Maximising Accountability Around
Technical Cooperation
LenCD Conference
3 – 5 October 2006
Nairobi
Tessa MacArthur, Governance Adviser
LS Nagarajan, Policy Officer
Donor Policy and Partnership Team, DFID
CONTENT
Mutual Accountability – An Overview
Role of Technical Cooperation
Issues / Challenges
Good Practices
Discussion
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Mutual Accountability – An Overview
Recognises the need for Donors to be equally accountable
Facilitates country-led approach
Participatory
- Common M&E framework
- Options for setting up Independent Monitoring Group
eg. Tanzania
Making aid more predictable
3
Mutual Accountability – An Overview
Contd…
International Forums addressing Mutual Accountability:
Besides Paris Declaration –
Economic and Social Council
OECD DAC Donor Peer Reviews
Global Monitoring Report (World Bank / IMF)
Regional Forums include:
Africa Partnership Forum
Africa Progress Panel
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Role of Technical Cooperation
Growing vision for a mutual & domestic accountability
approach
Inadequate human and institutional capacity, both in quality
and quantitative terms
An important input but not an end by itself
- Provision of expertise to enhance capacity
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ISSUES / CHALLENGES
General Criticism
- Lack of sustainability of enhanced capacity
- Cost ineffectiveness
- Unresponsive to priority needs of the recipient country
Challenges
- Donor acct rather than domestic or mutual acct
- Donor responsibility rather than Shared
- Coherent systems / national policies
-Influencing donor partners for more harmonisation
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ISSUES / CHALLENGES Contd…
Mutual Accountability –
Level Playing Field
D
O
N
O
R
S
Harmonised Framework
Partner led
M&E
Other Aid
Instruments +
Partner Govt’s
leverage
P
A
R
T
N
E
R
Outcomes
TC
Paris Agenda – Other International / Regional/ Country Mechanisms
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Good Practices
DFID’s How to Note on Technical Cooperation
- Draws on our commitment to White Paper and Paris
Declaration and our Policy on Conditionality
Intensive analysis of good practices across various
regions
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Good Practices Contd…
Identification and Design
- Importance of Demand
- Analysing political economy problems
- Transactional vs Transformational
Mutually Agree on clear outcomes with shared
accountability
Consider options for pooling to increase domestic
accountability (TC in national plans, budget etc)
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Good Practices Contd…
Procurement :-
Donors
Inclusive process involving
Partners
Partner
TC
Procurement
Skill mix / Untying
TC
Donors
Exploring options for TC to be
procured and managed by
Partner
Partner managed Procurement
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Good Practices Contd…
Monitoring & Evaluation :To move away from Project Implementation Agencies
To be led and managed by the Partner
Outcome based
Recognising importance of Paris for overall monitoring of
TC good practice at country level and transparency
Better statistical reporting on TC through DAC
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SUMMARY
 Mutual Accountability reinforces donors’
responsibility for development outcomes
 TC acts as a catalyst in the process of strengthening
capacity
 As set out in the How to Note, TC can be provided in
a way that supports both mutual and domestic
accountability
TC PERSONNEL
DONORS
PARTNER
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DISCUSSION
To deliberate on:
1. Key observations
2. Existing gaps in the current context of strengthening
Mutual Accountability and how TC could
complement and support domestic accountablity
3. Three key areas that needs to be focused as
priorities in DAC / LenCD forward work on TC
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