OECD Development Co-operation Peer Reviews: Sweden 2019

Description

Norway's commitment to spend 1% of gross national income on official development assistance is supported across the political spectrum. It increasingly uses multilateral channels to promote global public goods and address global challenges. This review looks at the changes to systems, structures and capabilities that would help Norway deliver on its shifting approach to development co-operation. Conducting the peer review Abbreviations and acronyms Sweden’s aid at a glance Context of the peer review of Sweden Political and economic context Development co-operation system References The DAC’s main findings and recommendations Sweden is a strong development partner Sweden is an adept, ambitious and influential actor on global sustainable development Sweden is a generous donor with a comprehensive toolbox for leaving no one behind and promoting gender equality Sweden is a long-term and valued partner to multilateral organisations and civil society Decentralisation enables responsive programming, and Sweden takes a proactive approach to addressing corruption Sweden is an effective and principled humanitarian donor Sweden can build on its achievements Sweden could better align Swedfund’s investments to its strategic priorities Recommendation: A new, more joined-up approach to addressing development, humanitarian and peace needs to be systematically applied Recommendation: To support Sweden’s pioneering approach to delivering long-term, sustainable results, capacity needs to be built up and systems reformed Recommendation: Sweden could further enhance its strong commitment to development effectiveness by working more directly with and through the systems of partner country governments Recommendation: Sweden should continue to ensure its development co-operation is guided by relevant and strategic independent evaluations Recommendation: Sweden needs to address ongoing challenges Sweden’s broad policy framework requires consolidation and synergies among its numerous strategies could be better exploited Recommendations: Sweden’s development co-operation still lacks geographical concentration Recommendation: Sweden’s growing and increasingly complex set of programmes requires sufficient staff capacity Recommendation: Summary of recommendations Secretariat’s Report Chapter 1. Sweden's global efforts for sustainable development Efforts to support global sustainable development Support for global sustainable development is in Sweden’s foreign policy DNA Sweden is focused on being a leader in implementing the 2030 Agenda Policy coherence for development Renewed political commitment and revamped processes for delivering policy coherence Improved policy coherence in some domestic policies areas Global awareness Communication prioritised and innovative approaches adopted Strong public support for ODA and growing recognition of the SDGs Notes References Chapter 2. Sweden’s policy vision and framework Framework Sweden has established a coherent but broad policy framework Sweden’s numerous strategies are aligned to the policy framework but the synergies among them are not sufficiently exploited Principles and guidance As a response to the 2030 Agenda Sida is using a new, multidimensional poverty analysis to help to leave no one behind Sweden’s Feminist Foreign Policy has confirmed its global leadership on gender equality Sweden is strengthening its approach to the environment and climate change Greater use of conflict and resilience analysis has enhanced Sweden’s approach to working in fragile contexts Basis for decision making Sweden aims to engage in countries where it can make the biggest difference but its bilateral ODA is geographically thinly spread Sweden’s rationale for selecting partners is based on who contributes most effectively to its goals but could take a more balanced approach A strategic approach to selecting priority multilateral partners Notes References Chapter 3. Sweden’s financing for development Overall ODA volume Sweden remains one of the most generous OECD donors Spike in overall ODA as a result of high in-donor refugee costs Sweden is a good reporter of ODA to the DAC Bilateral ODA allocations Sweden pays special attention to support the least developed and most vulnerable countries Sweden’s bilateral ODA is geographically thinly spread Sweden’s thematic allocations of ODA are coherent with its policy priorities Sweden has a clear preference for aid channelled through multilateral organisations and civil society Multilateral ODA allocations The largest share of Swedish multilateral aid goes to the UN System Sweden’s allocation of aid to multilateral institutions is strongly aligned to its strategic priorities. Financing for development Sweden is increasingly using its ODA to catalyse private finance flows Sweden actively supporting building the capacity of its partner countries on taxation Notes References Chapter 4. Sweden’s structure and systems Authority, mandate and coordination The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has a clear mandate to manage development co-operation and executes leadership Co-ordination between the MFA and Sida has been strengthened Opportunity to further align Sweden’s development finance institution with its strategic priorities Scaled-up use of a whole-of-government approach for delivery Systems Programme reforms aim for a better balance between efficiency, quality control and risk management Sweden prioritises tackling corruption and has a comprehensive and proactive approach Sweden is promoting sustainable public procurement to support the 2030 Agenda Sweden’s efforts to foster innovation have focused on partnerships and financial instruments Capabilities throughout the system Sweden needs to ensure staff capacity in light of a growing and increasingly complex programme Sweden has continued to decentralise its development co-operation staff Notes References Chapter 5. Sweden’s delivery modalities and partnerships Partnering Sweden is a flexible and responsive partner Joint approaches and complementarity with other donors are sought Sweden has a strong commitment to transparency A highly-valued partner to well-established civil society organisations but with a multitude of funding channels Sweden partners with the private sector to mobilise its expertise but could seek further opportunities Country-level engagement A focus on ownership and capacity building Sweden is committed to the development effectiveness principles, but struggles with performance against some indicators A new way of programming in fragile contexts can now be systematised Notes References Chapter 6. Sweden’s results, evaluation and learning Management for development results Sweden is embracing a pioneering approach to results-based management The new approach offers an opportunity to focus more on impact, but staff capacity building and systems change are required Sweden monitors and communicates transparently the results of its development co-operation Sweden helps to build partner countries’ statistical capacity, but struggles to use their results systems for programming Evaluation system Sweden’s evaluation system adheres to the DAC principles Steps are being taken to improve the relevance of Sweden’s strategic independent evaluations Sweden is struggling to use partner country evaluation systems Institutional learning Programme evaluations are used to inform decision making and there is a strong focus on building partner countries’ research capacity Knowledge management remains a challenge for Sweden Notes References Chapter 7. Sweden’s humanitarian assistance Strategic framework Sweden’s policy framework and humanitarian strategy seek to deliver on the World Humanitarian Summit’s outcomes Policies and strategies support coherence among Sweden’s humanitarian, development and peace building work Humanitarian aid budget is increasing Effective programme design Sweden’s needs-based allocation model allows it to engage in forgotten crises Localising aid Effective delivery, partnerships and instruments A strengthened effort to tackle protracted crises and recovery An array of rapid response tools and mechanisms are in place A mature partnership with the humanitarian community Sweden is actively engaged in co-ordination with other donors, UN and local systems Organisation fit for purpose Enhanced structures for co-ordination Humanitarian assistance could be better reflected into upcoming country strategies Results, learning and accountability Field presence and evaluations increase Sweden’s knowledge base Notes References Annex A. Progress since the 2013 DAC peer review recommendations Sweden’s humanitarian assistance Sweden’s global efforts for sustainable development Sweden’s policy vision and framework Sweden’s financing for development Sweden’s structures and systems Sweden’s delivery modalities and partnerships Sweden’s results, evaluation and learning Annex B. OECD DAC standard suite of tables Annex C. Field visit to Liberia Development in Liberia A peaceful transition of power in Liberia marks progress, but significant development challenges remain Towards a comprehensive Swedish development effort Sweden has contributed to peacekeeping and peace building in Liberia Sweden’s policies, strategies and aid allocation Conflict-sensitive and poverty-focused strategy Sweden’s strong focus on gender equality and women rights includes tackling sensitive issues Increased attention to environment and climate change, but further work is needed to fully integrate this across the whole portfolio Opportunity to improve synergies with Sweden’s other development strategies Organisation and management There is scope for Sida and the Folke Bernadotte Academy to move from co-ordination to collaboration Sweden’s whole-of-government approach highly evident in Liberia Focused approach to managing risk Empowered and capable staff are a major asset Partnerships, results and accountability Sweden is engaged in donor co-ordination, aligned with partner countries priorities and is building government capacity Constructive, reliable and generous partner to civil society and multilateral organisations Sweden supports long-term results in Liberia and uses programme evaluations, research and reviews to inform its programming Notes References Annex D. 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