The DAC Network on Governance (GovNet) brings together governance practitioners and experts to explore and promote more effective governance in developing countries.
The Network
Since its creation in 1995, the DAC Network on Governance (GovNet) has provided members with a forum to exchange experiences and lessons, identify and disseminate what has worked where and why, and develop policy, analytical tools and operational approaches. GovNet has served as an incubator for cutting-edge processes such as the DAC work on fragile states, political economy analysis, accountability and democratic governance and work on anti-corruption. GovNet is a subsidiary body of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC).
GovNet is open to experts and practitioners from development co-operation agencies from DAC countries and multilateral agencies. A variety of think tanks, NGOs, research centres and experts also join the network discussions.
GovNet products offer guidance and promote behavioural change for development co-operation practitioners, but GovNet seeks also to nurture and enrich debates in other fora such as the Effective Institutions Platform by bringing evidence and ideas emanating from its work.
Accountability and anti-corruption: Following the elaboration of the Accountability and democratic governance: Orientations and principles for development for the promotion of accountability, GovNet is promoting improved integration of media in accountability programmes, and exploring ways to better support accountability in service delivery. At the same time, the GovNet Task Team on Anti-corruption focuses on illicit financial flows, donor responses to corruption on development assistance, and updating the 1996 DAC recommendations on anti-corruption provisions in bilateral aid procurement.
Exploring better and different ways for development assistance providers to do their work: Despite the many challenges in providing development co-operation support to governance, providers can be resistant to changing the way they are working. GovNet conducts studies to explore alternative methods, including applying the results-based aid approach to the governance sector, mapping and studying innovative initiatives in public sector reform, and ensuring that political economy analysis is focused on better supporting implementation efforts.