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In response to the SWAC’s Strategy and Policy Group (SPG) member’s request, the SWAC Secretariat had proposed incorporating regional co-operation into the DAC’s Peer Review Programme by adding new questions to the “DAC Peer Review Content Guide”. This guide has now been revised taking into account the SWAC’s set of questions. Austria, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Sweden and Switzerland will undergo peer review in 2009 using this revised questionnaire.
In addition, the SWAC Secretariat will conduct a regional aid mapping study on West Africa. Outcomes could feed into more general strategic thinking on regional aid effectiveness.
>> download the DAC Peer Review Content Guide
>> learn more: www.oecd.org/dac/peerreviews
Regionally-focused Questions
CHAPTER 1: Strategic Orientations
“Headquarter issues”
- Does the agency address the regional development dimension when designing a bilateral programme and, if so, how? Is regional co-operation seen as a means to provide regional aid complementary to an aid programme focused on a small number of countries? Are there co-ordination mechanisms between units working on countries in the same region at headquarters level? Are there specific policies focused on building regional capacities and strengthening regional organisations?
“Field-level issues”
- Are embassies within the region used to encourage and promote regional co-operation in response to shared challenges in areas such as the political, economic, environmental, trade, migration and security realms? If so, how? Are horizontal linkages across embassies within the region used to promote regional integration and/or to prevent regional conflicts and, if so, how? At a bilateral level, what are the challenges in implementing regional programmes/projects? To what extent does the country office support and/or work through regional organisations?
CHAPTER 4: Management
- How is the programming process organised? How are partner country policies and strategies reflected in regional programmes? How does headquarters expect country programmes to take account of partner country policies and strategies?
CHAPTER 5: Aid Effectiveness
“Field-level issues”: Alignment
- To what extent does it harmonise approaches with other donors when national systems do not meet mutually agreed levels of performance or are not used? How, and by what means, does the donor promote the use of local and regional procurement?
CHAPTER 6: Special Issues
“Field-level issues”
- What approaches to capacity development does the country office use (e.g. technical co-operation, training, South-South or triangular co-operation) and how does it support capacity development through its programmes? What is the role and cost of foreign technical assistance in building institutional and human capacities in the partner country? How is technical co-operation designed and managed and to what extent is the provision of technical assistance by local and regional sources promoted? Have attempts been made to work with local consultants and/or local institutions to carry out the capacity development programme, rather than importing expertise? Does support for capacity development engage the private sector and civil society?
Environment and Climate Change
“Headquarter issues”
- Is there an overall policy on climate change? Has climate change been included in other crosscutting agency policies for example on sustainable development, disaster risk reduction or policy coherence? To what extent/how has climate change been incorporated into various sectoral policies (energy, transport, agriculture, education, health, credits, etc.)? Is there a requirement to include climate change aspects in regional and national strategies?
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