of actors are excluded from
the system?

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Three Sub-Themes of the
Framework

Institutional Development (D&D)
– Organic Law
– D&D Implementation
– Capacity to generate outcomes in terms
of:
• State as a rule-enforcer
• State as a resource distributor
• State as a guardian of public goods
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Three Sub-Themes of the
Framework (Cont)

State-society relations and
intermediaries
– What is filling the state-society gaps
(NGOs, Kse, political parties, private
sectors)?
– Who are the winners and losers of these
arrangements?
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Three Sub-Themes of the
Framework (Cont)

Civic Engagement
– Why cannot the Cambodian public
demand better service?
– Is the problem structural or cultural?
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Research Objectives
 To
better understand how institutional
reform processes affect and/or relate to
democratic development through the
analysis existing and on-going findings
on of development of formal institutions
together with new work on informal
organisations, political culture, and
structural/demographic
change
in
Cambodia;
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Research Objectives (Cont)

To build capacity of the emerging
generation of Cambodian public
administration and political science
specialists and researchers;

To produce a dynamic model of Cambodian
governance and policy making that captures
the importance of informal, invisible and
intangible variables;
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Research Objectives (Cont)
 To
use this model to develop and
disseminate policy-relevant findings
concerning governance issues that are
crucial to the deepening of democracy
in Cambodia.
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Specific Studies
1. Institutional Development
 Organic Law Analysis
 Implementing the D&D reforms: Process,
Issues, Accountabilities, and New Roles
for the Province and District
 Political Economy of Sectoral D&D
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Specific Studies
1. Institutional Development
 Supporting the public good and the investment
environment through building regulatory and
horizontal coordination capacity at sub-national
level
 Fiscal Decentralisation, Public Financial
Management and Neo-Patrimonialism
 Neo-Patrimonialism From Below: A Study Of
Cambodian Grassroots Political Culture
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Specific Studies
2. State-Society Relations and Intermediaries

Consequences of the Electoral System:
The Concept of Opposition in Cambodian
Political Culture

Responsiveness in Democratic
Governance
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Specific Studies
2. State-Society Relations and Intermediaries

Structural Change and the Cambodian
’Bourgeoisie’ (How will local elites be
invited in the building of a local democratic
state

Enhanced mechanisms of participation to
deepen democratic development in
Cambodia
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Specific Studies
3. Civic Engagement
 Images
of Cambodian Citizenship (selfimages among neglected sub-groups
such as youth, women, ethnic groups,
and local economic elites etc.)
 A Cambodian
Social Contract?
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Specific Studies
3. Civic Engagement
 Leadership
and Local Representation
(Why do councillors and others engage
in local politics? Who are the leaders? )
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Specific Studies for
4. Cross-Cutting Themes

To what extent are the process of
decentralisation and deconcentration
gendered?

Community forestry management and
local governance
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Specific Studies for
4. Cross-Cutting Themes

Impact and interaction between trade
reform and public finance reform

Governing water resource management in
the irrigation sector
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Design of the Programme
Year 1 Year 2

Year 3___Year 4
Monograph
ID
WP1-1
WP1-2
 S-S
WP2-1
WP2-2
 Civic Engt
WP3-1
WP-3-2
 Cross-cutting Studies ----------------------------22
Design of the Programme (con’t)

Five researchers focus on six studies over the
first three years of the proposed program,
collectively producing 6 Working Papers
(WPs) in 3-4 years time (as well as work on
cross-cutting studies).
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Design of the Programme (con’t)

All WPs are expected feed into (chapters) of
a joint edited volume for a Monograph.

Each WP serves as the base from which
study findings can be expanded into other
publication formats, such as short policy
briefs, ADR articles, conference papers, or
journal publications.
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Operationalising the Research

Main objective is for researchers to own
the research agenda and process.
Internal and external TAs support
researchers as needed.

Researchers conceptualize and drive
research questions
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Operationalising the Research
(Cont)

Researchers formulate fieldwork
techniques, analyze data, disseminate
findings, recommend policy
interventions
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Operationalising the Research
(Cont)

Issues, not theories drive the research

In-house peer review followed by
external TA review

Lead authorship and writing
responsibility
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Capacity Building

Research Advisory Team (RAT) (4-5
professors) to support each WP
– Conceptualising, analysing, and editing
especially of the monograph

Co-author with RAT for international
publications
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Capacity Building (Cont)

Mini-courses, international conferences
and workshops, several master +++
courses

1 Master and 1 PhD included in the
budget
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Capacity Building (Cont)

Only 50% of the team’s time committed to
allow space for unplanned commission
studies

Spend more time on reading, mentoring, and
group discussions

Peer review, ethical review of research
 Research manuals
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Policy Outreach

Our primary audience: Cambodian
policy makers

Provide more timely, accessible and
diversified research products (I.e.
length, content, style, more prohok, less
cheese) for our audience, especially
Cambodian.
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Policy Outreach (Cont)

Reflect RGC’s reform priorities

Enhance policy dialogues between
Cambodian government with civil
society and donors

Short, action-oriented policy briefs
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Thank You
Discussion Session
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