Sector wide approaches, accountability and CIDA: issues and recommendations

This paper, prepared for the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), but with relevance to a broad range of bilateral and multilateral development assistance organisations, examines SWAps from an accountability angle. It looks at how SWAps are forcing donor agencies to re-think accountability betweenthemselves and their own governments themselves and developing countries, andthe developing country governmrment and its own citizensRecommendations to CIDA include:“Harmonization” – common management and reporting procedures, progressing toward the use of Government procedures to disburse and account for all fundsCIDA has a valuable but under-used knowledge-base a and should step up its efforts to promote learning and knowledge-sharing within the Agency about experiences with accountability arrangements between donors and developing countries in SWApsCIDA should, in parallel with its involvement in SWAps, encourage the development of public financial management capacity in countries where SWAps are activeThe movement toward SWAps will require CIDA to develop its capacity to work in a “partnership” mode, both with other donors and with developing countries. CIDA, both at the institutional level, and at the level of individual staff, will need to accustom itself to operating in an environment where CIDA’s own agenda is of secondary importance in relation to the objectives of a sector strategy “owned” by the host government and developed with its leadershipSWAps will only be successful if governments receiving SWAp assistance show firm commitment to and ownership of sectoral reform. CIDA must therefore build its capacity to assess country ownership and commitment before entering into SWAps