This document proposes a Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development Assistance (FSSDA) to help bilateral donor agencies orient official development assistance towards sustainable development. The FSSDA is based on the Strategic Sustainable Development approach and uses a five-level framework. An assessment found that while agencies recognize sustainability, their approaches currently lack holistic perspectives and strategic planning tools like backcasting. Adopting an FSSDA could help donors foster sustainability in recipient countries through flexible, recipient-led development and addressing root causes of issues like poverty and environmental degradation. Experts provided mixed feedback, seeing opportunities and challenges to operationalizing such an approach.

1. A Strategic Approach to Sustainable Development throughOfficial Development Assistance A S Antonios Balaskas, Eduardo Lima, Tyler Seed May 2009 B T E L STABLE

2. OUTLINE IntroMethodsResultsDiscussionConclusion

4. Conflicts motivated by natural resources depletion

5. Diminished ecosystem services

6. Rising of commodities prices, etc.Official Development Assistance Over 50 years wealthy countries have donated financial resources to recipients for the purpose of development and poverty reduction. Amount of resources: 100 billion dollars per year.

7. History of Official Development Assistance (ODA)

10. Debt ReliefAdapted from The World Bank 2008, 14-15

12. Projects and ProgramsRecipient Countries

13. ODA Effectiveness Challenges Need for recipient country ownership. Aid fragmentation. Aid conditionality and its sometimes undermining effect on normal democratic processes. Aid dependence. Gap between donor commitments and expenditure (predictability).

14. MDGs and Paris Declaration represent efforts to address the challenges. Millennium Development Goals a set of 8 goals related primarily to poverty reduction Paris Declaration focused on improving the quality/effectiveness of cooperation and coordination between donors and recipients Ownership Alignment Harmonization Managing for results Mutual accountability

15. “It is increasingly understood that global poverty, economic development, social aspects and environmental concerns need to be seen in a broader and holistic perspective.” (Progress on EU Sustainable Development Strategy Final Report, 2008) "There is a strong need for strategic, longer-term approaches, which are taken forward by developing countries themselves – with the support of donors." (Progress on EU Sustainable Development Strategy, 110)

17. METHODS

19. Initial FSSDA model: how FSSD would be used in the ODA;

21. Agencies´ materials;

22. Reports and evaluations by multilateral organizations;

23. Peer-reviewed articles;

24. Inputs from independent research centres and universities;

25. Refamiliarization with published SSD literature.

26. USAID, CIDA, EC-DGD, SIDA, DFID, NORAD, BMZ and Dutch MFA;

27. Policies, strategies, goals and practices were reviewed and organized into a generic 5LF.

28. Explains how the FSSD could be used by ODA agencies.

29. A result of the authors' initial research and understandings of the ODA system and SSD.

30. FSSDA: to support ODA agencies in using aid to foster strategic development towards sustainability.

31. The organized policies, strategies and goals were evaluated against the model provided by the FSSDAHow would a donor agency work to foster and stimulate strategic development towards sustainability in recipient countries? 2. How do donor agencies currently plan and make decisions related to sustainable development in recipient countries? 3. What are the gaps between the hypothetical model and current ODA donor agency approaches to sustainable development? In what ways can application of the SSD approach support bilateral donor country agencies in orienting official development assistance to best foster sustainable development in recipient countries?

32. RESULTS

33. Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development Assistance (FSSDA) Answering secondary question #1: How would a donor agency work to foster and stimulate strategic development towards sustainability in recipient countries?

34. FSSDA System Level: Society within the biosphere, including the ecological and social laws/rules/norms. The key structures, institutions, relationships and tools relevant to the ODA System. The key structures, institutions, cultural aspects and capacity of the governance system in recipient country as well as the needs, beliefs and attitudes of the people within that country. Perceived root causes of the poverty at the individual, societal, international and global levels.

35. FSSDA Success Level: Sustainability Principles + Principles for an Attractive Society = Vision (an attractive and sustainable society) Society within the biosphere, existing in compliance with the conditions for socio-ecological sustainability. Positive Principles for an Attractive Society: the definition of principles affirmatively defining an attractive future society should be a product of dialogue between donors and recipients (involving all possible stakeholders).

36. FSSDA Strategic Guidelines Level: Guidelines for Strategic Planning Backcasting (ABCD/Prioritization Considerations). Political consensus: e.g. relevant international agreements (MDGs, Paris Declaration, etc.). Inclusion and cooperation of all parties and stakeholders, etc. Guidelines for Behaviour: donor agencies possess behavioral guidelines for working with recipients Ensuring participation; Maintaining transparency and honesty; Guaranteeing responsibility and accountability; Communicating effectively through dialoguing; Building capacity and developing leadership: strengthening the social fabric.

37. FSSDA Actions Level: General mechanisms of execution: budget support, NGO cooperation, Civil Society cooperation, implementation, grants, technical assistance, inter-agency cooperation, etc. Sectors of implementation: Rural development, territorial planning, agriculture and food security; Energy security; Trade and regional integration; Infrastructure, communications and transport; Democracy, good governance, human rights, rights of children and indigenous peoples, gender equality; Political consensus building; etc.

38. FSSDA Tools Level: Support the actions (level 4) and strategy (level 3) to achieve success (level 2) in the system (level 1). International agreements that apply to ODA effectiveness and strategy; Country strategy papers (like National Sustainable Development Strategies, Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers); Evaluation methodologies,; Indicators and statistics; Etc…

39. ODA Agencies Assessment Answering secondary questions: #2: How do donor agencies currently plan and make decisions related to sustainable development in recipient countries? #3: What are the gaps between the hypothetical model (FSSDA) and current ODA donor agency approaches to sustainable development?

41. FSSDA to analyze operation and organization.

42. Agencies analyzed:

43. US: USAID,

44. Canada: CIDA,

45. European Union: ECDGD,

46. Sweden: SIDA,

47. UK: DFID,

48. Norway: NORAD,

49. German: BMZ,

52. For the most part agencies are oriented towards lessening poverty and hunger, and promoting economic growth (MDGs).

53. Those few agencies that recognize the need to live within environmental limits do not identify those limits concretely.

55. ODA Agencies Assessment Actions Level: General mechanisms of execution: budget support, NGO cooperation, Civil Society cooperation, implementation, grants, technical assistance, inter-agency cooperation, etc. Sectors of implementation: Rural development, territorial planning, agriculture and food security; Energy security; Trade and regional integration; Infrastructure, communications and transport; Democracy, good governance, human rights, rights of children and indigenous peoples, gender equality; Political consensus building; etc.

56. ODA Agencies Assessment Tools Level: International agreements that apply to ODA effectiveness and strategy; Country strategy papers (like National Sustainable Development Strategies, Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers); Evaluation methodologies,; Indicators and statistics; Etc…

57. Answering the main research question In what ways can application of the SSD approach support bilateral donor country agencies in orienting official development assistance to best foster sustainable development in recipient countries? Pursuing socio-environmental sustainability as solid base from which to build lasting and sustainable economies and societies. Allowing for a great deal of flexibility and creativity in recipient-led development tailored to the needs and wishes of recipients themselves. Approaching environmental unsustainability and barriers to people being able to meet their needs as root causes of poverty.

58. Providing decision-making support in pursuing poverty reduction from a holistic systems level perspective. Providing an integrated approach to tackling global sustainability threats such as climate change while minimizing other unforeseen negative sustainability impacts. Balancing economic and social considerations while maintaining progress towards a sustainable society. Providing a fairer basis for aid conditionality grounded in four sustainability principles. Placing sustainability as the fundamental goal of development provides context for various proximate development goals (such as the Millennium Development Goals) and the FSSD's decision-making support allows them to be aligned with each other towards success.

59. DISCUSSION

62. Experts recognize the value of an FSSD type of model to apply to ODA.SSD is simultaneously flexible and concrete enough to promote recipient ownership and ease donor/recipient alignment. Sustainability principles can be taught as a basis for dialogue concerning the ultimate aims of development in a given country Scientific law is a more neutral, universal and demonstrable foundation for bilateral negotiation than political, economic, and social theory.

63. Factors affecting the likelihood of future adoption of an SSD Approach in ODA agencies What donors can do? Maintain transparency. Assist recipients in understanding sustainability as the only firm basis for development. Demonstrate willingness to lead by example. .

64. CONCLUSION

66. SSD approach such as is outlined in the FSSDA could realize the potential of ODA, and improve the efficacy of development assistance.

67. The FSSDA can facilitate development assistance planning towards sustainability.

69. The end!

71. Model should be more flexible

72. SP 4 is considered “problematic”

73. Could create a common ground for donors and recipients

74. Concerns to the practical implementation might be difficult

75. Backcasting was seen as a useful planning methodBased on useful critiques, we reviewed our model.

77. PRSP (Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers);

78. Poverty reduction assessment – exploring the links between poverty and sustainability;

79. The Millennium Development Goals;

80. Private donors organizations.

82. Time constraints

84. Several agencies were analyzed