Experiences and Prospects of International Development Agencies New

Experiences and Prospects of International Development Agencies New Zealand Agency for International Development NZAID July 2006

About NZAID v New Zealand’s Aid and Development Agency v Aid volume – approx. $US 0 m annually v Central focus on poverty elimination v Core focus on the Pacific

Agency Role v Established in 2002 (semi-autonomous agency within Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade) v Contestability of advice – direct reporting to Ministers v policy coherence with national interest objectives v Focus on policy and strategy v Professional understanding on development issues v Aid Effectiveness - impact v Whole of government approaches – aid, trade, debt, immigration

Where do we work v 18 core partners – Pacific and South-East Asia v 10 multilateral partners v The big six – Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Indonesia, Vietnam v 11 countries in the Pacific v Support regional objectives in the Pacific

Principles of good aid delivery 1. Ownership and led by partner 2. Focus on good governance 3. Transparency and accountability – on partner budget or through budget processes 4. Support stable policy making/settings for pro-poor growth 5. Environmental sustainability – natural resources 6. Harmonisation and alignment

Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness v OECD DAC donors – signed in 2004. Key principles: v Strengthen partner countries development planning capability v Align support with partners systems and procedures v Enhanced accountability of citizens and parliaments v Eliminate duplication of efforts v Reform and simplify donors policies and procedures

The Importance of the Millennium Development Goals v MDG’s Provide basis for measuring impact v Pacific second only after sub-Saharan Africa as less likely to achieve the MDG’s by 2015

Implications for NZAID v Changing our business model v “Fewer, bigger, deeper” activities v Stronger focus on policy dialogue v 5 year strategies; high level consultations, rolling three year programmes

The Pacific Islands Region v Small, vulnerable island economies v Development performance mixed – slow growth v Fragile states v Donor behaviour can have a major influence (positive or negative) on governance v Major donors are Aus. AID, NZAID, EU, Japan, France, China, Taiwan, WB, ADB v Pacific workshop on Aid Effectiveness

Working in Fragile States v Take context as a starting point v Establish state building as a central objective v Align with local policy and systems v Recognise the politicalsecurity-development linkages v Promote coherence between donors

Delivering Aid v Major change in way we are delivering support v Less project-based approaches v Focus on sector-wide approaches v Sector programmes v Budget support, Trust Funds, multi-donor projects

Examples of NZAID Engagement v Solomon Islands Education – Sector Wide Approach; Budget Support - $7 m p. a. v Papua New Guinea – Health Sector Improvement Programme v Pacific Plan – regional approaches

The Challenge of Visibility v good aid builds the best relationships v Donors can still have visibility within sector or multidonor approaches v partner ownership v letting go – reducing branding

Working with other donors v Non-DAC Donors v NZAID committed to working with other donors v Sharing collective experiences v Progress harmonisation v Focus on development and stability in the Pacific