How can donors best support the strengthening of domestic accountability in developing countries?

How can donors best support the strengthening of domestic accountability in developing countries?

Donors are keen to play their part in improving governance in developing countries and see the inclusion of governance on the aid effectiveness agenda as an important entry point in this regard. To inform the agenda on governance and aid effectiveness in the run up to the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, South Korea in November, the Belgian EU Presidency – in collaboration with ECDPM and the OECD Development Assistance Committee’s Network on Governance (GOVNET) – organised a roundtable on Domestic Accountability and Aid Effectiveness as part of the European Devel opment Days last December. This Summary Note of Roundtable on Domestic Accountability and Aid Effectiveness brings together some key messages about how donors can best support the strengthening of domestic accountability in developing countries. The report welcomes the fact that the aid effectiveness agenda is paying more attention to governance, but strikes a cautious note – urging donors to think carefully before they go full steam ahead trying to use aid to shape governance in developing countries. The role that donors can play in directly shaping the landscape of politics and governance in developing countries is - and should be - limited, for reasons of leverage, understanding and legitimacy. The most helpful thing that donors can do is to nurture an environment of transparency and accountability within which locally-appropriate solutions can emerge according to the report.