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The China-DAC Study Group was formed in 2009 to share knowledge and exchange experiences on promoting growth and reducing poverty in developing countries, including how international assistance can be effective in supporting this objective. Facilitating mutual learning on poverty reduction is the Study Group’s key principle.
Frequently asked questions
What are the Study Group’s current objectives?
During 2011-12, the China-DAC Study Group will facilitate mutual learning between China and DAC members/observers on how to deliver quality aid to support more effective development and poverty reduction in developing countries.
Improving the quality of foreign assistance is an objective for both China and the DAC. As highlighted in its 2011 White Paper on Foreign Aid, China is working actively to optimise the country’s foreign aid structure and improve the quality of its foreign aid. As part of its mandate, the DAC seeks to enhance the quality and effectiveness of development assistance, particularly regarding pro-poor economic growth and poverty reduction.
How is the Study Group pursuing those objectives?
In its activities, the China-DAC Study Group will bring together national and international officials, experts, private sector and civil society participants on a flexible basis to generate mutual learning on topics of common interest, thereby helping to inform policy making. The Study Group will be demand-driven, responding to expressed interests. The focus will remain predominantly on Africa but there is an opening to include Asia and the Pacific in this new phase of work.
The Study Group will pursue its objectives through activities at two levels:
Roundtables
During 2011-12, the China-DAC Study Group’s main modality will change from large format thematic conferences to a limited number of action-oriented Roundtables. The Roundtables will be flexible in terms of subjects, modalities and participants. The Roundtables may be organised on a one-off basis or as part of a series on a specific topic.
Two Roundtables will be developed in the first instance:
- Thematic studies on improving aid quality: Agriculture and food security (with the initial focus on sharing experiences with supporting agricultural development in Tanzania).
- Improving aid management to improve aid quality (with the initial focus on strengthening evaluation capacity by raising awareness of good practices in the evaluation of aid activities and promoting greater familiarity with their application).
Policy Symposia
Following up on the Policy Symposium that took place in Beijing on 8 June 2011 (see below), further Policy Symposia, involving officials from key ministries and agencies from China, Africa and OECD countries, may be held from time to time to share broad perspectives on findings emerging from the Roundtables or other topics.
What are the Study Group’s expected outcomes?
By learning together and from each others’ experiences and practices, China and DAC members will increase their mutual understanding and trust. This will provide a basis for policy dialogue and for exploring how China and DAC members can work more closely together in the future.
Who participates in the Study Group?
The China-DAC Study Group comprises experts from China and DAC members/observers with detailed knowledge and operational experience of DAC donor support as well as of China’s aid to foreign countries. Study Group members contribute actively and substantially to implementing the Study Group’s agreed work programme. The Study Group also seeks to involve African institutions in its activities, building on the extensive participation by Africans in activities to date.
How does the Study Group operate?
The China-DAC Study Group operates on an informal basis,setting up structures and assigning responsibilities in ways that will enable the Study Group to implement its agreed work programme. The International Poverty Reduction Centre in China (IPRCC) and the OECD's Development Assistance Committee (DAC) form the joint secretariat of the Study Group and provide its co-chairs.
During 2011-12, each Roundtable will be organised by a core group of Study Group members ready to lead, contribute actively to their preparation and fund them, in association with other key stakeholders invited to participate on an ad hoc basis.
How is the Study Group funded?
The China-DAC Study Group is self-funded on a cost-sharing basis. It is expected that the Study Group members will mobilise the necessary in-kind resources and financing required to implement the Study Group’s agreed work programme.
What has the Study Group done in the past?
During 2009-11, the Study Group organised four major international events on important topics related to promoting growth and reducing poverty:
These events focused on China’s recent development experience and on how economic transformation and poverty reduction can be promoted in Africa. The main lessons (pdf, 895 kb) distilled from these events were presented and discussed at a Policy Symposium in Beijing on 8 June 2011 and have been published in a two-volume report "Economic Transformation and Poverty Reduction. How it happened in China, helping it happen in Africa".
The main lessons drawn from the Study Group’s first phase of work will continue to be disseminated during 2011-12, including at the 4th High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, Korea, and at a seminar at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
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