1. A new approach to foreign aid’s application to primary schooling Based on work by Nancy Birdsall, William D Savedoff and Ayah Mahgoub Ayah Mahgoub amahgoub@cgdev.org All Children Reading by 2015: From Assessment to Action April 12-14, 2010 Washington, DC amahgoub@cgdev.org 1 Cash on Delivery Aid

2. Why doesn’t aid “work” in many low-income countries?

3. A different funder-recipient relationship: Cash on Delivery Aid

4. Donors pay for outcomes only and not inputs Photo: USAID Photo: Net

5. Countries use funds for whatever input mix and policy changes they believe will work best 5 Perhaps textbooks teacher training Photo: U.S. Department of State Photo: Anna Lindh Euro Mediterranean Foundation conditional cash transfers Photo: Prefectura Municipal de Erechim improving roads so children can get to school early nutrition programs to boost learning outcomes Photo: Horizons Unlimited Photo: Pierre Holtz, UNICEF

6. Donors eschew hands-on input approach Identification Design Negotiation Approval Startup Implementation Tech. Assist. M & E Final “Evaluation” Outcome Measurement? $ Traditional Project Aid Donor engaged in almost every phase Photo: Government of Bulgaria Missions for meetings To discuss the process For disbursing funds For improving the process For technical assistance For receiving missions …

7. In favor of hands-off COD Identification Design Negotiation Approval Startup Implementation Tech. Assist. M & E Final “Evaluation” Outcome Measurement $ Traditional Project Aid Donor engaged in almost every phase Cash on Delivery Aid $ Validation of outcomes by third party Donor and recipient agree measure of progress

8. The contract and annual results are public

9. The results are independently verified

10. Technical Assistance Education Projects Sector Programs (e.g. SWAPs) Budget Support Global Initiatives (e.g. FTI) COD Aid Bilateral Agencies Private Foundations Multilateral Institutions NGOs Domestic Spending Foreign Aid Domestic Taxpayers In reality: COD Aid is likely to complement other input funding

11. Shared goal o universal completion of quality primary education Unit of progress o “Assessed Completer” (a student enrolled in the last year of primary school who takes an approved standardized test) Payment o funder pays US$200 per Assessed Completer beyond base year enrollment, regardless of test scores Transparency o recipient publishes enrollments, Assessed Completers & test scores; funder contracts an agent to conduct retests in a random sample of schools Making it practical: universal primary completion

12. Shared goal o every child reading by 2015 Unit of progress o every child of a certain age (e.g. 8 years) that passes an approved reading assessment Payment o funder pays US$200 per additional child that passes the assessment exam beyond base year number Transparency o recipient publishes number of youth of testing age, the number of assessed youth & test scores; funder contracts an agent to conduct retests A possible application of COD Aid for reading

13. To learn more For further information, please o Visit the COD Aid page on our website at www.cgdev.org/section/initiatives/ o Email Ayah Mahgoub at amahgoub@cgdev.org or Bill Savedoff at savedoff@socialinsight.org amahgoub@cgdev.org savedoff@socialinsight.org