This document discusses policy coherence for development (PCD) in Ireland. It finds that while Ireland has made progress in raising awareness of PCD across government departments through the Inter-Departmental Committee on Development, more needs to be done to actually drive greater policy coherence. The document recommends strengthening Ireland's institutional mechanisms for PCD by assigning responsibility for PCD to the Department of the Taoiseach, establishing a strong monitoring and evaluation framework, promoting parliamentary oversight, and engaging civil society organizations. It analyzes Ireland's current approach and compares it to Sweden's model of placing PCD at the heart of all policy areas.
Recommendation of the OECD Council on Effective Public Investment Across Leve...OECD Governance
This document presents the Recommendation on Effective Public Investment Across Levels of Government that was adopted by the OECD Council on March 12, 2014.
A Recommendation is an OECD instrument approved by the Council that results in international norms and standards, best practices and policy guidelines. Recommendations are not legally binding, but practice accords them great moral force as representing the political will of Member states.
The Recommendation was developed by the OECD Territorial Development Policy Committee (TDPC). It was submitted to an extensive consultation procedure within the OECD and externally, and was supported by Ministers at the TDPC Ministerial meeting on 5-6 December 2013 in Marseille.
The purpose of the principles set out in the Recommendation is to help governments at all levels to assess the strengths and weaknesses of their public investment capacity, a critical shared responsibility across levels of government, and set priorities for improvement. The OECD will further work towards the implementation of these Principles by developing a supporting Toolkit to guide policy-makers and practitioners.
For more information, please visit our website at: www.oecd.org/regional-policy or contact: TDPCprinciples@oecd.org
Building Skills for Economic Evaluation across Government: The case of IrelandOECD Governance
Presentation from the launch of "The Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service - Using Evidence-Informed Policy Making to Improve Performance". For further information see: oe.cd/igees
Presentation "Leveraging the work of the Independent Fiscal Institutions for Legislative Scrutiny" by Rolf Alter, OECD. For more information see http://www.oecd.org/gov/budgeting/oecdnetworkofparliamentarybudgetofficialspbo.htm
OECD Recommendation of the Council on the Governance of InfrastructureOECD Governance
The OECD Recommendation on the Governance of Infrastructure provides countries with practical guidance for efficient, transparent and responsive decision-making processes in infrastructure investment. It supports a whole-of-government approach and covers the entire life cycle of infrastructure projects, putting special emphasis on regional, social, gender, and environmental considerations.
Recommendation of the OECD Council on Effective Public Investment Across Leve...OECD Governance
This document presents the Recommendation on Effective Public Investment Across Levels of Government that was adopted by the OECD Council on March 12, 2014.
A Recommendation is an OECD instrument approved by the Council that results in international norms and standards, best practices and policy guidelines. Recommendations are not legally binding, but practice accords them great moral force as representing the political will of Member states.
The Recommendation was developed by the OECD Territorial Development Policy Committee (TDPC). It was submitted to an extensive consultation procedure within the OECD and externally, and was supported by Ministers at the TDPC Ministerial meeting on 5-6 December 2013 in Marseille.
The purpose of the principles set out in the Recommendation is to help governments at all levels to assess the strengths and weaknesses of their public investment capacity, a critical shared responsibility across levels of government, and set priorities for improvement. The OECD will further work towards the implementation of these Principles by developing a supporting Toolkit to guide policy-makers and practitioners.
For more information, please visit our website at: www.oecd.org/regional-policy or contact: TDPCprinciples@oecd.org
Building Skills for Economic Evaluation across Government: The case of IrelandOECD Governance
Presentation from the launch of "The Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service - Using Evidence-Informed Policy Making to Improve Performance". For further information see: oe.cd/igees
Presentation "Leveraging the work of the Independent Fiscal Institutions for Legislative Scrutiny" by Rolf Alter, OECD. For more information see http://www.oecd.org/gov/budgeting/oecdnetworkofparliamentarybudgetofficialspbo.htm
OECD Recommendation of the Council on the Governance of InfrastructureOECD Governance
The OECD Recommendation on the Governance of Infrastructure provides countries with practical guidance for efficient, transparent and responsive decision-making processes in infrastructure investment. It supports a whole-of-government approach and covers the entire life cycle of infrastructure projects, putting special emphasis on regional, social, gender, and environmental considerations.
Advisory session on establishing a new institution - Elaine Gunn, Ireland & ...OECD Governance
This presentation was made by Elaine Gunn, Ireland & Mairi Spowage, United Kingdom, at the 9th Annual Meeting of the OECD network of Parliamentary Budget Officials and Independent Fiscal Institutions held in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 6-7 April 2017.
OECD Recommendation on Principles for Independent Fiscal InstitutionsOECD Governance
On 13 February 2014, the OECD Council adopted the Recommendation of the Council on Principles for Independent Fiscal Institutions. Geared towards Member countries that have established or are considering establishing an independent fiscal institution (IFI), the Principles codify lessons learned and good practices that are firmly grounded in the experience of IFIs to date. The Principles seek to reinforce the core values that IFIs both promote and operate under – independence, non-partisanship, transparency, and accountability – while demonstrating technical competence and producing relevant work of the highest quality that stands up to public scrutiny and informs the public debate. As such, they aim to assist countries to design an enabling environment
conducive to the good performance of an IFI and to ensuring its long-run viability.
This area of the OECD's work focuses on new research in the area of innovative citizen participation practices to analyse the new forms of deliberative, collaborative and participatory decision-making that are evolving across the globe.
The Internet, social media, smartphones, and access to real-time information have not only made people’s daily lives easier, but have changed citizens’ expectations of how products and services are delivered. This shift affects not only the way citizens view and interact with businesses; it has also raised expectations in their interactions with government.
People are demanding transparency, accountability, access to information and competent service delivery from their governments. They also expect policies and services to be tailored to their needs and address their concern
The Open Government Review of Brazil (2020-21) will provide an evidence-based assessment of the country’s frameworks for and governance of open government reforms and their implementation against the ten provisions of the OECD Recommendation of the Council on Open Government (2017).
Sweden Digitalization Strategy - Danar MustafaDanar Mustafa
A summary of report explaining the strategy and direction of the Swedish government's digitalization policy. The vision is a sustainably digitized Sweden. The overall goal is for Sweden to be the best in the world to use the possibilities of digitalization.
Full report: https://www.regeringen.se/49adea/contentassets/5429e024be6847fc907b786ab954228f/digitaliseringsstrategin_slutlig_170518-2.pdf
Public Governance Review of Northern Ireland by OECDOECD Governance
Northern Ireland is currently undertaking public administration reforms organised around three main objectives: improving strategic approaches, improving operational delivery of services to citizens and businesses, and improving engagement with people. This review supports those reforms by providing an assessment and recommendations on a wide range of issues, including strategy-setting and co-ordination, strategic government-wide human resources management, open government, regulatory reform and digital government. It highlights areas where Northern Ireland possesses strengths upon which to build future reforms and suggests actions for the future. This is the first Public Governance Review to be conducted by the OECD at the subnational level. For more information see http://www.oecd.org/gov/northern-ireland-united-kingdom-implementing-joined-up-governance-for-a-common-purpose-9789264260016-en.htm
Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development 2019: Empowering People and Ensu...OECD Governance
SDG target 17.14 calls on all countries to “enhance policy coherence for sustainable development” as a key means of implementation. According to countries’ Voluntary National Reviews, this presents a major challenge. It requires meaningful collaboration and co-ordinated action across both policy sectors and different levels of government. It also requires balancing short-term priorities with long-term sustainability objectives and taking into account the impact of domestic policies on global well-being outcomes.The 2019 edition of Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development looks at countries’ efforts to meet this challenge and identifies opportunities for accelerating progress. The third in a series, it shows how integrated and coherent policies, supported by strong institutional and governance mechanisms, can contribute to empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality. For more information see:http://www.oecd.org/gov/pcsd/policy-coherence-for-sustainable-development-2019-a90f851f-en.htm
Governance as an SDG Accelerator: Country Experiences and ToolsOECD Governance
Delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a formidable governance challenge for countries at all levels of development. It requires governments to co-ordinate, consult and work across policy areas – as well as with the businesses sector and civil society – in an unprecedented way. This report provides evidence from OECD countries and partner economies on how public governance practices can be strengthened to help implement the SDGs. For more information see:http://www.oecd.org/gov/pcsd/governance-as-an-sdg-accelerator-0666b085-en.htm
OECD Forum on Financing Democracy and Averting Policy Capture - AgendaOECD Governance
Forum to investigate the influence of money on public policies and to find ways of preventing policy capture by narrow private interests. http://www.oecd.org/gov/ethics/financing-democracy-and-averting-policy-capture-forum-2014.htm
The co-operation between China and the OECD has developed progressively since the mid-1990s. A Key Partner of the OECD, China participates as Member, Associate or Participant in nine OECD bodies and adheres to seven OECD legal instruments.
The OECD was honoured to support China’s G20 Presidency and is proud to support the country's reform process during an important period of rebalancing and structural adjustment that will put the economy on a more inclusive and more sustainable path of development.
Suggested citation: Khaver, A., Ahmed V., and Menon, R. (2021). ‘Using stakeholder dialogues for strengthening evidence use to inform government decision-making during COVID-19’. Learning Brief 4. Strengthening Evidence Use for Development Impact, Oxford.
Advisory session on establishing a new institution - Elaine Gunn, Ireland & ...OECD Governance
This presentation was made by Elaine Gunn, Ireland & Mairi Spowage, United Kingdom, at the 9th Annual Meeting of the OECD network of Parliamentary Budget Officials and Independent Fiscal Institutions held in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 6-7 April 2017.
OECD Recommendation on Principles for Independent Fiscal InstitutionsOECD Governance
On 13 February 2014, the OECD Council adopted the Recommendation of the Council on Principles for Independent Fiscal Institutions. Geared towards Member countries that have established or are considering establishing an independent fiscal institution (IFI), the Principles codify lessons learned and good practices that are firmly grounded in the experience of IFIs to date. The Principles seek to reinforce the core values that IFIs both promote and operate under – independence, non-partisanship, transparency, and accountability – while demonstrating technical competence and producing relevant work of the highest quality that stands up to public scrutiny and informs the public debate. As such, they aim to assist countries to design an enabling environment
conducive to the good performance of an IFI and to ensuring its long-run viability.
This area of the OECD's work focuses on new research in the area of innovative citizen participation practices to analyse the new forms of deliberative, collaborative and participatory decision-making that are evolving across the globe.
The Internet, social media, smartphones, and access to real-time information have not only made people’s daily lives easier, but have changed citizens’ expectations of how products and services are delivered. This shift affects not only the way citizens view and interact with businesses; it has also raised expectations in their interactions with government.
People are demanding transparency, accountability, access to information and competent service delivery from their governments. They also expect policies and services to be tailored to their needs and address their concern
The Open Government Review of Brazil (2020-21) will provide an evidence-based assessment of the country’s frameworks for and governance of open government reforms and their implementation against the ten provisions of the OECD Recommendation of the Council on Open Government (2017).
Sweden Digitalization Strategy - Danar MustafaDanar Mustafa
A summary of report explaining the strategy and direction of the Swedish government's digitalization policy. The vision is a sustainably digitized Sweden. The overall goal is for Sweden to be the best in the world to use the possibilities of digitalization.
Full report: https://www.regeringen.se/49adea/contentassets/5429e024be6847fc907b786ab954228f/digitaliseringsstrategin_slutlig_170518-2.pdf
Public Governance Review of Northern Ireland by OECDOECD Governance
Northern Ireland is currently undertaking public administration reforms organised around three main objectives: improving strategic approaches, improving operational delivery of services to citizens and businesses, and improving engagement with people. This review supports those reforms by providing an assessment and recommendations on a wide range of issues, including strategy-setting and co-ordination, strategic government-wide human resources management, open government, regulatory reform and digital government. It highlights areas where Northern Ireland possesses strengths upon which to build future reforms and suggests actions for the future. This is the first Public Governance Review to be conducted by the OECD at the subnational level. For more information see http://www.oecd.org/gov/northern-ireland-united-kingdom-implementing-joined-up-governance-for-a-common-purpose-9789264260016-en.htm
Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development 2019: Empowering People and Ensu...OECD Governance
SDG target 17.14 calls on all countries to “enhance policy coherence for sustainable development” as a key means of implementation. According to countries’ Voluntary National Reviews, this presents a major challenge. It requires meaningful collaboration and co-ordinated action across both policy sectors and different levels of government. It also requires balancing short-term priorities with long-term sustainability objectives and taking into account the impact of domestic policies on global well-being outcomes.The 2019 edition of Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development looks at countries’ efforts to meet this challenge and identifies opportunities for accelerating progress. The third in a series, it shows how integrated and coherent policies, supported by strong institutional and governance mechanisms, can contribute to empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality. For more information see:http://www.oecd.org/gov/pcsd/policy-coherence-for-sustainable-development-2019-a90f851f-en.htm
Governance as an SDG Accelerator: Country Experiences and ToolsOECD Governance
Delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a formidable governance challenge for countries at all levels of development. It requires governments to co-ordinate, consult and work across policy areas – as well as with the businesses sector and civil society – in an unprecedented way. This report provides evidence from OECD countries and partner economies on how public governance practices can be strengthened to help implement the SDGs. For more information see:http://www.oecd.org/gov/pcsd/governance-as-an-sdg-accelerator-0666b085-en.htm
OECD Forum on Financing Democracy and Averting Policy Capture - AgendaOECD Governance
Forum to investigate the influence of money on public policies and to find ways of preventing policy capture by narrow private interests. http://www.oecd.org/gov/ethics/financing-democracy-and-averting-policy-capture-forum-2014.htm
The co-operation between China and the OECD has developed progressively since the mid-1990s. A Key Partner of the OECD, China participates as Member, Associate or Participant in nine OECD bodies and adheres to seven OECD legal instruments.
The OECD was honoured to support China’s G20 Presidency and is proud to support the country's reform process during an important period of rebalancing and structural adjustment that will put the economy on a more inclusive and more sustainable path of development.
Suggested citation: Khaver, A., Ahmed V., and Menon, R. (2021). ‘Using stakeholder dialogues for strengthening evidence use to inform government decision-making during COVID-19’. Learning Brief 4. Strengthening Evidence Use for Development Impact, Oxford.
Cities and climate change: a two-way relationship • Cities are major contributors to CO2 emissions. Roughly half of the world’s population lives in urban areas, and this share is increasing over time, projected to reach 60% by 2030. Cities consume a great majority – between 60 to 80% – of energy production worldwide and account for a roughly equal share of global CO2 emissions. In the OECD, countries that are more urbanised tend to generate higher levels of CO2 emissions.
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in OECD cities are increasingly driven less by industrial activities and more by the energy services required for lighting, heating and cooling, appliance use, electronics use, and mobility. Growing urbanisation will lead to a significant increase in energy use and CO2 emissions, particularly in non-OECD countries in Asia and Africa where urban energy use is likely to shift from CO2- neutral energy sources (biomass and waste) to CO2-intensive energy sources. • Climate change poses key threats to urban infrastructure and quality of life. The tendency for cities to be located in coastal areas increases their vulnerability to water-related calamities, increasing the risk to property, livelihoods and urban infrastructure.
Rising sea levels are a critical issue for major cities – for example, in Europe, 70% of the largest cities have areas that are less than 10 meters above sea level. Port cities most at risk for coastal flooding are located both in rapidly growing developing countries such as India and China (e.g. Kolkata, Shanghai, Guangzhou) and in wealthy of countries such as the United States (e.g. Miami, New York City), the Netherlands (e.g. Rotterdam, Amsterdam) and Japan (e.g. Tokyo, Osaka). Heat waves will be felt more strongly in urban areas due to urban heat island effects.
Due to the large amount of concrete and asphalt in cities, the difference in average annual temperature with rural areas ranges from 3.5 to 4.5°C, and is expected to increase by 1°C per decade (up to a difference of 10°C with large cities). Poor populations in both rich and poor nations are the most vulnerable to climate change, in part because they lack the resources to quickly and effectively protect themselves from extreme weather patterns.
UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT...Dr Lendy Spires
Many African countries have already done much to create a more business-friendly environment to promote local investment as well as foreign direct investment, and many have made impressive progress towards political and economic stability. In their efforts to revive economic activity they have scaled down bureaucratic obstacles and interventions in their economies, embarked on privatization programmes and are putting in place pro-active investment measures.
These efforts -- helped by other factors such as high commodity prices -- have borne fruit in recent years, leading to a turnaround after a long period of economic contraction, in many countries. As a result, for the first time since the early 1980s, per capita gross domestic product of the continent as a whole has grown considerably for a number of consecutive years since 1994. Some countries that not so long ago were being torn apart by civil unrest or war have recovered and are growing again, although this growth has to be nurtured, given recent developments in the world economy.
Foreign direct investment in Africa -- which can make an important contribution to the economic development of the continent -- has increased only modestly in recent years, as the image of Africa among many foreign investors still tends to be one of a continent associated mainly with political turmoil, economic instability, diseases and natural disasters. However, although these problems persist in some African countries and although they are a serious impediment to the development of these countries, little attempt is often made to differentiate between the individual situations of more than 50 countries of the continent.
As a result, many African countries are not even listed for consideration by transnational corporations – let alone make it onto the “short list”– when it comes to locational decisions for FDI, despite offering a number of attractions to foreign investors. On close examination, however, one finds that a number of “frontrunners” have emerged who have attracted above-average amounts of FDI -- even by the standards of developing countries as a whole -- not only in traditional sectors, such as mining and petroleum, but also in manufacturing and service industries. Most importantly, from the viewpoint of foreign companies, investment in Africa seems to be highly profitable, more profitable indeed than in most other regions
The Yearbook series is a result of joint efforts by major African regional organizations to set up a joint data collection mechanism of socioeconomic data on African countries as well as the development of a common harmonized database. The Joint African Statistical Yearbook is meant to break with the practices of the past where each regional/sub-regional organization was publishing statistical data on African countries of the continent in an inefficient way, leading to duplication of efforts, inefficient use of scarce resources, increased burden on countries and sending different signals to users involved in tracking development efforts on the continent. It is expected that the joint collection and sharing of data between regional institutions will promote wider use of country data, reduce costs and significantly improve the quality of the data and lead to better monitoring of development initiatives on the continent.
The major strength of the African Statistical System is progress being achieved in its institutional framework. Pan-African, regional and national statistical bodies have all contributed to an increased number of frameworks and strategies targeting statistical capacity-building. Future initiatives should take advantage of existing programs and initiatives, forums, standards, and coordination bodies, and develop those that prove to be the most beneficial (for example, NSDS). Because many African countries have already adopted the 1968 and 1993 SNA, most economic statistics could be routinely available based on the SNA. Among the most serious weaknesses in the African Statistical System are the gaps in financial, human and technical resources, the lack of harmonization among countries and frequent non-alignment to international standards.
Major constraints include: the lack of predictable and sustained funding; inadequate administrative autonomy and professional independence in the NSS. These problems urgently need remedies, as they result in fragile and vulnerable national statistical systems that can hamper each step of data production. The following section on “The Way Forward” discusses how this process could be improved. The outlook for the African Statistical System is highly contingent on external factors which could impede or favor development.
The external environment is, in fact, quite favorable, although a number of potential threats must be avoided. Africa’s statistical community should take advantage of the increased demand for quality macroeconomic statistics and for evidence-based policy-making. Countries should make maximum use of available resources and opportunities for technical assistance and capacity-building, such as the AfDB Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (PARIS21) and the NSDS initiatives. The region should also seize the opportunities presented by the 2010 RPHC, and implementation of the 2008
A Road Map for Promoting Minority Ownership in the Wireless Industry Dr Lendy Spires
Affectionately known as the “Godfather of Minority Venture Capital,” Herb’s strong belief in the potential of minority businessmen and women motivated him to take risks that many others feared to take, leaving behind a legacy of success in minority-owned businesses in the communications industries.
Herb revolutionized minority entrepreneurship in the broadcasting, cable, telecom and wireless industries through his successful venture capital funds, Syndicated Communications, Inc., and Syncom Venture Partners, funds that, collectively, have invested nearly a half-billion dollars in approximately 150 minority-owned communications business enterprises over the past 35 years. With a mission to diversify the ownership of media and telecom in the United States, Herb, along with his long-time partners Terry Jones, Duane McKnight and the Syncom team, adopted a winning approach by investing in deals other venture capital firms refused, and sharing the risks and rewards of their investments with other minority venture capitalists through syndication-style investments.
The Syncom Funds not only made financial investments in minority entrepreneurs, but they also incubated them to help to ensure their success. Consistent with that vision, Syncom advised and invested in major industry icons and brands that include Bob Johnson of BET Holdings, Inc. and District Cablevision; Cathy Hughes and Alfred Liggins of Radio One and TV One; Moctesuma Esparza of Buena Vista Television and Maya Cinemas; Tom Castro of El Dorado Communications; Simplink Corporation; SiTV; Amador Bustos of Z-Spanish Media Corp, and made investments in two wireless companies, Movistar (Puerto Rico) and PrimeCo Wireless Communications LLC (Chicago).
Herb served on the boards of many of the companies in which Syncom invested. Notably, he served, along with cable television industry pioneer John Malone, on the board of directors of BET Holdings, Inc., helping to advise his friend and business partner Bob Johnson, who later became the first African American billionaire when BET was sold to Viacom. Herb, Bob Johnson, and former FCC Commissioner Tyrone Brown were the braintrust for BET’s future investments and would help to spawn initiatives to increase minority ownership, including the FCC tax certificate. And prior to becoming FCC Chairman, William E. Kennard was hand-selected by Herb to serve as Syncom’s primary outside counsel for a number of years. Herb’s numerous investments culminated in the acquisition of the $6 billion Iridium Satellite Corporation as part of a team of private investors who purchased Iridium from Motorola out of bankruptcy for $25 million, then led Iridium to a turnaround success.
Agenda: “Embedding Regulatory Policy in Law and PracticeOECD Governance
Agenda of the 7th Expert Meeting on Measuring Regulatory Performance: Embedding Regulatory Policy in Law and Practice which took place in Reykjavik, 18-19 June 2015. Further information is available at http://www.oecd.org/gov/regulatory-policy/measuring-regulatory-performance.htm
James Mackie – Senior Advisor
EU External Action Programme
Workshop: How to promote Policy Coherence and Policy Coherence for Development approaches in the Post-2015 framework?
12 June 2014, Berlaymont Building, Room WHALL (Rue de la Loi 200, 1049 Bruxelles, Belgium)
Budgeting for societal goals: Putting it all together - Andrew BLAZEY, OECDOECD Governance
This presentation was made by Andrew BLAZEY, OECD, at the OECD-MENA meeting dedicated to Budgeting for Societal Outcomes: Gender, Youth and Sustainable Development Goals Budgeting, held in Caserta, Italy, on 18-19 July 2019
Public Governance Seminar - What works: Towards Evidence Informed Policy MakingOECD Governance
The objective of this seminar is to examine emerging national models for evidence-informed policy and to explore opportunities for international co-operation in the increasingly global movement to synthesis evidence on What Works in a range of policy interventions.
There is growing international interest in the use of a What Works approach and in building a global evidence-base for policy interventions.
This seminar asks the question: what would be the benefits of international co-operation and what practically could the OECD do to support this international agenda?
For more information see www.oecd.org/gov
This draft paper outlines key issues and provides insights on implementing cross agency initiatives.
Delegates are invited to comment on the draft paper and reflect on the concluding questions for
discussion.
1. Briefing Paper
September 2013
Achieving Policy Coherence
for Development through a
Whole of Government Approach
Recommendations
Since Ireland adopted PCD in
2007, some progress has been
made in building awareness
across government
departments. In order to move
forward, however, and address
the weaknesses identified for
addressing PCD, the
institutional mechanisms need
to be strengthened. Some
recommendations on how this
can be done include:
1. Assign responsibility for
PCD to the Department of
the Taoiseach
2. Establish a strong
monitoring and evaluation
framework
3. Development focal points
within Government
Departments
4. Promoting Parliamentary
Oversight and Legislative
Competences
5. Facilitate Partner Country
Engagement
6. Promote engagement with
civil society organisations
on PCD
Working for
a just world
Introduction
Ireland’s relationship with the developing world takes many forms. Development aid is a
critical dimension of this, but broader policies relating to environment, energy, trade,
taxation and investment are equally important. In an increasingly interdependent world,
relationships with developing countries involve a growing number of government policies
and departments.
Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) is a process which seeks to ensure that
investments in overseas aid are supported, or at the very least, not undermined by non-aid
policies implemented by national governments, such as Ireland, and blocks like the EU.1
Over the past decade, Trócaire has been an advocate for Ireland to strengthen its approach
to PCD.2Trócaire’s submission on the White Paper on Irish Aid (2006) argued for PCD to be a
central organising principle of Irish Aid policy, a call which it reiterated in its’ 2012
submission to the White Paper Review. The submission called for strengthened institutional
mechanisms that deliver on PCD in Ireland.
Many of Trócaire’s advocacy priorities are concerned with the impacts of government
policies which sit outside the remit of Irish Aid, such as climate change, agricultural
investment or humanitarian and security policies.3 Given the changing external context, the
ongoing financial crisis, the increasing pressures from climate change, Ireland’s new Africa
Strategy and the Post-2015 discussion, it is timely to review what PCD means and how can
Ireland make meaningful progress.
This briefing paper4 assesses the current strengths and weaknesses of Ireland’s institutional
mechanisms to ensure PCD. A key finding is that whilst the institutional structures in Ireland
have been raising awareness and sharing information on PCD across government
departments, that is not enough to actually drive greater coherence for development.
Ireland now needs to lay out a specific framework and timeline on how it will deliver its
commitments on PCD.
The paper outlines proposals on how Ireland can enhance its institutional mechanisms for
PCD. By making progress on the outlined areas, such as the adoption of a coherent set of
indicators for assessing policy coherence, Ireland will be at the forefront of mainstreaming
responsibility on PCD across whole of government.
1 Barry, F., King, M., Matthews, A. (2009) “Policy Coherence for Development: The State of Play in Ireland.” Institute
for International Integration Studies, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.
http://www.tcd.ie/iiis/documents/discussion/pdfs/PCD_report.pdf. Pg. 207
2 Trócaire was the first Irish NGO to highlight PCD during a conference on the MDGs as part of the Irish Presidency
of the EU in 2004. Its paper “More than A Numbers Game?” in preparation for the MDG Review Summit in 2005
highlighted policy coherence around MDG 8.
3 This briefing paper focuses on the institutional mechanisms that underpin Ireland’s overall approach to PCD,
rather than on any policy in particular. For specific analysis and recommendations on policies relating to the
environment, energy, agriculture and finance see: http://www.trocaire.org/resources/policy-papers
4 Trócaire would like to thank Eoghan Molloy and Christine Matz from the TCD-UCD Masters in Development
Practice for carrying out excellent research for Trócaire from which this briefing is based on. Their paper, “Policy
Coherence for Development: What Institutional Framework will support a coherence agenda for development in
Ireland” can be found at, http://www.irishaid.gov.ie/media/irishaid/allwebsitemedia/20newsandpublications/
publicationpdfsenglish/whitepapersubmissions/christine-matz-and-eoghan-molloy.pdf.
2. Achieving Policy Coherence for Development through a Whole of Government Approach
PCD: an obligation under EU law
PCD makes sense, but from the perspective of
effective policy making, it is more than just a ‘good
thing’ to do. Since the signing of the Lisbon Treaty in
2009, PCD has become a legal obligation of all EU
member states. Article 208 states that all EU policies
must take into consideration development objectives:
at best, this means that all EU policies must be in
support of developing countries’ development needs,
or at least not contradict the aim of poverty reduction
and eradication.
Whilst the EU sets this legal framework, the onus is on
individual countries to transpose this into national
frameworks, leaving much scope for interpretation. A
recent discussion paper on national systems for PCD
finds that the linkages between national systems on
PCD and the EU structures on PCD remain weak.5
Furthermore, there is limited national level awareness
on PCD commitments made at the EU level and these
commitments have minimal impact on the member
countries PCD processes.6
Trócaire, in line with CONCORD, the European
confederation of development NGOs, believes that a
human-rights based approach is central when defining
and implementing this PCD obligation. Development
and human rights are intertwined: without respect for
human rights it is hard to achieve sustainable
development. Therefore, human rights should be used
as objective criteria, amongst others, to evaluate the
impact of the policies and the extent of the policy
coherence.
The Irish Institutional Framework for PCD
“In the coming period, we will specify policy areas
where coherence can be enhanced, as well as indicators
to track performance.... We will also promote greater
coherence of EU policies, as reported on annually in the
EU Report on Policy Coherence for Development.”
One World, One Future, (2013)7
Formal and informal mechanisms across government
departments have existed over the years to ensure a
coherent approach across a number of issues, as seen by
the box on the National Action Plan (NAP) for UNSCR
1325. PCD became official government policy in the White
Paper on Irish Aid (2006) which explicitly committed to
taking a PCD approach across government departments.8
This commitment is restated in Ireland’s new policy for
development, “One World, One Future”, where coherence
is listed as one of the seven values underpinning the
overall policy.
As a result of the 2006 White Paper, the Inter-Departmental
Committee on Development (IDCD) was set up in 2007 as
the main institutional mechanism for supporting PCD. It is
chaired by the Minister of State for Trade and
Development, consists of representatives from each
relevant government department, and Irish Aid provides
the Secretariat of the Committee.
The Terms of Reference of the IDCD defines its role as a
consultative and advisory forum for inter-departmental
coherence,and as a forum to facilitate the best use of
expertise across the public service in Ireland’s
development aid programme.9 In this capacity, the IDCD
provides an administrative and institutional support
mechanism for promoting PCD across government
departments.
The IDCD initially met quite regularly, with fourteen
meetings since its inception in 2007.10 These meetings
have taken place on average three times per year, starting
off with good representation across most government
departments. In the last few years, however, the frequency
of meetings has declined substantially. In addition, the
actual consistency of representation by individual
attendees varied between departments and over time.
A key focus of the IDCD has been knowledge gathering
and information sharing across Government departments.
The Committee received at least fifteen presentations on
various issues throughout its initial period. One of these
presentations was given by umbrella NGO organisation
Dóchas, none were given by individual NGOs, and there
were no presentations made by representatives of Irish
Aid’s nine partner countries.
Three categories of mechanisms
for promoting PCD:
An evaluation study of twelve EU Member
States (Mackie, J. et al 2007) identified specific
‘mechanisms’ for promoting PCD. These
mechanisms can be divided into three
categories:
1. Explicit policy statements of intent
2. Administrative and institutional mechanisms
(such as inter-departmental coordination
committees and specialist coherence units)
3. Knowledge-input and knowledge-assessment
mechanisms (information and
analysis capacity)
5 Galeazzi, Greta et al. 2013. “Insights from Development in National Policy Coherence for Development Systems: Key Cross Cutting Issues and
Dilemmas.” Discussion paper No. 144, April 2013. European Centre for Development Policy Management, Netherlands. Pg. 24
6 Ibid. Pg. 24
7 Irish Aid. 2013. “One World, One Future: Ireland’s Policy for International Development.” Government of Ireland. Dublin, Ireland. Pg. 28
8 Irish Aid. 2006. “White Paper on Irish Aid.” Government of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland.
http://www.irishaid.ie/media/irishaid/allwebsitemedia/20newsandpublications/publicationpdfsenglish/white-paper-english-2006.pdf Pg. 9
9 Matz, Christine and Eoghan Molloy, “Policy Coherence for Development: What Institutional Framework will support a coherence agenda for development
in Ireland.” pg. 45
10 The minutes of these meetings are published on the Irish Aid website along with Annual Reports.
3. Achieving Policy Coherence for Development through a Whole of Government Approach
Subgroups have been an important mechanism
through which the IDCD has carried out its work. Two
subgroups were established to look at skill sets and
multilateral organisations. These subgroups have
played an important role in increasing awareness
across government departments of Irish Aid’s work,
for example the subgroup on skills hosted lunchtime
educational seminars in each Government
department.
In addition to this formal process on PCD, as
mentioned at the beginning of this section, there
already exists a number of cross-departmental
processes that touch on development and coherence
but that may not be on the IDCD’s agenda. These
processes offer both lessons on how to strengthen
the work of the IDCD, as showcased by the box on the
NAP, as well as opportunities to link these processes
together with formal mechanisms addressing PCD.
Assessment of the Current
Institutional Framework
In Ireland’s new policy for international development,
“One World, One Future”, the Government
recognises the need for PCD mechanisms to be
strengthened. This is backed by a number of
independent studies of Ireland’s PCD mechanisms
that have been undertaken in recent years.11
On the whole, Ireland has been commended for its
action on policy coherence. It is still one of a small
number of countries who have taken this issue
seriously. In its Peer Review of Irish Aid in 2009, the
OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC)
recognised Ireland’s progress on policy coherence.
The review acknowledged that dialogue among
government officials on PCD issues had increased
since the IDCD’s creation.
Whilst acknowledging the positive steps taken
towards PCD, the independent studies also point to
the underlying issues in the current mechanisms and
ways to address these. Overall, there is agreement
that the role of the IDCD has been useful, but limited.
Whilst it provides a formal institutional mechanism
for PCD and has facilitated the publishing of several
reports, it has yet to play an active role in actual
policy assessment and review.
The IDCD, as currently formulated, does not have
the mandate to actively assess polices. Moreover, as
it meets too infrequently, it is unable to review
issues of policy coherence systematically.12
Before new mechanisms are implemented, it is
therefore timely to consider the research findings on
PCD which have emerged in the past few years so as
to ensure that any new measures will address the
weaknesses in the existing Irish PCD mechanisms.
Key role of informal mechanisms
An OECD Policy Brief (2008), ‘Policy Coherence for
Development – Lessons Learned’, explicitly states
that “informal mechanisms have tended to be seen
as sufficient” for Ireland.13 An evaluation study of
twelve EU Member States recommended that the
importance of such informal mechanisms should
not be underestimated and that the use of such
linkages both internally within government and
externally with other stakeholders should be
encouraged at all levels.14
Whilst informal mechanisms can go a long way to
‘oil the wheels’ and ensure that policy objectives are
progressed, the same study cautions that such
mechanisms do not guarantee that sufficient staff
time and capacity is allocated to securing adequate
knowledge input and assessments of PCD.15 It goes
further in suggesting that the complexity and time
consuming nature of the processes required to
promote PCD means that informal processes are
clearly insufficient on their own. There is therefore a
need for both an informal PCD system and a formal
PCD system made up of several complimentary
mechanisms working in tandem.16
11 Main studies done on PCD include: Galeazzi, Greta et al. 2013. “Insights from Development in National Policy Coherence for Development
Systems: Key Cross Cutting Issues and Dilemmas.”; Barry, F., King, M., Matthews, A. (2009) “Policy Coherence for Development: The State
of Play in Ireland.”; OECD DAC Peer Review, Ireland 2009; King, M., Matthews, A. (2011) “Policy Coherence for Development: Indicators
for Ireland.
12 Galeazzi, Greta et al. 2013. Op Cit. Pg. 17
13 OECD. 2008, “Policy Coherence for Development – Lessons Learned’, Policy Brief.”December 2008.
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/32/8/41866464.pdf. p.5
14 Mackie, J. et al (2007) “Evaluation Study on the EU Institutions & member States’ mechanisms for Promoting Policy Coherence for
Development.” Studies in European Development Co-operation Evaluation 7. Amsterdam: Aksant Academic Publishers.
http://www.three-cs.net. p.16, p.32, p.72, p.78
15 Ibid. p.32
16 Ibid. p.72
4. Achieving Policy Coherence for Development through a Whole of Government Approach
Sweden’s approach to PCD
In 2003, the Swedish parliament adopted a new and
groundbreaking Policy for Global Development (PGD)
that placed policy coherence for development at the
heart of Sweden’s approach to development. The
PGD encompasses all areas of policy and proposes
one common objective: to contribute to an equitable
and sustainable global development. While the
Department for Development Policy at the Ministry
for Foreign Affairs is responsible for the coordination
of Sweden’s Policy for Global Development, all policy
areas and ministries share the responsibility for the
implementation of global development policy.
The Swedish government’s efforts in institutionalising
PCD have been highly commended in the OECD-DAC
Peer Review of Sweden in 2009. The OECD-DAC peer
review affirms that Sweden has a strong policy and
legislative basis for PCD, however, it notes that
implementation has been challenging, most notably
in the area of monitoring and reporting. The Peer
Review also noted that there was a lack of sufficient
awareness of the Policy for Global Development
outside of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Though Sweden has yet to identify indicators for the
monitoring of the PGD or to engage external
assessors,17 various NGO’s and Civil Society
Organisations in Sweden have provided
comprehensive PCD monitoring of Swedish policy in
the Coherence Barometers. The Barometer reports
grade specific policies across government
departments in an accessible and user-friendly format.
The report has generated strong media interest and
government dialogue in parliament on issues such as
tax evasion, arms trade, and trade agreements.
Swedish CSOs have argued that while the
Government has been strong on promoting synergies
between policy areas, it hardly addresses the
fundamental challenge of handling inconsistencies.
Despite the strong legislative base for policy
coherence, incoherencies still remain with regard to
issues such as the Swedish arms trade, investments
and conditionalities on poor country policies. The
policy has helped to make this lack of coherence more
open and transparent, but done little to address deep
rooted conflicts of interest.
A key lesson from Sweden’s experience is that without
other building blocks in place, relating to systematic
inter-departmental coordination and incentives and a
framework for monitoring and reporting progress,
incoherence will remain. Moreover, they have learnt
that it is much more difficult to achieve coherence in
some policy areas than in others. This led to a
significant rethink and in its 2008 communication on
the implementation of the PGD, the Swedish
government presented a reformed policy that aimed to
be more results-based. This was followed by
subsequent communications in 2010 and 2012 which
proposed further amendments to PGD implementation
measures.
Ownership across government
The issue of where responsibility for driving PCD sits
is another key issue. At present, despite the existence
of the IDCD, Irish Aid is still regarded as the main
government department driving PCD. This has clear
benefits. Above all, there is a clear understanding that
poverty eradication and human rights are at the centre
of PCD as this is what explicitly drives Irish Aid policy.
Secondly, Irish Aid has the legitimacy to champion
PCD and engage with other government departments
on priority issues.
The drawbacks of this, however, are that progress on
PCD could be seen by others as the responsibility of
Irish Aid and therefore limits the buy in of these
departments.18 This also may limit knowledge of PCD
outside of Irish Aid, as was the case in Sweden’s
experience, where knowledge on PCD and its
implications remain limited outside of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs. The risk is therefore that PCD remains
at a level of information sharing against a background
of divergent and possibly conflicting policy objectives.
At best, it may lead to a series of initiatives where
synergies are identified on a ‘win win’ basis. Where there
are critical, systemic factors thought to be undermining
PCD out of Irish Aid’s control, it may have a limited
mandate to intervene in the absence of a clear policy
assessment framework.
Addressing internal analytical capacity
Making the shift from information sharing, to addressing
potential areas of policy incoherence requires analytical
and research capacity on which rigorous assessment can
be based. Until now there has been no means of
measuring progress (or the lack of it) towards PCD.
Assessment and evaluation are fundamental aspects of
any PCD mechanism and this is reflected in the explicit
mention of monitoring and evaluation in the Terms of
Reference of the IDCD.19
17 OECD. 2011. “DAC mid-term review of Sweden.” http://www.regeringen.se/content/1/c6/17/30/04/40322a14.pdf
18 Galeazzi, Greta et al. 2013. Op Cit. Pg. 16
19 Terms of reference for the IDCD can be found at: http://www.irishaid.gov.ie/media/irishaid/allwebsitemedia/20newsandpublications/
publicationpdfsenglish/whitepapersubmissions/christine-matz-and-eoghan-molloy.pdf
5. Achieving Policy Coherence for Development through a Whole of Government Approach
The lack of this research capacity was identified by the
OECD Peer Review in 2009. While Irish Aid acts as the
IDCD’s Secretariat, according to the Peer Review, they
lack the required ongoing institutional capacity to
conduct research and analyse policies for coherence
or to trace policy coherence impacts once these have
been identified.20 Irish Aid currently relies on outside
sources for analytical inputs and research relevant to
its policy agenda. It is unclear, however, to what extent
the recommendations from such external bodies are
implemented.
Two major studies into PCD were commissioned from
the Institute for International Integration Studies (IIIS)
at Trinity College Dublin. The second study, ‘Policy
Coherence for Development: Indicators for Ireland,’21
presents and discusses 52 indicators across eight
policy areas. In addition to proposing a monitoring
framework, the first IIIS report recommended the use
of development impact assessments (DIA’s) by all
government departments as a means of ex-ante policy
evaluation.22 Such measures would require a reliable
set of indicators such that the forecasting of possible
effects of different interventions could be determined
at the policy design phase. This would also require
ongoing internal analytical capacity to implement as
well as rigorous training of departmental officials
across all government sectors.
Building Political Support for PCD
By its nature, PCD can be contentious as it identifies
inconsistencies and potential conflicts between
departments that might adversely affect developing
countries. Addressing such conflicts may not result in
a “win win” situation and the objectives of one policy
may need to be altered to take account of the
development objective. As well as strengthened
internal research and analytical capacity, this requires
guidance from the highest levels of government as
well as the Oireachtas.
The DAC Peer Review suggests that institutionalised
reporting to Parliament on PCD would help facilitate
this process.23 For this to happen, the Oireachtas in
general, and the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs
and Trade in particular, need to play a stronger role in
the institutional PCD structure.24 The first IIIS report
also recommends parliamentary oversight as a means
of improving PCD mechanisms in Ireland.25
20 OECD DAC Peer Review, Ireland. 2009. Op Cit. p.12
21 King, M., Matthews, A. 2011. “Policy Coherence for Development: Indicators for Ireland. Institute for International Integration Studies, Trinity
College Dublin, Ireland.
22 Barry, F., King, M., Matthews, A. 2009. Op Cit. Pg. 163
23 OECD DAC Peer Review Ireland. 2009. Op Cit. Pg.13
24 Ibid. Pg.31
25 Barry, F., King, M., Matthews, A. (2009) Op Cit. Pg. 163
26 Irish Aid. 2013. Op Cit. Pg. 28
27 Galeazzi, Greta et al. 2013. Op Cit. Pg. 28
28 Ibid. Pg. 20
In its new policy for International Development, the
Government explicitly identifies a role for the
Oireachtas, where the biennial report on Ireland’s
progress on PCD will be submitted to the Joint
Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade by the Minister
of State for Trade and Development.26 This report will
also be submitted to the Government. This step is a
much needed and welcome step forward. Though for
the Oireachtas to play a meaningful role, lessons should
be learnt from countries that are already doing this, such
as Sweden and the Netherlands, because even in these
cases where reports on PCD were presented to the
Parliament, their role on PCD was still seen as under-utilised.
Engagement of Key Stakeholders
The current mechanisms for PCD in Ireland allow limited
scope for the engagement of key stakeholders such as
developing partner countries and NGOs, especially Irish
Aid partner agencies. There is a clear rationale for
engaging partner countries in PCD, in the first instance
to gain a clearer understanding of the overall “footprint”
of different national government policies and how these
impact developing countries. Very little knowledge has
been gained in this area.27 The first IIIS report
recommended that engagement with Irish Aid partner
countries be strengthened and encouraged. This
engagement is supported at the EU level, where at the
May 2012 EU Development Council the conclusions
called for a country-based dialogue on PCD.
A number of NGOs such as Trócaire are partners of Irish
Aid and in receipt of significant funding. PCD related
issues regularly surface in NGO advocacy work on areas
such as taxation, climate change and food security for
developing countries. There is an opportunity here for
engagement, especially if NGOs can bring to the IDCD’s
attention where these issues of incoherence exist and
concrete implications of it for the communities and
countries they work with. In addition, NGOs can raise
awareness and sustain the visibility of PCD on national
and international levels, and work with the Oireachtas in
relation to ensuring oversight of government policies on
PCD. Lessons in this regard can be learnt from other
countries. Finland has developed mechanisms for
engaging civil society in PCD.28 Sweden, on the other
hand, as can be seen from the box, has produced a
coherence barometer which civil society can use to hold
the government to account.
6. Achieving Policy Coherence for Development through a Whole of Government Approach
Lessons on cross-department coherence:
The National Action Plan for UNSCR 132529
In 2011, Ireland produced a National Action Plan
(NAP)30 to implement its UN obligations on
women, peace and security under UNSCR 1325.
The NAP runs from 2011-2014, and as a policy
mechanism provides a common framework to
increase coherence, action and visibility on
women, peace and security work with specific
actions assigned to relevant departments and
agencies. While it is still a new initiative, this
experience provides lessons on which to draw for
institutionalising PCD.
Delivery of the NAP is the responsibility of a range
of government departments and agencies.
Implementation is a key priority for most divisions
and units in the Department of Foreign Affairs and
Trade. It is equally a priority for the Department of
Defence and the Irish Defence Forces, and An
Garda Síochána – both of which deploy personnel
to conflict-affected countries. The NAP also
touches on domestic policy through the
experiences of migrant women in Ireland affected
by conflict, for whom relevant decisions are made
by the Health Service Executive and the
Department of Justice and Equality. The NAP
offers a good example of how to embed PCD
across the various government departments.
The Conflict Resolution Unit in the Department of
Foreign Affairs and Trade has responsibility for
leadership and oversight of the plan; however, it is
not clear exactly who is responsible for
implementing NAP actions across government.
This may be a similar problem to what the IDCD
faces.
A significant innovation of Ireland’s NAP is the
Monitoring Group, which oversees the
implementation and monitoring carried out by
departments and agencies and reviews the
outcome through reports from the respective
bodies. Membership of the Monitoring Group
includes relevant government departments and
agencies, and representatives of civil society and
academia. The group is chaired by an independent
chair. At present, the Monitoring Group is the only
space in which all government departments with
responsibility for delivering the NAP meet.
The NAP comprises a strategy with five pillars,
with a monitoring framework outlining responsible
statutory actors with indicators and timelines. An
18 month mid-term progress report was carried
out and reviewed by the Monitoring Group; this
was then presented to the Tánaiste, the President,
and the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and
Trade. In this way, the Monitoring Group through
its chair works to ensure involvement and
ownership by parliamentarians. As a mechanism
for accountability the Monitoring Group serves as
an example to draw on for operationalising PCD.
The process is in very early stages. Strengths
include the strong commitment to UNSCR 1325
across the lead departments; the involvement of
civil society and academia both in the drafting of
the strategy and its monitoring; the existence of a
strong monitoring and evaluation framework;
mechanisms to ensure parliamentary oversight
and ownership; and promotion of UNSCR 1325 in
international and regional arenas. Weaknesses
include the lack of baseline data against which to
monitor, and inconsistencies in the level and
nature of monitoring data; a somewhat ad hoc
approach to implementation across different
departments and agencies, which do not meet
regularly outside of Monitoring Group Meetings;
and a lack of clarity on the relationship between
this National Action Plan and those of conflict-affected
countries with which Ireland interacts. It is
important that in developing a framework for
delivering PCD, this experience is reflected and
drawn on.
29 This box is based on the Mid-Term Progress Report on the Implementation of Ireland’s National Action Plan for UNSCR 1325, 2011-2014 by Bronagh
Hinds and Karen McMinn
30 The National Action Plan can be found at http://www.dfa.ie/uploads/documents/CRU/national%20action%20plan%20(web).pdf
7. Achieving Policy Coherence for Development through a Whole of Government Approach
Recommendations
Since PCD became official policy in 2006, some
progress has been made in building awareness
across government departments. In order to
move forward, however, and address the
weaknesses identified above, the mechanisms
need to be strengthened.
In the recent Policy, four practical proposals to
strengthen PCD: i) to identify specific policy areas
where coherence will be enhanced, ii) identify
indicators to measure performance, iii) produce a
biennial report on Ireland’s progress on PCD
which will be submitted to the Government and
the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade
and iv) finally that the oversight role of the IDCD
will be strengthened.31 Trócaire recognises that
these measures, when implemented, will
significantly improve the PCD mechanisms and
address many of the issues highlighted above.
Trócaire welcomes these proposals and will seek
to support their implementation.
In addition to these measures, Trócaire
recommends the following to specifically address
weaknesses highlighted in this briefing:
1. Assign responsibility for PCD to the
Department of the Taoiseach
In the absence of overarching legislation that
Sweden has, one way forward is to have ultimate
responsibility for PCD resting with the
Department of the Taoiseach, thereby ensuring an
all-of-government approach to policy coherence.
At present, it is not clear whether Irish Aid has
sufficient political backing and institutional
support to effectively address any inconsistencies
and potential conflicts between departments that
might adversely affect developing countries.
In assigning responsibility for PCD with the
Department of the Taoiseach, it is important for
the department to bring together parallel cross-department
initiatives that address development
issues but that may not have previously sat in
the IDCD.
31 Irish Aid. 2013. Op Cit. Pg. 28
2. Establish a strong monitoring and evaluation
framework
Effective monitoring and evaluating procedures
and mechanisms must be in place so that policies
can be effectively implemented and assessed as
to how they are performing. This information is
important to policy makers and can help them to
refine or re-prioritise policy instruments and
objectives as needed to maintain their coherence
over time. Furthermore, the adoption of a
comprehensive set of indicators for assessment
of policy coherence would place Ireland at the
forefront of evaluative PCD measures.
The new policy on international development
clearly states that Ireland will develop indicators
to monitor its progress on PCD. This could be
accomplished by creating another subgroup
within the IDCD with the specific task of
monitoring and evaluation of policy coherence
for development. It would be important that input
and feedback from civil society and partner
countries are looked for in identifying and
developing these indicators. Human rights needs
to be at the heart of this framework.
3. Development focal points within Government
Departments
At present, responsibility for development issues
in the Irish Government rests solely within the
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,
specifically within Irish Aid. One way to broaden
this responsibility is to select a ‘Development
Focal Point’ or Representative within each
government department, with the responsibility
for development issues concerning their
respective departments. Sufficient time and
resources should be allocated to these individuals
so that they have adequate capacity to deal with
the relevant issues.
These Focal Points should then represent their
respective Departments on the IDCD. From the
analysis of the IDCD meetings minutes, it seems
that departmental representation on the
Committee varied from meeting to meeting,
whereas a designated Departmental
Development Representative would ensure
consistency. A similar system of development
representation across government ministries has
worked in Sweden and has been praised by the
OECD-DAC peer Review of Sweden (2009).
8. Achieving Policy Coherence for Development through a Whole of Government Approach
4. Promoting Parliamentary Oversight
and Legislative Competences
It is critical that there is sufficient
parliamentary oversight of PCD
mechanisms in Ireland, this will be
partially achieved through the Minister of
State for Trade and Development
submitting biennial reports to the
Oireachtas. At the same time through,
the IIIS report suggests that as PCD is a
policy agenda that spreads across a
number of Oireachtas Committees, and
not just the Joint Committee on Foreign
Affairs and Trade, more stringent
parliamentary oversight may be
needed.32
This could be complemented by Ireland
setting up a similar framework to the
European Parliament (EP), where an
MEP, who is on the Development
Committee, is appointed as standing
rapportuer on PCD, with a two year
mandate. The task of the standing
rapportuer is principally to promote PCD
in the Parliament, across committees
and across political groups. The standing
rapportuer is the author of the EP’s PCD
report, which is published usually every
2 years, following the EU’s report on
PCD. In addition, the biennial report on
PCD should be the topic of a Daíl debate.
5. Facilitate Partner Country Engagement
There is significant scope to strengthen
the mechanisms on PCD engagement
with Irish Aid’s nine partner countries.
Such engagement could take the form of
evaluative case studies within partner
countries whereby the impact of Irish
policy, particularly in agricultural and
trade policies, could be assessed in a
developing country context. This will
help maximize the positive impact of
Ireland’s approach to development
cooperation and help create a much
clearer understanding of the impact of
incoherence.
6. Promote engagement with civil society
organisations on PCD
It is important that both Irish Aid and
civil society organisations work together
in greater collaboration to achieve a
stronger approach in promoting
development concerns at a policy level.
To this end, the IDCD could facilitate
greater interaction through creating a
mechanism for facilitating systematic
engagement on PCD issues with civil
society organisations. At the same time,
civil society organisations need to take a
more proactive stance in seeking
engagement with the IDCD. Civil society
organisations could also provide a
valuable evaluative service in the form of
a shadow coherence barometer report,
similar to the Swedish collaboration.
For further information
please contact:
Susan Cullen
|MIS and Logistics Support
Policy & Campaigns
Trócaire Maynooth,
Co Kildare, Ireland
Tel: +353 (0)1 629 3333
Email: scullen@trocaire.ie
www.trocaire.org
Working for
a just world 32 Barry, F. et al. 2009. Op Cit. Pg.163