From Better Theory to Better Practice

Donors are too cautious in rallying behind new aid modalities when implementing their Paris commitments on aid effectiveness, says David Booth and colleagues in a series of studies from the UK's Overseas Development Institute.

Undertaken at the request of Irish Aid, a consortium of research organisations from North and South sought to clarify the relations between governance and poverty reduction.

The result is this series of readable and insightful working documents and papers, available on the ODI website, here: Good Governance, Aid Modalities and Poverty Reduction, 2007-2008.

Subjects range from analysing and assessing governance, lessons from international democracy assistance, understanding the political dimensions in health sector reform, the limits and risks of common funding at sector level to neopatrimonialism in public sector reform in Africa.

The thought provoking Synthesis Report of this two-year research project brings together the major findings and implications for donors. One of its key messages is that there is far too little systematic evaluation or research into what works in governance interventions.

Indeed, if donors want to improve governance systems, they will need to engage in ways that are "better informed, intellectually more modest and sometimes more pro-active," writes Mr Booth et al.

As yet, too many governance diagnostics are about measuring and monitoring and not about understanding what blocks or enables change, or about how donor support can be improved to shore up better governance.