Japan's Official Development Assistance White Paper 2009
(5) Enhancing Functions at the Field Level
In order to enhance policy dialogue conducted with the governments of developing countries, country-based ODA Task Forces (ODA-TFs) made up of overseas diplomatic missions and local JICA offices have been established in many developing nations. ODA-TFs fulfill a wide range of roles in addition to clarifying the needs of each recipient country. These roles include participating in the formulation of Country Assistance Plans and Rolling Plans, working together with developing countries and multilateral organizations, offering suggestions on possible collaborations and reviews of aid schemes, sharing mid-term priority areas and aid policies with local governments, and providing advice on candidate assistance projects.
In addition, coordination in implementing assistance is gaining momentum on the local level in accordance with the drafting and revising of Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). Since FY 2006, Japan has posted "coordinators for economic cooperation" at overseas diplomatic missions to provide a system for collecting information and implementing studies relating to aid coordination, as well as for providing a place for disseminating information overseas concerning Japan's aid policies and making relevant recommendations.
