From 4 to 6 October 2023, KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency) organized a Learning and Acceleration Programme (LAP) in Seoul, South Korea. The training catered to the National Coordinators of the monitoring exercise from selected Partner Country Governments, who have committed to participate in the 4th Monitoring round and to begin the exercise in 2023 or 2024.
The training, developed by the OECD/UNDP Joint Support Team of the GPEDC, was delivered to a group of 14 participants comprising representatives of Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Honduras, Indonesia, Peru, and Sierra Leone, along with representatives of the non-executive constituency and Co-Chairs of the GPEDC.
The training gave a comprehensive overview of the process and framework of Global Partnership monitoring.
On the GPEDC and the broader Development Effectiveness Agenda
The training commenced with the opening remarks from four Co-Chairs of the GPEDC, during which they shared their perspectives on the interplay between the technical and political dimensions of the effectiveness process.
Following the key inputs from the Co-Chairs, participants discussed how the delivery and management of development aid and co-operation have undergone significant transformations over the years.
Participants were invited to reflect on the main reasons that their countries decided to join the 4th monitoring round, highlighting how the monitoring exercise can significantly contribute to the evidence-based policy-making process.
Further discussion focused on the key features of the monitoring exercise that their countries perceived as most important. Features such as the flexibility of the 4-year rolling round, the Kampala Principles Assessment, the South-South Co-operation Self-Assessment, and the value of the exercise for encouraging engagement between Governments and other development actors, as well as for driving accountability, were cited.
On the monitoring framework
Participants also reflected on the Monitoring Framework and the evidence that will be generated through it. To support the data collection process, a new digitalized data collection tool has been developed. Additionally, the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders in these phases of the exercise have been communicated to the National Coordinators.
Some challenges related to the data collection process were mentioned by the participants, such as the availability of data for specific key indicators at the different levels. To meet the challenges, participants formulated a number of potential actions for enhancing their country-level outreach to different stakeholders. Along the same lines, the representative from the CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness (CPDE) encouraged National Co-ordinators to actively engage civil society in the monitoring process at country level, given civil society’s role in development co-operation, citing the role that national platforms can play in convening partners.
Following up on the discussion surrounding the data collection process, the representative from Burkina Faso shared some insights regarding its recent application of the Kampala Principles Assessment. He highlighted the opportunities for engagement it generates and the many reflections it will spur. He also alluded to Burkina Faso’s positive experience as one of the first users of the new Online Reporting Tool (ORT) and shared tips with other participants on how to use the tool efficiently to streamline data collection.
On multistakeholder engagement for action
Participants also devised strategies to engage the different development stakeholders for the implementation of the monitoring exercise. Several ideas were expressed, to orchestrate dialogue with different levels of government as well as with the different development stakeholders.
Participants perceived that a sound implementation of the GPEDC monitoring had the potential to bolster decentralization processes and strengthen local capacities. In contexts where mandates are very different between different levels of government, or between government and Civil Society Organizations and the Private Sector, strategic dialogue can be set up around defining common standards for acting and communicating.
Engaging with trade unions was identified as a big challenge, as they are usually not organized in a way that facilitates conducting collective discussions and follow-up.
The way forward: Institutionalizing the Global Partnership monitoring exercise
The training provided National Coordinators with the opportunity to identify key anchoring points for embedding Global Partnership monitoring exercise into national processes and frameworks. Several representatives shared their country's experiences in this area.
The representative from Cote d’Ivoire shared how the exercise was used to inform the preparation of his country’s Voluntary National Review (VNR). Meanwhile, the representatives from Indonesia, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of Congo shared their experiences in the use of results to inform national development plans and strategies, as well as their respective development co-operation policies. The monitoring results were also used by the government of Cameroon to inform the Integrated National Financial Framework (INFF) process.
Lastly, the representative from Sierra Leone shared how the monitoring results complemented the information on the quantity of co-operation tracked in the Development Assistance Database (DAD). Moreover, the government of Sierra Leone is currently using the already-existing Development Partnership Committee (DEPAC) platform as a forum to discuss implementation challenges, in Sierra Leone.
Detailed information on the 2023 KOICA LAP can be accessed here.
This blog post is the first entry in the 2023 KOICA LAP blog series, to be followed by The 2023 KOICA LAP: Catalyzing dialogue and learning among partner countries and other stakeholders.