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INTRODUCTION | ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
INTRODUCTION
When providing development assistance in a country some donors establish Project Implementation Units —dedicated management units designed to support development projects or programmes. The Paris Declaration invites donors to: “avoid to the maximum extent possible, creating dedicated structures for day-to-day management and implementation of aid-financed projects and programmes”.
The intent of this indicator is to see a progression toward strengthening local capacity for planning, im-plementation, and ongoing accountability to a country’s citizens and parliament. This indicator measures progress through the reduction in parallel PIUs — those which are created outside the existing structures of national implementation agencies. There is strong evidence that parallel PIUs tend to undermine national capacity building efforts, distort salaries and generally confuse accountability for development.
This indicator measures the total number of parallel PIUs in a single country. It is expressed in absolute terms rather than a ratio. As a result, the number of parallel PIUs in a single country needs to be considered against nature and volume of development assistance in that country.
It is recognised that parallel and integrated Project Implementation Units evolve on a continuum and the purpose of this indicator is, therefore, to better identify where parallel begins and integrated ends.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Cape-Verde Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Unit
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Criterion 1
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NO. The Millennium Challenges Compact (MCC) is accountable to the Steering Committee, which is chaired by the Minister of Finance and Public Administration, and includes ministries relevant to the components of the Compact, representatives of civil society, private sector and local government. The members of the Advisory Board come from the business community, civil society and the government.
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Criterion 2
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NO. The Managing Unit and national implementing agencies of the Compact decides who, if any, external staff is hired and for what purpose. The TORs were drafted by the Managing Unit with capacity building assistance from the MCC.
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Criterion 3
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NO. The selection is made by the Government, following criteria and processes agreed with the MCC.
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Criterion 4
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YES. Justifications for higher salaries are: 1) greater responsibilities; 2) no guarantee for long-term employment; and 3) required specific professional qualifications (analytical, statistical, engineering, agronomic skills etc.)
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Rwanda: Integrated Support Project for Capacity Development in
Rwanda’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning
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Criterion 1
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NO. The Integrated Support Project (ISP) is a nationally-owned project to support capacity development in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN). The project’s scope and work plan is determined by the Ministry’s Strategic Development Plan and, after a period of management / execution through UNDP, resources to finance this are now provided by donors directly to a basket fund administered by the Ministry.The ISP secretariat reports directly to the Secretary General of MINECOFIN. Reporting to donors is achieved through a Steering Committee chaired by the Secretary General of MINECOFIN.
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Criterion 2
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NO. MINECOFIN determines the terms of reference for any externally appointed staff, and any appointments are presented to the Steering Committee during the normal donor reporting cycle.
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Criterion 3
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NO. All professional staff are appointed and contracted by MINECOFIN, in accordance with the Ministry’s own recruitment process and rules.
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Criterion 4
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NO. All national staff receive salaries and benefits equivalent to those of other professional staff hired at the same level in other MINECOFIN departments.
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Source: UNDP Rwanda
SOUTH AFRICA
Tertiary Education Programme
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Criterion 1
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No. The PIU has been established as a centre co-located at a South African university. There is a contract between the Department of Education (DoE) and the Centre concerning the work of the PIU. The donor pays the work of the PIU upon request from DoE.
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Criterion 2
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No. The Terms of Reference for the Centre and all staff is approved by the Department of Education.
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Criterion 3
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No. All staff is hired and contracted by the Centre, and approved by the DoE.
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Criterion 4
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No. The salary structure of national staff follows the government’s salary structure.
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Source: NORAD
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