Working Better Together

Working Better Together as Team Europe
Through joint programming and joint implementation

Guidance

A tool to help EU Delegations work better together with Member States as Team Europe and with like-minded partners and country stakeholders, through joint programming and implementation.

 

• Section One The Foundations of Working Better Together as Team Europe
  • Policy context
  • The value of the working better together approach
  • Team Europe
• Section Two Joint Programming
  • A quick guide to joint programming
  • Broadening the scope of joint programming
  • Joint programming in contexts of fragility, conflict and crisis
  • EU Framework documents and joint programming documents
  • Deciding to start a joint programming process
  • Conducting a joint analysis
  • Designing the division of labour
  • Preparing a joint response and finalising the joint programming document
  • EU approval procedures for joint programming documents
  • Monitoring the implementation of joint programming
• Section Three Joint Implementation
  • A quick guide to joint implementation
  • Moving towards joint implementation
  • The contribution of joint implementation to impact and effectiveness
• Section Four Consultations, partnership dialogue and communications
  • Conducting stakeholder consultations
  • Joint policy dialogue
  • Consulting and partnering with civil society
  • Communications and visibility

 

Moving towards joint implementation

Joint implementation is a way of promoting more coherent, effective and coordinated EU support based on shared objectives in selected sectors or on specific cross-sectoral themes and tailored to the country contexts. Joint implementation will be grounded in joint analyses, will take account of available resources and will be monitored and evaluated jointly

New European Consensus on Development, 2017

While the principal value of the working better together approach through joint programming is its visible cohesion of European partners, the gains in impact and efficiency are more often found in joint implementation.

 

The background to joint implementation

In June 2016, the Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy promoted greater information sharing and joint reporting and analysis as well as greater coordination between the European actors, recalling that the implementation of the SDGs also represents an opportunity to catalyse coherence across all policy areas and encourage joint analysis and engagement across EU actors.

The new European Consensus on Development (the European Consensus) sets out the commitment of the EU and its Member States to support partner countries through joint implementation whenever appropriate. Joint implementation is seen as a way of promoting coherent, effective and coordinated EU support based on shared objectives in selected sectors or on specific cross-sectoral themes tailored to country contexts.

The European Consensus also highlights how joint implementation is inclusive and open to all EU partners who agree and can contribute to a common vision, including MS agencies and their development financial institutions, the private sector, civil society and academia.

Joint implementation is also understood to involve various financial modalities such as co-financing and delegated cooperation as well as non-financial means of implementation; it should build on actors’ comparative advantage and sharing of best practice. In this context, the EU and its MS may wish to draw on and share the experiences of all Member States, including transition experience.

The 2016 Council conclusions on stepping up Joint Programming called on the Commission services and the EEAS to continue promoting EU- and MS-financed joint implementation activities.

10. Efforts to reduce fragmentation and promote coherence and synergies between the EU and the Member States should also be part of the implementation phase. The Council therefore calls on the Commission services and the EEAS to continue promoting EU and Member States-financed joint implementation activities, which also contributes to increasing the visibility of the EU and its Member States on the ground, for example through co-financing and delegated cooperation, paying particular attention to development actors from the EU and the Member States. Cooperation between Member States development actors should also be encouraged in the framework of joint implementation

Further interesting reflections can be drawn from the following:

In 2016, an evaluation commissioned by INTPA recommended that delegated cooperation, as one of the financial modalities for joint implementation, should be used strategically to achieve European impact and enhance development effectiveness:

‘Recommendation 3: Delegated cooperation should be more explicitly geared towards strengthening the partnership between the EU and the Member States, taking into account the interest of the various stakeholders. Recommendation 7: More consideration should be given to aspects that are important to partner countries such as systems alignment and ownership.’

In November 2016, the Practitioners’ Network for European Development Cooperation (PN) issued a Declaration on joint implementation and in July 2017, the Views and Suggestions Note # 4 on the Definition of joint implementation:

‘1. The PN considers that joint implementation refers to the combined effort of the European Commission, EU Delegations, Member States and other European countries, including their respective agencies and development financial institutions, to address sustainable development challenges and to achieve joint objectives in the context of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. It brings together, when appropriate and with those willing to participate, resources and capacities to meet the objectives and the results jointly agreed on a case-by-case basis, taking into account of the comparative advantages of European partners. It contributes to the enhancement of an effective, coherent, coordinated and visible European aid architecture and increases the leverage of EU development cooperation as a whole.’

There is a need to further promote joint implementation by building the evidence base on what works and what doesn’t. Knowledge management will therefore be prioritised by the PN, drawing on their diverse country experience.

In 2018, the OECD Peer review on EU development cooperation concluded that

‘The EU’s joint programming exercises help support the 2030 Agenda and advance the effectiveness agenda in partner countries, as they harmonise efforts towards joint analysis and commonly agreed objectives. They also potentially facilitate collaboration, a clearer division of labour and greater visibility of European support. At the same time, recent reviews suggest that joint programming should ensure greater partner country ownership, joined-up dialogue and decision making, better synchronised programming cycles, and strengthened mutual accountability through joint results frameworks. Efforts to expand the implementation of joint programming should thus continue in a pragmatic way, tailored to each country context, in order to deliver on the high ambition of making European development co-operation more effective.’

In May 2019, the Financial Framework Partnership Agreement (FFPA) between the European Commission and Member State Organisations was signed at the PN General Assembly Meeting in Paris. At that event, the European Commission signed the FFPA with 14 Member State Organisations:

‘[…] Actions by the EU and its Member States will be mutually reinforcing and coordinated to ensure complementarity. In this context, the Member States and the Commission confirm their commitment to working together better in a spirit of partnership, to show coherent and consistent engagement and to enhance joint implementation, when appropriate through effective and coordinated EU support […]’

 

Concept and terminology

Act as one – European impact

Joint implementation stands for a coordinated, coherent and strong European approach to implementation and delivery at country level for enhanced impact. It can include public and non-public actors (private sector, civil society, and academia), that share European objectives and values. Joint implementation increases the impact of the sum of Team Europe’s bilateral support to the partner country.

Joint implementation may engage the Commission together with one or several MS, or MS together without the Commission. Joint implementation can also entail MS jointly supporting a third partner in a coordinated way.

At country level

Most commonly, joint implementation takes place at country level, although the European Consensus also refers to possibilities at regional or global level.

The coordinating role of EU Delegations is central to improving the effectiveness of European coordination processes at country level, Member States Embassies and related organisations also need to play a leadership role in designing and maintaining the momentum of a country-driven process.

Linkage with joint programming

There are clear and strong links between joint programming and joint implementation. Joint programming is an important facilitator for joint implementation: the dynamic process and the substantive discussions around joint programming usually foster joint implementation initiatives as they trigger collective thinking and a more strategic and institutionalised consideration of development opportunities and challenges. By bringing together the respective knowledge and resources of the EU and MS, Team Europe can explore concrete ways in which to pool them efficiently at country level and achieve better development results. 

Joint implementation options can also contribute to expanding the visibility of the collective European support and of European values and approaches. Joint implementation arrangements can support a bottom-up coordination process in specific sectors that may facilitate and lead to larger future joint programming processes. Working together in such a cooperative way can often be less intimidating as a first step.

Successful joint implementation at sector level can generate a sense of shared interest and concretely identify the value of working better together, strengthening ambitions for joint programming. Joint implementation reveals what can be achieved through joint programming.

Experiences and knowledge from joint implementation arrangements can also help identify and more concretely discuss challenges and opportunities for working closer together, which can usefully inform a joint programming process.

Joint implementation experience is very useful to reflect on in the joint analysis stage of a joint programming process.

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ETHIOPIA   As part of the joint programming process in Ethiopia, three pilot programmes for joint implementation were identifie d in the nutrition, health and green sectors. In nutrition for example, a draft roadmap was developed and an EU+ Nutrition Group established. The roadmap, which provides the principles and guidelines for joint programming and allocates responsibilities within an estimated time schedule, is structured around three key phases: Planning: defining membership, situation analysis, and prioritising the elements of a strategic response; Point Action Framework: this principally relates to the development of an action plan incorporating joint initiatives as well as bilateral interventions; and Accountability: including resource tracking, results monitoring, evaluation, communication and visibility. Fourteen Member States participate in the EU-led joint nutrition strategy. The nutrition group is involved in all three joint programming clusters (job creation, governance and natural resources) to make nutrition a crosscutting issue.

 

Whereas division of labour (see chapter 10) focuses on efficiency, implying an exit for some partners, joint implementation prioritises effectiveness, with an emphasis on partnering and building collaborative arrangements. However, each joint implementation initiative should have a clear management arrangement so that accountability for results is not lost in the pursuit of inclusivity and collaboration.

Joint implementation of European cooperation needs to be considered under a ‘governance structure’ to ensure due and proactive interactions within and among all levels, and also between all actors therein. It is fundamental that all initiatives be understood under the umbrella of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and be programmed/implemented with a clear results orientation, making it possible to measure their impact against the SDGs. The following chart illustrates this overarching scheme, conveying also the idea that joint implementation and joint programming feed reciprocally.

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Source: FIIAPP (2019)

Strategic approach

It is critical that Team Europe take a strategic approach to joint implementation, engaging in ways that deliver results more effectively, enhance coordination (notably, relying on each other’s procedures to avoid duplicating tasks) and reduce fragmentation (promoting joint results, monitoring and evaluation frameworks). A strategic approach encourages partner country ownership, effectively feeds into the policy dialogue, and ensures European visibility. Joint implementation, in any form, should never be reduced to a purely contractual relationship: it should allow the promotion of common European principles and values in development policy, as well as of a joint European vision of specific sectoral policies. Furthermore, it should lead to a joint strategic oversight of projects that implies, for example, joint participation in steering committees.

To ensure added value through joint implementation, Team Europe should establish clear strategic links between technical, policy and political dialogues at country level, while fully coordinated and coherent actions should be planned with an emphasis on promoting efficiency in the use of scare resources and reducing transaction costs. The beneficiary or partner country should be made aware of the advantages of this approach, in order to encourage ownership in the joint implementation process.

Change of mindset and working methods

To develop a European approach at country level, Team Europe should go beyond the mere consolidation of existing bilateral development actions and team up to jointly design unified collective EU positions. This requires a change of perception and of local working methods, in both EU Delegations and MS Embassies. It also requires greater trust, partnership and agreement on common objectives and priorities, leading to increased transparency, sharing of information, coordination, coherence and visibility. This paradigm shift can only succeed if it is proactively supported both at headquarters and country level by the EU and MS, including their development organisations, and clearly communicated to staff.

To foster the working relationships between European partners, notably MS organisations, increase cross-reliance on procedures: procurement, national systems and cost accounting practices. Audits and assessments can contribute to building relationships of trust and partnership that can further enhance the sharing of good practices and country experiences.

Facilitate harmonisation by using simplified procedures and practices, joint analytical work, enhanced focus on delivery of development results, common procurement and financial management procedures, and common arrangements for sector-wide approaches. For example, try to reach agreements to harmonise per diem payments or transportation cost payments in the framework of project implementation between European partners, or compare notes on how the various partners work and share experiences on the ground.

Information sharing and joint analysis

Confronting different institutional cultures, experiences and practices in joint implementation may enable brainstorming and stimulate innovative solutions that might not have been found bilaterally, as actors were basing their reasoning exclusively on their own experiences.

Information sharing and joint analysis are basic cornerstones of joint implementation. It can help to organise and structure deeper working relationships, for example by setting up shared drives to distribute documents; mapping implementation task responsibilities and locations; ensuring regular sector-level discussion groups to reflect on how agreed policy messages are being operationalised, etc. (see chapter 14). Joint offices and staff exchanges are also effective ways for enhancing trust and effectiveness among European development actors.

Inclusiveness

The European Consensus calls for joint implementation to be inclusive: it targets all partners who agree and contribute to a common vision, including MS agencies and their development financial institutions. Actors from all MS are now encouraged to share their respective expertise and associate themselves in joint implementation actions as Team Europe, including with their transition experience. The inclusiveness agenda aims at fostering mutual knowledge and understanding, peer exchanges and possibilities for cooperation among MS organisations, especially those that are not currently participating widely in European development cooperation.

 

Forms of joint implementation

Joint implementation involves a wide range of financial and non-financial ways of working together. Joint implementation should cover all parts of the project cycle as well as activities around it, including coordination mechanisms and collaborative arrangements.

• Actions involving non-financial means could include joint sectoral/thematic analysis; joint project identification and formulation; joint policy dialogue in the context of programme implementation; joint follow-up and evaluation of EU interventions; joint messaging and joint communication and visibility strategies.
• Actions involving financial means include delegated cooperation, joint and parallel co-financing, and even contribution in kind. For example: EU trust funds, multi-donor actions, blending with European financial institutions or financial guarantees, budget support, twinning/TAIEX modalities (also extended to development cooperation).

The following non-exhaustive overview of non-financial modalities of joint implementation contains some examples of practice:

Joint analysis as a basis for joint policy dialogue provides opportunities to improve European leverage in political and policy dialogue by bringing a coherent message grounded in evidence. In some cases, this leverage is being used to great effect:

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GEORGIA   In Georgia, the post-2020 joint programming exercise was concluded on 11 February 2020 under the heading ‘European Partners Working Better Together in Georgia’. The European development partners drew up brief sector gap analyses and formulated corresponding ‘joint European messages’ in key thematic areas. The outcome is constituting a Joint Analysis with joined-up policy messages, which have made it possible to communicate identified gaps and advocate overall priorities and desired governmental actions in a consistent way. The joint key messages have been used within the reinvigorated Government-led coordination platform from early 2020 onwards and in other dialogue opportunities with stakeholders. The European development partners have already engaged in joint implementation of various programmes in Georgia and this cooperation has the potential to be expanded further. Joint implementation takes different forms, such as EU Annual Action Programmes being partly implemented through indirect management by EU Member States. A concrete example of an MS implementing EU projects through indirect management is the ‘Green Economy, Sustainable Mountain Tourism and Organic Agriculture’ project (launched in 2019), implemented by the Austrian Development Agency. Sweden provides significant co-funding and it is an example of how MS engaged in joint implementation can contribute with different areas of expertise, in this case making sure gender equality aspects, for example, are well represented in the design phase and subsequent project steering. Another widely used tool with elements of joint implementation is twinning, facilitating cooperation between Georgia and MS institutions. Eleven new twinning projects were launched in Georgia from the beginning of 2019 to mid-April 2020, with some 23 MS institutions engaged in the implementation. Further opportunities for joint implementation and the use of joint European messages should build momentum towards future joint programming in Georgia.

 

The diagram below summarises the regional programmes’ joint implementation approach: EU regional programmes in Latin America, including EUROsociAL+, Euroclima+, COPOLAD II and El PAcCTO, are good examples of the virtuous relation that exists between joint implementation and policy dialogue, and the unlocking potential of technical cooperation based on public sector expertise. Their methodology has been conceived so that each of them embraces joint implementation at the core of every action, ensuring coherence, achieving results and contributing to stronger relationships. The following key features can be highlighted:

• Governance structures and coordination efforts: These programs are implemented by MS organisations and like-minded partners gathered in varied, complex consortia. Their governance structures and coordination efforts, reflecting commitments towards common objectives, provide the basis of joint implementation.
• Results-oriented: Like other initiatives (e.g. Socieux+ in the field of social protection and employment worldwide, EU-UN Spotlight Initiative to eliminate violence against women and girls, or Bridging the Gap on the inclusiveness of persons with disabilities in pilot countries), EU regional programmes in Latin America accompany public policy reform processes. This requires the will, capacity and commitment to achieve common results, and only with clear objectives can actions be implemented effectively.
• Demand-driven: A fluid and trust-based dialogue with the partner countries and a solid consensus among practitioners, partner institutions and other stakeholders are essential for the definition of the results to be pursued. By setting Latin American (national and regional) priorities at the centre, with a bottom-up, rather than supply-driven, approach, EUROsociAL+, Euroclima+ and El PAcCTO contribute to the region’s development agenda at the regional and national levels. A ‘reinforced dialogue mechanism’ (Mesa de diálogo país, in Spanish) is implemented, the result of which is an eventual joint commitment by different stakeholders towards common goals.
• Multi-dimensional and multi-level policy dialogue based on public sector expertise: By twinning institutions and favouring the exchange of best practices and the strengthening of partnerships, regional programmes actively build policy dialogue 1) at the national level, among key actors within one partner country; 2) at the regional level, among partner countries; and 3) at the bi-regional level, enhancing EU-Latin American relations and promoting political dialogue.

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Structuring joint policy dialogue can also draw on Member States’ and/or their agencies’ networks and various relations at country level to enable a more targeted exchange, greatly increasing leverage and visibility for Team Europe.

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MOROCCO   In Morocco, MS agencies with wider networks at the local and regional levels were able to test messages and improve impact by speaking with one voice as a complement to policy dialogue at the national level.

 

Cultural diplomacy facilitates the creation of spaces for mutual understanding via intercultural dialogue. Culture can be an engine for sustainable social and economic development as well as a tool for peaceful intercommunity relations and cultural heritage cooperation. For example, EUNIC is the network of European national institutes of culture and national bodies engaged in cultural and related activities beyond their national borders. EUNIC brings together organisations from all EU Member States and adds value through its global network of clusters. By pooling the resources and expertise of its members and carrying out joint work on common areas of interest, EUNIC’s stakeholders define and implement European policy on culture inside and outside the EU.

Such platforms at country level can mobilise expertise in the field of cultural relations, while bringing together the diversity of MSOs.

 

Use of academic and research networks

European and MS networks of academics and students that have studied in Europe can provide an entry point for dialogue on country contexts to enrich political economy analysis (for example, Erasmus+, Jean Monnet Centres of Excellence).

 

Cross-sector coordination groups

When working at country level, European partners may find that there are specific common challenges across sectors that would benefit from a joined-up European position and outreach. For example, this may be because the challenge requires cross-sectoral support such as improving nutrition (health, education, behaviour change, women’s economic empowerment, sexual and gender-based violence, etc.); or that the challenge is prevalent across all sectors (such as corruption); or that reforms undertaken by the partner country have an impact on all sectors as the government machinery and mandates are reorganised (e.g. in a process of decentralisation). In these cases, European partners would find value added in a joint implementation approach that structures cross-sector working groups between partners to reflect on these aspects. Such groups could jointly define policy messages, use champions and approaches identified in one sector to influence work in another, effectively encourage and support intra-Government cooperation or undertake joint communication campaigns in the context of joint implementation.

EUROCLIMA+ Within the activities of Euroclima+, AECID and AFD have coordinated to organise parallel workshops for two sectors: ‘Water Resilience from an Urban Resilience Perspective’ and ‘Energy Efficiency’, with the participation of Latin American representatives enriching the mutual feedback.

Joint monitoring and joint evaluation

When working together in a sector, whether through financial joint implementation or closely coordinated bilateral programming, European partners can find value added in jointly organising monitoring missions or sector evaluation missions. Since each programme will already contain monitoring and evaluation resources, these can be pooled among partners or organised so as to make the most efficient use of resources and available expertise. For example, one partner may be able to mobilise experts from headquarters in cross-cutting issues, another might fund an evaluation/monitoring report, while yet another provides vehicles and logistics for the mission. This is more a question of conceiving the evaluation and monitoring work jointly and investing efforts to organise and structure tasks in the context of joint implementation.

EVALÚA EVALÚA is an EU funded project that, under the Adelante Facility, promotes an ‘evaluation culture’ among policy makers in Latin America and provides technical assistance to partner governments for the mainstreaming and inclusion of evaluation measures in new policies and development plans. During the past few years, EVALÚA has joined efforts with other EU-funded programmes in the region (Bridging the Gap, the fight against drugtrafficking in Bolivia and others) to carry out joint implementation activities, inter alia: the inclusion of disability-related indicators for the evaluation of the reconstruction process in Ecuador after the 2016 earthquake; and the creation of a common dialogue space between Paraguayan and Bolivian authorities on the occasion of the respective, simultaneous evaluations of their national policies against smuggling and human trafficking.

 

Mutual reliance on procedures

To further promote complementarities and synergies in the way we work, European partners can foster mutual reliance on partners’ procedures so that scoping studies, due diligence work, feasibility studies, procurement, monitoring and financial reporting or audits undertaken by one partner are accepted by others, within the applicable legal framework. This approach can contribute to aid effectiveness, reduce costs and ensure more efficient coordination and increased impacts by avoiding duplication when several partners are working in the same sector or with the same counterpart.

 

Joint communication and visibility

Joint communication campaigns at country level are an effective way to increase visibility and understanding of the values supported by the European partners and how we work together. Organising such campaigns through social media or other means requires coordination and a pooling of communication resources to focus on a clear joint message. EU Delegations can play a major role in helping/facilitating the creation and dissemination of joint messages.

EUROCLIMA+ Euroclima+ is structured in 6 sectoral components, each of which develops a Communication and Visibility strategy, coordinating the whole set of projects financed by the different MSOs. Those strategies are aligned with each other and with the Communication plan of the whole programme, in order to promote the joint vision and visibility of the programme.

The following description of financial modalities of joint implementation also contains examples of practice:

Delegated cooperation, a widely used mechanism, refers to the implementation of projects and the management of funds by one public sector organisation on behalf of another. Delegated cooperation can effectively be one of the elements of a larger European package of support to achieve a joint result, for example when combined with budget support, a blended investment modality or in the form of a multi-donor action that combines the funds of several European donors in jointly co-financed programmes.

In the EU Financial Regulation 2018, the term used for the financial modality implementing delegated cooperation is ‘indirect management’. Full delegation requires that the entity respect EU budgetary principles (e.g. sound financial management, transparency, non-discrimination, visibility) and that its procedures be assessed by the Commission in a so-called ‘pillar assessment’. The number of pillar-assessed organisations in EU Member States has been steadily increasing.

Commission procedures require that the choice of implementing partner in delegated cooperation be well motivated in order to guarantee fair competition. The appraisal has to justify the choice, highlighting the additional benefits of a particular partner compared to other potential implementing partners as well as indicating the added value of this form of joint implementation (Annex F2 supporting document to Action document).

 

Joint co-financing

European partners may decide that jointly supporting a country-level pooled fund or a co-financed multi-donor action is the best way to take forward a joint approach in a given sector. By preparing joint positions for the steering committee of these pooled mechanisms, European partners are in a good position to influence implementation choices. Other considerations could be to agree steering committee representation on a rotational basis and speaking on behalf of other European partners to gain further efficiencies in the use of human resources.

SLOVAKAID In Kenya, a first-ever joint 4-year development project of the Visegrad Group countries — the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland — under the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, aims to revive the cashew industry that collapsed nearly three decades ago. This project will give 15,000 small-scale farmers in Lamu, Kilifi, and Kwale counties on the Kenyan coast the opportunity to produce organic cashew and sesame for export markets.

 

GERMANY Germany and the European Commission have jointly implemented co-financed Multi-Donor Actions for over ten years in order to strengthen partner dialogue, build on existing relationships, maximise the use of implementation structures and reduce transaction costs for all parties involved.

 

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JORDAN   As an example of coordinated assistance, in 2016 the Commission adopted a comprehensive programme called Enhanced Support to Democratic Governance in Jordan with an EU contribution of 15 million euro. To increase synergies, EU Member States present in Amman were asked if they would be interested in implementing and co-financing the programme. The Spanish Cooperation Agency AECID decided to co-finance the programme with an additional 2 million euro and to implement the component on support to civil society.

 

As stated in the EU evaluation of delegated cooperation: Recommendation 7, greater consideration should be given to aspects that are important to partner countries such as systems alignment and ownership. When partner countries create special mechanisms to fund and implement sector strategies, these mechanisms should be used and supported with technical assistance and capacity strengthening, if necessary.

Other forms of pooled funds include EU Trust Funds that can provide a rapid response to particular challenges, such as the root causes of migration, in specific country contexts. Trust Funds can increase flexibility and shorten the time spent on allocating funds.

EU EMERGENCY TRUST FUND The EU Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa aims to foster stability and to contribute to better migration management, including by addressing the root causes of destabilisation, forced displacement and irregular migration. Activities are implemented across three regions of Africa – the Sahel and Lake Chad, the Horn of Africa and North Africa. The EU works with 26 partner countries (i.e. EU and non-EU members), which are facing growing challenges in terms of demographic pressure, extreme poverty, weak social and economic infrastructure, internal tensions and institutional weaknesses, insufficient resilience to food crises and environmental stress.

 

Parallel co-financing and proper coordination of separate programmes

Joint implementation provides a unique opportunity to look at how to further improve coordination at the sector level. Different implementing partners may have separate contracting mechanisms and there may be parallel co-financing from a range of partners, but these specific tasks can all fit within a joint frame.

For instance, AECID and AFD are financing with own funds initiatives that are aligned with EUROCLIMA+, more specifically in the energy efficiency and water sectors. AECID also co-finances one of the projects selected after the call for proposals for the disaster risk reduction sector.

BRIDGING THE GAP   Bridging the Gap is a project aimed at focussing on strengthening the capacities of governments, national human rights institutions and organisations of persons with disabilities in five partner countries (Burkina Faso, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Paraguay and Sudan), as well as mainstreaming disability in international cooperation. Bridging the Gap-II supports the development, implementation and monitoring of disability-inclusive sector policies and services in a participatory manner and in line with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the SDGs, namely in relation to: inclusive education, universal access to health and employment, livelihoods and social protection, and data generation. Based on the country actions, the project advances a disability-inclusive development agenda by raising awareness and strengthening the capacities of development partners and civil society, in accordance with the CRPD and the 2030 Agenda. Critical issues such as the overall respect of human rights, universal accessibility, gender and social sustainable development are meaningfully incorporated into the scope of the project. Bridging the Gap-II is implemented by a consortium led by the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP) and composed of the Spanish Agency for Development Cooperation (AECID), the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (IADC), the European Disability Forum (EDF) and the International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC). The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland also contribute to the initiative.

Proper coordination of separate programmes is an important aspect of joint implementation. There is certainly space for exploring innovative joint implementation methods that will contribute to aid efficiency, higher impact and stronger European cooperation in general. However, there is also extensive relevant prior experience in the implementation of joint activities by Member States Os and like-minded partners, on which future actions should build. Further synergies and collaborations should be encouraged. The table below presents a few examples:

Type of collaboration	Programme/ Project 1	Programme/ Project 2 and/or 3	Brief explanatory note
Combination/ appropriation of agendas	Fight against drug trafficking in Bolivia	EL PAcCTO	El PAcCTO is a regional programme that promotes dialogue on the fight against organized crime in Latin America. Bolivia participates in the project. Simultaneously, another EU bilateral project on the fight against drug trafficking at the national level is being implemented in Bolivia. In the context of an activity organised by EL PAcCTO in Montevideo, the Bolivian authorities identified a need (reinforcing the Specialized Multidisciplinary Teams) that has been further assumed by the bilateral project, building on the existing synergies and complementarities between both programmes’ expert teams and backup institutions.
Joint activity	Fight against drug trafficking in Bolivia	Fight against drug trafficking in Peru	Bolivia and Peru share a 1 000 km-long border. Both projects mobilized resources and facilitated the delivery of a joint training in the town of Desaguadero for security forces of both countries on integrated border management. As a result of this activity, the neighbouring institutions share a common operational tool with coordination mechanisms against possible cases of human or drug trafficking.
Joint activity	ECI Niger	ATIPSOM Nigeria	Both are projects in the field of security. The first, developing joint investigation teams and the second, promoting the fight against human trafficking and smuggling. Nigeria and Niger share common sources and manifestations of crime, yet collaboration levels are very low. After an initial contact with both projects’ Nigeria teams, a roadmap has been established to further strengthen dialogue and ultimately work jointly on common protocols. Authorities of both sides are optimistic and have confidence that cooperation will be enhanced, resulting in a better detection of false documents at the border.

 

Using public sector expertise:

Using public sector expertise is at the core of SDGs 16 and 17. Building stronger institutions (targets 16.5, 16.6 and 16.7) goes hand in hand with building partnerships, and public sector expertise is the genuine catalyst. Its use is a way to mobilize relevant knowledge from EU Member States, involving public sector experts in partnerships between peer administrations. It nurtures policy dialogue through technical cooperation and fosters the sharing of European values through policy experiences, in the framework of the 2030 Agenda. Public technical assistance is an enhanced joint implementation method as it involves not only development partners (accustomed to the functioning of projects under the development logic) but also third entities, not necessarily familiarised or oriented towards development, that nevertheless might well be interested in partnering with peer institutions, sharing their knowledge and experiences, and building long-lasting relationships. Such approaches to support peer-to-peer learning through exchanges of public sector expertise between a partner country and European MS, in addition to providing technical support, can also contribute to fostering public policy change and/or reforms, as practitioners share their different approaches and experiences to find solutions that fit the context of a particular country.

EU twinning and TAIEX

Both Twinning and TAIEX support peer-to-peer learning through exchanges of public sector expertise between a partner country and European Member State(s). In addition to providing technical support, they can also foster policy-change and/or reforms as practitioners share their different approaches and experiences to find solutions that fit a country context.

The European Commission institutional building tools — Twinning and TAIEX — have expanded beyond the preaccession countries to the Neighbourhood countries and subsequently even further. EC Twinning is implemented according to a specific Twinning manual and relies on national contact points in MS to support the mobilisation of European public sector expertise in response to partner countries’ needs and ambitions. Cooperation between administrations from different MS is highly encouraged. In addition to this tool, MS have a variety of ways to mobilise public sector expertise.

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MOROCCO   In Morocco, the EU Delegation mobilises traditional technical assistance and several EU Twinning projects to contribute to the institutional strengthening of the country’s public administration and regulatory authorities. This support is implemented through a call for proposals either in direct management, or in indirect management.

 

TAIEX, the Technical Assistance and Information Exchange, facilitates sharing of EU best practices on ad hoc request. It is largely needs-driven and delivers appropriate tailor-made expertise to address issues at short notice in three ways: 1) workshops: MS experts present specific areas of EU legislation in workshops to a large number of beneficiary officials; 2) expert missions: MS expert(s) are sent to the beneficiary administration to provide in-depth advice on the transposition, implementation or enforcement of a specific part of EU legislation; and 3) study visits: a group of three practitioners from a beneficiary administration take part in a study visit to a Member States’ administration.

 

South-South or Triangular cooperation

Once joint implementation modalities are developed, there is potential to open up and include the exchange of expertise from developing countries. However, this opportunity has not yet been used much, other than for regional projects. Joint implementation approaches should consider South-South and triangular dimensions.

The quality of the policy dialogues powered by EUROsociAL+, on the basis of the trust generated between peer institutions along the years, contributes to sharing values, approaching positions and building long-lasting partnerships both regionally and bi-regionally.

EUROSOCIAL+ EUROsociAL+ is a regional programme with a mandate to work at national level in accordance with the regional agenda, and inversely, feeding the regional agenda with lessons learnt in each country. Due to the specificities of the Latin American region, EUROsociAL+ has been a forerunner of triangular cooperation, facilitating numerous exchanges between administrations from regional institutions. This has been possible thanks to a deep knowledge of the realities in the region, the identification of best practices both in Latin America and in Europe, accurate needs analysis and prioritising, and excellent dialogue with partner administrations, based on trust.

 

Blending operations

Blending is the strategic use of a limited contribution to mobilise financing from partner financial institutions and the private sector to enhance the development impact of investment projects.

In blending, EU financing is combined with non-grant resources such as loans, equity and guarantees from f inance institutions (FIs) as well as commercial loans and investments in order to achieve a leveraged development impact. In the context of development cooperation, blending projects are targeted at achieving sustainable growth and reducing poverty. The strategic use of a limited EU contribution can make projects with low f inancial returns but high economic and social gains possible.

The EU implements blending operations in the context of the EU Blending Framework through regionally or thematically focused blending facilities or platforms that support projects contributing to the fulfilment of EU and partner countries’ strategic development goals. Blending facilities and platforms cover all countries eligible under the relevant financing instruments or frameworks.

Joint implementation through this modality allows European partners to leverage larger amounts of financial support for the achievement of objectives, using ODA funds as a catalyst. In developing a blended operation, European partners working with European development finance actors can design actions that coherently combine different financial tools in pursuit of agreed joint policy objectives.

The EU’s External Investment Plan builds on the very successful model used within the EU and develops this logic for implementation in partner countries. Looking forward, the new European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD+) will provide a one-stop shop for proposals from European development finance institutions and other interested public and private investors concerning all geographies covered by the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument. The EFSD+ guarantee can be used to leverage financing from the private sector, as the guarantee acts to reduce the cost of risk for private investment through its ability to absorb potential losses incurred by financiers and investors.

Some modalities can combine both financial and non-financial modalities of joint implementation:

Budget support aims to strengthen the capacity of partner countries in a sustainable way by using the country’s policy and public finance system. Capacity development needs are assessed for that purpose and supported, for example, through targeted capacity development actions or public technical assistance activities. Thus budget support offers interesting opportunities for combing several joint implementation modalities (policy dialogue, capacity building, results monitoring and financial transfers).

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CAMBODIA   In Cambodia, the EU sector budget support for public finance management reform was complemented by targeted support to five Cambodian institutions that were perceived as exercising direct influence over key areas for the success of the overall reform (although they were not responsible for the reform itself) and/or that could create demand for increased transparency and accountability relating to the use of public funds. The complementary support was jointly financed and implemented by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) under a delegation agreement with the EU. The joined-up approach enabled the application of a holistic and multi-actor approach by drawing on the respective modalities and value added that EU and Sida could bring to the table. In the case of Sida this included, for example, core funding to civil society organisations and the mobilisation of Swedish public expertise for peer-to-peer collaboration. The close link between sector budget support and the complementary programme was reinforced, including in the budget support’s Performance Assessment Framework (PAF) indicators linked to activities undertaken by partners under the complementary programme (notably the participating government agencies). This meant that the objectives of the complementary programme were institutionalised through the PAF while at the same time the complementary programme provided the technical assistance required by the government to reach these indicators. This approach enhanced the depth and width of the policy dialogue, increased collective leverage and improved the visibility of European support to the reform

 

Each section or chapter may be used separately to fulfil a specific need for guidance, which means there may be some overlap between the different parts of the document.

If you have any questions, you may contact the relevant helpdesk or functional mailbox:

• JOINT-PROGRAMMING-SUPPORT@eeas.europa.eu
• INTPA-JOINT-PROGRAMMING-SUPPORT@ec.europa.eu
• NEAR-JOINT-PROGRAMMING@ec.europa.eu

 

 

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