Leadership In The Shadow Of The Pandemic

LEADERSHIP IN THESHADOW OF THEPANDEMIC:RESEARCHINGSPACES OFRESILIENCE ANDTRANSFORMATIONJULY 2021

2 Leadership in the shadow of the pandemic Researching spaces of resilience and transformation

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY COVID-19 has presented enormouschallenges to communities in the AsiaPacific. However, it has also providedopportunities for communities to developcreative means of addressing thesechallenges despite, or maybe because of, thewithdrawal of external development workers. Within Indonesia’s disability activismcommunities, efforts to respond to thepandemic have reduced fragmentationand provided new opportunities for unity.The shift towards virtual communicationshas allowed Jakarta leaders to significantlyimprove their connections with localdisability leaders, and has increasedawareness of the need to address disabilityissues. In the Solomon Islands, resilient localcommunities have continued to develop theirown initiatives to address local problems,often through forms of horizontal leadership,church and local government institutions,and through increased bartering. The closing of trade and borders due toCOVID-19 has been met in Papua NewGuinea’s South Fly district (Western Province)with resilience. Commercial fishing hasbecome a major way for village communitiesto support themselves, with villagers sellingto buyers who come from the provincialcapital of Daru to the villages.3

DISABILITY LEADERSHIP IN INDONESIAPrior to COVID-19, the Indonesian disability movement leadership was largely based in the capitalcity of Jakarta. Local disability leaders were often separated from these Jakarta leaders, who hadgreater access to national government and services. During the pandemic, the disability activistmovement of Indonesia developed virtual platforms to address challenges faced by disabled people,and in so doing, also managed to significantly bridge this gap.At the start of the pandemic, the Indonesian disability activist community responded immediately,whilst the government response left people with disabilities behind. Disability activist groupsmoved onto online platforms in order to collect data on the impact of COVID-19 on disabled people’slives. This data has brought about positive outcomes in allowing disability leaders across Indonesiato coordinate faster, work together more collaboratively and consult with each other efficiently. Italso allows activists from large distances away and living in different communities to come togethereffectively.The use of WhatsApp groups and Zoom have therefore helped bridge the traditional gap betweenJakarta activists and local activist leaders elsewhere. The work of these activist groups hascontributed to a sense of greater need for disability inclusion, and humanitarian actors generally arenow more aware of the need for disability in their COVID-19 response.However, we still need further data on how the pandemic has harmed people with disabilities,particularly in terms of their mental health. As we move forward, it will be important to avoidreversing the gains made in the Indonesian disability activist community in terms of connection andinclusion.4 Leadership in the shadow of the pandemic Researching spaces of resilience and transformation

COLLABORATION IN THE SOLOMON ISLANDS TO ENABLE POSITIVECHANGEIn the Solomon Islands, tribal leaders are involved in organising development projects that takeplace in their communities. This is a largely horizontal approach to development: local rather thanstate driven (even when state funded) and with local tribal, church and government leaders playingan appropriate role as partners within projects. The church occupies a major role in developmentand leadership, for example by promoting healthy living as an important reflection of spiritualstanding. In certain parts of North Malaita, inclusive prayer sessions also provide opportunities forproject ideas to be brought up and debated among community leaders.Members of Parliament have conveniently attributed the poor spending of Solomon IslandsConstituency Development Funds (CDFs) to COVID-19. Rural people, meanwhile, continued withtheir usual lives during the pandemic. This means it has been left to local community initiativesto attempt to address issues that arose during the pandemic. Resilient local communities tackledgaps in need through developing informal barter systems, often within church structures, foreveryday goods, as well as systems for valuing and exchanging these goods.READ MORELocally-led aid in the time of corona:throwing away the remote control5

LEADERSHIP BEYOND STATE LIMITS IN SOUTH FLY, PAPUA NEWGUINEAInformal leadership remains strong within many communities in the South Fly District of WesternProvince, in the form of ward development committees, village courts, women’s groups and in thechurches. However, development projects have in the past sometimes negatively impacted theseforms of local leadership, through the establishment of parallel structures. These external agencieshave often selected new leaders for new committees, disrupting and undermining local leadership.This has in particular displaced ward development committees, which are generally seen as themost powerful institution at the village level.At the same time within the province, most services and government workers are based in thecapital of Daru. Travel is largely by outboard motor powered ‘banana boats’ that are expensive to run,due to the exorbitant cost of fuel. Community leaders and service providers need to travel to Daru,to conduct business, attend meetings and collect resources, which can take weeks, consumingmuch of the money intended for village use. This is one of the reasons little public finance reachesvillage level. Health posts are left unattended, which leads to significant resentment amongvillagers. However, the commitment of ward members in seeking government services and fundingpoints to the motivation and potential of local leadership.As might be expected, COVID-19 has brought significant challenges to the province. Borders haveclosed and formal trade with Australia and Indonesia has come to a halt. However, the people ofSouth Fly have demonstrated great resilience. Villagers have taken the opportunity to look foralternative markets and to consider how to support themselves. Commercial fishing has provideda successful path for them to do this, with the fish being sold in the Daru Market, and to buyers whovisit the villages from Daru. COVID-19 has thus disrupted how people trade and generate income; itwill be important, as we go forward beyond the pandemic, to understand the positive and negativechanges it has wrought, and provide aid without getting in the way of local leadership.6 Leadership in the shadow of the pandemic Researching spaces of resilience and transformation

CONCLUSIONThe disruption brought about byCOVID-19, including the withdrawal offoreign development workers, has alsoopened up opportunities and allowed localcommunities and local leaders to comeforward with new and creative ways offunctioning. Looking forward, the goalmust be to protect the gains that havebeen made and spaces that have openedup for local leadership. While the needfor development assistance has neverbeen greater, development workers mustavoid reverting back to old patterns, andoccupying spaces in unhelpful ways. Theonus is on the development sector to keepthese spaces and the leadership that hasemerged within them flourishing.This report is a summary of the DLP panel‘Leadership in the shadow of the pandemic:Researching spaces of resilience andtransformation’ that took place on 2nd July 2021at the Research for Development Impact (RDI)Conference 2021. We would like to thank thepanellists for their contributions, as well as theconference organisers and all those who engagedwith the event.PANELLISTSProfessor Chris Roche, Director, Institute forHuman Security and Social Change at La TrobeUniversity and Deputy Director, DevelopmentalLeadership ProgramTony Hiriasia, Research Assistant, University ofthe South PacificDr Elisabeth Jackson, Senior Research Fellow,Institute for Human Security and Social Change atLa Trobe UniversityProfessor Mark Moran, University of QueenslandDr Gordon Leua Nanau, Senior Lecturer,University of the South PacificCucu Saidah, Co-founder, Bandung IndependentLiving CenterIshak Salim, Co-founder, Indonesian DiffabilityMovement for EqualityBaia Warapa, Research Assistant7

REPORT CREDITSCover Page - Joshua Daniel,ShutterstockPage 2 - Tanjir Ahmed Chowdhury,UnsplashPage 4 - Danita Delimont,ShutterstockPage 5 - Muhammad Raufan Yusup,UnsplashPage 5 Box Icon - Smashicons,FlaticonPage 6 - Mark MoranPage 7 - Christoffer Zackrisson,UnsplashReport Text by Robin DiverFor any queries, comments orrequests for contact, please emaildlp@contacts.bham.ac.uk.8 Leadership in the shadow of the pandemic Researching spaces of resilience and transformation

The Developmental LeadershipProgram (DLP) is an internationalresearch collaboration supported by theAustralian Government.DLP investigates the crucial role thatleaders, networks and coalitions play inachieving development evelopmental Leadership ProgramInternational Development DepartmentCollege of Social SciencesUniversity of BirminghamBirmingham, B15 2TTUnited KingdomDesign squarebeasts.netThis publication has been funded by the Australian Government throughthe Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The views expressed inthis publication are the authors’ alone and are not necessarily the viewsof the Australian Government, the Developmental Leadership Programor partner organisations.

The developmental Leadership program (DLP) is an international research collaboration supported by the Australian Government. DLP investigates the crucial role that leaders, networks and coalitions play in achieving development outcomes. dlprog.org dlp@contacts.bham.ac.uk @DLProg Developmental Leadership Program International Development Department