OECD Development Co‑operation Peer Reviews: Canada 2025

Annex A. Progress since the 2018 DAC peer review recommendations

Towards a comprehensive development effort

 

2018 Peer Review Recommendations	Progress
Global Affairs Canada should work with the Privy Council Office and other departments to establish a mechanism enabling Canada to analyse areas where its domestic policy and regulatory framework has potentially negative impacts on developing countries and identify actions to address this.	Partially implemented Canada’s 2030 Agenda National Strategy encourages government organisations to assess the social, economic and environmental impacts of policies by identifying gaps, synergies and trade-offs towards advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including transboundary impacts. There is limited evidence that transboundary impacts are analysed.

Vision and policies for development co-operation

 

2018 Peer Review Recommendations	Progress
Global Affairs Canada should complete and disseminate policies for the six priority action areas in its feminist international assistance policy and provide updated guidance and tools which will enable staff and partners to implement them.	Implemented Action area policies were published in 2019 together with guidance notes and additional policies.
Canada should clearly communicate how its new approach to partnering will enable it to implement development effectiveness principles.	Partially implemented Canada is aiming to diversify its approach to partnership and improve quality funding but has yet to clearly articulate how all the different initiatives fit together and to fully implement a more nationally and locally led agenda.

Aid volume and allocation

 

2018 Peer Review Recommendations	Progress
Canada should introduce an ambitious target for increasing its share of ODA in gross national income and set out a path to meet the target, in conformity with the international commitments outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda.	Partially implemented The Minister of International Development is tasked with increasing Canada's international development assistance every year to 2030 to realise the SDGs, but the government has no specific plan to move towards the United Nations target of 0.7% ODA/GNI, and no targets were set. Nonetheless, ODA levels have been increasing since 2018.

Organisation and management

 

2018 Peer Review Recommendations	Progress
Global Affairs Canada should resolve the remaining amalgamation challenges by creating a unified culture across the department, and by harmonising and streamlining departmental systems and processes.	Partially implemented GAC is continuously working on building a shared culture and improving its organisational effectiveness, which are key priorities of the ongoing transformation initiative.
As it implements the feminist international assistance policy, Global Affairs Canada should ensure that staff are able to access the technical support they need, and build their own expertise, in order to experiment, innovate and take responsible risks.	Implemented GAC conducts regular consultations to identify learning needs, has set up an advisory committee for international assistance learning, and developed foundational training for foreign service recruits. GAC is also aiming to transform its grants and contributions processes to support risk taking and innovating. Attracting and building niche expertise remains a challenge.
In order to make the programming process more efficient, Global Affairs Canada should expand its use of service standards and provide managers with timely data on their application.	Partially implemented Service standards will cease to exist. The Grants and Contributions Transformation Initiative aims to address programming efficiency.
Canada should consider increasing financial delegations for international assistance and agree an approach to grants and contributions which makes its international assistance efficient, effective, and innovative, while also ensuring adequate controls.	Implemented Financial delegation towards GAC increased in 2018, and delegation of authority to missions is progressing.

Development co-operation delivery and partnerships

 

2018 Peer Review Recommendations	Progress
Global Affairs Canada should evaluate the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of its engagement with Canadian, international and local civil society organisations, and consider further strengthening predictability, for example through core funding.	Implemented Canada has developed a civil society organisation policy and set-up an advisory group (CSO Policy Advisory Group - CPAG) to support the policy implementation including through monitoring. GAC has also developed new funding mechanisms that are more flexible and demand driven. The degree to which the good practices of these instruments are extended to the many other funding windows and calls for proposals is as yet unclear.
Global Affairs Canada should develop a strategy for private sector engagement, and accompanying guidance and tools.	Partially implemented A strategy was released in 2021 but implementation across GAC and the development of related guidance and tools have been challenging. After a pilot phase of innovative finance programmes, Canada now has room to further harness the potential of private sector engagement.
Canada should provide a greater level of unearmarked, core support to multilateral institutions.	Partially implemented The volume of Canada’s core contributions increased from USD 1.4 billion in 2018 to 2.2 billion in 2022 (representing 34% of multilateral ODA). However, non-core contributions increased as a share of total multilateral contributions, with core contributions slightly decreasing from 24.5% to 23.6% over the period while project-type earmarking increased from 13.9% to 25.2% of the total.
Canada should engage in regular, strategic dialogue with its key multilateral partners within an overall strategic framework for its multilateral engagement.	Partially implemented While GAC engages at both the policy and technical levels in Canada and through boards, strategic dialogue and portfolio review are not systematic.

Results and accountability

 

2018 Peer Review Recommendations	Progress
As Global Affairs Canada finalises its approach to results-based management it should ensure that results frameworks are simple and can demonstrate progress towards Canada’s policy goals.	Partially implemented GAC has developed multiple tools to measure results and report on FIAP priorities including by developing results framework for each action areas under the FIAP, building an integrated architecting for results connecting results frameworks at the project, programme and corporate level and fostering a coherent approach to results management across the department. GAC is working on improving its approach to measuring and using policy results, though a new approach is yet to be rolled out.
Global Affairs Canada should strengthen efforts to support and use country-owned data and results as it monitors its international assistance programming.	Partially implemented GAC’s approach to results focuses on GAC logical frameworks and key performance indicators. Staff are recommended to use nationally owned results-based management systems, whenever possible and relevant, As part of the Grant and Contributions Transformation Initiative, the approach to results in the future should be able to collect partners’ own data and results.