1. Context

Technical Working Groups (TWGs) were established by the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) in 2004 to serve as coordinating bodies and partnership dialogue mechanisms that bring together the RGC, development partners, associations and NGOs to support the attainment of national development priorities set out in the Rectangular Strategy, NSDP and associated sector/thematic/ reform programme/strategy. Twenty TWGs currently function across a range of sectoral, thematic and major governance reform programmes.
A review of TWG performance commissioned in 2018 proves that TWGs continue to be an effective partnership mechanism for facilitating dialogue and for coordinating external assistance. The review also identified a number of challenges that can influence TWG’s ability to realise their objectives and the need of TWGs to adapt to the evolving partnership environment and fast-changing context of development cooperation coupled with the issues of management, leadership, membership and organisation.
This Guideline sets out objectives, guiding principles, priority areas and institutional arrangements of TWGs together with the relationship to the Sectoral Multi-stakeholder Dialogue mechanism. TWGs are encouraged to use this Guideline to strengthen their work, including by ensuring that they have a clear programme of work that is adapted to their current priorities and working modalities that are appropriate to their respective circumstances.
 

2. Objectives of TWGs

The over-arching objective of TWGs is to support RGC’s efforts to facilitate technical dialogue, coordinate and mobilise external assistance to implement sector/reform strategies/plans that are associated with the RS-IV, NSDP and CSDGs. This mechanism is not intended to substitute for or to duplicate the functions of ministries/agencies. Specific objectives of TWGs are:
(i) To promote effective partnership dialogue at the technical level for coordinating and mobilising external resources;
(ii) To ensure alignment of ODA support to sector or reform priority activities;
(iii) To serve as a follow-up mechanism for reviewing the progress of jointly identified activities that are included in the TWG’s workplan and JMIs; and
(iv) To complement other partnership mechanisms including Sub-national Partnership Dialogue and Sectoral Multi-stakeholder Dialogue.
 

3. Guiding Principles for Effective TWGs

A number of important principles must be adopted to ensure the effectiveness of the TWG mechanism in line with the DCPS (2019-2023). To promote purposeful an informed dialogue, TWGs should uphold the following principles:
(i) Ownership – The RGC will exercise commitment to ownership so that, with its development partners, there can be a relationship based on trust and mutual respect that is guided by appropriate frameworks for producing results.
(ii) Partnership – The RGC will promote consultative dialogue with TWG members in order to mobilise funding and achieve results as stated in the TWG’s objectives in line with national priorities.
(iii) Alignment and results – Partnership and coordination mechanisms must clearly articulate the objectives for better alignment and identify effective monitoring systems that are linked to results embedded in, or derived from, existing frameworks.
(iv) Accountability – All TWG members should hold each other accountable for delivering development results.