Aid Consortium Group Project Description
Objectives: This project is designed to simulate how development requests and funding are determined in practice. Our goal is to understand how aid-receiving countries determine assistance needs, and the ways in which bilateral, multilateral and non-governmental aid-giving organizations prioritize their distribution of assistance.
Please sign up to be in one of the following eleven groups during the first week of class:
Aid-receiving countries: Each group will prepare a written report based on your investigation of what are the assistance needs of your country at this time. Naturally, there is no monolithic sense of what those needs are, so to determine these you must research a variety of sources: government documents, ethnographic accounts, scholarly assessments, and actual assistance proposals. Each country’s name below provides links to resources to help you get started. You should be aware of the relationship which this country has historically had with each of the donor agencies, but this is not to be included in the report. There will be three members in each of these four aid-receiving country groups:
Cambodia Colombia Kenya Pakistan
Donor Agencies: Each group will prepare a written profile report based on the way in which aid is distributed by your donor organization; each organization’s name below is linked to its website to help you get started, but you will have to do wide-ranging research to find out more about the organization’s activities. What are your agency’s goals and what is its philosophy regarding aid? Where and how have they committed their resources historically, and why? Be sure to include details of how your organization divides up the world and examples of ‘best practices’ and examples of its activities in your report. You should be aware of what has been your organization’s relationship and commitment to each of the four aid-receiving countries in our consortium, but this is not to be included in the report. Ideally, there will be three members in each of the bilateral and multilateral donor organizations, and two in the INGOs:
Bilateral donors
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
Multilateral donors
The World Bank Group (IBRD)
U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
U.N. International Fund for Agricultural Development (UNIFAD)
International Non Government Organizations (INGOs)
Int’l Federation of Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies
Mercy Corps
Time-schedule:
May 23: Each group must submit their report by 6 pm through CANVAS on this date. Group reports will be accessible via the Participants page on the course website by May 25.
May 30: Based on additional information they have garnered from the donor profiles, each country group will create a 15-minute presentation based on their aid needs. We recommend presenters “stay in character” as much as possible, review their most important priorities for assistance, and only go into detail on any additional or different assistance (based on the new information from the donor profiles) they are requesting. If a country’s development assistance request is changing considerably from its original written report, we suggest representatives consider highlighting what is different to facilitate donor agency representatives’ understanding of the new request. These presentations will be held in our classroom, 191 Anstett Hall.
June 1: We will hold our Aid Consortium simulation, an opportunity for donor organizations and countries to meet face-to-face, engage in policy dialogue, make bargains, lobby for their needs, and reach some understandings about the giving and receiving of aid. The Consortium will be held in Tykeson Commons (room 151). Please arrive promptly.
Please note: attendance at this class is an absolute requirement for all students.
Last week of class, June 6, 8 & 9: Donor organizations will report on the percentage of their total aid budget which will go to each of the four participating countries; what percentage will go to various sectors within each country (and why); what percentage will be “tied” and project-specific (as opposed to open program support); and what was the basis for these decisions (based on 100% of their funds for this upcoming fiscal year, not the actual amount in money). It is important to articulate the reasons for these decisions as these evaluations should be determined on a realistic basis, consistent with the donor organization’s philosophy, past activities and current goals. The first two presentations (Tuesday and Thursday) will be held in our classroom, 191 Anstett Hall.
Process: Each ODA donor agency group will make a 20-minute presentation (INGO presentations are 15 minutes), first introducing themselves and their organization and then their funding decisions:
June 6: Multilateral donors
June 8: Bilateral donors
June 9: INGOs (15-minute presentations are at the final party)
FINAL CLASS MEETING: Friday, June 9th, 6:30 p.m. [Final essay assignment due in class]
You are cordially invited to attend the concluding ceremonies of the International Development Assistance Consortium. Participants are requested to bring food and/or beverages from their respective countries. We will have the opportunity to critique the aid process as well as the course.
Lewis Lounge, 4th floor, Knight Law School, Agate & 15th Street
*Attendance at this class is mandatory
Note to delegates:
Please keep the time and location confidential, for security concerns