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Aid Effectiveness Network news

Newsletter - August 2006

Highlights

Aid Relationships

Aid Harmonisation and Alignment

  • The Donor Policy and Partnerships Team has published DFID's medium term action plan on aid effectivenessPDF document(112 kb). The document is our response to commitments made in the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness last year. Part one sets out our targets and will be developed further to include targets and action plans at country level based on the results of the Paris Declaration Baseline Survey taking place this summer. Progress will be reported each year in the Departmental Report and to the management board. Part two outlines the action needed to speed progress on improving aid effectiveness and draws on DFID experience to suggest future work. It describes how DFID will work with partner countries and other donors, with an emphasis on strong country leadership, joint approaches, and better division of labour between donors. For more information, contact Guy Howard e-mail: g-howard@dfid.gov.uk in the Country Led Approaches and Results team, who are now responsible for the action plan.
  • The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) recently published a discussion paper on 'Promoting Gender Equality in New Aid Modalities and Partnerships'. The paper looks at gender issues in relation to the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. The note is intended for policy-makers, both in aid agencies and in developing country governments. With specific examples it highlights the relevance of gender to taking forward work on ownership, alignment, harmonisation, managing for results and mutual accountability. Please contact Zoe Stephenson e-mail: z-stephenson@dfid.gov.uk for more information.

Managing for Results

  • UN Statistics Division released the most recent data in July and publishedExternal linkThe Millennium Development Goals Report 2006PDF document. The reports concludes that 'The challenges the goals represent are staggering, but there are clear signs of hope'. The report includes regional charts of progress against each of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Aid Instruments / Development Finance

  • The completed evaluation of DFID-funded Technical Cooperation for economic management in sub-Saharan AfricaPDF document(933 kb) is now available. The report seeks to understand how technical cooperation (TC) has contributed to the capacity of key organisations within partner countries for discharging their economic management functions. The study focuses on four countries: Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Zambia and in its first volume, synthesises lessons across the range of experience. The printed version of the synthesis report will be available by mid-August. Contained in a second volume are the four country case studies and a study of pooling initiativesPDF document(1,360 kb). Some interesting findings from the evaluation include: the effectiveness of TC in a range of contexts, the importance of interpersonal skills in TC personnel, and the impact of slow progress in civil service reform on TC outcomes. Please contact Alison Girdwood e-mail: a-girdwood@dfid.gov.uk for more information.
  • The how to note, How to provide Technical Cooperation personnelPDF document(213 kb) aims to help country offices improve the impact of technical cooperation (TC). It may also be useful for other parts of DFID involved in TC. When used well, consultants can be useful in a range of contexts but TC is often criticised as being high cost and doing little to build capacity. The note explains the stages of TC, from identification of need, to design, procurement and monitoring and offers a set of good-practice principles for application. Partners should have a central role at all stages and lead policy and implementation where they can. For more information, contact Tessa MacArthur e-mail: t-macarthur@dfid.gov.uk in the Donor Policy and partnerships team.

Other Aid Effectiveness Information

  • Gareth Thomas, recently announced a £20 million contribution to a new fund, the Three Diseases Fund , to help fight Tuberculosis, Malaria and HIV and AIDS in Burma as part of a £55 million joint donor programme over the next five years. The Fund is a joint response to Burma's public health needs, developed by a group of six donors which include Australia, the European Commission, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. For more information, contact Nic Fearon-Low e-mail: n-fearon-low@dfid.gov.uk
  • The 'UK Remittance Household Survey' report, published by DFID on 27 July, reveals a third of ethnic minority families send money home to Africa and Asia to fight poverty . Last year, ethnic minority families sent an average £870 back to their families living in some of the poorest parts of Africa and Asia. The survey gives UK and overseas financial institutions information on market opportunities in remittances to developing countries. It is hoped this will improve competition, stimulate product development and reduce prices. The data will also help inform policymaking by the UK Government and other donors. For more information, contact Valsa Shah e-mail: v-shah@dfid.gov.uk

Development Effectiveness Group Restructuring

  • The Country Led Approaches and Results (CLEAR) Team welcomes Jackie Peace, Governance Adviser and Charles Clift. Jackie joined the team from DFID Malawi and Charles joins the team temporarily after returning from the World Health Organisation.

Upcoming Events

  • Asia Communities of Practice meeting, convened jointly with the Mutual Learning Initiative on Managing for Development Results (MfDR), in Singapore 30th August to 1st September. The Mutual Learning Initiative comes from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)-Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Joint Venture on MfDR. One of the key objectives of this event is to exchange experiences and lessons in MfDR among participants. Topics to be covered include: linking budgeting and planning: establishing a results based monitoring and evaluation system; and making MfDR a reality in the Asia Pacific context. Overriding themes through each of the topics are incentives for MfDR and capacity in MfDR. This event will feed into the OECD-DAC Roundtable on MfDR planned for February 2007. Contact Lynne Henderson e-mail: l-henderson@dfid.gov.uk or Helen Wedgwood e-mail: h-wedgwood@dfid.gov.uk for further details.
  • DFID (led by DFID South East Asia) are jointly organising an Asia Regional Forum on Aid Effectiveness with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank. The three day event will take place in Manila, at the ADB's headquarters from 18-20 October 2006. Two days will be spent in working level discussions with the final day bringing senior officials together for high level discussions. Opportunities include independent analysis of the aid effectiveness initiatives, highlighting the benefits and drawbacks, the chance to feed into the regional debate and bring country experience to the attention of donor HQ's, and to help other Asian countries. Asian country offices can get involved by opening the discussion with other donors about approaching government and securing participation, recommending and encouraging influential invitees and facilitation of case studies. For more information, please contact Debbie Warrener e-mail: d-warrener@dfid.gov.uk  A website will be available shortly.

Recent Events

  • The myths and realities of good governance and anti-corruption were examined at a July seminar hosted by the Effective States Team. The speaker was Daniel Kaufmann, Director of Global Governance at the World Bank Institute. The seminar challenged common assumptions, such as that good governance is the same as anti-corruption, or that it is necessarily an outcome of development and growth. The seminar then progressed to considering ways of measuring governance to gain evidence to support policies and strategies. For more information, contact Tanweena Chowdhury e-mail: t-chowdhury@dfid.gov.uk 

The co-ordination of the Aid Effectiveness Network, including the Aid Effectiveness newsletter, is now being undertaken by the Country Led Approaches and Results (CLEAR) team, based in Abercrombie House. Catherine McGowan e-mail: c-mcgowan@dfid.gov.uk and Nicola Cairns n-cairns@dfid.gov.uk are the new contacts. To keep abreast of the latest in aid effectiveness, please e-mail Catherine or Nicola who will add your name to the mailing list. Please also let us know of any news you have which relates to Aid Effectiveness. We will be glad to publicise anything you are doing.

Catherine McGowan and Nicola Cairns