Enhancing Results for Development Cooperation

1. Enhancing Results for Development Cooperation Mr. Heng CHOUCambodian Rehabilitation and Development BoardCouncil for Development of CambodiaNovember 2010

2. Objectives of presentation • How the Royal Government manages aid • What government-donor coordination mechanisms have been established • What the challenges are • What to do to enhance coordination to achieve results • National development framework • Development partners in context • Policy on managing development assistance • Mechanisms for managing development partnerships • Experience to date

3. National development framework • Rectangular Strategy Phase II for Growth, Employment, Equity and Efficiency • Royal Government’s Political Programme for socio-economic development and reforms • Launched Sept. 2008 at the first Cabinet meeting • Builds on the Rectangular Strategy (2004-2008) • National Strategic Development Plan 2009-2013 • Operationalizes the Rectangular Strategy Phase II • Updating the NSDP 2006-2010 to cover 2009-2013 period • Overarching national development framework • Promote national ownership of development • Alignment of development partner resources

4. Contextualizing ODA

5. Managing development assistance policy • Strategic Framework for Development Cooperation Management • Institutional arrangements • Responsibilities of Royal Government’s respective ministries and agencies • Establishes CRDB/CDC as national aid coordination focal point • Harmonization, Alignment and Results (HAR) Action Plan 2006-2010—making aid more effective • Managing different aid modalities • Loan financing: Standard Operating Procedures (2005) • Grant funding: National Operational Guideline (2006) • Technical Cooperation: Guideline on the Management of Technical Cooperation (2008)

6. Coordination mechanisms • Cambodia Development Cooperation Forum • Highest level for political dialogue and review of NSDP implementation • Resourcing of NSDP • Endorsing the Joint Monitoring Indicators (JMIs) • CDCF is chaired by the Royal Government • Government-Development Partner Coordination Committee • High-level dialogue (2-3 times per year) on both political and technical issues • Government and development partners • Monitoring the JMIs • Cross-sectoral issues • Technical Working Groups • Facilitate dialogue on sector and thematic issues • Technical level and mainly on resourcing, implementation and monitoring • Monitoring implementation of HAR Action Plan • Formulate and implement JMIs

7. What are the challenges?Framing the issues • Development results • Reaching the Cambodian Millennium Development Goals • Achieving the RS II goals • Meeting the NSDP targets • Aid effectiveness leads to development results • Stronger national ownership and leadership • Strengthened national capacity and systems • Delivery of development assistance more efficient • Results drive actions • Improved partnership: mutual accountable for results • Aid effectiveness commitments/actions implemented • HAR Action Plan and Cambodia Declaration on Enhancing Aid Effectiveness • Joint Monitoring Indicator on aid effectiveness

8. Third Cambodia Development Cooperation Forum (June 2010) discussed progress in meeting national and global commitments to aid effectiveness • Paris Declaration monitoring exercises have shown progress has been made but continued effort is required • Public Financial Management reforms have contributed to enhanced ownership • Most sectors now have robust sector strategies to coordinate planning, programming, implementation and monitoring • Predictability of external financing has significantly improved

9. Challenges: Five key messages • Good progress in establishing tools and processes yield limited results. High level Royal Government and development partner leadership is required. • Efforts need to focus on simpler measures relevant to sector and central planning/budgeting process. • Improved partnership dynamics are needed to support multi-stakeholder processes that deliver results. • Broader and higher level engagement in development partnerships is necessary. • Partnership in development must increasingly focus on capacity development to strengthen national systems.

10. Aid Effectiveness and Development Results: An Agenda for Action • Development assistance to Cambodia continues to grow (USD 989.5 million in 2009 to > $1 billion in 2010). • Leadership and capacity remain the most likely route to impact at sector level. • Increased focus on link to outcome level results shows positive development in aid effectiveness policy. • Opportunity for applying and extending PBAs

11. Royal Government’s Decision on Programme Based Approaches: Decision dated 02 November 2010

12. Linking development assistance to results: the important role of information Cambodia ODA Database: A Government-wide system of recording aid as input to NSDP implementation Aid information systems at sectors Monitoring and evaluation at sectors 12

13. Aid effectiveness: Result means BE SMART • 2008 Evaluation: HAR Action Plan too ambitious • Small/less may be beautiful: a facilitated process in which fewer but more relevant activities were identified • Aid effectiveness Joint Monitoring Indicator: a set of results-focus aid effectiveness activities

14. Joint Monitoring Indicators: it’s the results that matter Joint Monitoring Indicators as a framework for mutual accountability between the Royal Government and Development Partners How we jointly monitor what we are doing together: 14

15. MfDR: what lies ahead? Proactive embrace yet political support for results is key Address scattered and uncoordinated external support to institution building in monitoring and evaluation Too many information systems yet far less results-tracking capacity 15