Evolving Debates on the Effectiveness of Official Development Assistance

“Effectiveness” is not a novel concept. However, it has become a central focus of the aid industry. What is new is the broad concentration on what must be done to maximise the impact of development aid and increase its effectiveness. The study of development effectiveness is well worth doing, even if not every impact question can be answered with a high degree of precision or certainty. Indeed, one of the immediate benefits of an effectiveness assessment will be a better understanding of the extent to which it is possible to evaluate the effectiveness of official development assistance. It has been broadly acknowledged that new global challenges add urgency to making aid as effective as possible. Right now, we are in a new era defined by the Sustainable Development Goals, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on financing and the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change. To assess development effectiveness, it is necessary to rethink the system by which aid is delivered. Crucial factors in evaluating development effectiveness need to be considered and the new role of official development assistance to leverage the public and private sectors should be acknowledged. In the process of developing a new methodological framework, policymakers need to acknowledge that, in reality, the power of many countries is limited and the challenge of fragile states is more serious than ever. While the role of recipient countries in the assessment process has generally been ignored, amplifying their voices in and giving more weight to locally driven feedback are crucial steps towards developing a more appropriate framework.