VALUES, DEFINITIONS & TERMINOLOGY

(COMMENTS RECORDED ON 6 x 8 CARDS)

·  DFGG is in excellent process / initiative with leadership of the World Bank.

·  This initiative reflects the “inclusive” characters of the Bank.

·  How do values / lessons (Bank staff and civil society practitioners) communicate with the World Bank economists who direct the macro-finance policies which in certain countries constrict economic growth? (countries whose bulk of annual revenues go to debt repayment to IMF-WB because WB doesn’t enable country’s significant sustained economic growth?

·  How can civil society such as vibrant women’s grassroots coalitions Huairou/GROOTS support the DFGG initiative to make impact with Bank economists?

·  The need for greater clarity and specificity in the use of terms ‘governance’, ‘social accountability’, and ‘citizen enhancement’.

·  Need to define ‘governance’ in generic and common terms

·  Moving from ‘DFGG’ to ‘CTGG’: i.e., from ‘demand for good governance’ to ‘contributing to good governance’ so that citizens have formal spaces and opportunities to contribute to better governance.

·  Entry points (for DFGG) are context and situation dependent. So a ranking / ‘readiness factor’ for Local Governments may be considered for entry points and pilots.

·  Democratic governance examples: citizenship engagement, women’s empowerment – and more are getting framed together with the gloss of DFGG terminology plus analytical frameworks and questions that emanate from these. But the examples all come from different political intentions, value bases and interests – we need to untangle these and become more precise with our language so we know when we can share and when not.

·  Critically address language and terminology differences in thinking about the demand side of good governance with respect to the GROOTS International presentations and questions and what it means to formalize roles for grassroots women’s groups as key stakeholders in projects, programs, government services and as citizens.

·  Rethinking the term ‘demand for good governance’ and may be replacing it by ‘partnerships for good/better governance’ or some other appropriate term. (Comments from Nisheetn Kumar, Knowledge Links India Partner, GROOTS International/Huairo Commission.