ABSTRACT
In 1996 AusAID employed 595 staff including 58 overseas and 94 in-state offices. The aid programme is managed by AusAID, an administratively autonomous agency within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. AusAID works closely with the department and with other relevant government bodies. AusAID is headed by a director general who is also a member of the senior executive of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. AusAID has three divisions each headed by a deputy director general: Asia, Africa and Community Programmes Division; Pacific and International Programmes Division; Corporate Development and Support Division
Austria Prime responsibility lies with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs but it administers only 19% of ODA. The Ministry of Finance has responsibility for multilateral financial aid and tied aid loans
There is no institutionalised dialogue on development cooperation within government both between and within relevant ministries. Responsibility for policy coordination rests at the highest possible level, with the foreign minister
Belgium Non-cabinet State Secretary for Development Cooperation responsible for 60-70% of ODA who reports direct to the prime minister. Ministry of Finance controls 25% of ODA. The bulk of the rest is split between Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and NDD, the Belgian official export credit guarantee agency. The current Secretary of State has recently argued the case for a single administration for international cooperation, implying an integration of the current departments for Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation
As of early 1997, ABOS had around 325 aid staff and the Ministry of Finance, 11. Of these 11, seven deal with financial and economic issues. Academic staff on ABOS are largely technicians such as medical doctors and engineers. It employs virtually no economists or social development advisers. The lack of professional development staff is a significant problem
Country Political responsibility Staffing and management
Canada The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade maintains overall responsibility for foreign policy including aid. He works with a Minister for International Cooperation and La Francophonie (a Cabinet post) who is responsible for the Canadian International Development Agencies. The Minister of Finance is responsible for relations with the World Bank, the IMF and debt policy
Figures set out in Cida’s 1997/8 expenditure plan indicate a decline in its administration budget of 2% for 1997/8 and a further 2.8% in 1998/9. When the (non-ODA) Countries in Transition Programme is excluded, the budget will decline by 1.9% in 1997/8 and by 2.8% in 1998/9. By 1998/9 this budget will have declined by 19.3% since 1994/5. By comparison, the budget allocation for the voluntary sector will have declined by 37% over the same period. There are an estimated 1126 full-time equivalent staff in CIDA in 1997/8. This level of staffing is the same as it was in 1993/4, despite significant cuts to the budget. The staffing breakdown of technical expertise shows a significant bias towards economics, sociology and statistics (30), engineering (32) and physical sciences (15)
Denmark Minister for Development Affairs has full ministerial status within the Danish foreign ministry and is responsible for all aid
Staffing levels have remained fairly constant from 1995 to date with just over 460 employees. However, the cost per full-time member of staff increased 10% from 1995 to 1997 with a total cost of DKK 182m in 1995 to DKK 199m in 1997. No figures exist for technical breakdown of expertise
Finland Mr Pekka Haavisto is Minister for Environment and Development and holds the portfolio for development cooperation, even though the department responsible for this remains the Foreign Ministry. The Department for Development Cooperation of the Finnish Foreign Ministry (UM Kehltysyhteistyoosasto) is the new name for the more familiar FINNIDA. For the moment the change is in name only and has not been accompanied by restructuring
Staffing levels of those dealing with development cooperation have decreased from 104 in 1995 to 85 in 1996
France Aid management and procedures remain complex and opaque. There has been some improvement with the appointment of a development cooperation minister within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Several ministries are involved in managing French aid. Apart from the Ministry of Cooperation, there is the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which handles contributions to
Of those staff within the various ministries dealing with overseas aid, the percentage breakdown is as follows: Ministry for Cooperation 11.49% Treasury 48.68% Ministry for Overseas 10.19% Foreign Affairs 7.68%
The Reality
ofAid 1997/8
international organisations, debt funding and cancellation, concessional loans and grants for programme aid in support of structural adjustment. Others include the Ministry of Research, the Caisse frangaise de Developpement, and the Education, Defence, Agriculture and Overseas Ministries. The president retains final responsibility for foreign affairs including aid
CFD 6.68% Ministry of Research 5.74% Others 3.46%
Germany The Minister for Economic Cooperation - a cabinet post - is responsible for aid and handles about 70% of the ODA budget. The Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of the Economy are also involved as well as the Lander. The aid management system is complex and it has been recommended (by the DAC among others) that the BMZ should be given enlarged scope in both policy-making and field activities. This has not happened
Staffing levels for the BMZ are planned at 530 for 1997
Ireland Minister of State within the Department of Foreign Affairs is responsible for aid
Total number of staff in the Development Cooperation Division is 58 of which 43 are concerned with bilateral, 8 with multilateral (others 7). Diplomatic staff in Irish aid offices amount to 6 personnel and there are 67 Irish Aid staff working under contract on projects. This makes a total staffing of 125. There is one health adviser, one education adviser, one rehabilitation specialist and one evaluation specialist
Italy ODA is managed by the DGCS (Directorate General for Development Cooperation) within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Multilateral aid is managed by the Treasury
In 1995, DGCS had a staff of 557 compared with 569 in 1994. It has multidisciplinary expertise, but lacks administrative officers and economists. This contrasts with the growing importance of administrative procedures and financial and macro-economic initiatives
Japan ODA is managed by four ministries: Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Industry, Finance, and Economic Planning
In 1995, the number of aid administration staff was 1936 with JICA employing 1184, OECF 333 and MoFA 419
The Reality
ofAid 1997/8
Netherlands Development cooperation is integrated in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). The Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister for Development Cooperation and a state secretary take political responsibility for development cooperation. Before the review of foreign policy, which was officially changed in September 1996, there was one department responsible for development cooperation. Now, most policy sections within the MFA work for both the foreign and development ministers. The extent of the emphasis on development cooperation varies with each theme and region
At the top of the restructured ministry are the ministers for Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation and a state secretary. Immediately below them is a secretary general who is the most senior civil servant in the organisation. One step below this are four directors-general: (1) Regional Policy (2) Political Affairs (3) International Cooperation and (4) European Cooperation. These four take charge for three departments - bilateral, multilateral and policy. There are five bilateral departments - one for each region (Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Oceania and the Western Hemisphere). There are 11 policy theme departments and three multilateral departments. Also, with the bilateral programme restructured, around 100 members of staff have been deployed to various embassies. Within the embassies there are specialist staff members for women, environment and human rights
New Zealand The Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs is responsible for NZODA, but the Minister of Foreign Affairs retains control over major policy direction and involvement in Pacific Island aspects of NZODA. This is a new division of responsibility. Aid is managed by the Development Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in conjunction with diplomatic posts overseas
There are 55 members of staff within the Development Cooperation Division. This department is responsible for distributing all of NZODA. There are two streams within this division. Diplomats are rostered into positions for up to two years whereas other staff are permanently employed in this division. There are no precise figures for technical specialists, though various specialists work in the evaluation unit - Environmental, Human Resources and Education, WID, two development economists, Small Business Development and Social Impact
Norway Cabinet Minister for Development Aid directly responsible for multilateral and multi-bi aid. NORAD manages bilateral aid under the supervision of the minister. However, the Minister for Foreign Affairs has increased his influence on aid matters through the growth of both bilateral and multilateral allocations to relief, human rights, peace and democracy, for which he is directly responsible. The Foreign Ministry now has three ministers - one for Foreign Affairs, one for Trade, one for Development Aid
In the Foreign Ministry there are 99 aid-related staff responsible for NOK 4641m within the 1997 aid budget. NORAD has a staff of 200 responsible for NOK 4190m for 1997
Portugal Portuguese aid is split between different ministries and institutes, coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which takes political responsibility for development cooperation. Main ministries involved are Finance, Health, Culture and Territorial Planning
Spain The management of ODA is characterised by the duality existing between the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1996 MFA was responsible for 28.3% of ODA, Ministry of Economy (now incorporating trade and tourism) 57.8%, regional corporations 10% and other ministries 3.9%
With regard to management of bilateral aid, between external and central services about 336 people are employed to manage an annual budet of $257m. This is for technical, scientific, cultural and NGO cooperation projects and programmes. For total bilateral aid (the previous plus cooperation undertaken by regional government, councils and the FAD) the number of people involved rises to 410 managing funds of around $715m
Sweden Mr Pierre Schori, deputy minister of Foreign Affairs is minister for Development Cooperation and Refugees. In the Ministry there is a section on Development Cooperation and the Regional Desks. Traditionally, within the Swedish government system, Sida is quite independent of the ministry. However, the main policy decisions on Development Cooperation are taken by the Ministry
Since 1995 the five different government agencies for Development Cooperation were reorganised into the new Sida. In December 1996, Sida employed 650, 57% of whom were women
Switzerland In 1995, Swiss Development and Cooperation was responsible for 79% of ODA, and the Federal Office for External Economic Affairs for 10.7%, other departments 9%, cantons and communes 1.6%
In 1995, SDC employed 353 people and FOEEA 28. There is no breakdown of technical expertise as such, but there is a clear tendency to reduce the number of experts working in the field and to replace them with local experts. Ten years ago around 350 experts in social and economic development were working in the field, now SDC has only around 50 in the field
The Reality
ofAid 1997/8
Country Political responsibility Staffing and management
United Kingdom
The incoming Labour administration has replaced the former Overseas Development Administration (part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office) with a Department for International Development, headed by a Cabinet minister. The new government’s pledge to pursue a coherent programme of action on debt, trade, the IFIs and human rights means a much broader remit for DFID. Precise allocation of responsibility between DFID and the new Foreign Office, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of the Environment and the Treasury were still being clarified at the time of writing
ODA employed 1077 permanent staff plus a large number on fixed-term contracts both overseas and in the UK. There has been a programme of decentralisation of aid management to developing countries. Of the 139 professional advisers employed by ODA, 33 were economists; 33 in health and population, social development and education combined; 26 in natural resources/environment and 15 in engineering
United States USAID is responsible for the management of most US bilateral aid. The administrator of USAID has in the past reported both to the President and the Secretary of State. Recent changes now require the administrator to report solely to the Secretary of State, likely constraining the independence of USAID. The Senate has proposed that budget authority for USAID be transferred to the Department of State, a move that would severely reduce the ability of USAID to plan and manage its programme. The Department of State does not at this time have any significant development expertise of its own
USAID has 7687 personnel. Of these, 2485 are employed by USAID, 1696 based in the USA and 789 in the field. It also has 2016 consultants or project staff (‘non-direct hire’) in Washington and 3186 in the field
