At Publish What You Fund it is exactly the processes of recipient-donor alignment and involvement which we advocate; precisely the factor illustrated to improve the developmental impact of aid in ‘Untying Aid: Is It Working?’

In 2001 the OECD DAC made recommendations for the untying of aid to the least developed countries; reaffirmed by the Paris Declarartion, and and an impetus for the 2008 Accra Agenda for Action (AAA). The belief was that by reducing transaction costs, and increasing both recipient country imput and joint recipient-donor planning and management, aid would become more effective. However, aid that is apprently untied may not be so in practice.

‘Untying Aid: Is It Working?’ was undertaken in 2008-09, examining 21 untied development projects and ‘partially untied’ EC administered aid and IDA aid for purposes of comparison. The overall findings were examined in the context of both donor and recipient perspectives, and suggest a need to revisit the agenda and look at where we can go from here.

This report is of immense use and interest to the aid transparency movement and all those working in response to the 2008 AAA.

To read the report, click here.