Debriefing of the Workshop on Sector Approaches Sarajevo – March 2010 Workshop on Sector Approaches in the Context of EU Integration Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina 22-24 March 2010

Where have we come from? Pre-2007: Simple exchange of information between EC and other donors From 2007: Enhanced donor coordination Conferences in 2008 and 2009: More focus given to aid effectiveness Agreement to move towards working together through a sector approach

State of Play Key conclusion of October 2009 conference on aid effectiveness, reaffirmed in GAERC conclusions of December 2009: “A move from a project based to a sector wide approach would improve the effectiveness and efficiency of financial assistance by strengthening ownership by the beneficiary countries and harmonisation between governments and donors working towards specific, well-defined results”. Overall objective of the workshop: to provide the opportunity to identify working methods for the formulation of sector approaches and to deepen expertise in their practical application in the context of enlargement.

What is a sector approach? A way of working together between government, donors and other key stakeholders A process aimed at: broadening government and national ownership over public sector policy and resource allocation decisions within the sector increasing the coherence between policy, spending and results reducing transaction costs

What is a sector programme? Government owned Three core elements Policy/strategy Sector and donor coordination Sector budget and medium term perspective Other key elements Institutional setting and capacity issues Performance monitoring systems

Support to sector approaches A sector approach is NOT a financing modality but rather a framework of programming and evaluation Support to a sector programme within a sector approach can be provided by inter alia: Projects Resource pooling Sector budget support

Other national revenues Co-financed activities Financing Modalities . Other national revenues Sector Budget Support Through Treasury Sector Programme Co-financed activities 'Pool Fund' Donor X Donor Y Donor Z Projects PPP Own Funds

What does it mean in an Enlargement context? A sector programme for an IPA beneficiary country should identify what is needed to modernise a sector and align it to EU standards. Should be based on a country's own national development plan and be underpinned by the EU's overall enlargement policy as well as by the country's Accession/European Partnership and SAA. Should allow for EU integration priorities to be strategically planned for and sequenced at an early stage.

Objectives of the workshop How best to design sector approaches How to link sector approaches to EU integration objectives How to manage the governance of sector approaches How to establish a performance assessment framework for a sector approach

Main findings Recognition that EU integration is the main driver for country strategies Countries have progressed in setting up a framework for programme based/sector approaches Building blocks are in place in most countries: a coordinating body at center of government a policy framework to link national strategies and EU integration priorities a programming framework, linked to the budgetary process Best practices abound

Main Challenges Common understanding still need to be further developed, both in countries and among donors on concepts and methods Hierarchy /Integration of strategies in a coherent framework - National plans - sector strategies - NPAA’s Setting objectives/indicators require a performance assessment system - Decision making/ statistics/ analysis/ feed back Linking budgetary processes / programming Developing/maintaining capacity (human resources)

Practical issues Timing required to develop PBA/Sector approaches (2 years in average) Timeline for planning IPA: what can be reasonably achieved in 2010, and in the current financial perspective (by 2013) Regulatory constraints Synchronisation between donors/with countries

Next steps Identification of sector or policy areas - define policy / result oriented indicators Continue work at country level by authorities/donors Toolkit for programming Continued assistance to prepare strategies and make them operational Continued development of budgetary and programming processes Strengthening human resources 13

Which sectors should we focus on for the MIPDs 2011-2013? Criteria Sector programme exists or under development Full political ownership by the country Broad consensus among donors that the sector programme is sound and should be supported Sector should be a priority for enlargement Main focus on public governance stressed

What does it mean for IPA financial assistance? Most IPA support under a sector approach will still be through projects BUT… Better targeted Part of a better defined sector strategy, encouraging better prioritisation and sequencing of IPA assistance Sector budget support ONLY in exceptional circumstances Move towards multi-annual programming

What does it mean for all donor assistance? Working through a sector approach with Government and other donors should : Allow for better identification of longer term priorities Promote better division of labour between donors Enhance performance management and increase focus on results Better value for money and more efficiency and effectiveness