Support for Program-Based Approaches
A program-based approach (PBA) encourages development cooperation based on the principles of coordinated support for a locally owned program of development such as a national development strategy, a sector or thematic program, or a program of a specific organization. The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness guides the shift among many bilateral and multilateral aid agencies toward this kind of programming.
PBAs (including sector-wide approaches or SWAPs) are characterized by:
- leadership from the recipient country
- a single comprehensive program and budgetary framework
- a formalized mechanism for donor coordination
- efforts to increase the use of local systems for program design and implementation, financial management, monitoring and evaluation
Agriteam has over ten years experience working in multi-donor coordinated approaches including PBAs. We have designed, implemented and evaluated projects and technical assistance provision within a PBA environment in education, health, and HIV/AIDS sectors. We recognize that working in a PBA context requires a more collaborative approach to decision making, increased efforts to align with recipient country priorities and systems, and intensive coordination and communication among all partners. We take a rigorous approach to ensuring local ownership and results-based management in a PBA context.
The HIV/AIDS Surveillance Project (HASP) in Pakistan was designed to fit within and feed into the government-led multi-donor-supported Enhanced Program for HIV/AIDS. The national surveillance conducted with HASP support provided solid evidence about the populations and communities most affected by HIV/AIDS. These data then formed the basis for policy and programming decisions under the PBA. The surveillance work also become the government’s own monitoring instrument to gauge the effectiveness of HIV/AIDS prevention activities.
In Tanzania, Agriteam was contracted by CIDA to provide a technical advisor to support the Ministry of Education and Culture in mainstreaming gender equality, HIV/AIDS education and environmental education within the Primary Education Development Plan (PEDP). The Cross-Cutting Issue Facilitation, while provided outside the basket funding, was fundamentally designed to support CIDA’s significant contribution to the primary education SWAP, and to help improve aid effectiveness overall.
Agriteam also works within a program-based approach in Jordan, implementing the Strengthening Jordan’s Education Project (SJE) within the Education Reform for the Knowledge Economy (ERfKE) program. All project initiatives and activities are coordinated, phased, and sequenced with regards to ERfKE work plans, other donors’ activities, and other MOE initiatives and priorities.