In 2009 the Scottish Government funded the SMP to conduct a four month research exercise, working with a range of civil society stakeholders in Malawi, in order to come to a better understanding of the need for, and possible structures to deliver, better co-operation between Scotland and relevant civil society NGOs in Malawi.

The research was designed to give a snapshot of Malawian civil society in its most general sense, but also to look at the issues, challenges, needs and priorities of those sections of Malawian civil society which are, or would like to be, linked with Scotland.

All SMP members in Scotland were encouraged to invite their Malawian partners to become involved in the research. With over 250 organisations and individuals feeding into the research, this exercise has been described as one of the most extensive and inclusive needs assessments of Malawian civil society in recent times.

The exercise started form the fundamental assumption that Malawians know best (a) what civil society means in a Malawian context; (b) what challenges and issues there are in Malawian civil society; and (c) what mechanisms or interventions could help address these challenges. The process was therefore intentionally designed not to draw far reaching conclusions either from secondary sources written outside the Malawian context or from the engagement of a small number of Malawian participants. Rather, the research aimed to engage as large a number of Malawian civil society organisations and individuals as possible and to have a simple methodology which could be repeated in each of the three regions of Malawi, to allow robust data comparisons to be made.

The research consisted of 53 one-to-one meetings with civil society leaders/representatives, three regional stakeholder meetings in Blantyre, Lilongwe, Mzuzu which were attended by 231 organisations and individuals, 14 working groups looking at specific areas of Malawian civil society, and around 250 survey responses.

The research found that, in a Malawian context, ‘civil society’ can be defined as non-state actors who represent and serve their communities on various social issues, in order to propagate specific common good. However, it also found that ‘civil society’ is not an unproblematic discourse and its meaning and relevance in the Malawian context should not be assumed.

The report finds a significant desire within Malawian civil society for:
• improved communication and co-ordination;
• increased sharing of resources, information and contacts (through events and web presence);
• regular meetings / events / interaction / engagement;
• help to build the capacity of existing Scottish links and broker new ones;
• greater Malawian ownership of this process;
• a more equitable partnership with Scotland.

The SMP/MSP are continuing to actively look for the necessary funding to address the challenges highlighted in this report.


The final report from the SMP’s recent civil society research exercise is now available online.
CLICK HERE.

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