Aid Management Policies, Strategies and Action Plans
Through the Paris Declaration, more than 100 countries and 30 international organisations signed up to a common set of aid-effectiveness principles and commitments. However, these principles needed to be adapted to different country conditions. Many developing countries and their donor partners have adopted localised versions of the Paris Declaration and Accra Agenda for Action, which include context-specific goals, priorities and definitions, and detailed implementation plans.
While the Paris principles are universal in application, the practical challenges of improving aid effectiveness are unique to each country context. Each developing country should work with its development partners to define its own pathway towards more effective aid, based on analysis of what problems need to be solved, and a set of priority actions that build upon existing structures and processes. In addition, the Paris agenda leaves plenty of scope for developing countries to define their own preferences, in terms of aid allocation processes, mix of modalities, coordination processes and so on.
Many countries have found that an aid policy, aid-effectiveness strategy or action plan is a useful tool for adapting the Paris agenda to their needs and circumstances.
The Afghanistan Compact was adopted at the London Conference in February 2006 and endorsed by the Security Council. It is the cornerstone of cooperation between the government and its international partners, setting out a shared commitment to building a democratic state that provides security and livelihood opportunities to its citizens. It has three pillars – security, governance and socio-economic development – supported by time-bound, measurable benchmarks of achievement covering all aspects of the state-building process. To support implementation, the partners created the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board, which carries out periodic reviews of progress.
Aid effectiveness priorities in Cambodia: Joint Monitoring Indicator on aid effectiveness 2009-2010
The Joint Monitoring Indicator on Aid Effectiveness lists the aid effectiveness priorities identified by the Government of Cambodia and its development partners to support the achievement of the development results outlined in Cambodia’s National Strategic and Development Plan. Implementation is expected to be carried forward by RGC Ministries and agencies working with development partners in the respective Technical Working Groups. This Joint Monitoring Indicator also constitutes a response to the Accra Agenda for Action that seeks to accelerate implementation of global aid effectiveness commitments.
The Draft Nepal National Aid Policy provides an overview on the management of development assistance in Nepal and on the changing aid environment. It outlines the mechanisms and the objectives the Government sets itself to increase the effectiveness in the use of aid resources
In August 2008, the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) and fifteen development partners signed a Statement of Intent to Develop a Joint Cooperation Strategy (JCS) in support of the national poverty strategy. This statement outlines some partnership principles and a road map towards the development of the JCS. The Joint Cooperation Strategy will build on the Bangladesh Harmonisation Action Plan signed by the Government and its development partners in 2005.
The Jakarta Commitment: Aid for Development Effectiveness is a road map for the Government of Indonesia and its development partners to implement the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the Accra Agenda for Action in Indonesia by 2014.
The Afghanistan Aid Policy sets out Afghanistan’s vision for improved aid coordination, management, mobilization, and effectiveness. This document is also intended to lay out clear guidelines, both on the part of the GoA and its development partners, and outlines the Afghanistan’s policy on how external assistance should be mobilized in support of the Afghanistan National Development Strategy, preferences in terms of aid modalities, and clarification of roles within the Afghan Government.
Prioritizing Aid Effectiveness :Taking Forward the Afghanistan Compact and Paris Declaration Commitments
This discussion paper provides a brief analysis of aid effectiveness in Afghanistan and outlines how the Afghan Government and its development partners plan to achieve their aid effectiveness targets.
Vietnam was one of the first countries to produce a national strategy, the Hanoi Core Statement (HCS), for implementing the Paris Declaration. The HCS localises the Paris Declaration into 28 Partnership Commitments and 14 targets, in some cases more ambitious than those in the Paris Declaration. Supported by a dedicated structure for GoV-development partner dialogue on aid policy, the HCS has been a key instrument for focusing the implementation effort. Vietnam is currently preparation a localised version of the Accra Action Agenda.
The Vientiane Declaration was adopted by the Lao Government and 24 development partners in November 2006. There is an associated action plan, specifying 72 measurable actions, with lead agencies, development partner focal points and structure of sectoral working groups. The action plan is reviewed and updated at annual roundtable implementation meetings.
The Rwanda Aid Policy was approved by the Rwandan government in July 2006. It sets out the governments policies for ensuring that aid has the maximum impact on economic development and poverty reduction. It contains an analysis of existing constraints on aid effectiveness (e.g., capacity problems, lack of predictability of aid, high transaction costs), and sets out a series of objectives, guiding principles and specific policies for improving aid effectiveness. In a section on preferred aid modalities, it expresses its preference for unearmarked budget support, sector budget support and projects that are both on-plan and on-budget.
The Pacific Principles, adopted by PacificIsland countries and development partners in July 2007, translates the Paris principles to reflect the unique conditions of the Pacific. They offer a guide to more effective aid-management practices, and providing a mechanism for monitoring the performance of donors and partner countries across the region.
Author(s): Royal Government of Cambodia Year: 2006
The Strategic Framework for Development Cooperation Management is a policy document issued by the Royal Government of Cambodia setting out the roles and responsibilities of ministries and government agencies in mobilisation and managing development assistance, and the objectives and principles for development cooperation. It asks donors to work through a single focal point for aid coordination (the Cambodian Rehabilitation and Development Board), rather than to enter into agreements directly with beneficiary institutions. It describes the operations of Technical Working Groups at the sectoral level, and the high-level Government Donor Coordination Committee. It sets out general principles for aid effectiveness, calling on donors to align behind country policies and strategies, and to shift as far as possible from stand-alone projects towards programme-based approaches. These principles are further elaborated in National Operational Guidelines for Development Cooperation Grant Assistance, which set out procedures for identifying, implementing and monitoring grant assistance.
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