ringing the church bell - the role of churches in governance and

European Centre for Development Policy ManagementCentre européen de gestion des politiques de développement

John SaxbyPretoria, South Africa

Ringing the church bell The role of churches in governance andpublic performance in Papua New Guinea

Volker Hauck, Angela Mandie-Filer and Joe Bolger

A case study prepared for the project ‘Capacity, Change and Performance’

Discussion Paper No 57EJanuary 2005

Analysis

The lack of capacity in low-income countries is one of the mainconstraints to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.Even practitioners confess to having only a limitedunderstanding of how capacity actually develops. In 2002, thechair of Govnet, the Network on Governance and CapacityDevelopment of the OECD, asked the European Centre forDevelopment Policy Management (ECDPM) in Maastricht, theNetherlands to undertake a study of how organisations andsystems, mainly in developing countries, have succeeded inbuilding their capacity and improving performance. Theresulting study focuses on the endogenous process of capacitydevelopment - the process of change from the perspective ofthose undergoing the change. The study examines the factorsthat encourage it, how it differs from one context to another,and why efforts to develop capacity have been more successfulin some contexts than in others.

The study consists of about 20 field cases carried out accordingto a methodological framework with seven components, asfollows:• Capabilities: How do the capabilities of a group,

organisation or network feed into organisational capacity?• Endogenous change and adaptation: How do processes of

change take place within an organisation or system? • Performance: What has the organisation or system

accomplished or is it now able to deliver? The focus here ison assessing the effectiveness of the process of capacitydevelopment rather than on impact, which will beapparent only in the long term.

External context Stakeholders

Internal features andresources

External intervention

The simplified analytical framework

Co r e va r i a b l e s

Capabilities

EndogenousChange andadaptation

Performance

Study of Capacity, Change and PerformanceNotes on the methodology

• External context: How has the external context - thehistorical, cultural, political and institutional environment,and the constraints and opportunities they create - influenced the capacity and performance of theorganisation or system?

• Stakeholders: What has been the influence of stakeholderssuch as beneficiaries, suppliers and supporters, and theirdifferent interests, expectations, modes of behaviour,resources, interrelationships and intensity of involvement?

• External interventions: How have outsiders influenced theprocess of change?

• Internal features and key resources: What are the patternsof internal features such as formal and informal roles,structures, resources, culture, strategies and values, andwhat influence have they had at both the organisationaland multi-organisational levels?

The outputs of the study will include about 20 case studyreports, an annotated review of the literature, a set ofassessment tools, and various thematic papers to stimulatenew thinking and practices about capacity development. Thesynthesis report summarising the results of the case studies willbe published in 2005.

The results of the study, interim reports and an elaboratedmethodology can be consulted at www.capacity.org orwww.ecdpm.org. For further information, please contactMs Heather Baser ([email protected]).

Ringing the church bellThe role of churches in governance

and public performance in Papua New Guinea

Volker Hauck, Angela Mandie-Filer and Joe Bolger

A case study prepared for the project 'Capacity, Change and Performance'

January 2005

Capacity Study Analysis Discussion Paper No. 57E

iii

ContentsAcknowledgments ivAcronyms ivSummary v

1 Introduction 11.1 About this study 11.2 Framing governance 21.3 Structure of this report 2

2 The external context in which PNG churches operate 32.1 Country background 32.2 Political situation and governance in PNG 4

3 The PNG church community and its networks 63.1 History 63.2 A myriad of church communities 63.3 Key characteristics of the church sector 93.4 Networks 10

4 In-country stakeholders and international partners 114.1 In-country stakeholders 114.2 External stakeholders and partners 12

5 Endogenous change processes for improvedgovernance and public performance 14

5.1 Reasons for change 145.2 Church contributions to governance and public

performance - some highlights 14

6 Capabilities shaping capacity 176.1 What capabilities? 176.2 Emergence of capabilities 19

7 Ringing the bell? 207.1 Evidence of performance 207.2 Underlying factors explaining performance 21

8 Issues and challenges for PNG churches 23

Annex 1: List of interviewees and focus group participants 25Annex 2: Glossary 27Annex 3: Methodology 28Bibliography 29

The European Centre forDevelopment Policy ManagementOnze Lieve Vrouweplein 21NL-6211 HE Maastricht, The Netherlands Tel +31 (0)43 350 29 00Fax +31 (0)43 350 29 [email protected] www.ecdpm.org

Australian Agency for International Development62 Northbourne Avenue Canberra ACT 2601 Australia Tel +61 2 6206 4000 Fax..+61 2 6206 4880 [email protected] www.ausaid.gov.au/

This study was undertaken by ECDPM in the context of the OECD/DAC study on Capacity, Change andPerformance and financed by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).

Discussion Paper No. 57E Capacity Study Analysis

iv

ADB Asian Development BankADRA Adventist Development and Relief AgencyANGO Australian non-governmental organisationANU Australian National University AusAID Australian Agency for International

DevelopmentCCAC Community Coalition against CorruptionCEC Churches Education CouncilCMC Churches Medical CouncilCPP Church Partnership ProgrammeDAC Development Assistance CommitteeDWU Divine Word UniversityECDPM European Centre for Development Policy

ManagementGDP gross domestic productHSSP Health Sector Support Programme IDS Institute of Development Studies (UK)

MP Member of ParliamentNDoE National Department of EducationNDoH National Department of Health NGO non-governmental organisationNSA non-state actorsOECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation

and DevelopmentPNG Papua New GuineaPNGCC Papua New Guinea Council of ChurchesSDA Seventh Day AdventistsSWAp sector-wide approachTA technical assistanceUCOA Uniting Church Overseas AidUN United NationsUNDP United Nations Development ProgrammeUPNG University of Papua New Guinea

AcknowledgementsThis case study, and the parallel study on the PapuaNew Guinea's (PNG) health sector were made possi-ble through the generous support of the AustralianAgency for International Development (AusAID). Theauthors would like to acknowledge, in particular, thesupport of Bernadette Whitelum, formerly ofCorporate Affairs, AusAID, who was the agency's keyinterlocutor with the European Centre forDevelopment Policy Management (ECDPM) on thisinitiative from the outset.

Bernadette advised the team on the substantivefocus of the two studies and AusAID's interest insponsoring this research in the context of the broaderECDPM study on Capacity, Change and Performance.Donna-Jean Nicholson, of AusAID's Policy andMultilateral Branch, ably guided us through the finalstages of this process.

The authors wish to thank all of those who sparedtheir valuable time to be interviewed and who pro-vided in-depth views during interviews in PNG, andto those who shared documents prior, during andafter the field research. The names of intervieweesfor this study are provided in Annex 1. Kerrie Flynnfrom Corporate Policy, AusAID Canberra, and MartinaTuarngut Manu, Port Moresby, provided greatly

appreciated logistical and organisational supportrelated to this undertaking.

A word of appreciation goes also to those who pro-vided their valuable and extensive comments on ear-lier drafts of this paper, in particular Don Kudan,Chairman of the Churches Medical Council in PNG,and Marie Tyler, a Canadian who spent over 10 yearsin PNG from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s workingas a nutritionist in Bougainville and East New Britainand as a teacher at the University of Goroka. We alsowish to thank colleagues from AusAID's Policy andMultilateral Branch and PNG Branch for their con-structive inputs and comments,

A final word of thanks goes to the ECDPM core teamfor the wider study on Capacity, Change andPerformance, especially Heather Baser, ECDPMProgramme Coordinator, and ECDPM Associates PeterMorgan and Tony Land who provided stimulatingcomments and reflections prior to and during thewriting of this report.

While this study contains many inputs from variousstakeholders and the study team, sole responsibilityfor the interpretation of data and the analysis restswith the authors.

Acronyms


v

SummaryThis case study examines the role of the Christianchurches as institutional actors within Papua NewGuinea's governance and service delivery landscape.The research for this case, and the parallel study,PNG's Health Sector: A Review of Capacity, Change andPerformance Issues (Bolger et al., 2005), were gene-rously financed by the Australian Agency forInternational Development (AusAID) and are part ofa wider study on Capacity, Change and Performancebeing coordinated by the European Centre forDevelopment Policy Management (ECDPM) underthe aegis of the Govnet, the working group on gover-nance and capacity development of the OECD'sDevelopment Assistance Committee (DAC).

The community of Christian churches in Papua NewGuinea (PNG) is very diverse, ranging from main-stream churches, such as the Catholic, Lutheran andUnited Churches, to others with smaller congrega-tions, such as the Baptists and Anglicans. TheSeventh Day Adventists form an important churchcommunity in PNG, and there has been an increasein the number of Pentecostal and Evangelical church-es across the country. In total, PNG has approximate-ly 150 different missions, sects and free churches.These church groups entered PNG in several wavessince the late 19th century, and an estimated 99% ofthe population now identify themselves asChristians. While PNG has had relatively long contactwith various church groups, some remote communi-ties had no contact with the 'outside world' as late asthe 1950s.

There is a widespread recognition that the churchesplay a very important role in PNG society. Collectively,they provide about half of the country's health services and - in partnership with government - co-manage some 40% of the primary and secondaryeducation facilities. Churches also run two of thecountry's six universities and are responsible fortraining many of the country's teachers and healthworkers. A number of church groups are alsoinvolved in peace and reconciliation activities inareas experiencing tribal or other types of conflict,while others speak out on the governance situationand the lack of basic government services in parts ofthe country. Such problems have worsened in recentyears, leading the government to declare restorationof 'good governance' as one of its key priorities.

The churches are seen as having made a significantcontribution to development and modernisation, andthe introduction of values and morals which are nowrecognised in the country's Constitution. They havedeep roots in PNG's diverse communities and candraw upon considerable social capital to influencechange processes at various levels. Many of the coun-try's leaders have been trained in church institutionsand continue to play a prominent role in shapingPNG society. However, there are some who believethat religious organisations have also contributed tothe decline of PNG's traditional cultural practices andvalues.

PNG's Christian churches contribute to governanceand public performance in various areas:• public policy and decision making: e.g. supporting

electoral processes, participating in and liaisingwith political commissions and councils, promo-ting transparency and information sharingthrough the media, public workshops/confer-ences, or speaking out on governance issues;

• social justice and the rule of law: through involve-ment in organisations such as the CommunityCoalition against Corruption or through consulta-tions between church leaders and governmentofficials on public affairs;

• supporting enhanced public performance in thehealth and education sectors: working throughthe Churches Medical Council and the ChurchesEducation Council; and

• facilitating and supporting reconciliation andpeace building: e.g. in response to tribal disputesand the Bougainville crisis in the 1990s.

This report observes that some of the church activi-ties in PNG are well structured and incorporated intochange strategies of individual organisations or net-works. However, there are also many contributions toimproved governance that have emerged out of indi-vidual initiatives of church leaders, church-basedNGO representatives and academics, which are notas well coordinated, and are often ad hoc or respon-sive. On this question, the report concludes thatthere are no broad, endogenous church-based strate-gies aimed specifically at enhancing or improvinggovernance or public performance in PNG.

To discuss the churches' capabilities, the report drawsupon a conceptual model by Woolcock (1999) dealing

with 'networks' and 'social capital' at the communitylevel. The model highlights four specific capabilities:bonding, bridging, linking and the use of space. Theseare seen as cross-cutting, and aspects of each one arelinked to the various areas of governance and publicperformance noted above. It is suggested that whilethese capabilities have emerged on a relatively adhoc or pragmatic basis in recent decades - less so inthe case of the Catholic Church, given its more exten-sive involvement in governance and public sectormatters - the increasing threat posed by poor gover-nance in PNG has provided a motivation for morefocused engagement. In turn, this has promptedchurches to increase inter-church exchanges andcooperation, and to give more serious considerationto their own internal management and governance.

In terms of underlying factors explaining perfor-mance, the report suggests that the authority andlegitimacy of churches, their national networks withother institutions, international links, individual skillsand capacities are particularly pertinent.

Furthermore, the interplay of the four capabilitiesdescribed above, supported by incremental, locally

based change processes and external support, haveled to a discernible 'capacity' of the church communi-ty in PNG, which is influenced or triggered by six fac-tors: leadership; religious interpretations and orienta-tion (values); a shared conceptual base and faith-based mandate; appropriate communication chan-nels; legitimacy through resilience, knowledge andservice delivery; and the important role of thechurches' intermediary structures and organisations.

The report concludes that given the historical andongoing involvement of the churches in so manyspheres it is difficult to imagine PNG society withoutthem. Despite their broad presence and strengthsthough, there is a risk of overestimating their poten-tial to play a greater role in supporting improved governance and public performance in the country.The authors conclude that their future engagementon such matters should be considered objectively inlight of various considerations, including the diversityof the church community, the breadth of theircurrent mandates, their absorptive capacity, and the

churches' own internal management and governancecapabilities.


vi

city development, of the OECD's DevelopmentAssistance Committee (DAC). The wider study,grounded in some 18 case studies from across theglobe, seeks to provide insights into how externalpartner organisations can support endogenous capa-city development processes. Through experiencesfrom the individual cases, the wider study also seeksto facilitate a better understanding of the meaning ofcapacity, the complex relationship between capacityand performance improvement, and the processesthrough which capacity is developed.

AusAID also welcomed this initiative as a contribu-tion to an internal reflection process that could feedinto deliberations on programming in PNG in theareas of civil society and health. Both topics, 'health'and 'the churches', were suggested by AusAID. Theresearch team has already produced two shortreports containing preliminary observations andissues arising in relation to AusAID's support forhealth sector reforms and the churches in PNG.

While this case study reviews the contributions ofthe churches to governance and service delivery inPNG, it is important to note that it is not an evalua-tion and does not seek to pass judgement on any ofthe organisations or networks referred to in thisreport. This initiative was also undertaken, to theextent possible, from the perspective of various PNGstakeholders, including church leaders, members ofchurch organisations, government officials and civilsociety leaders. As such, the report attempts to tell'the capacity development story' in PNG from aninsider's perspective, and envisages contributing tothe learning and reflection of internal and externalchurch actors about their role in shaping governanceand enhancing service delivery (for the methodologyof the study, see Annex 3).

1 Introduction1.1 About this studyThis case describes the role of churches as an institu-tional actor within the governance landscape inPapua New Guinea (PNG). It discusses the existingcapabilities within the church community to engagein advocacy and policy-related work, and highlightsthe existing capabilities which are in place for it tocontinue functioning as a partner of government inthe delivery of social services. The overarching objec-tive is to look at the interplay between endogenouschange processes and the development of capabili-ties within the churches and to see how this hastranslated into the performance of various church-based institutions and the capacity of the churchsector as a whole. To that end, the case looks at thefactors underpinning the participation of churchorganisations in strengthening 'governance' in PNG,and how they have contributed to social servicedelivery throughout the country.

In relation to the latter, the study considers, to theextent possible, the 'management capacity' of churchesin order to understand why and how the churches havebeen relatively successful in the delivery of services.Finally, it discusses the challenges and opportunitiesfacing the churches in PNG in the current context. Thebroader church community and its networks are takenas the 'unit of analysis', but with a particular focus onthose church groups which are active in different areasof 'governance', including the enhancement of publicperformance in health and education. The issue of 'governance' is discussed in more detail in section 1.2.

This case study was undertaken in parallel with astudy on PNG's Health Sector: A Review of Capacity,Change and Performance Issues (Bolger et al., 2005),which examines the experience of this sector inrecent years from a capacity development perspec-tive. Both of these studies were generously financed by the Australian Agency for InternationalDevelopment (AusAID) and are intended to contributeto international policy dialogue on capacity develop-ment, drawing specifically on lessons learned fromAusAID-funded programmes. The two studies alsocontribute to a wider study on Capacity, Change and Performance that is being coordinated by the European Centre for Development PolicyManagement (ECDPM) under the aegis of the Govnet, the working group on governance and capa-


1

Notes1 This section draws on the work of the Institute on

Governance (www.iog.ca) and the Institute ofDevelopment Studies (IDS) programme on governance andcivil society (www.ids.ac.uk/ids/civsoc/)


2

1.2 Framing governanceBefore looking at the contribution of churches to gover-nance1 in PNG, including their role in enhancing servicedelivery, we first discuss the term governance. Althoughthere is no agreed definition of the term, it is widely usedin relation to the spheres of government and non-govern-mental organisations, as well as individual organisationsand looser associations. For purposes of this study, gover-nance is defined as: '… how governments and other socialorganisations interact, how they relate to citizens, andhow decisions are taken in a complex world. Thus gover-nance is a process whereby societies or organisationsmake their important decisions, determine whom theyinvolve in the process and how they render account'(Graham et al., 2003).

This 'process of governance' can work through formal ele-ments, such as constitutions, bylaws, policies, etc., as wellas through informal traditions, accepted practices, orunwritten codes of conduct. It is not synonymous withgovernment and state institutions.

In this report churches in PNG are understood to beorganised entities of civil society. The report identifieshow churches and the state relate to one another, howthis relationship changes, and how it contributes tochange, capacity development and improved governanceand public performance. Civil society organisations canmake various types of contributions to good or improvedgovernance2. These might include advocacy, but can alsorelate to the provision of services for which the state hasprimary responsibility.

We distinguish the following five areas in which civil soci-ety organisations contribute to improved governance:1. Public policy and decision making: by mobilising their

constituencies to engage or participate in politics andpublic affairs, such as encouraging them to participatein electoral processes, or to become involved in policydialogue, etc.

2. Transparency and information sharing: by providinginformation themselves, or via the media, or engagingin activities such as public hearings, investigations, etc.,through which information can emerge;

3. Social justice and the rule of law: by acting as a 'watch-dog' of the state, or engaging in a broad range of advo-cacy activities, from monitoring theapplication of exist-ing laws and procedures, to human rights activities,includingproviding assistance for individuals involved inlegal processes.

4.Enhancing public performance: by playing a role in theprovision of social services, and thereby helping tostrengthen public performance, through involvement inpolicy design, financing or the delivery of services.Successful involvement in public service provision alsorequires sound internal governance (including strategy

development and management) of civil society organi-sations.3

5. Reconciliation and peace building: by engaging in areasof a country where there is a need for peace buildingand where the state has no or limited presence andaccess. These may be in areas in conflict, or in regionsabandoned by the state, where civil society organisa-tions often take up a mediating, bridging or facilitatingrole.

PNG churches engage in a variety of activities that can begrouped within this framework. The framework will helpto clarify the extent to which churches are involved in dif-ferent types of development policy and governanceprocesses, and the capabilities that are required to per-form effectively. The report relies on this framework insections 5 to 7.

1.3 Structure of this reportFollowing this introduction, sections 2-4 describe theexternal context in which PNG churches presently func-tion, the composition of the church community and itsinternal features, the stakeholders, and external contactsand networks. Section 5 highlights the endogenouschange processes that the churches rely upon to shapegovernance and enhance performance in the social sec-tors in general, and specifically in the health sector. Theseare discussed in relation to the five areas of governancepresented above. Section 6 reflects on the emergence ofparticular capabilities among churches in PNG.4 Section 7,entitled 'ringing the bell', discusses the performance ofPNG churches in terms of their contributions to shapinggovernance and enhancing state performance throughservice delivery in the social sectors.5 Finally, section 8highlights some critical issues that the churches haveidentified and have started to address in order toenhance their performance.

Notes2 Good or improved governance is understood here to include

transparency, effectiveness, openness, responsiveness, account-ability, the rule of law, etc., all of which aim to maximise thecommon or public good.

3 In our analysis of church performance, this aspect is dealt withas an integral part of 'enhancing state performance'.

4 The term 'capacity' is used here to refer to the ability of theorganisation or system as a whole to perform. As such, it is notequated with any subsidiary element such as a particular'capability'. That term refers to a specific ability of the organi-sation to do something in particular such as to facilitate or tolearn or to manage projects. Finally, 'performance' is used tomean accomplishment or execution or delivery (Morgan,2003b). For a glossary of terms used in this report, see Annex 2.

5 The title of this report refers to the practice of churches inmany countries to use the church bell to alert their congrega-tions to important social events such as public meetings, toannounce changes in government, or to warn of emergenciessuch as fires, natural disasters or war.


3

2 The external contextin which PNG churchesoperate

2.1 Country backgroundPapua New Guinea is one of the world's most diversecountries - geographically, biologically, linguisticallyas well as culturally6 Located to the north ofAustralia, PNG is made up of the eastern part of theisland of New Guinea (the Indonesian province ofIrian Jaya occupies the western half) and a series ofislands to the north and east - Manus, New Britain,New Ireland and Bougainville (see figure 1). Nearly85% of the main island is covered with tropical rainforest and vast areas of wetlands, which are home toaround 6% of the world's flora and fauna. The centralpart of the main island, known as the Highlands,rises into a wide ridge of mountains, up to 4500metres high, a territory that is, in parts, so denselyforested and topographically forbidding that someindigenous groups remained isolated for millennia,each shaping its own culture, language and rules.

While today English is the main medium of govern-ment communication (especially at the national leveland for educational instruction), there are three officiallanguages - Pidgin, English and Motu. There are alsomore than 700 distinctly different languages and over1000 dialects spoken by many tribes, sub-tribes, clans,sub-clans and family groupings. The country hasapproximately 5.3 million people, 52% of whom arefemale. The population has grown rapidly since inde-pendence in 1975 at an average annual rate of 2.5%.Half of the population is under 19 years of age, andover 85% live in isolated rural areas with limited orsometimes no access to basic services and income-generating opportunities. The average life expectancyis 54 years and adult literacy is estimated to be 52%.

The eastern part of New Guinea was first visited byPortuguese and Spanish explorers in the 16th centu-ry. A permanent European presence followed in the1880s, when missionaries and traders began to settlein accessible coastal areas. In 1884, Germany declareda protectorate over the northeastern part of NewGuinea and several nearby island groups, and Britain

declared the southern coast (the area called Papua)and adjacent islands a protectorate. In 1902, BritishNew Guinea was placed under the authority of theCommonwealth of Australia; the formal Australianadministration of the Territory of Papua started in1906. During World War I, Australian troops enteredGerman New Guinea and retained control under aLeague of Nations mandate. The Highlands region,thought by outsiders to be too hostile for habitation,was only 'explored' as of the late 1920s by prospec-tors searching for gold. Astonishingly, they foundover one million people living in fertile mountain valleys whose cultural traditions had remained virtu-ally unchanged for thousands of years. During WorldWar II, PNG was invaded by Japanese forces and,after being liberated by the Australians in 1945, itbecame a United Nations trusteeship, administeredby Australia. PNG gained limited home rule in 1951,became self-governing in 1973 and achieved com-plete independence in 1975.

From a geo-political perspective, PNG is the geogra-phic interface between the Australian continent andIndonesia, the most populous Muslim country in theworld, and has experienced increased militant threatsand terrorist activities in recent years. PNG is endowedwith rich renewable and non-renewable resources, andprovides a buffer between the two countries whoserelations have been strained at times.7

Notes6 Economic and other data in this section have been compi-

led from various sources, including PNG's NationalStatistics Office, the Australian government (ForeignAffairs and Trade) and the CIA World Factbook.

7 The East Timor crisis showed that internal conflict inIndonesia could have a negative effect on the relationshipbetween the two countries.

Figure 1. Map of Papua New Guinea

(Source: Papua New Guinea Post-Courier Online).


4

Subsistence and small cash crop farming are themain modes of economic activity and means of sus-taining the majority of the people. However, PNGalso relies substantially on exports of non-renewableresources (copper, nickel, gold, silver, natural gas) aswell as fish, timber, coffee, copra, palm oil, cocoa, tea,coconuts and vanilla for foreign exchange and gov-ernment revenues. PNG's economy averaged realannual GDP growth of 3.4% between 1978 and 1998,led by growth in the mining and petroleum sectors.However, the economy suffered a setback during thefinancial crisis of the late 1990s, including three suc-cessive years of contraction, although the economygrew by 1.4% in 2003, due largely to higher interna-tional commodity prices. It is expected that the mining sector will decline over the next decade as aresult of the scheduled closure of a number of mines.PNG's per capita GDP in 2003 was around US$647.8

While the abundance of resources provides PNG withgreat potential for economic diversification, growthand self-reliance, it has not resulted in economicwell-being for the majority of the people. In fact, thelevel of poverty in PNG, as measured by social indica-tors, has increased faster than in neighbouring coun-tries in recent years. According to the UNDP HumanDevelopment Index, PNG today ranks 133 out of 175countries. High levels of international aid, approxi-mately US$100 per capita per year, help to sustainpublic services, but broad-based, sustainable deve-lopment remains elusive.

2.2 Political situation and governance in PNGPNG has a parliamentary democracy based on theWestminster model.9 According to the 1975Constitution, executive power rests with the nationalexecutive council (cabinet), which is headed by aprime minister. The head of state is Queen ElizabethII, represented by a governor general who is normallyelected by the parliament. The country has a single-chamber national parliament and provincial assem-blies in each of the 19 provinces,10 which are madeup of national politicians and leaders of local govern-ments. The parliament - consisting of 109 memberselected for a five-year period - has traditionally beenmade up of a relatively large number of parties andnumerous independents.11

Political involvement in most rural areas is limited forvarious reasons. The political parties do not have a significant rural base, in part because of their limitedorganisation outside urban centres. Another reason is

that government is perceived as very distant in remoteareas of the country as it is neither seen nor felt.

While PNG has had regular elections since independ-ence, the state is becoming increasingly weak withinstitutions of governance often described as politi-cised, corrupt and/or dominated by personalities.Observers of the political scene talk of PNG as acountry in the midst of a constitutional crisis.According to Okole (2002) and Reilly (2001: 61), theroots of the problem lie in the way the country'sdemocratic institutions operate. Standish (2002: 2)noted that 'Representative democracy in PNG hasincreasingly come to be characterised by a diffuseand fragmented party system, high candidacy rates,very low support levels for some successful candi-dates, vote splitting, low party identification on thepart of the electorate, high turnover of politiciansfrom one election to the next, frequent "party-hop-ping" on the part of parliamentarians and, as a con-sequence, weak and unstable executive government'.As a consequence, a very limited 'national conscious-ness' has emerged in PNG, and there is limiteddebate on national issues, such as how to strengthencentral institutions or make government moreaccountable to the people. This has left the doorsopen for high levels of corruption, nepotism and mismanagement of government resources, all ofwhich contribute to the worsening capacity situa-tion, the relatively poor performance of the state andits services, and the deteriorating national economy.

Despite various attempts at institutional reform priorto and since independence, no solution has yet beenfound to the problem of how to deal with clan-basedpolitics, which is seen as an underlying cause of manyof the country's governance problems. In a rapidlychanging and modernising society, which for manycontributes to a sense of insecurity and cultural dislo-cation, the clan remains the primary unit for mobili-sing support, for dealing with customary land rights,hereditary wealth, mobilising labour, and generatingresources for survival and business development.

By the 1980s, national members of parliament (MPs)had come to resent provincial politicians' control oflocal development funds, which led to the creation ofnew 'development funds' to be controlled by nationalMPs. These funds grew from a modest Kina 10,000 per

Notes8 Exchange rates as of November 2004: US$1 = 0.76 = AU$

1.27 = Kina (PGK) 3.05.9 For a discussion on state and society in PNG from

independence to 2000, see May (2004).10 PNG has 19 provinces, plus the national capital district.11 This has changed with the introduction of the Integrity of

Political Parties Bill prior to the 2002 national election, as aresult of which the number of independent candidates hasdecreased.


5

annum in 1984 for each MP (about US$4500 at thetime) to Kina 1.5 million (US$500,000) per annum by2004, so that huge state funds are now in the handsof (often) inexperienced leaders who fre_quently allo-cate those funds on the basis of localised or personalinterests rather than according to national develop-ment priorities. Power shifted further from electedprovincial assemblies to MPs in the mid-1990s asprovincial elections were done away with and provin-cial assembly members were drawn from the ranks ofnational MPs and local government representatives,which gave the national MPs additional discretion forthe distribution of funds (Standish, 2002: 3-4).

Not surprisingly, politics has become an importantpart of the economic landscape in many parts of thecountry, as democratic elections have become a pri-mary means of accessing state finances (Windybankand Manning, 2003). Almost 3000 candidates com-peted for the 109 seats in parliament in the 2002elections, which were described as the worst everheld in PNG (Gibbs, 2004). They were accompanied by unprecedented levels of violence, kidnappings,intimidation and ballot rigging, as well as death anddestruction. In some parts of the country (theSouthern Highlands, in particular) voting could not becompleted in time. Today, some 30% of PNG is consi-dered to be in a 'state of anarchy' (Gibbs, 2004: 8), andthe situation has the potential to deteriorate rapidly.

Despite this fairly negative picture, there have beensome positive recent developments. A major reform,the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates Law,was passed in 2001 to strengthen political stability.The new law prevents a new government being subject to a vote of no confidence during its first 18months in office, and places restrictions on parliamen-tarians who might otherwise switch parties for oppor-tunistic reasons. Another law which will come intoeffect before the next parliamentary elections in 2007will do away with the 'first past the post' voting sys-tem in favour of a limited preferential voting system(candidates with the lowest votes will be successivelyeliminated from the count, until one has a majority ofthe remaining votes).12 In addition, the governmenthas made substantial efforts to support public sectorreform over the long term (GoPNG, 2003), but the success of these largely foreign-funded initiatives willdepend on the functioning of the overall PNG gover-nance structure, which is beyond the influence of public sector reform strategies and programmes.Other positive elements in the realm of PNG's gover-

nance include the existence of a strong ombudsmansystem, free trade unions, an independent judiciaryand the guarantee of basic civil and political libertiesin the Constitution. A free and open press can speakout against mismanagement and corruption (see box 1) and civil society organisations are able toprovide some checks and balances within the system.

Civil society organisations in PNG are diverse, inclu-ding churches, business associations, labour unions,women's and youth organisations, policy institutes,NGOs, community-based organisations, andlandowner groups. Many, however, are based in andaround the cities, rely on external support and are sofar poorly rooted in PNG society. More recently, thissituation has started to change, with a steadyincrease in the number of community-based NGOs.The big church organisations are an exception andare the only actors in civil society that enjoy legitima-cy and support from broad segments of the popula-tion, which enables them to make a difference in theareas of governance and public policy performance.Since about half of the country's health services anda substantial number of schools are operated by, orwith the assistance of the churches, the governmentrecognises churches as important civil society actors.

Notes12 Some political observers remain sceptical about the effects

of this 'constitutional engineering', but agree thatsomething has to be done to reduce political instability(Reilly, 2002; Standish 2002; Lea, 2004; Okole, 2004). For apolitical analysis, see Windybank and Manning (2003).

Box 1: Governance in Papua New Guinea today Some headlines from The Weekend National, 30 April to2 May 2004:'Tribunal dismisses MP Nali from office' - The

allegations against the leader related to the mannerin which he dealt with public money …

'Peace attempts in Madang fail' - Attempts to fosterreconciliation between politicians and publicservants in Madang (province) have failed.

'Soten suspended' - Trade and Industry secretaryJonathan Soten has been suspended followingallegations of misconduct, mismanagement, mal-administration and incompetence.

'Seminary accused of misadministration' - Fourstudents, who were terminated by the SeminaryCouncil for leading a student boycott, have allegedrampant corruption in the Martin Luther Seminaryadministration.

'Breakdown in law and order in Western Highlandsprovince' - During a meeting hosted by the NationalDoctors' Association, it was revealed that manyspecialist doctors were reluctant to take up theirpostings because of insecurity prevailing.


6

Despite this overall positive assessment, churches arenot immune to the declining tendencies observedmore broadly in PNG society. For example, many ofthose interviewed for this study highlighted thatgovernance and management capacities in the churchorganisations need to improve significantly to enablethem to respond to increasing needs, and to meet theaccountability requirements of the government andother development partners, including donors.

3 The PNG church community and its networks

3.1 HistorySome 130 years ago, the first missionaries arrived inthe coastal areas of contemporary PNG. They came aspart of the expansion of the British Empire on thesouthern shores of the main island, and with Germanrule in the northeast. In the context of French colonialactivities in the Pacific, there had been attempts tobring Catholicism to the country as early as 1845, butthese failed due to logistical problems and the hostili-ty of local tribes. It was only after a second attempt inthe 1890s that French missionaries were able to esta-blish a presence through permanent missions. Thisfirst missionary wave, which lasted into the early yearsof the 20th century, thus had a British-Anglican andMethodist, a German-Lutheran and a French-Catholiccharacter (see figure 2 and box 2).

During the second wave, which terminated with theend of World War II, many conservative evangelicaland fundamental Christian missions penetrated,along with the established churches, the moreremote parts of the country, along with the esta-blished churches,. The Highlands region, with morethan one million 'pagans' or 'lost souls' (as they wereperceived in those days), was explored by Australiansand missionaries only in the late 1920s, and becamea fierce battleground for different denominationscompeting for religious followers.13 The third wave,after 1945, brought many Pentecostal churches to thethen UN trusteeship under Australian control.

The stronger presence of Evangelical-Lutherans in theeast, and of Anglicans, Baptists and United in the

south, can be traced back to colonial times.Catholicism spread throughout PNG between the1920s and 1950s, facilitated by a hierarchical churchstructure and support from Europe.14 New or smallerchurch communities, such as the Seventh DayAdventists (SDA) or some Pentecostal groups, tookadvantage of the inaccessibility of the country, andthe many 'blank areas' to be explored, and from thetraditional regular splitting or breakdown of commu-nities due to conflicts or tribal disputes. The new frag-ments of these communities then took on newbeliefs and helped to nestle the newly arriving churchgroups within regions that had already been convert-ed by the main churches, such as the Catholics, theAnglicans or the Lutherans. Information about theeconomic base of earlier missions and today's church-es is scarce, but it is known that some missions pur-chased or acquired customary land and set up planta-tions. Some of these covered huge areas of land, suchas in the Gazelle peninsula in East New Britain.15Today, PNG is a Christian nation; the preamble to itsConstitution pledges 'to guard and pass on to thosewho come after us our noble traditions and theChristian principles that are ours now.'

Notes13 Tensions among church communities remained for a long

time. A Lutheran publication, for example, characterised theSeventh Day Adventists as trying to increase the number offollowers through polemics against Lutherans and Catholicsbecause they do not respect God's law, the Sabbath(Missionswerk, 1995: 32). But Wilkinson declared 'that one ofthe SDA-principles is not to enter in the region of anexisting mission, with the exception of being specificallyinvited by the people of this region' (R.K. Wilkinson, DieKirche der Siebenten-Tags-Adventisten, cited in Wagner etal. (1989: 210). Rivalry and 'nasty sectarian sniping' thatoccurred between missions in the 1980s and 1990s is alsorecorded by Barker (2002: 2).

14 For more about the history of missionary activities in PNG,see Wagner et al. (1989) and Sillitoe (2000).

15 See P. Richardson (in Wagner et al., 1989: 191), and theobservations of Marie Tyler who lived for many years in EastNew Britain.

Table 1. Religious communities in PNG (percentage of the population)

Roman Catholic 29%

Evangelical Lutheran 20%

United Church 12%

Seventh Day Adventists 10%

Pentecostals 8%

Evangelical Alliance 5%

Baptist 3%

Anglican 3%

Salvation Army < 1%

Other Christians 9%

Other religions 1% Source: PNG Census (2000)


7

3.2 A myriad of church communitiesPNG has a very diverse landscape of religious com-munities.16 Some 96-99% of the population identifythemselves as Christians,17 and the rest belong to ahandful of other religions, including Muslims andBaha'i. According to the 2000 census, Papua NewGuineans belong to a wide range of religious com-munities, as shown in table 1.

According to Gibbs (2004: 3-4) the church sector con-sists of four separate blocks. He distinguishes thelarger, 'mainstream' churches, including the long-

established Lutheran, Catholic, United and Anglicandenominations, which are reasonably well organisedand pro-active partners of the government in socialservice delivery. They also speak out on issues relatingto good governance in PNG society and influenceexternal relationships, such as those with the govern-ment. While they cooperate amongst themselves inmany areas and constitute the base of a modest ecu-menical movement in PNG, they are themselves com-posed of different streams. The United Church, found-ed in 1968, for example, builds on the work of the for-mer Methodist missionaries, the London Missionary

Notes16 The role of churches in PNG society and their impact on

governance and development is relatively under-researchedand little secular analysis is available, although Stein-Holmes (2003), Luker (2004) and Gibbs (2004) have recentlyshed some light on this topic.

17 Stein-Holmes (2003) talks of 99%, and Gibbs (2004) of 96%,but whatever the figure, it is considerably higher than inAustralia - in the 2001 census only 67% of Australiansdescribed themselves as Christians.

Figure 2. Early Christian missions in Papua New Guinea

Source: Wagner and Reiner (1986: 34)


8

Society and the Presbyterians. The current LutheranChurch represents the Evangelical-Lutheran Church,the Lutheran Gutnius Church and the Lutheran MelpaChurch, founded in 2000.18

Second, there is the Evangelical Alliance with mis-sions and churches such as the Baptist, Liebenzeller,the Nazarene and the Salvation Army, which are allpart of the larger Evangelical Alliance of the SouthPacific Islands. The Evangelical Alliance is a memberof the Churches Education Council (CEC) and a num-ber of Evangelical groups are active in the ChurchesMedical Council (CMC). However, while they sub-scribe to the principles of good governance, theEvangelical churches are not active participants indebates, movements or advocacy activities support-ing good governance in the country (see box 3).

The third group is made up of the growing number ofPentecostals that function under the National Councilof Pentecostal Churches (Wagner et al., 1989: 206).According to Gibbs (2004), and our own field observa-tions, they do not appear as a formal bloc in public

discourse. The group includes relatively smaller enti-ties such as the Christian Revival Crusade, ChristianLife Centre and Four Square Gospel Mission. SomePentecostals are members of the CMC. One of theirchurches, the Assemblies of God, is a member of theCommunity Coalition against Corruption (CCAC).

Fourth, the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church con-stitutes a separate block as they have kept a distinctprofile throughout their nearly 100-year-presence inPNG. They did not join the former MelanesianCouncil of Churches, founded in 1965 (now known asthe PNG Council of Churches, PNGCC), out of a con-cern that they would be drawn into political debatesand have to adopt positions not in accordance withtheir faith.19 While they have joined the CMC (forfunding reasons, as one observer assumed) they arestill not a member of the PNGCC. They run their ownprimary schools and do not participate in the CEC.Gibbs (2004) sees the SDA as a church with politicalinfluence in PNG. Stein-Holmes (2003)20 suggeststhey have some political influence in Parliamentsince one-third of MPs are members of this church

Notes18 From 'Lutheran World Federation President Krause visits

member churches', World Faith News Archives, 5 April 2002(www.wfn.org).

19 R.K. Wilkinson, Die Kirche der Siebenten-Tags-Adventisten, inWagner et al. (1989: 210).

20 The report by Stein-Holmes (2003) contains a usefulcollection of material on churches in PNG and the Pacificregion.

Box 2: Tedious beginnings of Lutheran missionary work in PNG

A first missionary station of the Lutheran Church in PNG was founded in October 1886 near the village ofSimbang. The first missionaries, Flierl and Tremel, made the mistake of ignoring local customs by settling directly next to a village and without the explicit permission of the village leaders. How should they approachthe people in this situation?'

… the mistake of establishing the first station on village ground at Simbang certainly did not help. Flierl andTremel … faced the handicap of rejection by the village leaders. … The only model for propagating the Gospelfamiliar to them was that of holding worship services similar to those at home. This, however, proved to be total-ly inadequate in New Guinea. Their invitations to services on Sundays at the mission were neither appreciatednor heeded. … From the beginning, it was Flierl's idea to achieve a breakthrough with the people by approachingthe youth. … Yet even here he failed completely in the beginning. … Within three months after their arrival, themissionaries tried to conduct classes, but the result was exactly nil. … In 1889 [three years after starting ] youngmen appeared at the missionaries' place, declaring themselves ready to learn and to work with the missionaries… Normal morning school routine in the classroom was only part of it. The pupils regarded that as a necessaryevil, through which they would obtain what they were really looking for: the use of iron tools in the afternoonwork program. Quite accidentally, the missionaries had found an approach to the New Guinean people

. …' These young men became the first connecting links between the missionaries and the local people. After 13long years of work, the first baptism took place in 1899. During the next five years, 36 more people were addedto their numbers. It was only years later, that crowds started to gather for baptismal celebrations.

Source: Wagner and Reiner (1986: 36-42).


9

(1998 figures), but our research did not reveal anyevidence in support of this contention.21

Despite this diversity, there is an ecumenical move-ment among a number of the larger churches, whichhas led to mutual agreements22 and joint initiativessuch as the PNGCC and the Melanesian Institute atGoroka, a research institute supported by Catholics,Lutherans, United and Anglicans.

3.3 Key characteristics of the church sectorRegional division: As noted previously, the CatholicChurch is the largest church community in PNG, withsome 1.5 million members in 19 dioceses. No othercommunity is so well represented throughout thecountry. Approximately 50% of church-run healthfacilities are operated by the Catholics. Other church-es have a strong regional focus with a substantialpresence in particular provinces. In the southeastprovince of Milne Bay, for example, 62% of the popu-lation are members of the United Church, while inthe province of Morobe in the Momase or Northernregion, 72% are Lutherans.

Organisational structure: Church communities alsodiffer significantly in terms of organisational struc-ture and the location of their headquarters. Some -like the Catholics and Anglicans - have national repre-sentatives in Port Moresby, while others - such as theLutherans, and the SDAs - run their affairs from Lae,the capital of Morobe, PNG's largest province. The bigger churches - in particular the Catholics, theLutherans and the SDA - have relatively strong coordi-nating offices. Contacting the diverse and widelyspread group of Evangelicals and Pentecostals, despitetheir grouping into alliances, is not an easy task, soless is known about their structure and organisation.

Different development agencies and divisions: Anotherfactor that distinguishes the churches is the form andfunction of their development and service deliveryagencies. Some have a variety of related entities, whileothers carry out functions, such as social services,through a single organisation. The Catholic BishopsConference, for example, works through Caritas PNG,which engages in justice, peace and development

activities. The Catholic Church also has agencies foreducation, health and family life. The Anglican Church,for its part, has the Anglican Health Service, theAnglican Education Division, the Youth Ministry andAnglicare - a trust of the Anglican Diocese of PortMoresby that engages in HIV/AIDS-related activities.The SDA operate through the Adventist Developmentand Relief Agency (ADRA PNG), which sees itself as adevelopment agency operating independently of thechurch (Nichols, 2003). Other churches, like the UnitedChurch and the Lutherans, provide services directlyunder their own name.

Weak management: Church-based organisations arevalued for the reliable services they provide, primarilyin health and education, and they enjoy a solid reputa-tion for high standards and efficiency compared withthose provided by the government. However, church-based organisations now recognise that they need toaddress internal management and organisationalissues,23 in particular since they started to accept fun-ding from external sources that require meticulous

Box 3: Evangelicals and Pentecostals

According to the World Evangelical Alliance, anevangelical is someone concerned with the gospel.The gospel of Christ is at the centre of his/her thinking and living and expressed through constantpreaching. 'Evangelical' derives from 'evangel', or'gospel', which is the unquestionable truth, or 'good'news, as expressed in the first four books (Mark,Matthew, Luke and John) of the New Testament.

Source:www.worldevangelical.org/evangelical.html#top

Experience, rather than doctrine has often been noted as the principal determinant of Pentecostalism,yet there is no absolute consensus amongPentecostals on doctrine. But there is agreement that'speaking in tongues' is a miraculous act in which abeliever, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, speaks in alanguage without having knowledge of it. This distinguishes Pentecostals from other Christiangroups and mainstream Christian denominations.

Source:http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/penta.html

Notes21 According to political observers there has been no

statement or action in parliament in recent years thatwould suggest a particular SDA-led initiative. But this maynot be the full picture, as there may be informal groups andnetworks of which the research team are unaware.

22 For example, the Lutheran, Anglican and Catholic churchesrecently agreed to recognise each other's baptismal status.

23 Reference to this was made in the presentation of theChurch Health Services Review at the National HealthConference in 2003. Also, the independent peer review ofchurch-based development organisations (Nichols, 2003: 13)recommended that Australian NGOs address the institu-tional constraints of partner organisations in PNG throughcapacity development support.


10

some of the most relevant exchange and networkingmechanisms.

The PNG Council of Churches (PNGCC): Formed as anational ecumenical council in 1965, the PNGCCincludes seven Christian churches: the Anglicans,Baptists, Evangelical Lutheran, Gutnius Lutheran,Catholics, the Salvation Army and the United Church.In 2003, a resolution was passed mandating thePNGCC to promote development and to engage inactivities to foster peace and justice. Despite itspotentially strong role in facilitating coordinationamong church organisations and promoting policydialogue, the PNGCC still has to prove itself as a viablemechanism in these areas.28 The PNGCC is also amember of the Community Coalition againstCorruption, but there is little evidence that it hasadopted a particular stance on 'peace and justice', cor-ruption or policy dialogue with government or donors.

The Churches Medical Council (CMC): The CMC wasestablished in 1972, and now has 27 members.29 TheCouncil was set up to coordinate the health work of thedifferent churches and to ensure that while maintain-ing their individual identities, they speak to govern-ment with one voice. The CMC is an important mecha-nism, as churches run about half of the country'shealth services, as noted above, as well as six of the

Notes24 The national coordinator of the Catholic health services

showed the research team a draft management trainingmanual which will be used in courses for Catholic healthworkers.

25 Clerical engagement in politics in PNG is not a new issue.The'priest-politician' John Momis publicly defended the viewthat there is no contradiction in the parallel execution of aministry and a political mandate to respond to the needs ofthe people (Momis, J. Politisches Engagement, in:Wagner etal., 1989: 415-425), reprint from Melanesian Institute PointSeries No. 8: 'Living Theology in Melanesia: A Reader'.

26 K. Görner, Evangelium in melanesischer Kultur, in Wagner etal. (1989: 279-293).

27 Douglas (2003: 3) also described the attitude to localcustoms of the more evangelical churches, in particular theSDA, the Assemblies of God and the more recently arrivedEvangelical and Pentecostal groups, as 'extremefundamentalist intolerance'.

28 For example, the PNGCC does not have a coordinating rolein the Church Partnership Programme (CPP), funded byAusAid. The SDA is part of the CPP through ADRA, but it isnot a member of the PNGCC.

29 Other Evangelical and Pentecostal groups also work amonglocal communities, including in the area of health. Manywould like to become members of the CMC because itwould provide access to state funding for health activities.The CMC has closed admission to new members in order tokeep the Council manageable.

progress reports and financial accounts. In response,churches have started to strengthen their capacitywith management and policy manuals for use in train-ing sessions, meetings and day-to-day operations.24But they have a long way to go to improve on thisfront, partly because performance-based managementis still not part of their organisational culture. As onerespondent commented during an interview: 'We arenot professionals, we are church workers and ourstrength comes from faith and motivation.

'Secular versus spiritual orientation: The character ofthe churches' involvement in social developmentvaries widely, from spiritual and gospel activitiesamong some of the Pentecostal communities, to spir-itual, community development and social service pro-vision by the more established congregations. TheCatholic Church, which has the largest presence andbreadth of initiatives, is engaged in spiritual work,social and community development, training of layand professional leaders, peace and reconciliation, aswell as anti-corruption and other advocacy cam-paigns. The role of church leaders in politics is anoth-er issue. During the 2002 elections, the churchestried to maintain their neutrality by banning alltypes of support that might suggest political ties.Priests who campaigned for a seat in parliamentwere suspended, but attempts at neutrality have notalways been easy to sustain (Gibbs, 2004: 5).25

Attitudes towards Melanesian identity and culture: Thechurches have worked intensively in and with localcommunities for many years. This has led to the 'locali-sation' and indigenisation of their operations, or, as the-ologians refer to it, to 'inculturate' their work. Similarly,PNG cultural traditions have been adapted to includeChristian values and beliefs, resulting in a synthesis of'PNG and Christian ways' that is reflected in prayers,mission statements, songs, religious music, etc.26 Onthe other hand, and despite broad acceptance of thisdualistic approach, some 'old practices and behaviour'continue to exist. Baloiloi (2001: 29), for example, notesthat 'negative attitudes towards indigenous culturesstill remain in some churches in PNG today, who stillhold on to outdated modernist beliefs which viewwestern ways as superior ways. Many see indigenousvalues as unchristian and paganistic'.27

3.4 NetworksChurches and church-based organisations interactthrough a variety of formal networks and informalconsultative mechanisms. This section highlights


11

nine training schools for nurses30 and 14 trainingschools for community health workers. Most of thefinancing for church-run facilities originates from thestate. But churches and church-based organisationsmanage health facilities on their own in terms of finan-cial and human resources management, and regularlyengage with the government on policy and operationalissues. The CMC is discussed in more detail in section 5.

The Churches Education Council (CEC): The CEC func-tions under the umbrella of the PNGCC. The memberchurches are the Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran,Evangelical Alliance, Four Square and UnitedChurches. The CEC constitutes a platform to discusseducation issues of concern to church-run schools(most of which are financed by the state) and teachertraining colleges.31 It provides an interface with theNational Department of Education (NDoE), but it doesnot have a secretariat in the NDoE, as the CMC doesin the National Department of Health (NDoH). TheCEC is discussed in more detail in section 5.

Christian women's associations: Of the variousChristian women's networks, the United ChurchWomen Fellowship, founded in 1968, and theCatholic Women's Federation, formed in 1984, are themost prominent national bodies (Dickson-Weiko,2003; Douglas, 2003). Both are part of the PNGNational Council of Women. While their originalgoals were to promote Christian ideals and values,they have incorporated issues such as women'srights and social development.32

Consultations and informal exchanges: There are anumber of consultation circles on church and reli-gious affairs (not related to governance), as well asvarious informal exchanges amongst PNG churchleaders. A more regular mechanism is the EcumenicalDialogue, in which Catholic and Anglican leaders

participate (the Lutherans are gradually joining thedialogue), and the Ministers Fraternal, where thePentecostals have taken a stronger lead.33

4 In-country stakeholders and international partners

4.1 In-country stakeholdersSince more than 96% of the population identifythemselves as Christians, the citizens of PNG can beregarded as the churches' major stakeholders. Giventhe well-attended church services and the numerouswell-maintained (and sometimes new) church buil-dings seen by the research team, it appears that thelocal members do have an interest in the effectivefunctioning of their churches, which are seen as thecarriers and teachers of moral standards and values.

The people also depend significantly on the servicesprovided by the churches. Our interviewees con-firmed the widely held perception of the 'good work'of the churches and the quality of the services theyprovide. Government officials also speak very highlyof church service delivery and indicated during inter-views that they would send their families to achurch-managed health facility rather than to a government-run clinic or health centre. The govern-ment also recognises that the national health sectordepends heavily on the long-standing contribution ofthe churches (Mann, 2003). Church organisationsinvolved in social service delivery - particularly in thehealth sector - enjoy greater legitimacy and recogni-tion than other state and non-state actors.

As carriers of moral standards and values, somechurch organisations also work with other civil socie-ty groups on issues relating to the governance of thecountry. A number of church leaders speak out ongovernance and other development issues, and thisis appreciated in various sections of society (see section 5). Many non-religious advocates interviewedfor this study expressed their high regard for thoseleaders. They also indicated their interest in cooper-ating with church-based organisations and in invit-ing them to take a more active role on various issuesand movements.

Notes30 These are: St Mary's School of Nursing, Kokopo, East New

Britain province, and the St Barnabas School of Nursing,Alotau, Milne Bay province, both run by the Catholic Church,the Lutheran School of Nursing, Madang (now affiliated withthe DWU), the Nazarene School of Nursing, Mt Hagen,Western Highlands province, run by the Evangelical Alliance,Sopas School of Nursing,Wabag, Enga province, run by theSDA (now merged into Adventist University) at Mt Diamondin Central province, and the Aitape School of Nursing, Aitape,Sundaun province, run by the Catholic Church.

31 Four teacher training colleges are sponsored by the churches(one by the United and Anglican church, one by the Lutherans,and two by the Catholic Church) and one by the government.

32 Limited material was found on women and Christianity inPNG, which reinforces Douglas' observation that the topic isunder-researched and largely ignored by aid organisations(2003: 14).

33 Information provided by Archbishop Brian Barnes.


12

Link between Australian NGO and churches Anglican Church organisation linking Australian Church withAnglicans around the worldAn activity of, and accountable to the Baptist Union of AustraliaPrincipal channel for overseas aid for the Lutheran Church ofAustralia governed by an appointed boardCatholic Aid and Development Agency

Salvation Army Church Development Office

Seventh Day Adventist Church Development Relief Agency

Agency of Uniting International Mission under the UnitingChurch in Australia

PNG churchAnglican Church

Baptist ChurchEvangelical Lutheran ChurchRoman CatholicChurchSalvation Army

Seventh Day Adventist ChurchUnited Church

Accredited Australian NGOAnglican Board of Mission

Baptist World Aid AustraliaAustralian Lutheran World Service

Caritas Australia

Salvation Army AustralianDevelopment Office

Adventist Development ReliefAgencyUniting Church Overseas Aid(UCOA)

Source: AusAID (2004b).

Table 2. Relationship between PNG churches and Australian church-based NGOs.

4.2 External stakeholders and partnersChurches in PNG have well-established internationalnetworks, many of which can be traced back to thecolonial period when funding originated from theoverseas churches.34 Today, contacts with externalpartners can be grouped into three broad categories:peer organisations in the region, (financing) partnerchurches and alliances, and non-religious develop-ment agencies.

Peer organisations in the region: Caritas PNG is agood example of an organisation which values theexchanges with regional brother and sister organisa-tions in the region through the Caritas OceaniaCouncil. The Council itself is a forum for discussingissues of common interest, formulating work plansand agreeing on peer reviews. This mechanism hasshaped commitment among the respective organisa-tions, and has underlined the need for transparencyand accountability in order to trigger change.

(Financing) overseas churches and alliances: Most ofPNG's church communities have strong links withinternational partner organisations, church federa-tions or alliances. Cooperation with external contactstakes various forms, ranging from the provision ofspiritual support or guidance to access for funding.Some strong bilateral partnerships can be tracedback to the early missionary days - the LutheranChurch, for example, continues to maintain strong

ties with Lutheran communities in Germany. Thenthere are partnerships between networks, as is thecase between the PNGCC and the National Council ofChurches in Australia. The SDA PNG Union Mission isstrongly bound into an international network and isone of five Union Missions that form the SouthPacific Division, based in Sydney, and reports to head-quarters in Washington DC. The President of SDAPNG regularly attends the international SDA GeneralConference, which makes decisions for the SDAworldwide.

Ties with Australian church organisations are partic-ularly strong. Table 2 summarises the relationshipsbetween the six major PNG congregations, and thesmaller Salvation Army, with their Australian sisterorganisations and their development agencies.The research team did not come across any studiesexamining the financial and economic situation ofchurches in PNG, past or present. It was also not easyto obtain details of church finances, including arrange-ments between PNG churches and external partners.35A recent report by the Asian Development Bank, how-

Notes34 This funding came from partner churches in the then

industrialising countries and from their colonialgovernments. Missions also had land and plantations, apath which the early Anglican missionaries did notfollow (they considered themselves socialists), whichexplains the continuing dependence of the AnglicanChurch on outside sources (P. Richardson, Dieanglikanische Kirche, in Wagner et al., 1989: 191).

35 For example, one church representative refused to shareinformation about their external funding sources duringone of our interviews. Such behaviour has been criticised bysome government agencies, which see some church-basedservice providers as not sufficiently transparent.


13

ever, underlines a concern that in PNG's health sector'the only summary of church health expendituresshows amounts paid over to churches' with 'no sum-mary of actual expenditures, balances remaining, etc.'(ADB, 2003). The same report also notes that provincesand hospitals do not report health expenditures on aregular basis either. This could simply be due to thepoor quality of financial management and reportingwithin the churches, or the desire, on the part of thechurches, to maintain an arms-length relationshipwith the government, in order to avoid opening them-selves up to greater financial scrutiny, with the atten-dant risk to their public funding base.

From the information the team was able to gatherduring interviews, a picture emerges of diversefinancing arrangements, reflecting, in part, thenature of the services provided. For example, whilethe former Health Secretary has stated that the gov-ernment provides over 80% of the financing forchurch health facilities through grants (Mann, 2003),Caritas PNG indicated that it relies on externalsources for 99% of the funding for its activities relat-ed to peace, justice and reconciliation (includingfunding from non-religious sources). The Lutheransindicated that some 30% of their overall fundingcomes from outside the country.36

International partners also provide spiritual leaders,missionaries, teachers and technical assistance (TA),which can range from long-term volunteers (as is thecase with the Adventist Development and ReliefAgency, ADRA), to short-term senior experts fromAustralia, New Zealand, North America, Europe andneighbouring Asian countries. Consolidated figuresare not available. Some missionaries are engaged inpreaching the gospel as well as community work.

While many churches have had intense expatriateinputs in the past, the overall trend has beentowards 'localisation' and 'indigenisation', with expa-triate staff now recruited for shorter periods thantheir predecessors. The experience of the CatholicBishops' Conference, however, is somewhat different.Of its 27 members, six are from PNG, and many ofthe others have spent long parts of their life in PNGand are considered 'locals' by Papua New Guineans.

The faith-based higher education institutes, such asthe Melanesian Institute or the Divine WordUniversity (DWU) rely strongly on expatriate staff.The DWU currently recruits some 30% of its teachingstaff from abroad but would like to increase the fig-ure to 40%. They view this as a means of giving stu-dents more international exposure - a plausible argu-ment in view of the relatively limited ties many PNGstudents have with the rest of the world.

Non-religious development agencies: AusAID is themajor non-religious funding agency for churches inPNG. It has recognised the prominence and impor-tance of churches in PNG's development, and theirpotential to contribute to strengthening governance.Churches can access financing through various fun-ding facilities or programmes available in PNG underthe AusAID-administered country programme.37 Anew funding source recently created, the PNG ChurchPartnership Programme (CPP), is based on twinningarrangements between seven churches in PNG andtheir Australian partner churches, mediated by sevenaccredited NGOs which are the recognised overseasaid and development arms of the Australian church-es. The CPP is seeking to reinforce the internal management of PNG churches, and their develop-ment agencies, to increase the participation ofchurches in policy dialogue, improve public sectormanagement of service delivery, contribute to peaceand reconciliation activities, and strengthen accep-tance of the rule of law (AusAID, 2004b).38

Given the substantial amounts of direct externalfunding, as well as the government funding receivedby some churches, effective financial managementand reporting is critical to securing support forfuture cooperation. The church leaders interviewedfor this study fully appreciated the importance ofthis issue.

Notes36 The diversity of information and the lack of data on

financing suggest that a specific review could beundertaken to get a better picture of the financing,financial management and reporting of the differentchurch organisations.

37 These include the PNG Incentive Fund, the CommunityDevelopment Scheme, as well as the HIV/AIDS, Law &Justice and Electoral Support Programmes. Churches alsoreceive funds for health service delivery as part of theAusAID-funded Health Sector Support Programme (HSSP).

38 Under the programme agreement between thegovernment of PNG and AusAID, funding will be channelledthrough the Australian partner organisations, butoperational details are still being worked out. At the time ofthe study, discussions were ongoing within PNG churches,as well as between them and their Australian partners,about the types of projects and programmes this fund willsupport. Some church representatives expressed concernduring interviews that this fund might tie them toostrongly to outside partners, at the cost of cooperationamong churches, while others welcomed it as a mechanismto strengthen internal management and governance.


14

Box 4: Voices from the Catholic General Assembly, 11 July 2004

Catholic bishops, priests, brothers, nuns and laymissionaries who met for the general assemblycalled for political leaders to work together inthe development of the people and the country.Representing all Catholics nationwide, theassembly members said they have had enoughand were 'thoroughly disgusted' at the confusionarising from the current political games inWaigani, the Port Moresby Government Quarter.Source: Papua New Guinea Post-Courier Online, 12 July 2004

Notes39 The Catholic church-based Commission for Justice, Peace

and Reconciliation has a longer tradition of working againstdisparities and injustice. It was founded in 1974 andrenamed 'Caritas PNG' when it became part of theinternational umbrella network 'Caritas Internationalis'.

40 A SWAp is a method of streamlining development assistanceby improving coordination, reducing fragmentation, movingtowards broader government-formulated policy frameworks,and achieving better service delivery. Participation by non-state actors has proven difficult in all countries where SWApshave been introduced.

41 Most tribal conflicts are in the Highlands, where tribes nowuse modern weapons to resolve often century-old conflicts.In Enga province, a hospital run by the SDA had to be closedin early 2001 when tribal fighting reached the hospital com-pound, leading to the attempted murder of the hospital'sdirector of nursing (from Adventist News Network,2004).difficult in all countries where SWAps have beenintroduced.

5 Endogenous change processes for improvedgovernance and public performance

5.1 Reasons for changeChurches and church-based organisations in PNG arewidely recognised for their spiritual work and thesocial services they provide. Their contribution to thedevelopment of PNG society has evolved from theirclose relationships with communities. The churches'work, including youth work and community develop-ment, was seen as a direct way to link God's preachingwith the needs of the population and gave churches amandate and - based on good performance - legitima-cy to further reinforce their core activities and trainfuture leaders. Even today, spiritual activities aside,church representatives see 'social work' as their pri-mary strength in working with communities, and anarea where they have a comparative advantage in rela-tion to other non-religious organisations.

Recent years have brought changes in the pattern ofchurch engagement. A number of church organisa-tions have gone beyond their 'traditional' involve-ment and have intensified activities aimed atimproving governance in PNG,39 for three reasons:• It is recognised that a number of reforms being

introduced in the social sectors pose new challenges to the churches and church-basedorganisations. One example is the sector-wideapproach (SWAp) in health.40 Some churcheswere concerned that the SWAp would have nega-tive impacts on their role in service delivery, asfunds for service delivery are supposed to bechannelled from national to local governmentinstitutions under a SWAp arrangement. Thisapproach alarmed some churches, promptingthem to engage in policy dialogue with the gov-ernment on issues such as funding, accountabilityand personnel management, as well as their inde-pendence and identity.

• The increasingly violent ethnic, tribal and othertypes of conflict are affecting church congrega-tions. Church-based organisations came to realisethat prayer and community work alone will nothelp to solve what are often deeply rooted pat-

terns of conflict, leading them to engage moreactively in peace building and inter-tribal reconcil-iation processes. The Bougainville crisis in the1990s, during which as many as 15,000 peopledied, showed what devastating effects a conflictcan have on an entire island society. Today, con-flicts between tribes on parts of the mainlandthreaten to substantially set back many of thechurches' achievements over the past decades.41

• Some churches realise that the decline in govern-ment services has wider systemic causes (see box 4), but that these causes can best be addressedby supporting mechanisms to strengthen account-ability, such as public hearings on issues of com-mon concern; participating in anti-corruption campaigns; or using the media to alert the publicto undemocratic or inappropriate pratices.

5.2 Church contributions to governance and public performance - some highlights

This section highlights some examples of church-based involvement in governance-related activities,


15

including their contribution to improved public per-formance. The overview is illustrative and does notpurport to be fully representative of experiences inPNG. Using the governance framework introduced insection 1.2, these contributions can be grouped underfive headings, as follows:42

1.. PPuubblliicc ppoolliiccyy aanndd ddeecciissiioonn mmaakkiinnggSupporting electoral processes: Prior to the 2002national election,the churches supported variousinformation and outreach programmes, but theCatholic Church was the only one to design and carry out a specific community training programmethroughout the country. This programme was seen asone of the factors contributing to the high turnoverof MPs in the 2002 election (i.e. 80%, compared with65% during the previous election in 1997).43 TheCatholic and United churches also supported anawareness-raising campaign prior to the SouthernHighlands supplementary elections in 2003 (Stein-Homes, 2003: 36).

Participating in and liaising with political commissionsand councils: Church-based and other civil societyorganisations participate in numerous councils andcommittees. Examples include the ConsultativeImplementation and Monitoring Council (whichchannels the inputs of different groups into thebudget formulation process), the National AIDSCouncil and the National Disaster Committee, whichcounts World Vision and Caritas among its members.A number of church-based organisations are alsomembers of the Peace and ReconciliationCommittee, which is driven by church organisations.During the Southern Highlands supplementary elec-tions in 2003, it actively engaged with the PNG elec-tion council to ensure that information and instruc-tions to prevent corruption were disseminated to theelectorate (Stein-Homes, 2003: 36).

22.. TTrraannssppaarreennccyy aanndd iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn sshhaarriinnggChurch leaders expressing their views on governanceissues in public: The Secretary of the Catholic Bishops'Conference speaks out on behalf of the CatholicChurch, and several Catholic bishops regularlyexpress their opinions on issues relating to gover-nance and public affairs (see box 5). Leaders of theUnited Church, the Anglican Bishop and the Bishopof the Lutheran Church occasionally deliver public

speeches to express their discontent with the gover-nance situation in the country.

Using the media: In a weekly radio programme,'Catholic insights', which is broadcast country-wide,Archbishop Brian Barnes of Port Moresby addressessensitive political matters, as well as corrupt prac-tices in government.

Public workshops/conferences: The Divine WordUniversity (DWU) in Madang is an ecumenical privateuniversity with strong links to the Catholic Church. Itwas established as an institute in 1980 and upgradedto one of PNG's six universities in 1996. In March2004, it organised a workshop entitled 'Foreign policy,governance and development: challenges for PNG andthe Pacific Islands.' This was a joint activity of theDWU with the Australian National University project,'State society and governance in Melanesia', fundedby AusAID, and provided a platform for exchangeamongst the country's intellectuals.

33.. SSoocciiaall jjuussttiiccee aanndd tthhee rruullee ooff llaawwCommunity Coalition against Corruption (CCAC): TheCCAC, which was formed in 2001, is an informal net-work of some 39 organisations that aims to form abroad front against the worsening governance situa-tion in the country. The Coalition has organised pub-lic hearings (to which representatives of the govern-ment's law-enforcement agencies were invited torespond to critical questions) and - together with theUniversity of PNG (UPNG) - it organises workshopson governance to raise public awareness. Fivechurch-based organisations are members of theCCAC - the Catholic Bishops' Conference, Caritas PNG,the Divine Word University, Assemblies of God andthe PNG Council of Churches. The fact that CaritasPNG co-chairs the CCAC underlines the importantrole of the Catholic Church.

Informal consultations of church leaders on publicaffairs: Government representatives consult churchleaders informally on issues they have addressed inpublic. Catholic leaders play a bigger role than lead-ers of other congregations in these consultations,which can be on a range of topics. During the stay ofthe research team in PNG, the appointment of aGovernor General was a highly debated issue onwhich several church leaders voiced their views (seebox 5).

Notes42 This categorisation is based on the characteristics of an

activity; some activities have elements which would justifyputting them into another category.

43 These results suggest a desire of the electorate to get rid ofoften corrupt politicians, but also displays the fragility ofthe democratic process in PNG, as inexperienced individualsare often elected to replace those who have been 'bootedout'.


16

Notes44 Different church organisations are currently discussing the

production of a joint management manual for church-runhealth facilities, another by-product of the CMC forum.

4. Enhancing public performanceChurches and health: The Churches Medical Council(CMC) provides an interesting illustration of the rolePNG churches can play in enhancing public perfor-mance in a particular sector. The CMC was foundedin the early 1970s to improve coordination of thehealth work of the different churches and to ensurethat they speak with one voice to government andinternational stakeholders. After independence, theCMC continued as the church-government interface,mainly to negotiate funding arrangements whilemaintaining their theological identity. As of 1998,when salaries and operating costs for church healthservices were funded through the CMC budget, theCouncil became more active, and provided a crucialforum for joint church-government policy dialogue.The CMC's liaison office, based in the NationalDepartment of Health in Port Moresby, plays variousadministrative and interfacing/platform functions.

Each year, shortly before the government's NationalHealth Conference, the CMC organises its own annu-al health conference, which provides an opportunity

for the CMC Board and its members to formulatetheir views and expectations so they can be con-veyed to the government in a timely manner. TheCMC Board meets four times a year, and is currentlychaired by a senior staff member of the LutheranChurch Health Services who has been re-elected several times over the past 16 years. The CMC repre-sents the interests of 27 churches that are involvedwith facilitation and delivery of health services. Oneof the principal tasks of the chairperson is to analyse,coordinate and integrate the interests of the variousmembers, and to represent their views during nego-tiations with government on funding and humanresource management issues. It is not an easy task,as church headquarters are based at different loca-tions, and more importantly, the churches differ intheir theological perspectives.

The CMC is a unique mechanism in PNG. In additionto negotiating funding and human resource issueswith government, it provides a forum for a diversegroup of church-based organisations to gather once ayear to exchange views on health reforms, to dissemi-nate information and to plan joint projects.44 It is aflexible mechanism (in order to respond to the needsof members) and enables the members, despite theirdiversity and their differing interests and views, tospeak to government with one voice. This difficulttask requires well developed skills in facilitation anddialogue, as several interviewees noted. Given thestrong role of the churches in the health sector, andthe need to involve them in PNG's health reforms, theimportance of such a mechanism, to contribute topolicy dialogue and discuss implementation issues,cannot be overstated. This is despite the often tediousinternal issues the CMC has to struggle with, and therelative slowness with which decisions are taken.

Churches and education: The Churches EducationCouncil (CEC) works closely with the NationalDepartment of Education (NDoE). It provides a forumfor policy dialogue with the government on educationmatters, but is seen as a less prominent interfacethan the CMC. All church-administered schools arefully integrated into the government system (withthe exception of the SDA schools, as mentioned ear-lier), and the churches have little say in funding andpersonnel. Critical observers of this integration notethat the performance of former church-run primaryschools has declined significantly in recent years. Onthe other hand, there are four well respected church-

Box 5: The Archbishop's Easter message

In his 2004 Easter message, Brian J. Barnes,Archbishop of Port Moresby, commented:

'… Parliament's record so far in attempting tochoose a successor to our Governor General isembarrassing, and even pitiful for such a selectbody. Perhaps the system needs to be changed. Thenature and dignity of the Governor General's posi-tion is such that a worthy and capable candidatewould best be invited by government to accept theposition. The unseemly scramble which we havebeen witnessing would seem to indicate that ex-politicians should normally not be considered. …Leadership tribunals continue to be set up as theneed arises, some leaders continue to be foundwanting, and dismissals continue to be linked withthe sanction of being barred from public office forthree years. We have former leaders, having servedtheir time, making new bids for responsible publicpositions. Three years is a joke! Perhaps ten yearsout should be the minimum penalty, with a life banfor disgraced leaders the better option for our leg-islators. …'


17

run teacher training colleges and two universities, theDWU and the Pacific Adventist University, whichmake significant contributions to public performancein the education sector. The private institutes alsohave a reputation for independence, quality and inno-vation, and are recognised as strong, viable partnersfor state actors in the education sector. For example,the ecumenical DWU recently issued a set ofGuidelines for Institutional Accreditation for HigherEducation in PNG, as a contribution to governancereforms in the education sector.

5. Reconciliation and peace buildingIn-country mediation: There is a real need for media-tion in those areas of PNG prone to tribal conflictsand disputes that can not be reconciled using tradi-tional processes, such as the Southern Highlands,which have experienced a high level of conflict oflate. Caritas PNG has a programme to address thisissue, which builds on its track record of involvementin peace building and conflict resolution in recentyears.45 Other churches are starting to explore thisarea - recently, for example, some six SDA staff mem-bers were sent abroad for training in peace building.

Bougainville: The church played a major role in re-establishing peace and in conflict resolution duringand after the Bougainville crisis. In 1995, a number ofwomen's church groups formed the BougainvilleInter-Church Women's Forum, which became animportant body in supporting the peace process.Other groups, such as the Catholic Women's Associa-tion, provided humanitarian relief to districts con-trolled by the government as well as the BougainvilleRevolutionary Army. Through their 'bridging function'they became key actors for peace building and helpedto rebuild trust between communities.46

In summary, some church activities are well struc-tured and incorporated into change strategies ofindividual organisations or networks. The work of theCMC, as well as the support for peace, justice andreconciliation provided by the Catholic Bishops'Conference could be characterised as such. The workof the CCAC is also notable as it has brought togeth-er many groups to fight corruption. It liaises withTransparency International's PNG network, and theMedia Council - after three years of operation - hasprepared an annual work plan to guide its actions. In

addition, a myriad of contributions to improved governance have emerged out of individual initia-tives of church leaders, church-based NGO represen-tatives and academics. These initiatives are as yet notwell coordinated, and are often ad hoc, in response tospecific circumstances or opportunities as they arise.

As the preceding paragraphs suggest, the church sec-tor comprises a number of key actors in civil societywho undertake flexible, targeted and response-driven advocacy and policy work. But there are nobroad, endogenous, church-based strategies in placeaimed specifically at enhancing or improving gover-nance or public policy performance in PNG. There is nodefinite pattern of activities amongst the churches,with the exception of some related to service delivery,and many emerge from relatively isolated concerns.There has been little sharing of information or lessonson good practices. The experiences documented so farsuggest that they reflect the interests of leaders ofindividual church-based groups or organisations whoeither initiate or participate in governance-relatedactivities with other civil society actors, as their man-dates permit, while maintaining their own identity.

6 Capabilities shaping capacity

We now take a closer look at those church andchurch-based organisations in PNG which areinvolved in the five areas of governance and publicservice provision highlighted in the previous section.We introduce a model to help explain the capabilitiesthat a number of these organisations have createdand employed over the years to make meaningfulcontributions to a changing PNG society. We alsoexplain how individual church organisations definetheir role in a continuously changing context, andhow these capabilities bring changes to the func-tioning of a number of church networks.

6.1 What capabilities?The model employed in this section is derived fromWoolcock's conceptual discussion of 'networks' and'social capital' at the community level (Woolcock,1998, 1999). This conceptual model was used by Luker(2004) to study the role of the churches in fightingNotes

45 While this programme is a contribution to 'governance',Nichols (2003: 10) observes that 'the peace building andmediation work of Caritas appears to be seen in terms ofthe local impact at a community level, rather than theprovince-wide or national contribution that is, or could bemade'.

46 For information about the Bougainville crisis, see Stein-Holmes (2003: 34-35) and Havini and Sirivi (2004).


18

HIV/AIDS in PNG and the factors that have madethem more successful than other civil society organi-sations. We use this model and apply it to our identi-fication of capabilities which explain how churchesand church-based organisations contribute to gover-nance and public performance in PNG.

Woolcock (1999) outlines a set of dimensions for map-ping and comparing the 'social capital' of differentnetworks - 'bonding', 'bridging' and 'linking'. Whilethese dimensions are useful to identify the capabilitiesthat drive a large number of governance-related activi-ties of churches in PNG, they fall short of capturing allof them. Hence we have added a fourth dimension,which we call 'the use of space' (see figure 3).

The four capabilities provide a basis for understan-ding the different types of church involvement in governance and advocacy-related processes, as well asthe churches' contribution to public performance inthe social sector. They are cross-cutting and aspects ofall four, bonding, bridging, linking and the use of space,can be found under what has been described in sec-tion 5 concerning the five areas in which the churchescontribute to governance: public policy and decisionmaking, transparency and information sharing, socialjustice and the rule of law, enhancing public perfor-mance and reconciliation and peace building. Section6.2 discusses these four capabilities and relates themto examples emerging from our sample of endoge-nous change processes in section 5.

Capability to use space: Churches and church-basedorganisations have successfully opened up publicspaces in order to:• Address issues of public concern. The Catholic

Church, in particular, has used the medium of radioand public speeches to address sensitive issues.According to one interviewee, these could be usedby other church leaders much more effectively.

• Invite different parties to share their views andopinions. The DWU governance workshop, held inMarch 2004, is an example of an initiative which brought together various parties for the purposeof exchange and dialogue on foreign policy,governance and development. The workshop provided a platform to convey critical views to thegovernment, facilitated by an 'honest broker' whoexpressed genuine concern about the state ofgovernance in PNG.

• Bring neglected or deprived groups into the publicdomain. The churches have worked since the earlydays in different ways with women and, in the

process, have gradually empowered them to par-ticipate more in public debates and social actions.

• Address capacity gaps in the social sector. Thechurches' investment in training institutes, forexample, reflects their long-term commitment tothe health and education sectors and highlightstheir partnership approach to government in supporting service delivery.

Capability to link policy and practice: Through theirnetworks, churches have shown their ability to linkpolicy dialogue at the national level with theirinvolvement in service delivery at the community andhousehold levels. Despite the difficulties in network-ing among church actors with different interests andbackgrounds, these networks constitute mechanismsfor ensuring that well-informed views and opinionsfrom practitioners at the 'grassroots' level reach thenegotiating and policy-making tables, and communi-cate policy messages down to the lower levels. TheCMC, the most prominent example, has been success-ful in safeguarding basic standards of health servicedelivery in a difficult environment, and could be amodel for other inter-church networks.

Capability to bridge across boundaries: Churches andchurch-based organisations in PNG exchange inten-sively with their peers and financing partners abroad.

‘bridging’ ‘bonding’

‘use

of space’

‘linking’

Figure 3. Relationship between the dimensions - 'bonding', 'bridging', 'linking' and the 'use ofspace'. (Adapted from Woolcock, 1999, in Luker, 2003: 9.)


19

For many organisations, these exchanges were andstill are essential for survival, as the high dependenceof Caritas PNG on outside sources shows. At the sametime, they provide a mechanism to improve intra-organisational management and governance.47 Whilethis situation suggests a high and sometimes nega-tively perceived dependence on external stakeholders,it also shows that these organisations are recognisedas genuine partners by their overseas colleagues.Another important bridging capability is the work ofthe churches in the area of peace and reconciliation. Asnoted, during the Bougainville crisis, church-basedwomen's groups managed to bring relief to the popu-lation on both sides of the conflict and formed thebackbone for the reconciliation process.48 In the tribalconflict zones of the Southern Highlands, church-based organisations are able to work in areas wheregovernment officials are not welcome, or where it maybe impossible for them to visit.

Capability to bond with communities: Ancestral tradi-tions and practices related to heredity, power and sor-cery, and Christian values on sex, marriage, child-rear-ing and family are not always easy to combine.Nevertheless, as noted by Luker (2004: 8), churches arepresent and have a dynamic influence down to theclan, sub-clan, extended family and household levels -to the extent that they are often seen as indigenisedinstitutions. Effective community work, including theprovision of social services49 combined with a rootingin society, has meant that the churches enjoy levels oftrust and a legitimacy that no other civil society actorshave achieved. While this work was done to build andstrengthen Christian communities, with no particularstrategic governance considerations in mind, it createdthe preconditions for governance-related activities,such as encouraging people to participate in elections.No other civil society groups or NGOs have compara-ble bonds with local communities.

Women and women's associations play a key role inbonding church structures and communities. Womenhave incorporated slowly, but steadily, into public lifeover the last 120 years or so. The organisation ofwomen's sewing, weaving and quilting groups, com-bined with bible study and prayers, by the early mis-

sionaries all over the country provided space forwomen to organise beyond the family context. Theseinitiatives marked the start of a long-term processwhich - combined with increased primary, secondaryand tertiary education for women over the years -has resulted in the active participation of women invarious aspects of PNG society.

Due to their central position in domestic life, as wivesand mothers with responsibilities for households,extended families and raising children, women wereand still are major stakeholders in PNG society andraise their voices on important issues. Providing themajor channels for such engagement has, over time,enhanced the churches' internal capacity to organiseand to strengthen its ties with communities. This'bonding function' of women was increasingly recog-nised by largely male-dominated hierarchies in the1960s and 1970s, as noted by Douglas (2003), and hastranslated into the endorsement and formation ofwomen's federations and associations throughoutMelanesia, including PNG. Although women are gen-erally under-represented in management and deci-sion-making processes in church organisations, theseassociations have enabled women to make importantcontributions to public life and peace building.

Taking our 'unit of analysis' - the church communityin PNG - these capabilities are present and practisedby different churches and church-based organisa-tions to different degrees. Some of these capabilitiesstand on their own and do not contribute directly tobetter governance (e.g. the isolated work in a com-munity of a small sect or a free church), while othersdo make a difference and are linked to improved per-formance and capacity development.

6.2 Emergence of capabilitiesSo what constitutes these capabilities, and how didthey emerge? In the context of the broader study onCapacity, Change and Performance, which aims toexplore the elements contributing to the creation ofthe overall capacity of systems and organisations,these questions merit closer examination.

The study has so far shown that the church commu-nity in PNG is highly heterogeneous. The main com-mon denominators are that all are faith-based andwork within the boundaries of an increasingly diffi-cult country. The historical review has shown thatdifferent waves of new arrivals to PNG contributed tothe organic growth of a distinctive 'sector' with

Notes47 The wish for peer-exchanges was also expressed by non-

church actors interviewed for this study. Representatives ofboth church and non-church organisations in PNG often feelisolated and not sufficiently exposed to experiences ofcomparable countries.

48 Havini and Sirivi (2004) tell the story of the Bougainvillewar and the peace process that followed, through the eyesof Bougainville women who played a vital role in theresolution of the conflict.

49 See in particular the review of Nichols (2003: 5-6), whichassesses the strengths and comparative advantages ofthree church-based organisations in community work.


20

Notes50 Several church representatives made comments along these

lines during interviews.

strong links to communities throughout the country.Within this sector, an institutional landscape hasevolved, with member organisations increasinglyrecognising, particularly over the last 20 years or so,the value of liaising and collaborating on priorityissues - the CMC being the most prominent example.

Only some features in this institutional landscapehave become organised in a more systematic way.Overall, the organisation of this landscape has been,and continues to be an evolving reality, with few dis-tinct patterns, designs or strategies. Networkingamong the different entities, for example, emergedout of common concerns and threats, based, in part,on a deteriorating domestic context, compounded byunfavourable regional and global developments.

The combination of pragmatism and the 'use ofspace' has provided the impetus for the emergence ofthe churches' capabilities. Space, because theuntouched nature of indigenous communitiesthroughout the country provided many opportunitiesfor church organisations to build intense relationshipswith the population and to flourish in the absence, orlimited presence, of state institutions and regulations.Pragmatism, because the 'bridging' across differentboundaries, the 'linking' of work from different levelsin society and the 'use of public space' to speak outagainst bad government practices, were usually trig-gered at moments of downturns and threats to thefoundations of the church sector as a whole. Thehealth sector is the most prominent example in thisregard. More recently, this approach can also betraced to church action related to reconciliation andpeace building, as well as efforts to improve capacityand performance in the area of law and justice.

While these capabilities have emerged on a relativelyad hoc or pragmatic basis in recent decades - less soin the case of the Catholic Church, given its moreextensive involvement in governance and public sec-tor matters - the increasing threat posed by poor gov-ernance in PNG has also provided a motivation formore focused engagement. This, in turn, has prompt-ed churches to increase inter-church exchanges andcooperation, and to give more serious considerationto their own internal management and governance.Without overestimating current developments, andwhile being realistic about the internal shortcomingsof the churches, it can be said that modest efforts areslowly being made by a select group of church actorsto find more systematic and conscious responses to

the challenges at hand. However, it is still far frombeing a strategic 'sector' response - the church com-munity is simply too diverse and remains charac-terised more by differences than by commonalities.

The churches in PNG have always had strong interna-tional links that have provided valued inputs to theirdevelopment, particularly in the pre-independenceperiod when education and health services were provided mainly by the churches. Current twinningarrangements with partner congregations outsidePNG help to ensure that human resources and fundssustain and further develop the organisational baseof local churches. This has been accompanied, how-ever, by a need for the local churches to enhancetheir capacities for more efficient and transparentadministration and to ensure external funds areproperly accounted for. Arguably, a complementarymotivation for enhancing capacity comes from theself-reflection and the daily awareness that condi-tions in the country are, in many respects, becomingmore challenging.50 The church is thus compelled tofind new ways and means to engage, whether it betackling the emerging AIDS epidemic, or respondingto youth disenchantment and increasing levels ofviolence. It is the internally generated momentumassociated with this process that needs to be careful-ly supported by outside interventions, based on asolid understanding of the internal dynamics of theand PNG's extensive but diverse church community.

7 Ringing the bell?7.1 Evidence of performanceThis report has described the role of churches as insti-tutional actors within PNG's governance and servicedelivery landscape. They have built up a considerablerecord, and have a significant potential to contributeto wider societal change processes. The case has alsohighlighted the capabilities within the church sectorto engage in advocacy-related work and to function asa partner to government in service delivery.

This report has presented considerable information onhow churches are contributing to improved gover-nance and social service delivery in PNG. But this con-tribution to building societal capacity is not easy tomeasure, as independent analyses of the extent towhich churches do make a difference are limited, and


21

methodologically varied. Although it is widely accept-ed that churches have made a huge difference in PNG,a broad-reaching and systematic analysis of this topichas so far not been undertaken. Nevertheless, we canpoint to some evidence of performance changes,drawn from a range of sources referred to in section 5,as well as from interviews.

Public policy and decision making: The Catholic Churchis repeatedly mentioned as a solid performer on gover-nance issues. Through its established organisationalbase and widespread regional presence, as well as the-matic engagement, it has a record of combining allfour capabilities described in section 6. Its activities insupporting the electoral process are most notable onthis score. They suggest a combination of 'bonding'(informing communities about the electoral process),'linking' (encouraging their participation in elections),'bridging' (working across communities with other reli-gious and non-religious electoral activities, such as thedesign of electoral education material) and 'the use ofspace' (e.g. through public statements in the media).

Social justice and the rule of law: Further evidence ofCatholic Church performance is the outspokennessand frankness of one of its leaders, Archbishop Barnes.He is highly respected in PNG and is seen as an inde-pendent figure who has contributed to the reconsider-ation and even reversal of decisions taken by govern-ment. This observation from interviewees, also under-lined by Gibbs (2004: 4), suggests that theArchbishop's statement in 1999 on the personal con-duct of many PNG leaders acted as a catalyst forchange, and three months later led to the resignationof Prime Minister Bill Skate. The Catholic Bishops'Conference and Caritas PNG also participated in the'war against corruption', as declared by the PNG MediaCouncil in 2002,51 a campaign that was described as atemplate for civil society involvement in a democraticsystem, and which has resulted in the toppling ofsome political leaders (Rich, 2003).

Enhancing public performance: This report has identi-fied the CMC as an important interface for public-

church-based policy exchange and dialogue on health.An important activity of the chair of the CMC Board isto represent the views of members in negotiationswith government. This has led to the signing of aMemorandum of Understanding between the NationalDepartment of Health and the CMC to ensure thatchurch-run health facilities manage their financialresources independently, without interference from thenational or provincial level governments. As a result ofthis understanding, funds are now transferred directlyto the church health facilities, and not through theprovincial administrations. While in some respects thisgoes against the spirit of PNG's decentralisationreforms, which envisaged channelling funds for serviceprovision through the provinces, it provides evidencethat church-based organisations have successfullystood their ground and protected a service area inwhich their important role is recognised.52

7.2 Underlying factors explaining performance Some of the findings of this study are similar to thoseof other reviews of the role of churches in governancein Africa (Gibbs and Ajulu, 1999). The authority andlegitimacy of churches, their national networks andlinks with other institutions, international links, andindividual skills and capacities are noted as being par-ticularly influential in determining their role and effi-cacy as advocates of change.

From our study, the interplay of the four capabilitiesdescribed above, supported by incremental endoge-nous change processes and external support, havedeveloped into a 'capacity' of the church sector. Buthow does this interplay, with all its frailties, triggerchange and performance? Six factors emerge fromour study:

Leadership. The relatively successful engagement ofthe churches in governance processes and social sectorperformance was attributed by our respondents, firstand foremost, to effective leadership. Specifically, it isthe combined mobilisation, by church leaders, of thefour capabilities mentioned above that has made adifference. At the same time, a number of the church-es and church-based organisations have a soundorganisational base with seasoned and skilled leaders,but still do not make full use of these capabilities (e.g.the SDA or the Lutherans). So other factors must be atplay as well.

Religious interpretations and orientation (values). Thevery different interpretations of the Bible has been a

Notes51 See 'PNG news media declares war on corruption',

Wansolwara Online, 1 February 2002(www.usp.ac.fj/journ/docs/news/wansolnews/2002/2002janfeb/wansol0102021.html).

52 The positive public assessment of church-basedorganisations was confirmed in the independent review ofNichols (2003). It analysed the community developmentwork of Caritas PNG, the Anglican Church of PNG and ADRAPNG, and spoke very highly of these organisations and theirAustralian partners, Caritas, the Anglican Board of Missionsand ADRA.


22

determining factor in the level and nature of engage-ment of the various churches in governance processesand public performance. During interviews, severalleaders and functionaries of the Catholic Church andassociated organisations in PNG referred to the socialethics and teachings of the church, which provideguidance on engaging in affairs beyond their spiritualmandate. Many of the other churches display varyingdegrees of involvement in and openness to participat-ing in policy issues and governance. This is shaped bythe interpretation of biblical texts, which in somecases require church communities to obey whatevergovernment authority is in place. The engagement ofthe non-Catholic churches in PNG in fact ranges fromprimarily 'bonding' (by missions, or free churches), tothe full-scale mobilisation of 'linking', 'bridging' and'bonding' and the occasional 'use of public space' toexpress concerns about governance by the main-stream churches. The Catholic Church is most vocal onall four capabilities, while the Lutherans, Anglicans andthe United Church are less so. At the other end of thespectrum are the Evangelicals who openly reject anyform of political involvement.53

Shared understanding of a conceptual base and faith-based mandate. Effective work on policy processes andgovernance at different levels in society requires theorganisations and individuals involved to have a well-understood and shared conceptual base that clearlystakes out their wider mandate and allows them toengage and contribute to change where necessary.Such a shared conceptual understanding is differentfrom a strategy or work plan. Strategic documentsmay be formulated, or orderly work plans introducedthat allow access to funding, but these strategies arenot the essence. Rather, the representatives of Catholicorganisations we interviewed referred to the above-mentioned social ethics and teachings, which open awindow and permit them to see individual actionswithin a wider context. As one of them commented, 'Itprovides us with a conceptual base to guide ourlonger-term involvement in societal change processes'.Other denominations also show a shared understand-ing of their faith-based mandate, which can lead tovarying degrees of involvement in governance-relatedactivities - in some cases even to the extent of reject-ing participation entirely.

Appropriate voicing mechanisms and communicationchannels. Organisations which have strong institu-tional structures and are clear as to who speaks ontheir behalf are, unsurprisingly, among the most

effective in communicating their concerns or issues.Also important, however, is their reliance on formaland informal channels with and between differentlevels of society (national, regional, tribal, clan,extended family, household) and congregational unitsof the churches, depending on the issue. The CatholicChurch is most 'effective' in this regard, as it has theadvantage of a decentralised structure throughoutthe country (representing some 1.5 million people),combined with a strong presence at the national levelwhich allows it to be attuned to change processes atmultiple levels. Other denominations are lessfavourably positioned as they have more regional orlocal orientations, or are less likely to have access tothe media, policy circles, or funding organisations atthe central level.

Legitimacy through resilience, knowledge and servicedelivery. The legitimacy of churches and church-basedorganisations among the population is of primeimportance to the acceptance of their governance-related actions. This legitimacy comes from their rolein training generations of Papua New Guineansthrough formal and adult education, their record instaying on and persisting (even under difficult circum-stances) and from reliable service delivery and long-term commitments in health and education. Theirlegitimacy also derives from organisational maturityand from 'knowing the game'. This is evident from theeffectiveness of some church-based leaders who havefunctioned in civil society organisations for manyyears, or who have served in key government posi-tions. In fact, the exposure of some of these leaders,both men and women, to different institutional envi-ronments has helped to build their reputations, andhas opened up channels of communication which areindispensable for effective dialogue.

Giving importance to intermediary structures andorganisations. The relatively successful contribution ofthe church sector to capacity development in PNG isalso related to their shaping of an intermediary insti-tutional landscape. Over many decades, a great num-ber of higher level training institutes and universitieshave been set up to supply different sectors with qual-ified human resources. A wide range of inter- andintra-church councils, associations and networks havealso been created with the aim of taking up socialissues and advocacy, some of which date back to thepre-independence era. While these structures functionas a kind of 'glue', bringing together stakeholders from

Notes53 See, e.g., K. Kalmbach, Die evangelikale Kirche von Manus, in

Wagner et al. (1989: 201-205).


23

different congregations and parts of the country, somehave also demonstrated their potential to serve ashubs for policy dialogue or advocacy work.

Another underlying factor which might explain theperformance of PNG churches is the openness forcooperation and incorporation of external support,although this research did not find sufficient evidenceto support qualified statements in this regard.External support is likely an important element, butchurches in PNG show very different approaches andattitudes to cooperation with their colleagues inother regions - some cooperate a great deal, whileothers are more passive or even hesitant to do so.Some church representatives also spoke openly aboutthe type of cooperation and assistance they receive,while others seemed reluctant to share information,particularly on finances. This topic might merit fur-ther research, as it could reveal important lessons forfuture approaches to international cooperation withthe church sector in PNG.

8 Issues and challenges for PNG churches

In looking at the churches as key players in civil society,we observed that they are more than just potentialactors to contribute to improved governance and pub-lic performance. They are deeply involved in a variety ofundertakings, ranging from peace building to servicedelivery, policy making and monitoring of governmentactivities. Their historical and ongoing involvement inthese areas makes it difficult to imagine PNG societywithout them. This point was stressed by all of therespondents interviewed in the context of this study.

While the work and intensive contacts with communi-ties form the backbone of all church organisations inPNG - described above as 'bonding' - there are consid-erable differences between churches and their devel-opment organisations in terms of their involvement in'linking', 'bridging' and the 'use of space'. The biggerchurches have played an active role in 'linking' differ-ent levels of the public in order to enhance servicedelivery, but there are still considerable sensitivitieswhich limit 'bridging', i.e. ecumenical work, betweensome of the congregations. However, some initiatives

that have the potential to enhance governance work,such as the PNG Council of Churches, do merit atten-tion and support. Also, lessons from the experiences ofthe CMC could be drawn upon and included under theheading 'unity in diversity' in other sectors and areasof work.

The 'use of space' is primarily a Catholic affair whichhas its roots in the Catholic social teachings and thenature of Catholic involvement in various societiesthroughout history. There are signs that other church-es may be inclined to express their views in publicmore regularly, but it would be inappropriate for themto try to emulate the particular role of the CatholicChurch as there are major differences in terms of man-date, experience, resources, scope of work and the typeof communities with which they work.

Taking these various considerations into account, thechurch community can be seen as a partner instrengthening governance and public performance inPNG, but it is not always an 'easy' partner, given thediversity of actors, their backgrounds and history.Moreover, in working with churches, and for thechurches themselves, there a number of challenges:

Absorptive capacity Despite the generally positive picture of churches andchurch-based organisations as civil society actors inPNG, various independent observers, as well as churchleaders, clearly suggest that their structures can onlycarry so much. During interviews, several church lea-ders expressed concern that loading additional tasksand responsibilities onto churches too rapidly andwithout proper support would likely lead to failure.Churches are aware of their strengths in working withcommunities, but underline that their capabilitieswith regard to policy engagement, networking, andeven reconciliation and peace-building are not strong-ly developed.

Internal management and governance A priority for the churches is to keep a strong member-ship, to manage their current activities effectively andto ensure that they can carry them forward in anincreasingly difficult environment, which includes thedeteriorating governance and security situation inPNG. Any diminution of their capacity for action or oftheir performance, in parallel with broader downwardtrends in PNG society, would be most injurious giventhe standards they have achieved and sustained forsignificant periods of time, and the extent to which


24

Notes54 Factors at play might include the limited resources available

in PNG for research, learning or dissemination, competitionamong groups for those limited resources, conflictingorganisational priorities (e.g. training, building newfacilities), and PNG's oral traditions which, for some, maymean formal research or documentation are of lesserpriority.

service delivery, traditional knowledge systems, com-munity work, governance, etc., in which differentcongregations collaborate, but which are not boundto specific religious doctrines and which are open towider participation, could enhance the churches'internal capacities, as well as their contributions towider development processes in PNG. Intervieweesindicated that peer exchanges with colleagues fromthe South Pacific region are valued and could beexplored further. There might also be a role for terti-ary institutions, such as the Divine Word University,to initiate information networking and adult learn-ing circles.

Balancing country internal with external dynamicsSimilarly, it is important to find the right balancebetween engaging with external partners and rein-forcing of intra- and inter-church exchanges and net-works. The twinning arrangements between somemajor churches in PNG and their colleagues inAustralia, financed through AusAID's ChurchPartnership Programme, for example, offer opportu-nities to strengthen the institutional base of church-es. But these types of interventions should not bepursued at the expense of supporting inter- andintra-church mechanisms in PNG, and should notundermine existing (and greatly needed) public,church-based interfaces and platforms which canfacilitate interaction with government, as well aswith other civil society actors.

Finally, calls for a heightened educational mandateand role for the churches in PNG society, as Gibbs(2004: 9) has expressed it, should also be carefullybalanced against the challenges noted above.Despite their strengths, there is a real risk that thechurches' potential to play a greater role and deliverincreased results in the areas of governance and public performance is overestimated. And claims that'the mainstream churches need to recognise thatthey have a profound mission to speak out forcefullyon issues of political ethics' (Patience, 2004) shouldbe left to the churches in PNG to decide and shouldnot be considered a given in national, regional orglobal strategies that seek to enhance governance inthe country.

communities have come to rely on them. Thus, theysee strengthening of their internal management capa-bilities and the governance of their own organisationsas key priorities for the immediate future.

Towards a capacity development approachCompared with other non-state actors, and even gov-ernment, church organisations have demonstrated atremendous level of engagement in 'capacity develop-ment'. Their involvement in primary and secondaryschools, tertiary training institutes and vocational cen-tres bears witness to this focus. But the notion of'capacity development' is primarily interpreted bychurch actors in terms of human resource develop-ment, expressed, in part, through their running of vari-ous training institutes. It is much less related to high-er-level capacity concerns. Issues like policy coherence,sector reforms, institutional incentives or strategydevelopment appear not to be part of the regularframe of reference when plans for change are beingconsidered. Rather, issues of this nature might beaddressed within smaller groups, and responses toexisting problems may emerge incrementally. A chal-lenge, therefore, will be to engage the churches moresystematically in capacity development, taking intoaccount the multiple dimensions of the challengesand the benefits of shared understanding and com-mon strategies. Such a focus might create opportuni-ties for more strategic strengthening of capacities thatsome congregations currently do not regard as priori-ties, and hence do not actively seek to address.

Becoming a learning networkThe literature documenting organisational theoryand experiences in the private and public sectorspoints to the importance of organisational and sec-tor learning as an aspect of and contribution tocapacity development. Such learning does take placewithin some niches of the church community in PNG- e.g. to a certain extent within the context of theCMC's annual health conferences, or through occa-sional study tours. Learning also takes place throughtraditional communication channels, such as meet-ings, songs, storytelling, etc. But a more structuredlearning process, aimed at the sharing of informationand good practices across boundaries, is not widelyevident within individual church communities. Veryfew experiences are written up and documented, andapproaches to learning are not the specific subject ofwider church interaction, or of any type of know-ledge-sharing strategy.54 The establishment of for-mal and informal learning networks around social


25

Many of the individuals listed below were interviewed both for this and the parallel study of the health sector in Papua New Guinea.

Interviews in Papua New Guinea

National Department of Health (NDoH)Dr Timothy Pyakalyia, Deputy Secretary /acting Secretary (at time of interview), NDoHDr Gilbert Hiawalyer, Director, monitoring and research, NDoHPascoe Kase, Director, policy, legal and projects, NDoHPeter Eapaia, Director, finance Mary Kurih, a/principal adviser, pharmaceuticalsLynda Koivi, a/principal adviser information, HRMMar Roiroi, principal adviserJudah Eparam, health promotionDr James Wangi, disease controlAndrew Posong, a/Director, monitoring & evaluation

Government of PNG (non-health personnel)Peter Tsiamalili, OBE, Secretary, Department of Personnel ManagementLari Hare, Deputy Secretary policy, Department of Personnel ManagementRobert Yass, Deputy Secretary operations, Department of Personnel ManagementJoseph Sukwianomb, social policy adviser, Public Sector Reform Management Unit (PSRMU) Clant Alok, inter-governmental relations adviser, PSRMU

Provincial officialsDr Theo, provincial health adviser, MorobeThomas Kalana, provincial health officer, MadangHaru Yahamani, provincial treasurer, East SepikDr Geoffrey Mataio, CEO, Alotau Hospital, Milne Bay Steven Gibson, provincial treasurer, Milne BayDr Festus Pawa, provincial health adviser (PHA), Milne BayConnie Mogina, health information officer, Milne BayConstance Marako, community health liaison officer, Milne BayMatilda Philemon, family health services coordinator, Milne BayTitus Stomley, HSIP coordinator (training officer), Milne BayAnthony Mala, CCLO southern region: WCH Project, Milne BayAgnes Tapo, nursing officer, Milne BayJenny Dobadoba, f/planning coordinator EPI/CCL Radio network, Milne BayEsther Barnally, supervisor, oral health, Milne BayWilson Napitalai, healthy life promotion officer, Milne BayJack Purai, coordinator, health extension, Milne Bay

Australian advisersDr Maxine Whittaker, HSSP deputy team leader (technical)Dr Alan Hauquitz, HSSP hospital adviser, MadangDr Tony Partridge, HSSP health adviser, MorobeAndrew McNee, adviser, NDoH

Annex 1: List of interviewees and focus group participants


26

Church health officialsVincent Michaels, government liaison, Churches Medical Council (CMC)Fua Singin, general secretary, Evangelical Lutheran Church of PNGNena Naag, Lutheran provincial health secretary, Morobe Abraham Yapupu, national secretary, Lutheran Health Services Don Kudan, Lutheran provincial health secretary, Madang, and Chairman, Churches Medical CouncilPastor Thomas Davai, President, Seventh Day Adventist Union MissionBaltasar Maketo, Director, CARITAS-PNG, Catholic Development Agency Raymond Ton, justice, peace & development officer, CARITAS-PNGSr Tarsicia Hunhoff, national secretary, Catholic Health Services

Civil society and academia representativesMisty Baloiloi, Vice Chancellor, PNG University of TechnologyFr Jan Czuba, President, Divine World UniversityBr Andrew Simpson, Vice-president, Divine World UniversityMel Togolo, Transparency InternationalKatherne Mal, representative of the Provincial Assembly of Women, MadangMatricia Mari, Madang Provincial AIDS CommitteeJudy Michael, Madang Provincial AIDS CommitteeElizabeth Andoga, Save the Children in PNGTamara Babao, Save the Children in PNGAnio Seleficari, Madang Provincial Council of WomenTaita Ranu, Madang Provincial Council of WomenGisele Maisonneuve, Madang Provincial Council of Women

AusAID-PNGJeff Prime, first secretaryTracey Newbury, first secretary, healthDorothy Luana, activity managerCathy Amos, civil society

Interviews in Australia

AusAID - CanberraBernadette Whitelum, executive officer, Corporate PolicyKerrie Flynn, research programme officer, Corporate Policy Peter Lindenmayer, acting director, Health & HIV Section, PNG BranchIan Anderson, senior adviser, design and programmesDavid Hook, PNG civil society/churches Robert Christie, manager, economic analysis, PNG BranchRachael Moore, policy officer, PNG BranchJames Gilling, senior adviser, policy and programs (economics)Kirsten Hawke, PNG Branch

Australian National University (ANU)Dr Hartmut Holzknecht, visiting fellow, resource management, Asia-Pacific Programme Professor Donald Denoon, Research School of Pacific and Asian StudiesCathy Lepani, PNG PhD candidateRuth Soavana-Spriggs, PNG PhD candidateJennifer Letau, PNG PhD candidateRuth Turia, PNG PhD candidate

OtherDavid Syme, CEO, Adventist Development Relief Agency (ADRA) AustraliaPeter Heijkoop, Executive Director, Universal Financial Management Solutions, Pty. Ltd.


27

Annex 2: Glossary This glossary includes terms relating to the two casestudies undertaken in Papua New Guinea. A full glos-sary will be included in the final report on the broaderinternational study on Capacity, Change andPerformance coordinated by ECDPM.

Capacity: The ability of individuals, organisations orsystems as a whole to perform effectively, efficiently,and in a sustainable manner.

Capability: Specific abilities that individuals, organisa-tions or systems develop to do something in particular,such as to facilitate, learn, or to manage projects.

Capacity development: Capacity development has todo with the process of change and adaptation at avariety of levels, including the individual, the function-al, the organisational, the multi-organisational and theinstitutional.

Empowerment: This aspect of capacity has to do withlearning, participation and access to opportunity. Itstems from personal engagement, identity and avail-ability of choice, qualities that enable people to partic-ipate fully as citizens in society.

Endogenous change: The strategies and processes ofchange that take place within local organisations andsystems and the factors shaping that change, includ-ing those associated with political economy, institu-tional incentives, organisational processes and humanmotivation.

Hard capacities: The tangible assets and resources ofan organisation, such as its land, buildings, facilities,personnel and equipment.

Impact: Any effect, whether anticipated or unantici-pated, positive or negative, brought about by a devel-opment intervention. In some cases, 'impact' refers tothe long-term effects of an intervention on broaddevelopment goals.

Institution: A socially sanctioned and maintained setof established practices, norms, behaviours or relation-ships (e.g. trade regulations, land tenure, banking sys-tems, and an organisation's staff rules) that persistover time in support of collectively valued purposes.Institutions have both formal and informal rules and

enforcement mechanisms that shape the behaviour ofindividuals and organisations in society.

Institutional rules of the game: The humanly devisedconstraints that structure human interactions. Theyare made up of formal constraints (such as rules, laws,constitutions), informal constraints (such as norms ofbehaviour, conventions, self-imposed codes of con-duct), and their enforcement characteristics.

Organisation: A formal structure with designated rolesand purposes; an entity composed of people who actcollectively in pursuit of shared objectives. Theseorganisations and individuals pursue their interestswithin an institutional structure defined by formalrules (constitutions, laws, regulations, contracts) andinformal rules (ethics, trust, religious precepts, andother implicit codes of conduct). Organisations, in turn,have internal rules (i.e. institutions) to deal with per-sonnel, budgets, procurement and reporting proce-dures, which constrain the behaviour of their mem-bers.

Soft capacities: The human and organisational capaci-ties, or social capital of individuals, organisations andsystems, including such things as leadership, trust,legitimacy, motivation, management knowledge andskills, systems and procedures (such as managementinformation systems, and procedures for planning andevaluation).

Stakeholders: Individuals, groups or organisationswhose interests and behaviours can, do or shouldaffect the process of capacity and performanceimprovement.

The analytical framework used for this case has been taken from the methodology developed for the widerECDPM study on Capacity, Change and Performance (see inside front cover). A systems approach is used toyield insights into factors contributing to the functioning of churches and their contributions to governanceand service delivery in PNG. The framework identifies seven independent dimensions: the external context,stakeholders, internal organisational features and resources, endogenous strategic management for changeand adaptation, emerging capabilities, external interventions, and performance.

A desk study was undertaken prior to the fieldwork. The team relied on documentation from AusAID, ADB, thegovernment of PNG and web resources. The principal sources consulted are listed in the references. Materialcollected for the parallel PNG health sector study was used for this study, and visa versa. The research teamconsisted of Joe Bolger, consultant and team leader for both case studies, Canada; Volker Hauck, SeniorProgramme Officer, ECDPM, the Netherlands; and Ms Angela Mandie-Filer, consultant and researcher, PNG.Research for both studies was carried out in PNG between 19 April and 4 May 2004, and entailed interviewsand focus group sessions with stakeholders in Port Moresby, Milne Bay, Madang and Morobe. This joint field-work facilitated sharing of information and understanding of the processes that have shaped the capacities ofPNG's community of churches, as well as within the health sector.

The team leader and the PNG consultant/researcher met with AusAID officials in Canberra at the outset of themission. Along with the ECDPM staff member, all three participated in a debriefing workshop in Canberraimmediately after the assignment. A workshop was also held at the end of the field assignment in PNG atwhich the study team discussed and sought to validate preliminary findings with various PNG stakeholders. A'final draft' report was also sent to several interviewees for comments and to verify information and impres-sions articulated by the authors

Not surprisingly, there are limits to the study due to the time available, the breadth of the topic and the multi-tude of societal dynamics at play in a country as diverse as PNG. It was also not possible to contact the diverseand widely spread groups of Evangelical and Pentecostal churches. However, the methodology describedabove compensated for a number of these limitations. The findings can thus be seen as an aggregation andinterpretation of different documents, data, views and opinions of stakeholders directly or indirectly involvedwith PNG's churches and the health sector. Having a research team with different backgrounds and the jointfielding of the researchers for the two case studies helped to create invaluable synergies.


28

Annex 3: Methodology

External Context

Stake-

holders

External intervention

Internal organisational

systems features

Capacity

Performance

Endogenous change and adaptation


29

BibliographyADB, 2003. Development of a Sector Wide Approach in the Health Sector of Papua New Guinea, Final Report (ADB TA No.4057-PNG). Manila: Asian Development Bank.

AusAID, 2003. Australia's Aid Program: Engaging with Civil Society in Papua New Guinea 2003-2007. Draft. October.Canberra: Australian Agency for International Development.

AusAID, 2004(a). Governance in PNG: A Cluster Evaluation of Three Public Sector Reform Activities. Final Report. Canberra:Australian Agency for International Development, Evaluation Team.

AusAID, 2004(b). PNG Church Partnership Program - Program Framework, Final Draft. February. Canberra: AustralianAgency for International Development.

Baloiloi, M., 2001. Kumul 2020: A Twenty-Year Development Plan for Papua New Guinea. Notes from an SSGM Seminar, 31May 2001.

Barker, J., 2002. Missionaries, Environmentalists, and the Maisin, Papua New Guinea. Discussion Paper 2002/3. AustralianNational University, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies. Bolger, J., Mandie-Filer, A. and Hauck. V., 2005. PNG'sHealth Sector: A Review of Capacity, Change and Performance Issues, Maastricht: ECDPM.

Caritas PNG. Undated. National Strategic Plan. Draft.

Dickson-Waiko, A., 1999. 'Civil society and development, non-government organisations and churches'. DevelopmentBulletin 50.

Dickson-Waiko, A., 2003. 'The missing rib: mobilising church women for change in Papua New Guinea'. Oceania 74.

Douglas, B., 2003. 'Christianity, tradition, and everyday modernity: towards an anatomy of women's groupings inMelanesia'. Oceania 74.

Gibbs, P., 2004. Politics, Religion, and the Churches: The 2002 Election in Papua New Guinea. SSGM Working Paper No. 2.Goroka: Melanesian Institute.

Gibbs, S. and Ajulu, D., 1999. The Role of the Church in Advocacy: Case Studies from Southern and Eastern Africa. IntracOccasional Paper Series. Oxford: Intrac.

Graham, J., Amos, B. and Plumptre, T., 2003. Principles for Good Governance in the 21st Century. Policy Brief No. 15. Ottawa:Institute on Governance.GoPNG, 2000 Census. Port Moresby: Government of Papua New Guinea.

GoPNG, 2003. A Strategic Plan for Supporting Public Sector Reform in Papua New Guinea. 2003-2007. Port Moresby:Government of Papua New Guinea.

Havini, M.T. and Sirivi, J.T. (Eds.) 2004. Mothers of the Land: The Birth of Bougainvillean Women for Peace and Freedom.Canberra: Pandanus Press.

Institute of Development Studies, 1998. Civil Society and Governance: A Concept Paper, and Policy Briefs.

Missionswerk, 1995. Papua-Neuguinea - Das Land … und seine Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche. Missionswerk der Evang.-Luth. Kirche Bayern.


30

Lea, D., 2004. 'Can democratic reform enhance Papua New Guinea's economic performance?' Pacific Economic Bulletin,vol. 19(1).

Lovegrove, B., 2002. AusAID and Capacity Building of Southern NGOs. A study on behalf of the International Forum onCapacity Building for Southern NGOs.

Luker, V., 2003. Civil Society, Social Capital and the Churches: HIV/AIDS in Papua New Guinea. SSGM Working paper No. 1,presented at the Governance and Civil Society Seminar, University of the South Pacific, 30 Sept.-2 Oct. 2003.

Mann, N., 2003. 'Church health services need support'. The National Online.

May, R., 2004. State and Society in Papua New Guinea: The first 25 years. Melbourne: UIN.

Nichols, P., 2003. NGO Peer Review - Synthesis Report. Version 10, June 2003.

Okole. H., 2002. Crisis in Governance and Institutional Decay in Parliamentary Democracies: The Case of Papua NewGuinea. Draft paper for FDC Symposium on South Pacific Futures. Brisbane, July 2002.

Okole, H., 2004. Political Reform - Will it Change the System? Paper presented at the conference on Foreign Policy,Governance and Development: Challenges for Papua New Guinea and Pacific Islands, 22-23 March 2004, Madang.

Patience, A. 2004. 'Need for some real governance',PNG Post-Courier Online Focus, weekend edition, 4-7 June 2004. www.post-courier.com.pg/20040604/focus.htm

Reilly, B., 2001. Democracy in Divided Societies: Electoral Engineering for Conflict Management, Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press.

Reilly, B., 2002. 'Economic decline and political reform in Papua New Guinea', Pacific Economic Bulletin, 17(2): 134-140.

Rich, R., 2003. Reviewing Democracy in the Pacific: Participation and Deliberation. Paper presented at the Suva Conferenceon Governance in Pacific States. Canberra: ANU Centre for Democratic Institutions.

Standish, B., 2002. Constitutional Engineering in Papua New Guinea's Problematic Democracy. Foundation forDevelopment Cooperation. Development Research Symposium: South Pacific Futures, Brisbane 22-24 July 2002.

Stein-Holmes, R., 2003. The Role of Churches in Development in Papua New Guinea. Prepared for PNG Branch, AusAID.

Sillitoe, P., 2000. Social Change in Melanesia: Development and History. Press Syndicate, University of Cambridge, UK.

Wagner, H. and Reiner, H. (Eds.) 1986. The Lutheran Church in Papua New Guinea: The first Hundred Years 1886-1989.Adelaide: Lutheran Publishing House.

Wagner, H., Fugmann, G. and Janssen, H. (Eds.) 1989. Papua-Neuguinea Gesellschaft und Kirche: Ein ökumenischesHandbuch. Erlangen: Verlag der Ev.-Luth. Mission.

Windybank, S. and Manning, M., 2003. Papua New Guinea on the Brink. Issue Analysis No. 30, Sydney: Centre forIndependent Studies.

Woolcock, M., 1999. Managing Risk, Shocks and Opportunity in Developing Economies: The Role of Social Capital.Washington: Development Research Group, World Bank.

The European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM) aims to improve internationalcooperation between Europe and countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific.

Created in 1986 as an independent foundation, the Centre’s objectives are:• to enhance the capacity of public and private actors in ACP and other low-income

countries; and • to improve cooperation between development partners in Europe and the ACP Region.

The Centre focuses on four interconnected themes:

• Actors of Partnerships• ACP-EU Trade Relations• Political Dimensions of Partnerships• Internal Donor Reform

The Centre collaborates with other organisations and has a network of contributors in the European and theACP countries. Knowledge, insight and experience gained from process facilitation, dialogue, networking,infield research and consultations are widely shared with targeted ACP and EU audiences throughinternational conferences, focussed briefing sessions, electronic media and key publications.

This study was undertaken by ECDPM in the context of the OECD/DAC study on Capacity, Change andPerformance and financed the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).

The results of the study, interim reports and an elaborated methodology can be consulted at www.capacity.orgor www.ecdpm.org. For further information, please contact Ms Heather Baser ([email protected]).

ISSN 1571-7569

The European Centre forDevelopment Policy ManagementOnze Lieve Vrouweplein 21NL-6211 HE Maastricht, The Netherlands Tel.: +31 (0)43 350 29 00Fax.: +31 (0)43 350 29 [email protected] www.ecdpm.org

ringing the church bell - the role of churches in governance and

Documents