NGOs cooperate across sectors to influence government and development partners policies and practices so that they benefit poor and vulnerable groups.

In 2006, NGO Forum in cooperation with CCC and MEDiCAM successfully coordinated the production of the NGO statement to the Cambodia Development Cooperation Forum (CDCF) and in 2007, the three organizations worked together in the production of the NGO Position Papers on Cambodia’s Development in 2006 and the NGO Statement to the first Cambodia Development Cooperation Forum (CDCF) which replaced the CG as the high-level aid-coordination mechanism in the country. The NGO Position Papers were the compilation of Sectoral Position Papers contributed by sectoral NGOs. The Position Papers reflect the NGO point of view on the progresses that have been made by the Royal Government in the implementation of the National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) 2006-2010 and the commitments of the Royal Government and its development partners agreed in the Joint Monitoring Indicators. The short NGO Statement highlights the priority issues and NGO recommendations to the Royal Government and its development partners at the CDCF.

This new action plan 2009 – 2011 was formulated based on foreseen priority development issues identified during the internal program reflection and in consultation with the sectoral NGOs. This newly revised action plan will, if implemented with good participation from all sectoral NGOs, strengthen the roles of NGO Forum on Cambodia through the Development Policy Project so as to ensure that NGOs from all relevant sectors contribute to policy dialogues in meaningful and coordinated ways.

In Cambodia, there are a variety of NGO sectoral groups representing NGO views in sectors such as health, education, natural resource management and human rights. These sectoral groups need to be able to speak with one voice in multi-sectoral development dialogues. Working together is a necessary prerequisite for influencing government and development partner's policies in the interests of poor and vulnerable groups. Providing multi-sectoral input to monitoring of the National Strategic Development Plan Update, to the annual Cambodia Development Cooperation Forum (CDCF) and to monitoring of the Joint Monitoring Indicators requires a coordinated approach, backed by additional information gathering and support.

In 2009, the Royal Government decided to terminate the National Strategic Development Plan 2006-2010 and formulate the NSDP Update 2009-2013 in order to align the National Plan with the term of the fourth legislature of the Royal Government and to update the analysis due to the impact of global economic downturn on Cambodia.

In our publication “The PRSP and CSO participation in Cambodia” (NGOF, 2006) it was highlighted that the formulation of the NSDP 2006-2010 was not participatory. Also, the consultation with relevant stakeholders was very limited and in a rush manner. Very few NGO comments and only limited inputs were taken into account in the final version of the NSDP. The assessment of the NGO Forum on the actual opportunities for participation in the drafting process of the NSDP Update 2009-2013 was submitted to the 15th GDCC meeting on 29 September 2009 where it was highlighted that Government’s Technical Working Group mechanism was not widely used for consultations with NGOs, as suggested in Government’s Circular on the Preparation of the NSDP Update 2009-2013.

In the document ‘Accountability and Managing for Results’ (NGOF, 2008) suggested that the NSDP 2006-2010 M&E framework is very weak. Of 43 indicators, more than 30 of them are outcome and impact indicators which are not very helpful for the Royal Government to control the necessary inputs and immediate outputs that are crucial to achieve the desired outcomes and impact over a longer period. Also, the current NSDP does not have a policy matrix, which is useful tool for monitoring the policy announcements in the NSDP.

The same document shows that although the National Assembly approved the National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) 2006, it does not have any authority or play important role to monitor the implementation of the NSDP and hold the government accountable for its implementation. This also linked to their absence of engagement in the formulation process of the NSDP Update. At the time of updating this Action Plan (January 2010), the National Assembly had no systems or mechanisms in place to do its own independent monitoring of the NSDP Update.

In its system for aid-coordination in Cambodia, the Royal Government has setup 19 Technical Working Groups to support reform processes and programs as well as coordinate donor aid in a particular sector. In its assessment of the role of NGOs in the policy dialogue in Cambodia, Action Aid’s Cambodia case study (2007) found that while NGOs have seats in 14 of the 19 TWGs, some organizations lack the required capacity to interact in policy dialogue and some organizations fail to play a the representational role of NGOs in the sector. In response to this situation, the case study suggests that these NGOs need to build up their own capacity to do more effective policy influencing in these mechanisms and improve coordination of NGOs within the sector.