Implementing Global Public Policies : Are the Aid Agencies Walking the Talk?

Today a broad recognition exists on the nature and scope of global public risks, and their impact on development. Based on available evidence and recent evaluation work by the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and some bilateral donors, this chapter aims at highlighting the results achieved in the implementation of the ambitious official discourse on global public policies, and at suggesting necessary changes for aid agencies to be more consistent and effective in translating their policy commitments into their work.

While acknowledging some advances in the right direction (broad international recognition and improved costing of the global risks, consensus on the high vulnerability of the low-income countries and the need to act urgently, and substantial financing commitments) the author argues, based on available evidence from evaluations and effectiveness reviews, that only limited progress has been made in the aid delivery model and that the poor have not yet gained much from these undertakings.

The author makes the case that significant institutional, organisational and operational reforms must take place urgently in aid agencies. The international community, moreover, must address the high fragmentation and proliferation of the aid architecture, in order to set the stage for a credible response to the global challenges facing developing countries.