Coalitions for Change (C4C)

2007 to 2011

£ 7.3 million

DFID Nigeria

Project coordination and management; research; monitoring and evaluation; communications and lesson-learning; public administration; climate change; constitutional reform; gender issues; poverty reduction; water governance; disability rights; extractive industries.

C4C is a bold and innovative Programme working to achieve positive change in Nigerian institutions leading to better management of public resources and stronger accountability.  It tackles constraints to change by identifying and supporting coalitions of interest across civil society, government, the private sector and media. These coalitions are engaging in Projects funded by the Programme to tackle a wide range of fundamental issues including:

• corruption in the Public Sector;
• the impact of climate change;
• the need for consultation on constitutional reform;
• increasing transparency in the application of revenues;
• gender and affirmative action;
• water management governance; and
• the promotion of the rights of differently-abled people. 

The Coalitions for Change Programme (C4C) is a direct response to DFID Nigeria’s Drivers of Change (DoC) analysis which argued, amongst other things, that individuals and organisations – ‘agents’ – acting on their own would be hard-pressed to drive meaningful long-term change. In tackling the fundamental constraints to change in Nigeria DoC suggests an approach that identifies and supports coalitions of interest. Such coalitions should be supported to work on issues that engage their stakeholders and that have the potential to lead to institutional change.

C4C is DFID Nigeria’s main vehicle for supporting and testing this new and innovative ‘issues-based approach’ (IBA) to development. It is developing and implementing a series of specific issue-based projects (IBPs). These in turn drive change in the institutions – rules and norms as distinct from organisations – that sustain two of the principal constraints to Nigeria’s achievement of the MDGs: the mismanagement of public revenues; and weak formal accountability. 

C4C is a national programme supporting campaigns and coalitions addressing national issues. It can also support coalitions that have a specifically regional or multi-state focus. Coalitions for Change builds on previous and continuing DFID-sponsored work in Nigeria and is establishing strong links with these, including: SLGP (State and Local Government Programme), FPSR (Federal Public Sector Reform), STAND (Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in the Niger Delta) and SNAP (Strengthening the National Assembly Project) as well as NEEDS (National Economic Employment and Development Strategy) and SEEDS (State Economic Employment and Development Strategy) initiatives.

The programme is very much in line with Nigeria’s poverty reduction strategy (PRS), the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS), which argues that changing the way government works is fundamental to pro-poor change. NEEDS recognises that this cannot be achieved through traditional technocratic approaches alone. In talking of ‘social charters’ and of ‘empowering people’ NEEDS highlights the requirement for initiatives like C4C that strengthen citizen’s voice and apply constructive pressure on government.  By working with issues-based coalitions C4C is connecting supply-side governance reforms with popular demands for change.  This is particularly vital where governments are not used to engaging with civil society organisations.

Nigeria is a young democracy and does not yet have a Government NGO cooperation institution.  NGOs and CSOs are still viewed with some suspicion by Government.  The C4C programme paves the way for increasing cooperation between Government and NGOs/CSOs.

The individual IBPs are as follows: Anti-Corruption (AC), Affirmation of Rights of Persons with Disability (ARPWD), Climate Change IBP/ Nigeria Climate Action Network (NigeriaCAN), Constitutional Reform Dialogue Mechanism (CRDM), Extractive Industries Revenue Transparency Initiative (EIRTI), Gender and Affirmative Action (GAA), Monitoring the Virtual Poverty Fund (MVPF), Northern Nigeria Water Governance Initiative (NNWGI), Strategic Opportunities Fund (SOF).

Website: http://www.coalitions4change.org/

Working with national and international partners, HTSPE provides overall management in this project.  This includes involvement at all stages of the project cycle: identification of issues around which coalitions have/can form; scoping of IBPs; fund disbursement; monitoring & evaluation; and lesson learning.

Key initial services included:

• Setting up of the Project Advisory Panel (PAP)
• Developing and agreeing the Project Management Manual
• Establishing and maintaining contact with key partners and DFID programmes

HTSPE provides clear strategic analysis and fully rationalised programme direction for this politically sensitive programme.

As the project has progressed HTSPE has: 

• Provided strong strategic management; an efficient and cost-effective administration and finance function; a well-resourced research and M&E capability; and a pool of high quality specialist short-term consultants able to support a wide range of IBPs including, potentially, ones with an infrastructure component.
• Monitored the political, economic and social environment at different levels for IBP opportunities.
• Built relationships and liaised with advisers, RCs, PAP members and other stakeholders to source possible IBP ideas.
• Put in place arrangements to work-up IBP concepts in collaboration - as appropriate - with other stakeholders.
• Developed proposals for the consideration of the PAP.
• Sourced consultants (local and international) to provide short-term technical support in areas identified.
• Maintained and developed sound relationships with other DFID programmes and other donors.
• Drawn lessons and documented these where appropriate and co-ordinated and disseminated learning on the IBA.
• Co-ordinated and managed the disbursement of DFID funding to issues-based coalitions.
• Developed and agreed systems for monitoring issues-based coalition performance.
• Recommended action in a timely fashion on the basis of monitoring data, including early closure

HTSPE has recently been awarded a contract extension until the end of October 2011.