Aid Coordination & Effectiveness

The UNDP and the Government of Jordan have signed up to the Principles of the Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness and are moving toward their adoption

UNDP in Jordan undertook a strategic planning exercise in late 2009  that led to defining its overall vision, incorporating six guiding principles and an overall direction for each of our four portfolios: on Poverty & MDGs, Environment and Climate Change, Disaster Risk Reduction and Democratic Governance. 
 

This overall direction ensures that all UNDP’s new initiatives in each of its four portfolios will be designed as an integrated programme of support, within an international framework that includes: the Jordan National Agenda and National Executive Programme, the Millennium Development Goals, (MDGs), the UNDP Strategic Plan, the Accra Agenda for Action (AAA), and Delivering as One UN. 
 

Within this context, UNDP began a lengthy process of reviewing how it currently provides support to  the government and other institutions of the state. This review resulted in a  discussion paper on  the steps that  will be taken in advancing UNDP Jordan Country Office, (CO), towards adopting the Principles of the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action on aid effectiveness, using UNDP’s capacity development process as a core tool. The five Principles are: a ) ownership, b) alignment, c) harmonization, d) focus on results and e) mutual accountability. The following outlines how the five Principles will be adopted for all new programmes in Poverty & MDGs, Environment and Climate Change, Disaster Risk Reduction and Democratic Governance portfolios.
 

Adoption of the five Principles in UNDP’s programmes of support in  Jordan:

• Ownership: Developing countries set their own strategies, improve their institutions and tackle corruption.
• Alignment: Donor countries align behind the Declaration and use nationally owned systems.
• Harmonisation: Donor countries coordinate, simplify procedures and share information, to avoid duplication.
• Focus on Results: Developing countries and donors shift focus to development results and results that can be clearly measured.
• Mutual Accountability: Donors and partners are accountable for development results.

 
Summary:

UNDP in Jordan, over the coming five years, will provide high level policy advice to its implementing partners to assist them in the formulation and implementation of appropriate high level strategies. It will assist the government in fulfilling its obligations they have undertaken in signaling international treaties and conventions and achieving internationally agreed standards. It will use an assessment of capacity development for identifying any gaps in knowledge, both in the technical thematic area and in the operational issues of the Implementing Partners (IPs). It will develop a targeted response plan of support based on the findings of the assessment. At the same time it will have phased out its support to Programme Implementation Units (PIUs), and will provide technical assistance that is coordinated as well as genuinely reflecting the needs of the IPs.

UNDP will move towards strengthening and adopting the IP’s systems and procedures. It will also encourage the recording of UNDP’s financial contribution in the GoJ budget. UNDP will also work closely with other UN agencies to promote integration of delivery, developing joint programmes where possible. Close collaboration with the donor community will ensure aid effectiveness.
 

Other Continuing Initiatives on the Effectiveness of Aid:
 

1. The International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) and Jordan
   
   The IATI was launched in 2008 during the Accra meetings by the development partners. Jordan has taken an important role in moving this Initiative forward. In this regard, MoPIC co-hosted with UNDP Jordan the regional consultations for Arab States on the IATI in August 2009. The participants included government and UNDP representatives from 12 countries in the region, in addition to representatives from MoPIC, the Jordanian Parliament, and Ministry of Finance. In a two-day gathering, the participants discussed the Accra Agenda for Action, the Paris Declaration and other international commitments on transparency and mutual accountability; identified those information needs of partner country governments which are not currently being met, and made recommendations for areas to be included in the scope of potential IATI standards. The consultations facilitated South-South learning and peer exchange on good practices, lessons learned and challenges arising from the deployment of aid information management systems (AIMS). The meeting discussed how the IATI could help to improve the effectiveness of such systems, as well as how best practices and experiences with country AIMS can feed into the development of an IATI standard. The consultations were forward looking, exploring the best ways and means to progress the IATI at country, sub-regional, regional and global levels, to incorporate partner country needs in regard to capacity development.
   
   
   As a follow-up to the IATI regional consultations, the Head of the Aid Coordination Division at MoPIC participated, during September 2009, in the IATI technical committee meeting in London. The Minister of MoPIC at the time chaired a session at the first global IATI Conference that took place in The Hague over 20th-21st October 2009. The IATI agenda has been a major impetus in UN-UNDP-MoPIC collaboration in Jordan on aid effectiveness as well as in the ongoing joint support with the EU in developing AIMS.
   

    

2.  Support to the donor thematic groups established to support Aid Coordination
   
   UNDP actively participates in four of the six thematic donor groups formed in Jordan to promote harmonization amongst donors. These groups are: Water, Environment, Social and Governance. It chairs the Governance thematic group. UNDP together with the EU supported MoPIC in developing an Aid Information Management System (AIMS) which provides a comprehensive overview of ongoing projects and programmes in the Kingdom, funded through foreign aid.

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