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Effective Partners
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Overbureaucratic procedures, duplication of activity, and behavior that undermines country ownership can seriously limit achieving results
Working with partner countries, the international community is committed to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of aid, as measured by progress toward the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
This results focus requires adjustments by donors as well as partner countries. For donors, it means not just higher volumes of aid and more effective aid instruments, but also changes to internal management and behavior.
Research has shown that organizational and behavioral aspects—such as overbureaucratic procedures, duplication of activity, and behavior that undermines country ownership—can seriously limit achieving results.
How do we improve these organizational and behavioral aspects? First, we need to ensure that the right organizational systems are in place to achieve results. For example, planning systems that focus on results, based on each organization’s specific comparative advantage; targets that are linked to resource management, operational work, and staff incentives; improved delivery and quality assurance systems; and regular monitoring of implementation at the country level.
Second, we need to monitor how well we work with others in the delivery of aid. This requires aligning our country programs with national priorities, systems, and procedures; improved interagency coordination; and delivering on our harmonization commitments. We should regularly seek client feedback on our own performance.
The United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) has aligned its own internal management processes with the MDGs and tracks progress annually. Country programs work to regional MDG targets which, in turn, cascade down to departmental business plans and individual performance plans. The Policy and International divisions are similarly aligned with these goals in accordance with their specific functions.
DFID has also been working on key performance indicators for all departments. Progress toward these goals and targets is reported to the Treasury in our annual performance report and the departmental report. However, this system is not perfect and is subject to continual review and improvement.
About half of DFID’s budget is allocated to multilateral organizations, such as the European Union, multilateral development banks, and United Nations, for which we are accountable to the Treasury. So we have put in place a system for monitoring the effectiveness of these organizations. In 2004, we assessed 23 multilaterals on the criteria outlined above and agreed with each of them on three areas to be monitored annually.
DFID is also increasingly looking for ways to monitor the effectiveness of the multilaterals at the country level, working closely with our regional departments and country programs. We also participate in the joint survey of multilateral partnership behavior at the country level by nine bilateral donors who are members of the Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN). The survey—the first of which was conducted in 2004—will be repeated annually.
Most donors are involved in initiatives of this kind and, increasingly, they are coming together to share experiences in improving their own effectiveness. Through the working groups of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee, we are seeking to improve our own systems and behavior to achieve better outcomes in developing countries.
This article is written in a personal capacity and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development.
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