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Gary Suwannarat has several decades of experience in promoting the development of Thai civil society through positions she has held in both the foundation world and in development assistance agencies. An American citizen, she currently resides in Chiangmai, Thailand, and consults on social policy issues. |
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This paper examines the experience of foreign donor phase-out in Thailand and explores the possible role of official development assistance (ODA) in providing lasting support for civil society through endowments or other funding mechanisms.1 The views of three Thai grantmaking and operating foundations and various bilateral and multilateral agencies were solicited as background research to this study. The foundations examined in this paper work at the intermediary level and mobilize domestic and international resources in order to make grants or other financing mechanisms available to civil society groups.2 Although ODA agency representatives acknowledge the importance of civil society, a number of constraints limit the extent of ODA support at this time. In particular, the Thai government is focused on accelerating government restructuring and addressing the lingering impacts of the 1997 economic and financial crisis as well as the general global economic slowdown. It has thus assigned low priority to supporting civil society other than for instrumental uses, such as health campaigns. Faced with these constraints, Thai civil society organizations therefore need to articulate clear and compelling plans for the future in order to generate support from the Thai government, ODA partners, and the Thai public.
Thailand preceded a number of its Southeast Asian neighbors in graduating from external donor funding. As the economy boomed in the late 1980s, a number of ODA agencies instituted discussions and plans to phase out official assistance programs, including some arrangements that left permanent funding for ongoing civil society initiatives. Although some donors put phase-out plans on hold in response to the 1997 financial and economic crisis, most donors left their exit strategies in place. Before reviewing the history of ODA-civil society partnerships in Thailand, the first section examines current challenges to Thai civil society. The final section examines current prospects for further partnerships between ODA agencies and civil society, and implications for the future of Thai civil society.
Notes
1 This paper builds on follows on the general overview of ODA-NGO collaboration in Southeast Asia presented in Winder (2003).
2 The Synergos Institute has previously characterized these organizations as "civil society resource organizations," or CSROs. They are not unlike the "foundations" of North America.