Tanzania NGO Policy Forum -
towards a protocol for engagement in the policy process
Executive Summary (Dec 2002)

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However, before they can fulfil their potential, much work has to be done to build their hard and soft capacity to conceptualise the roles which they might play in the policy process, and to work in integrated and productive ways.

This consultancy report aims to help clarify the mission and objectives of the NGO Policy Forum and to outline options for its organisational structure.

• The first chapter reviews the challenge of poverty and points to the ongoing need to define and redefine its nature and the means by which various stakeholders working in partnership might improve the lives of poor people.
• The second chapter follows up on earlier meetings and papers and offers a concise statement of core values and thus of the vision, mission and objectives of the NGO Policy Forum.
• In the third chapter we review potential channels of influence on the policy process which is seen as having four stages and four geographical levels. The Forum is mainly concerned with national policy formulation but it is apparent that there are intimate and subtle connections with other stages and levels.
• Three options for organisational structure are considered in chapter four. They are seen to lie along a continuum between the highly centralised and the decentralised. Their relative merits are rated in terms of authority, accountability and responsibility. Further discussion is required amongst members to decide on the most appropriate level of 'organisation' for the Forum.
• Chapters five and six present frameworks for thinking about organisational principles, codes of conduct and then budget considerations. These cannot be tied down in detail until consensus has been reached about structures.

The NGO Policy Forum has been active and visible in recent months in responding to government initiatives concerning the NGO Bill and the CG meeting. There is thus much learning by doing and a growing awareness within the CSO and NGO communities of the need for an organization such as the Forum.

The NGO Policy Forum represents a diverse range of organisations with a diverse range of interests. It may not always be possible for it to speak with one voice but it should be possible for several different voices to speak from a common platform.

Our main recommendation is that the Forum should set aside time to negotiate with its members and potential members countrywide on an ongoing basis. The various checklists and frameworks presented in this and earlier papers are offered as tools to help structure and frame the negotiations.

It is perhaps best to think of the Forum not as a bridge to be built to a predetermined blueprint, but rather as an infant to be nurtured to evolve in a spirit of community, partnership and social justice