Toward a Conceptual Expansion of Ownership and Post‐2015 Global Development Policy: Illustrations from the Jamaican Experience

Abstract

Is ‘ownership’ still relevant to the post‐2015 era? Since 2000, global efforts have concentrated on reforming prescriptive aid relationships by promoting ownership by recipient countries. However, there have been many challenges operationalizing ownership at the country and sectoral levels, and the post‐2015 era will present more challenges. This is because traditional donors, the private sector and philanthropic actors will now need to partner to finance the post‐2015 Global Goals, and it is unclear how recipients will retain meaningful ownership. This article discusses how ownership is not monolithic, as different understandings have always been simultaneously reflected and challenged over time. In so doing it proposes analytical clarity around the concept, and raises questions and implications for post‐2015 development practice.