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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