ARCHIVED - Canadian International Development Agency

• Previous Page
• Table of Contents
• Next Page

This page has been archived.

SECTION II: ANALYSIS OF PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

2.1 Geographic Programs

Financial Resources

Planned spending	Authorities	Actual spending
$1,637,749,000	$1,697,576,888	$1,588,475,777

Human Resources

Planned	Actual
839	889

Geographic programs are grounded in the developing country's national development plan or poverty reduction strategy. CIDA responds to requests for assistance from governments based on their own development priorities, the country's capacity to absorb the aid, and Canada's ability to make a difference.

2.1.1 Strategic Focus

Geographic Concentration

As can be seen from the graphs that follow, between 2000-2001 and 2006-2007, CIDA's number of bilateral programs dropped from 89 to 68, and the concentration of resources to the top 20 recipients intensified from 65 per cent of disbursements to 78 per cent. In 2006-2007, Africa Branch, the six major recipients - Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Mozambique, Senegal and Tanzania - received 71¹⁰ per cent of ODA spending in 2006-2007, up from 36 per cent in 2001-2002. In Asia Branch, 84 per cent of disbursements were concentrated in six countries - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Pakistan and Vietnam - in 2006-2007¹¹ , up from 63 per cent in 2001-2002.

CIDA Development Assistance to Selected Countries of Concentration

CIDA also expanded its programming in support of Canadian priorities: in Afghanistan, the government reiterated its commitment of $1 billion over 10 years in Budget 2007, with an additional $200 million for reconstruction and development in Afghanistan ($150 million through CIDA and $50 million through DFAIT).

Canada is on track to meet its commitment made at the Gleneagles G8 Summit in 2005 with assistance to Africa doubling from 2003-2004 to 2008-2009. Accordingly, Canada's international assistance to Africa will reach $2.1 billion in 2008-2009.

Haiti is a fragile state and the largest recipient of Canadian assistance in the Americas and Canada confirmed a commitment of $520 million over five years.

CIDA was fully engaged in the preparation of the Government's Strategy for re-engaging in the Americas. The government is now working actively to implement its strategy and CIDA is adapting its program accordingly.

Sharpening sectors of focus

CIDA intensified its commitments in two key sectors - democratic governance and equality between women and men. In 2006, the Agency committed to increasing its specific programming in equality between women and men, generating additional planning across all programs. Early results include the launch of a new Gender Fund in Jordan, as well as additional programming for women in Afghanistan.

CIDA has made great stride in ensuring that country strategies focus on a maximum of three sectors. In Africa, Canada was the lead donor in democratic governance, basic education and health. In Asia, Canada leads in democratic governance, private sector development and health. In the Americas, the main focus has been in the sectors of democratic governance, health and basic education. In 2006-2007, programming was focused primarily in the areas of governance, private sector development and education in Eastern Europe, the Maghreb and the Middle East.

In all regions, CIDA has continued to be a leader in equality between women and men whether in specific programming or as a cross-cutting theme.

Advancing Education in Mozambique In line with its commitments to support education in developing countries, CIDA's total bilateral aid to education in Mozambique was $23 million in 2006-2007. CIDA is using a mix of programming approaches through its bilateral program, to assist the Government of Mozambique to expand access, improve quality of education and develop the capacity of the education system. At a project level, CIDA supports the program of the Mozambican NGO Progresso, in conjunction with the Canadian NGO CODE, to promote literacy in the northernmost part of the country (the area with the highest illiteracy rates). Progresso is impacting students and adults directly through its programming, and won the UNESCO prize for literacy in 2005 for its work. CIDA benefits, as well, by having a partner working with 'eyes and ears' on the ground. CIDA works directly with the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC), in the procurement of textbooks and other teaching materials for the 4 million primary school students in the country. Along with providing the funding for these materials, CIDA has contracted a Canadian Procurement Agency to sit in MEC, assisting them in implementing international competitive bidding processes, and ensuring that CIDA's funding is well used. At the program level, CIDA supports, in conjunction with other donors, the Ministry's sector-wide education program (including teacher training and school construction). CIDA has a full-time education advisor that participates in the various working groups of this sector-wide program, contributing to the wise use of resources and the thoughtful implementation of policy. CIDA's participation has contributed to the expansion of the education system while maintaining quality standards, financed by the Government of Mozambique and a group of donors. CIDA partners closely with other donors and the Ministry on following a negotiated set of indicators and targets for monitoring the Ministry's performance and the budget execution of education spending. This includes an elaborate system of joint working groups between donors and the government, negotiations, policy dialogue and influence, to ensure education spending is used in the most effective way possible, according to the Ministry's program, priorities and pre-approved budget. Each one of CIDA's financial contributions is preceded by extensive analysis according to scheduled performance assessments, evaluations and audits. CIDA has two full-time advisors working on education, ensuring that the whole of the Canadian contribution is well managed. Program staff and other CIDA advisors and specialists support these advisors throughout the life cycle of these projects. Key results include: In 2006, the net primary enrolment ratio reached 87 per cent (84 per cent for girls), surpassing the target of 85 per cent. Over 4 million primary students attended school in Mozambique, an increase of over 1.1 million students since 2002 and a 6 per cent increase since 2005. The primary completion rate in 2005 was 34 per cent (27 per cent for girls). More than 1,800 new primary schools have been built since 2002, an increase of over 20 per cent. Approximately 11.5 million textbooks, workbooks and teachers manuals were published and delivered to Mozambique in 2006-2007, reaching more than 4 million primary teachers and students and bringing Canada's total contribution to more than 75 million books over the past decade. In 2006, MEC continued to implement an in-service teacher-training program, with a total of approximately 10,000 new teachers being contracted in 2006-2007 (an increase of 11 per cent from the previous year's rate).

2.1.2 Strengthened Program Delivery

CIDA continued to strengthen its program delivery by implementing the lessons learned of what makes aid more effective. The Agency has at its disposal a range of programming tools, from traditional projects, to delegated cooperation and Program-based Approaches (PBAs). These approaches bring together a group of donors, under the host country's leadership, in a single comprehensive program with a single budget and harmonized donor procedures, in support of that country's poverty reduction programs. This entails working with country systems rather than establishing parallel structures and, for that reason, requires concerted effort to increase the performance of those systems over time, including in such crucial areas as public financial management and procurement

The opportunities and risks guide the choice of programming tool. PBAs provided opportunities for both harmonization among donors and greater alignment with local priorities, and maximize the sustainability of development results. The right environment for the use of PBAs can be found in countries of concentration. They are also used in other countries, such as fragile states with additional appropriate safeguards, through trust funds managed by multilateral institutions. Basic education and health are the two sectors where PBAs are found most often.

As part of the renewal of its Terms and Conditions approved by TB in March 2007, CIDA submitted findings related to evaluations of PBAs, and lessons learned in managing budget support and pooled funds. Although it is too early to assess the impact of PBAs on poverty reduction, evaluations noted positive effects, for example in increasing access to social services and strengthening public financial management. Overall, it was found that PBAs work best as part of a portfolio of approaches; and while they offer advantages and opportunities for the development cooperation community, they entail different types and levels of risks than the traditional PBA. To respond to these findings and ensure appropriate use of PBAs in the Agency, CIDA is developing a suite of policy and program tools constituting an appropriate management accountability framework for PBAs.

2.1.3 Effective Use of Agency Resources

In 2006-2007, CIDA increased its field presence to improve knowledge, enhance its ability to act quickly and effectively on the ground, and build its alliances and relationships in country. The Agency took steps to remove business impediments that prevented it from finding cost savings through new types of funding arrangements and partnerships.

• Enhanced field presence: CIDA increased its staff in countries such as: Afghanistan, Bolivia, Haiti, Nicaragua, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Senegal, and Ethiopia through additional staffing from headquarters or locally contracted resources. It provided training to field personnel, including regional workshops on PBAs in Mali, on equality between women and men in Kenya, and on financial management and contracts in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador;

• Creative funding solutions: Through the Pakistan-Canada Debt for Education Conversion project, payments on Pakistan's current debt of $117 million to Canada will be redirected over five years to improve teacher education facilities and programs. This initiative is fully aligned with the Government of Pakistan's systems, procedures and national priorities.

• Innovative common arrangements: CIDA has used common arrangements, such as pooled funds and delegated cooperation¹² , as means of easing the administrative burden on donors and developing countries. CIDA is also an active partner in a number of delegated cooperation arrangements and silent partnerships, such as the one with the Netherlands, in Nicaragua. "After carefully examining CIDA's management and financial systems, we decided to channel our contribution to PROASE through CIDA," said Jan Hoekema, Director, Education Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. "CIDA has all the necessary checks and balances in place for ministerial accountability. This new way of working together makes sense for donors with common priorities in Nicaragua. It reduces transaction costs at many levels while ensuring that we are managing for results."

2.1.4 Clear Accountability for Results

Accountability for results is critical to aid effectiveness; accurate performance measurement provides the basis for assessing progress, improving performance and fulfilling CIDA's primary accountability requirements vis-à-vis the Canadian public.

Country programs are managed on the basis of a performance measurement framework, most often aligned with the country's national poverty reduction strategy, and shared with other donors and partners. These provide relevant essential information for decision-making.

2.1.5 Selected Performance Reports

The pages that follow present a number of reports highlighting performance with respect to development objectives and CIDA's contributions to them. They include:

• Five country reports based on annual programming performance reviews;
• One country report based on a program evaluation; and,
• A Canada Fund for Africa report.

Ghana

At a glance...
Population	22.5 M
Area (km2) (2005)	239,000
Population density/km2	99
GNI Per Capita	US$520
Life Expectancy (2005)	57
Aid Per Capita US$ (2005)	51
Human Development Index	136th out of 177
Corruption Perceptions Ranking	70th out of 163
Unless indicated, all data is from 2006. Sources: World Bank, World Development Indicators (WDI) On-line and Transparency International, as of 2007-09-21

Context: Endowed with natural resources, Ghana is a well-managed, stable, multiparty democracy, with a strong record in poverty reduction and one of the best-performing economies in Africa. Inflation declined from 21 per cent in 2001 to about 10 per cent in early 2007. By improving policies and institutions and investing in infrastructure and basic services, poverty levels have plummeted over the past 15 years. According to Ghana Living Standard Surveys, the percentage of people living below the national poverty line dropped from 51.7 per cent in 1991-2002 to 28.5 per cent in 2005-2006. The country is expected to surpass the MDG target of halving poverty rates by 2015. Elimination of basic school fees and a school feeding program helped to increase national gross primary enrolment to 90.7 per cent in 2006-2007 from 86.3 per cent in 2005-2006. The main challenges facing Ghana are to accelerate current economic growth and share the benefits of growth more equitably.

Key Poverty Indicators

	Previous	Most Recent
% of population living with less than $1 per day	47 (1992)	45 (1998)
Mortality of children under five per 1,000 live births	122 (1990)	112 (2005)
% of children enrolled in primary education	54 (1991)	69 (2006)
% of seats held by women in national parliament	9 (1998)	11 (2006)
% of population with access to improved drinking water	55 (1990)	75 (2004)
% of malnourished children under five years of age	27 (1994)	22 (2003)
Maternal mortality ratio per 100,000 live births	740 (1990)	540 (2000)

Sources: World Bank, World Development Indicators (WDI) On-line and UNStats, 2007-09-21

Canadian Development Assistance to Ghana

Ghana is one of Canada's countries of concentration. Canada has provided assistance to the country since 1957, most recently contributing to sustainable development and poverty reduction through projects in democratic governance and basic human needs.

Commitment to Aid Effectiveness

Canada's support to Ghana is informed by the Ghana Joint Assistance Strategy, 2007-2010, and Ghana's Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (2006-2009). In accordance with aid effectiveness principles, Canada has supported Ghana's increasing ownership of its development process, and has strongly aligned its aid to national priorities, strengthened and used country public financial management systems for aid projects, and coordinated closely with other donors seeking to strengthen local systems of planning, budgeting, control and oversight.

To work more closely with other donors and local authorities, CIDA's program in Ghana is highly decentralized. The Director of the program is stationed in the field and is also the Head of Aid, along with a deputy director, a senior program analyst, and a development officer. There are a number of locally engaged staff, Canadian cooperants and local advisors, including sector specialists in democratic governance, public financial management, environment, gender equality, and agriculture. In headquarters, there is a deputy director/program manager, one senior program analyst, and four senior and intermediate development officers. These staff members and locally engaged personnel enable the Agency to participate in a wide range of donor groups coordinating aid policies and programs.

Focusing on Results

CIDA's program in Ghana focuses on democratic governance and basic human needs, chiefly food security/agriculture, and water and sanitation, with attention given to three of the poorest regions in the country - the Upper West, Upper East and Northern Regions.

Democratic Governance - Training and technical assistance has enabled Ghana's Members of Parliament to improve their understanding of their oversight roles and responsibilities in reviewing public policy and spending actions. CIDA support to Ghana's national budget since 2004 has helped the country to dramatically reduce domestic debt while simultaneously increasing spending on services for the poor.

Basic human needs - In food security and agriculture, CIDA contributed over $20 million to the implementation of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture's Food and Agriculture Development Policy. This support contributed to a 6.1 per cent sector growth rate in 2005. CIDA support has also led to the strengthening of district assembly capacities in procurement related to food and agriculture programming. In 2006, 75 communities in 6 districts were supported in implementing 77 food security initiatives.

Water and sanitation - CIDA is a leader on desertification issues in Ghana, and as environment sector co-lead, coordinated and facilitated Government of Ghana and donor support for the environment. CIDA supported the dissemination of a database, which integrated all hydrogeological data for the northern regions, a key tool for planning. As a result of training and awareness raising initiatives, gender issues have been incorporated into most of the districts' medium-term development plans. Continued progress has been noted in the participation of women in water, sanitation boards and community meetings.

CIDA's future programming in Ghana will build on results achieved and lessons learned from the past, including the importance of enhanced coordination with other donors. It will continue to focus on enhancing democratic governance, strengthening food security/agriculture, improving water and sanitation, and ensuring that gender equality and environment issues are integrated throughout its programming. As a risk mitigation measure, the program will track HIV/AIDS issues in Ghana and provide support if the need arises.

Success Story Local people often know what approaches work best for their communities. This is a philosophy underpinning a successful partnership between CIDA and the Government of Ghana on the District Wide Assistance Project (DWAP). Since 2004, 34 district administrations in the north of Ghana have used their own planning processes to allocate Canadian funds to local priorities. They have chosen to build primary school blocks, health clinics, boreholes, community police stations and markets - facilities needed to provide poor communities with elementary education, primary health care, potable water, public security and opportunities to improve their livelihoods. An estimated 20,000 people have benefited from 248 initiatives funded through DWAP. DWAP represents a new way of delivering aid. It allows well performing countries, like Ghana, to identify the priorities that are right for their specific needs. After ensuring that sound planning, procurement and auditing procedures are in place, DWAP allows district authorities to plan and manage their own development programming. This way, more of Canada's aid dollars directly reach Ghanaian communities.

Haiti

At a glance...
Population	8.6 M
Area (km2) (2005)	27,750
Population density/km2	314
GNI Per Capita	US$480
Life Expectancy (2005)	53
Aid Per Capita US$ (2005)	60
Human Development Index	154th out of 177
Corruption Perceptions Ranking	163rd out of 163
Unless indicated, all data is from 2006. Sources: World Bank, World Development Indicators (WDI) On-line and Transparency International, as of 2007-09-21

Context: Despite recent improvement in some socio-economic indicators, Haiti remains a fragile state and the poorest country in the Americas. According to the 2006 global Human Development Report, Haiti ranks 154th out of 177 countries. Its per capita Gross Domestic Product decreased by a third between 1980 and 2005. One third of Haitian households are headed by a woman; this rises to nearly 50 per cent in urban areas. Life expectancy is 53 years and the prevalence of HIV/AIDS is the highest in the region. After many years of political instability, Haiti held free and transparent elections in 2006, which led to the election of President René Préval, the appointment of a legitimate government and the election of parliamentarians and municipal leaders. As a result of the joint efforts of police forces and the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, the security situation has vastly improved. Therefore, the time is right for the international community, including emerging donors from Latin America, to provide concerted support to the government and people of Haiti. It is in this context that, in July 2006, Canada committed $520 million over five years.

Key Poverty Indicators

	Previous	Most Recent
% of population living with less than $1 per day	n.a.	54 (2001)
Mortality of children under five per 1,000 live births	150 (1990)	120 (2005)
% of children enrolled in primary education	22 (1991)	n.a.
% of seats held by women in national parliament	4 (1997)	2 (2006)
% of population with access to improved drinking water	47 (1990)	54 (2004)
% of malnourished children under five years of age	27 (1990)	17 (2000)
Maternal mortality ratio per 100,000 live births	1000 (1990)	680 (2000)

Sources: World Bank, World Development Indicators (WDI) On-line and UNStats, 2007-09-21

Canadian Development Assistance to Haiti

CIDA has been operating in Haiti since 1968. Canadian ODA has fluctuated according to the country's political and security situation. Since the arrival of the transition government (2004) and in the wake of the election of a legitimate and recognized government in 2006, Canada has significantly increased its aid to Haiti through CIDA and other departments such as DFAIT (START program) and the RCMP. Canada is now the second-largest bilateral donor in Haiti, and the Haiti bilateral program is the second largest in CIDA.

Commitment to Aid Effectiveness

CIDA is focusing on the principles of aid effectiveness in implementing its program in Haiti by, among other things, playing a leading role in applying the principles of engagement in fragile states on the heels of the Paris Declaration. CIDA fully supports the Haitian government's leadership role in its own development process and is dedicating resources to support it in this regard. Canada is also playing a leading role at the donor table to strengthen coordination structures.

To focus its efforts more effectively, CIDA has developed an interim strategy with three pillars: institution building and governance; access to basic services; basic needs and social conciliation.

Focusing on Results

Governance - CIDA supports central government institutions (such as the Office of the President and that of the Prime Minister) through direct technical assistance to strengthen their planning and coordination functions. In the justice sector, CIDA has helped build the capacities of judges and clerks in an effort to improve access to a quality justice system. CIDA has also supported the improvement of living conditions for prisoners.

Access to services - In the health sector, CIDA has built human resources capacities, with 45 graduates from a health services management program. Nearly 33,000 people, including 14,800 women, have been made aware of how to prevent drug abuse, HIV/AIDS, and teenage pregnancy. In education, CIDA has supported the construction or rehabilitation of infrastructure and equipment throughout the country. More than 120 schools have improved their basic education services, affecting over 29,000 students and their families. Finally, some 290,000 students have received a hot meal every school day thanks to Canadian support.

Socio-economic improvements - To meet the population's basic urgent needs, CIDA has supported several quick impact initiatives that will have helped create nearly 300,000 days of work and better access to drinking water for 2,400 families. Also, the project in support of savings and credit cooperatives is helping 57 credit unions with 212,630 members, 47 per cent of whom are women. Savings and credit totalled $29.5 million and $261 million respectively on December 31, 2006.

One of the key pieces of the Americas strategy, Canada will remain committed to Haiti in the long term. CIDA will continue to align itself with Haiti's priorities, especially those to be set out in its national growth and poverty reduction strategy paper. CIDA will continue to actively coordinate aid to increase its effectiveness and achieve even longer-lasting results.

Success Story Against a backdrop of political uncertainty, CIDA played a leading role in the international community in supporting the holding of free and transparent elections in 2006. CIDA then directly assisted the authorities to ensure an efficient and smooth transition, including support for the preparation of the transition white paper. Finally, Canadian support helped organize the July 2006 international conference where international partners met in support of the priorities of the new government.

Honduras

At a glance...
Population	7.35M
Area (km2) (2005)	112,090
Population density/km2	66
GNI Per Capita	US$1,200
Life Expectancy (2005)	69
Aid Per Capita US$ (2005)	94
Human Development Index	117th out of 177
Corruption Perceptions Ranking	121th out of 163
Unless indicated, all data is from 2006. Sources: World Bank, World Development Indicators (WDI) On-line and Transparency International, as of 2007-09-21

Context: In Honduras, almost 40 per cent of the population lives in poverty. Inequality and lack of economic opportunities are major barriers to poverty reduction: the richest 20 per cent of the population own 58 per cent of the wealth, and the poorest 20 per cent hold only three per cent. Rapid population growth also presents a challenge. In 1970, the population was roughly three million; today it is over 7 million and it is expected to reach 11 million by 2025. The majority of poor households live in rural areas, concentrated in the western part of the country and in areas surrounding the cities. Environmental deterioration, combined with extreme weather conditions such as hurricanes and intense tropical storms, increases the country's vulnerability.

Key Poverty Indicators

	Previous	Most Recent
% of population living with less than $1 per day	38 (1990)	15 (2003)
Mortality of children under five per 1,000 live births	59 (1990)	40 (2005)
% of children enrolled in primary education	89 (1990)	91 (2004)
% of seats held by women in national parliament	10 (1990)	23 (2006)
% of population with access to improved drinking water	84 (1990)	87 (2004)
% of malnourished children under five years of age	18 (1992)	17 (2001)
Maternal mortality ratio per 100,000 live births	220 (1990)	110 (2000)

Sources: World Bank, World Development Indicators (WDI) On-line and UNStats, 2007-09-21

Canadian Development Assistance to Honduras

Canada's aid to Honduras dates back to 1969. It is characterized by steady annual investments, with a peak in the late 1990s following the devastation of Hurricane Mitch.

Commitment to Aid Effectiveness

CIDA's approach in Honduras reflects the Agency's commitment to aid effectiveness and responds to the needs of Honduras. This includes, among other things, active policy dialogue, promoting ownership and commitment with the Government of Honduras, engaging at national, regional and local levels, and working with a variety of partners and channels of investment. The Agency's investments are aligned directly with the Honduras Poverty Reduction Strategy.

Canada has played an active leadership role in supporting the donor coordination group (the G-16) to promote harmonization and alignment and is acknowledged for having increased civil society's role in policy dialogue, accountability and transparency.

Focusing on Results

CIDA's bilateral program in Honduras strives to support the increased achievement of Honduras' MDGs in education, environment and health.

Education - Canada has played an instrumental role among donors with its technical expertise and experience in education and PBAs to support improved governance of the education sector through a Pooled Fund for Education for All. Specific results in 2006-2007 include the development of a pilot Pedagogical Competencies Program of training program for the region of La Paz. Canada supported the printing of approximately 34,000 copies of the training program that have been distributed in Spanish and English.

Environment - CIDA's Honduras program has a long history of successful environmental initiatives. Recent focus on integrated water resource management has promoted a holistic perspective on water, keeping in mind the need for environmental, social and economic sustainability. To date, nine micro watersheds in Jutigalpa received protection status through the PRO-MESAS Water and Sanitation Fund. This significantly improves access to potable water in that area. In the community of San Juan, potable water systems are now in place for a total of 240 families and a local committee maintains the equipment and the quality of the water.

Health - CIDA has contributed to reducing incidence of illness and increasing health at the community-level through investments in sexual and reproductive health, public health and addressing Chagas disease. To date, more than 20,000 infested homes (approx. 140,000 individuals) were sprayed against Chagas in 383 communities; over 20,000 school children were examined, of which 1,200 are now being treated. CIDA expects that the reduction in incidence of this major disease will reduce service costs for the public health system and increase the participation of the treated population in productive activities.

CIDA's future programming in Honduras will focus on governance for accountable institutions in education, environment and health with gender equality integrated throughout. CIDA's strategy in Honduras will build on results and accomplishments of the past, manage risk and target niche sectors of expertise where Canada has made, and continues to make, a difference.

Success Story CARE Canada's Sustainable Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project has provided water systems, latrines, basic hygiene education, and training to over 40,000 people in 81 communities since its inception. The project has won international awards for its inclusive and sustainable design in which local communities-with an emphasis on women-were trained in the administration, financial management, operation, and maintenance of the water system, and the protection of the micro-watershed. This training was a key measure to ensure the sustainability of the systems. Local people were then able to manage and maintain the system without calling on outside expertise. Participants now report that their general health is much improved and that there is a significantly lower incidence of diarrhea and malaria.

Vietnam

At a glance...
Population	84 M
Area (km2) (2005)	329,000
Population density/km2	271
GNI Per Capita	US$690
Life Expectancy (2005)	71
Aid Per Capita US$ (2005)	23
Human Development Index	109th out of 177
Corruption Perceptions Ranking	111th out of 163
Unless indicated, all data is from 2006. Sources: World Bank, World Development Indicators (WDI) On-line and Transparency International, as of 2007-09-21

Context: One of the most dynamic economies in Southeast Asia today, Vietnam has been transforming itself from a planned to a market economy since the late 1980s. Despite marked ¸economic progress, access to political rights have been slower to emerge. Thus, opportunities remain for CIDA to contribute effectively in areas such as increasing government accountability and transparency. Also, Vietnam is faced with a rapidly expanding labour force, over a million new jobs are required annually, and, at the same time, economic production is becoming more technologically sophisticated. Ensuring that labour markets can accommodate these two forces is an important challenge for the Vietnamese government. Finally, poverty and social indicators among ethnic minority populations continue to lag behind the majority Kinh population. More targeted government programming will be needed to limit the gap between rich and poor.

Key Poverty Indicators

	Previous	Most Recent
% of population living with less than $1 per day	n.a.	n.a.
Mortality of children under five per 1,000 live births	53 (1990)	19 (2005)
% of children enrolled in primary education	90 (1991)	88 (2005)
% of seats held by women in national parliament	18 (1990)	27 (2006)
% of population with access to improved drinking water	65 (1990)	85 (2004)
% of malnourished children under five years of age	41 (1993)	28 (2003)
Maternal mortality ratio per 100,000 live births	160 (1990)	130 (2000)

Sources: World Bank, World Development Indicators (WDI) On-line and UNStats, 2007-09-21

Canadian Development Assistance to Vietnam

Since 1990, Canada has provided ODA to Vietnam in support of its reform and poverty reduction objectives

Commitment to Aid Effectiveness

Vietnam's Socio-Economic Development Plan and the Hanoi Core Statement, a joint donor-Government of Vietnam harmonization and coordination strategy and monitoring tool for aid effectiveness, guide CIDA's programming in Vietnam. According to the 2006 Paris Declaration Monitoring Survey, 82 per cent of Canadian aid to government sectors in 2005 was aligned with Vietnamese priorities; 51 per cent of this aid used Vietnamese procurement and financial systems; and 48 per cent of all Canadian bilateral investments were program-based.

Focusing on Results

CIDA's bilateral program in Vietnam focuses on three priority sectors: democratic governance, private sector and rural development; and basic education.

Democratic Governance - Canadian expertise has played a key role in helping Vietnam to reform its justice system and strengthen government accountability. Vietnamese officials from the Supreme People's Court and the Ministry of Justice are learning from Canadian court administrative procedures to further their Judicial Reform Strategy. Canada also enabled the Government of Vietnam to enhance its public financial management through the development of new regulations on financial disclosure of all state budget entities, implementation of a public expenditure review to better integrate capital and recurrent budgets, and the transformation of the State Audit of Vietnam into an independent agency of the National Assembly.

Private sector and rural development - CIDA's financing of the Mekong Private Sector Development Facility has supported the development of the internationally-recognized "Business Edge" management training program, which provides half of its training to business people from smaller centres and provinces. CIDA support to the UN's Avian Influenza and Control Program contributed to vaccination campaigns being carried out in 47 targeted provinces (total of 59 provinces). In mountainous districts in Thanh Hoa province, CIDA provided credit and agriculture extension services to 33,000 Households which resulted in a significant reduction in the number of poor people (58 percent) and an overall increase in food crop production (10 percent).

Basic education - CIDA is supporting the incorporation of minimum standards for primary education into national educational policy. Working with the Government of Vietnam and other donors, CIDA is playing a leadership role in supporting Vietnam's EFA National Plan of Action, through a project to strengthen national and local capacity to plan, implement, monitor and evaluate improvements in quality, equality of access, targeting of resources and co-ordination of primary education services.

Future programming in Vietnam will include initiatives designed to support the implementation of Socio-Economic Development plans in three provinces. The Vietnam Program will also look to scale up previous technical and vocational training and environmental governance programming, by broadening the scope of new projects to include national level policy reforms and/or additional provinces. In the democratic governance sector, the Vietnam Program is responding to a proposal from the Government of Vietnam to continue providing Canadian expertise in support of Vietnam's legal and judicial reform agenda.

Success Story CIDA helped to integrate gender equality issues into Vietnam's national development plan, made substantial contributions to a newly promulgated Gender Equality Law and supported an upcoming Law on Domestic Violence. The Agency also helped integrate gender considerations into other sectors, such as the environment. CIDA-financed training of women in industrial pollution management (IPM) practices has led to gender balance being established among staff in targeted provincial Environmental Management Departments and increased advocacy from within the Women's Union for better IPM.

Egypt

At a glance...
Population	75 M
Area (km2) (2005)	1,001
Population density/km2	76
GNI Per Capita	US$1,350
Life Expectancy (2005)	71
Aid Per Capita US$ (2005)	13
Human Development Index	111th out of 177
Corruption Perceptions Ranking	70th out of 163
Unless indicated, all data is from 2006. Sources: World Bank, World Development Indicators (WDI) On-line and Transparency International, as of 2007-09-21

Context: Egypt plays an influential role in the Middle East and North Africa and is a key partner for Canada, including in the area of development cooperation. The UNDP has reported that Egypt is on track to achieve all MDG targets by 2015. There has been sustained progress in areas such as child mortality, maternal health, water and sanitation. Despite economic progress, Egypt still faces numerous developmental challenges including: a large population, roughly half of which is under the age of 20, placing severe demands on the labour market and education system; an unequal distribution of income and wealth; and regional and gender disparities with respect to poverty, as well as environmental degradation.

Key Poverty Indicators

	Previous	Most Recent
% of population living with less than $1 per day	4 (1991)	3 (2000)
Mortality of children under five per 1,000 live births	104 (1990)	36 (2004)
% of children enrolled in primary education	84 (1991)	94 (2006)
% of seats held by women in national parliament	4 (1990)	2 (2006)
% of population with access to improved drinking water	94 (1990)	98 (2004)
% of malnourished children under five years of age	10 (1990)	9 (2003)
Maternal mortality ratio per 100,000 live births	170 (1990)	84 (2000)

Sources: World Bank, World Development Indicators (WDI) On-line and UNStats, 2007-09-21

Canadian Development Assistance to Egypt

Canada has provided ODA to Egypt since 1976, concentrating over the years on sectors such as agriculture, energy, private sector development, education, economic reform and environmental sustainability. The focus is now on basic education and private sector development.

Commitment to Aid Effectiveness

CIDA, in particular through the personnel in the field, has been very active in promoting policy dialogue, encouraging more local ownership as well as improved donor coordination and harmonization. For example, as Chair of the Donor Sub-group on Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) for the past five years, CIDA has played a significant role in improving donor coordination, cooperation and more effective dialogue between donors and the Government of Egypt.

The combination of project and non-project activities has given Canada the opportunity to share Canadian experience in governance and policy implementation with Egypt in support of important sectors such as SME development.

Focusing on results

CIDA aims to support Egypt's efforts to address its development challenges and reduce poverty, in particular among women and children/youth, by focusing on basic education and private sector development. Governance, including institutional capacity strengthening and child rights, is another important programming theme as is the environment. Equality between women and men is also a focus. All projects incorporate results on equality between women and men and all medium to large projects have a gender equality focal point to promote equality within the individual projects.

Basic education: Canada has played a major role in helping Egypt to increase enrolment and retention of children, reduce gender disparities, improve the quality of education in Egyptian schools and enhance the employability of students entering the workforce through such projects as the Egyptian Primary Schools Project, known as STEPS I (see box). New CIDA-supported initiatives launched in 2006-2007 will address the issues of early childhood education and adult literacy. CIDA is also participating, through pooled funding, with other donors in supporting the efforts of the Government of Egypt to develop a national strategic plan in the education sector.

Private sector development: CIDA has helped 34 partners throughout Egypt to develop and offer a variety of non-financial services to SMEs in areas such as taxation, legal support, e-commerce, business incubation, exporting, and support for women in the workforce. CIDA has also supported the Government of Egypt in the development and implementation of policies, legislation and regulations to promote SME development, and the Egyptian Ministry of Manpower has replicated a CIDA-supported model in which employment centres match job seekers with employers.

CIDA's future programming in Egypt will continue to concentrate on two sectors, basic education and private sector development particularly for small and medium enterprises. These two sectors are expected to account for close to 85 per cent of investments by the Egypt Program by 2010-11. The sectors of concentration are very relevant to the development challenges facing Egypt.

Pakistan

An independent evaluation of CIDA's Pakistan Program was conducted to review its performance between 2001 and 2006. CIDA's Program in Pakistan has three core objectives: promoting democratic local governance; improving social services in education and health; and advancing equality between women and men. The Program has an annual allocation of $20 million; disbursements for 2005-2006 were $21.9 million. As of March 2005, there were 36 bilateral projects being implemented with a total value of $253 million.

Relevance: The evaluation found that the programs/projects reviewed contributed to one or more of the three key program objectives. The projects and sub-programs were consistent with Pakistan national development priorities, and well aligned with CIDA's objectives, especially that of promoting equality between women and men.

Results Achieved: CIDA-supported programs/projects judged to be managed for results and results-based management is generally well integrated into projects. There is ample evidence that the Program is achieving significant positive results in all three-priority sectors. Some projects were very impressive; others were more mixed.

The evaluation presents details of the assessment of sample projects and identifies both positive and negative factors affecting results. It states that, with reference to equality between women and men, results have been particularly impressive for those projects with a direct equality focus, and that long and persistent investment in equality between women and men by CIDA is one key to success. CIDA is a leader among donors in equality programming in Pakistan, providing significant value for money with a relatively small budget.

Sustainability and Capacity Development: The Pakistan Program has been entrepreneurial in finding opportunities to create or support civil society organizations in a difficult environment. A large number of organizations supported by the Program have become important activists for community mobilization, poverty reduction, and the rights of women. Many of these have become more sustainable over time by developing workable funding models or by diversifying their donor base.

Program Effectiveness: The Program has been hampered in the past by its complexity, lack of geographic focus, wide range of project implementation modalities, and layered administration, as well as complicated management and monitoring arrangements. As new programming opportunities arise, these constraints are being addressed, leading to improved program effectiveness.

The Program has shown a consistent willingness to take reasonable risks and be innovative - with particular reference to equality and governance programming and donor coordination. Internal performance reviews led to decisions being taken to focus on fewer larger projects, explore opportunities to coordinate with other donors, find delivery channels less vulnerable to security disruptions, and strengthen the Program Support Unit. Significant progress has been made on all four fronts.

Recommendations: The evaluation recommends retaining the basic structure and focus of the current Pakistan Program with its three core objectives. It also offers a number of suggestions for improving areas such as the program's structure and focus, capacity development and institution building, and program and project management effectiveness.

Next Steps: The Pakistan Program agreed with all the recommendations of the evaluation. A process is underway to develop a new programming strategy, which will incorporate the recommendations and lessons from the evaluation.

Canada Fund for Africa

The $500-million Canada Fund for Africa (CFA) was established to respond to the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) - a made-in-Africa plan to put the continent on a path of sustainable growth and development - and the G8 Africa Action Plan. The CFA is a time-bound initiative designed to play a key catalytic role in promoting African leadership and attracting significant new investments in Africa; it is scheduled to end on March 31, 2008. CIDA's corporate Evaluation Division will conduct an evaluation of the CFA in 2008 in order to document successes and lessons. The CFA's objectives are to: enhance African capacity to achieve their own development goals; strengthen institutions and democratic governance in Africa; and foster innovation and economic growth in Africa. The CFA has 32 distinct initiatives, divided between five sectors, and an allocation for administration, as highlighted in the following chart:

Selected Results for 2006-2007

• Establishment of women's caucuses in national associations of municipalities and local authorities in Ghana, Mali, and Tanzania;
• Promotion of anticorruption and open government legislation in 18 African member countries through the African Parliamentarians Network Against Corruption;
• Development of Tanzania's Assistance Strategy, Ghana's annual Macroeconomic Review and Outlook, and Uganda's Vision 2025, as a result of support to the African Capacity Building Foundation;
• Over $90 million, through the Canada Investment Fund for Africa, invested in 13 companies and 2 private sector funds in Africa;
• 97 entrepreneurs report a net increase of 388 new jobs within their businesses since joining Enablis South Africa, which provides technical support to SMEs;
• 33 per cent increase in student enrolment in selected communities in the DRC; 400 young girls trained in the areas of tailoring, baking, and hairdressing in Northern Uganda; and 30 young Burundian women trained as paralegals;
• Approximately $70 million leveraged by the CFA's initial support of $20 million to the African Water Facility.

2.2 Canadian Partnership

Financial Resources

Planned spending	Authorities	Actual spending
$279,608,000	$289,250,421	$273,413,338

Human Resources

Planned	Actual
189	203

The responsive nature of Canadian Partnership programming is a critical asset for leveraging additional resources for development, engaging Canadians in Canada's international efforts and building domestic understanding of and support for Canada's international development and humanitarian assistance programs. While remaining true to its responsive nature, the Canadian Partnership program has benefited from a number of initiatives aimed at enhancing its programming in line with Canada's commitments to aid effectiveness.

Overall, in 2006-2007, Partnership programming supported over 600 Canadian civil society and private sector organizations, as well as international civil society groups. These include NGOs, educational and training institutions, professional associations, provincial and regional councils for international cooperation, unions, businesses, cooperatives, and volunteer cooperation agencies representing about 2,500 individual volunteers.

Selected Results A joint venture between R.W. Evans Research Corp. and Skyweb Technologies of Nairobi has led to an international call centre employing 41 people, mainly women; of the five senior personnel, three are women, including the managing director, who was recognized as Kenyan Entrepreneur of the Year. The Canadian Co-operative Association has helped the Nicaraguan co-operatives to export black beans to Costa Rica and El Salvador for the first time, with an income increase of 222 per cent. In Uganda, a program by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada saw the development of an MA program in "Safe Motherhood" at a local university, as well as the creation of a professional association of obstetricians and gynaecologists which boasts a membership of 30 medical doctor volunteers, one third of whom are women. The Mennonite Economic Development Association (MEDA) worked through the MEDA Trade Company to promote the use of insecticide treated mosquito nets in Uganda. Business partners of this initiative credited the CIDA project for assisting them to sell more than 500,000 bednets since 2000, saving thousands of lives that would otherwise be lost to malaria. This project led to the design and implementation of a similar but much larger project in Tanzania.

2.2.1 Strategic Focus

In terms of strategic focus, trends show that the number and placement of African countries as top recipients of partnership programming have increased considerably in the past five years. In 2002-2003, only four African countries were among the top 15; by 2006-2007, that number increased to seven, of which three are in the top six: Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana.

At the same time, countries that had traditional bilateral relationships with CIDA - Thailand, Malaysia and several Eastern European countries - are no longer eligible for assistance through the partnership channel. In addition, as Canada's commercial relationships with China, Mexico and Russia has matured, these countries are no longer eligible for funding under CIDA's Industrial Cooperation Program.

CIDA's support to voluntary and private sector partners is a reflection of their ability to contribute to the MDGs, 80 per cent of Canadian Partnership programming is within CIDA's sectors of focus, and all programs and projects integrate the Agency's equality between women and men objectives, as illustrated below:

2.2.2 Strengthened Program Delivery

Over the past two years, CIDA has worked closely with its Canadian partners to review results and identify areas where improvements can be made in the way that CIDA co-invests with Canadian partners. In the context of this review and renewal of partnership programming, several cross-Canada consultations were held on policy and operational issues. Ongoing dialogue with key umbrella groups included a major event with the Canadian Council for International Cooperation and its 94 members and southern NGOs on "Effective Partnerships for Development Results", as well as CIDA's 2006 International Cooperation Days, attended by over 1,800 stakeholders. These events, coupled with the Ministerial Expert Panel on Partnership Programming that guide the overall review and renewal process, have contributed to the re-establishment of trust and dialogue between CIDA and its civil society. Canadian, as well as southern, NGOs were represented on the Expert Panel.

In addition, the Agency, in close collaboration with Canadian civil society, is chairing the international Advisory Group on Civil Society and Aid Effectiveness to recognize and advance the contributions of civil society to aid effectiveness in the lead-up to the Accra High Level Forum in September 2008.

Progress was made in enhancing efficiency, accountability and transparency:

• The new Voluntary Sector Fund ($20 million per year) launched in June 2006. It was developed based on input from more than 200 Canadian stakeholders and designed to support development projects that strive to reduce poverty and promote human rights as well as promote the principles of aid effectiveness. By the end of the fiscal year, 12 projects had already been approved, totalling over $4 million, and response times were reduced from 8-10 months down to less than four months.

• Following this launch, CIDA developed, in collaboration with the seven provincial/regional councils for international cooperation, a capacity development workshop for Canadian organizations. One goal of the workshop was to increase accountability and provide partner organizations with training in areas such as results-based management, reporting, equality between women and men and environmental sustainability. Since October 2006, workshops have been offered across the country to participants from 178 organizations.

CIDA's partnership programming places significant emphasis on the quality of the partnership established between Canadian and developing-country organizations. CIDA asks Canadian partners to demonstrate that their proposed initiatives contribute to building the capacity of their southern partners and meet locally identified needs. The active participation of southern partners in design and implementation are among the factors considered in choosing initiatives to be supported by CIDA.

2.2.3 Effective Use of Agency Resources and Clear Accountability for Results

The review of partnership programming revealed both internal and external concerns over the cost-effectiveness of certain aspects of the responsive programming¹³ process. As a result, CIDA undertook to redesign this business model in April 2006. The Harmonization of Operations for Partnership Effectiveness (HOPE) approach aims to enhance the quality of service while reducing the proposal processing time by half. Key elements identified by the HOPE initiative for an efficient operation include the adoption of a single gateway, clear guidelines, team assessment, ongoing processing of applications on a "first come, first served" basis, and timely feedback to partners on project approval.

In February and March 2007, the HOPE model was presented to 280 partners in a series of outreach events held across Canada. Feedback has been positive. More work is being done to bring HOPE to fruition, including the development of an e-business approach to facilitate online application.

The review and renewal of partnership programming contributed to efficiency and accountability in several other ways. The new approach for the voluntary sector, together with the launch of the new Voluntary Sector Fund, allowed for changes leading to more effective use of Agency resources. By investing in a capacity building initiative for Canadian partners, and by developing a policy on strengthening southern civil society, CIDA set the stage for better defined programming accountabilities. On the international scene, CIDA is taking on a leadership role to ensure that the aid effectiveness agenda recognizes the critical role of civil society in development.

An overview is provided, in the following page, on the evolution of volunteering cooperation.

Volunteer Cooperation Today: A World of Difference

International volunteers help improve the lives of people and their communities in developing countries by working with and strengthening Southern social and economic development organizations. These unpaid individuals contribute their time, expertise and experience to global sustainable human development. Upon their return, they also play a part in raising awareness of international development issues in their home country.

For close to four decades, CIDA has been supporting the work of volunteer cooperation agencies. CIDA's support has grown from approximately $22 million for seven agencies in 1980 to $50.7 million in 2006-2007 for ten agencies.

The 2005 review of CIDA's Volunteer Cooperation Program revealed a significant programming evolution since the 1960s. Volunteer cooperation has branched out beyond sending individual Northern volunteers to Southern organizations for fixed time periods, thereby to forging longer-term associations with developing country counterparts. Canadians remain involved, but in the context of more strategic placements aimed at achieving sustained results long after volunteers have returned to Canada.

One example of this new approach is the National Volunteering Program developed over the last five years by the international organization Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), whose Canadian partner, VSO Canada, receives CIDA support. Through VSO's international network of national partners and local offices, Southern organizations get the support they need to develop and manage national or local volunteer programs that respond to their priorities. This is the case in Ghana, where a Canadian volunteer, placed in partnership with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana, is helping to develop "community engagement" strategies with six local District Assemblies.

While South-South and in-country volunteering are on the rise, some 2,500 Canadian volunteers from all walks of life shared their talents and expertise abroad last year, in a variety of sectors.

For example, the Uniterra consortium of WUSC and CECI sent a young Canadian woman to Bolivia to support community health initiatives in a remote Andean village. She was able to work with the community and the local midwife to set up a traditional birthing room in the clinic, where mothers can also benefit from medical care in case of complications. The number of safely assisted births has since doubled in the community.

CESO, another volunteer cooperation agency, specializes in the placement of senior executives with considerable experience, and has been a long-time partner of the Municipality of Santa Rosa de Copan, in Honduras. Over the years, several CESO volunteers have been sent at the request of the municipality to improve the quality and quantity of potable water supplied to local residents. As a result of CESO's continuous support, a 50 per cent decrease in cases of waterborne diseases has been recorded.

2.3 Multilateral Programs

Financial Resources

Planned spending	Authorities	Actual spending
$1,045,710,000	$1,110,543,587	$1,084,080,278

Human Resources

Planned	Actual
137	164

Canada uses the multilateral system as a critical element of global governance and as an effective way of dealing with challenges that are global in scope. CIDA provides core funding to multilateral and international organizations whose mandates, objectives and capacities to deliver development initiatives are consistent with Government of Canada objectives and priorities. Furthermore, Canada's commitment to the provision of humanitarian assistance - where the need to save lives and alleviate suffering exceeds the abilities of affected countries to respond - is primarily fulfilled by support to multilateral and international humanitarian organizations, as well as trusted Canadian partners.

In order to contribute to the achievement of the MDGs, CIDA seeks to promote effectiveness and improve the policies and practices of multilateral organizations and institutions to maximize the results of their programs and operations. As a member of multilateral organizations, Canada exercises influence on the governing bodies of these organizations, often surpassing what might be indicated by Canada's financial contribution.

Health - some major results with multilateral partners According to estimates by UNICEF, Canada's support for the delivery of Vitamin A supplements saved more than 2.1 million lives between 1998 and 2005. In large part due to the efforts of the Measles Partnership for Africa (managed by UNICEF, with CIDA as a leading donor), over two hundred million children have been vaccinated against measles and one million lives have been saved in Africa since 1999. Since 1988, Canada has contributed approximately $200 million to fight polio (including a $45M contribution in 2006), primarily through the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). Canada is currently the seventh-largest donor overall to the GPEI. As a result of polio eradication activities, approximately two billion children have been immunized against polio since 2000, and polio is now endemic in only four countries: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan. CIDA was the largest donor to the WHO's "3 by 5" initiative, which aimed to increase the number of people in developing countries able to access HIV treatment. Between December 2003 and December 2005, approximately one million more people in Africa and Asia gained access to drug therapy for HIV/AIDS, an increase of approximately 200 percent.

2.3.1 Strategic Focus

During 2006-2007, CIDA continued to rely on the universal reach of the multilateral system, thereby contributing to development results across a wide range of developing countries, including countries in which CIDA has no bilateral programs. CIDA's multilateral programs placed considerable emphasis on health, while also contributing to education, private sector development, democratic governance, the environment, and equality between women and men. Although different organizations emphasize different themes in their work, institutional strengthening for aid effectiveness remains a consistent focus of CIDA's relationships with multilateral and international partners.

For example, during 2006-2007, Canada contributed actively to discussions about reforming the UN. These resulted in a report entitled "Delivering as One", which contains a number of recommendations for improving the ability of the UN to effectively fulfill its role and respond to current development challenges. In particular, the report observed that operational incoherence between UN funds, agencies and programs is most evident at a country level, and therefore recommended piloting a "One United Nations" approach to country programs. Also, in order to strengthen the UN's role in promoting gender equality, the report proposed a renewal of the UN's "gender architecture", including the creation of a new Under-Secretary-General level position. Official responses to the report are expected from Canada and other governments during 2007-2008.

Democratic Governance

CIDA continued to support democratic governance and human rights through its regular contributions to a wide range of organizations, including the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UNDP, the Commonwealth and La Francophonie.

For example, in the 2006 election in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UNDP worked closely with the UN Mission in the DRC to support the newly created Independent Electoral Commission. Together, they steered the largest and most complex UN electoral assistance mission ever undertaken. The election, with an 80 percent participation rate, was a major accomplishment in a country suffering from the consequences of civil war, and where democratic elections had not been held in more than 40 years.

Private Sector Development

CIDA's multilateral program contributes to private sector development primarily through the Regional Development Banks (such as the African Development Bank, which received core funding of almost $89 million from CIDA in 2006). CIDA directly participates in the governance of the Banks by advising the Canadian Executive Directors who sit on the Banks' Boards of Directors. CIDA works through the regional development banks to strengthen economic infrastructure, such as transportation, energy and telecommunications in developing countries. For example: in 2006, the African Development Bank sought to promote economic growth through initiatives such as loan guarantees to the private sector and the development of programs to ease access to investment financing by SMEs; and, by 2006, a loan from the Asian Development Bank to Afghanistan's leading wireless telecommunications company had enabled dramatic growth in its subscriber base and network coverage, thereby contributing to employment opportunities (including opportunities for women) and to tax revenues for the Government of Afghanistan.

Equality between Women and Men

Although equality between women and men forms a component of all of CIDA's multilateral core funding and policy dialogue - including advocating for the mainstreaming of equality considerations whenever possible - some UN agencies focus on gender equality as part of their mandate. Notably, in 2006, CIDA continued to provide approximately $17.4 million in annual core funding to the United Nations Funds for Population Activities (UNFPA), which works to ensure universal access to reproductive health, including family planning and sexual health. In 2006, the UNFPA helped to overcome reproductive health commodity shortages in more than 60 countries, supported national efforts to undertake country-level discussions relating to universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support with governments, civil society, the private sector and development partners in more than 100 countries, and undertook policy dialogue and programming to prevent and address violence against women and girls.

Humanitarian Assistance

CIDA's primary response to crises is financial support to organizations that make up the international humanitarian system. These organizations ensure that the basic human needs of people affected by disasters and conflicts - such as physical security, food, water, health care, and shelter - are met.

In order to save lives and alleviate the suffering of crisis-affected populations, CIDA provided funding to multilateral, international and Canadian organizations in response to the following prominent rapid-onset emergencies in 2006-2007: the May 2006 earthquake in Indonesia; internally displaced persons due to civil strife in East Timor in mid-2006; the mid-2006 conflict in Lebanon; flooding in the Horn of Africa in late 2006; the December 2006 typhoon in the Philippines; flooding in Bolivia in February 2007; and the cyclone and flooding in Mozambique and Madagascar in March 2007. In total, CIDA contributed approximately $17 million to these crises, thereby enabling humanitarian assistance organizations to respond to the needs of affected populations. These responses included the provision of drinking water, hygiene and sanitation services, primary health care services, health surveillance services, logistical and transportation support, emergency and transition shelter, emergency food aid, essential non-food items (such as soap, clothing and cooking utensils), and temporary learning spaces for children.

2.3.2 Strengthened Program Delivery

CIDA made progress during 2006-2007 on the development of a framework to assess multilateral organizations' effectiveness and relevance¹⁴. This framework is intended to inform decision-making about CIDA's strategies for improving the management capacities of its multilateral partners, as well as CIDA's allocation of resources to individual organizations. CIDA expects to adjust this framework once further refinement, testing, and validation have taken place - including discussions with other donor agencies about the possibility of a harmonized approach to assessing multilateral organizations.

Based on the framework to assess multilateral organizations' effectiveness and relevance, CIDA undertook assessments of key organizations that receive core funding. For example, the assessment of the WFP, produced in 2006-2007, demonstrated that, partly as a result of concerted and continuous CIDA efforts, including interventions at executive board meetings, WFP has taken on nutrition and results-based management as key institutional priorities. Given the nature of WFP's work, CIDA has been encouraging WFP's focus on emergency needs assessments. Canada has joined WFP's Strengthen Emergency Needs Assessment Capacity initiative, which will help to reinforce WFP's capacity to assess humanitarian needs in the food sector during emergencies through more accurate and impartial needs assessments.

This framework complements CIDA's continuing efforts to improve the effectiveness of multilateral partners through audits, evaluations, and the exercise of due diligence, through surveys of CIDA's field staff about the effectiveness of multilateral organizations within individual countries, and through CIDA's engagement with the multi-donor working group called the Multilateral Organizations Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN) - which is a key stakeholder group in discussions about multilateral effectiveness.

CIDA collaborates with other donors to strengthen multilateral organizations. For example, CIDA chaired a multi-donor "peer review" of the evaluation function at the UNICEF. The review - published in 2006 - concluded that, on the whole, UNICEF's evaluation is independent, credible, and useful for learning and accountability purposes. Furthermore, in 2006, the heads of the development agencies of Canada, Sweden and the United Kingdom agreed upon a Joint Institutional Approach (JIA) that focuses on supporting priority areas of work for UNICEF. The JIA is expected to strengthen UNICEF's performance in important areas, such as the human rights-based approach to programming, gender equality, humanitarian capacity, results-based management, evaluation, human resource management and UN reform. The three donors will track performance against JIA indicators and will conduct joint reviews at regular intervals to monitor progress.

CIDA's efforts to improve the effectiveness of donor responses to humanitarian crises continued during 2006-2007, primarily through its participation in the Good Humanitarian Donorship (GHD) initiative. Highlights of recent progress include: formal endorsement of the GHD principles and practices by the OECD's Development Assistance Committee (DAC) in April 2006; agreement on a set of indicators to measure the implementation of GHD; and a wider acceptance of standardized reporting to donors by humanitarian agencies, such as the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

2.3.3 Effective Use of Agency Resources and Clear Accountability for Results

CIDA shares responsibility for relationships with multilateral organizations with other government departments, notably DFAIT. In terms of humanitarian assistance, CIDA and DFAIT collaborate closely to ensure that humanitarian issues receive an appropriate response from the federal government.

CIDA continued to exercise due diligence and add value to its funding relationships by participating in the governance of most multilateral organizations, usually through Boards of Directors, various management and policy committees, or thematic meetings at various levels.

In terms of humanitarian assistance, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) is a major new initiative to improve the timeliness of humanitarian response by pooling donor resources and making them available earlier in a crisis than would otherwise be possible. Canada's support for the CERF (which is managed by OCHA) amounted to $24.4 million in 2006. A preliminary review that was commissioned by CIDA to examine the first year of operations of the CERF concluded that OCHA was able to establish the overall administrative framework and to disburse CERF funds.

In addition to this centralized support for rapid humanitarian responses, CIDA pursued the possibility of enhancing Canada's capacity to respond rapidly and visibly. Measures examined during 2006-07 included an expansion of Canada's existing emergency stockpile of relief supplies, and the rapid deployment of Canadian experts to key agencies providing humanitarian assistance in a given emergency.

Results-based Management and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (GFATM) CIDA regularly advocates for improvements in the use of results-based management by its multilateral and international partners - the ability to manage for results varies from one organization to another. For example, CIDA's support the GFATM relies in part on the global fund's strong capacity to manage for results. The GFATM is an international financing mechanism through which donors assist countries to combat HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. CIDA's recent assessment of the GFATM concluded that it a well-run organization with strong performance management, ongoing audits and evaluations, transparent operations, and engagement of donor governments, partner governments, and civil society in both donor and recipient countries. A key strength of the GFATM is its reliance on a strong technical review panel and on a performance-based system of grant making, enabling it to regularly report on short-term results (based on indicators such as the number of people currently receiving antiretroviral therapy, and the number of insecticide-treated bednets distributed to people), as well as medium-term results (based on indicators such as the percentage of those aged 15 to 24 who are HIV-infected, and the estimated number of active TB cases per 100,000 people).

A report follows on a multi-donor evaluation that was completed in 2006. It provides an objective assessment of the results CIDA achieves with its international assistance.

World Health Organization's 3 X 5 Initiative

In 2003, the WHO launched the "3 by 5" Initiative to enable access to anti-retrovirals by three million people living with HIV/AIDS by the end of 2005. CIDA contributed $100 million to WHO for the Initiative, from 2004-2005 to 2005-2006, and was the largest donor providing roughly half of the total actual budget of US$194 million. The multi-donor evaluation focused on the activities undertaken by WHO for this initiative over a two-year period (2004 and 2005), and was sponsored by CIDA. The evaluation investigated all three levels at which WHO operates (headquarters, regional offices and country offices), placing particular emphasis on Africa.

Relevance: This initiative was highly relevant to people living with HIV/AIDS. WHO's activities included establishing standards and treatment protocols; pre-qualifying drugs including fixed-dose combinations for the first time in developing countries; assisting countries to develop treatment plans, thereby improving their chances to access international funding. This work was considered essential if the objectives by other large funding mechanisms were to be met, such as the Global Fund, national governments, and bilateral and multilateral donors that funded treatment programs and the procurement of anti-retrovirals.

Results Achieved: The "3 by 5" target of 3 million people by 2005 was not fully met. In fact, 1.3 million people were receiving treatment at the end of 2005 (from a base of 400,000 in December 2003); WHO reports that by June 2006, the total number had reached 1.6 million, a total increase of 300 per cent. Other achievements by the "3 by 5" initiative included good progress achieved in drug procurement, drug prices, and health systems strengthening. Furthermore, increases in political recognition and financial commitments, as well as the establishment of more than 200 partnerships, contributed to the ongoing efforts of the WHO to ensure greater access to HIV treatment to those who need it. The initiative was very successful in proving once and for all that, even in resource-poor settings, people living with HIV/AIDS need not be deprived of access to life-saving anti-retrovirals, and by doing that, carving a niche for WHO in the international HIV/AIDS architecture.

Remaining gaps in treatment access and weakness in the global response should be seen as an important reminder of WHO's continued relevance and why the Organization must become even more effective in providing technical leadership as well as working to intensify country support for further scaling up. Many developing countries have made significant progress over a relatively short period to increase the numbers of people who are receiving antiretroviral therapy. However, there are still striking differences between regions and countries.

Sustainability and Capacity Development: Donors need to provide more secure, appropriate and sustainable mechanisms for countries to fund their national programs; commit adequate and steady funding to WHO so that it can fulfill its mandate; ensure that there is mutual accountability between development partners and national governments to achieve the goals of universal access; mobilize political support for appropriate action, including national efforts as a matter of public health safety and sustainable development; and intensify the focus on Africa. The financing of national programs (including the purchase of medicines) by donors is done either directly or through other institutions and not through WHO.

Program Effectiveness: The evaluation reviewed how effectively the WHO provided technical assistance to countries and the extent to which the WHO mobilized other stakeholders and partners within an alignment and harmonization framework. The findings pointed out many successful partnerships on the ground, stressing however that this effort should be more systematized and integrated into the overall work of WHO's HIV/AIDS Department.

Recommendations: In order to improve its performance within WHO, the HIV/AIDS Department must achieve greater coherence at the three levels at which it operates; improve interdepartmental collaboration to minimize areas of conflict and avoid duplication; allocate internal resources more judiciously for priority areas; and work with the Organization to substantially strengthen the WHO regional office for Africa.

WHO should develop more effective mechanisms for managing partnerships and delivering coordinated, high-quality technical expertise; promote South-to-South cooperation; and assist countries in securing reliable supplies of effective medicines and diagnostic tools.

Next Steps: WHO has reorganized its HIV/AIDS Department in line with the recommendation to sharpen its focus. Implementation of other recommendations will further strengthen the Department and enhance its ability to lead the global response to HIV/AIDS. The experience and evaluation of the "3 by 5" Initiative have led to improved effectiveness of WHO as an organization, and to heightened awareness, within the UN system and among donors and recipients, of WHO's role in HIV/AIDS programming and its capacity to deliver services within its mandate. WHO's Action Plan Towards Universal Access (2006-2010) takes into account the lessons learnt from the evaluation.

2.4 Policy Coherence

Financial Resources

Planned spending	Authorities	Actual spending
$65,346,000	$64,191,785	$64,035,753

Human Resources

Planned	Actual
382	393

International development cooperation is a key element of Canada's foreign policy, and ensuring coherence among all aspects - aid, trade, defence, immigration, diplomacy and security, among others - is a priority for the government. A coherent, government-wide approach to Canada's policies that affect developing countries reinforces strategic focus, strengthens program delivery, ensures effective use of Canada's aid resources, and clarifies accountability for results among all the players.

2.4.1 Strategic Focus

A key step towards a more strategic focus was taken in Budget 2007 when the Government announced Canada's aim to be among the largest five donors in core countries of interest. CIDA has focused much effort towards enhanced interdepartmental collaboration and coherence between Canada's overall foreign and development policy goals and objectives, particularly in high-priority areas such as Afghanistan, Haiti and Sudan.

Ongoing dialogue within and outside the Agency enabled CIDA to continue refining and strengthening its capacity in key strategic sectors in line with overall policy directions. By combining sector-specific expertise with in-depth understanding of the development challenges, CIDA has successfully leveraged opportunities and influenced progressive change on a number of fronts:

• The Agency is developing an anti-corruption strategy to guide policy and programming development, particularly in the sector of democratic governance.
• In 2006-2007, CIDA developed a new program to support African efforts to strengthen health systems, improve health outcomes and make concrete progress towards achieving the MDGs through the 10-year, $450 million African Health Systems Initiative.
• Over the past year, equality between women and men gained even greater emphasis in Canada's development assistance. For example, in 2006, Canada pledged $1.47 million to the implementation of the World Bank's new Action Plan, "Gender Equality as Smart Economics".

The Agency participated actively in the interdepartmental preparations for the G8 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia. At the Summit, the Prime Minister announced a number of CIDA-related commitments in support of health, including an additional $250 million for the GFATM, $57 million for the global response to avian influenza, and $45 million for the Global Program for the Eradication of Polio. Another key commitment was the increase of bilateral spending in education in Africa from a level of $100 million in 2005-2006 to $150 million annually by 2010-2011.

CIDA's fourth Sustainable Development Strategy, tabled in Parliament in 2006, illustrates the Agency's ongoing commitment and contribution to sustainable development both in its development initiatives and within its own operations. The strategy highlights what CIDA believes are best practices at the policy and program levels that promote enhanced sustainable development.

2.4.2 Strengthened Program Delivery

The ability to manage horizontally and build synergies between related policy initiatives of other partners and stakeholders is essential, as much amongst the international community as in the federal government. For example, one responsibility of CIDA's ODG is to determine how to deploy wide-ranging federal government expertise for the delivery of programming in an international development context.

In Afghanistan, CIDA worked closely with DFAIT and other government departments to coordinate Canadian approaches to improving border security on the Afghanistan/Pakistan frontier. This includes increasing development activities in the border region to reduce levels of deprivation and poverty, while the RCMP, the Canadian Border Services and others work to improve border management by both Pakistani and Afghan authorities. In Canada, coordination in Afghanistan is more broadly ensured through interdepartmental committees at various levels in CIDA, DFAIT and the Department of National Defence.

Another example of close cooperation between CIDA, DFAIT and other government departments was Canada's prompt and effective response to the immediate consequences of the 2006 conflict in Lebanon. CIDA initially contributed $5.5 million for humanitarian needs. CIDA's portion of the two-year $25-million Lebanon Relief Fund supported postwar humanitarian, stabilization and recovery needs. At the Paris III Donors' Conference in January 2007, Canada committed up to $20 million over three years to help address longer-term development priorities in the country and was recognized for its quick action in Lebanon.

CIDA's efforts to achieve policy coherence on aid effectiveness issues has helped the Agency to enrich its thinking on the role of civil society in development. CIDA has taken on an international leadership role to enrich the international aid effectiveness agenda on issues of aid effectiveness and civil society. In January 2007, the Agency collaborated with the OECD-DAC to set up an Advisory Group on Civil Society and Aid Effectiveness. Canada was elected Chair of this group.

The objective is to secure a place for discussions of civil society and aid effectiveness at the next High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness to be held in Accra in September 2008.

Education Programming for Aid Effectiveness in 2006-2007 Canada contributed $25 million to support Education For All, including $24 million for the Education for All Fast Track Initiative (EFA-FTI), a global partnership between donor and developing countries to accelerate progress towards the education MDG of universal primary completion for girls and boys by 2015. The EFA-FTI has proven to be an effective mechanism for enhancing donor harmonization, and increasing external and domestic financing for basic education. Adhering to the principles of aid effectiveness, countries commit to developing and implementing sound education sector plans and to increase domestic resources for primary education. Donors then commit to support these education sector plans with increased financing and harmonization. By supporting the EFA-FTI, CIDA contributes to the practical application of the principles of aid effectiveness and has helped to link over 30 bilateral and multilateral donors, with over 30 low-income countries, the majority of which where CIDA has significant education investments (e.g. Mozambique & Senegal).

CIDA serves as the Canadian National Focal Point for the UNCCD. Through the leadership of CIDA, Canada's holistic approach to combating desertification continues to rest on three key pillars: poverty reduction, capacity development and participatory initiatives. In addition to promoting effective bilateral and multilateral aid initiatives, CIDA has supported over 100 partners in the private sector, academic institutions and NGOs on numerous projects dedicated to minimizing the adverse effects of desertification worldwide. CIDA continues to support a wide range of community-based initiatives. While CIDA is committed to combating desertification globally, the Sahel and West Africa have become particular areas of focus in the recent past.

With respect to the implementation of the UNCCD, this has involved a close involvement with the National Action Plan processes in several regional countries. CIDA has also been involved in a range of other initiatives, as evidenced by the important number of sustainable development projects in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger, and Senegal.

2.4.3 Effective Use of Agency Resources

CIDA made considerable headway in reducing costs and rationalizing processes and systems. In the field, the management structure of program support units was redesigned to provide added rigor, reduced risk, and clearer roles and responsibilities. New guidelines were drafted for both organizing and managing these units. A MOU and service standards have been developed with DFAIT to improve support to field operations.

In Budget 2007, the Government of Canada reinforced its commitment to increase its staff in the field to improve responsiveness and make better choices on the ground. CIDA is undertaking a review of its own experiences and a comparative study of the decentralization efforts of several other donors. These initiatives and others, including efforts to increase coordination of partnership programming in the field, will help CIDA determine the next steps for effective decentralization.

CIDA's level of untying aid has been steadily improving¹⁵, increasing from 32 per cent in 2001 to 66 per cent in 2005.

2.4.4 Clear Accountability for Results

The Agency finalized its new Corporate RRMAF. In the context of the inherently high-risk nature of development assistance, the RRMAF specifies what results CIDA expects to achieve; what risks are foreseen and how they are managed; how CIDA's performance is monitored, evaluated and audited; and how CIDA reports on its performance. The framework assigns accountabilities and responsibilities for mitigating risks and includes a range of measures and tools now in use.

TB's approval of CIDA's new PAA was also a major advance in the strengthening of the Agency's accountability regime. The PAA identifies corporate results based on CIDA's strategic relationships organized in a logic model/chain.This strategic planning model underpins CIDA's performance management framework and provides a frame to which country program planning and results can be anchored. The model specifically identifies aid effectiveness, alignment and mutual accountability as desired outcomes of CIDA's efforts, thus providing a basis for indicators, such as those identified in the Paris Declaration, to be tracked systematically to report on CIDA's performance. The new PAA was effective as of April 2007.

2.5 Engaging Canadians

Financial Resources

Planned spending	Authorities	Actual spending
$14,908,000	$36,776,293	$33,256,49516

Human Resources

Planned	Actual
31	22

Public support for Canada's development aid program relies on the understanding of development challenges that persist in many countries. CIDA has developed a wide range of approaches, activities, and products that inform Canadians of its efforts to address these challenges and encourages them to become more involved in shaping Canada's international development agenda. CIDA also co-invests in Canadian partners' awareness and outreach activities, and in their programs offering Canadian opportunities for participation in development assistance.

2.5.1 Strategic Focus

As in previous years, CIDA used a variety of communications tools to provide information in response to public interest, tailoring its communications to the needs of specific audiences. Specific efforts were made to explain the reality of delivering assistance in fragile states such as Afghanistan and Haiti. Emphasis was also placed on issues such as equality between women and men and democratic governance.

The ODG was created with a mandate to enhance Canada's aid effectiveness by leveraging Canada's comparative advantage in democratic governance programming and establishing partnerships with key Canadian experts, organizations, institutions and other government departments whose work focuses on democratic governance. As such, CIDA's new Program Activity Architecture for 2007-2008 repositions ODG programs to reflect the contributions to enhanced institutional performance in our partner countries and organizations. This initiative responds to the increased attention of the international community, and of CIDA, to democratic governance as a key factor in poverty reduction and sustainable development. It meets the Government of Canada's strong focus on democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.

The Office for Democratic Governance: Program Highlights Freedom and democracy: deployment of 144 Canadians to observe elections in Haiti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Georgia, Tajikistan, Aceh (Indonesia), Serbia and Armenia; Human rights: support for research in the area of Human Rights Measurement. The findings were discussed at an International Roundtable on Human Rights Measurement in May 2007; Rule of law: conduct of a study focused on the effectiveness of rule of law programming, and more specifically on how to optimize CIDA's partnership with the Canadian justice sector, including the Department of Justice, to increase aid effectiveness in the area of legal and judicial reform; and Building accountable public institutions: through the framework arrangement with Statistics Canada, contributed to the improvement of the capacity of national and international statistical systems to produce and use data for development, in order to better assess progress on the MDGs and for measuring aid effectiveness. This framework arrangement supports a whole-of-CIDA/whole-of-Government approach to statistical capacity building in developing countries.

2.5.2 Strengthened Program Delivery

In 2006-2007, CIDA delivered on its commitment to significantly expand public awareness and engagement efforts through mass media productions and speakers' programs. CIDA's Development Information Program (DIP) provides financial support to develop mass media and educational initiatives that increase awareness and understanding of international development and cooperation issues among Canadians. In 2006-2007, DIP projects emphasized development efforts in Afghanistan, Haiti and Africa.

The DIP supported 90 communication projects that reached millions of Canadians through network broadcasts by CTV, CBC, Global, Radio-Canada, Télé-Québec, MTV and TVOntario, among others. Among these initiatives was Radiomonde, a Radio-Canada radio series that featured four young Canadian correspondents reporting on international development from Africa, Latin America and Asia.

Global Classroom Initiative

A recent DIP evaluation stated that over 1.2 million teachers and schoolchildren have benefited from the Global Classroom initiative between 2003-2006 which supports the development and delivery of school-based global education resources and activities for elementary and secondary school students and teachers in Canada.

Reaching Canadians

The 17th annual International Development Week, held in February, featured 150 events across Canada, organized by CIDA and its partners.

CIDA's Speakers Program reached approximately 12,000 Canadians in 2006 2007 by placing CIDA staff and executives before different audiences.

CIDA's website was revamped and launched in May 2006 with an updated navigation structure and style to make it more friendly user. Special attention was paid to revamping the Haiti and Afghanistan portions of the website, to provide more complete information and results on CIDA's work in these parts of the world.

2.5.3 Effective Use of Agency Resources and Clear Accountability for Results

CIDA is supporting a strategic alliance between Canada's seven provincial/regional councils for international cooperation, which is expected to contribute to clear accountability in the area of public engagement. Sharing best practices on public engagement, measurement and evaluation is one of the areas targeted for joint work by the councils. The decision to support inter-council collaboration was in response to a recommendation contained in the 2005-2006 evaluations of the councils.

In an effort to be more transparent, CIDA has increased the number of development projects and programs described on an online database called the Project Browser. At the end of the year, information on more than 800 CIDA projects and programs in 110 countries was available online, in both official languages.

2.6 Corporate Services

Information Management and Technology (IM/IT)

In 2006-2007, CIDA restructured its IM/IT group and transitioned from a contractor-based to an employee-based organization, reinforcing stability, productivity and improved project turn-around times. It also began redesigning internal processes and standards, workflows, best practices and knowledge transfer. The Agency finalized its 2007-2012 IM/IT Strategy, which amalgamates information management and information technology, corporate systems, and Agency processes into one crosscutting and integrated plan.

In June 2006, an e-Business automated tool was delivered to support CIDA's Industrial Cooperation Program. The e-business partner/project rooms facilitate and standardize the preparation of on-line proposals made by CIDA's development partners and streamline the business processes for program managers and officers who need to review, assess, seek approval for and monitor these proposals.

Human Resources and Financial Administration

CIDA undertook steps to improve change management during 2006-2007, particularly in its financial management function. The new Chief Financial Officer model has already resulted in improved financial planning information for senior management decision-making, which includes more updates and analyses of financial information, and better coordination of the program approval process. Financial risk management was also strengthened during the year with the development of the Fiduciary Risk Management Policy for PBAs.

In 2006-2007, CIDA obtained TB approval for renewed "Terms and Conditions" for the grants and contributions funded by the Agency. CIDA's Terms and Conditions determine the financial limits of the Minister's delegation of financial authorities, define CIDA's classes of grants and contributions, and provide an extensive framework within which the Agency's grants and contributions are to be administered.

CIDA is also continuing its participation in the Joint Venture on Public Financial Management at the OECD, which has been instrumental in setting accounting standards for the financial statements of developing countries and in developing an analytical framework for assessing the public financial management capacity of developing countries.

In 2006-2007, CIDA focussed on the implementation of its new Human Resource Management (HRM) Governance Machinery and Framework, establishing new committees to ensure a corporate standardized approach to staffing processes, improve efficiencies in the collective staffing processes; and ensure linguistic duality in the Agency.

Among the initiatives that supported CIDA's change management program were:

• Updating its Employment Equity Action Plan and a targeted recruitment initiative for clerical staff that achieved its goals for visible minority group representation;
• A New Development Officer recruitment campaign for the entry-level officers of CIDA's business critical function, the Program Managers. At the same time, as part of its succession management process, the Agency carried out an extensive study of its executive cadre to ensure leadership continuity in terms of current and future business needs;
• Adoption of a Community-Based Learning Framework and development of learning programs for new development officers and leaders based on both present and future key competency requirements;
• Providing training for managers in integrating human resource and business planning.

Internal Audit

In 2006-2007, CIDA created the Office of the Chief Audit Executive (OCAE), in compliance with the new Federal Accountability Act and TB Policy on Internal Audit. The Office provides independent and objective assurance services designed to add value and improve CIDA's operations, and to enhance public trust and confidence in the delivery of the Agency's mandate. It helps the Agency to accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance processes.

Bangladesh Country Program - Audit Results The Bangladesh Country Program's goal as set out in the 2003-2008 strategy is to contribute to poverty reduction and sustainable development in Bangladesh through support for social development, democratic governance and the private sector. The Bangladesh Program has almost always been one of the largest country programs in the Agency. The audit found that the country program had adequate controls over its operations and was in compliance with legislation and central agency policies such as the Financial Administration Act and the Transfer Payment Policy and that generally, there was good adherence to the terms and conditions of contribution agreements, CIDA policies, and MOUs. Risks were overall well managed, and program and project results were adequately monitored, measured and reported to senior management to support decision-making processes. Program resources were also allocated and adjusted as required as a function of strategic direction, risk assessment and expected results. Improvement was recommended in defining roles and responsibilities of staff at the desk and at the post in Bangladesh.

As required per the MOU signed in April 2007 between CIDA and TBS concerning the funding support for the implementation of TBS Policy on Internal Audit, CIDA must disclose the use of incremental funding obtained in 2006-2007 from TB in its annual Performance Report. In 2006-07, CIDA disbursed a total of $89,035 received from TB to cover training, certification and professional membership of OCAE's internal auditors ($62,985) and remuneration of audit committee's external member ($26,050).

Iraq Country Program - Audit Results Canada's international development objective in Iraq is to support the development of a stable, self-governing and prosperous country with a democratic government representative of its people and respectful of human rights, including women's rights, and the rule of law. On May 14, 2003 the Canadian government approved an allocation of $300 million for humanitarian and reconstruction assistance in Iraq. In August 2003, Treasury Board approved CIDA's request to provide a grant of $40 million to UNICEF and a grant of up to $100 million to a Donor's Trust Fund, the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq, to be jointly managed by the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank. Payment to the Donor's Trust Fund was conditional upon CIDA's returning to TB with a submission detailing CIDA's comprehensive Iraq Program. It was also conditional on CIDA providing TB with a Results-based Management and Accountability Framework and a Risk-based Audit Framework before granting supply for the 2003-2004 Supplementary Estimates. Both these conditions were met and in March 2004, TB approved the disbursement of the class grant of $100 million for the Donor's Trust Fund. As of May 2006, approximately $245.8 million of the grant and contribution funds has been allocated to rehabilitation and reconstruction in Iraq. This includes funds allocated but not fully disbursed for 19 operational projects. The internal audit of the Iraq Country Program concludes that key financial and management controls for the operations and delivery of the program are in place and generally operating efficiently. Further, the selection and approval of grant and contribution funds and the respective mechanisms for disbursements, grant and contribution agreements, administrative arrangements/agreements and contracts, are in accordance with applicable legislation, policies and guidelines. There is an accountability framework which has been adapted to manage the financial and operations risks of delivering projects in a conflict situation where personal security is a constant risk. Areas in need of improvement include written account verification procedures and an audit clause for administrative arrangements.

Evaluation

In 2006-2007, CIDA continued to focus on both corporate and program level evaluations, as well as on some multi-donor initiatives. This work addressed such issues as the relevance of investments, the results being achieved, their cost-effectiveness, and sustainability of the benefits. The information produced is used for reporting on results, thus helping the Agency discharge its accountabilities for use of taxpayers' money as well as program delivery aspects for cost-effectiveness.

Evidence of the Effectiveness of CIDA's Grants and Contributions The TB requires departments to report on the effectiveness of transfer payments when requesting a renewal of their Terms and Conditions. This Review was conducted as an input in support of the Agency's submission for the renewal of its operating mandate. It examined the effectiveness of CIDA's investments over a five- year review period from 2000-2001 to 2005-2006. As the first of its kind by the Agency, this Review also establishes a baseline to measure future performance in the context of the aid effectiveness agenda. Development effectiveness was measured on four internationally accepted criteria: objectives achieved; relevance to poverty reduction, cost-effectiveness and sustainability of results. Overall development effectiveness performance of CIDA's Grants and Contributions program is 80 per cent satisfactory or better and 20 per cent unsatisfactory or less. This compares with similar scores on the performance of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Average scores of satisfactory or better indicates that the investments were generally considered to be relevant, sustainable, demonstrating results and cost-effective. Of the 20 per cent scored as unsatisfactory or less, only one per cent were rated as very unsatisfactory. Average scores of unsatisfactory or lower means that there were weaknesses in either two or more development effectiveness criteria. It should be noted that this does not infer that the entire investment reviewed was unsatisfactory in all criteria or that resources were misallocated. This report is available on the Agency's website.

Parliamentary Relations

CIDA has received well over 300 requests from Members of Parliament on subjects ranging from CIDA's work in Afghanistan, To Canada's ODA spending, to the projects constituents are pursuing in developing countries. Ensuring that Parliamentarians and their constituents receive timely and accurate information is a priority for the Agency.

Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP)

The past year saw the number of access to information requests increase by over 35 per cent, with one-third of all requests related to CIDA's work in Afghanistan. Despite an ever-increasing volume of requests to manage, the Agency has improved its performance in terms of timely completion of access requests. The Office of the Information Commissioner measures ATIP performance annually.

• Previous Page
• Table of Contents
• Next Page