MCA watchers have been concerned about a seeming lack of civil society participation in proposal design in MCA-eligible countries. That participation is one of MCA's main objectives. Some observers claim that in some countries civil society contributes only at the periphery of the debate while the business community leads the process. Honduras may be different.The government of Honduras consulted with the MCC and, based on the PRSP, decided to invest the grant in urban development, rural development, employment creation and road infrastructure. That was the plan -- until civil society groups disagreed."When we called the civil society to show them our selection from the PRSP, it quickly became clear that the civil society preferred rural productivity enhancement and the transportation segment," said Victoria Diaz, the Honduran government's MCA Coordinator, at a recent event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "So we adjusted the proposal to concentrate on those two large components. Not because the civil society wanted that, but it was an important input. One that made the government and the MCC realize that concentrating on two areas would yield better results."Diaz spoke at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and at InterAction on May 26. Based on her remarks at these two meetings, it seems that in the end Honduras submitted a proposal that is aligned with the PRSP and incorporates civil society recommendations.Diaz was frank. "This is not a program for the poorest," she said. "We have HIPC for that. This program is for small and medium farmers, and not for the rich. It is designed to give them greater access to the market."Honduras will use other complementary development funds to support programs targeting the poorest.Observers have wondered about MCA's compatibility with other donor programs. The Hondurans designed a proposal that would bring various donors to work side by side. For instance, the highway project, which runs from the Pacific to the Atlantic, requires coordination between the Inter-American Central Bank, the World Bank, the MCA and Scandinavian development agencies, as each organization will finance a portion of the project. This undertaking will test the donors' will to collaborate.In an effort to keep the implementation process transparent, the government of Honduras set up a five-member monitoring and evaluation board. Two civil society representatives will sit on the board with full voting powers along with government appointees. In addition, two other civil society representatives will have observer status for two and a half years while they wait for their rotation. All four represent different umbrella groups.Honduras' experience may provide an example for the other countries that are still struggling with proposal design and the consultative process. It may also help the MCC improve its guidelines on the consultative process.Access the CSIS event transcriptListen to audio from the event
