Managing Uncertainty: Results Based Frameworks During The Covid-19 Pandemic

Sammanfattning: This qualitative case study aims to explore how the unprecedented impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the capacity and operation of Swedish development organizations within the civil society and to what extent current results-based frameworks (RBF’s) and systems have been suitable to adhere to these changes and challenges. Eight semi-structured interviews with CSO representatives have ben conducted during early spring, 2021. The thesis operationalizes a theoretical framework based on Eyben (2010) and Lewis and Mosse (2006), examining the role of development practitioners and organizations as intermediaries within the development architecture, who inherently needs to balance a duality of demands between their local partners and back donors. The findings suggest a mixture of responses, with a majority of respondents perceiving their own internal systems and frameworks as having been largely adjustable to the changing needs of their partners during the initial year of the covid-19 pandemic (March 2020 to April 2021). The respondents’ perception of flexibility and adaptability were however linked to a few different factors, such as (1) size and internal capacities of the CSO’s, (2) the flexibility and support provided by the back donors and (3) and perceptions and policy restrictions related to the so-called humanitarian borderland. The practical and policy implications from this study are discussed in the final section, highlighting that the widespread effects of the pandemic have provided a unique opportunity for reflection, learning and innovation. Therefore, this thesis aims to contribute to the growing field of scholarly work investigating the role of results and aid effectiveness during times of unforeseeable events and crises by including the perspectives of development intermediaries.