Joint Initiative on Mutual Accountability
– Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam
Somchith Inthamith
Director General, Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of
Planning and Investment, Lao PDR
Joint Initiative on Mutual Accountability: Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam
hosted in Vientiane, Lao PDR
Joint Initiativethon Mutual
Accountability: Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam November 2009
November
9 –10th 2009
CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT FOR
DEVELOPMENT EFFECTIVENESS
FACILITY FOR ASIA AND PACIFIC
Addressing two questions at the DCF
1. What should be the role of regional forums, especially in peer learning on
national mutual accountability frameworks?
2. What more can be done to further strengthen the voices of recipient
countries and multiple stakeholders in global and regional mechanisms?
Joint Initiative on Mutual Accountability: Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam November 2009
Joint Initiative on Mutual Accountability –
a regional forum to strengthen mutual accountability at the national
level
Round 1: Peer-to-Peer Exchange June 2008
Round 2: Peer-to-Peer Exchange in November 2009
Round 3: South – South Cooperation 2010…
Joint Initiative on Mutual Accountability: Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam November 2009
What changes have we seen since 2008?
1. An increasing focus on operationalising mutual accountability in all three
countries including
a) A greater focus on sector level mutual accountability –
establishing plans, targets and dialogue mechanisms
b) Establishing clear national structures, processes and data
management for aid management to hold donors accountable
2. ‘Operationalisation’ has brought new concerns on how to balance
central ‘lead’ and sector level ‘championing’
3. Continuing lack of understanding of international community’s
definition of domestic accountability and its relationship to mutual
accountability
4. Less donors championing aid effectiveness and less peer pressure for
behaviour change in donor community
Joint Initiative on Mutual Accountability: Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam November 2009
Challenges
…some the same and some different
•Country specificity – all mutual accountability depend on particular
conditions of a country
•Lack of individual donor accountability or of any organisation in any
stakeholder group
•Decreasing donor capacity to take aid effectiveness forward (less staff
not more staff time?)
•Need to continually assess and review– people and issues change
fast… climate change beginning to dominate agenda?
Joint Initiative on Mutual Accountability: Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam November 2009
DCF Question 1:
What should be the role of regional forums, especially
in peer learning on national mutual accountability
frameworks?
Recommendations from the Joint Initiative on Mutual
Accountability and next steps…
Joint Initiative on Mutual Accountability: Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam November 2009
1. Balance the focus of peer-to-peer initiatives between
(i) Strengthening the international policy process; and
(ii) Providing capacity development across countries to support national (and su-national)
implementation
2. Strengthening the international policy process: work regionally to support
a core group of officials across a number of partner countries to engage
with international processes
3. Next year include support specific South-South cooperation activities – eg
Laos asked to visit Vietnam to support Sector Working Groups
4. Deepen engagement with donors so they own recommendations at the
country level but don’t let them dominate discussion!
Joint Initiative on Mutual Accountability: Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam November 2009
5.
Localising the PD supported country ownership and supporting regional
reviews (across a few countries) makes evidence more meaningful and
supports identification of south-south cooperation opportunities
6.
Regional support in monitoring trends at global level and across countries
to support partner countries in keeping on top of issues (eg climate
change or emerging financing mechanisms and new donors)
Joint Initiative on Mutual Accountability: Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam November 2009
DCF Question 2:
What more can be done to further strengthen
the voices of recipient countries and
multiple stakeholders in global and
regional mechanisms
Recommendations from the Articulating Voice
in the Asia Pacific Initiative
Joint Initiative on Mutual Accountability: Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam November 2009
1. All international mutual accountability mechanisms
need to assess their cost - benefit in terms of
impact at the country level
2. Regional mechanisms should be resourced to
enable partner countries to work together to bring
more representative views to the international level
Joint Initiative on Mutual Accountability: Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam November 2009
3. Capacity development should be integrated into
international policy process so to strengthen partner
countries engagement at the international level (such
as through regional peer-to-peer initiatives)
4. Partner countries should be supported to think
through together what a post HLF4 mechanism for
mutual accountability should look like – this will
make it more effective for mutual accountability.
Joint Initiative on Mutual Accountability: Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam November 2009