Since January, European Commission Delegations have been required to complete Quality Assessment Grids in addition to Action Fiches for technical cooperation support operations in the QSG process. The first samples arriving for review at headquarters offer some interesting lessons on the ongoing TC reform.
The quality support process aims at helping to improve Commission support. The TC reform has put focus on whether support is demanded by the partner, whether the partner takes active ownership, and whether implementation arrangements are appropriate. A quality assessment grid is now completed by delegations when they submit action fiches for TC operations to the Quality Support Group (QSG) in headquarters.
Staff from units in EuropeAid’s directorate E recently gathered in headquarters to learn from the first round of quality support where technical cooperation has been a priority.
Looking at real life case studies has provided some valuable first results. In particular, it is evident that if the Quality Grid is only completed at the end of the formulation process, then it easily becomes an after-thought end up being little more than a checklist that adds little value to the assessment exercise. In some cases, it may even pay only lip-service to the TC reform, trying to disguise weaknesses in the design.
On the other hand, when the quality criteria have been observed right from the beginning, then the Grid may give honest and important additional information that would not find its way into the compressed Action Fiche. Participants all agreed that grid should be seen as an evolving tool to support and organise the identification and formulation process
So, not surprisingly, these early quality support exercises underline that the TC reform is a quite comprehensive change of what has in many cases become a standard approach. And to be successful, the change of approach has to begin as soon as a new support operation.
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