Results Focus is Focusing on the Solution: SHIFTING FROM AID THAT WORKS TO DEVELOPMENT THAT WORKS Richard Ssewakiryanga Executive Director Uganda National NGO Forum And Member of the Better Aid Advisory Group Presented at the Results and Accountability Building Block Africa Regional Workshop Lusaka Zambia 11 th – 13 th September 2012

We all agree….that… Devt efforts should be guided towards achieving results Aid must be guided by an understanding of what works best to reduce poverty and save lives The focus of results should be about people …and people alone….

Sustainable Results Vs Popular Interventions Uganda is a country that has always made sure that in each Devt Plan phase there was a populist intervention – from abolition of cost sharing in health, universal primary education, abolition of graduated/poll tax, prosperity for all …e.t.c This has helped to focus results to domestic political pressures but this also undermine sustainable aid and development interventions when popular interventions do not deliver effective results Popular results frameworks therefore need to reconcile the tensions between attaining sustainable devt and serving political interests

Results and Use of Evidence … A results focus has sometimes created ‘warped incentives’ that push development actors to capture and measure information that is easy to capture and measure, rather than investing in initiatives that have a lasting impact….. Currently Uganda is doing a good job in conducting an annual government performance assessment but they cover results reporting by sectors and little assessment is done on impact and change ‘on the ground’ – this is an area that needs to be improved among all key actors and also the use of alternative analysis from actors like CSOs and academia

An example…. ….For example, today many governments in Africa boast of achieving the MDG target on education - using enrolment as an indicator - and yet learning outcomes indicators show very low levels of learning in early grades of children – these are the kind of results that we should be concerned about Using the right metrics, focusing on results is therefore a key aspect of our results work

JBSF and Need for Joint Monitoring JBSF asked at the outset that we should be included in the monitoring work of JBSF After 2 years of implementation we now (Sept 2012) will have a meeting to re-clarify the relationships between CSOs and JBSF – a meeting has already been help generate consensus with Parliament on collaboration with the JBSF Clearly joint monitoring will be a very important part of the process of undertaking results

Our CSO Local Experience in Uganda Uganda CSO Aid and Devt Effectiveness Platform – 3 years old now – Participated in the lead up to Busan – Works closely with CSO across Africa and the world

8 Formed a CSO Platform to... 1.To strengthen the capacity of CSOs and other stakeholders so that they have the necessary knowledge on aid and devt eff related issues henceforth engage in the aid discussions. 2.To influence key policy processes for the achievement of aid effectiveness and development through increased dialogue with government and donors. 3.To advocate for an aid supply chain that is focused towards citizen needs and development aspirations.

Formed a CSO Platform to To carry out comprehensive Research and Analysis on Aid and Devt Effectiveness 5. To promote an Aid regime that is based on shared social and political, cultural values, beliefs and objectives with the citizens. 6. To widen and consolidate sustainable partnership between member CSOs and their local, regional, national and international scale partners

10 CSO Aid and Devt Effness Platform

Pay Attention!! Partner countries should not carry all the risk from delivering results Aid and results discussion should not enforce inequality by creating ‘donor-darlings’ and ‘donor-orphans’ around the world – see see that that group changes rapidly …. Perverse incentives to access aid-money and misguided measurements should not become the order of the day as we strive to please voters

Consider the following CSO Ideas…. Focus on measuring outcomes and impact as results, not outputs and inputs Ensure that indicators are sensitive to issues of equality and inclusion with special emphasis on human rights, gender, decent work and environmental sustainability Think carefully and find new monitoring and evaluation methods that can measure change more comprehensively – e.g - we are now launching an Open Development Partnership to also promote more results collaborative work with govt. Remember – right results achieve rights for the poor and vulnerable!

Thank you for your attention!