As highlighted in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, improving the quality, impact and effectiveness of all types of development co-operation is crucial to ensuring that the Sustainable Development Goals are achieved. The Global Partnership’s monitoring exercise aims to provide evidence on progress and opportunities in the implementation of all stakeholders’ effective development co-operation commitments. Results from Global Partnership monitoring support mutual accountability among all partners and inform multi-stakeholder dialogue on making development co-operation more effective at the country, regional and global level.

The Global Partnership monitoring tracks country-level progress in implementing the four internationally-agreed effective development co-operation principles: country ownership, a focus on results, inclusive partnerships and transparency and mutual accountability to one another. While other international accountability frameworks monitor the results and outcomes of development co-operation, the Global Partnership monitoring seeks to capture behaviour change by focusing on how stakeholders partner at the country level.

Participation in the monitoring exercise is voluntary for all stakeholders. The process is led by partner countries, in consultation with their development partners and other important domestic actors. Since 2011, 99 countries have led these exercises in collaboration with the vast majority of bilateral and multilateral development partners and other important domestic actors. You can find an up to date list of countries who participated in the 2018 monitoring round here.

In the lead-up to the Global Partnership’s 2022 High-Level Meeting (HLM3) – which will also mark the halfway point of SDG implementation – the moment is right to reflect on the challenges that have accompanied the achievements of the monitoring exercise, ensuring it delivers on its original promise while meeting the evolving needs of its stakeholders and producing evidence relevant to the effectiveness challenges of today.

A reform of the monitoring exercise will thus take place during 2020-2022, resulting in a new monitoring proposal, for endorsement at HLM3. It will build on the commitment made in Nairobi to update the monitoring framework.

Given the scope of the reform, there is a need for a “period of transition”, during which there will not be a global monitoring round. This period will ensure that the reform not only meets the level of ambition for the new monitoring proposal, but also that there is sufficient opportunity to engage with and consult stakeholders. In its 19th meeting (May 2020), the Steering Committee endorsed the Co-Chairs’ proposed ambition level, scope, and implementation plan for the monitoring reform.

The reform will build on the reflection that began in 2017 on new and emerging challenges. Among several pressing calls to adapt the monitoring to these challenges, the Steering Committee decided to first develop a tailored approach to monitoring effective development co-operation in fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCAS). Over 2018 and 2019, an open working group was convened to guide the development of a tailored approach to monitoring effectiveness in fragile contexts that was presented at the Senior Level Meeting (New York, 2019). Further, the Global Partnership supported work led by Mexico to pilot an approach to monitor the effectiveness of South-South co-operation (SSC) from the provider’s perspective. Further information and updates concerning the reform of the Global Partnership monitoring can be found here.

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