The background for the 2007 Bergen Seminar was an increasing demand from both developing country governments and international development partners to be able to measure various aspects of democracy, human rights and governance at the national and sub-national level.

 

For UNDP and partner countries, governance assessments can be catalysts for nationally driven reform, especially if configured and undertaken through inclusive and consultative processes. Donor driven governance assessments do not necessarily emphasize the role of national partners in the assessment process or provide opportunities for developing national capacities to monitor themselves the quality of governance within their countries. Moreover, co-ordination and lack of harmonisation in countries where there are several governance assessments being undertaken simultaneously, have undermined the commitments that donors have made to the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.

 

Therefore, the 2007 UNDP/CMI Bergen Seminar focussed on governance assessments in the context of the Paris Declaration with its focus on national ownership, national capacity development and alignment. It complemented the ongoing OECD/DAC discussions on this issue, by providing an international forum to bring in the voice of developing country partners as well as to expand the focus of governance assessments beyond donor driven approaches to nationally driven governance assessments and assessments based on a peer review mechanism.

 

 

Governance Assessments and the Paris Declaration: Opportunities for Inclusive Participation and National Ownership
This report discusses the prinicples of national ownership, national capacity development,alignment and harmonization.

 

Prof. Goran Hyden, Distinguished Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Florida
The Challenges of Making Governance Assessment Nationally Owned
 

Ms. Marie-Angelique Savan­é, Member of the APR Panel of Eminent Persons:
The African Peer review Mechanism: Challenges for Good Governance

 

James Bewsher, Co-Director, Centre for Democratic Governance, University of Essex

Donor Use of Governance Assessments

 

Prof. Lise Rakner, Senior Researcher, Chr. Michelsen Institute

CMI Presentation on Governance Assessments

 

Peer Assessment: The Case of Ghana
Dr. Adotey Bing-Pappoe, Independent Consultant and Author of OSI/AfriMap report on Ghana's APRM assessment

 

Being Assessed: The Case of Malawi
Written by Dr. Nandini Patel, presented by Mr. Rafiq Hajat, Institute for Policy Interaction

Assessing Oneself: The Case of Mongolia
Hulan Hashbat, National Advisor to Support in Achieving MDG-9 on Human Rights and Democratic Governance Project, Mongolia