French NGOs in the Global Era: A Distinctive Role in International Development

This book is one of a series which looks at the Frenchness of things. It is thus addressing an audience which may not be familiar with the general history of the development-NGO sector in the 'North'. Aiming to make a case for the specificity of the French NGO sector, it presents an overview of the sector, devotes specific chapters to particular questions (such as resource mobilisation, the increasing pressures for professionalisation, and the nature of the relationship between the NGO sector and the State), while attempting to embed the whole argument in the hypothesis that organisations such as NGOs necessarily position themselves around the reality of the need to raise resources. The interest for the reader who comes from a developmental background is less in the structure of the book and the overt arguments presented in it, and more in the details presented, almost in passing, in the various chapters.

A distinction is made between humanitarian and developmental NGOs: the four largest French NGOs are humanitarian, but in the majority are the much smaller development organisations, most of which have an annual income of less than €10 m. Of these NGOs, 51 per cent employ fewer than five members of staff, and 72 per cent employ fewer than 10. The tradition of volunteering in such organisations is very strong, especially since volunteering has been supported by State policies: during the years of obligatory military service, young men had the option to work with a volunteer organisation, and many were thus channelled into the NGO sector. Since then there have been linkages with the French youth-employment schemes, and the French government has imposed a legal requirement on companies and other organisations to grant a period of leave to an employee who wishes to engage in work relating to international development.

The author contends that in the new 'global era' there have been changes in the ways in which the French NGOs operate and relate to the State. Legislation and policies affecting NGOs have been adjusted: thus in 1987 the law on sponsorship was relaxed, and in 1998 new legislation allowed NGOs to engage in profit-related activities. The NGO sector itself has begun to work increasingly together as a sector, with the establishment of Coordination Sud and other federations. The State has played a key role in sponsoring (funding 80 per cent of) the training and evaluation body F3E, set up in 1994 to provide training and expertise for the sector (p. 99). Concomitantly there has been increased use by the NGO sector of procedures such as strategic planning and use of log framing. In 1996 a mechanism was established with the title of the Nouvelle Contractualisation, similar to other European models of framework agreements between the State and a more limited number of larger NGOs. This differs slightly from other framework agreements (such as the Partnership Programme Arrangements in the UK), in that it invites proposals from partnerships of NGOs, but is similar to them in that it is a means of providing longer-term funding to those selected and provides 75 per cent of programme funds.

All these developments, and the reaction against them by some NGOs, are presented as a different trajectory of development from the European norm. However, while the timing may be different, this pattern seems to this reviewer to be similar to the changes that have happened within the NGO sectors of other European countries. While it is true that the French humanitarian NGOs were very vociferous in their opposition to the establishment of the Sphere standards for humanitarian work (1998) as being too restrictive, in the general movement towards setting codes of conduct and other measures of accountability the French are as involved as other European countries.

The book does not deal in any detail with those NGOs that operate and are often funded at the regional level, since this is not of interest to the author's primary focus, which is on the links between NGOs and the central state. This is a pity, since this is, perhaps, one of the real distinctions of the French NGO sector. We do learn that NGO revenue from local or territorial authorities is a useful source of income for local and regional development NGOs engaged in micro-level development projects. Territorial governments engage in their own, quite distinct international development projects, and often compete for funds from the central-government money available for NSAs (Non State Actors). This then, is the origin of the fact that the new EC thematic instrument for funding NGO work (NSA &LA - local authorities) is also available for applications from local authorities!

The penultimate chapter is one of the most interesting, in that it deals with a case study of a multi-actor programme funded by the French in Cameroon: the 'Programme Concerte Pluri-Acteurs'. This programme developed after the Jubilee 2000 debt-relief campaign, in which many French NGOs and other actors had been involved. The idea was that the debt-conversion monies released by the HIPC (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries) initiative be used by the Cameroon government in line with its Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. As part of this, the French Foreign Ministry and some French NGOs and other non-state actors (including trade unions) developed a framework for a multi-actor development scheme to be funded by French ODA (Overseas Development Assistance). The programme was co-ordinated by a steering committee of 11 Cameroonian NGOs, four French NGOs operating in Cameroon, and other actors, including the private sector. An extensive consultation process took place, with regional workshops and thematic groups set up to suggest projects and programmes. Although there was a significant delay in getting the implementation of the programme off the ground, this programme is funding a variety of initiatives over a four-year period. It is interesting for this reviewer to note that this process was very similar to that which happened in Senegal during the consultations held during the development of the first EC Country Strategic Plan to be developed after the signing of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement, which entered into force in 2003, whereby the EC is legally obliged to include NSAs in consultations.

The book provides a wealth of detail about French NGOs which unfortunately is buried within a rather turgid presentation of a hypothesis that seems at times rather questionable.