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OXFAM - Partnership Programme Agreement |
Other DFID and Oxfam collaboration
Beyond the PPA objectives there are a number of significant areas of
engagement with DFID:
- Education
- Health
- Development
- Education
- EU
- Conflict
- In the Regions
Oxfam work closely with Action Aid and Save the Children in the UK, for example in the
management of the Commonwealth Education Fund set up by the UK Government and in
lobbying on education issues. Oxfam has given regular feedback on the education
Fast Track Initiative ("FTI"), producing policy papers, progress
reports and lobbying ahead of each World Bank and IMF meeting and FTI donor
meeting. Together with the University of London Institute of Education, Oxfam
was awarded a DFID research grant on "Beyond Access: Gender, Education and
Development". Involvement of DFID staff in the UK and the regions has
developed well.
Discussion continues on access to medicines, including TRIPs reform and the
Global Fund. There is discussion about DFID's HIV/AIDS strategy and DFID funded
the publication of a book on HIV/AIDS mainstreaming, jointly produced by Action
Aid, Save the Children and Oxfam.
DFID has co-funded "Get Global" and "Developing
Citizenship" alongside Oxfam and other NGOs, working to embed education for
global citizenship in formal education. Oxfam also continues to work alongside
DFID to influence key stakeholders (e.g. the Department for Education and Skills
and the General Teaching Council) about the necessity of education that builds
understanding of, and support for, development.
Oxfam has been influential in BOND's European Policy Group in regular
NGO-DFID EU Department meetings, discussing aid issues, development policy and
the EU draft constitution. Oxfam has kept the UK Government informed of its
concerns about the new EU Constitution. Oxfam represents NGOs on DFID's EU
research budget steering committee.
Oxfam has been presenting ideas for international development priorities for
the UK government for its EU and G8 presidencies in 2005.
Oxfam will be providing policy input on trade and investment to the Africa
Commission for its report due for release early next year.
Oxfam has worked with DFID to research the effects of arms exports on poverty
and development. CHAD presented a paper and participated at Oxfam's workshop to
discuss Oxfam's Strategic Framework for Conflict Reduction. Oxfam was part of
the consultation group and contributed to a conference on "Integrating
Small Arms and Light Weapons Controls into Development Programmes"
organised by DFID in partnership with Wilton Park, the University of Bradford,
and Saferworld. Oxfam is continuing to work with DFID to champion the IATT and
will press for support for a newly developed set of sustainable development
criteria that should be used to guide national and international arms control
law.
DFID and Oxfam in the Regions
Oxfam collaborates with DFID at regional and country level particularly where
there is commonality of policy and programme interests. As well as discussion on
national policy, there is space for constructive criticism of one another and
collaboration on influencing others.
Oxfam regularly takes part in consultations on DFID's Country Assistance
Plans (CAPs), institutional and regional strategy papers. This has included
engagement with CAP processes in Vietnam, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Rwanda,
discussion of DFID's Regional Assistance Plan for Latin America and the
Caribbean, and discussion about plans for Burma, Cambodia, Eritrea and Somalia.
Oxfam welcomes the opportunities these processes have provided to discuss areas
of common interest as well as to raise issues of concern.
In the regions themselves DFID and Oxfam staff are pursuing more strategic
engagement focusing on policy concerns, broad sectoral challenges and drivers of
change. Strategic partnerships in-country involve working towards shared
objectives, leveraging learning, lesson sharing, and maximising limited
financial resources.
For example in India Oxfam and DFID have been discussing the possibility of a
strategic partnership agreement ("SPA") around the central theme of
social exclusion. DFID Asia Division Director's Delivery Plan is explicit about
the need to address the problems posed by social exclusion while DFID's India
country plan refers to the importance of civil society advocating for social
inclusion.
In East Asia some of the larger DFID country programmes are contemplating
strategic funding for their relationship with civil society. Oxfam in East Asia
has the opportunity to enter into innovative relationships with DFID at the
level of strategic thinking for the region and specific countries which will
mean investing in different approaches and partnerships for change, working
beyond the perceived barriers of who Oxfam is and who we work with and looking
at our action solely through the lens of reversing inequality, decreasing
vulnerability and ending social exclusion.
In Indonesia Oxfam's role as a convenor of some national civil society
organisations led DFID to encourage submission of two additional 'Right to be
Heard' proposals, one related to national PRSP processes.
In West Africa there is potential for more engagement between DFID and Oxfam
on service provision, for example in education and health, either as an input to
the design of DFID own large scale sector grants such as education in Ghana, or
as an input in the dialogue on how to address the gaps in service provision. In
Sierra Leone DFID supports Oxfam's Women in Leadership Project, an important
contribution to inclusive post conflict reconstruction. Oxfam and DFID are
working together to improve food security and livelihoods in drought affected
communities in Red Sea State, Sudan.
In Yemen there has been good collaboration on the PRSP process and DFID is
funding Oxfam work on PRSP monitoring.
In Latin America Oxfam and DFID are working together to ensure a pro-poor
focus to the policies, operations and practices of the World Bank and IDB
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