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Donors have been trying to foster development in Africa for many years, with limited results. Now many are trying to make it more effective. This presentation addresses Canadian donors working in Africa, and outlines how they often miss the point about effectiveness and what they can do instead.
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How donors get aid How donors get aid effectiveness wrong and what effectiveness wrong and what
they should do instead:they should do instead:Reflections from TanzaniaReflections from Tanzania
Rakesh Rajani, IndependentAfrica Canada Forum/CIDA ConsultationOttawa, 4 October 2007
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Outline of presentationOutline of presentationSix things donors do poorly
◦(HakiElimu example)Three concluding reflections
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1. Don’t conflate method 1. Don’t conflate method with resultswith resultsParis principles are about how to
disburse aid and manage aid relationships, not change on the ground
Keep this in perspectiveLink method with purpose and resultsBe open to debate and critique, avoid
new orthodoxies and fundamentalismsAvoid harmonization turning into
monopoly of thought
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2. Apply Paris principles to 2. Apply Paris principles to engagement with CSOsengagement with CSOsA core idea behind the Paris agenda is
to reduce multiple demands on governments so that they can get on with their agenda.
CSOs need the same type of supportYet donors continue to apply a double
standard:◦Treat CSOs as ‘contractors’◦Require separate proposals, reports and
timeframes◦CSOs have to fit donors and not vice versa
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3. Rethink Accountability3. Rethink Accountability‘When-in-doubt-add-a-requirement’
reflects a lack of imaginationFilling in too many boxes creates a
mechanical mindset that undermines responsiveness and a strategic posture
Onerous reporting drains time from implementation, often of the best people
Requirements passed down the chainIllusion of accountability through bean
counting that creates an incentive to lie5
4. Avoid the planning 4. Avoid the planning fetishfetish
Good development practice/’strategy’ is an ability to read the signs and respond, but...
Over-planning promotes a rigidity that undermines responsiveness and creativity
Planning is not how it works – LG PEFAR, business (on this Bill Easterly is spot on)
Instead ask CSOs to be clear about the overall goals and then require them to be concrete when reporting
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3/4. HakiElimu approach3/4. HakiElimu approachOne plan, one budget, one reportJoint MOU that sets the
terms/principlesMulti-year commitment, with
predictable annual disbursementsAnnual narrative (analytical) and
externally audited financial reportHalf year progress brief (against plan)Twice year joint donor/HakiElimu
meetings instead of bilateral missions
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5. Real accountability5. Real accountabilityShift accountability from donors to
constituencies/citizens (and donors get their satisfaction from the quality of this)
Transparency, public disclosure and access to information essential
Make internal learning the primary motivation for M&E
Create incentives that reward self-critical, reflective practice and learning
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6. Donors should ‘do no 6. Donors should ‘do no harm’harm’There is an inevitable conflict of interest
and incentive among governments and donors to make things look good
Donors should not undermine local voices through rosy pronouncements
Focus on creating a level playing field for domestic accountability, esp. in making information available and fair rules of the game
Develop/implement independent evaluation standards (ref. to CGD work on this)
As it gets political, donors need to know how to handle the heat/avoid blunt aid withdrawal
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Conclusion 1: the present Conclusion 1: the present statestateCIDA and Canadian CSOs are stuck
in a runaway trainMany are responding from a place of
fear, uncertainty , lack of confidenceAn edge of desperation about the
situation but dialogue unable to address it
An illusion of progress that barely masks an erosion of strategy and good practice
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Conclusion 2: what is Conclusion 2: what is neededneededLeadership on both sides, able to:
◦Situate the Paris agenda and role of CSOs within sound development practice
◦Recast accountability to be less onerous, deeper, more effective, and towards citizens
◦Promotes a culture of real learning and intellectual ferment that can rise above the plumbing
◦Able to get outside a technocratic box and develop a keen understanding of (political) drivers of change
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Conclusion 3: Eyes on the Conclusion 3: Eyes on the prizeprize
At heart development is about citizen agency: the ability of citizens to know and act, to make things happen rather than just have things happen to them
This needs to be the key yardstick of success and core of RBM
CSOs need to reclaim and renew this role (rather than clamor to be mere conduits of aid); CIDA needs to challenge Canadian CSOs on this rather than narrow concerns
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