[WSIS CS-Plenary] UNDP.DO supports multistakeholder partner

[Daniel Pimienta]

COMMENTS

Ten years after it has done it for the first time, UNDP.DO, plays the same 
role weakening a civil society player in surprising contradiction with the 
UNDP stated global policy. First time, in the name of sustainability a 
network sustained during 4 years is destroyed and a sustainable NGO is 
weakened. Second time, an NGO working under UNDP umbrella for 
multi-stakeholder partnership is treated as a cheap partner and is 
weakened. In both case UNDP has a stated global policy (which FUNREDES 
agrees upon), but the local representatives execute a different policy.

In this late case, the role of local UNDP was to allow a MSP process to 
survive an electoral process and be warrant of political continuity of a 
national strategy in spite of change of the political party in charge with 
the government.

This seriously opens the question of the dichotomy between UNDP policies at 
global vs. local level.

The official argument of INDOTEL for negating the payment is: "there was no 
formal contract". The non official argument from UNDP.DO is: "you should 
have asked for payment before the government change". Lack of 
institutionalism, which is one of the regrettable characteristic of 
developing countries, is not a novelty; however, that UNDP is sharing such 
concept is an interesting enough innovation to be signaled and discussed.

Basic lesson to be learned for other CSOs: MSP can be lethal for civil 
society, especially dealing with UNDP at local level.

All details are documented in http://funredes.org/undp.do

FUNREDES hopes this documentation would motivate ICT4D research community 
to study the case and to help learning some lessons and remains available 
to answer any question about this matter. All following events, including 
possible reactions from UNDP will be documented in the same page.

FUNREDES has absolutely no interest in opening a controversy in Dominican 
Republic; its only motivation in documenting the case are global:
- To make transparent the duality of action of UNDP between local and 
global level and question local vs. international governance of UNDP. We do 
wish that UNDP audit the case.
- To open a file for researchers on multi-stakeholder partnerships in order 
to allow progress in what FUNREDES still considers the unique possible way 
for building Information Societies, yet a hard way with scarce references 
for success.