Austrian Development Cooperation in 2007

First published on the Euforic Blog

ADA, the Austrian Development Agency, responsible for the implementation of the Austrian development assistance, recently released its annual report for 2007.

According to the report, ADA further continued its approach of consequent harmonization to make use of the division of labour with other actors in development. This was especially the case in Uganda were ADA took a leading role in the donor community active in the water sector.

ADA was strongly engaged in the European process to increase aid effectiveness, preparing for the revision of the Paris declaration in 2008. Furthermore the agency closely cooperated with other EU member states, especially regarding capacity-building partnerships with new donors in the EU.

Austria also extended its cooperation through direct budget support when Mozambique became the first country to receive general budget report since the beginning of 2008.

See the Annual Report (pdf in German) for additional information

See the Euforic dossier and newsfeed for more information about Austrian development cooperation2

 

New Austrian umbrella organisation for development and humanitarian aid

First published on the Euforic Blog

Since April 2008, the ‘Austrian Platform for Development and Humanitarian Aid‘ is the successor of the ‘Austrian Working Group for Development Cooperation’ (AGEZ) and the Austrian EU-Platform.

At its first press conference (in German) the organization called for an increase in the national aid budget. It aims to become the stakeholder of Austrian NGOs engaged in development policy, humanitarian aid and sustainable global economic, social and ecological development.

The emergence the new organization is not without question. According to an article (in German), the Austrian NGOs scene is wasting away and the new organization is not going to make a difference. The author complains that while German or Swiss NGOs participate in new development campaigns nearly every day, Austrian NGOs are conspicuous by their absence.

Furthermore the author criticizes the Catholic orientation of the new umbrella organization. It seems that Protestant NGOs which were members of the former AGEZ are not participating in the new platform. Additionally he doubts that the mixture of environmental, fair-trade, developmental and humanitarian aid organizations can lead to effective advocacy.

by Martin Behrens

See Euforic newsfeed on Austrian development cooperation.

 

First evaluation of Austrian Development Agency

First published on the Euforic Blog

While the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has the main competence for policy making in Austrian Development Cooperation, the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) is its operational unit, responsible for the implementation of all bilateral programs, including relations with civil society actors and partner countries.

ADA, which was founded under private law in 2004 , should deal with the increasing aid volume planned in the light of the EU goal to increase ODA to 0,33% of each country’s GDP.

Recently the first evaluation study (in German) assessing the management processes, work and role of the ADA in Austrian Development Cooperation was published.

The evaluators made some suggestions to the Austrian Government to improve the ADA’s effectiveness:

• cut red-tape in the relationship between the ADA and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• make better use of the ADAs private character, which should lead to decentralization and a stronger focus on dialogue and trust in the management style
• regular and flexible dialogue with NGOs
• improve project evaluation, including a stronger participation of partner countries

The authors concluded that the ADA has found its feet in the institutional environment and has become a respected actor in Austrian Development Cooperation.

See also Euforic’s country dossier and newsfeed on Austria.

 

Connecting security and development cooperation

First published on the Euforic Blog

Austrian soldiers recently participated in the EU Mission in Chad. Although this was hotly debated in neutral Austria, there was little reflection of the implications of such a mission from a development and humanitarian viewpoint.

The Austrian Journal for Development Policy recently (JEP) devoted an issue to the Security-Development Nexus and asked whether the relationship between security and development is better described as coherence or rivalry.

At an event organised around these themes, Clemens Six from ÖFSE stressed that the increased discussion of security questions should be understood as an opportunity to challenge current concepts and strategies of development cooperation.

Jan Pospisil (Austrian Institute for International Affairs) discussed the inter-connectivity of security and development. The argument that “development needs security” and “security needs development” should not be taken as an uncritical truth.

Gudrun Kramer (Institute for Integrative Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding) commented on the opportunities and constrains of a closer cooperation between security and development actors. While security defines a threat by looking on the actors and asking who is threatening someone and how can this be stopped, developmental and conflict sensible approaches bring more attention to the causes of a conflict, which has usually a societal and socio-economic background.

Kramer pointed out that development policy must not stop by deconstructing the current security-development debate but has to offer alternatives. That’s why one should ask how Austrian development cooperation can develop a more conflict sensitive approach to security issues.

Martina Schloffer (Austrian Red Cross) presented some insights from her practical experience of humanitarian aid actors dealing with the security sector. In her view, it is important to know about each others objectives and mandates. One needs to find a way to work in complementary ways, as no organization alone can offer a solution for a complex conflict situation. It is important to keep the overall perspective and to engage in constant dialogue with all relevant actors. Schloffer noted that private companies constitute a new power which cannot be ignored.

This last point drew comments from the audience where it was pointed out that in Iraq, for example, private security companies already take over development tasks in areas with a high security threats level. This makes it difficult for the local population to distinguish between humanitarian aid and military personnel.

See Euforic newsfeed on security; dossier on Austria; and recent news from ÖFSE

by Martin Behrens