Measuring aid governance in developing countries: an application to post-tsunami Aceh, Indonesia

Abstract

In contrast to the popular debate on managing international aid to achieve good governance in developing countries, this article focuses on ensuring good governance of aid processes (or good aid governance) between partners in development, to achieve national and local development objectives. Starting with the case of the reconstruction process in Aceh, Indonesia, since the December 2004 tsunami, the article draws conclusions on the aid governance challenges involved when coordinating multiple stakeholders and projects, while taking into consideration the complexities of the local political economy. Taking a critical look at the indicators of aid effectiveness developed from the Paris Declaration in 2005, the article argues for the use of a more relevant, simple and realistic set of locally generated aid governance indicators to achieve the desired development outcomes.Points for practitionersPartners in development need to shift their focus from aid for good governance, to ensuring good governance of aid processes (or good aid governance) in order to achieve national and local development objectives. Despite mixed evidence, current aid effectiveness frameworks such as the Paris Declaration of 2005 still implicitly suggest that good governance is a pre-requisite to development. The concept and measurement of aid governance by donors and country recipients, as partners in the design, delivery, implementation and management of aid, will vary according to local contexts. In a participatory manner, partners must develop a simple, clear and locally generated measurement framework to provide evidence on aid governance. This framework requires focusing on aid processes and outcomes in a collaborative effort between partners involved in the management and administration of aid, as well as with implementers at the local level.