Under the Paris Declaration, partner countries agree to integrate capacity building into their national development strategies, and to lead on capacity development.  Donors agree to align their technical assistance behind country-led capacity development strategies.

At present, there is considerable doubt among the donor community about the quality of technical assistance (TA) for capacity building.  No other aid modality is as fragmented, poorly aligned and supply-driven, focusing on technical standards and imported models rather than workable reform processes.  According to the World Bank, there were 20,000 separate TA activities in 2004 – equivalent to one per day per developing country.  Officials from partner countries often admit to doubts about the value of foreign technical advisers.  And yet experience with partner coordinated, procured and managed TA has not been very positive.

The question of how to improve country leadership of capacity development will be an important one at Accra.  Japan has commissioned a major study of technical cooperation, from which results will become available over the coming months here.

General budget support is still a relatively new tool in donor practices, and its ultimate impact is still uncertain.  Some donors, such as DFID, are committed to providing two-thirds of their assistance as budget support; others are more sceptical.  The multi-donor evaluation (below) was the first systematic attempt to assess the effects of general budget support.