Japan's Official Development Assistance White Paper 2010
(6) Cooperation with Aid-Related Entities within and outside Japan
Japan is implementing international cooperation in collaboration with various actors, including private sector enterprises, NGOs, universities, local governments, international organizations, and other donor countries.
(a) Collaboration with NGOs
In recent years, NGOs have been carrying out an important role within the international community, advocating policies in major diplomatic issues such as development, the environment, human rights, trade, and disarmament. Japanese NGOs implement high-quality aid activities in various fields of development cooperation, including education, health and medical care, water supply, refugee assistance, and mine clearance. In addition, Japan’s NGOs work to provide prompt humanitarian assistance in areas affected by large-scale natural disasters and conflicts. NGOs possess knowledge of the needs of local residents and are capable of conducting activities in areas that the government cannot reach. They also produce visibility of Japanese aid. The necessity of promoting cooperation with NGOs has been detailed in the ODA Charter as well as in the Medium-Term Policy, and Japan is engaged in a variety of activities for promoting collaborations with NGOs, including financial cooperation for their aid activities, assistance for their capacity development, and promoting dialogue.
(i) Cooperation with NGO Activities
Japan engages in various forms of cooperation for enabling NGOs to carry out aid activities smoothly. In FY2009, for instance, 47 organizations implemented 81 projects, including for the construction of schools, assistance for disabled persons, vocational training, and the construction of wells, utilizing Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects, which supports financially the grassroots level socioeconomic development projects of NGOs. In addition, as of September 2010, the Japan Platform (JPF) — an emergency humanitarian assistance organization established in 2000 through partnerships with NGOs, the Japanese government, and the business community — had received participation from 32 different NGOs, which conduct such activities as promptly distributing everyday goods and providing medical assistance in the event of major natural disasters by utilizing ODA funds disbursed beforehand as well as donations from private corporations and individuals. In FY2009, a total of approximately ¥1.57 billion was provided for 73 projects implemented in eight countries. These projects included disaster assistance for the victims of the earthquakes off the coast of Sumatra and in Haiti, and the victims of flooding in the Philippines, and humanitarian assistance in southern Sudan and northern Sri Lanka.
In some cases, JICA’s technical cooperation projects are consigned to private organizations, including NGOs. In FY2009, 201 projects were implemented by private organizations, whereby the know-how of various organizations, such as NGOs and universities, were put to use. Also, JICA implements projects of the JICA Partnership Program (JPP), which are proposed by NGOs, local governments, and other bodies directly contributing to improvement of the lives of residents in developing countries, and related to the Country Assistance Programs. In particular, Partner Type JPP makes possible assistance for developing countries that makes use of the experience and expertise accumulated by NGOs and other entities that already have a certain degree of experience in the international cooperation sector in developing countries.
(ii) Enhancing the Environment for NGO Activities
Additional assistance measures for NGO activities are the various projects for developing the environments for NGOs. For instance, under the NGO Consultant Scheme, NGO staff commissioned by MOFA responds to consultations and inquiries from citizens and NGO personnel on issues pertaining to the establishment, organization management, international cooperation and other activities of NGOs. In addition, the Program provides consultations at international cooperation events and other venues while also offering services where personnel are dispatched to hold seminars. In this way, efforts are being made to promote NGO activities as well as understanding of NGO activities. Furthermore, efforts are being made to increase the management ability and expertise of NGOs. One example of these efforts is the NGO study group. These groups are held by NGOs themselves on various themes such as the environment and advancing partnerships with businesses, as well as symposiums.
JICA also provides a wide range of training for NGO staff. For example, JICA conducts: 1) NGO human resource development training in project management for improving the capacity of project implementation in developing countries, as well as in organizational management for enhancing public relations and fund-raising abilities domestically; 2) project cycle management (PCM) training aimed at acquiring methods for planning, monitoring, and evaluating projects such as those implemented under the JICA Partnership Program; and 3) dispatching advisors to domestic or overseas NGO offices to provide face-to-face advice on problems faced by them.
(iii) Dialogue and Cooperation with NGOs
In order to promote dialogue and cooperation with NGOs, since 1996 MOFA has held the NGO-MOFA Regular Meetings and engaged in active consultations regarding the financial cooperation system for NGOs, such as Japan’s assistance policies and the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects. Meanwhile, in 2002, as a forum for exchanging ideas and opinions with field-level NGOs, it opened meetings between NGOs and embassies, which are called ”ODA Embassies”. Embassy officials, aid implementing agencies, and NGO-related parties have thus far carried out discussions on the efficient and effective implementation of ODA in 27 countries, such as Nepal and Sri Lanka. JICA also holds the NGO-JICA Conference, which promotes the understanding and participation of citizens, including NGOs, in order to realize more effective international cooperation.
(b) Collaboration with Private Sector Enterprises
(i) Public-Private Cooperation for Accelerated Growth
The activities of private sector enterprises can engender development results in developing countries on a level beyond the reach of ODA alone, as they can be expected to promote employment, augment tax revenue, acquire foreign currency, transfer technologies, and expand trade and investment. Therefore, in order to promote such activities by private sector companies, in April 2008 the Public-Private Cooperation for Accelerated Growth was announced as a measure to promote public-private cooperation. For this, the government receives consultations and proposals from private sector enterprises related to their activities which are conducive to economic growth and poverty reduction in developing countries, as well as public-private cooperation projects together with ODA.
In addition, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities in which private enterprises aim to make an active contribution to the local communities in developing countries have been garnering attention in recent years. Also, the Base of the Pyramid (BOP) business aims to develop businesses targeted at those in poverty and contribute to improving their lives as well as to resolving social challenges. Japan is carrying out new initiatives such as utilizing the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects in cases where CSR and BOP business are carried out by enterprises in cooperation with local NGOs.
(ii) Smooth Implementation of ODA Loans
Private-public cooperation is widely recognized as necessary for development assistance to developing countries, and it is important to smoothly produce development effects through effectively organized assistance composed of ODA loans and private-sector businesses. From the perspective of facilitating private-public cooperation as well, it is necessary to promote the smooth implementation of ODA loans.
Japan takes into account the need for ensuring accountability and appropriate procedures through such means as ownership on the part of indebted countries, the prevention of fraud and corruption, and environmental and social considerations, and adheres to its 2007 Speed Up of ODA Loans Project and the 2009 Speed Up of ODA Loan Projects by Expediting Government-Industry Coordination. Based on these, Japan announced a Speed Up of ODA Loans Project in July 2010. This stipulated additional measures, such as the early detection of problems and the implementation of countermeasures by means of introducing declarations of pledges at an early stage (pre-pledges) and strengthening on-site monitoring meetings.
(c) Collaboration with Academia and Local Governments
Japan utilizes the know-how accumulated by academia and local government to implement ODA more effectively. In order to make use of the intellectual assets of universities, JICA concludes contracts with universities to implement comprehensive technical cooperation and promote ODA loan projects. For universities, partnering with JICA allows them easier access to sites in developing nations and the benefit of being able to acquire practical experience. In addition, JICA also collaborates with local governments in various areas such as qualitative project improvement, development of human resources for assistance, and vitalization of regional project deployment.
(d) Collaboration with Local Governments and NGOs of Developing Countries
Working together with local governments and NGOs in developing countries is not only beneficial to the socioeconomic development of the developing nation, but also leads to strengthening the civil society and NGOs in the country. Japan utilizes mainly Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects to provide assistance for socioeconomic development projects implemented by these aid-related personnel. This financial cooperation is evaluated highly even in developing nations as a detailed and fast form of assistance that provides direct benefits at the grassroots level.
Giving instructions on medical services for children to local staff members in Cambodia (Photo: Services for the Health in Asian & African Regions (SHARE)).
(e) Collaboration with International Organizations and Other Countries
In recent years, from the perspective of aid effectiveness, various aid bodies have been working to coordinate their assistance policies in aiming to achieve international development goals and agreements such as the MDGs based upon the Paris Declaration (Note 37) and the Accra Agenda for Action (AAA) (Note 38). Currently, working groups have been formed for such fields as health and education in a large number of aid-receiving nations, whereupon program-type assistance is being implemented in accordance with the sector development strategy of the nation. Japan also participates in many of these programs, including agriculture in Tanzania and water in Yemen. In addition, in Bangladesh, Japan has drafted common strategic partnerships with the World Bank, the Asia Development Bank (ADB), and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) for assisting the poverty reduction strategies (PRS) of Bangladesh. Therein, Japan is advancing coordination and cooperation with these entities to implement aid more effectively and efficiently in a cross-sectoral manner. Japan also currently participates in working groups among a wider range of donors that meet to draft common aid strategies, thereby actively taking part in aid coordination.
In addition, Japan takes opportunities like visits by top officials of international organizations such as the World Bank to engage in policy dialogues over modalities for aid policies and other related issues. Moreover, in 2007 Japan announced the Enhanced Sustainable Development for Asia (ESDA) as part of its cooperation with the ADB, and has worked to promote investment and the conservation of energy. Japan also proactively advances cooperation and collaboration with international organizations that have headquarters located within Japan. For example, in addition to cooperation at the governmental-level with the Asian Productivity Organization (APO), private sector enterprises also contribute to the drafting of APO policies through the Green Productivity Advisory Committee (GPAC).
On top of these undertakings, Japan also promotes initiatives which aim for effective collaborations on the basis of multilateral and bilateral aid. This is a trial designed to reflect international aid trends in bilateral aid policies, as well as to mainstream the bilateral aid approach with which Japan has a comparative advantage among aid-receiving countries and in the international arena. As such, it will contribute to improving the results of Japanese aid.
Until now, members of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have been the main aid-providers within the international community. In recent years, however, the non-DAC member countries of China, India, Saudi Arabia, and Brazil — which are referred to as newly emerging donors — have been expanding their influence in terms of development in developing countries. It is important for DAC countries including Japan to work together with these newly emerging donors to resolve global challenges, while also holding dialogues and sharing their past experiences regarding aid in encouraging the newly emerging donors to provide aid that is responsible and highly transparent.
Courtesy call to Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Ikuo Yamahana by Managing Director of the World Bank Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Notes:
(37)The Paris Declaration compiled undertakings to be made by both aid-providing countries and aid-receiving countries in respect to measures that need to be implemented in order to improve the results of aid. The Declaration was adopted at the Second High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, which was held in Paris in 2005.
(38) This is an action plan that was adopted in September 2008 in Ghana at the Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness. The plan includes a decision to make further improvements to the effects of aid as well as undertakings to be employed until 2010 in the aim of achieving the objectives in the Paris Declaration.