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Rethinking aid
SEP 07 -
The ongoing discussions on Foreign Aid Policy and the overall efforts towards the establishment of a National Action Plan for Aid Effectiveness represent an important step towards implementing the so called Accra Agenda for Action. The principles of ownership, accountability, transparency and alignment, if fully implemented and understood, have the potential to radically transform the way the aid industry is run.
At global level several initiatives are offering concrete examples of the strong willingness to “walk the talk” in the global debate for better aid quality.
The International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) aims at making the aid delivery more effectively through enhanced transparency and openness in accessing a wide range of information. This should ultimately increase the accountability towards not only the recipient governments and local beneficiaries but also towards the taxpayers in the donor nations. Similarly but more radically The Publish What You Fund campaign envisions the right of access to information about aid based on which every citizen has the right to request and receive information about aid. At the same time, aid effectiveness is not only about transparency but also strong emphasis towards harmonisation and enhanced coordination. Indeed the plans to forge a new consolidated UN gender entity as well as the upcoming new German Development Cooperation set up are clear indicators of a beginning of a new era. USAID, currently undertaking a serious and deep introspection, started to became sensitive to this changed scenario with the launch of its global MDGs strategy. But among all the global initiatives, the one that has the potential to drastically improve the aid sector is the concept of ONE UN.
Created out of the idea of a group of former prime ministers, ONE UN aims to ensure better coherence in the highly fragmented UN system. Eight countries are currently piloting a first bold attempt to harmonise and deliver programmes normally designed, funded and implemented by the various UN agencies. A recent international review conference held in Hanoi could pave the way for bolder and increased integration of UN countries operations around the world. Moreover, the current economic crisis is somehow helping to reduce this fragmentation with many organisations shutting down and with others opting for mergers among likeminded. The new mantra in economic downturn is to learn to do more with less, something that brings a “forced” efficiency, also in the aid industry.
But what will be the change at the ground level for the common citizens who are currently overwhelmed by these aid efforts. First of all, what is all this aid for? Is it meant to drastically transform a developing country in replica of Luxemburg or Singapore? Should the external aid only be a necessary although sometimes bitter medicine to make things stay afloat and make more people better educated and healthy during the dire times? Like or dislike it, aid is a reality that counts for the time being and has proven effective in many ways. There are commendable examples of ownership exercised by local communities, involved and informed about the actions taken by the not-for-profit sector. Social Audits although not a panacea, represents a very good and promising starting point for a serious engagement on transparency and overall improvement of aid service in the country. A recently published report on Institutional Governance Practices of the Association of International NGOs in Nepal (AIN) members while not representing any official position, offers a first bold attempt to identify doable actions for a better support to the development needs of this country. It should be regarded as a humble but important indicator of readiness to engage in a meaningful dialogue with government actors and other stakeholders.
But ultimately, all the aid actors will be judged on their performance and capacity to deliver services to the people in the best sustainable way and according to the country mechanisms and procedures.
Obviously it becomes indispensible to set standards to measure the effectiveness and efficacy
of the not-for-profit sector with clear and transparent benchmarks, not an easy job at all. The best
example can be the Charity Navigator in the US, probably the nation with the most advanced not-for-profit sector. The system carried out by an independent, neutral not-for-profit classifies the American charities based on complex standardised set of criteria, awarding efficiency “stars” based on their performance and achievements.
Is the same possible in Nepal? Probably not immediately, but certainly we should move in this direction, encouraging more efforts towards measuring the impact of aid actors, including international and national not-for-profit agencies. Aid effectiveness should be seen as a first attempt to rewrite the rules of development agenda, kicking off a broader and lengthy debate on ensuring an effective new welfare system. This will be based on active involvement and participation of non-state actors, not-for-profit and for-profit and social enterprises.
In this envisioned system it will be very important to give space to innovation in the way public services are delivered, through new cost effective, sustainable and replicable solutions that can shake the current practices. All this will require a long journey but the country needs a bold vision to reset the working modalities of aid, with the ultimate aim of social wellbeing on a new national social contract.
A strong but slim central government, able to set standards and the rule of the games that will be localised and funded by the incoming new federal local governments and implemented by public interest agencies (for- or not-for -profit) able to contest and compete against each other based on their performance is the need of the hour. Ultimately, time will come to reconsider the role of international not-for-profit agencies, which, building on their unique experience of mixed technical, organisational and financial support, might focus only on “software” kind of interventions and at the same time become the backbone of a strong, politics-free, national philanthropic sector fed principally by local government agencies.
After all, according to this long term vision, there will be no more aid but social transfers funded by taxpayers and a strong complementary philanthropic sector as a real partner. Expats like me or other professional development workers might adapt and adjust or simply start volunteering.
(The author is deputy country director of CCS Italy (Nepal), an INGO which works for the benefit of Nepali children)
Posted on: 2010-09-08 08:53
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