Technical Assistance in Danish Bilateral Aid - Policy Paper

Transcription

1 Ministry of Foreign Affairs Danida Department for Business Cooperation & Technical Assistance Technical Assistance in Danish Bilateral Aid - Policy Paper February 2004

2 Table of Contents List of abbreviations...3 PART 1 - Analysis Introduction Collective experience with TA key lessons An inquiry into the use of advisors in Danish Bilateral Development Cooperation...6 PART 2 - Policy Overall principles Specific principles for the use of TA Modalities for TA delivery Monitoring policy implementation...15 Technical Assistance in Danish Bilateral Aid Policy Paper, February

3 List of abbreviations AMG Danida IMF PRS PRSP SWAp TA Aid Management Guidelines Danish International Development Assistance International Monetary Fund Poverty Reduction Strategy Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper Sector-Wide Approach Technical Assistance Technical Assistance in Danish Bilateral Aid Policy Paper, February

4 PART 1 - Analysis 1. Introduction The 1990 s saw a major shift in the aid relationship. After 40 years of development cooperation it had to be recognized that reform and change in developing countries was not something the international community could initiate with aid from without. Social transformation would only come about at the initiative and driven by the energy of developing countries themselves. The adoption of sector-wide approaches (SWAp) to development cooperation in the mid 1990 s was the first major sign that donors were adjusting their approaches to suit the new mental landscape of aid. The next step was the launching of the Comprehensive Development Framework and the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) initiative by the World Bank and the IMF in These initiatives aimed at aligning aid much more directly behind the development aspirations of partner countries. As the context in which aid is delivered is changing, demands on its contents and modalities are changing too. Danida has responded to the changes in the aid environment, particularly by adopting the SWAp in its bilateral assistance since 1995 and by engaging actively in aid harmonization efforts in partner countries. Likewise, Danida was amongst the first to recognize the value of the PRSP initiative as a potentially decisive step in the direction of aligning aid squarely behind partner countries own plans and efforts. A major restructuring of the administration of Danish aid was carried out in With it, the responsibility for aid programming, execution and reporting has been decentralised to the Danish representations in Danida programme countries in an effort to make Danida a more accessible, responsive and relevant partner. The adjustment in the use of technical assistance (TA) in Danish bilateral aid as stipulated in this policy paper is part of the overall effort to enhance the development effectiveness of Danish aid. As such, it replaces the earlier strategy entitled Knowledge and Attitudes from The main ingredients of development cooperation are money and ideas. This paper is not about the money part of aid. It is about the exchange of ideas and experience by means of Technical Assistance (TA). Developing countries need to be able to tap the knowledge accumulated from working out solutions to the broad range of challenges confronting governments, the private sector and civil society worldwide. Advisors help partner countries gain access to the relevant body of experience and ideas so that citizens and decisions-makers may make informed choices when deciding on approaches, models and solutions suitable for them. The advisor can be a catalyst of beneficial change. Even in environments hostile to change, advisors can sometimes help reform minded partners gain sufficient knowledge and confidence to enable them to initiate change. More generally, TA can help partner countries develop towards more accountable and responsive forms of government, enhance service delivery in the public sector and strengthen the capacity to deliver in both the private sector and in civil society organisations. In performing these functions, advisors help ensure that the human and financial resources available in partner countries accomplish more in terms of meeting the needs of their citizens. Technical Assistance in Danish Bilateral Aid Policy Paper, February

5 The first part of this paper briefly reviews experience with TA in development cooperation. The second part sets out the directions for the use of TA in Danish bilateral assistance The aims and means described in the second part of the paper reflect the overall aspirations of Danida in terms of how it wants Danish TA to support development in partner countries. However, circumstances vary considerably - between countries and sometimes even within countries and there is no universal formula applicable across the board. Each country poses a unique set of challenges and partners are only likely to derive maximum development benefit when TA is designed to reflect this reality. So, flexibility is warranted in applying the policy while at the same time it must be clearly demonstrated that progress is made in the direction of the policy aims. Because of the variation in circumstances this policy paper is limited to setting out the principles that need to be considered in the design of TA. It does not attempt to provide guidelines to specific solutions. 1 What determines a successful outcome of TA is often context specific and does not lend itself easily to generalisation. Indeed, sensitivity and responsiveness to context are perhaps the most important preconditions to effective TA delivery This policy applies to all forms of TA financed under Danish bilateral assistance, i.e. short- and long-term advisory services provided by companies, institutions and organizations contracted by Danida or partners as well as advisors hired directly by Danida, and it applies to Danida funded twinning arrangements between institutions and organisations in developed countries and partner institutions and organisations in developing countries. 2. Collective experience with TA key lessons Overall, TA has made very significant contributions to development. Many advisers have worked with skill and determination with their partners to help achieve important outcomes. However, the development impact of TA has been reduced as a result of systemic and structural shortcomings in the way development assistance was conceived and delivered. This generally happened in the following ways: Instead of generating independence in partner institutions TA increased their sense of dependence, thus weakening the commitment and ownership of national actors. TA sometimes undermined the functional role of institutions it aimed to assist by circumventing local procedures and systems and setting up parallel structures, draining already weak institutions of scarce human and other resources. TA at times encouraged adoption of wrong policies, organisations and institutions and, more recently, too complex and expensive solutions. 1 Guidelines for Capacity Development are expected to be issued by Danida in the course of 2004 based on a comprehensive evaluation of capacity development efforts. Technical Assistance in Danish Bilateral Aid Policy Paper, February

6 Understanding the conditions of success or failure in TA delivery in developing countries is a sine qua non to enhancing the chances of a positive outcome. The following features and operating principles seem to be associated with cases of successful TA delivery: 1. Partners focus initially on developing a collective understanding of the changes a given activity is likely to be able to achieve, and of the contribution TA can make to it. 2. Detailed blueprints are rarely effective in steering energy in the right direction. Experimenting is needed. Starting with some basic ideas and expanding their scope as experimentation yields results and confidence increases, is often more viable. 3. The basic ideas and aspirations need to come from partners. Advisers can supplement these ideas and suggest ways of turning them into action. 4. TA must fit into the operational system of the partners and not replace it. It should help partners develop their system to higher levels of accomplishment. 5. Focus is on incentives that will motivate staff to take their work forward. Professional satisfaction and a sense of contributing to the development of one s own country are key incentives. 6. A learning environment capable of developing a sense of what needs to be known and done is crucial, as is a collective ability to filter relevant from irrelevant advice, select the advice suitable under the specific circumstances and provide feedback to TA suppliers. 7. Authority must stay in the partner institution or entity. The operational needs of the partner should determine what takes place, not the reporting needs of the donor. The donor s role is important, but secondary and supportive. 8. Effective TA requires a group of people who are personally and professionally committed to a positive outcome of the intervention on both sides. 9. Timing and sequencing are critical. Partners often need time out to communicate internally and externally, form coalition, experiment and educate staff and leaders. 10. TA can be used to overcome constraints to performance and establish a track-record of good performance which may convince leaders and others. 3. An inquiry into the use of advisors in Danish Bilateral Development Cooperation In 2001 a study was carried out of the use of advisors in development interventions funded by Danish aid. The study tracked developments in the actual use of advisers following a decision taken in the first half of the 1990 s to use more developing country advisors and less external, long-term advisors. The study also looked at the implications of the more explicit mandate given to advisors in 1998 to undertake specific supervision and control functions on behalf of Danida. Contrary to the stated policy, it was found that the use of long-term external advisers had not gone down. In reality, the transition to sector programming from 1995 and the growing emphasis put on control functions seems to have increased the demand for advisors. The Technical Assistance in Danish Bilateral Aid Policy Paper, February

7 report covers the period Indications are, however, that the upward trend in the use of advisors has been reversed in recent years. The study found that the use of advisors in Danish bilateral assistance was frequently more driven by the demands of Danida than by those of the partners. The need to secure supervision and control over the delivery of Danish aid often weighed more heavily in the rationale for supplying advisors than did the capacity building objectives, reflecting the uncertainty of resource flow in weak policy and institutional environments. The use of advisors as front-line controllers was accompanied by the introduction of parallel structures and salary incentives that distorted the host institutional environment and undermined civil service reform. Danida funded advisers are considered loyal to Danida by themselves and by partners. Many advisers reported a lack of supervision and access to technical back up. Perhaps as a consequence of the perceived donor attachment of advisers, management in host institutions generally did not supervise external advisors or provide feedback on their performance. Technical Assistance in Danish Bilateral Aid Policy Paper, February

8 PART 2 - Policy 1. Overall principles The overriding objective of Danish development assistance is to create lasting improvements in the living conditions of the poorest sections of the population in developing countries. The primary responsibility for leading this effort rests with the governments and civil society of developing countries themselves. However, in many countries access to external finance and advice is indispensable to enhancing their policy-making, technical and administrative capacity as a prerequisite to succeeding in this endeavour. In countries committed to reform and a broad-based social agenda, aid can be very effective in helping people out of poverty. TA can help develop capacity and be a catalyst of reform by bringing new ideas, knowledge and experience to the table and allowing for experimentation - also during slow downs and setbacks in the reform process and in weak policy environments. According to the Aid Management Guidelines Danish development assistance should be provided in such a way as to help create conditions where external support is increasingly directed at poverty reduction through partner countries own policy frameworks, procedures and financial systems. In the short to medium term Denmark will continue to rely on a combination of different TA modalities. At the same time, however, Danida will make a concerted effort to ensure that TA funded by Denmark helps to systematically strengthen national ownership and support harmonisation of donor practices and procedures. 2 A number of advances have been made in recent years in integrating aid in the plans, structures and processes of developing countries and in helping to address the shortcomings in terms of management and accountability that limit policy and service delivery in developing countries. With the introduction of Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRS) and SWAp s, a much greater effort is made by donors including Danida to help partner countries strengthen their public sector performance. At the same time reform minded governments have had considerable success in pursuing public sector reform and economic restructuring in several developing countries. General and sector budget support 3, basket-funding, pooled TA and other joint mechanisms of aid delivery are means of supporting such reforms. They aim at enhancing the ownership by partners, ensuring efficient aid provision, manageability and lower transaction costs for partners. Denmark is committed to assist partner countries pursue their development aspirations as a collective undertaking with other development partners, and has engaged in joint efforts with other donors in many countries. Denmark considers pooling of TA in-kind as one promising means of coordinating the provision of TA among donors for the benefit of partners, while at the same time securing a reasonable foothold for Danida advisers in areas of strategic importance and comparative advantage. Danida will engage more intensively in pooling in-kind and be prepared to support partners in the identification of their comprehensive TA needs and management of the selections process in TA pooling arrangements. 2 Aid Management Guidelines/ Modalities for the Management of Danish Bilateral Development Assistance 3 See Guidance note on the provision of budget support. Technical Assistance in Danish Bilateral Aid Policy Paper, February

9 Based on the Aid Management Guidelines and reflecting on the experience gained from actual TA delivery, a number of overall principles for the use of TA in Danish bilateral development cooperation can be identified: A strong partnership of donors and partners must be built around delivery of TA based on confidence, predictability and collective efforts. Donors must allow partner governments and institutions more flexibility to demonstrate leadership, while partner governments and institutions must treat donors as legitimate stakeholders and partners who need to be able to fulfil their obligations to account for and report on the outcome of their participation at home. TA can have an important role in creating confidence on both sides, thus paving the way for alignment and harmonisation. TA must be firmly aligned behind the country s own development aspirations and reflect the national context. This requires i.a.: sensitivity to local cultural, social and political practice and context; supporting change agents; supporting Government in taking the lead in aid coordination; harmonisation of procedures of aid related to monitoring, reporting and accounting; refraining from supporting the establishment of parallel administrative structures for implementation of aid funded activities and payment of salary incentives to civil servants. This implies shifting the responsibility towards partners. Danida will thus be less directly involved in designing and implementing development assistance, while the focus on policy dialogue, harmonisation, coordination, and monitoring of results will be strengthened 4 TA supported capacity development must be owned by partners and be designed to support their reforms and emerging institutional structures and in accordance with their capacity and preparedness to absorb advice. The various TA instruments must be used flexibly to respond to the variety of requirements for capacity development and circumstance. In each case the needs and conditions must be thoroughly analysed and the choice of TA modality justified with reference to this assessment. 2. Specific principles for the use of TA A number of more specific principles can be distilled from the overall principles listed above and the experience gained from TA delivery in the past. These principles will serve as points of orientation for the preparation, design and monitoring of TA in Danish development assistance in the coming years. Their adoption is intended to maximise the development effectiveness of TA by strengthening the ownership of partners to the TA, clarifying the division of responsibilities, enhancing the quality as well as increasing the flexibility and improving the monitoring of TA. 4 Aid Management Guidelines/ Modalities for the Management of Danish Bilateral Development Assistance Technical Assistance in Danish Bilateral Aid Policy Paper, February

10 Strengthened ownership of partners to the TA: Partners will only be committed to TA if they genuinely own the development activities, which the TA is intended to support. It is essential to partners making effective use of advisers that they see the need for and advantages of the TA. It is equally important that advisers provide independent advice aimed at achieving the objectives and outputs agreed between the partner and Danida. Partnership and partner leadership must be reflected in the institutional set up for programme management and in the derived role of the TA. The demand for TA shall be properly scrutinized and described through analysis of the political, institutional and financial context, including the capacities and capabilities of the human resources to undertake the proposed activities. The analysis shall be undertaken jointly with partners during programme preparation and the proposed solutions and alternatives discussed and agreed between Danida and the partner before programme/project start. TA intended to support institutional/organizational reform must be designed on the basis of a thorough analysis of the institutional/organisational dimensions of the reform agenda. While reform must be owned and driven by partners, advisers can help reform minded decision makers and managers develop and test their ideas. Partners shall define from the outset the institutional set-up in which advisers are to operate, their lines of reporting and the resources they will command. The partner organisation must prepare job descriptions with performance indicators, work-plans and a system of performance reporting for advisers. Partners will be involved in the identification and selection of TA from the earliest stage and share responsibility with Danida for the final selection. Partners shall be responsible for identifying the specific needs for short-term advisory services and for planning and supervising short-term TA. Partners may ask advisers to assess the quality of terms of reference, CV s and composition of short-term TA as well as to contribute to quality assurance. Danida will help partners strengthen their general ability to identify and supervise TA as necessary. The cost of TA shall be fully and transparently budgeted as part of the programme and project input. Clear division of responsibilities Danida s commitment to maximising partner ownership of development interventions on the one hand, and the need to be able to demonstrate to the Danish public and authorities that Danish development assistance is responsibly managed and contributes effectively to development on the other, are not always easily reconciled. In an attempt to deal with this dilemma Danida has often supported establishment of parallel structures within partner institutions, charged with a dual mandate of programme implementation and donor reporting. This approach, however, is not optimal, as it tends to defeat overall Danish development aspirations by undermining civil service and public administration reforms. Technical Assistance in Danish Bilateral Aid Policy Paper, February

11 Partner leadership must be reflected in the institutional set-up of programme management and in the derived role of the TA. At the same time Danida s legitimate need for reporting on the outcome and use of funds must be met. In terms of the division of responsibility over donor supported programmes and projects the following ground rules would apply: The responsibility for programme coordination and supervision should be vested in a partner institution or forum in line with the institutional set up of the country. Joint programme steering committees (or similar body) with representatives from involved partner institutions and donor agencies are often the preferred vehicles of programme coordination and policy dialogue. Advisers cannot represent either Danida or partner institutions in these bodies. The partner institution may be assisted in the overall planning, coordination, monitoring and reporting tasks related to programme coordination by external advisers on the basis of the partner organisation s own efforts to build up such systems. The partner is responsible and accountable for the TA assisted development interventions. This includes implementation and supervision of and reporting on TA. To the extent that there is a need for strengthening the partner s capacity in this area, advisers may assist in supportive functions. The role of advisers must be clearly defined vis-à-vis partners and Danida. As a general rule, monitoring and reporting carried out, as part of Danida s obligation to inform Danish authorities should be separated from advisory services provided to partners. Thus, technical advisers will report to their host institution/organization and not to Danida. To keep advisers abreast of developments in Danida policies and operations and to be able to draw on their specific country and sector knowledge, advisers will be required to attend a limited number of meetings organised by the Danish representations following notification of the host institution. Advisers should generally not be used to supervise other advisers or international consultants. Danish representations are responsible for maintaining the policy dialogue with the national authorities and partner institutions on macro and sectoral issues and crosscutting dimensions of the development agenda as well as for reporting on the development effectiveness and resource use of TA to the Danish authorities 5. Advisers may provide policy advice to partners or Danida, to the extent that this is clearly specified in their job description. However, they should not be made responsible for maintaining the dialogue with partners on key policy and programmatic issues. In reporting on the substantial and financial aspects of Danish aid delivery to the Danish authorities, the Danish representations are expected to rely as much as possible on partner country reporting and control mechanisms. In meeting the obligation to ascertain the proper use of Danish aid, Representations should collaborate with institutions and entities mandated to certify that financial resources are responsibly managed and spent in the partner country. 5 cf. Aid Management Guidelines/Organisation manual Technical Assistance in Danish Bilateral Aid Policy Paper, February

12 When partner reporting capacity and financial management is considered weak by donors, Danida will support efforts to strengthen partner accountability, preferably as part of a wider effort to enhance public sector performance and accountability. To the extent that Danida considers partner financial reporting and accountability mechanisms inadequate to ensure satisfactory reporting on the use of Danish aid, advisers may be used to assist partners in developing their capacity for sound financial management and reporting. In those cases where Danida deems it necessary to maintain direct project accounting 6, advisers can be made responsible for managing and controlling the use of funds. In such cases an explicit justification must be made based on an assessment of the shortcomings in partner reporting and steps taken to remedy the situation. In accordance with Danida s Anti-Corruption Action Plan advisers must be well guided in performing their duties, and this aspect of their ethical code of conduct will be made an explicit part of their contractual obligations 7. Enhanced quality of TA: The quality of TA in Danish development assistance is generally rated highly by partners and several of the principles below are already being observed. Denmark will, however, strive to continuously ensure adequate and good quality advisers independently of the TA modality applied. Advisers shall be selected in an open, competitive and professional process. The remuneration package shall reflect the qualifications required. Advisers shall have access to timely and relevant technical and managerial back up, i.a. through the Danish representations and web-based networks. As a general rule, TA should not be used to compensate for staff shortages in partner institutions, organisations or companies. In each programme and project, the duration, form, mix of skills and TA modalities must be determined, described and agreed with the partner on the basis of a scrutiny of the context in which advisers are supposed to operate and an analysis of the requirements compared to the strengths and weaknesses of each modality with a view to optimising the development effect. This includes a justification for the use of TA (taking into consideration advisers provided by other donors to the programme/sector), the role of the advisers, duration of their assignment, benchmarks for their performance and exit strategy. This will be ascertained during appraisal of the programme/project 8. 6 Guidelines for Decentralised Project Accounting. 7 Cf. Aid Management Guidelines/Anti-Corruption Action Plan 8 Cf. Aid Management Guidelines/Guidelines for Programme Management. Technical Assistance in Danish Bilateral Aid Policy Paper, February

13 Increased flexibility in the provision of TA: The context and conditions of TA assisted interventions vary considerably between countries and between sectors. The provision of TA as well as the institutional set up of programme management and the design of TA must respond flexibly to these variations. Danida will work with partners to tailor-make TA to the actual situation in each country/sector, using the range of TA modalities while taking into consideration requirements arising from Civil Service and Public Administration Reforms, institutional development and opportunities for joint approaches. The scope for experimentation and consultation should be enhanced through flexibility in programme design. Danida will strengthen its ability to respond to the variation in demand for TA stemming from changing political circumstances, institutional environments and job contents. In some cases long-term TA distributed over a number of short-term assignments according to the partner organisation s needs may be a more flexible modality, leaving time for the partner organisation to do its part. Recognising that partner institutions may not need a full time adviser, Danida will consider assigning advisers to several components/programmes. Such arrangements are particularly relevant in cross-sector interventions, such as private sector development, accounting or institutional strengthening. Improved monitoring of TA: Continuous monitoring of the TA delivery is important to ensure its relevance and quality. The partner institution is responsible for the daily management and supervision of the TA input, whereas overall monitoring and assessment of adviser performance is undertaken jointly between partners and Danida. Adviser performance must be systematically planned, supervised and reported on by the partner during the annual programme cycle. TA performance is jointly monitored and reviewed by the programme steering committee (or similar fora). The need and scope for advisers as well as the achievement of agreed outputs and plans should be jointly assessed as part of sector reviews and consequent adjustments agreed upon in the steering committee. Danida shall assist partners develop more effective mechanisms for monitoring the effectiveness and relevance of TA and increasingly rely on review mechanisms available in the partner countries. The partner institution should undertake annual staff performance assessments of each long-term adviser. As part of the process, partners should discuss adviser performance with the Danish representation. Partners will assess short-term adviser performance at the completion of the contract. Advisers reporting to Danida only, will be subject to annual performance assessments undertaken by the Danish representation. An exit strategy with benchmarks for phasing out TA should be defined and monitored jointly with partners. Technical Assistance in Danish Bilateral Aid Policy Paper, February

14 3. Modalities for TA delivery Joint approaches to delivery of TA There are considerable variations in the degree to which joint approaches to development cooperation have been adopted between programme countries and even between sectors and areas in the same country. In some countries and sectors SWAps are far advanced and multidonor sector budget support and basket funding as well as joint approaches to TA have been established. Under these circumstances Danida will actively work to reinforce donor discipline and engage in joint approaches to TA delivery and common reporting. Pooling of TA is seen as one way to enhance partner ownership and to ensure well-coordinated and efficient TA. Where partner capacity to recruit external advisers is not yet fully in place, Denmark will promote pooling of TA in kind as an intermediate modality. Under such an arrangement, partner institutions needs for TA are jointly assessed and donors coordinate the provision of bilateral advisers to cover the required TA. Where SWAps are in a formative stage, sector programmes may consist of conventional projects with weaker inter-linkages and limited ability to influence the policy level. The government s ability to lead and donors willingness to be led are often correspondingly limited, as is the capacity for budgetary discipline, financial control and monitoring of service delivery. Under such circumstances Danida will take initiatives and support activities aimed at fostering confidence building and adoption of programmatic approaches to development cooperation, including concerted action to encourage and support the government to undertake the necessary public administration and civil service reform. Bilateral advisers may assist partner institutions pave the way for joint approaches. Using national or expatriate advisers National advisers can often work very efficiently due to their knowledge of the country, its institutions, politics and language. In addition, using local or regional advisers contributes to building up the local pool of knowledge and experience that partner countries must ultimately rely on. However, the affiliation of national advisers may also be an impediment to advisers acting independently. In several Danida programme countries advisers capable of providing support to the formulation of high-level policy and strategic sector decision-making may not be readily available. The use of national expertise should not distort the local labour market and civil service reform nor constitute a brain drain from partner institutions. Danida actively encourages the elimination of distorting donor practices in the public sector, including contracting of civil servants as consultants, etc. 9 National advisers shall be contracted and managed by the partner institution and jointly monitored through the Steering Committee. Funding for national/regional TA shall be integrated into the programme/project budget. 9 AMG-Modalities/Capacity development Technical Assistance in Danish Bilateral Aid Policy Paper, February

15 Bilateral International advisers Denmark will continue to make international advisers available based on a clear identification of needs. The main advantage of international advisers is that they bring valuable experience from elsewhere and can provide independent advice. Danida advisers can also perform important bridge-building and liaison functions between Danida and the national partner. This is important for making Danida a relevant and trustworthy partner. Expatriate advisers shall, however, be used strategically. Danida will continuously seek to improve the quality of Danida advisers, by: 1. Emphasising intercultural understanding and technical and personal skills in the selection of advisers; 2. tailor-making pre-departure preparations; and 3. assisting advisers upgrade their technical and managerial skills during the contract period through back-up opportunities such as web-based networks, e learning and conferences, etc.). Danida will also consider further ways of helping advisers improve their skills in-between jobs. Initially, such opportunities will be offered a small group of advisers with strategic capabilities in areas of particular importance to Danida. Pending the outcome of this trial exercise, the offer may be expanded to a larger group of advisers. Whether to use Danida-contracted or company contracted advisers depend at present on the nature and context of services to be delivered. In the case of advisory services where concrete and time-bound outputs can be readily specified, company-employed advisers may be the natural choice. However, when the contents, duration and phasing of TA cannot be readily specified at the outset as for instance in the case of TA designed to support complex institutional reform or organisational change a comprehensive company contract covering all the TA to be supplied over the entire time horizon of the programme may not be sufficiently flexible In an effort to make it easier for companies to respond flexibly to changing needs and more complex demands Danida will launch two pilot initiatives. In the first of these initiatives Danida will test the feasibility of working with out-put based contracts. In the second Danida will try out possibilities associated with breaking long-term TA support into shorter advisory inputs within one framework contract. Whenever Danida enters into a contract with a company for the delivery of advisory services in a developing country the principles stipulated in these guidelines will apply. It is the responsibility of the companies to ensure that company advisers are of a high quality and possess the qualities sought for Danida contracted advisers above 4. Monitoring policy implementation Following the adoption of the current policy, representations in Danida programme countries and countries with which Danida maintains an environmental portfolio will be requested to make a short baseline survey of the use of advisers in the Danish programmes. Technical Assistance in Danish Bilateral Aid Policy Paper, February

16 Furthermore, representations will be requested to prepare a short status report on the development in the use of advisers in the Danish programmes as part of the annual VPA. * * * * Literature 1. Advisers in Danish Bilateral Development Cooperation. Niels Boesen. December Development Policy Journal Special Issue on Technical Assistance, Volume 2. UNDP. December Viden og Holdninger, Danida Technical Assistance in Danish Bilateral Aid Policy Paper, February