Interview with Martin Tisne on the Network for Integrity in Reconstruction
Source: International Budget Project (IBP)
When and why was the Network for Integrity in Reconstruction (NIR) created?
The Associate Program Director of NIR, Mar Tisne commented that the high levels of corruption, non-existent efforts to monitor external aid, minimal input from civil society in reconstruction assessments, lack of security, and prevailing instability are only some of the characteristics that speak to the political, social, and economic vulnerability of post-conflict societies. The London based NGO Tiri created NIR in 2005 to hinder the recurrence of conflict, improve the coordination and effectiveness of aid, and promote the reduction of poverty. To learn more about Tiri, go to: http://www.tiri.org/.
Who are NIR’s partners?
NIR works with Integrity Watch Afghanistan, the Independent Bureau for Humanitarian Issues in Bosnia Herzegovina, the Kosovar Initiative for Stability, the Lebanese Transparency Association, the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, the Centro de Integridade Publica in Mozambique, the AMAN Coalition in Palestine, the National Accountability Group in Sierra Leone, and the Timorese Institute for Development Studies to create a support network amongst civil society that can improve transparency and accountability in aid delivery and policymaking in postwar countries.
How does NIR monitor reconstruction aid?
NIR partners monitor key sectors where integrity reform can reduce a country’s likelihood of reverting to violent conflict as well as promote recovery in areas such as land reform, public appointments, funding flows to ministries, and so on.
Country partners select reconstruction projects and study them to answer the following questions: Where is the money coming from? How is it being spent? Where is it being spent? The findings are shared in an international database that can serve as a point of reference for all stakeholders. These activities are done in cooperation with local and international universities, think tanks, and NGOs in order to gain the necessary skills to gather information in data-poor and complex environments and to develop accountability monitoring mechanisms and integrity reform.
Monitoring may cover projects implemented by the government, bilateral or multilateral donor institutions, international groups (including both NGOs and private-sector companies working on aid contracts), and local groups (including both NGOs and private-sector companies).
Will NIR partners be able to assist governments and donors?
NIR bases its work on an evidence-based understanding of each country’s reform environment. That enables groups to choose a reconstruction sector to monitor. By pursuing and constantly updating their work, NIR partners will be in a position to advise their own governments and aid donors more effectively.
NIR will launch a policy papers series where partners will present submissions twice a year for small grants. These papers might cover reconstruction issues, but they will also be geared toward addressing practical capacity-building issues such as how to access information in difficult environments or how to start budget monitoring in a postwar country.
How does NIR work with its partners?
Following a briefing by Tiri, a thorough desk review, and interviews with NIR contacts, NIR (along with an NIR regional partner) conducts a fact-finding mission to each new country partner to meet CSO actors and a range of bilateral and multilateral donors, INGOs, and government representatives. The new NIR CSO partner is then selected on the basis of prior experience and knowledge of issues related to accountability and corruption, a long-term interest and commitment to these issues, research capacity, and prior monitoring experience.
Once selected, a partner receives formal training from Tiri as well as access to research from NIR members and resources on aid, state-building, corruption, and accountability. The partner then conducts the Reconstruction National Integrity System Survey, a methodology laying the basis for a strategic understanding of the reform process and aid world. This informs the group’s monitoring priorities and helps build its capacity. Tiri provides close support through frequent interaction and training in order to ensure the excellence of the partner’s work.