ABSTRACT
Obstacles on the recipient country's side include the tendency to exaggerate capacity and failure to identify capacity weaknesses. Both of these inhibit the exercise of national ownership. This chapter describes a few words of caution about the practice of partnership. The Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper/Comprehensive Development Framework (PRSP/CDF) initiatives and processes have advanced the partnership agenda, but they have also exposed a number of pitfalls. It is generally recognized that successful partnership depends on national ownership, and that this in turn depends on national capacity and effective aid coordination. It is worth taking a look at the lessons people can draw from their short experience with the PRSP/CDF processes. Aid coordination and country ownership of the partnership process are dialectically related. The greatest obstacle to the realization of effective partnership is the inability of the partner country to provide the required leadership.
