Communication and Policy Dialogue - What Role for Development Partners: Learning from Swiss Support to Local Government Reforms in Albania

Since the fall of the communism in early ‘90s, Albania became a recipient of the foreign aid, mobilized firstly as humanitarian support. Later in years 2000s, the partnership was framed towards development and cooperation agenda. Negotiation between Albanian government and development partners emerged towards policy dialogue. This process is shaped by a number of other actors and the role of development partners and their programs is critical. There are several axes along which communication among the above takes place, is materialized and impacts the agenda. It provides for a diplomatic communication at first until the agreements are reached. It turns into more organizational communication on practical modalities for implementation. Later on, the communication takes a more political and intercultural profile since the expertise and knowledge is transferred through individuals in a contextualized way. The most critical point remains, however, the assurance of a participative approach where local communities are informed, their views are heard and their concerns are communicated. This paper analyses, based on the above, the approach that Switzerland has followed for influencing policy dialogue targeting local government reforms in Albania by promoting a culture of dialogue, community participation and lobbying for solutions based on evidence. It captures results and concludes that the long-term, bottom up support, where inclusive participation is nurtured from the beginning, could influence decisions and potentially contributes to behavior change.