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This part of the publication contains the report on the DAC Development Partnership Forum “Managing for Development Results and Aid Effectiveness” (Paris, 11-12 December 2002). The purpose of the Forum was to bring together donors and partners to discuss experience in results-oriented reforms. The report focuses on the implications of the results agenda on public sector management, measurement and reporting issues, public accountability and Donor/Partner co-ordination...

This review contains the Main Findings and Recommendations of the Development Assistance Committee and the report of the Secretariat. It was prepared with examiners from Ireland and Portugal for the Peer Review on 4 December 2008. Australia has made substantial, positive changes to its aid programme since 2004, reinforcing its focus on reducing poverty, on promoting the MDGs, and completely untying its aid programme. While increasing its aid, Australia should stay focused and pursue effective approaches, including working with and through other donors. Australia successfully integrated gender equality into its aid programme and could now use the same approach to integrate environmental concerns.

This review contains the Main Findings and Recommendations of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and the report of the Secretariat. It was prepared with examiners from Luxembourg and Norway for the Peer Review meeting on 29 April 2009. Among the issues covered were: the welcome efforts to focus Austrian development co-operation on the world’s poorest people; plans to substantially increase aid for humanitarian action, priority partner countries, and UN agencies; and progress made with the organisational reform started in 2004. Austria needs to sharply increase its aid to meet its commitment to reach 0.7% of ODA/GNI by 2015; to make its aid more predictable; and to increase the share of aid that can be programmed by partner countries. Staffing and technical expertise in the Foreign Affairs Ministry must be strengthened so that it can effectively carry out its mandate as the national co-ordinator for aid and development policy; there should be increased focus on public and political awareness about global development challenges; and a medium-term development policy, endorsed by the government, which commits all ministries to Austria’s development co-operation objectives.

Abstract: This review contains the Main Findings and Recommendations of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and the report of the Secretariat. It was prepared with examiners from Belgium and Switzerland for the Peer Review Meeting on 10 October 2007. This peer review of Canada’s development co-operation programme highlights Canada’s renewed commitment to Africa; a promising approach toward fragile states, such as Haiti and Afghanistan; initiatives to make Canadian aid more effective, focusing on accountability and explaining results to the Canadian public and parliament; and strong commitment to good humanitarian donorship (GHD). Canada still faces some challenges, including: i) strengthening the mandate for development co-operation and for CIDA, while addressing some of the agency’s fundamental structural issues; ii) producing a policy for development co-operation which focuses on reducing poverty; iii) articulating an approach to policy coherence for development; iv) continuing to increase aid to meet Canada’s commitments made at Monterrey; v) focusing its aid on fewer partner countries in order to generate stronger impact and voice; and vi) galvanising the implementation of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. These steps are needed if Canada’s performance is to match its ambition to become a leading player in the donor community. 

Abstract: This review contains the Main Findings and Recommendations of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and the report of the Secretariat. It was prepared with examiners from the Netherlands and Greece for the Peer Review meeting on 8 June 2007. Among the main issues covered were: the significant funding for official development assistance (ODA) and the welcome decision on the part of the Danish Government to maintain its ODA at a minimum of 0.8% of gross national income; the solid legal grounding, resulting from the long-standing support for development assistance; the integrated, decentralised, development co-operation system, which facilitates effective aid delivery and provides flexibility for aligning and harmonising programmes; the positive emphasis on quality assurance; the need to pursue Denmark’s efforts in meeting the commitments of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness; the need to further develop and disseminate learning both within and outside Danida, especially in areas of high interest for the donor community, like mainstreaming crosscutting issues, capacity development and decentralisation; and the need to make further progress on aid untying. 

This review contains the Main Findings and Recommendations of the Development Assistance Committee and the report of the Secretariat. It was prepared with examiners from Luxembourg and Portugal for the Peer Review on 22 May 2003. The principal issues covered were the maintaining of Danish development co-operation leadership, the further untying of aid, holding the line on Danish ODA funding levels, maintaining a strategic geographic and sector focus, broadening Danish capacity in support of policy coherence, empowering the field missions and finding operational approaches to results-based management. This report is published on the authority of the Secretary-General of the OECD...

This review contains the Main Findings and Recommendations of the Development Assistance Committee and the report of the Secretariat. It was prepared with examiners from Denmark and New Zealand for the review on 17 June 2003. The principal issues covered were explicit attention to poverty reduction, predictable growth to an ODA/GNI ratio of 0.7% by 2010, a strategy for increased multilateral aid, a clear position on policy coherence for development and increased staff capacity in embassies in partner countries. This report is published on the authority of the Secretary-General of the OECD...

This review contains the Main Findings and Recommendations of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and the report of the Secretariat. It was prepared with examiners from Luxembourg and New Zealand for the Peer Review meeting on 22 November 2006. Among the main issues covered were: the welcome move on the part of the Greek government to strengthen its aid policies and development co-operation system and its humanitarian assistance to victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami; the significant funding to provide education and health services to large numbers of migrants from the neighbouring region, though these costs are not ODA eligible under the DAC reporting rules; the need to address urgently the challenge of implementing Greece’s political commitment to reach the 0.51% ODA/GNI target by 2010; the need to announce a clear strategy for Greece’s aid as the framework for the medium term programme in terms of country and sector priorities and allocation among aid channels, and to strengthen policy coherence for development as a government objective; the importance of reinforcing public and political support for Greek development co-operation; the need to pursue the consolidation of the development co-operation system and to develop new ways of programming and delivering aid.

This review contains the Main Findings and Recommendations of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and the report of the Secretariat. It was prepared with examiners from Italy and New Zealand for the Peer Review meeting on 24 March 2009. The review noted that Ireland is a champion in making aid more effective. Poverty reduction is the overarching goal of Irish Aid, and reflecting this, its programme is well concentrated on a limited number of very poor African countries. Ireland is a predictable and flexible donor, and its attention to local priorities is appreciated by the developing country partners with whom it works. It is balancing efforts to meet the best international development standards while dealing with the impact of the global economic crisis. Ireland is focusing on achieving results and should enhance its efforts to measure the impact of its aid programme. The DAC urges Ireland to communicate development results to the public to maintain support for overseas development.

This review contains the Main Findings and Recommendations of the Development Assistance Committee and the report of the Secretariat. It was prepared with examiners from Belgium and Switzerland for the Peer Review on 17 November 2003. The principal issues covered were: building public ownership of Ireland's official development co-operation programme; providing a predictable growth path for the expansion in ODA required so as to reach an ODA/GNI ratio of 0.7% by 2007; planning now to manage a USD 1 billion ODA programme; remaining vigilant regarding human resource issues within Development Co-operation Ireland; maintaining a cautious approach to designating new programme countries; continuing to promote more strategic approaches by NGO partners; and enhancing Ireland's contribution to addressing the HIV/AIDS pandemic. This report is published on the authority of the Secretary-General of the OECD...

The Italian development co-operation is facing major challenges. The first is an urgent need to reform official development co-operation in the absence of political consensus on how to proceed. The second is that Italy will fail to meet its international commitment to increase official development assistance (ODA) to 0.51% of its gross national income (GNI) by 2010 and is unlikely to meet 0.7% by 2015. In 2008 Italy’s ODA/GNI ratio was 0.22. Despite the challenges remaining, there has been some improvement in Italian aid management since 2008. Italy intends to focus on 35 priority countries, the greater authority given to Italy’s embassies and technical offices to deliver and to contribute to formulating programmes and deliver aid, and the Steering Committee on Development Co-operation’s high level policy direction. Italy still needs a strategy for its development co-operation that is shared by all relevant government departments and regional and local authorities working towards common objectives: building systems to promote coherence between development co-operation and other policies; reforming human resource management for the core cadre of development experts; and regularly undertaking monitoring and independent evaluation. In addition, the limited political debate and public awareness about Italian development co-operation show there is an urgent need for the Italian authorities, together with civil society, to build popular support for development and public pressure for reforming Italian development co-operation.

This part of the publication contains the Main Findings and Recommendations as agreed by the Development Assistance Committee following its review on 18 March 2003 at the OECD, and the report prepared by the Secretariat in association with the examiners, representing Austria and Greece, on the development co-operation policies and efforts of Luxembourg. The report is published on the authority of the Secretary-General of the OECD...

This review contains the Main Findings and Recommendations of the Development Assistance Committee and the report of the Secretariat. It was prepared with examiners from Canada and the European Commission for the Peer Review on 21 October 2008. Norway is consistently at the forefront of donor efforts to improve the international aid system, as well as its own development policies and programmes. It supports aid effectiveness and its flexible approach to development assistance enables quick reaction to changing situations. Although its flexibility is generally considered a strength, Norway needs to guard against adding too many new priorities to an ever-expanding list of initiatives. Norway aspires to lead on selected cross-cutting issues such as women’s rights, gender equality and the environment but it is still struggling to fully ‘mainstream’ these objectives into programmes and projects.

This review contains the Main Findings and Recommendations of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and the report of the Secretariat. It was prepared with examiners from Japan and the United States for the Peer Review meeting on 9 June 2009. The review noted that Sweden was the most generous of all DAC donor countries as a proportion of its national income in 2008. Sweden is a leader in the areas of aid effectiveness and good humanitarian donorship. It has initiated important reforms to bolster the quality of its aid and to make its development efforts more supportive of partner country priorities. Sweden sets an example as a reliable and engaged donor to multilateral organisations but could make its support more strategic. Sweden is ahead of many donors when it comes to making its national policies and actions consistent with its development objectives, but implementation difficulties led to a revised approach, which is promising.

Switzerland’s aid volume was USD 2.02 billion in 2008, an increase of more than 6% over the previous year, and a total of 0.42% of its gross national income (GNI). In 2008 it had already surpassed its Monterrey commitment to contribute 0.4% of its GNI to official development assistance (ODA) by 2010. Switzerland should adopt a 0.5% target for its aid, keeping in mind the 0.7% UN target. Switzerland has a long tradition of international assistance; its aid to humanitarian causes and multilateral donors serves as an example in good practice. Although Switzerland contributes to international thinking on governance and development in fragile situations, it faces challenges in implementing some of the international principles for making aid more effective, particularly in fragile states. Swiss aid is dispersed among too many countries and sectors, and it now strives to strengthen its focus. While welcoming the steps Switzerland has taken to reinforce its strategic approach to development co-operation, greater cohesion between the Ministries of Economic and Foreign Affairs would reduce duplication and transaction costs. In reforming its aid system, Switzerland will need to do more to set standards, monitor outcomes and assess impact of its development co operation programmes. Switzerland has made progress in bringing areas such as trade and the restitution of stolen assets in line with its commitments to development. It must build on such examples to ensure that all policies are coherent with its development aims. Switzerland must also strengthen efforts to communicate the positive results of aid in order to maintain strong public and political support.

Abstract: This review contains the Main Findings and Recommendations of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and the report of the Secretariat. It was prepared with examiners from the United States and Australia for the Peer Review meeting held on 26 June 2007. The review noted that the European Community as a donor disbursed over USD 10 billion in official development assistance in 2006, while the European Commission plays a potentially important “federating” role for the institutions of all 27 Member States of the European Union. The DAC commended both the role of the Commission in reshaping its development co-operation and the progress made since the 2002 Peer Review in delivering Community assistance. It welcomed a 2007 policy that seeks better division of labour among the Commission and the Member States and the 2005 European Consensus on Development which outlines a common policy framework for them. The DAC noted a number of challenges facing the European Community, including: ensuring that European Union policies take forward the development focus of the Consensus; implementing these policies effectively at the country level; and continuing to reform the institutions and to simplify the procedures. 

This review contains the Main Findings and Recommendations of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and the report of the Secretariat. It was prepared with examiners from Sweden and Japan for the Peer Review meeting held on 12 September 2006. The review welcomed the Netherlands’ strong commitment to policy coherence for development and to maintaining high levels of development aid. The Committee noted that the Netherlands gives strong attention to issues of aid quality and uses innovative approaches to enable recipient countries to lead their own development agenda. It identified a number of recommendations (e.g. continuing efforts towards geographic and sector concentration, ensuring that spending targets do not jeopardise the principles of aid effectiveness, developing a more coherent strategy with respect to private sector development, and developing overall aid effectiveness and conditionality strategies) to assist the Netherlands in pursuing its efforts to improve the effectiveness of its development co-operation programmes.

This review contains the Main Findings and Recommendations of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and the report of the Secretariat. It was prepared with examiners from the United States and Italy for the Peer Review meeting held on 31 May 2006. The review welcomed the United Kingdom’s strong commitment to the Millennium Development Goals and to increase development aid to 0.7% of its Gross National Income by 2013. The Committee recognised the effectiveness of the United Kingdom’s distinctive development co-operation model, characterised by a strong legislative basis, clarity of mission and unified programme under a Cabinet Minister. It identified several opportunities (e.g. new tactics in working with donors, identifying policy coherence priorities, more strategic involvement of civil society, greater institutional clarity around humanitarian aid) to make improvements that would better place UK development co-operation to address the future challenges of scaling up aid volume, moving into more difficult operational environments in fragile states and clearly demonstrating development results.

This review contains the Main Findings and Recommendations of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and the report of the Secretariat. It was prepared with examiners from the United Kingdom and Canada for the Peer Review meeting held on 07 December May 2006. The review applauded the major increase in American official development assistance, which reached a record high of USD 27.6 billion in 2005. The Committee commended the United States for raising development to the status of one of three pillars of national foreign policy. Key recommendations included the need to explicitly recognise the key importance of poverty reduction, encouragement for a more explicit approach to the role of policy coherence for development, the need to persist in clarifying the lines of operational responsibility between military and development institutions, support for greater US attention to the Paris Declaration aid effectiveness agenda and encouragement for the joint Department of State and USAID development of an overarching strategic plan to guide humanitarian work.

This part provides the background paper, the agenda and the summary of the OECD DAC meeting ‘Reflection on Reconstruction in Iraq’, held in Paris on 21-22 July 2003. The reflection provided a forum for an informal exchange of views on the challenges to relief, recovery and reconstruction in Iraq...