ABSTRACT
A complex chain of relationships and mechanisms is required to transport international aid from donor countries in the ‘North’ to the poor and marginalized in the ‘South’. In order for money or technical expertise to be passed from one organization to another, links need to be established between the two parts of the aid chain – links commonly referred to as ‘partnerships’ in the current development paradigm. Most partnerships that involve an aid transfer are managed by a set of rules and procedures that make the ‘partner’ – that is, the recipient – lower down the chain directly accountable to the organization that handed over the aid, usually referred to as a ‘donor’ 2 by the recipient. As the amount of aid decreases on its way down the chain, the rules and conditions that donors use to ensure that money is spent in ways that they believe will achieve expected impacts tend to increase.
