The Management of British Bilateral Aid and its Effectiveness

This paper looks at how the Overseas Development Administration (ODA) manages the British bilateral aid programme. It initially examines its strategic approach to aid allocation and use. A major interest is how its aid objectives are translated into spending plans and activities through country programming and organisation and staffing of country delivery of aid. Special attention is given to recent changes in its procedures to prioritise objectives and translate them into practice more effectively. There is also a review of ODA's project management systems, systems for learning lessons and their feedback into new activities, and its evolving approach to policy-based programme aid. Evidence on the documented effectiveness of delivery and impact of British projects and programmes is summarised. There is a brief account of its relations with the European Commission and European Union members and recent experience of cooperation with them. Finally, the paper assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the British approach to bilateral aid, it indicates features which may offer lessons to other donors, and it indicates changes and areas of concentration which might help to improve the UKþs own aid effectiveness.