Iraq
____________________________________
AID MANAGEMENT:
POLICY ADVICE AND INSTITUTION BUILDING
SUPPORT PROJECT
____________________________________
PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT
IMPLEMENTED BY THE UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (UNDP)
FUNDED BY THE SWEDISH MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
DECEMBER 2009
1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY……………………………………………………..
p4
2. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………
p4
3. RELEVANCE AND NATIONAL OWNERSHIP……………………………
p6
4. PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND HUMAN RESOURCES……………….
p7
5. OPERATING METHODOLOGY…………………………………………….
p7
6. KEY PROJECT ACHIEVEMENTS………………………………………….
p8
7. CONSTRAINTS AND LESSONS LEARNED................................................
p13
8. LONG TERM PROJECT IMPACT AND THE WAY FORWARD……….
p13
9. RISKS AND ASSUMPTIONS FOR THE FUTURE…………………………
p16
10. THE NEXT PHASE: THE PARIS DECLARATION INITIATIVE………..
p18
11. EXPENDITURE SUMMARY …………………………………………………
p19
ANNEXES – RELATING TO PROJECT OUTPUTS
1. Project Document
2. The Sweden – UNDP Agreement for supporting Aid Management
3. ICD Organigram
4. ICD Communication Strategy
5. Workshop Report: Basic Management Skills
6. Workshop Agenda and Participation list: Project Screening and Appraisal
7. Training and project completion report: Monitoring and Evaluation
8. ICD Monitoring and Evaluation System
9. Aid Management Brochure
10. Cost Sharing Agreement UNDP-MoP, KRG
11. ERMU Workplan
12. ERMU Strategic Development Plan
13. Project Document: “Implementing the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness”
14. Paris Declaration Task Force Terms of Reference
15. Aid Management: Comparative Case Studies
16. Financial Delivery Reports for 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009
2
LIST OF ACRONYMS
DAD
Donors Assistance Database/Development Assistance Database
DCU
Donor Coordination Unit
DEX
Direct Execution
ERMU
External Resources Management Unit (KRG)
GOI
Government of Iraq
ICI
International Compact with Iraq
ICD
International Cooperation Directorate
ICT
Information, Communication and Technology
ISRB
Iraq Strategic Review Board
KRG
Kurdistan Regional Government
M&E
Monitoring and Evaluation
MDGs
Millennium Development Goals
MoFA
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
MOP
Ministry of Planning (KRG)
MoPDC
Ministry of Planning and Development Coordination of Iraq (central
Government)
OECD
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
NDS
National Development Strategy
UNDP
United Nations Development Programme
UNOPS
United Nations Office for Project Services
3
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This document present the final report of the Donor Contribution Unit in Ministry of Planning
project administered by UNDP-Iraq and financed by the Government of Sweden.
The project began on 1st January 2006 and concluded on 31st March 2009. The financial closure
for the project was 31st March 2010. The overall project value was $2,577,349, consisting of
$2,277,349 from Sweden, $200,000 from UNDP and $100,000 from KRG government. Of this
amount, $2,543,052 was actually delivered. This means a 98.7% delivery result.
The broad aim of the project was to develop a Donor Contribution Unit (DCU – which later
became the International Cooperation Directorate (ICD)) at the Ministry of Planning and
Development Coordination (MoPDC) in order to improve the effective coordination of aid.
During the course of the project, UNDP provided support in three key areas.
 UNDP provided support to the International Cooperation Directorate (ICD) within the
MoPDC in the form of organizational restructuring, capacity building through training,
the development of monitoring and evaluation systems and promoting the ICD as the
contact point between international donors and the Government of Iraq (GoI).
 UNDP supported the establishment of the External Resource Management Unit within
the Ministry of Planning in the Kurdistan Regional Government (MoP-KRG) based on
the ICD in the MoPDC.
 UNDP encouraged and supported the endorsement by the GoI of the Paris Declaration
on Aid Effectiveness.
Overall, the project has seen an increase in the capacity of the GoI and the Kurdistan Regional
Government to manage aid effectively. While challenges still exist, the DCU project has
provide a strong framework for the development of later programs aimed at developing
effective aid management in Iraq.
2. INTRODUCTION
Appropriate mobilization and management of internal and external financial resources is a
cornerstone of progress and development, especially in a country that is recovering from years of
misrule, international conflict and continuing instability, such as Iraq. Over the past years Iraq
has received huge amounts of development assistance. Efficient management of these resources
has the potential to boost the socio-economic development and reconstruction of the country
significantly. However, this requires the improvement of several components of the aid
management process, including aid tracking, allocation, monitoring and performance
evaluations, as well as internal and external collaboration.
4
The Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation (MoPDC) plays the lead role in
implementing Iraqi aid management policy. An important area of support is therefore to
strengthen the International Cooperation Directorate (ICD) of the MoPDC by ensuring that the
ICD possesses a clear mandate, is efficiently structured, follows effective procedures, and is
adequately resourced with skilled staff and modern equipment.
As a donor, Sweden has long placed its focus on building up local ownership in partner
countries, coordinating with other donors, taking a results-based approach to activities it
supports, and achieving better coherence between aid and non-aid policies such as trade.
As a signatory and staunch supporter of the Paris and Accra agreements, Sweden is committed to
improving these areas of the aid and cooperation agenda. It is against this background that the
Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MoFA) committed to support the MoPDC to more
effectively manage, coordinate, monitor and evaluate aid. In March 2006 MoFA released US$
2,200,000 to be managed by UNDP Iraq in close consultation with the MoPDC1. In addition,
UNDP provided US$ 200,000 to the project and the Kurdistan Regional Government contributed
US$ 100,000 in cost sharing.
A project document was prepared and signed by the Senior Deputy Minister of the MoPDC and
the UNDP Country Director in August 2006. Initially, the project aimed to establish an effective
and well functioning ICD; support technical improvements and increased practical application of
the Donor Assistance Database (DAD); and to revise, strengthen and clarify the Iraqi Strategic
Review Board’s (ISRB’s) role and mandate (Project Document attached as annex 1).
However, as the project progressed, priorities changed. Ultimately, and in close consultation with
the Ministers and senior management staff of the MoPDC and the Ministry of Planning (MoP) of
the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the project provided support in primarily three key
areas, namely to:

Assist the ICD of the MoPDC to better manage aid by revamping its organizational
structure, build capacity and modernize its equipment;

Support the MoP of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to develop an aid
management unit, External Resource Management Unit (ERMU), specifically covering
the Kurdistan Region (KR);

Support the endorsement and subsequent implementation of the Paris Declaration of Aid
Effectiveness.
It needs to be emphasized that determination of project scope as well as project implementation
throughout the project lifecycle has been done in very close consultation with the Directors
General responsible for International Development Assistance of the MoPDC and the MoP. This
enabled the project to establish a high degree of Iraqi participation and ownership, well
illustrated by the MoP’s commitment of US$ 100,000 of own source for the development of the
ERMU.
1
It should be noted that since the project was implemented some of the names of the Government institutions have
been altered. For instance, at the time of writing there is only the Ministry of Planning that exists in the GoI.
5
3. RELEVANCE AND NATIONAL OWNERSHIP
Aid management and donor coordination is a major priority for the GoI as articulated in the Iraqi
National Development Strategy (NDS, 2008-2011) and International Compact With Iraq (ICI). It
is of particular importance due to the unprecedented scale of international support to Iraq’s
reconstruction and development. Indeed, the Project directly contributed to the overarching goals
and objectives of the International Compact with Iraq (ICI), as stated in the Resolution itself:
-
“The Government of Iraq and the International Community are determined to strengthen
their partnership to improve the lives of the Iraqi people”2
-
“4. Accept that such reforms can only be realized through substantive international
engagement and cooperation and investment that bridges the gap between Iraq’s needs
and its capabilities in the medium term. Such assistance may include the granting of debt
relief to Iraq by creditors at least on comparable terms to the Paris Club Agreed Minutes
of November 2003; the provision of grants, loans and technical assistance; the provision
of assistance with capacity building; and any other forms of assistance which may be
agreeable to both parties;”3
The National Development Strategy (NDS) of the GOI, 2007-2010, makes reference to some of
the challenges to aid effectiveness experienced in the past in Iraq that the project sought to
address:
“Most of projects were chosen by the Donors without considering NDS priorities and without
taking the approval of MOPDC as the official entity concerned with setting the priorities of
reconstruction projects… Most of Iraq reconstruction projects executed by the Donors didn't
follow the national or local regulations and instructions”4
The NDS however goes on to emphasise the importance of aid effectiveness to achieve national
development goals:
“Implementing the National Development Strategy effectively will require significant resource
transfers from our development partners. Improving on donor coordination is essential for the
effective use of foreign resources”5
The project is also aligned with the UN Assistance Strategy for 2005-2007 and for 2008-2011,
specifically addressing the needs of strengthening institutional capacities, policy development
and ICT capabilities of GoI, both at the federal and local levels, by establishing effective aid
management framework, functioning across the line Ministries and regions.
Finally, the Project directly contributes towards the 8th Millennium Development Goal (MDG)
to: “Develop a global partnership for development”. Successful implementation of the Project
will also indirectly contribute to all of the MDGs in Iraq.
2
International Compact with Iraq, p5, [emphasis added]
ibid. [emphasis added]
4
National Development Strategy, 2007-2010, p19-20
5
ibid, p106 [emphasis added]
3
6
4. PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND HUMAN RESOURCES
4.1 National Staff & Consultants
During the first half of the project (2006-2007), one national consultant and e-government
specialist were employed part-time on the project. In addition, administrative support to the
project was provided by a project associate from the Governance Team.
During the second half of the project (2008-2009), one full-time national officer - an egovernance specialist - and one dedicated project associate were employed to support the project.
During a six month period in 2008, an aid effectiveness specialist was employed by the project in
order to support the endorsement of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and provide
capacity development support to the project.
Consultants from contracted software providers, especially Synergy, were utilised throughout the
project to ensure the capacity development of the counterparts in the GoI in technical areas such
as the Donors Assistance Database system management and portal management.
4.2 International Staff
During the first half of the project (2006-2007), one international project manager was employed
by the project. In March 2008, the project manager departed for a new post with UNDP Somalia
prior to the recruitment of a successor in UNDP Iraq. A new project manager was successfully
recruited in August 2008 five months after the initial project manager had left.
The impact of this gap was mitigated by leadership from a Programme Manager from the UNDP
Governance Team, who was responsible for a similar project to build the capacity of the
MoPDC, and also by the Aid Effectiveness Specialist international consultant.
The UNOPS component was managed by the international Project Manager who was not funded
by the project. The UNOPS component of the project funded only one national staff in Basra and
one national project assistant in Amman for the period of one year (July 2005 – July 2006).
5. OPERATING METHODOLOGY
The implementation modality used for this project was direct execution (DEX). Where possible,
national contractors were used to deliver the project activities on the ground in Baghdad and
Erbil. This specifically relates to hardware and software delivery, on-the-site training and
creating remote access internet connectivity to enable uploading, installation and technical
support of specialized DAD products from outside Iraq.
For the project components implemented in the Southern Governorates UNOPS national staff
were used for collaboration with provincial councils in data collection, validation and analysis.
7
The training for the provincial councils was held in Erbil where the security situation allows
more flexible operation.
However, activities related to capacity building in the areas where Iraqi national expertise was
not relevant were implemented outside Iraq, mainly in Jordan. Even though these
implementation mechanisms were assumed and planned from the beginning of the project, the
deteriorated security situation in Iraq during the course of the project caused delays in reaching
overall project objectives on time.
Remote access technologies were used to monitor physical progress on DCU products
development and use in Iraq. Apart from this, a number of planning and performance assessment
and reporting workshops were organized in Amman, with participation of key Iraqi ministries
and the donor community to review and agree upon milestones achieved and register any
discrepancies or problems.
6. KEY PROJECT ACHIEVEMENTS
Below follows a summary of key achievements structured around the previously mentioned three
major project areas
6.1 Assist the ICD of the MoPDC to better manage aid by revamping its organizational
structure, build capacity and modernize its equipment.
-
A report on aid management experiences and lessons learned from other countries was
prepared to provide guidance on aid management policy formulation to decision makers
in MoPDC (the report is attached as annex 15).
-
An improved organizational structure with a mission statement for the International
Cooperation Directorate was developed in consultation with the Director General of the
ICD. The new structure reflects the need for ICD to more effectively address key
components of aid management. (Organizational structure attached as annex 3).
Introduction of more rigorous and systematic methods for determination of project
feasibility; moving away from ad hoc project approvals and implementation; ensuring
that projects mutually reinforce each other and logically support the Iraqi development
agenda as expressed in the National Development Strategy and the International Compact
with Iraq, are key reasons behind the establishment of the Project Screening and
Appraisal Unit.
-
The Monitoring and Evaluation Unit would ensure that project progress regularly is
analyzed and assessed to improve success rate and more effectively determine subsequent
follow up actions. Improved government-donor coordination is the responsibility of the
Donor Relations Unit. Enhanced internal coordination, i.e., cross ministerial and
governorate level project coordination and evaluation would be addressed by ICD as
well. A tentative communication strategy that could enable the ICD to better interact with
8
the international donor community has also been developed. (Communication strategy
attached as annex 4). Hopefully this would ensure better information flows and improve
the utility of the Development Assistance Database (DAD) while strengthening its
information value. A lot of the work of these three units would be based on project
specific information provided by the Donor Assistance Database team.
-
Significant capacity development to ensure that staff skills correspond to the needs of the
new ICD structure have been conducted and below are examples of major training
seminars carried out:
NAME OF COURSE
2 Training courses on Basic Management Skills
3 Training seminars on Project Screening and Appraisal
3 Training seminars on Monitoring and Evaluation
2 Training seminars on the Donor Assistance Database
PARTICIPANTS
60
90
90
50
Further information regarding the Basic Management Skills, the Project Screening and
Appraisal, and Monitoring and Evaluation workshops are available in the workshop
reports in Annex.
In our efforts to foster a collaborative spirit and strengthen the relationship between the
MoPDC and the MoP we made a point of inviting participations from both the MoPDC
and MoP to jointly attend our courses. This proved a good opportunity for the ministries
to share experiences and build cross ministerial collaboration on aid management
practices. (Workshop reports attached as annex 5, 6, and 7).
-
To facilitate the establishment of the Monitoring and Evaluation unit, UNDP engaged a
consultant who presented a revamped system for more effective Monitoring and
Evaluation of development projects by the MoPDC. The consultant’s suggested
monitoring and evaluation system has been submitted to the MoPDC and is under review
for implementation. (Report on the M & E system attached as annex 8).
-
To increase visibility and promote our work the Aid Management Team prepared an aid
management brochure, which was presented at a high level OECD-UNDP meeting in
Paris on the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. (Aid management brochure attached
as annex 9).
9
6.2 Support the Ministry of Planning (MoP) of the Kurdistan Regional Government
(KRG) to develop an aid management unit, External Resource Management Unit
(ERMU), specifically covering the Kurdistan Region (KR).
Based on the organizational structure we suggested for the ICD in Baghdad, the Minister
of Planning of KRG expressed an interest in having a similarly structured aid
management unit established under the MoP as well. To this end, a Memorandum of
Understanding was signed jointly by the Minister of Planning of Kurdistan Regional
government, H.E. Mr. Othman Shwani and UNDP-Iraq Director, Mr. Paolo Lembo. This
MOU aimed at extending UNDP’s assistance to Northern Iraq by implementing among
others, a pilot Regional version of the DAD for Kurdistan Region.
-
Based on MoP guidelines, UNDP developed a proposal for the establishment of the
ERMU in 2007. (Proposal attached as annex 11).
-
Once the proposal had been approved by the legal department of the Council of
Ministers, UNDP and the MoP signed a cost sharing agreement in which UNDP agreed
to earmark US$ 400,000 for the establishment of the ERMU while the MoP agreed to
contribute 20%, or US$ 100,000, from own source. This was a groundbreaking
achievement as it was the first time the government (KRG in this case) agreed to cost
share a UNDP Iraq managed project, i.e., contribute funds to be directly administered by
UNDP. Furthermore, in the second quarter of 2008 the Minister of Planning allocated as
parallel funding additional KRG resources, albeit a modest amount of US$ 20,000, for
capacity development of newly recruited ERMU staff. (Cost sharing agreement attached
as annex 10).
-
Based on the proposal developed for the establishment of the ERMU, a Strategic
Development Plan (SDP) was prepared in September 2008. The SDP clarifies the
objective of the ERMU and provides a sequenced plan of action to build up a well
functioning ERMU. To raise awareness about the SDP as well as obtain feedback and
secure buy-in from line ministries and the donor community three conferences were held
in September and November 2008 in Erbil. Representatives from almost all ministries
and the donors present in Erbil attended one or more of the conferences.
-
Based on the inputs received at the three conferences the Strategic Development Plan was
expanded and finalized in January 2009. (Finalized Strategic Development Plan attached
as annex 12).
-
Recruitment of five local staff to work within the ERMU, i.e., two Donor Relations
Experts, one Information Technology Experts; one Research Assistant; and one
Administrative Assistant was completed in December 2008.
-
Information technological development support has also been carried out under the
project. Noteworthy is the development of a web portal to improve the Development
Assistance Database (DAD) accessibility, the dissemination of information to internal
and external stakeholders, as well as the integration of the MoP based DAD and the DAD
10
Baghdad in March 2008. Provisions of IT equipment and internet connectivity were
provided staff of the Development Coordination and Cooperation Department of the MoP
in November 2008. Several training sessions to improve the management of the DAD
have also been conducted under this project.
On February 2008 a workshop was conducted in Erbil to launch DAD-KRG, and to train
end users of this system in the KRG on the main tools and functions of DAD.
In addition to establishing and handing over the management of the DAD, this assistance has
expanded to cover new software applications and integrated systems with the objective to apply
the latest concept and practices for portal development technologies, and to strengthen the
Directorate capacities in information and communications technologies, as well as to establish
the necessary infrastructure for the development and expansion of Directorate e-government
services.
The DCC portal (http://www.krgmopdcc.com/dcc/) has defined outputs that it is mandated to
achieve. Part of this portal output depends directly on the units’ involvement and contribution in
managing their own data and updating their portal sections in a timely manner to achieve the
following:
-
Consolidating all donors’ assistance, investment projects and other relevant data into a
dynamic and interactive web portal.
-
Strengthening the directorate capacity in information and communications technologies,
boasting the latest concept and practice of the information management tools and
communication technologies and establishing the necessary infrastructure for the future
development and expansion of directorate e-government services
11
-
Facilitating easy and low cost access to the directorate information and services, and
providing well-structured information to the web users and ministry business clients
(government agencies, businesses, donors, citizens).
-
Providing an interface for information sharing between directorate units.
The portal developments activities stared with conducted a workshop to discuss and firmly agree
upon strategy, key issues and DCC portal structure to be provided in line with the Directorate
mandate and its services provisions.
The portal development efforts could be illustrated as follows:







Develop and agree on the portal’s concept strategy, key issues and scope,
Portal architecture and specifications
Design options
Portal integration and testing
Portal contents categorization and web writing
Hosting and maintenance
Portal training for directorate staff in key areas
6.3 Support the endorsement and subsequent implementation of the Paris Declaration of
Aid Effectiveness.
-
The Paris Declaration on Aid effectiveness provides a clear practical framework for
countries to systematically identify and set development targets with quantifiable
indicators that can be monitored. The Paris Declaration is a tool for increased quality,
transparency and accountability of aid. When this project was initiated Iraq had not
endorsed the Paris Declaration. In January 2008 we managed to secure the Ministry of
Planning and Development Cooperation’s support to liaise with OECD to explore
possibilities for Iraq to become an endorsing partner of the Declaration. UNDP and
OECD jointly organized a high level meeting on the Paris Declaration on Aid
Effectiveness 26-27 May 2008 in Paris. A strong Iraqi delegation comprising
representatives from the Parliament, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Planning and
Development Cooperation and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister participated. The
above meeting paved the way for the subsequent formal Iraqi endorsement of the Paris
Declaration on Aid Effectiveness at the 3rd International Compact with Iraq meeting, held
in Stockholm 29th May 2008.
Thereafter, representatives from the Ministry of Finance, MoPDC and Office of the
Deputy PM met with UNDP representatives in June and approved the terms of reference
for a Paris Declaration implementation Task Force. (Task Force terms of reference is
attached as annex 14).
-
In order for the Government to implement the Paris Declaration a project proposal on
“Implementing the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness” was developed by UNDP.
12
With minor amendments the project concept was approved by the Secretary of the Task
Force and is in the process of being submitted to the United Nations Trust Fund for
financial support. (Project document is attached as annex 13).
-
A second meeting on “Economic and Governance Policy Reforms in Iraq” was held in
Paris 8-10 July. The three day meeting ended with an OECD/UNDP Cooperation
Agreement on joint collaboration in three areas of which Aid Management is one. This is
the first such detailed collaborative agreement concluded between UNDP and OECD and
paves the way for high level policy support to be provided to Iraq by OECD.
(Cooperation agreement attached as annex 16).
7. CONSTRAINTS AND LESSONS LEARNED
Considerable security constraints have been encountered. These constraints particularly impeded
the access of project staff into Iraq and also limited the availability of counterparts outside of
Iraq, causing substantial delays to capacity development.
The implementation of training programmes outside Iraq (mainly in Jordan) led to substantial
increases in costs that also posed significant constraints on implementation. An analysis of costs
shows that, for instance, the training costs for one person/day in Jordan for short term training
courses (5-10 days) varied from US$ 500-600 an increase of at least 20% compared to 2005. The
Internet connectivity contracted in early 2006 for US$ 3,500/month, now costs US$ 4,5005,000/month, which is an increase of almost 30%. The professional services (technical
assistance, monitoring, performance assessment and training) of Iraqi based companies prorated
for one consultant, cost US$ 15,000/person/month: it was for this very reason that UNDP
particularly refrained from contracting such companies in Iraq and, instead, local consultants
were hired in Jordan, which deliver the required services on-line. These actions were successful
to minimise added expenditure however the implementation time was also increased as a result.
The high turnover of staff within the Government of Iraq was an initial impediment to the
momentum of the project. Capacity building activities in general management and aid
management domains were carried out in accordance with the plan and more staff were trained
than actually required in order to mitigate this issue. This approach has proved to be effective as
the staff eventually designated in the ministries were selected from the people that had
undergone extensive capacity building on the basis of aptitude and long term commitment.
8. LONG TERM PROJECT IMPACT AND THE WAY FORWARD
Through this project, UNDP has successfully strengthened the Government of Iraq’s capability
to manage external assistance through institutional and capacity development of the Ministry of
Planning & Development Cooperation (MoPDC), including through the establishment of the
specialised ICD. The MoPDC is mandated to promote, coordinate & oversee international
assistance to ensure the optimal allocation of resources.
13
The support provided here, in conjunction with the support provided under the Donors
Assistance Database Iraq was widely used to demonstrate the unprecedented contributions made
to Iraq with donor pledges in excess of $28 billon since 2003. Donors have committed $19.6bn
to fund development projects and have to date disbursed $15.2bn with the largest proportion
allocated between 2004 and 2006. Despite this, translating funds rapidly into tangible benefits
for the Iraqi people remains an uphill struggle due to severe security constraints, insufficient
information sharing and limited alignment with the NDS and ICI. A significant result of the
project intervention has been to renew focus on the difficulties to aid effectiveness in Iraq in
particular to ensure that resources are targeted effectively according to needs:
i) Sector balance: The project helped show that a significant proportion of aid has focused
on infrastructure ($7.4bn),6 such as rebuilding power stations. However health ($1bn) and
education ($1.1bn) have not received anywhere near as much despite the huge needs in
these areas (e.g. 85% of Iraq’s schools needed repair in 2004 according to the Ministry of
Education). Less than $300m has been allocated to economic development despite this
being one of the three central pillars of the NDS.
ii) Harmonisation: The project helped show that the US is by far the largest donor with
total pledges of $18bn and almost $16bn already committed to specific projects. Japan is
the second largest with total pledges of $5bn, followed by the UK ($1.1bn) and the
European Community ($0.7bn). Harmonisation between donors has been limited with
over 92% of projects funded bilaterally (the US channels all of its funds this way). The
EC is the notable exception with 99% of its assistance channelled through the UN and
World Bank administered Trust Funds.
iii) Complexity: The project helped demonstrate the enormous complexity of the aid
architecture with over 40 donors funding 19,835 grant assistance projects in Iraq with an
average project size of just $1m each. In addition to the significant transaction costs that
this entails, it also imposes a heavy administrative burden on the GoI to manage aid and
unduly strains already weak implementation capabilities in Iraq.
iv) Geographic balance: Many projects operate nationwide ($1.9bn) however, where a
breakdown of project cost is possible, there is a significant variance between
governorates. Baghdad receives a fifth of total project expenditure which is in line with
population density. However outside the capital, funds appear to be disproportionately
allocated. Combined project costs for Salahuddin and Dhi Qar, for example, are greater
than the allocation for Nineve although the latter is more densely populated.
In light of these challenges to aid effectiveness in Iraq, a significant impact of the project has
been support leading to the endorsement of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness by the
Government of Iraq in May 2008. The Paris Declaration provides a detailed road map for
increasing development effectiveness by enhancing national ownership and partnership
commitments; aligning donor support to GoI development strategies; harmonizing donor actions;
managing and implementing aid with a focus on development results; and improving mutual
accountability.
6
All figures from August 2009
14
8.1 Impact on institution building and capacity development
Institution Building: A direct and sustainable impact of the project is the establishment of the
ICD, responsible for coordination, planning, monitoring and evaluation of grant supported
development projects. The ICD is comprised of four units,
the Project Analysis Unit, responsible for screening and
appraisal of development projects, a Monitoring and
Evaluation Unit, responsible for tracking project progress, a
Donor Relations Unit, responsible for communication with
the donor community, and a Development Assistance
Database (DAD) Unit, responsible for information
management and maintenance of the DAD system. With this
project’s support, a regional equivalent institutional structure,
the External Resource Management Unit (ERMU), has also
been developed for the MoP of KRG.
Capacity
Development: A
large number of
training sessions
have been delivered, including computer and IT skills,
aid management core skills, strategic planning, and
project appraisal and screening. The skills acquired
from these sessions have been put into practice by the
MoPDC through initiatives such as the Iraqi Strategic
e-Government and ICT policy training, Tallinn,
Review Board (ISRB), the successful transfer of
September 2007 [UNDP Iraq]
ownership and management of the DAD Iraq system
and the launch and maintenance of the MoPDC web
portal. The most recent training initiative on aid management led to a number of
recommendations to continue progress and ensure long term sustainability.
8.2 Technical Impact on institution building and capacity development
Supporting DAD Implementation: A key component of
this project support has been accompanying the
successful implementation of the Development
Assistance Database (DAD) (accessible via www.mopiraq.org), an aid management system owned by the
MoPDC that currently tracks almost 20,000 development
projects inside Iraq. A recent notable achievement was
the launch of a subset of DAD Iraq in the KRG in
February 2008. The DADs are managed independently
by the MoPDC and the MoP KRG with technical support
from Synergy, the contracted partner supplying the
Launch of DAD in KRG, Feb 2008 [UNDP Iraq]
15
technical assistance required for the DAD. The sustainability of the DAD management is
therefore ensured at least in the medium term.
The utility of DAD Iraq as an aid information management system is reliant on the completeness
and timeliness of the data provided by donors. There are three stages during the project lifecycle
when DAD Iraq should be updated:
1. Start project: all projects should be appraised and approved by the Government of Iraq
prior to commencement and core details entered into DAD Iraq.
2. Quarterly progress update: donors should update the progress of each project on a
quarterly basis to ensure output indicators and financial disbursements are accurate.
3. Finish project: donors should agree satisfactory project completion with the Government
of Iraq, update final details and set project status to closed in DAD Iraq.
A fruitful collaboration in this respect has been established among MoPDC, UNDP, and major
donors in data exchange, including the UN, US, UK and Sweden. In support, the UNDP team
has supported the development of a number of technical guides and manuals providing
information on how to use DAD and how to update projects. In addition, a support team at the
MoPDC has also been established to support donor data entry. However despite significant
progress to date, this area remains a key challenge for the GoI and continued support to improve
compliance would be beneficial to ensure data quality.
e-Government: UNDP’s aid management support also
included provision of infrastructure and internet
connectivity for the MoPDC and MoP KRG. A UNDP egovernment specialist has helped the MoPDC to design
and implement a state of the art web portal. Technical
support and training has enabled the MoPDC to harness
the features of the content management system to display
data and analysis on aid management and development in
a transparent and easily accessible format. The portal is
MoPDC portal homepage [UNDP Iraq]
accessible at www.mop-iraq.org. The successful
implementation of these e-government initiatives has paved the way for more sophisticated egovernance interventions in the future, in particular through the new programme to reform the
public sector.
9. RISKS AND ASSUMPTIONS FOR THE FUTURE
With its concrete partnership commitments and measurable time-bound indicators on aid
effectiveness the Iraqi endorsement of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness is an important
step to improve the outcome of aid. With inputs from the Office of the Deputy PM and the
Ministry of Finance, UNDP and the MoPDC have developed a project to start the
implementation of the Paris Declaration (see below). The Iraqi endorsement and the subsequent
formulation of the Paris Declaration Implementation Project are very important direct results of
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this project. But several contextual factors need to be addressed if the future Paris Declaration
initiative is to genuinely improve aid management in Iraq.
In this light, it is a positive development that the GoI is likely to finalise its 5 year National
Development Plan soon after the 7th March 2010 national elections. Fortuitously, this time frame
also corresponds to the United Nations system finalizing its Development Assistance framework
(UNDAF) that has a llowed for a broad and intensive consultation process on both documents
and the real possibility of aligning them to the maximum extent possible – in the true spirit of the
Paris Declaration itself.
However, it is important to be mindful of the specific challenges to aid effectiveness that apply
to the Iraqi context i.e., continued violence and insecurity; lack of national and international
capacity; multiple and often incompatible agendas; unclear goals; blurred lines between military,
humanitarian and development interventions; widespread corruption; and lack of coordination.
Making sure that these aspects are addressed in the Paris Declaration implementation project is
critical if it is to have a true impact.
Other considerations that need to be addressed when implementing the Paris Declaration
Implementation Project:
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The MoP of the KRG put in $100,000 from own source for the establishment of the
ERMU. The high commitment by MoP to develop ERMU is not only the consequence of
a genuine interest but also explained by the healthy pressure on MoP to report back to the
KRG, Council of Ministers on the prudent and effective use of funds. These reporting
requirements hardly apply when projects are 100% donor funded, leading to less pressure
to perform and a lower success rate. To increase the likelihood of the Paris Declaration
Implementation Project to really be effective UNDP should demand the government to
co-finance the project.
The division of responsibilities between the ICD and the ERMU need to be clarified
further before becoming a potential source of tension.
To facilitate MoPDC’s overall planning ability, projects need to follow the official
approval procedure (through ISRB), instead of donors going straight to the governorates
and NGOs. This generates a myriad of uncoordinated project activities with suboptimal
impact and a highly incomplete understanding of what happens on the ground.
The role of ICD and ERMU in the new national development plan, and vis a vis the ICI
implementation process, thematic working groups, sector working groups etc., need to be
clarified and formalized.
Integration of donor resources and investment budget is another hugely important issue
which needs to be made a priority in the Paris Declaration Implementation Project.
Improved line ministry and MoPDC collaboration and information sharing for advanced
planning needs to be improved.
Creating a strong central aid coordination authority would be a starting point to ensure that the
Paris Declaration Implementation Project is successful and that the contextual aspects affecting
aid management are addressed. This authority needs to be strong enough to enforce internal
discipline in adhering to an Iraqi development plan that has been developed after extensive
consultations and enjoys a broad stakeholder buy-in. Furthermore, the authority needs to prevent
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donors from concluding ad hoc project agreements without them being properly recorded and
supportive of the national development plan.
The mandate of the International Cooperation Directorate (ICD) and the support that this project
has provided it in terms of a revamped organizational structure, strengthened capacity with
regards to project screening and appraisal, project monitoring and evaluation, and donor
interaction and communication as well as database management, makes ICD well positioned to
take on the role of such a coordinating authority. In close coordination with the ICD the ERMU
could play the same role for the Kurdistan Region.
10. THE NEXT PHASE: THE PARIS DECLARATION INITIATIVE
This project and the development of the DAD has allowed Iraq to be a credible signatory to the
Paris declaration on Aid Effectiveness. Consequently, the “Support to the GoI in Implementing
the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness” project (hereafter “The Project”) has been developed
at the request of the Government of Iraq (GoI) in order to adapt and localize the Paris
Declaration for Iraq following its endorsement by the GoI on 29 May 2008.
The Project will seek to maximise the potential of aid in achieving development results in Iraq
through the generation of a mutually reinforcing partnership between the GoI, donors and other
actors. The Project will predominantly provide upstream policy advice and capacity development
support to the GoI to enhance the delivery and effectiveness of aid to Iraq structured around each
of the five principles of the Paris Declaration. The main project counterparts will be the Prime
Minister’s Office (PMO), the Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation (MoPDC) and
the Ministry of Finance (MoF). The initiative will be initially funded by the ITF for $1 million
and will be for an initial 18 months duration.
Project Outcome:
GoI has institutionalized mechanisms for managing international assistance in line with Paris
principles on aid effectiveness.
Project Outputs:
Output 1: Establish ownership of the aid effectiveness agenda in Iraq through support to core
mechanisms and policies
Output 2: Ensure that donors base their overall support on GoI's national development strategies,
institutions and procedures
Output 3. Ensure that donors' actions are more harmonised, transparent and collectively
effective
Output 4. Strengthen effective results based management systems to monitor and evaluate the
impact of aid
Output 5. Strengthen accountability mechanism for development results.
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