Transcript Plataforma Portuguesa de ONGD

Portuguese NGDO Platform
Central Training – NGDO Platforms
Tallin, 26 and 27 March 2007
20 years
Reinforcing the Civil Society
 Informal constitution:
. March 1985
. 13 NGDO
 Public Act of constitution:
. 1999
 2005:
. 51 NGDO associated members
. 112 NGDO registered in IPAD
120
100
NGDO
Plataf.
80
60
Total
NGDO
port.
40
20
0
1985
2007
STRUCTURE
General Assembly
48 NGDO
51
Statutary audit comittee
Board
7 NGDO
Secretariat
Exec. Director,
Comunications Officer,
Admn. Assistant (intern)
Working groups: DE, Volunteering, Aid
Watch, Humanitarian Aid, Presidency (AdHoc)
Representation at CONCORD and its Working groups:
Board, FDR, ED, Aid Watch, Policy Group
VISION
• The Platform is a central actor of the Portuguese Civil Society
in the field of cooperation for development, humanitarian aid
and development education
MISSION
• Represent and defend Portuguese NGDO interests at
national and international level;
• Empower, build capacities and foster partnerships among
Northern and Southern NGDOs on development cooperation,
humanitarian aid and development education related issues;
• Promote Human Rights, Solidarity and Social Justice
principles;
• Promote the adoption of sustainable, coherent and
integrated development and cooperation policies.
PUBLIC STAKEHOLDERS AND COOPERATION POLICIES
Portugal
Some key dates:
1985 : Creation of the Portuguese NGDO Platform
1985: SENEC
1987: 1st Government plan that considers cooperation with PLOP
1994: National NGDO Law
1994: ICP / now IPAD
2001: Protocol Platform/MNE
2004: Cooperation Agent Statute
 NGDO Projects – 1% to 2% of the Portuguese ODA
 % ODA on GNI of 2003 - 0,22 % (back to the 1996 level)
SWOT Analysis
Strengths

•


Weaknesses
Only national structure that represents the
Non-governmental development cooperation 
sector;

Light structure and a non bureaucratic
decision making process;

Capacity builder of the NGDO;
Representation and linkage between NGDO 
members;

Acknowledgment by the stakeholders

New membership requests;

Follow up of Platform’s mission by some pro 

active members;

New technologies: information;

Task group methodology

Lack of financial independence. Strong dependence of
public funding and subventions;
Deficit of visibility and media impact;
Difficulties on taking advantage of the Know-how of the
NGDO Human Resources;
Low involvement of the NGDO members in the Platform
activities, due namely to the shortage of NGDO human
resources;
Weak political maturity of the NGDO sector in Portugal;
Heterogeneity of members (differing needs);
Difficulty to follow on all operational, technical and policy
issues due to insufficient resources (financial, human);

No shared vision of the Platform (Platform as a resource
centre? Training facility? Service provider? Lobbying actor?
Etc.);

No correlation between priorities and capacities;
SWOT analysis
Opportunities
Threats

Non-appropriate NGDO legislation;

Openness from stakeholders for proposals on NGDO
legal framework

Tendency for the NGDO to defend their interests, leaving
the collective interests for a second plan;

Potential use of NGDO Human Resources know-how;


Availability of the current ministry: SENEC;
Reactive Portuguese Civil Society to humanitarian and
emergency causes;

Weak knowledge but interest of Public opinion on
cooperation and development issues;

Portuguese Civil Society not very pro active to development
issues;

Public opinion interested on the relation with the
Portuguese Speaking Countries;

Cooperation and development policies linked to external
policies

Member of CONCORD: representation vis-avis the EU
decision centres;

Unfavourable national economical situation;

Insufficient skills and academic degrees in the development
area;

Week skills of the technicians of the public institutions in
what regards development projects

Very low and unclear distribution of ODA; very small ODA
percentage for the NGDO (less than 2%)

Lack of coordination and coherence in public policies

Recently: restructuration of IPAD (desp. Of civil society
department)

Potential link with NGO Platforms of the Portuguese
Speaking Countries;

Growing access to the new ICT;

Potential for policy analysis;
Successful and difficult situations during 2006
Success
Difficulties
•
•
No project approved during 2006
 Csq on Cash Flow
•
Transitional year for internal
structures (Board + Exec. Director)
•
Lack of follow-up on agreed
commitments by IPAD
•
Vague working groups status
(decision-making process)
•
Low involvement in policy issues
•
•
•
•
•
•
Stronger participation of members in
working groups (Total: aprox. 20
NGOs)
Project on Humanitarian Aid
approved (end of 2006)/ WG - GAHE
Collaboration with MoE on DE
Training Course on ECHO procedures
Bilateral visit to members
Launch of a book on Cooperation for
Development and the Public Opinion
Increase nº visits to website and
registration to newsletters
Challenges 2007
•
Structural issues:
–
–
–
–
Ensure sustainability of Working groups
Financial sustainabiliy
improved accountability
New communications & information systems through improved ICT
•
Projects: GAHE + Presidency
•
(re)new(ed) identity of Platform // Building a new sense of “ownership”
(adequate to new environment, challenges and expecation of members)
•
New relationship with recently restructured IPAD (ensure that main
commitments of the past are maintained in new structured)
Thank you
For more information:
www.plataformaongd.pt