Civil society organisations are today considered crucial in development partnerships. This Policy Dialogue argues that current aid programs tend to turn such CSOs into businesses that are required to meet donor demands for reportable results, rather than to serve the needs of intended beneficiaries. Based on case studies drawn from HIV and AIDS work in Mozambique, Rwanda and South Africa, the report explores the...

Civil society organisations are today considered crucial in development partnerships. This Policy Dialogue argues that current aid programs tend to turn such CSOs into businesses that are required to meet donor demands for reportable results, rather than to serve the needs of intended beneficiaries. Based on case studies drawn from HIV and AIDS work in Mozambique, Rwanda and South Africa, the report explores the methods donors use to govern development partnerships and their effect on the distribution of responsibility among partners. It further examines the responses by recipient organisations to these requirements, ranging from acquiescence to resistance. These case studies, drawn from the field of HIV/AIDS, are also invaluable in shedding light on wider issue of the governance of international development cooperation with civil society.