IV.    Functional Review and Analysis

4.1       The assessment phase of the Capacity Development Strategy considers institutional, organisational and individual capacity endowments. At the institutional level, the Strategic Framework for Development Cooperation Management elaborates Sub Decree 147 and establishes procedures for all aspects of ODA management, and re-affirms focal point role of CRDB. The National Operational Guidelines (NOGs), developed in March 2006, then indicate the specific procedures to be followed throughout the entire ODA project/programme cycle. This institutional framework is therefore considered to be sufficiently established so that it can be used as a basis for an organisational assessment of CRDB.

4.2       The organisational capacity assessment work began in mid-2006 with three reviews: (i) a reflection on the Consultative Group mechanism; (ii) a review of the complementary dialogue mechanisms comprising the GDCC-TWG mechanism; and (iii) a Functional Review of CRDB.

4.3       Following a dialogue with partners in August and September 2006, the Consultative Group mechanism will continue to evolve and will, from 2007, become the Cambodia Development Cooperation Forum (CDCF). RGC will play an increased leadership role in convening the development partnership and in managing and chairing the meeting. From a substantive capacity perspective, the CDCF will more closely associate the NSDP, as the main development plan, with the external financing framework. This directly contributes to building the institutional and organisational capacity that will allow priorities to be established, challenges to be identified and resources committed. This new mechanism therefore represents a significant capacity enhancement at a national level as planning, resources and monitoring are increasingly integrated in the national dialogue. A focus on qualitative aspects of aid management has also been retained as the RGC Harmonisation, Alignment & Results Action Plan will continue to feature in the dialogue.

4.4      Complementary organisational structures for development cooperation dialogue include the Government-Donor Coordination Committee (GDCC) and the associated Technical Working Groups (TWGs). Although these mechanisms are well-established there has been a feeling that, due to the rapidly changing environment in which they function, they are not always as useful as they should be in translating the development partnership into concrete results in terms of aid effectiveness and impact. To address this, a Review of the GDCC-TWG mechanism has been undertaken and, as of October 2006, is being discussed with RGC and development partner stakeholders.

4.5       The GDCC-TWG Review reflects on an area of work that is of considerable significance to building national capacity for ODA management, i.e. the ability at sectoral and thematic level to practically apply the aid effectiveness principles. Particular issues in the Review that relate to national capacity to manage ODA and to effectively lead the development partnership include:

a)   Re-affirming the objectives and principles of these groups, including their focus on NSDP financing and promoting aid effectiveness;

b)   Developing programme-based approaches that articulate a holistic vision and strategy for the sector as a basis for coherent resourcing and a focus on strengthening national systems and capacity;

c)  Monitoring and evaluation, including use of the Joint Monitoring Indicators (JMIs) and the RGC Harmonisation, Alignment & Results (H-A-R) Action Plan;

d)   Overall linkages between TWGs, GDCC and CDCF, including the preparation and monitoring of the JMIs as an annual tool to jointly monitor progress in critical development and reform areas.

4.6       With these reviews of the external institutional and organisational frameworks being conducted, a Functional Review of CRDB was also undertaken in July 2006. The Functional Review considered CRDB's own organisational arrangements and identified new functions that CRDB must address if it is to play its part as Government focal point in the context of the evolving ODA and aid management environment.

4.7       The Review also noted that, since its formation in 1994, CRDB's role and responsibilities with regard to aid coordination and management have evolved and expanded in response to changes in the flow of external assistance, the increasing number of development actors, and the multifaceted and cross-cutting nature of development cooperation. CRDB has evolved in many ways and directions and is now the established national focal point for managing and coordinating the flow of external funds for the socio-economic development of Cambodia through the public sector.

4.8       Many internal and external tasks that started as innovation have now become part of a well-established routine. These have been formalised in the Strategic Framework for Development Cooperation Management and some core capacity has been established so that most routine functions are carried out efficiently. The successes to date have come from the combined efforts of the staff of the CRDB and support from a UNDP programme that began soon after the creation of CRDB in 1994. More recently (since January 2006), UNDP support has been provided as part of a Multi Donor Support Programme for Aid Coordination (MDSP) and JICA has been providing technical assistance, mainly to the Asia Department.

4.9       In the early stages of support, UNDP provided six international full-time advisors to set in place necessary systems for data gathering on international assistance, to assist in aid-mobilisation and coordination efforts, and to support capacity building of CRDB staff. In next phase of the UNDP support programme that began in 2001 and ended in December 2005, the number of international advisors was reduced to one international Senior Advisor and a number of national professionals who were employed to support the project. In addition, short-term international consultants were engaged on a limited and short-term basis to support specific tasks.

4.10     As the aid effectiveness agenda has now moved increasingly into the spotlight at a national as well as international level, the Functional Review proposed that these roles be formalised in a revised organisational structure. The organisational recommendations of the Review are taken forward in Sections VIII and IX of this paper. Some of the major capacity constraints and challenges that were identified included:

a)   CRDB does not have its own core staff, more than half of the total staffing complement of thirty-five people are on annual contracts.

b)   Incentives and motivation issues, common across the whole of RGC, are particularly acute in CRDB.

c)  There is a strategic need to boost policy capacity if, as the national focal point, CRDB is to play a broader role as aid coordination "champion", including in monitoring the JMIs and H-A-R Action Plan and in promoting the aid effectiveness agenda at national, sectoral and sub-national levels.

d)   Most of the critical aid management challenges are now at sector and thematic level. CRDB's focus may need to become increasingly outward-looking, and should include the development of new tools and products for sharing information.

4.11    These findings and recommendations were discussed and, with some clarification and amendment, endorsed by all CRDB staff during a retreat in August 2006. A Functional Analysis was then conducted based on all existing analytical work. This was designed to clarify the functions that are associated with the CRDB mandate, and identified in the various Reviews, and to then develop a consensus on the strategic and routine nature of these tasks, as well as the division of responsibilities between Departments. The Functional Analysis is presented as Table One.

Table One. Functional Analysis of CRDB
 

| Content | Back | Top | Next |

Home | 8^th CG Meeting | 7^th CG Meeting | Partnership and Harmonization TWG | GDCC | Policy Documents Guidelines | Donor Dev. Coop. Pgm. | NGO