Better Aid: Rethinking the Way We Work
In September 2006, CGAP hosted a five-day virtual conference bringing together donor staff from around the world. A total of 267 participants registered for the conference. This report:
- Details the topics discussed by the participants on current issues facing donor agencies and the ways of improving the quality of agencies' work;
- Identifies challenges and presents ideas about how to overcome them.
The report details the four themes the conference centered on. The thoughts, experiences and suggestions of the participants for the donor agencies are:Theme 1: Tailoring assistance to market demand: Market responsiveness is a vital ingredient to donor effectiveness:
- Match the vision and priorities of all parties;
- Tailor funding to market needs.
Theme 2: Building and maintaining staff skills: Development agencies should broaden the circle of staff with microfinance literacy and strengthen the relationship between specialists and non-specialists:
- Incorporate expertise in all projects;
- Manage relevant knowledge;
- Keep close links with the field;
- Outsource when needed;
- Develop a focal technical unit.
Theme 3: Achieving more policy coherence: Approach to build sustainable, financial systems for the poor promises greater impact but involves challenges:
- Build a common vision;
- Manage credit components carefully;
- Identify and address challenges linked to instruments and structure.
Theme 4: Improving accountability: Transparency and information sharing are critical to improving accountability:
- Joint initiatives for transparency;
- Carry out financial systems analysis;
- Insist on performance.
The report concludes with some recommendations of the conference:
- Get incentives right;
- Be more focused on actual demand and performance;
- Invest in up front, sound analysis and strategy;
- Change work culture and priorities as that can yield more leverage and results from existing aid amounts.
