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Program Activity Description | |
This program activity involves programming long-term development assistance in selected countries of concentration | |
Expected Result | Selected Performance Indicators |
Enhanced capacity of countries of concentration to achieve development goals |
|
Human Resource Requirements, 2007-2008 | Financial Requirements, 2007-2008 |
588 FTEs | $ 826,205,000 |
CIDA has long-standing relationships with a limited number of countries of concentration. These countries have goals and significant development needs in areas where Canada provides added value. The focus is on enhancing their capacity to achieve their development goals. As such, CIDA programming builds on sustained and interactive relationships and effective partnerships that are characterized by mutual trust and understanding, and by a shared purpose formulated in the country's national development plan or poverty reduction strategy (PRS). In fact, the vast majority of CIDA programming with countries of concentration aligns with country-led priorities.
Strategic Focus
CIDA continues to shift its resources towards its countries of concentration as part of its overall effort to manage programming more strategically. For example, in Africa, nearly 70 per cent of CIDA's bilateral budget is directed to such countries.
The collaborations with these countries and other donors will allow CIDA to continue to steer its resources towards high-impact sectors in 2007-08, such as education, health, including HIV/AIDS, and private sector development. Chief among these is an emphasis on democratic governance, an essential element for sustainable development. Accordingly, democratic governance will be integrated as a priority sector in all major country programs. Over the planning period, 23 per cent of programming to countries of concentration is expected to contribute significantly to democratic governance.
Development Challenges in Africa
In 2005, Africa registered a 5.2 per cent economic growth rate, the fifth year in a row of growth exceeding 3.5 per cent. Several countries are on track to meet the MDG on poverty reduction; however, the continent as a whole still faces major challenges. In 2006, 24.7 million people were living with HIV/AIDS8 and 2.1 million people died of the disease. A population growth rate of 2 per cent will result in a doubling of the population within 30 years. Climate change and environmental deterioration, including land degradation, scarcity of water, droughts and floods threaten livelihoods and food security. In addition, conflict in several countries continues to present a major barrier to progress. Nevertheless, democratic elections continue to be held and women are increasing their representation at the local and national levels. Institutions and programs are strengthening as countries move into the second generation of poverty reduction strategies, and many countries have benefited from the African Peer Review Mechanism's recommendations.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, CIDA continues to support national efforts to build the capacity of governments, institutions and other non-state organizations to achieve the MDGs, with a focus on democratic governance, basic education, health (including HIV/AIDS), and private sector development. Among the major areas of support are enhanced capacity in public sector management, increased capacity of civil society organizations to dialogue with governments, and management and delivery of key social services.
In 2007-08, CIDA will increase its support to civil society organizations, especially women's groups. For example, additional support to the Agency's Gender Equality Funds in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Malawi, Niger and Rwanda will result in greater participation of women in democratic processes. The Agency will continue to build on its leadership in equality between women and men by insisting on CIDA's integration into national poverty reduction strategies (PRS). In Ghana, CIDA is supporting the Government's efforts to implement a PRS, ensuring greater integration of equality between women and men, and across programs, as well as consolidation of dialogue around the issue.
CIDA will begin implementing the commitment made by Canada at the 2006 G8 Summit in St. Petersburg to raise annual investments in basic education in Africa to $150 million by 2010-11, which is expected to increase school enrolments. Programming will be concentrated in the areas of girls' access to education and the engagement of more women teachers.
At the G8 Summit, Prime Minister Harper also announced $450 million over a 10-year period to support country-led efforts to strengthen health systems in Africa. The main activities of this initiative include strengthening African capacity in the health sector, demonstrating impact of front-line health workers on improving health outcomes, investing in strengthening national-level health systems, supporting African-led efforts to harmonize the work of global health partnerships (such as the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria) with national health strategies, and engaging African and Canadian partners that have demonstrated expertise. Expected results of this initiative include strengthened national-level strategies for sustainable financing, contributing to increasing appropriate human resources for health, enhanced front-line service delivery, stronger health information management systems, and improved monitoring and evaluation, with the objective of expanding the reach of basic health services to the most vulnerable. Planning for programming in selected CIDA recipient is under way, with a view to increasing disbursements in fiscal year 2007-08.
Initiatives through Canadian partners support efforts to target the HIV/AIDS pandemic, including Queens University's Urban Food Security and HIV/AIDS program, which is developing capacity in the Southern African region to manage training programs and networks related to HIV/AIDS, and the Collège François-Xavier-Garneau's program with the national teachers' union in Niger to train trainers in health education and prevention of sexually transmitted infections.
Development Challenges in Asia
Several countries in Asia have registered significant progress in economic growth and poverty reduction; however, the continent is still home to 60 per cent of the world's poor. Inequities and disparities are on the rise between regions and within countries, between rich and poor, between rural and urban populations, and between men and women. In South Asia in particular, poverty remains closely linked to social exclusion and the entrance of large numbers of young people into the labour force, posing a challenge to economic growth and social stability. Progress has also been slow in addressing human rights, corruption, democratic governance and environmental deterioration. Further, internal conflicts that often have an ethnic or religious dimension contribute to instability, with global security implications. Nevertheless, weak but functioning basic institutions, a diverse and increasingly vibrant civil society, a highly educated middle class, the rapid spread of information and communications technology, and the momentum of economic liberalization and decentralization in governance present a positive outlook for the region.
CIDA supports national efforts in many Asian countries, with several new initiatives in democratic governance to be implemented in 2007-08. In Bangladesh, new programming in support of the Office of the Auditor General will help strengthen accountability, as will a joint program with the World Bank Institute to train journalists and parliamentarians. CIDA will also continue to support Indonesian efforts to reduce vulnerability to poverty in three areas in particular: improved governance at the local level; growth of the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector; and equitable access to, and sustainable use of, natural resources. In addition, CIDA plays an active role in support of democratic governance as Chair of the Donor Working Group on Decentralization and within the new multi-donor Decentralization Support Facility.
Box 4: Support for Equality Between Women and Men and the Rule of Law in Pakistan In 2007-08, CIDA will provide increased support to equality between women and men programming. Pakistan's local Gender Equality Fund: the Programme for the Advancement of Gender Equality (PAGE), supported the Advocacy Campaign Against Wunny project. The project created awareness among the general public, tribal councils, the media and opinion leaders about the practice of wunny - an ancient tribal custom requiring young women to be exchanged between families to settle inter-family feuds rather than seeking justice through the courts. Based on the work of two CIDA-funded civil society organizations and other advocates, the Supreme Court of Pakistan issued a landmark ruling in 2005 instructing lower courts and police to enforce sections of the Pakistani Penal Code that prohibit using women as compensation for crimes. Based on successful results such as this, CIDA is currently planning to expand its programming in support of women's human rights in Pakistan. |
Private sector development is another major programming thrust in Asia. In Vietnam, Canada is one of 14 donors supporting the country's Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2006-2010, which will enable Vietnam to implement a broad reform program. In addition to ongoing support of rural entrepreneurship and SME development, new initiatives are being planned in vocational training and improved rural livelihoods. Other initiatives that contribute to poverty reduction through private sector development include ongoing support to bring 600,000 ultra-poor people into micro-credit programs in Bangladesh; to remove the economic causes of conflict in Sri Lanka through livelihood training and agricultural support; and to Canadian partners such as Humber College, which is working with a Bangladeshi women's organizations to enable women to establish and grow their own businesses.
Development Challenges in the Americas
The Latin America and Caribbean region continues to show robust growth within a strong global economy. Annual average inflation, thanks to strong monetary policies in most countries, is projected to be about 5.25 per cent in 2006 - approximately 1 per cent lower than in 2004. However, persistent poverty and deep inequalities remain the region's main development challenges. According to the World Bank, nearly 140 million people in the region live on less than US$ 2 a day. In most Latin American societies, the richest 10 per cent of individuals receive between 40 and 47 per cent of total income, while the poorest 20 per cent receive only 2-4 per cent. The key development challenge facing the Americas is building competent, responsive and democratic governments capable of delivering progress and benefits for all citizens. Modern equitable policies and capacities for socio-economic growth and distribution, sound public policies and accountable public institutions are key to ensuring the success of democracy within the Americas and preventing roll back to less-inclusive forms of government.
A new emphasis on governance programming in the Americas is helping countries to build their public institutions. In Bolivia, an $18-million Strategic Governance Mechanism will include helping key government 'oversight' institutions to monitor and promote the rights of all Bolivians; strengthen management of public resources, including training of government officials; modernize the voter registration system to ensure access; and improve the production and distribution of official statistics, which is essential to sound planning.
Programming support for equality between women and men will be aided by the development of strategies, where they do not exist, and by updating strategies that are already under way. CIDA will seek to increase its leadership in equality between women and men through policy dialogue, harmonization and coordination, with adjustments at the field level, where necessary, to retain the required expertise.
Development Challenges in Europe, the Middle East and Maghreb9
These are diverse regions with varying levels of economic performance, poverty and social needs. The benefits of economic growth are sometimes unevenly distributed and pockets of significant poverty persist. In some areas, such as the West Bank and Gaza, and more recently in Lebanon, unstable security situations and the challenges associated with post-conflict reconstruction slow development progress. In many countries, efforts are under way to strengthen public institutions, improve local business environments and enhance education systems.
In Europe, the Middle East and Maghreb, CIDA supports countries in their efforts to improve the quality of life of their people and make progress toward the achievement of the development goals, with a particular emphasis on democratic governance. For example, roughly 53 per cent of CIDA's bilateral budget in Ukraine is devoted to democratic governance.
In its draft 2007-2011 country programming strategy, CIDA will also direct its efforts to private sector development, with environmental sustainability as a crosscutting theme. Equality between women and men will be integrated into bilateral projects and there will be initiatives supported through the Canada-Ukraine Gender Fund. Consultations will be held in Canada and Ukraine to confirm this proposed programming approach.
Box 5: Canada-Ukraine Judicial Cooperation Project Building upon the success of the 1997-2002 Canada-Ukraine Judicial Reform Project, the Canada-Ukraine Judicial Cooperation Project will, over the course of the next four years, contribute to improved court administration and judicial independence in Ukraine. Other donors are also building on the results of the Canada-Ukraine Judicial Reform Project for other judicial reform projects. National in scope, the Canada-Ukraine Judicial Cooperation Project will introduce, test and implement new court administrative and case-flow management procedures. This process will be complemented by the development and delivery of appropriate training modules to judges and court personnel. A public awareness component will educate Ukrainian citizens on the role of the courts in a democratic society, the need for judicial independence, judicial professionalism and efficient courts, increasing understanding of their rights and of reforms, and thereby improving transparency. |
Strengthened Program Delivery
Countries of concentration present significant opportunities to optimize the sustainability of development results and to scale-up efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. In this context, PBAs provide an opportunity to maintain key social services.
Further, the growing use of coordinated approaches, such as joint assistance strategies with other donors in Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya and Zambia, will continue to strengthen country leadership and donor harmonization. These approaches call for increased participation by the Agency in joint assessments, monitoring and evaluations as well as in donor coordination groups and consortia. They activities also facilitate donor coordination and policy dialogue, enabling CIDA to advocate the inclusion of key issues such as democratic governance, equality between women and men, and environmental sustainability into all aspects of country programs.
Partnerships with other donors provide for better management of risks and learning opportunities. For example, CIDA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with France in September 2006 to collaborate more closely in basic education. The Agency received $48 million from the Netherlands in a "silent partnership" arrangement that will enable it to increase its support to government efforts in Nicaragua to improve quality in basic education through teacher training, enhanced infrastructure and access to materials and curricula. New trilateral initiatives with central European countries will be explored to leverage third-country sources of funding and expertise to assist Ukraine.
Effective Use of Resources
CIDA continues to move toward an enhanced field presence in a range of countries in the coming year and the addition of sector experts, where required. Its increasing reliance on local experts supports capacity building and local ownership, while ensuring cost-effectiveness.
Clear Accountability for Results
Financial accountability and risk management are integral to every part of CIDA's programming cycle, from project selection and design through to implementation, monitoring of progress and evaluation of results.
CIDA will develop a number of country programming strategies, which clearly delineate expected results in a particular country, with partners such as Bolivia, Honduras, Tanzania and Ghana. These strategies will also include an articulation of the role and added value of Canadian partnership programming. CIDA is committed to having effective and proven accountability and oversight systems in place. Regular monitoring with frequent progress reports and scheduled supervision missions to review progress are essential to the success of these efforts.
Program Activity Description | |
This program activity involves programming development and/or humanitarian assistance in fragile states and/or countries experiencing humanitarian crises | |
Expected Result | Selected Performance Indicators |
Reduced vulnerability of crisis-affected people |
|
Restored capacity of public institutions and civil society |
|
Human Resource Requirements, 2007-2008 | Financial Requirements, 2007-2008 |
293 FTEs | $ 618,242,000 |
Fragile states present a complex and challenging situation, yet Canada's action is critical to creating a more stable and secure environment. Fragile states may experience systemic breakdowns of, for example, services, government and security systems and, at times, the very fabric of their societies. To help fragile states restore the capacity of their public institutions and civil societies, CIDA must provide effective and equitable long-term development investments.
In countries experiencing humanitarian crisis brought on by natural disasters or conflicts, CIDA focuses on helping people improve their situation. This means returning key health, nutrition, mortality, stability and other indicators to pre-crisis levels for all people as soon as possible. To achieve this, CIDA must provide effective, and timely, humanitarian aid.
The Agency has a long tradition and considerable experience in providing humanitarian relief - largely through reliance on international organizations and trusted Canadian partners. Humanitarian assistance is often delivered in areas plagued by conflict (e.g. Afghanistan and Sudan), or by a significant breakdown of government services and authority (e.g. Haiti).
CIDA often programs within a government-wide response, through a variety of mechanisms aimed at responding to specific needs and mitigating risks. In both humanitarian relief and fragile states, institutional partners, be they Canadian or international (e.g. CARE Canada or the Red Cross) offer the flexibility and expertise to provide an effective response.
Strategic Focus
CIDA builds capacity in government institutions and civil society organizations to help restore order and facilitate delivery of key services, while support to community-based organizations helps individuals and communities reduce vulnerability. The Agency's increased support for democratic governance programming is particularly relevant in fragile states and countries in crisis.
CIDA's contribution to Afghanistan from 2001-2011 will be over $1 billion. With an annual allocation of $100 million, Afghanistan is currently the largest CIDA aid program. The Prime Minister also announced an additional commitment of up to $200 million over two years in February 2007.
Consistent with Afghanistan's National Development Strategy (ANDS), CIDA's program recognizes that different levels of security and, therefore, different states of readiness to advance development goals exist across Afghanistan. Therefore, two major simultaneous and strategic thrusts will allow Canada to provide assistance to Afghanistan on:
State Building - to help build a transparent, accountable and functioning democratic state at the national level that is effective in delivering services and programs to Afghan citizens. The aim is to restore the capacity of public institutions and civil society.
Stabilization - to foster citizens' confidence in national institutions to deliver services and programs and facilitate progress towards peace and reconciliation in the challenging southern region of Afghanistan. The aim is help reduce the vulnerability of crisis-affected people.
Box 7: Achieving Stabilization and State Building in Afghanistan To achieve stabilization and state building, three priorities, consistent with the ANDS, guide CIDA's efforts: i) Democratic Development and Effective Government: Key aspects of aid effectiveness are strong institutions and a well-functioning democracy and government operations. CIDA will support capacity-building efforts in this regard, including in Kandahar, to bring greater stabilization for development. ii) Enhancing the Role of Women and Girls in Society: Essential to sustainable development and giving all Afghans hope for the future is the role of women and girls. CIDA programming emphasizes providing them with a greater voice in society, access to services, financing, education and sustainable livelihoods. iii) Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: An integrated approach is required to create and support sustainable and productive livelihoods, particularly for the rural poor, and to improve income, food security and self-sufficiency for the Afghan people. This includes programming that provides opportunities, support for, and access to, viable, income-generating alternatives, and that maximizes agricultural productivity and output in a sustainable manner. |
Programming in the southern province of Kandahar presents unprecedented challenges and requires innovative responses. For the past few years, about 80 per cent of Canada's funding to Afghanistan has been devoted to Afghan-led national programs under pooled funding arrangements, most of which extend to the majority of Afghanistan's 34 provinces. This has proved to be an effective form of donor coordination and support to local ownership. Many of these national programs work through Provincial Development Committees, District Development Assemblies, and Community Development Councils, which are building towards a new Afghan democracy. Meanwhile, in the more insecure province of Kandahar, where security hampers development, Canadian aid workers based in the PRT are helping the Government to plan and put into operation projects that comply with proper financial and results reporting.
CIDA continues to implement a whole-of-government, all-of-Sudan program to support the implementation of peace agreements, and promote regional stability. Canada focuses on implementation of the North-South Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) as well as peace agreements in East Sudan and Darfur as the security situation permits. The Agency will reinforce its investments to help implement the CPA and demonstrate tangible peace dividends for civilians affected by conflict. This will include reintegration of conflict-displaced persons, mine action, and support to good governance; for example, Canada's Parliamentary Centre and the Forum of Federations are helping to strengthen legislatures and facilitate dialogue on centre-periphery development challenges. CIDA has directed most of its multi-donor trust funds support to the South where basic infrastructure, services and human resources are limited.
In 2007-08, CIDA's Haiti program will implement the interim strategy developed and approved in 2006-07. This strategy will be adjusted during the course of the fiscal year, when the Government of Haiti finalizes its Poverty Reduction Strategy. Programming will focus on governance, basic services (education and health) and social conciliation, and aid effectiveness principles will be implemented through policy dialogue with local, international and Canadian partners.
Box 8: Social Reconciliation in Haiti The Haiti program's interim strategy has three focal points: (1) governance/institution building, (2) access to social services, and (3) social peace and basic needs. Social peace and basic needs will be the area where the highest percentage of the program's financial resources will be spent in fiscal year 2007-2008. Social peace will encompass several short-term, quick-impact projects, designed to meet the people of Haiti's most urgent needs: to remove barriers to social inclusion; to create jobs; and to revitalize the country's economy. After a series of political crises since independence, social peace efforts aim to restore the bond of trust between the people and the Government of Haiti. Through various mechanisms, the Haiti program will fund projects in areas such as community infrastructure (roads, schools, hospitals), school inputs, waste collection, and sanitation. |
The summer 2006 conflict in Lebanon saw a quick and generous Canadian response. Canada provided $30.5 million in humanitarian, stabilization and recovery assistance. While the fighting was still going on, CIDA provided $5.5 million in humanitarian assistance. Following the cease-fire, Prime Minister Harper announced the creation of the two-year, $25-million Lebanon Relief Fund to support postwar humanitarian, stabilization and recovery needs. CIDA contributed $15 million to the Fund; $10 million come from DFAIT through the Global Peace and Security Fund (GPSF). At the Paris III conference in January 2007, Canada committed up to $20 million over three years to help the Government of Lebanon implement social and economic reforms and improve governance.
In the West Bank and Gaza, CIDA will continue to provide for the humanitarian needs of the Palestinians through its response to the United Nations' (UN) Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP) and other humanitarian mechanisms or appeals. As well, CIDA is providing increased funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees. The Agency's assistance also provides vocational training for women, supports community-based organizations and the protection of human and democratic rights, and strengthens independent public institutions such as the judiciary.
The recently launched CAP for 2007 gives some measure of the anticipated need for ongoing complex emergencies. Through the CAP, one of many alternate channels for funding humanitarian action, some 140 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), UN agencies, and other international and local organizations are seeking US$3.9 billion to help 27 million people in 29 countries receive life-saving protection and assistance.
Strengthened Program Delivery
CIDA's disaster assistance and reconstruction programming with its multilateral partners will be strengthened as the international community integrates the findings of the Tsunami Evaluation Coalition into their programs. To this end, the Agency will take into consideration the findings and lessons learned in its emergency programming. Canada will continue to support the advancement of humanitarian reform10 through a variety of initiatives, including the WHO's Health Tracking System, which is contributing to efforts to improve the evidence base for assessing needs.
CIDA's Canadian partners also help reduce the vulnerability of crisis-affected people through local partners that deliver projects under the challenging circumstances of fragile states and countries in crisis, particularly in delivering basic services, strengthening civil society, promoting human rights, and conflict resolution. For example, the Foundation for International Development Assistance is working with the Associations of Haitian Engineers in Canada to rehabilitate and manage the irrigation system in Grand Guillon, Haiti, by reinforcing local capacity in protecting systems against environmental damage.
Two years after the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, the international community is working towards meeting the long-term reconstruction needs of survivors in an effort unprecedented in its scale and complexity. As of late 2006, CIDA has programmed over $237 million of the $253 million earmarked for reconstruction activities - the remaining $16 million will be programmed in early 2007-08. Over $58 million of CIDA's $253-million five-year reconstruction envelope has been disbursed, and the remaining funds will be disbursed evenly until March 31, 2009.
Canada will also support the development of an emerging UN peace-building architecture that will address key efficiency and effectiveness issues such as integrated missions and the gap between emergency assistance and long-term development through initiatives like the humanitarian cluster approach11.
Effective Use of Resources
Effective use of resources ensures that the right goods and services are delivered to countries in as soon as possible.
The implementation this year of the $6-million humanitarian surge capacity program aims to enhance Canada's response capacity to rapid-onset disasters in developing countries and to contribute to the timeliness, reliability and effectiveness of international responses to humanitarian crises. This includes improved coordination within Canada and in the affected country, and serves to increase the visibility of the Canadian response. The program will consist of five elements:
Clear Accountability for Results
Accurate data on results is key to assessing whether the Agency's efforts have contributed to its objectives of reducing the vulnerability of crisis-affected people and restoring the capacity of institutions. For example, the Tsunami Secretariat has developed a Strategic Results Framework encompassing Agency-wide tsunami-related programming to enhance transparency and CIDA's ability to report on and communicate the results of this unprecedented assistance effort.
In Afghanistan, CIDA continually works with partner organizations to track, monitor and ensure the effective use of Canadian aid. Funds are channelled through multilateral organizations such as the World Bank and UN agencies, providing shared accountability for management of funds and achievement of results. Along with other major donors, CIDA supports Afghan-designed national programs whose delivery is overseen by reputable multilateral institutions such as the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme through trust funds. This has proven to be effective in mitigating and managing the fiduciary, operational and developmental risks in Afghanistan due to the country's weak institutional base.
CIDA will continue to increase communications activities to better inform Canadians of Canada's leadership role in the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan. Due diligence through appraisal of the multilateral agencies has been an important corollary of this approach, which ensures that Canadian support is well coordinated with other donors, effectively administered and disbursed in a timely manner.
CIDA will also be increasing its resources to research, collate and package information on substantive development results to communicate to Canadians and Afghans.
Program Activity Description | |
This program activity involves programming development assistance in selected countries and regions, eligible for Canadian international assistance | |
Expected Result | Selected Performance Indicators |
Enhanced capacity of selected countries and regions to achieve stability and/or development goals |
|
Contribution to international interests of the Government of Canada |
|
Human Resource Requirements, 2007-2008 | Financial Requirements, 2007-2008 |
422 FTEs | $ 631,244,000 |
The countries and regions in this grouping are at varying stages of development, but all have some level of strategic importance to their neighbours and/or to Canada. They also play a key role in addressing regional dimensions of development, including trans-boundary issues like pollution, conflict, communicable disease and natural resource management.
Developing countries are increasingly aware that many of the challenges they face require complementary national and regional solutions. For example, the sustainable management of river basins and forests, environmental protection, and the control of diseases within endemic zones, all have significant regional dimensions that affect individual states. As regional cooperation and integration among countries grows, CIDA partners more frequently with regional organizations such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Organization of American States, and with regional economic communities such as the Economic Community of West African States. Selection of partners is based on strategic and mutual interests.
Initiatives with selected countries and regions are designed to assist them to achieve stability and/or development goals, and are delivered in partnership with the private sector, NGOs, academia, ethnic communities and other levels of government. The aid focus is to complement other Canadian government departmental objectives, and to build upon the linkages established between Canadian partners and their local partners in selected countries and regions. Policy dialogue and advice also complement CIDA's programming efforts.
Strategic Focus
CIDA's programming with selected countries and regions focuses on institutional strengthening and capacity building, particularly in the governance sector.
In Nepal, CIDA will introduce programming in community-based peace building and reconciliation in recognition of new peace accords and progress towards a new constitution. In Francophone Africa, contributions to national audit institutions will promote transparency, efficiency and responsibility in the management of public funds. In Peru, where governance programming is critical to the country's recovery following a period of corruption, CIDA concentrates on building Peruvian institutional capacities (especially in decentralization) and encouraging ownership of the development agenda. In Russia, the cooperation program will deal increasingly with democratic governance, mainly for capacity building in government and civil society organizations.
Programming in health, including HIV/AIDS, is a major area of cooperation in CIDA's regional programs. Planned support to the West African Organization of Health will contribute to greater effectiveness in national HIV/AIDS programs; support to the Southern African AIDS Trust will enable it to expand its influence and share lessons learned with the whole continent; support for the fight against gender-based violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo will improve the health of affected women; and enhanced institutional cooperation with the Pan-American Health Organization will focus on immunization, communicable diseases, HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases and pandemic influenza. Ottawa's Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology is helping the Agnel Technical Education Complex, in India, to develop rural health training and primary health care education programs and to strengthen linkages with local communities in the state of Goa.
Private sector development (PSD) is a key area of cooperation in Latin America, Eastern Europe, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. For example, CIDA is assisting Egypt's efforts in the area of business development for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In Sub-Saharan Africa, much of the PSD support is carried out at a regional level. Thirty per cent of planned spending in Sub-Saharan African countries and regions will be allocated to that sector, and will be primarily managed at a pan-African level by the Canada Fund for Africa. CIDA will further develop its regional approach to programming in the Americas in 2007-08, particularly with a new strategy for the Caribbean.
Box 9: A New Programming Framework for CIDA's Caribbean Program The Caribbean region is tackling the fundamental vulnerability of small states to successfully compete in the global economy. CIDA's new program strategy for the Commonwealth Caribbean emphasizes support for regional integration and functional cooperation on the delivery of public services to boost the resilience of these small countries. Through a mix of support for regional institutions (such as the Caribbean Community or "CARICOM" and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States) and regional mechanisms (e.g. a technical assistance fund), CIDA will increase its resources to the region over the next 10 years and focus on three key themes: democratic governance, economic renewal, and human capital formation, including education for youth development and leadership training. |
Strengthened Program Delivery
Ongoing dialogue and coordination among Government of Canada partners and with other donors plays a key role in the continuous improvement of program delivery with CIDA's selected country and regional partners, and contributes directly to their ability to achieve stability and development goals, for example:
Box 10: Canada Supports the Emergence of Democracy and Return to Peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Canada has been playing a meaningful role in the improving situation in the DRC, which has suffered from 40 years of misrule, civil war and extreme poverty. Internal and external political pressure finally led to free elections in 2006. Donors contributed half a billion dollars for the elections, including $15 million from CIDA. The results: 70 per cent voter turnout; a duly elected government; and a new sense of hope. In recognition of the importance of a stable DRC for all of Africa, the international community will continue to invest in the DRC's nascent democratic development. CIDA plans to provide technical assistance to Parliament and the Public Service as well as support the engagement of Congolese civil society. This latter effort built on Canada's successful efforts to help mobilize Congolese community organizations and local media in the 2006 elections. Canada continues to provide humanitarian assistance and pays into the largest peacekeeping mission in the world - over 17,000 UN troops are in the DRC. CIDA is also a major contributor ($25 million) to the international program to demobilize and reintegrate armed fighters. The DRC still remains far from stable and many challenges to peace and democracy are expected. There is no doubt, however, that progress to date has been remarkable, and that CIDA will continue to accompany the Congolese people on this path. |
Effective Use of Resources
Collaborating with regional institutions to address common issues for a number of countries is key to optimizing resources. In addition, CIDA also works in partnership with new donors - former CIDA recipients - who bring additional knowledge, expertise, and financial and technical resources to development programming. For instance, given Brazil's emerging role as an agent for development in the Americas, CIDA will actively work with Brazil on a productive transition to a new relationship with Canada. It will also work on strengthening the sustainability of key developmental results achieved through its program in the country and explore the potential of working with and supporting Brazil in trilateral cooperation in the Americas. This move towards a new relationship between the two countries will protect CIDA's investments and ensure Canada's continued influence in the future of this vital country.
Clear Accountability for Results
Financial accountability and risk management are integral to every part of CIDA's programming cycle, from project selection and design through to implementation, monitoring of progress and evaluation of results. CIDA is committed to having effective and proven accountability and oversight systems in place. Regular monitoring with frequent progress reports and scheduled supervision missions to review progress are essential to the success of these efforts.
Program Activity Description | |
This program activity supports programming development assistance and engaging with selected multilateral institutions and Canadian/International organizations | |
Expected Result | Selected Performance Indicators |
Enhanced capacity and effectiveness of multilateral institutions and Canadian/international organizations in achieving development goals |
|
Human Resource Requirements, 2007-2008 | Financial Requirements, 2007-2008 |
286 FTEs | $ 919,004,000 |
A considerable portion of CIDA programming is devoted to providing assistance to, and through, multilateral or international organizations. Institutions, such as the UN family of agencies, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, the World Bank or Regional Development Banks, Canadian NGOs and international organizations (e.g. the Red Cross) play important roles in providing development assistance worldwide, through financial contributions, expertise, and implementation of projects on the ground. CIDA supports organizations whose mandates, objectives and capacities to deliver development initiatives are consistent with Government of Canada objectives and priorities.
CIDA seeks to promote effectiveness and improve the policies and practices of its partner multilateral organizations and institutions to maximize the results of their programs and operations.
Partnerships between CIDA and Canadian civil society and private sector organizations have been a cornerstone of Canada's approach to international development for more than 40 years, and an important element in the global challenge to meet the MDGs and reduce poverty. They have enabled the Agency to respond to innovative ideas and initiatives, contribute additional resources to development by leveraging both funds and expertise, and help to build knowledge, relationships and networks worldwide.
Partnership programming will continue to allow the Agency to respond to innovative ideas and initiatives generated by partners outside of CIDA, and provide them with arms-length funding.
Strategic Focus
In 2007-08, CIDA will place special emphasis on thematic leadership on health, including HIV/AIDS and nutrition (representing two-thirds of CIDA's health investments), basic education and equality between women and men through specific investments, policy dialogue and advocacy.
Health: addressing high-burden disease and illness, including tuberculosis, malaria and malnutrition; child health and survival; reproductive health, including maternal morbidity and mortality; food security and nutrition; and strengthening health systems, particularly in Africa. In the area of HIV/AIDS, CIDA will support efforts to advance effective and evidence-based HIV prevention (including the development of new preventive technologies); promote equality between women and men and women's empowerment; build up health systems to ensure equitable access to essential care, treatment and support for all who need it; and promote and protect the rights of children.
Equality between women and men: maintaining core funding for the UN Population Fund, and the United Nations Development Fund for Women, new funding for the legal empowerment of women, including through the provision of condoms and support for microbicides development; and integration of equality considerations into all programming and institutional assessments. CIDA will take into consideration the proposal of the UN panel for a consolidated body to advocate for equality between women and men and ensure systematic mainstreaming throughout the UN.
Basic education: recent support of $1 million to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's Education for All Global Monitoring Report and $24 million to the All Fast-Track Initiative to help countries prepare education plans and improve capacity to implement key education measures.
CIDA will continue to rely on the universal reach of the multilateral system, while aligning its geographic programming on critical countries and regions.
CIDA provides funding to numerous Canadian partners to reinforce the capacities of their civil society partners in developing countries in a variety of sectors, often as an element of improving democratic governance, and to enhance the policy influence of poor and marginalized groups.
Box 11: Program Highlights of Canadian Partners CIDA supports the Volunteer Sending Program of Canada World Youth (2004-2009), which is being carried out in 31 countries, and involves an estimated 4,000 volunteers. The program's aims include: fostering acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for active involvement in sustainable development and poverty reduction; and supporting host community development through the volunteer efforts of participants in existing community infrastructure and development initiatives. CIDA provides institutional support to the International Women's Tribune Centre (an international NGO contributing to women's empowerment and participation in public policy) to generate increased knowledge among policy makers and development practitioners at all levels of the equality dimensions of key development issues, and to enhance the participation of women's organizations in global policy deliberations and democratic processes. CIDA provides institutional support to the World Conservation Union, which is helping to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature, and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable. |
Strengthened Program Delivery
Through policy dialogue with its partners, CIDA promotes reforms for aid effectiveness and transparency and ensures that resources are allocated where they can have the greatest impact. Areas of work will include ensuring stable and adequate funding; strengthening the developing country voice at governing boards and other agenda-setting venues; ensuring universal buy-in on all aid effectiveness targets (such as those in the Paris Declaration); and local ownership, donor coordination, the use of national systems for aid delivery, reducing the number of donor-specific missions, managing by and for results, strengthening the integration of equality between women and men, and establishing agreed performance assessment criteria for strengthened evaluations of development and humanitarian results.
CIDA will also participate in the development of Canada's position on the UN Panel Report, Delivering as One12, and analyze its consequences for CIDA programming.
The Agency will continue its active engagement with the UN's Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on progress on the Humanitarian Reform Program. CIDA is intensifying its collaboration with multilateral and federal partners in support of aid effectiveness in such areas as the Good Humanitarian Donorship (GHD) Initiative, in which Canada plays a leading role. This initiative seeks to enhance donor accountability and involves efforts by donor governments to ensure that their humanitarian responses are effective, according to need and consistent with the principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence. To put the GHD principles into operation, CIDA will collaborate with DFAIT on the implementation of the Canadian GHD domestic plan, and engage relevant government departments and other stakeholders on specific principles.
CIDA will continue to include equality between women and men as a critical element of its institutional assessment process and will take into consideration the proposal of the UN panel for a consolidated body to advocate for equality and ensure systematic mainstreaming throughout the UN.
The Agency will also continue to seek involvement of OGDs in implementing the multilateral effectiveness agenda to ensure policy coherence. Replenishments for international financial institutions, for example, will require close collaboration with both the Department of Finance and DFAIT.
Box 12: Implementing the Multilateral Effectiveness and Relevance Assessment (MERA) In 2007-08, the analysis of the relevance and effectiveness of multilateral organizations will be translated into the Branch's investment strategy. CIDA has developed a tool to assess the relevance and effectiveness of institutions, which also identifies key areas requiring improvements. The MERA requires program officers to analyze key multilateral institutions against a common set of indicators, drawing from multiple sources of information, such as evaluations from the institutions themselves, multi-donor evaluations, surveys of field staff undertaken by CIDA, and the Multilateral Organizations Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN). The assessments performed through the MERA will inform policy decisions and financial allocation decisions, focusing on enhancing development effectiveness and strengthening accountability and transparency. The indicators cover the i) relevance of the institution, based on its role and mandate in the multilateral architecture, its contribution to the achievement of MDGs, and its relevance to Canadian policies, including human rights and equality between women and men; ii) its achievement of sustainable results; and iii) the management of the institution, including its governance, its ability to manage for development results, its compliance with aid effectiveness principles, its ability to effectively equality between women and men and the environment. In 2007-2008, CIDA will work towards harmonizing this process with other donors, through the MOPAN and OECD Development Assessment Committee (DAC) networks. CIDA is leading this exercise with the United Kingdom Department for International Development. |
Since 2005, the Agency has been engaged in a process to renew its partnerships with Canadian civil society and private sector partners through dialogue with Canadian and international stakeholders, as well as through two meetings with an international experts panel. Based on the principles for effective partnerships, CIDA intends to continue to ensure that it has in place a leading-edge delivery system to support effective partnership programming.
Over the next fiscal years, CIDA will work with all relevant partners to recognize the role of civil society in development cooperation in relation to aid effectiveness.
Box 13: Recognizing the Role of Civil Society in Aid Effectiveness Civil society organizations (CSOs) play important roles in development and make a distinctive contribution toward aid effectiveness by virtue of their independence, their advocacy and watchdog activities, their close connections to the poor, or their effectiveness as channels for aid delivery. This shared pursuit of aid effectiveness provides a legitimate entry point for dialogue among all development cooperation players, including CSOs. Canada will take a leadership role over the next two years to integrate civil society into the international partnership to strengthen aid effectiveness. As chair of the DAC-sponsored Advisory Group on Civil Society and Aid Effectiveness, Canada will promote recognition of the role that non-state partners can play, encourage a more collaborative relationship between state and non-state partners, and advocate better usage of non-state partners in the selection of aid delivery mechanisms and channels. Canada will work with the OECD-DAC and lead consultations among civil society and with donor organizations and partner countries in advancing research and analysis on best practices and case studies, and in forging a consensus in the lead-up to the 2008 Accra High Level Forum, in Ghana. Such consensus, in support of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, will be an important starting point for the development of a renewed trilateral partnership on aid effectiveness emerging from Accra. |
Effective Use of Resources
Optimal use of resources is critical to the effectiveness of multilateral organizations, especially those delivering emergency and humanitarian assistance. Efforts in 2007-08 will key on improving donor activities in evidence-based humanitarian programming to more closely link donor decision making on resource allocations to needs.
In addition, an analysis of funding mechanisms provided to multilateral organizations from all areas of CIDA will be undertaken to maximize benefit and coherence, while reducing transaction costs and minimizing the multiplicity of reporting requirements. The intended objective for multilateral organizations is to receive optimized, stable and predictable core funding with multi-year commitments.
Funding decisions will be taken on the basis of the organization's aid effectiveness and its contributions to the Millennium Development Goals. The Agency will determine eligibility based on MERA), and negotiations for replenishment of development bank funds will involve discussions on aid effectiveness.
CIDA's Canadian partnership renewal process includes initiatives to enhance accountability and improve operational systems and service standards. In this way, the Agency aims to improve the management of its relationships with its Canadian partners and to increase the cost-effectiveness of their transactions. In line with the 2006 announcement of CIDA's new approach to funding voluntary sector projects and programs, the Agency will continue to implement the Voluntary Sector Fund for projects by Canadian NGOs; to improve access to program funding through the Voluntary Sector Program; and to increase transparency in decision making through clear and equitable funding mechanisms.
In 2007-08, CIDA will implement the Harmonization of Operational Procedures (HOPE) initiative to reduce administrative burden on partners, as well as cycle time for funding applications. HOPE is intended to respond to several interrelated needs, such as streamlining operational procedures for greater efficiency and enhanced service orientation, including harmonizing procedures across the Agency, and ensuring clear eligibility and assessment criteria and proposal guidelines for all partnership funding mechanisms, as well as making these publicly available.
Clear Accountability for Results
CIDA employs a wide range of tools for accountability in its relations with multilateral partners to assess their capacity and effectiveness. These include due diligence, the annual survey of field representatives, CIDA's Gender Equality Institutional Assessment tool, MOPAN surveys, participation in multi-donor evaluations and results-based management reviews, peer reviews of the evaluation function, and reports from the organizations.
During 2007-08, CIDA will develop a results and risk management accountability framework for its multilateral programs. The evaluations will include the Food Aid Convention, the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation, the Francophonie, and the Micronutrient Initiative. These evaluations will guide internal reform and CIDA funding decisions, and will provide important information on results that will be communicated to Canadians.
CIDA carefully manages its relationships with its Canadian and international partners to ensure that it can demonstrate accountability for results. Due diligence includes program evaluations and institutional assessments that provide CIDA with information about partners' capacities and effectiveness. In addition, CIDA will test pilot exercises in India, Mali, and Honduras to explore opportunities for greater coordination and collaboration among Canadian partners working in these countries.
Program Activity Description | |
This program activity provides opportunities for Canadians to increase their awareness, deepen their understanding and ensure their greater engagement in international development | |
Expected Result | Selected Performance Indicators |
Increased awareness, deepened understanding, and greater engagement of Canadians with respect to international development |
|
Human Resource Requirements, 2007-2008 | Financial Requirements, 2007-2008 |
86 FTEs | $ 74,659,00013 |
In the last 10 years, surveys have shown that, on average, 85 per cent of Canadians support the aid program and that nearly 90 per cent support Canada's response to emergencies. In 2003, surveys showed that 55 per cent of Canadians considered themselves informed about the aid program, but were unsure about its effectiveness. Eight out of ten Canadians indicated that they have participated in the aid program in some capacity, through donations, buying fair trade products or taking part in awareness activities.
The Agency undertakes a range of initiatives to inform and engage Canadians, including outreach to youth, support for the public engagement activities of Canadian partners, support for mass media and education initiatives to increase awareness and understanding of international development and cooperation issues among Canadians, and international youth internships for young Canadians between the ages of 19 and 30 that offer post-secondary graduates the opportunity to gain international development work experience. While CIDA's support for volunteer cooperation agencies and other Canadian partners is usually focused on development programs and projects, public engagement is often an important secondary objective of partners' programming. CIDA also undertakes public consultations on a range of issues affecting policy and future programming directions.
Support for, and engagement in, Canada's development assistance program is a vital ingredient of effective development. It enables CIDA and its partners to draw from a broad range of expertise and financial resources across the country to implement aid initiatives. It also provides an ongoing basis for commitment on the part of the Government of Canada to international development cooperation.
Strategic Focus
Over the coming fiscal year, CIDA will focus more specifically on communicating the results of the aid program by:
Explaining concretely how Canada is helping fragile states and states in crisis, especially Afghanistan, Haiti, and Sudan;
Demonstrating progress towards the MDGs, in particular those related to basic education and health, including HIV/AIDS; and
Showcasing Canada's value-added contributions in governance and private sector development programming.
CIDA's Office for Democratic Governance (ODG) was established with a mandate to enhance Canada's aid effectiveness by leveraging the country's comparative advantage in democratic governance programming. The ODG will work towards increasing awareness, deepening understanding and the greater engagement of Canadians with respect to democratic governance.
Box 14: Tapping into Canadian Expertise for Democratic Governance The ODG calls on the experience and knowledge of Canadians through a variety of projects and initiatives, including:
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Strengthened Program Delivery
In 2007-2008, the ODG will undertake a range of activities, including facilitation of evidence-based democratic governance programming across the Agency; implementation of a mechanism to mobilize Canadian expertise; participation in the development and implementation of an anti-corruption strategy; development of a programming framework for equality between women and men, and in democratic governance; promotion of democratic governance expertise within CIDA; and development of a comprehensive elections program.
Effective Use of Resources
CIDA widens the reach of its development messages by focusing on decision makers and opinion leaders who in turn communicate with their constituencies and audiences.
As a centre of excellence and innovation in democratic governance programming, the ODG seeks to engage governance experts from across CIDA, Canadians and the larger community of practice to ensure the broadest range of expertise available. It also aims to strengthen relations with OGDs and various levels of government, using a whole-of-government approach to democratic governance programming and by identifying, assessing and implementing (when possible) appropriate tools such as framework arrangements.
In cooperation with the Provincial and Regional Councils for International Cooperation and CIDA's Canadian Regional Offices, the Agency will undertake a capacity development program for Canadian NGOs, with the objective of contributing to strengthening their professional capacities. The program will build on the pilot workshops that took place across Canada in the fall of 2006, and will include topics such as equality between women and men, results-based management, and integrating environmental considerations.
Clear Accountability for Results
The Agency is committed to strengthening its ability to communicate clear tangible results of investments to Canadians. Building on its experience with a first Report on International Development Results, CIDA will review its public performance reports to maximize synergies and ensure that Canadians receive a clear picture of the quality and effectiveness of the development program.
Corporate services are comprised of the management functions that support the delivery and improve the performance of the Canadian aid program. They include policy, communications, human resource management, performance and knowledge management (internal audit, evaluations, results-based and risk management), information management/information technology, strategic planning and resource allocation, and management processes, approaches and support activities.
Strategic Focus
For over three decades, equality between women and men has been an integral part of CIDA's programming and central to its goal of poverty reduction, promotion of human rights and increased sustainable development. To strengthen aid effectiveness, it is important to achieve greater results by integrating equality into all programming and by undertaking specific initiatives that target inequalities between women and men. CIDA will continue to provide expertise and support for policy development/ formulation/transfer and concentrate its efforts on a policy statement on equality between women and men and on a medium-term implementation strategy to ensure that it is fully integrated across all policy areas.
Within the health sector, CIDA will continue to strengthen a whole-of-government approach in a number of key areas, including a legislative review of the Canada's Access to Medications Act; the launch of the Canadian HIV vaccine initiative; the establishment of a common Government of Canada framework for HIV/AIDS, microbicides and the international response to pandemic influenza; and the continued support of the Global Health Research Initiative. To support this enhancement, CIDA will work with key government departments to develop a joint framework that delineates roles and responsibilities for enabling an effective whole-of-government approach to advancing global health.
CIDA will contribute to the advancement of the Education For All - Fast Track Initiative (FTI) Partnership to accelerate progress towards the achievement of the education MDGs. This will include engagement in the Governance Working Group and the FTI Task Team Education in emergencies, as well as working with the Inter-Agency Network on Education and Emergencies to foster dialogue with like-minded donors to enhance harmonization and alignment of education programming approaches in the context of conflict, post-conflict, emergency or fragility.
Key components of the democratic governance focus will include ensuring integration into country strategies; development of an anti-corruption strategy for the Agency; and building on the partnership with DFAIT on peace and security issues, in particular the Global Peace and Security Fund. CIDA will also continue its work with the international community towards a comprehensive and objective methodology for human rights indicator development. It will use the emerging methodology endorsed by the international community, and its empirical data to populate proposed indicators, which can then be put into context through field testing.
Environmental sustainability is fundamental to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. CIDA has long-standing experience in integrating environmental considerations into its programming and activities, and a clearly recognized central role in sustainable development and poverty reduction. It will continue to focus on maintaining and, as needed, restoring the natural resources that underpin the livelihoods and the economic development prospects of the poor. The Agency will integrate environmental sustainability across all programming and continue to actively pursue a number of opportunities that provide lasting local, regional and global benefits.
CIDA's efforts in private sector development is consistent with the international consensus on the role of the private sector in helping to reduce by half extreme poverty and hunger. In this area, CIDA will concentrate its efforts on supporting developing countries in their efforts to unleash private sector potential (including rural entrepreneurs) to help reduce poverty, foster a sound enabling environment, promote entrepreneurship and help entrepreneurs connect to new markets.
Strengthened Program Delivery
A key priority for CIDA will be Canada's 2007 Peer Review by the OECD-DAC, which will key on Canadian development assistance in its entirety, not solely CIDA's operations. The main objectives of peer reviews, which take place approximately every five years, are to monitor members' development cooperation policies and programs, including assessing their efficiency and effectiveness; assisting in improving individual and collective aid performance in both qualitative and quantitative terms; providing comparative reporting and credible analysis to DAC member countries and the international community; and identifying good practices, sharing experience and fostering donor coordination. The 2007 Canadian review offers a unique opportunity for individual and collective learning and sharing best practices.
CIDA, like other donors, needs to draw on a global pool of evidence-based research that catalogues the results of the development process and suggests ways in which they can be transformed into policy and practice. It will undertake to build a set of specific knowledge-driven partnerships with leading national and international development research institutions to support its core policy work and demonstrate leadership in high-impact sectors.
CIDA will continue to improve the management of its information assets (paper and electronic business records), and its support for program delivery and due diligence through the use of a variety of systems and tools. The Agency endeavours to not only improve its operational and service delivery capabilities, but to also adopt management practices that align with industry norms. CIDA will work with stakeholders to achieve effective aid delivery through innovation and optimization of business processes.
Effective Use of Resources
During the previous year, CIDA worked towards the development of a vision for information management/information technology (IM/IT) in the Agency to better align IM/IT services with its aid effectiveness agenda. A key element of this approach is a strengthened focus on key Agency business processes, which should improve efficiency, promote horizontality and process integration, and increase the return on CIDA's IM/IT investment.
In 2007-08, CIDA will continue efforts to capitalize on opportunities afforded by the new enabling legislative framework, the Public Service Modernization Act, to recruit and develop the best talent for business effectiveness and high performance. In particular, CIDA will:
Build capacity to better support executive renewal, including succession management, more creative recruitment strategies with an emphasis on meeting and maintaining a representative executive workforce, and applying modern performance management methods/practices;
Design a strong leadership development program that includes both mandatory and developmental learning activities; and
Realign the New Development Officer function with the Agency's new strategic business directions to ensure that it can effectively bridge the skill and competency gaps to achieve current and future business goals.
In support of the implementation of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, CIDA will continue to co-chair a Joint Venture on Procurement, an initiative by the OECD-DAC, which is piloting a new tool that evaluates the capacity of 20 partner countries in procurement and develops a strategy for capacity development. CIDA will also continue its participation in the Joint Venture on Public Financial Management at the OECD to learn about best practices of other donors and to integrate them into its own programming. To date, this Joint Venture has been instrumental in setting accounting standards for the financial statements of developing countries and in developing an analytical framework for assessing the public finance management capacity of developing countries.
Clear Accountability for Results
CIDA is putting in a place a revised methodology on sectoral analysis to strengthen the Agency's focus on knowledge management and program innovations; identification and dissemination of best practices; monitoring of policy compliance; and strengthened results reports.
CIDA's performance management strategy has a number of key elements: clear expectations for results-based management; measurement of performance at all levels of the MRRS, with efforts channeled towards areas of greater risk; clear expectations for the creation and use of performance information; strong independent performance review; and transparent reporting at all levels.
The indicators presented in this RPP are based on sources such as the UN, the World Bank, internal CIDA information-gathering systems, and CIDA's partners. This data measures progress in the achievement of corporate results and enables the Agency to integrate performance information in decision making related to investments and business planning.
The implementation of the Chief Financial Officer model will enable the Agency to better integrate strategic financial advice into decision-making and therefore ensure better financial control. This model incorporates best international practices in financial management and will help CIDA achieve its results. The Agency will conduct a comprehensive assessment of its system of financial controls in preparation for the introduction of audited financial statements in 2008-09.
In compliance with the new TB Policy on Internal Audit, CIDA will implement the Chief Audit Executive (CAE) office model, reporting directly to the President; establish an independent audit committee, including training of new external members and the production of updated charters for internal audit and the audit committee; prepare a multi-year internal audit plan; develop a strategy and plan to achieve sufficient coverage to assess departmental risk management, control and governance processes; and implement the internal audit quality assurance and improvement program. CIDA will develop a strategy and plan to achieve sufficient coverage of the audit universe to provide, in the future, an annual opinion from the CAE on departmental risk management, control and governance processes.
CIDA's evaluation function conducts corporate and program-level evaluations and supports branch-led evaluations with technical advice and guidance. During 2007-08, CIDA will update its policy to reflect the TB's renewal of its Evaluation Policy. Major evaluations scheduled for the year include Mali and Cameroon country programs, La Francophonie and Industrial Cooperation programs, Gender Equality Policy, and Human Rights, Democratization and Governance programming. In addition, CIDA will strengthen the evaluative and planning capacity of program staff.
The Agency will be undertaking a number of activities in 2007-08 to support results-based and risk management, with implementation of the new performance management framework as a priority. As such, CIDA is well positioned to meet the requirement of the TB-led full implementation of the MRRS policy. Training and technical assistance will be provided for the completion of country program-level performance and risk management frameworks and use of the new Investment-level Monitoring and Reporting Tool. It will also strengthen the capacity of developing countries and Canadian partners in the application of Managing for Development Results principles. The current results-based management training program will be reviewed and adjusted to strengthen staff's understanding and application of results-based management.