The Canadian International Development Platform:

Promoting Transparency and Engaging Canadians on International Development

Aniket Bhushan Governance for Equitable Growth

The North-South Institute

Outline • The North-South Institute

– Canada’s oldest and only think-tank focused on international development. Rated No. 1 small think-tank in the world (under $5mn, McGann, 2012)

• Canadian International Development Platform– Unique interactive data and analytical platform on

Canada’s engagement in the developing world, covering aid and beyond (development >> aid)

• The OECD-DAC architecture and Canada

• Canadian foreign aid: Quick Review

• Challenges and key recent debates

• CIDP Wants YOU

OECD-DAC• Traditional donors club, accounts for the

vast majority of global ODA ($128bn approx / $144bn)

• Main (only) standard setter, fast needing to open up and broaden, facing challenges (non-traditional, civil society)

• But what is “aid”…(not simple, complex sector)… Why give,… (complex incentives)

DAC - CRS• Creditor Reporting System; sectors:

– Social infrastructure

– Economic infrastructure

– Productive sectors

– Multi-sector

– Commodity aid

– Debt relief

– Humanitarian

– Support to NGOs

– Admin costs

– Settlement of refugees

– Unallocated

Using CIDP to review Canada and other DAC

• http://bit.ly/AzxtJo

Canada’s IAE: Quick Review • Canadian International Development Agency

(CIDA) at the core• Finance, DFAIT (foreign affairs), IDRC, DND,

others also important• Around C$5billion (roughly $150/per Canadian)• CIDA focuses 80% of Bilateral assistance in 20

countries of focus• Mainly SS Africa, but Haiti, Afghanistan most

important

Using CIDP to rapidly review Canadian aid patterns

• http://bit.ly/x4y1Km

Using CIDP to analyze CIDA 20 focus countries

• http://bit.ly/zrVO7G

Challenges and key recent debates

• Alignment with broader foreign policy interests (in particular private sector, particular natural resource sector promotion) - DEBATE– Austerity and cuts to Canadian NGO sector

• Dealing with emerging donors (China, India, Brazil, et. al.) challenging the DAC percepts – DEBATE– Inclusiveness (civil society) vs. effectiveness vs. expedience

• Need to move beyond ‘aid effectiveness’ to ‘development effectiveness’ – DEBATE – Results based framework inadequate, causality and

attribution problematic, delays and lagged effects

The North-South Institute

55 Murray Street, Suite 500

Ottawa, Ontario Canada

K1N 5M3

Tel.: (613) 241-3535

Fax: (613) 241-7435

Email/Courriel: nsi@nsi-ins.ca

Website: www.nsi-ins.ca

my email: abhushan@nsi-ins.ca