Bilateral Agencies Research Articles

Transparency and citizen support for public agencies: The case of foreign aid

AbstractCan public agencies boost support for their mandate by being more transparent? We examine this important question in the context of foreign aid. Skepticism about foreign aid spending is common among citizens. This article argues that bilateral aid agencies can increase support for foreign aid by enhancing transparency. The article presents findings from three survey experiments involving a representative sample of 2058 British citizens, as well as observational data at the cross‐national level. The results suggest that transparency reforms are among the most effective institutional interventions for increasing public support. They also suggest that transparency is most effective at increasing public support amongst those who are initially more skeptical of aid and the civil service. Finally, they suggest that citizens do not have strong preferences about the type of information disclosed. They reward all types of transparency.

Ceremonial implementation at overseas locations: a multi-case study of a bilateral development agency

PurposePrior institutional duality research asserts that ceremonial implementation of organisational practice protects multinational corporations’ subsidiaries. However, the temporal dynamics of the safeguarding function has been under researched. Public sector organisations have also been ignored. This research aims to explore how the safeguarding function is created, maintained and disrupted using the overseas offices (OOs) of a bilateral development agency (BDA) as a case.Design/methodology/approachA multi-case study, underpinned by neo-institutionalism, was conducted. Data obtained from in-depth remote interviews with 39 informants from the BDA OOs were analysed using the “asking small and large questions” technique, four analytical techniques, cross-case synthesis and theoretical propositions.FindingsA three-phase process was identified. The first phase is the appearance of discrepancies due to institutional duality. The second is the emergence of ceremonial implementation as a solution. In the third phase, “the creation, maintenance and disruption of a safeguarding function” begins. When ceremonial implementation successfully protects the OOs, the safeguarding function is created. The OOs are likely to repeat ceremonial implementation, thus sustaining the function. Meanwhile, when conditions such as management staff change, ceremonial implementation may not take place, and the safeguarding function disappears.Research limitations/implicationsThe BDA OOs may not face strong host country regulative pressures because they are donors to aid-recipient countries. Hence, the findings may not directly apply to other public sector organisations.Practical implicationsDevelopment cooperation practitioners should understand that ceremonial implementation is not exclusively harmful.Originality/valueTo the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first institutional duality research that explores the temporal dynamics of safeguarding functions targeting public sector organisations.

The Principle of Accountability in Human Rights-Based Approaches to Development: Towards a New Understanding

Abstract Human rights-based approaches to development (HRBADs) have been pointed out as the most accomplished form of integration of human rights in development. Despite the growing talks among development practitioners on the need for human rights-based approaches to development policies and practices, it remains unclear what exactly the human right principle of accountability at the heart of these approaches consists of. This article seeks to unravel some of the difficulties. What does the principle of accountability mean? Who is accountable and to whom? What does it mean for current development practice? Reflecting on these questions, this article critically delves into policy, guidance, operational documents, evaluations, and other analyses by a selected number of bilateral development agencies. This desk-based research is in some cases backed by semi-structured interviews designed to provide a review of the current approaches to applying the principle of accountability. The article sheds light on how the principle of accountability is understood and applied by those agencies, and notes challenges and inconsistencies. It argues that the principle of accountability should be made fit for purpose so as not to become mere political rhetoric without practical meaning in development practice. It is thus contended that development agencies and state donors should move beyond understanding the principle of accountability as one that is grounded in internal accountability mechanisms and systems of evaluation and aim for holding all stakeholders, including themselves, accountable to the rights-holders of their development programmes and projects.

Essentials of Functional Whole-of-Government Monitoring and Evaluation Systems: The Zambian Case

Since the turn of the 21st century in the year 2000, it has become increasingly impossible to design and implement a development intervention, be it a project, programme or policy without articulating a sound monitoring and evaluation framework. More demanded are functional monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems. It is for that reason that governments, civil society organisations, non-governmental organizations, bilateral and multilateral agencies have all adopted the agenda of strengthening their systems for M&E. Among others, known benefits from implementing sound M&E include enhancing accountability, feedback and learning. This paper articulates essentials development agencies, and their respective stakeholders need to put in place for their M&E systems to function well. More so, focus is on building stronger whole-of-government M&E systems. Essentially, a typical M&E system would have two sides, both of which would be crucial for a successful and functional whole-of-government M&E system. These are the supply-side and the demand-side. In addition, there are known essentials deemed crucial to a successful whole-of-government M&E system. These include the political and technical issues associated with implementing country systems for M&E. Another essential is the ownership of M&E systems. Further, the paper also presents a comprehensive section showing the fundamental ten steps for building a functional whole-of-government M&E system. When these aspects are understood by governments and carefully institutionalised across structures, M&E would prove to be a useful tool to promote accountability, feedback and learning. It also goes without saying, that, in the absence of a stronger system for M&E, governments will most likely not tell success from failure, not see success and would fail to reward it. As such, governments would probably never recognize its failures, thus failing to correct it and ultimately fall short of demonstrating development results. Once these happen, such governments would not win public support.

A Review of the Zambia Teacher Education Reform: Policy Challenges and Influence of Bilateral Agencies

Donor agencies have provided aid for the education system in Zambia by introducing innovations that seek to improve the provision of education. However, it has been observed that many innovations are discontinued after donor funding is withdrawn. A case in point is the Zambia Teacher Education Reform Programme (ZATERP) later renamed the Zambia Teacher Education Course (ZATEC). ZATERP/ZATEC were funded by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) between 1998 -2008. In 2008 DANIDA withdrew support from ZATEC and the Ministry of Education through its Directorate of Teacher Education and Specialized Services (TESS) could not sustain the programme. The Ministry of Education failed to pay field allowances for students and lecturers including other logistical support for the programme. Consequently, some vital aspects of the programme were changed such as the school-based year which was discontinued. The old structure of teacher education was re-introduced where students were in college for two years and school experience was reduced to a single term.

Prioritization of Socio-Ecological Indicators for Adaptation Action in Pauri District of Western Himalaya

Socio-ecological systems have increasingly faced climate-change impacts, which have adversely affected the lives and property of inhabitants. The present study aims to prioritize adaptation actions along an altitudinal gradient (<1200 m asl (Zone A), 1201–1800 m asl (Zone B), and >1801 m asl (Zone C)) in Pauri District, Uttarakhand. A cross-sectional survey research design was employed to prioritize adaptation action from 545 randomly selected households in 91 villages. A multi-disciplinary bottom-up indicator-based approach was applied to identify and normalize sectoral indicators, and PCA was used to prioritize sectoral indicators. Adaptation actions were designed with prioritized sectoral indicators along the altitude and stakeholder consultations. The prioritized indicators varied along the altitudinal gradient, and more than 50% of the indicators for the same sector were different along an altitudinal gradient. Sectoral adaptation planning along the altitude is pertinent in the mountain because they contribute to adaptation planning differently. Additionally, the mainstreaming of adaptation strategies with national and regional development measures is also required. Finally, cross-sectoral resource management that combines users, planners, scientists, and policymakers should be formulated along the altitude within the district. These findings contribute to minimizing the gap between policy/program fabrication and local requirements. The evidence-based valuable knowledge for decision-makers could enable Himalayan communities to adapt to the impacts of climate change effectively. Adaptation planning is also critical for designing adaptation projects for the Green Climate Fund, Adaptation Fund, and funds from multilateral and bilateral agencies. It will facilitate Nationally Determined Contributions, which aims to adapt better to climate change by enhancing investments in development programs in vulnerable sectors.

Factors influencing institutionalization of health technology assessment in Kenya

BackgroundThere is a global interest in institutionalizing health technology assessment (HTA) as an approach for explicit healthcare priority-setting. Institutionalization of HTA refers to the process of conducting and utilizing HTA as a normative practice for guiding resource allocation decisions within the health system. In this study, we aimed to examine the factors that were influencing institutionalization of HTA in Kenya.MethodsWe conducted a qualitative case study using document reviews and in-depth interviews with 30 participants involved in the HTA institutionalization process in Kenya. We used a thematic approach to analyze the data.ResultsWe found that institutionalization of HTA in Kenya was being supported by factors such as establishment of organizational structures for HTA; availability of legal frameworks and policies on HTA; increasing availability of awareness creation and capacity-building initiatives for HTA; policymakers’ interests in universal health coverage and optimal allocation of resources; technocrats’ interests in evidence-based processes; presence of international collaboration for HTA; and lastly, involvement of bilateral agencies. On the other hand, institutionalization of HTA was being undermined by limited availability of skilled human resources, financial resources, and information resources for HTA; lack of HTA guidelines and decision-making frameworks; limited HTA awareness among subnational stakeholders; and industries’ interests in safeguarding their revenue.ConclusionsKenya’s Ministry of Health can facilitate institutionalization of HTA by adopting a systemic approach that involves: - (a) introducing long-term capacity-building initiatives to strengthen human and technical capacity for HTA; (b) earmarking national health budgets to ensure adequate financial resources for HTA; (c) introducing a cost database and promoting timely data collection to ensure availability of data for HTA; (d) developing context specific HTA guidelines and decision-making frameworks to facilitate HTA processes; (e) conducting deeper advocacy to strengthen HTA awareness among subnational stakeholders; and (f) managing stakeholders’ interests to minimize opposition to institutionalization of HTA.

ELECTRICITY ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND QUALITY OF LIFE: EVIDENCE FROM AN ELECTRICITY ENERGY-DEFICIENT ECONOMY

The electricity-growth literature is replete with empirical evidences of studies that adopted the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or its surrogates as measures of the quality of life. Hence, the fundamental focus of this study is to explore the link between electricity energy consumption and quality of life in Nigeria for the period 1990 to 2020.The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model was adapted as the econometric estimation technique for the examination of the link between electricity energy consumption (ELE) and the quality of life of electricity-dependent economic agents represented as HDI1 and HDI2. The resultant estimates and outcomes of the ARDL test indicated that there is no short and long-run connectivity between ELE and HDI (1). We concluded that, ELE has not been beneficial for the enhancement of the quality of life (when represented as HDI1) and / or its accumulation in the short- and long -run but has long run positive consequences for only HDI2. Therefore, the government of Nigeria, and the international bilateral and multilateral agencies for the development of quality of life should encourage electricity consumption as a complement of human well-being and quality of life especially HDI1 and HDI2 for short and long-run purposes.
 Keywords: Electricity Energy, Quality of life, Human Development, Cointegration, ARDL Bounds Test, Nigeria.

Doing ‘Us-Them’ differently: the identity work of frontline aid bureaucrats in translating aid effectiveness policy rhetoric into practice

ABSTRACT Bilateral aid agencies often face implementation challenges in internal efforts to address long-standing aid fragmentation and effectiveness issues. This article introduces the organizational identity concept to understand better these challenges by examining how Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) frontline staff understand their role and organizational goals in light of shifting demands to coordinate and align Swedish government agencies’ (SGA) aid engagements. SGAs implement 10-15% of Swedish bilateral aid annually. A recent government strategy prioritizes strengthening partner countries’ public institutions and partnerships in line with the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development. Analysis of interviews and focus group data reveals a general shift among bureaucrats beyond the traditional us-them funder identity, to embrace a range of other identity orientations in the Sida-SGA relationship. The various orientations reflected Sida frontline bureaucrats’ diverse interpretations of their individual authority and socialized sense-making of ambivalent organizational changes, as they grapple with questions of ‘Who we should be?’ and ‘What we should do?’ on the frontline. The study provides a fine-grained view of the essential attitudes, skills and behavior on the frontline that influence aid relationships and the implementation of aid effectiveness principles, adding nuance to the existing aid effectiveness literature.

Financing renewable energy: policy insights from Brazil and Nigeria

BackgroundAchieving climate targets will require a rapid transition to clean energy. However, renewable energy (RE) firms face financial, policy, and economic barriers to mobilizing sufficient investment in low-carbon technologies, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Here, we analyze the challenges and successes of financing the energy transition in Nigeria and Brazil using three empirically grounded levers: financing environments, channels, and instruments.ResultsWhile Brazil has leveraged innovative policy instruments to mobilize large-scale investment in RE, policy uncertainty and weak financing mechanisms have hindered RE investments in Nigeria. Specifically, Brazil’s energy transition has been driven by catalytic finance from the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES). In contrast, bilateral agencies and multilateral development banks (MDBs) have been the largest financiers of renewables in Nigeria. Policy instruments and public–private partnerships need to be redesigned to attract finance and scale market opportunities for RE project developers in Nigeria.ConclusionsWe conclude that robust policy frameworks, a dynamic public bank, strategic deployment of blended finance, and diversification of financing instruments would be essential to accelerate RE investment in Nigeria. Considering the crucial role of donors and MDBs in Nigeria, we propose a multi-stakeholder model to consolidate climate finance and facilitate the country’s energy transition.

Institutional Environment Pressures Perceived by Bilateral Development Cooperation Agency's Constituents

Public organisations have rarely been the subjects of neo-institutional research. Intra-organisational behaviour has also been under-researched. This study examined how four distinct groups of Bilateral Development Cooperation Agency's staff perceive institutional environment pressures from home and host countries. One-hundred thirty-one valid responses obtained through an online survey were analysed. Staff in both the headquarters and overseas offices felt a powerful home country accountability pressure. This tendency is prominent for management staff. The test results, as seen through the lens of a neo-institutional perspective, suggest that overseas office staff prioritise accountability to home country stakeholders over that to host country stakeholders.

Who funds the production of globally visible research in the Global South?

There exist large disparities globally when it comes to knowledge production with very small proportions of publications from the majority world penetrating the global science system. This paper examines the Scopus data on the funders of publications (co-)authored by individuals based in the Caucasus or Central Asia. The analysis shows that in the conditions of scarce local funding for research, research activity has been fuelled by international funding. The funding has been rather diverse and originated from 98 countries across North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Australia. The two countries most frequently mentioned in the funding acknowledgements are the United States and the Russian Federation, cumulatively accounting for approximately 20% of funding acknowledgements. Different types of organisations have funded globally visible research produced by authors based in the Caucasus and Central Asia, most notably bilateral agencies (68% of all funding acknowledgements), followed by philanthropies (7%), and multilateral organisations (5%). This paper offers evidence to question the viability of the narrative of North–South divisions in the global science system. While higher education and research are shaped within territorially bounded, self-contained, and discrete spaces of nation-states, the global science system rests on the extensive flows of funding and knowledge which extend well beyond the nation state.

Evolution of Participation in International Organization

The misapprehension that, because of its isolationist tradition and rejection of the League of Nations, the United States eschewed the joining of multipartite public international organizations prior to World War II is controverted by historical evidence. Except for noninvolvement in Europe's alliances prior to the 1940s, infact, the United States has participated enthusiastically in multilateral as well as bilateral international agencies in which it has a vital interest or which it regards as beneficial in implementing its foreign relations.

Biodiversity conservation funding in Bhutan: Thematic, temporal, and spatial trends over four decades

AbstractAccess to sufficient financial resources is vital for effective biodiversity conservation. Although the importance of biodiversity conservation is widely recognized, lack of funding has been a significant impediment to achieving conservation goals. Yet, information on the allocation of conservation funding remains limited. This study addresses this gap by mapping conservation funding flows in Bhutan over the past four decades. We identified 249 projects totaling US$ 239.4 million allocated for biodiversity conservation in Bhutan from 1980 to 2019. Most of this funding derived from bilateral and multilateral aid agencies, with domestic trust fund and private foundations also contributing. Funding for projects with coupled conservation and development objectives and gender components was relatively high, particularly for funds allocated by multilateral and bilateral organizations. By contrast, domestic funding typically did not include development or gender components. Private foundations and domestic sources emphasized capacity development interventions. Despite relatively limited funding flows, the socio‐political context in Bhutan, which favors environmentally friendly practices, may have been key to the country's widely recognized conservation success. Evidence on trends and patterns in conservation finance, as presented here for Bhutan, can advance conservation science and practice by shedding new light on historical and current conservation priorities and helping inform future allocation.

Malaria elimination does not cost more than malaria control: Sri Lanka a case in point

BackgroundMalaria was endemic in Sri Lanka for centuries and was eliminated in 2012. It is widely assumed that the costs of elimination are generally greater than that of control. The costs of malaria elimination in Sri Lanka with that of malaria control in the past using periods in which starting transmission dynamics were similar were compared.MethodsThe expenditure of the Anti-Malaria Campaign (AMC), total and by budget category, during 2002–2010 is compared with that of malaria control during the period 1980–1989, using regression analyses and the Mann Whitney U statistic.ResultsThe expenditure on malaria control and malaria elimination was similar ranging from 21 to 45 million USD per year when adjusted for inflation. In both periods, external funding for the malaria progamme constituted around 24% of the total budget; during the control phase in the 1980s, external funds came from bilateral agencies and were disbursed in accordance with government budget guidelines. In the elimination phase in the 2000s, most of external funding was from the Global Fund and had flexibility of disbursement. In the 1980s, most funds were expended on commodities—insecticides, diagnostics and medicines and their delivery; in the elimination phase, they were spent on programme management, human resources, technical assistance and monitoring and evaluation; monitoring and evaluation was not a budget line in the 1980s. Although the cost per case of malaria was considerably higher during the elimination phase than in the control phase, expenditure was not on individual cases but on general systems strengthening.ConclusionMalaria elimination in Southeast Asia may not require more funding than malaria control. But sustained funding for an agile programme with flexibility in fund utilization and improved efficiencies in programme management with stringent monitoring and evaluation appears to be critically important.

Security cooperation in the Pacific Islands: architecture, complex, community, or something else?

Abstract In the 2018 Boe Declaration, Pacific Islands Forum leaders recognized that the region is facing ‘an increasingly complex regional security environment’ and committed to ‘strengthening the existing regional security architecture’. Given uncertainty about the existence and nature of this architecture, we address the question: is there a security architecture in the region, or does security cooperation take a different shape? We find that security cooperation in the Pacific Islands does not constitute a security architecture, as there is no ‘overarching, coherent and comprehensive security structure for a geographically-defined area’. We also find that the region is neither a security complex nor a community, due to the extensive involvement of metropolitan powers and external partners. Instead, we argue that security cooperation in the Pacific Islands is best described as a patchwork of bilateral, minilateral, and multilateral, formal and informal agencies, agreements, and arrangements, across local, national, regional, and international levels

Impact of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises on Economic Development of Nigeria

Nigeria has made it one of its primary goals in recent decades to develop its industrial base through the formation, maintenance and expansion of small and medium scale enterprises in order to achieve economic development. Fiscal incentives, grants, support and aid from bilateral and international agencies, as well as specialized institutions, have all been used to help the SME sector thrive. However, SMEs in Nigeria have not performed creditably and so have not played the crucial and lively role that they should have in the country's economic growth and development. As a result, the government, citizens, operators, practitioners, and organized private sector groups have all expressed concern about the situation. Using time series data set from 1991 to 2020, this study utilized the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) to analyze the impact of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on the development of the Nigerian economy. The study found a long-run relationship between small and medium scale enterprise and economic development in Nigeria. Our findings also indicate a unidirectional relationship from gross domestic product to commercial bank loans to SMEs. However, there is no causal relationship between inflation and gross domestic product; interest rate and gross domestic product, while none of the economic growth indicators report a bi-causal relationship. The study hereby recommends that government should assist prospective entrepreneurs to have access to finance and necessary information relating to business opportunities to enable them to reduce their operating costs and be more efficient to meet the market competitions.

Colonial Roots of Modern Development Discourse

The paper is structured around a thesis that the historical and colonial roots of modern development shape contemporary development themes and discourses, and that these in turn influence the metrics and indicators used to measure development. The article looks into how colonial relations shape contemporary development themes; the historical evolution of the key themes and measurements of development; finally, how various important “developers,” particularly multilateral and bilateral development agencies, use their epistemic privilege to influence the metrics or indicators that we use to measure development, with particular emphasis on the measures of poverty and inequality. The paper uses a historically grounded narrative structure in demonstrating how colonial legacies have continued to influence development discourse and the related metrics and indicators used in development theory and practice. Finally, the author identifies future avenues of research, particularly how metrics or measures might correspondingly shape emerging development themes and discourses.

Cooperação internacional para o desenvolvimento e financiamento externo para o Brasil: uma macroanálise do período entre 2000 e 2020

Abstract This article analyzes public sector projects and programs in Brazil that received external financing from multilateral and bilateral agencies at the federal, state, and municipal levels between 2000 and 2020. The analyzed data were collected in the COFIEX Panel of the Brazilian Ministry of Economy, categorized, and presented in this article in a contextual way, aiming to represent the first overview of this object for studies on Public Administration in the country. An important instrument of the International Development Cooperation System, International Financing for Development follows international organizations” agendas and guidelines that have changed throughout history. Thus, in addition to exploring the main creditor sources, sectors, and federal units of destination of International Development Financing to Brazil, the article verified how the characteristics of international financing received between 2000-2015 and post-2015 reflect the agendas and guidelines of International Development Cooperation of the respective periods, namely, the Millennium Development Goals (2000-2015) and the Sustainable Development Goals (2015-2030). As a result, in addition to presenting a pioneering exploratory analysis of the data, it was possible to verify an inflection of external financing received by Brazil after 2015 in the direction of the current agenda and guidelines of International Development Cooperation. Finally, the paper presents directions for future research agendas.

Evaluation policy and organizational evaluation capacity building: A study of international aid agency evaluation policies

AbstractResearch and theory on evaluation capacity building (ECB) and organizational evaluation capacity have been developing at a good pace over the past decade. On the other hand, there is a paucity of research on the nature and consequences of organizational evaluation policy. Evaluation policies are developed and implemented ultimately to inform and shape evaluation practice and its consequences. It is therefore natural to consider the interface between evaluation policy and ECB. The present exploratory descriptive study examines 52 evaluation policies from bilateral and multilateral aid agencies to explore connections between evaluation policy content and ECB principles and considerations. The results shed light on some interesting relationships; they are discussed in terms of evaluation use, evaluation purposes, and organizational leadership. The study also resulted in a revision of Trochim's (2009) definition of evaluation policy and a refinement and expansion of his eight‐category taxonomy. Implications for ongoing inquiry are considered and practical implications are offered to organization members and evaluation policy developers.