Busan partnership for Effective Development Co-­operation

Busan partnership for effective development co-hoperation. Fourth high level forum on aid effectiveness, Busan, Republic of korea 29 november - 1 december 2011

Partenariat de Busan pour une Coopération Efficace Au Service du Développement

Partenariat de Busan pour une coopération efficace au service du développement. Quatrième forum à haut niveau sur l´ efficacité de l´aide, Busan, République de Corée, 29 novembre - 1 décembre 2011

Foreign Aid Transaction Costs: What are they and when are they minimised?

'Transaction costs' are commonly referred to in the recent literature on aid effectiveness. Aid transaction costs, however, have been neither consistently defined nor measured. This article defines aid transaction costs as all the economic costs associated with aid management that add no value to aid delivery. This enables the 'net' transaction costs that should be minimised to be identified. An analytical framework is then developed for assessing these costs. This allows the effectiveness of different aid modalities to be compared, according to the characteristics of the aid transaction. The article shows that the choice of aid modality should depend on these characteristics and, therefore, that the minimisation of transaction costs should not be an end in itself.Peer reviewe

A time for action: Opportunities for preventing the growing burden and disability from musculoskeletal conditions in low- and middle-income countries

Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions cause an enormous global burden, and this is dramatically increasing in developing countries, particularly due to rapidly ageing populations and increasing obesity. Many of the global non-communicable disease (NCD) initiatives need to expand beyond the traditional ‘top four’ NCD groups by incorporating MSK diseases. It is critical that MSK initiatives in developing countries integrate well with health systems, rather than being stand-alone. A better inclusion of MSK conditions will avoid doubling of efforts and wasting of resources, and will help to promote a more streamlined, cost-effective approach. Other key opportunities for action include the following: ensuring the principles of ‘development effectiveness’ are met; strengthening leadership and commitment; building the research, information and evidence base; and reducing the incidence and disability of MSK conditions through better prevention. Each of these elements is necessary to mitigate and reduce the growing burden from the MSKs

Transnational multistakeholder partnerships as vessels to finance development : navigating the accountability waters

Partnerships have long been presented as transformative and effective mechanisms to overcome challenges linked to the global governance of development. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and SDG 17 call for intensified involvement and engagement of partnerships in sustainable development, formalizing a role specifically for multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs). In this context, transnational MSPs that enmesh public and private to finance development, continue to flourish as a hybrid model of governance. This paper seeks to critically assess the accountability issues linked to channelling development financing through transnational MSPs using an accountability matrix, based on responsibility, answerability and enforceability, applicable to the system-level development cooperation/aid frameworks as well as to MSPs. The article then evaluates the accountability challenges and shortcomings arising from MSPs as development financing actors resulting in diffused responsibility, limited answerability and weak enforceability. Finally, the article outlines a research agenda and Policy recommendations to improve the accountability of MSPs when they finance development

Foreign aid, the mining sector and democratic ownership: The case of Canadian assistance to Peru

Background As foreign aid donors are increasingly open about seeking to obtain benefits from their development assistance, new forms of donor‐driven private‐sector partnerships have proliferated. This new trend is especially controversial in the mining sector, to which Canada has become the largest aid donor among OECD‐DAC countries. Purpose In order to better understand this phenomenon and its implications, this article asks, first, how has aid to the mining sector evolved and what do the changes suggest about its underlying motives? Second, what are the implications regarding the “democratic ownership” of the recipients’ development agenda? Approach and methods The study analyses Canadian aid to the mining sector in Peru, its largest recipient of such aid, concentrating on the period since 2011, when Canadian aid took an “extractive turn.” It draws on 20 semi‐structured interviews with key players and observers in Lima and Cusco in Peru, as well as an in‐depth review of mainly secondary sources and some statistical data. Its analytical framework is based on the motives that must underpin aid, as stipulated by Canadian legislation, and the concept of “ownership,” the cornerstone of the international aid effectiveness agenda. Findings The extractive turn in Canadian aid reflects an increase in commercial self‐interest, at the expense of altruistic poverty reduction and contradicting core elements of the legislated mandate of Canadian aid. Extractive‐related aid to Peru now almost exclusively supports: (a) strengthening the central government’s role in promoting mining; (b) encouraging municipalities to negotiate mutually beneficial relations with Canadian mining companies; and (c) subsidizing Canadian companies’ efforts to obtain a “social licence to operate” from local communities. Canada’s assistance to the mining sector can be justified by a narrow interpretation of the concept of country “ownership.” However, its justification rests on a limited vision of ownership, based on what governments, who claim to speak on behalf of citizens, prioritize, rather than a more democratic conception that takes into account what poor people want, which may include or preclude mining activities. Policy implications Aid donors should focus on locally owned strategies that reflect poor people’s priorities, independently of whether they include or exclude allowing mining companies to operate on their territories. Aid may thus contribute to a donor’s commercial interests, but the latter should not be the underlying motive