Opportunities and Challenges in Collaborative Learning: Ghana's Fiscal Governance Learning Exchange

The field of fiscal governance encompasses an array of efforts to improve how governments manage public resources on behalf of their citizens. With the support of international donors, global and country-focused organizations carry out diverse efforts, including advocating for a myriad of reforms in policies and processes.

While this way of working has had successes, the field faces many questions. Have the tools and interventions we have put forward delivered improved governance or better development results? Have these efforts been able to shift the incentives of powerful stakeholders? How have learning systems and MEL practices shaped our understanding of how change happens?

With the support of Open Society Foundations, Oxfam, the Natural Resources Governance Institute, International Budget Partnership, and Global Integrity – along with six Ghanaian governance-focused civil society organizations – discussed these questions at a learning exchange held in Accra, Ghana, just before the COVID crisis emerged. Over two days, our organizations began a structured reflection on how our respective fiscal justice strategies and learning approaches were playing out in the Ghanaian context.

Over this roundtable discussion, we will explore the opportunities of challenges involved in developing shared theories of change and learning practices across local and INGO organizations. We know that many of the challenges of siloed, project based learning projects, but what would it take to collaborate more effectively in country contexts? Over this discussion, we will share some insights gathered during the learning exchange process, and discuss adjustments we are seeking to make in our MEL practices.

Participants will have an opportunity to learn about these insights and discuss implications in their own work in small breakout groups.