Coherence
Development aid is only a small part of all the policies that influence in the economic and political development of poor countries and in the well-being of their populations. Under the slogan of coherence, in the nineties, a new line of investigation was developed which promoted the joining of targets of different policies implemented by donors in recipient countries, such as the consistence of the demanded impacts. Applying this focus, the cohesion between different public policies, such as tax policy, economic policy, the public treasury, agriculture or immigration, has been valued, and its positive and negative impacts have been examined.
Now, the technical challenge resides in the improvement of inter-ministerial communication. To this one must add the political challenge donors face of being more aware of the problems of low-income countries when making political decisions. How can the invocation of the concept of coherence be transcended to inscribe sensibility towards poverty reduction in all public policies? What is the role of SECI, the civil society and the rest of governmental actors in this task?
Backgrounder by FRIDE
“[to affirm and certify the convergence of each policy of the General State Administration with that of Development Cooperation before the implementation phase], the analytical capacity of DGPolDe will be of great importance. (…) Although it's quite clear that the current Development Cooperation law now confers this formal mandate on the SECI, in practice it lacks capacity, as well as real weight to come up against the other ministries to make heard its voice.
Statement by DGPolDE
“the exercise of providing a predictable scenario in the long run, (…) whose political and strategic stances are the result of a consensus exercise and the participation of all the development cooperation actors, is a good indicator of the prioritisation of the coherence criteria in the Spanish Development Cooperation policy”
Statement by Jan Klugkist, Foreign Affairs Ministry, Holland
It is important to have an advocate for development interests – a voice for the poor – in the cabinet. If there is a minister who can negotiate on PCD issues with fellow ministers from a position of equality, issues can be taken to cabinet level and interests properly weighed.
Statement by Iliana Olivié, Real Instituto Elcano
“the ways [to ensure coherence in development policies]…include the drawing up of a White Book… as well as the improvement of coordination mechanisms within the organisations.”
Statement by Marta Arias, Campaign and Studies Director, Intermon Oxfam
“to start the long path towards coherence two essential elements are necessary: political willpower and adequate procedures. (…) to finish the legislature without concrete steps in this way would be to leave aside one of the main messages of the government….”