scholarly journals Where Does the Money Go? Best and Worst Practices in Foreign Aid

2008 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 29-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Easterly ◽  
Tobias Pfutze

This paper does not address the issue of aid effectiveness—that is, the extent to which foreign aid dollars actually achieve their goals—but on “best practices” in the way in which official aid is given, an important component of the wider debate. First we discuss best practice for an ideal aid agency and the difficulties that aid agencies face because they are typically not accountable to their intended beneficiaries. Next we consider the transparency of aid agencies and four additional dimensions of aid practice: specialization, or the degree to which aid is not framgemented among too many donors, too many countries, and too many sectors for each donor); selectivity, or the extent to which aid avoids corrupt autocrats and goes to the poorest countries; use of ineffective aid channels such as tied aid, food aid, and technical assistance; and the overhead costs of aid agencies. We compare 48 aid agencies along these dimensions, distinguishing between bilateral and multilateral ones. Using the admittedly limited information we have, we rank the aid agencies on different dimensions of aid practice and then provide one final comprehensive ranking. We present these results as an illustrative exercise to move the aid discussion forward.

Policy Papers ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 09 ◽  
Author(s):  

TA information should be disseminated more widely. The more active sharing of TA information with donors and other TA providers will improve coordination, exploit synergies, and enable the Fund to prioritize and leverage its limited TA resources, thereby fulfilling key objectives under the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. Moreover, especially from the perspective of their own accountability to their governments and legislators, donors to the Fund’s TA program have a legitimate interest in receiving information on TA that is financed by them. For TA recipient countries, the wider dissemination of TA information among different government agencies will strengthen ownership and facilitate the more effective implementation of TA recommendations. More generally, through publication, the membership and the public at large will benefit from a better understanding of best practices, and the Fund’s experiences in the provision of TA.


Policy Papers ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 (81) ◽  
Author(s):  

TA information should be disseminated more widely. The more active sharing of TA information with donors and other TA providers will improve coordination, exploit synergies, and enable the IMF to prioritize and leverage its limited TA resources, thereby fulfilling key objectives under the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. Moreover, especially from the perspective of their own accountability to their governments and legislators, donors to the IMF’s TA program have a legitimate interest in receiving information on TA that is financed by them. For TA recipient countries, the wider dissemination of TA information among different government agencies will strengthen ownership and facilitate the more effective implementation of TA recommendations. More generally, through publication, the membership and the public at large will benefit from a better understanding of best practices, and the IMF’s experiences in the provision of TA.


Author(s):  
Aurelia Atukwase

The aim of this essay is to operationalize best practice in teaching, what it is, what it constitutes and the kind of knowledge teacher educators need in order to become best practitioners. This is because some authors often use the phrase ‘best practices’ whenever debating about what teachers should portray in view of preparing teacher trainees for the teaching profession . What always occupies my mind, however, is not only the exploit of the phrase, but also the way different educational researchers even go ahead to suggest the benefits of best practices in teacher education without unpacking the phrase itself. My argument here is that not until teachers as practitioners re-define the scope of teaching in view of best practice, it might continue posing challenges for novice teachers to know the kind of knowledge they need to posses if they are to showcase best practices in teaching.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 57-57
Author(s):  
Matthew F. Bouchonville ◽  
Lucca Cirolia

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to understand how telementoring and training through the ECHO model can build the cancer workforce and bring best practice cancer care to low-resource settings. METHODS The ECHO Institute launched a 5-year project to expand the use of the ECHO model to improve the capacity of local providers to bring cancer prevention, diagnostic, treatment, and survivorship knowledge to rural and underserved populations. The ECHO model leverages technology, telementoring, and case-based learning to connect rural populations to specialty cancer care, improve access to evidence-based therapies and practices, and provide state-of-the-art training and mentorship to build the cancer workforce, particularly in underserved regions. Through the ECHO model, local providers are paired with experts and doctors at National Cancer Institute–designated Comprehensive Cancer Care Centers and academic medical centers for ongoing training, technical assistance, and mentorship. Although originally developed to bring best practice care for hepatitis C to rural communities, the ECHO model is now being used to treat 70 conditions or topics globally. RESULTS Since 2016, the ECHO model has been replicated by 73 partner hubs in 13 countries that are operating 130 cancer programs focused on diverse cancer prevention and treatment topics, including increasing clinical trial enrollment, cancer control and best practices, cervical cancer prevention and treatment, tobacco cessation, and more. To date, 21 peer-reviewed publications have documented the ECHO model’s efficacy in improving the use of best practices in cancer care and expanding access to care in low-resource settings. CONCLUSION Use of the ECHO model to train and mentor local providers is building the cancer workforce and increasing capacity to address critical topics in cancer screening, diagnosis, care, and survivorship. The ECHO Institute is successfully strengthening the cancer health system and accelerating the transmission of best practice cancer care from cancer centers to health care workers in underserved communities.


2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-21
Author(s):  
Francine T. Hanley ◽  
Lynda R. Matthews ◽  
Virginia J. Lewis

AbstractThis article presents a summary of 10 priorities for the delivery of best practices in psychosocial rehabilitation relevant to the Australian veteran population. The first section interrogates the empirical principles characteristically identified with best practices before presenting an alternative, heuristic framework organised by three reference points and informed by principles of efficacy, external validity, and the meaning of efficacy in the context of parity. The article presents the strategy used in reviewing the literature, before presenting the findings according to 10 key priorities. The 10 priorities are described in the context of the literature informing them and are set out with regard to the centrality of the client-centred service model in the design and delivery of pertinent and effective services into the future.


Author(s):  
Dan Honig

When should foreign aid organizations empower actors on the front lines of delivery to rely on their judgment to guide aid interventions, and when should distant headquarters lead? Understanding how best to manage the implementation of aid projects matters both for aid effectiveness and for what it tells us about the more general tension between central versus field worker control in organizations.


Author(s):  
Benjamin Shao ◽  
Robert D. St. Louis

Many companies are forming data analytics teams to put data to work. To enhance procurement practices, chief procurement officers (CPOs) must work effectively with data analytics teams, from hiring and training to managing and utilizing team members. This chapter presents the findings of a study on how CPOs use data analytics teams to support the procurement process. Surveys and interviews indicate companies are exhibiting different levels of maturity in using data analytics, but both the goal of CPOs (i.e., improving performance to support the business strategy) and the way to interact with data analytics teams for achieving that goal are common across companies. However, as data become more reliably available and technologies become more intelligently embedded, the best practices of organizing and managing data analytics teams for procurement will need to be constantly updated.


Symmetry ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
John H. Graham

Best practices in studies of developmental instability, as measured by fluctuating asymmetry, have developed over the past 60 years. Unfortunately, they are haphazardly applied in many of the papers submitted for review. Most often, research designs suffer from lack of randomization, inadequate replication, poor attention to size scaling, lack of attention to measurement error, and unrecognized mixtures of additive and multiplicative errors. Here, I summarize a set of best practices, especially in studies that examine the effects of environmental stress on fluctuating asymmetry.


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