Official Development Assistance in Central Europe ODACE Lessons

Official Development Assistance in Central Europe (ODACE) Lessons Learnt Canadian International Agence canadienne de Development Agency développement international

ODACE -Basics • • • Project duration: Nov 2001 -2007 Project budget: $12 Million Partner Countries (PCs): Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia • Two integrated project components: capacity-building (2001 -05) and trilateral cooperation (2004 -07) GOALS: • A contribution to donor harmonization and alignment • Increasing the net quantity of international aid available to the developing world Canadian International Agence canadienne de Development Agency développement international

Capacity Building for ODA • Constructing the institutional infrastructure (MFAs, Dev. Centers) • Developing the strategic and policy frameworks (IDPs, Country Strategy Papers) • Enhancing the skill base (training staff) • Generating political and public support (Working with different constituencies: MPs, Platforms, Academia) • Creating programming and funding mechanisms • Enhancing delivery capacity (working with NGDOs) Canadian International Agence canadienne de Development Agency développement international

Trilateral Programming – Action Learning • Projects in third countries that are funded on a matching basis by CIDA and the PC • Projects that are approved by the PC and endorsed by CIDA • 43 projects approved - 25 with Slovakia - 2 with Lithuania - 4 with Latvia - 8 with Hungary - 4 with Czech Republic Canadian International Agence canadienne de Development Agency développement international

ODACE: What Worked? • Assisting Platforms as the „neutral” partner • Improving statistical reporting – a critically important step towards political support for ODA • Creating support among different constituencies through the involvement in the program • Through the tri-lateral mechanism, create more transparent, open project mechanisms Canadian International Agence canadienne de Development Agency développement international

ODACE: Challenges • Managing different demands from 8 countries flexibly and fast enough • Differences in legal frameworks and maneuvering within the possibilities • Speeding up change in the absence of pioneers • Making the transition from project to program thinking • Helping NMS create large enough institutions to manage turnover • Creating true tri-lateral project cooperation in third countries Canadian International Agence canadienne de Development Agency développement international

Conclusion- What Next? • Romania and Bulgaria next? • USAID looking at the ODACE model • Doing Tri-Lateral not as a project but as a donor mechanism Canadian International Agence canadienne de Development Agency développement international