Welcome to the United Nations
Executive Summary
Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development requires the mobilization and effective use of all types of development resources. As such the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (the Global Partnership) provides a multi-stakeholder platform to advance the effectiveness of development efforts by all actors, to deliver results that are long-lasting and contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Global Partnership promotes open dialogue among different stakeholders on an equal footing thereby promoting the paradigm shift from aid to development effectiveness, in line with the 2030 Agenda and Financing for Development processes. It aims to foster peer learning to enable behavioural change and further strengthen trust, accountability and participation of all actors in development co-operation, for sustainable results on the ground. Based on the prevailing global context and learning from the findings of the 2016 monitoring round, the Global Partnership re-commits itself to the four principles of the Global Partnership –ensuring that no one is left behind by the development process:
- National ownership over the development process
- Inclusive partnerships, recognising strength in diversity
- Partnerships aligned to priority results set by national governments
- Transparency and mutual accountability
- Continue to ensure aid is spent effectively: Development partners should live up to commitments to make development co-operation funding increasingly predictable and transparent. Progress is slow here. 71% of development co-operation funding in 2015 was covered by indicative forward spending plans; only an increase of 1% since 2013 (70%).
- Increase the use of national systems, including procurement systems. Only half of development co-operation payments to the public sector used country systems in 2015. The use of countries’ public financial management systems for procurement decreased by 2% (from 39% to 37%) between 2010 to 2015. Furthermore, the results suggest that most countries still need to make improvements in making their budgets more comprehensive and credible; linking their budgets effectively to policy priorities, implementing expenditure in a controlled and predictable way and subjecting budgets to timely and accurate accounting, fiscal reporting and public auditing.
- Increase gender budgeting. This is improving. 72% of countries reporting have at least one of the following, while 50% have all three:
- Include mainstreaming in government statement
- A system for tracking public allocation
- A central government unit leading efforts
- Increase accountability: There is still a room for improvement. 46% of reviews of progress against targets for the implementation of effective development co-operation principles (which are supported by respective national governments), sufficiently engaged parliamentarians and other stakeholders. Most strengthening of such reviews mainly related to Official Development Assistance. When it came to civil society engagement, 88% of reporting countries consulted civil society. Yet the degree of consultation varies.
- Increase the use of effective partnerships with businesses: Governments and private sector were keen to work together in most reporting countries. Yet 81% of reporting countries reported that they and their partners lacked instruments and policies for public-private dialogue. A lack of champions, instruments and resources weakened dialogue in 63% of reporting countries. Dialogue between government, businesses, workers and others can increase understanding of potential shared benefits of partnership.
- There is need to ensure all development interventions are country led and are responding to specific country needs and context. It is also essential that renewed focus is put on strengthening and using county systems, including country results frameworks and public financial management and procurement systems, and that this not be only a political choice, but rather a commitment to country ownership.
- In line with the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, establishing and strengthening comprehensive and holistic frameworks to manage the totality of diverse development finance flows is a key to ensure all resources are used to address the challenge of leaving no-one behind. Such a framework can also foster multi-stakeholder partnerships and mutual accountability at country level.
- Transparency in development activities is essential for fostering strong multi-stakeholder partnerships and accountability to ensure no-one left behind in achieving SDGs. Transparency in gender tracking systems, development planning, mutual assessment reviews, as well as on development co-operation is critical for effective policy formulation and for accountability.
- Removing barriers to effective development will depend on honest dialogue between countries and development partners to address persistent constraints, including devising new, innovative ways of jointly managing risks. Strong institutionalised partnerships at the country level supported by the quality of dialogue can build mutual trust and underpin transparency and accountability.
- It is important to promote concerted effort by all partners to capture lessons learned in implementation of effective development co-operation and to actively engage in available knowledge-sharing platforms to exchange lessons and innovative solutions to development challenges.
- Equally important, drawing on the potential of multi-stakeholder partnership mechanisms that strengthen complementarities among governments, development partners, business sector and civil society, removing traditional barriers between state and not-state actors, may multiply our joint results and progress towards more inclusive development progress.
- A global multi-stakeholder platform for promoting effective development co-operation and multi-stakeholder actions for SDG attainment;
- Data and evidence generated and shared from country implementation efforts and monitoring;
- A global, practical “go-to” platform with strong mechanisms for sharing knowledge and collaboration;
- Support to the observance of effectiveness principles at the country level;
- Increased engagement with the private sector and learning from diverse modalities of development co-operation, including South-South and Triangular Co-operation;
- Political momentum around development effectiveness principles.
