Coordination of NGOs at District Level in Nampula Province, Northern Mozambique

Abstract: The present study seeks to increase understanding about organizational, structural and contextual factors that affect and explain the coordination of NGOs in Nampula province. The focus of the analysis is the ongoing experience of coordination among NGOs at provincial level through the Provincial Civil Society Platform (PCSP) and the possibilities of improvement of this coordination at district level. Civil society organizations in Nampula province, especially NGOs implementing socioeconomic and civic projects, are trying since 2006 to establish a coordination mechanism of civil society intervention in the province. In 2009 they formally established a Provincial Civil Society Platform (PCSP) as a meeting point, in the provincial capital, where civil society organizations meet to coordinate their interventions and to exchange information. In this platform, organizations working or interested in a specific thematic sector meet together to discuss specific problems or to strategise towards a common objective. Despite years of building up this structure and the expressed willingness to be more effective and coordinated at all levels, this platform did not resulted yet in joint or coordinated interventions at district level that could increase the possibilities of development of citizens in remote areas. This is a qualitative study, undertaken in Nampula province using the experience of NGOs members of the agriculture and natural resources sector in Ribáuè district. The analytical framework is based on the Sustainable Rural Livelihood approach. Farmers, extension workers and representatives of private sector in Ribáuè and Nampula were interviewed to have their perception about people’s livelihoods and interactions among service providers. Representatives of NGOs and governmental entities were interviewed to get their understanding about opportunities and obstacles for coordination of NGOs at district level. The study concludes that coordination of NGOs can be improved by information sharing and service exchange. However, different from previous understanding that it is the local government that shapes the coordination of civil society, this study concludes that coordination of NGOs is dependent in the relation that they will establish with their donors. NGOs should reflect upon the role of donor and position themselves in order to achieve a path of coordination that can contribute for sustainable development at local level.