literacy for life; EFA global monitoring report, 2006 - Institut de ...

INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENTS: TIME TO ACT / 125
Box 4.7
Silent partnerships at work in Mali and Malawi
The Netherlands and Sweden in Mali
Sweden wished to support education in Mali. The
Netherlands already had a development programme
there, so Sweden asked it to manage its proposed new
education support.
Mali had developed a ten-year education sector plan,
was working on an investment strategy and foresaw a
shortage of finance despite increasing its own education
budget and benefiting from higher donor commitments.
It attached importance to donor harmonization and
better coordination to reduce its own transaction costs
and to enhance its own internal efficiency. In September
2001, the Cadre Partenarial (code of conduct) was signed
by the government of Mali and most donors. This
regulated joint reviews, endorsed a sector-wide approach
as the guiding principle for projects and programmes,
and indicated the intention to work towards (sub) sector
support for the ten-year Education Development Plan
(PRODEC). Within this framework, the Dutch focused on
quality improvement, expanded access and improved
decentralized management through Mali’s sector
investment plan for 2001—2004. They had an in-country
education adviser, and their embassy in Bamako had a
delegated mandate for Dutch aid to Mali.
An analysis of Swedish and Dutch education policies,
priorities and aid procedures was undertaken in
Stockholm and the Hague. Sida screened Dutch aid
modalities, including their monitoring and evaluation
practices. Based on these findings, Sida’s Chief Controller
agreed that the Netherlands could oversee financial and
administrative arrangements through the Dutch Embassy
in Mali. Mali’s own administrative and financial
mechanisms would be used to transfer Swedish and
Dutch support to a special budget line of its Ministry
of Finance.
A set of mutual obligations was then agreed:
Countries will agree on funding levels for the first
phase of the investment plan.
An interest-bearing bank account will be opened
for the Sida contribution in the Netherlands and
be operated by the Dutch Embassy in Bamako.
Formal biannual requests will be made for the
transfer of funds to Sweden, based on a call for
funds from the Mali government.
Sweden will receive the annual audit report from
Mali through the Dutch embassy.
The education ministry in Mali will provide progress
and evaluation reports.
The three countries will participate in the joint
annual reviews of the Sector Programme.
The Netherlands and Sweden will conduct annual
meetings.
From 2002 to 2005, Dutch financial support was
¤44 million and Sida’s ¤10 million for three years.
The partnership’s share of the financing of the education
plan was 35%, constituting 22% of total external
financing in 2004, the largest single external contribution
to education in Mali.
The Netherlands and the United Kingdom
in Malawi
The Netherlands had neither a diplomatic presence in,
nor bilateral relationships with, Malawi. But under Dutch
policy it is possible to support education outside of its
‘concentration countries’, because basic education is a
priority and a Silent Partnership is an accepted aid
modality.
DFID has had a long and extensive development
cooperation relationship with Malawi, including in the
education sector. The Malawi government had indicated
the need for greater donor cooperation. Ten donors
supported education, many through projects. The
possibility of a silent partnership was welcomed as a
step towards a more coherent sector-wide approach.
Already, the donor group was undertaking a joint review
of progress and the development of a common code
of conduct.
The education sector plan gives priority to basic
education. DFID supports three key components of the
plan: strengthening the Ministry of Education, Science
and Technology in its planning and management
capacities; improved teaching of literacy and numeracy
in the primary sector; and the decentralization of primary
education to districts. The overall programme was
financed from a special government account for basic
education.
It was agreed that Dutch funds should be channelled
to DFID, which would transfer these funds jointly with
their own. This was a new procedure for DFID. The
arrangement stipulates the modes of monitoring,
reporting and evaluation, as well as an annual meeting
between the two donors in Malawi.
DFID support for education is £78.7 million (about
¤125 million) over seven years, while the Netherlands
has committed ¤29.2 million for four years. Together
this constitutes the second biggest donor commitment
in Malawi and the first in terms of disbursements in
2003—2004.
Source: Koopman (2005).