Alphen, Netherlands. 28
January. Every now and then I get off my lofty strategic perch and venture down
into the weeds of delivery for it is there that the gap between strategy,
reality and delivery is at its most stark.
Take the EU’s mission
in Somalia EUCAP NESTOR. EUCAP NESTOR was established in 2011 as part of a
maritime security capacity-building and counter-piracy effort in the Horn of
Africa and Western Indian Ocean. The
current focus is on re-energising the mission in Somali, including
Somaliland. The approach is twofold:
establish a series of field offices across the region to promote dialogue with
and support for local communities; and establish effective co-ordination with other
members of the “EU family”, UN agencies and states with bilateral missions,
such as China, France, Turkey, UK and US).
Here the problems
begin. Implicit in the presence of so
many actors is the friction of the new geopolitics. In other words, the mission
lacks strategic unity of effort and purpose with too many different actors
wanting to do different things for different reasons. And this is not just between China and the
rest of the West. There are also profound
divisions between all the states present and between the institutions, and
non-governmental actors, often about who gets the biggest slice of the funding
pie.
According to my friend much
of the problem is in Brussels. It
concerns primarily the lack of consistent strategy and support for those in the
field. This is a problem I saw for myself in Afghanistan and NATO’s
stabilisation and reconstruction strategy. Too often good practice and sound strategy in
the field is sacrificed for politics in capitals which in turn undermines the
ability of the people on the ground to ensure efficient and effective
delivery. This is particularly
counter-productive given the very complex political and clan environment in
which such efforts be definition take place.
Therefore, if the goals
of stable governance, sustained development and legitimate security and
stability are to be realised the following strategy must be applied: ‘commitment’
must be measured in terms of funds delivered not funds pledged; ‘success’ must
be measured by demonstrable outcomes not inputs; funds should be applied
logically across the realm of nation and capacity-building, and the temptation
to shift funds into one area or another simply to generate a headline avoided;
both long-term presence and indeed consistency of application is vital; a proper
balance of effort must be established (in the gobbledygook of aid speak) between
so-called ‘Supported Implementers’ and ‘Supporting Implementers’, particularly
those able to provide and deliver vital ‘niche expertise’; and the effort must
develop a coherent identity with a spokesman able to speak with one voice on behalf
of the majority of implementers to the recipients of aid.
Critical to progress is
minimisation of the inevitable politics with a focus instead on sound project
management. In Somaliland that means bringing
front and centre the reasonably well-developed National Vision and Development
Plan and Somaliland Special Arrangement. Thereafter, all efforts must be linked to the national
vision and then planned and phased into a coherent sequence. This will ensure that
all the initiatives can be digested and mastered by key personnel from the
region and the effectiveness of said initiatives properly measured and assessed
against the backdrop of sustainable strategy.
Therefore, for EUCAP
NESTOR to work Brussels must also take a longer-view. According to my friend Brussels too often seeks
to measure inputs rather than outcomes by focusing on the quantity of those who
are in receipt of EU aid and assistance rather than the quality of outcomes
generated by the knowledge and capabilities generated. For example, when
training is conducted the EU measures progress by the number who attend but
avoids any real attempt to measure whether that knowledge is applied and to what
effect.
Much of this will look
like capacity-building 101 for many practitioners. Unfortunately, it is precisely because political
and bureaucratic leaders repeatedly fail to heed such lessons that taxpayer’s
money is wasted. Indeed, too often such
programmes generate more heat than light with the gap between strategy and
delivery growing to the point of political failure.
However, the vital need
is effective delivery. The EU needs a far
more agile funding system to enable practitioners to adapt their projects to
local circumstances. Moreover, so that a box can be ticked back in Brussels too
often people are despatched to the region who lack the appropriate skills,
knowledge, commitment and experience to do whatever is necessary to succeed.
EUCAP NESTOR will not
of course ‘fail’. Some phoney narrative will be crafted back in Brussels to
demonstrate what an outstanding success the effort has been for the EU and the
people of Europe when in fact very little has changed on the ground for the
better. If and when that happens Somalia
will continue to fall into the abyss and and very quickly yet another ungoverned
space will pose a very real threat to Europe and the wider West.
As my brave and
hard-working practitioner friend put it: “The centre stage in Somalia is not big
enough for all the prima donnas”. It is too dangerous and too important for
that.
Julian Lindley-French
