Donor Aid Practices and their Impact on Civil Society Operations in Zimbabwe: The Case of Action Aid in Zimbabwe Governance and Accountability Programme

Abstract

This research is a summary of findings on the study of donor aid practices and their impact on civil society operations in Zimbabwe, which focused on Action Aid Zimbabwe (AAZ) Governance and Accountability programme as a case. Specifically, the study sought to relate to AAZ’s programmatic, financial and administrative practices, challenges faced and the impact on civil society development work. Qualitative methods, mainly in depth interviews, observations and focus group discussions formed the backbone of the research methodology considering the nature of the study. Purposive Sampling was used to select in-depth interviewees while snowballing was used for the focus group participants. Study participants were drawn from AAZ programmes and finance staff, staff and community members from three CSOs that AAZ funds namely: Institute for Young Women’s Development, Zimbabwe Young Women Network for Peace Building and Youth Agenda Trust. The impact of donor aid practices on civil society operations in Zimbabwe is inferred partly from overall aid performance and partly from the performance of individual civil society projects supported by AAZ. The research established that a top-down relationship exists between AAZ and the CSOs it funds. As such, AAZ determines the project objectives, which CSOs have to align with so as to get funding. The relationship has implications on project ownership, implementation strategies and performance of the CSOs. Conversely, the research found evidence of active citizen participation in local government decision-making in the localities where the CSOs work. The study recommends that donors should allow CSOs to set project agendas as they have an understanding of contextual settings and it also encourages project ownership.