SEK 13 billion of the Swedish aid went under 2023 to specific countieswith via multilateral organizations, so-called multi-bi support. FUFarna Lennart Well-being and Anna Sjöberg Tibblin have written a "working paper" for the Expert Group for Aid Analysis (EBA) where they investigated the possibilities for Side to sackcompensate that multilateral partners lioner up to aid effectiveness principles om local ownership, focus on results, inclusive partnership, transparency and mutual accountability i the very largest channel for Swedish aid.
In recent years, control and efficiency have been buzzwords when Sweden's international development cooperation has come up. With the motivation to gain more control over where and how aid money is spent, there has followed a trend to earmark aid through multilateral organizations, such as the World Bank and various UN agencies, to specific countries, regions, projects or themes.
Sweden's international aid can take many different paths towards the goal of improving the situation for people living in poverty and/or oppression. For example, via partnerships between Swedish and foreign civil society organisations, via the embassies to various organizations operating in the country where the embassy works or directly from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Sida as project or core support to both larger and smaller organisations.
When aid is channeled through large global multilateral organizations, but earmarked for specific projects, regions, subject areas or countries, the aid is called multi-bilateral aid, or "multi-bi" in industry parlance. From the Swedish side, it is also common for Sida to choose to provide project or program support to the multilateral organizations' country offices, this also falls under multi-bi and is what is the focus of the new EBA report.
In the study “Swedish Multi-Bi Aid and Development Effectiveness” investigates Lennart Wohlgemuth and Anna Sjöberg Tibblin how well Sida considers internationally agreed aid effectiveness principles in this type of this type of aid. The research has taken place through literature studies and interviews with staff at eight different Swedish embassies.
Development magazine obviously took the opportunity to ask some questions to the study authors.
- Hello! First of all, who are you?
Hello! We are Lennart Wohlgemuth and Anna Sjöberg Tibblin. Lennart is a board member and Anna works as head of office at FUF. Lennart has a lifetime of work with global development in his baggage, both internationally and in Sweden, and has worked as a researcher and visiting professor in global studies in Gothenburg and in Uppsala. Anna has worked with global development issues, peace and security within Swedish civil society - i.a. with organizations' foreign establishments - for many years.
- Why is it important to investigate this type of support?
In 2023, the aid channeled through multi-bi aid amounted to SEK 13 billion. It is thus the largest channel for Swedish aid. The EBA therefore assessed that the effectiveness of this type of aid can have a considerable effect on the effectiveness of all Swedish aid and tasked FUF to investigate this further.
While Swedish multi-bi aid has increased significantly in recent years, direct bilateral aid has decreased. In this change, it is crucial that the lessons and principles developed over time in aid are not lost, but also applied to this growing and increasingly important form of aid. We therefore chose to look at how the principles of aid effectiveness – i.e. local ownership, focus on results, inclusive partnership, transparency and mutual responsibility – are applied within the Swedish multi-bi aid.
This is interesting to watch as the global trend is for the internationally agreed principles of aid effectiveness to be increasingly left behind. At the same time, both research and experience show that these principles are central to achieving long-term and sustainable results.
We hope that the report can contribute to Sweden's work to ensure sustainable and effective aid that originates from the recipient - even when it is channeled via the multilaterals.
- What are the most important conclusions of the report?
The increase in multi-bi aid has occurred in parallel with a shift in focus regarding aid effectiveness principles: from ownership and coordination to results and transparency. This has not been fully taken into account in the policies and directives that govern Swedish development cooperation, which could lead to less effective efforts - not least in cooperation with multilateral organizations where part of the control is lost.
Showever, the study shows that if one is careful and purposeful in the cooperation with the multilateral bodies, very good results can be achieved in terms of aid effectiveness - especially in the context of the conversations about how the multilateral organizations work to influence values in the country in question, such as democracy, human rights and sexual and reproductive health and rights.
However, we have found that it can be significantly more difficult to influence the design of programs and projects. Partly because the systems and rules of the multilateral bodies, and Swedish principles for nuclear support, are governing and do not provide the same opportunities for dialogue about adaptations.
Based on these conclusions, we propose i.a. that Sweden needs to strengthen its competence and capacity to both manage and evaluate its aid with efficiency principles in focus.
- Surely this is the first time that FUF has made a report for EBA?
Yes, it is the first time that FUF has done this type of study and released a report for another actor. After more than 50 years as an independent platform and meeting place for information, debate and commitment to global issues, there is a large pool of knowledge and competence within the organization. We use it on a daily basis in our business, which e.g. includes the journalistic product Uttvecklingsmagasinet, our seminars and training courses. But this report is an example of assignments that we can also take on.
- If you are interested in knowing more - what do you do then?
Then we think you should read the report that can be found EBA's website and on development archive.se. You can also keep an eye on FUF's channels for upcoming activities on the theme - i.a. an EBA podcast will be released shortly.
Is there something in the text that is not correct? Contact us at opinion@fuf.se