GDI Lecture with Dr Jelmer Kamstra and Zoe Abrahamson: Civil society aid as balancing act - Navigating between managerial and social transformative principles
| Dates: | 12 February 2020 |
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| Times: | 17:00 - 18:30 |
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| What is it: | Lecture |
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| Organiser: | Global Development Institute |
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| How much: | Free |
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| Who is it for: | University staff, External researchers, Adults, Alumni, Current University students, General public, Post 16 |
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| Speaker: | Jelmer Kamstra, Zoe Abrahamson |
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The civil society policy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands saw big shifts in 2015/2016, with its budget halved and its focus shifted from service delivery to lobby and advocacy. This shift to lobby and advocacy in the new Dialogue & Dissent policy framework (D&D) represents a big shift in thinking on the role of CSOs in development, from a managerial perspective to a social transformative one. As both perspectives co-exist, this lead to tensions and sometimes conflicting demands on CSOs. This lecture discusses three main ways in which D&D navigates these tensions while adhering to its social transformative ideals: (1) by stressing the political role of CSOs; (2) by working in strategic partnerships; (3) by employing flexible M&E with a focus on learning. The lecture concludes with lessons learned for D&D's successor, the Power of Voices policy framework.
Jelmer has been Senior Policy Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands in the Civil Society Division since 2015. He holds a PhD on promoting civil society and democracy and has 15 years of experience in academic research and teaching at the Nijmegen School of Management and the department of Cultural Anthropology and Development Studies of the Radboud University of Nijmegen. His areas of expertise are development studies, political science, civil society and research methodology. While working at the university he combined academic research with applied research by working as a consultant. Starting January 2020, Jelmer has taken up a new position as Senior Researcher at the Policy and Operations Evaluation Department (IOB) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Zoe Abrahamson is Bond’s senior funding adviser. She coordinates Bond’s funding stream, acting as conduit between funders and NGOs. She helps NGOs realise the need to diversify their income sources, reducing reliance on traditional grants and exploring other opportunities.
Before joining Bond she was a programme development specialist at Plan International UK, where she developed multi-million pound commercial consortia bids for DFID. She was a programme manager at Target TB, where she managed health programmes in Zambia, India and East Timor for a range of donors including DFID, Comic Relief and the Big Lottery Fund. Prior to this she worked Itad, a leading Monitoring & Evaluation consultancy for the development sector.
The Global Development Lecture Series brings experts involved in global development to The University of Manchester. It aims to facilitate dialogue and discussion, providing a space for leading development thinkers to share their latest research and ideas.
Lectures are followed by an audience Q&A.
This event is open to members of the public and information on the accessibility of the venue is detailed at this link: https://www.accessable.co.uk/venues/roscoe_th-b
This event is not ticketed.
Speakers
Jelmer Kamstra
Role: Senior Researcher at the Policy and Operations Evaluation Department (IOB)
Organisation: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands
Biography: Jelmer has been Senior Policy Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands in the Civil Society Division since 2015. He holds a PhD on promoting civil society and democracy and has 15 years of experience in academic research and teaching at the Nijmegen School of Management and the department of Cultural Anthropology and Development Studies of the Radboud University of Nijmegen. His areas of expertise are development studies, political science, civil society and research methodology. While working at the university he combined academic research with applied research by working as a consultant. Starting January 2020, Jelmer will take up a new position as Senior Researcher at the Policy and Operations Evaluation Department (IOB) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Zoe Abrahamson
Role: Senior unding Adviser
Organisation: BOND
Biography: Zoe Abrahamson is Bond’s senior funding adviser. She coordinates Bond’s funding stream, acting as conduit between funders and NGOs. She helps NGOs realise the need to diversify their income sources, reducing reliance on traditional grants and exploring other opportunities. Before joining Bond she was a programme development specialist at Plan International UK, where she developed multi-million pound commercial consortia bids for DFID. She was a programme manager at Target TB, where she managed health programmes in Zambia, India and East Timor for a range of donors including DFID, Comic Relief and the Big Lottery Fund. Prior to this she worked Itad, a leading Monitoring & Evaluation consultancy for the development sector.
Travel and Contact Information
Find event
Theatre B
Roscoe Building
Manchester
