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DG for Development and Cooperation - Europeaid

Directorate B : Quality and Impact

Unit B1 : QUALITY OF DELIVERY SYSTEMS

Technical Cooperation ReformWhat has been achieved ?

What story does the monitoring tell?

Brussels, 4th July 2011

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What is Technical Cooperation ?

• Know-how provision in the form of short and long term personnel, training, twinning, and associated costs (programme estimates..)

Breakdown

of TC

in 2010

– An input = 1,4 billon EUR signed in 2010

– Uneasy to estimate with precision

– Technical cooperation by EC is on a lowering trend

Technical cooperation against Budget Support 2005 - 2010

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Technicalcooperation

Budget Support

Linear (Technicalcooperation)

Linear (BudgetSupport)

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What is Capacity Development ?

• CD : the process by which one maintains, creates capacity…

• Many ways of supporting CD :

Policy

Dialogue

Budget support, NGO..

TCKnowledge Sharing

Capacity Development

to produce results

to innovate, adapt…

If Capacity Development support is successful, it creates an exit opportunity from the traditional aid relationship

• Capacity: Ability to manage affairs successfully

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Technical Cooperation Reform context: Comments from Partner Governments

in 2007-08• « Technical Assistants are, in many cases, primarily

accountable to the EU Delegation… »

• « Technical Assistance often diverges from its essential purpose of capacity development and focuses on substitution… »

• « EC procedures are not always conducive to EC intentions on aid effectiveness… »

• « Donor coordination : the government’s responsibility to coordinate the assistance is not yet fully

appreciated… »

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Capacity Development: EC’s Technical Cooperation Reform

Chronology : 2007 - Court of Auditors

2008 – Principles of the Reform in place, AAA

2009 – Implementation modalities in place,

2010 – Practical implementation

– Guidance

– Promotion, dissemination, courses, learning events

– Knowledge sharing

– Energy of individuals

– Visible commitment from the management

– Implementation : Systems and monitoring

Content :

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Capacity Development: capacity4dev.eu

Knowledge => Capacity

• C4D is promoting Capacity Development as a priority for our cooperation and is supporting capacity in DEVCO : “capacity of the delivery system”

1) Sharing good practices : Delegations openly reflect and share operational lessons from successful projects

2) How to improve quality and impact ? Explaining tools  and passing messages to the field

3) Secure collaborative spaces and connect HQ and Delegations, Delegations with Delegations, Member States, Partners, Consultants..

 

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Technical Cooperation Reform methodological package and system

• Methodology / 5 Technical Cooperation Quality criteria : – Fits the context

– Ownership

– Results orientation

– Coordination and alignment

– Programme Implementation arrangements

• Monitoring Systems: – New projects Quality grid

– Yearly self assessment EAMR

– External monitoring ROM

– Evaluation Methodology under preparation

CD enablingfactors

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Capacity Development: Technical Cooperation Reform

• Execution/Monitoring of the TC reform 2010 : – 213 oQSG check lists (on 350 projects) – 102 Quality Grids (on 213 TC relevant projects)– 574 projects or contracts self-assessed (EAMR)– 1009 external monitoring reports (ROM)

1) Over 50% of projects consistently use the tools

2) Consistent results accross the system :

2 out of 3 programmes in line with TC/CD quality criteriaVs.

1 out 3 programmes successful as audited by CoA in 2007

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Distribution of grades for 1009 External Monitoring Reports

• 67% of projects have high grades

• 8% of projects are a matter of concern

Year 2010

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Comparison of CD performance TC / non-TC projects for the year 2010

• 397 TC projects (Technical assistance, etc.) that contribute to Capacity Development

• 585 non TC projects (NGOs, etc.), but do contribute to Capacity Development

• Contribution of TC and « Non TC » projects to Capacity Development is the same

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Performance by quality criteria

2 weak criteria :

1) Harmonisation/coordination : Why ? Length of start-up phase + lack of flexibility

2) Results orientation : Why ? Lack of internal monitoring and overambitious results

Fragile States : Context is more complicated (formal and informal power relationships) + capacity of formal institution

Fragile States (medium/high limit)

Fragile States (medium/high limit )

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Compiled grades by implementing partner

Findings :

- NGOs (local and international): high score

- Twinning: Low scores

- International organisations: relatively low scores

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Comparison of performance between 129 ROM reports and EAMRs

EUD self assessment vs. external monitoring

Findings :

- Scoring given by EUDs are less extreme

- Internal monitoring coherent with external monitoring

- Both should be pursued

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Technical Cooperation Reform: Procedures and systems

• Local expertise : Introduction of an alternative procedure to Framework contract (Negotiated Competitive procedure)– Remains too rare : Too complicated compared to FWC

• UCS and Substantial decentralisation – Only used in exceptional cases : the 5 pillars audit is deterrent

• Contracting authority – In EDF, Authorising Officer is usually local, in other regions, EC

remains Contracting Authority over 50%

• Progress is more in practices or strategic decisions– General Budget Support boosted

– Parallel PIUs cut

– More attention is given to references of experts

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Technical Cooperation Reform implementation lessons (1/3)

Widen the scope : CD support is more relevant than TC only

– Out of 1009 projects : 97% have the potential to contribute to CD

– 397 TC projects contribute to CD

– 585 non TC projects that equally contribute to CD

– Non TC projects can even have better marks !

– Reflexion on CD needs to be done before rushing into TC

– What is needed is a good support mix for CD (BS, NGO, TC…)

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Technical Cooperation Reform implementation lessons (2/3)

Procedures:

- Procedures and practices need to be improved towards more adaptative planning

- A reflexion is needed regarding further improvement of procedures towards local expertise and local systems

- Certain forms of twinning have difficulties to adapt to « complex » procedures

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Technical Cooperation Reform implementation lessons (3/3)

Quality control :

- Continue a quality approach – quality and process is a promise of sustainable results

- Internal Quality control / internal monitoring is broadly reliable and needs to be pursued

- Feed-back loops need to be in place for low performers

- Division of Labour is not equal to improving CD effectiveness. Superimposing 2 donors systems, which can have a cost in terms of quality

- Invest more in the context analysis in fragile states : PEA

- Clean the definitions

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Capacity Development:Challenges

- How can we be more effective ?

- How to evaluate CD outcomes ?

- How can we maintain a CD approach while facing an increased pressure for measurable results ?

- How can we be creative ?