Ownership and Partnership: Does the New Rhetoric Solve the Incentive Problems in Aid?

Abstract

About ten years back, recipients of aid were relabelled ‘partners’ in development. Five years later, the term ‘national ownership’ gained prominence in the international development debate. In this article the author examine these two concepts. First, he argues that there is a trade-off between partnership and ownership. Strong recipient government ownership means less partnership the way donors generally define partnership in their policy documents. This has implications for how the international donor community should view its role in national policy development—such as national poverty strategies (PRSP). Second, he argues that national ownership and the basis of partnership are conditioned by the incentives that underpin the organisations on both sides. The recipient side needs to squarely address the problem that its organisations maximise receipt of aid rather than results, while at the donor side the pressure to spend creates a correspondingly perverse incentive. He argues that results-based aid managed through semi-autonomous development funds is a way forward.